We left the kids at home with a grandparent (Little Diva was still in bed ... teenager!). We parked at Olin Turville Park and headed south, along the trail. It didn't disappoint. It was awesome! There were beautiful prairies, tons of scenery, wooded areas. The trail was filled with cyclists and runners. We were constantly hearing "On your left ..." as cyclists passed us. Runners gave us a friendly smile or wave. There was only one bathroom along the entire trail, that I recall, and I used the pit toilet (ick!). We ran through the southside of Madison and the beautiful wooded area in Fitchburg.
We then headed north towards the UW Arboretum. We looked for a bathroom, since we needed to go again and I was out of water. The visitor's station was not open yet. So, we headed on through the Arboretum to the Henry Vilas Zoo. We had completed approximately 15 miles. I gulped a ton of water, filled up my handheld bottle and used the restroom. Then we were off for our last three miles. As we headed out of the zoo, I realized that I had downed too much water from the drinking fountain. I was starting to have stomach cramps and a side ache. That luckily went away within five minutes. We headed over to Willow Island and met up with the trail again.
At about mile 17, I asked hubby if he'd like to finish out at 18 or put in another ten minutes out and ten minutes back and round it out to a nice 20 miler. He said to ask again in a few minutes! I laughed. When we came to our cross section, he suggested that we head up to the Monona Terrace, instead of back to the car. 20 miles, it is!! I downed some more Sports Beans and got another wind. Hubby wasn't feel well. We headed to the beautiful convention center and then turned around and headed to his car.
We finished in 3:20, which we figured was close to 20 miles. We downed some water and some oranges that I had cut-up the night before. I also had a Diet Mountain Dew on hand! When we got home, Hubby used MapMyRun and found out that our route was 20.00 miles ... exactly. Crazy, right?!
I was contacted awhile back to try out some Athlete Sunblock from SCAPE. Now, I love the sun, and am out in it quite frequently. I lather Little Dude and Little Diva up with the spray version of sunscreen (SPF 50) because it's easier. But, I almost never use sunscreen on myself. Because of it, I have a lot of sun damage. Freckles on my nose and cheeks and especially on my shoulders and back. I love the sun and I love a tan. But, I know it's dangerous. Since I've taken up running and have spent more time outdoors, I haven't changed my habits .... yet. I know that if I want to be around for my kids in the future, I need to protect myself.
I used the SCAPE SPF 30+ today on our 20 miler. There was a lot of sun today and I knew that I'd burn. I applied the sunscreen lightly on my shoulders and on my nose and cheeks. Hubby also lathered up (more heavily) all over his arms, legs and face. We both remarked that it was a bit thicker than other sunscreens we've used. We needed to use more of it, to apply it evenly. The bottle claimed that it wouldn't run into your eyes. It's high endurance waterproof and sweatproof. They claim that it is non-greasy and allows your skin to breathe naturally. I didn't feel greasy or slimy -- other than my sweat! We sweat a lot on our long run today. The sunscreen never ran in my eyes. After the run, I felt like I had a nice glow, but I never burned. It was in enough pain from the miles we put in. It was nice not to have to worry about an irritating sunburn, too! I also tried the Athlete lip Balm (SPF 50+). It was soothing, with aloe and vitamin E. It had a slight lemon-mint taste pre-run.
Visit SCAPE online (HERE) and start protecting YOUR skin!
I also just received my beautiful Run 26.2 necklace from My 3 Gemz (HERE). I won it over at Stephanie's blog (HERE). Check out both sites and you'll find a lot of great stuff!! ;-)
I even got a few random “school supplies” for myself! I love journals!
