Running Diva Mom: Weekend Miles = Lots of Smiles

On Saturday, hubby and I had ten miles on tap. I had taken Friday off to rest and was up for the challenge. It was EXTREMELY humid (again) and you could see and feel the moisture in the air. There was a dense fog as far as you could see and everything outside was wet and damp. I loaded up my handheld water bottle with ice, hoping that it would keep me cool and hydrated for the next hour and a half.

I had a bowlful of Life cereal before I left the house, and some greek yogurt. This tends to be the best pre-run breakfast for me. A little bit of cereal and some yogurt keeps me full, fueled and doesn't give me a sloshy stomach. We left from home and zig-zagged through Sun Prairie, heading east on an out-and-back course. I was feeling great and continued to sip on water the entire way.

I love running with my husband. He is one of those friendly runners that says hi to everyone and waves and folks that we pass by. He waves a runners, walkers, cyclists, folks sitting on their front porch, cars that let us pass at intersections. It has really made me more conscious of interacting with other people we cross paths with on our routes. It doesn't take much to smile when you are pushing it hard or give a friendly wave while out on a run.

On the way home, I put on the Mumford & Sons portion of my playlist and kicked it into gear. I was feeling so much better than my painful run on Thursday evening. I didn't encounter any lack of energy or side aches and my breathing was under control. As I increased my speed the last couple of miles, I really focused on the beat of the music, timed it with my footwork and then focused on my breathing. I keep my posture high and tried to relax my shoulders and my elbows.

We clocked in at just under a 9:45 min/mile pace after ten miles was all said and done. My slowest mile was a 10:14 and my fastest was the last mile of 8:42. I was pushing it and love seeing those negative splits at the end of a long run.

It was more humid than ever, and our clothes were drenched. I was so glad that I wore a tank top. And I was appreciative that the sun didn't come out for our run. That could have been brutal.

We spent the rest of our day enjoying a family dinner and cupcakes, in celebration of both of our mothers who happen to share a birthday on Monday. My mother in law was staying at our home on Saturday evening. So we weren't sure what time we would get out for our twenty miles on Sunday. We really looked forward to turning in early, sleeping and having some coffee with her on our deck on Sunday morning. The run would follow when time allowed.

We got up around 7:00 on Sunday morning and enjoyed a pot of coffee on our deck. The forecast changed from 91 degrees to the lower-to mid 80's. However, the humidity was going to be at 75%. There was a nice breeze outside, while we enjoyed our coffee and the sun was still behind the clouds. It was a beautiful morning, though the humidity was still there.

Before we were ready for our run, I enjoyed a small bowl of cereal, a piece of toast with honey and a greek yogurt. I also enjoyed an Advocare Slam, to give me some energy for the twenty miles ahead of me. We enjoy the power punch flavor and it gives us tons of energy when we needed it. It also tastes so much better than some of the other energy shots we've tried and goes down smooth.

I opted for another running skirt, passed on the compression socks (because of the heat, humidity and tan lines) and looked forward to wearing a tank top. I skipped the Bondi Band and just through my hair in a ponytail and went sans makeup. I can't seem to wear a Bondi Band when my hair is up. They only stay in place on my head, when my hair is down. I wanted my hair up and to be as cool and comfortable as possible. I also looked forward to going without makeup, because I knew that I as going to be sweating like a sweaty betty and would be constantly wiping my face and the salt out of my eyes.

We left from our home and headed to the west side of Sun Prairie. We had to cross some traffic lights the first couple of miles and hubby had to retie his shoe. So we lost a few seconds here and there. We got into a rhythm as we headed out to the Wyndham Hills subdivision. We conquered some significant hills in that area and then enjoyed a nice down hill the rest of the way. We stopped at the park to use the restroom around mile five and wiped off, took an energy gel, drank some water and filled up our handheld water bottles.

Then we were off again.

We then headed east along Hwy 19 and crossed some more traffic. We headed out on the paths that connect across town and then towards Orfan Park. Hubby had a contact problem before we hit the park and we had to stop (and stopped our watches) while he found the contact that was stuck in his eyes. The sweat and salt didn't help much with this issue. We got that worked out and then headed through Orfan Park, Liberty Station Park and then on to Stoneridge Park. At mile 8, the sun came out and was hot - humid as heck - and was beating down on us. We were slowing down little by little and I was starting to feel warm. Since I had that bought of heat exhaustion during our last twenty miler, I felt a moment of panic in my head. We talked about cutting the run short, but then decided to just keep heading out on our planned route. We would continue to be safe, find shade when we could and do lots of stops for refueling, water and ice.

We stopped at the nice gas station at Liberty Station and they gave us ice and water from the soda fountain and we toweled off with paper towel in the restrooms. This really seems to help me. We headed out refreshed. I chewed on ice, enjoyed ice cold water and rubbed ice cubes on my neck and arms.

We ran through Stoneridge Community Park and then out through the Sun Prairie business park. I started to feel like I was falling apart at this point. There was no shade and the scenery was - well, boring. I think we will be avoiding that area for our long runs in the future, as we both agree it was unmotivating.

We headed through the east side of town and up the hill at Musket Ridge. We saw a lot of familiar faces out-and-about, from our Saturday run through the same neighborhood. I chugged up that hill, pumping my arms, and embraced a nice breeze that cooled me down as I neared the top. We stopped at Carriage Hills Estates Park to refill on water again. We also consumed another gel. My husband was starting to feel water logged from all of the water we were consuming to stay hydrated.

We continued our run through the neighborhood and then crossed Hwy 19, to stop at a gas station near Angell Park. The attendant was kind enough to allow us to fill up on more ice. This was REALLY needed at this point. We chewed on more ice and then did a slow walk to the stop light.

We headed again up the boring 3.5+ miles from Cannery Grill to our neighborhood. This uninspiring route is always pretty boring, but it had to be done to get home. We encountered rolling hills and more heat and sun. My legs were not buckling like they normally are on long runs. Though my right ankle was starting to feel sore (and remained sore for several days after). My husband was starting to feel really tired, as we stopped at Sheehan Park for even more water and took a break for a minute or two.

We then ran the last couple of miles home at our own pace. We had a non-verbal agreement to just make it home at our own time. I cranked my tunes and got my breathing and footwork in a rhythm. He wasn't far behind me. I calculated that I would need to make an extra mile up somewhere, to get an even twenty miles in before arriving at our back door. So, I took a turn on a local bike path, while he opted to head home and run/walk the last mile home - to finish with nineteen miles. My music helped me pick up my pace and my last miles were some of my quickest of the day - 10:51, 10:20 and finally 10:09 miles.