Things the Ocean Taught Me (BSIM 2017 Race Recap)

I'm aware that I haven't posted an update since 2015, which I will chalk up to life getting in the way. But I ended my 1.5 year marathoning hiatus with the Big Sur International Marathon, and felt like it should be documented.

Big Sur been toted as a bucket-list race because the whole course runs along the ocean, and the scenery is spectacular.

Mile 23 of the course

But it's also notorious for its hills, the worst of which is Hurricane Point. HP starts just before mile 10, and over the course of two miles, runners climb over 400 feet. Based on the hills, I threw any expectations of setting a new PR out the window. Plus, I didn't want to be so hellbent on a time goal that I missed out on the scenery. But my training felt good overall, so my attitude about BSIM in the days leading up to it became, "I'll give it what I have to give, but at the end of the day, 'whatever happens, happens.'"

The race was scheduled for a Sunday, so I opted to fly down on the Friday before. Since we weren't driving to Big Sur until the next day, Meredith and I had a nice day of leisure. And by "day of leisure," I mean that we got breakfast, ran (I went for three miles, and she went for 7.5), got new tires for her car (and got lunch at this Mexican restaurant while we waited), went grocery shopping for the weekend, and cooked dinner. Oh, and Meredith also prepped the batter for our pumpkin teff pancakes we planned on having the next morning.

The next morning, we woke up around 6am and had some coffee before our shakeout run. We ran together for two miles, and then I returned to Meredith's house for some stretching while she continued on for another 2-3 miles. Once she returned, we got started on breakfast. Unfortunately, the pancakes took way longer than expected to cook, so we left for our adventure about 45 minutes later than planned.

Part 1 of breakfast (part 2 was simply more pancakes)

We stopped in San Jose on our way so we could pick up Erin. The three of us had not hung out together since November 2015, so we were excited to have an extended block of time together. By the time we made it to Monterey (where the BSIM race expo was being held), it was about 2pm. The expo was smaller than I was expecting, so we were in and out of there in about 30 minutes.

The wall of registered crazy people

Once we were done there, we fled Monterey and drove to Big Sur. BSIM is a point-to-point course, so your options are to either stay near the finish line and take a shuttle to the starting line at 3:30am (or thereabout), or stay near the starting line and take a shuttle back after the race. We chose to stay near the start at the Big Sur Lodge. And as a result, we got to drive along the entire race course to get there. Since we were all feeling quite hungry, we snacked on trail mix, peanut butter M&Ms, and other food that I can't recall. We stopped for a photo op at the mile 23 marker on the course, and then we stopped for linner at the Big Sur River Inn. (I call it linner because it was around 4pm.) Of course, we managed to snack so much in the car that by the time we finished lunch, we were crazy stuffed. (I took half of my linner to-go, and I'm not usually one to take leftovers!)

Grilled chicken sandwich with sweet potato fries

Since our hotel was super rustic (no TV, no wifi) and cell phone coverage was spotty at best, it made it very easy to crawl into bed early. So the evening's activities consisted of a walk to the hotel cafe so we could try to digest dinner and that Meredith could get something for her pre-long run breakfast (and we all ended up getting ice cream while we were there), chatting (during which I finished my linner), laying out my race stuff for the morning, and going to bed at 8:45pm.

Race Day
I woke up at 3:45am. I had no idea if there were extra blankets in the room (let alone where they were), so after I made coffee, I took that and my millet porridge and had breakfast in bed. (This completely fit in with the "rustic romantic getaway" feel of the Big Sur Lodge.) I filled up my handheld bottle at this time too. (BSIM also has this really nifty BYOB program, where if you bring your handheld bottle, you can fill it up at the water station if you need to.)

Erin and Meredith woke up around 5am. Erin was going to be race cheerleader and watch the finish of the race. In order to make it up there before they closed Highway 1, she and Meredith needed to leave by 6. We also made the executive decision to check out of the hotel on Sunday and send Erin to the finish line with our luggage, so we could just leave from Carmel. So around 5:45, Erin, Meredith, and all of our luggage left the Big Sur Lodge, and started on the 26.2 mile journey to Carmel. (Alright, more specifically, Erin dropped Meredith off at about mile 7 of the course so that Meredith could do her long run, and then took our bags to the finish line.) Erin was kind enough to leave me with a long-sleeve shirt that I was free to throw away, just so that I wouldn't freeze before the start. I felt badly about tossing it, so I ended up holding it for the entire run. (It came in handy as a sweat rag for later in the race.) So ultimately, I ran the entire race with a handheld bottle in one hand, and a long sleeve tech shirt in the other hand.

Once they left, I thought, "I guess I can't chicken out now, because I'm going to have to make my way back to my stuff somehow." I warmed up, and then left the hotel around 6:10 to make my way down to the starting line in time for the 6:45am start. (See why staying near the start is amazing?)

After hanging around the starting line for about 20 minutes, the race officials kicked off the race and sent all of us on our jaunt up Highway 1. My first thought after crossing the starting line was, "What the fuck did I sign myself up for?" After a mile of running through the forest, my attitude switched to, "Ooo, this is kind of fun!" Of course, the first few miles are downhill, so I also had to tell myself to stay controlled. Other thoughts from these first few miles included, "You do you" and "As long as I finish in under 3:59, it won't be a PW (personal worst)."

Around mile 5 or 6, we emerged from the forest and saw the ocean. The view itself was enough to make me ecstatic and think, "Being able to run alongside this for 3.5 hours without being interrupted/bothered is wonderful!"

I took the first of my gels at mile 8. In case you're wondering how I juggled the handheld, shirt, and gel -- whenever I took a gel, I'd hold the shirt and handheld in the same hand, and hold the open gel with the other hand. (As I type this out, I see how ridiculous this sounds. But with a third of the race underway, my somewhat-fatigued brain thought this was perfectly acceptable.) I also photobombed some guy's GoPro shot at some point between then and HP.

Just before HP, you run downhill and can hear these rather ominous drums off in the distance. Immediately, I thought, "Oh no... It's coming." My strategy for the hill was to exert the same effort, and not be alarmed if the pace was slower. I started chatting with this other runner, which helped the hill pass by more quickly. The ocean views helped with this as well. After that, the next few miles are relatively downhill, which is a nice reprieve after going uphill for two miles.

I took my second gel just before the halfway point. I crossed the halfway point in about 1:45, and thought, "OMG, maybe a negative split and a sub-3:30 are possible!" So my goal shifted from "Not getting a PW" to "Finishing in 3:2x and negative-splitting the course". The next few miles included ocean views, and doing math to remind myself that my new goal was possible. I also used math to make the race seem more manageable -- specifically, "x more miles to the next gel, then x more miles to the next one, and then x more to the finish." I was still feeling okay and still passing people, which made me wonder if I were running too quickly. But since I felt okay and my mile splits and calculations still had me finishing in under 3:30, I kept going at that effort.

At mile 18, I took my double espresso gel. This gel has 100 mg of caffeine, and I figured that if I took it at 18, the caffeine would take effect in time for the final 10K (which starts at mile 20). This gel was definitely not my favorite, but it did the trick.

Between mile 20 and 21, I caught up to Erin's friend Sunny, so I said hi, passed her, and continued onward. After that, I focused on mile 23, because Erin, Meredith and I stopped there the day before for a photo op, and I knew that the view was amazing. Also, I planned on taking my last gel at that point. And of course, I continued checking my watch after each mile so I could do math and remind myself that I could finish in 3:2x (and I thought that x=9).

After mile 23, I knew that I only had 5K left, and I was still passing runners. This was reassuring until 24, when I started feeling the fatigue of the miles I had already run. With so little left in the race, I knew I couldn't give up on my goal (because I'd kick myself later if I somehow missed it). I also wanted something more refreshing than water. About a half-mile later, I reached the water and Gatorade station, and that Gatorade seemed like an oasis in the desert. I grabbed some, and it hit the spot.

I eventually reached mile 26, and just picked up the pace until the end. Once I saw the finish line, I knew I had to just empty the tank. I saw that the clock said "3:27:xx", and started grinning like a crazy Cheshire Cat. I then heard/saw Erin and Meredith in the stands, and heard the announcer say my name. Seconds later, I was across the finish line, stopped my watch, and saw that my time according to Garmin was 3:27:53. I got that sub-3:30, my time was faster than 3:29, and by my math, had run the second half about three minutes faster than the first. Yes, my legs felt trashed, but I was floored.

Post-Race

Team Blueberry

My official time was 3:27:43, which is 26 minutes slower than my PR -- literally, a minute per mile slower. Ordinarily, I would've been disappointed about this. And yet, I felt on top of the world, and had this huge grin on my face. And after thinking about it, here's my theory on why. I think going into the race with zero expectations definitely helped. By not setting a time goal, I gave myself permission to focus on something other than the final time. More specifically, I gave myself permission to focus on the activity itself -- the course, the scenery, even the thoughts that popped into my head (I mean, I was without a cell phone for 3.5 hours).

This race reminded me why I love running and subjecting myself to these feats of endurance. Running has allowed, and continues to allow, me to see all sorts of places -- Berlin, the five boroughs of NYC, and the CA coastline, to name a few. And it's usually a reliable way for me to escape from everything and everyone and replay my head movies. More importantly, running (and marathoning, specifically) continually tests my limits, and finishing a big race like this reminds me that I'm capable of more than I believed I was.

During the sixteen weeks of training, there were moments when I felt stressed (about trying to work full-time, be an excellent friend/boyfriend/person, and do all of these workouts) and was ready to file for divorce from the sport of marathoning. But after this, I'm not quite ready to divorce marathoning. No relationship is perfect, but if the relationship brings you more joy than sorrow, then you ought to keep that relationship alive.

Post-race milkshake, with a side of creeper eye

PS: In case you were wondering, I haven't signed up for #14 yet.

PPS: If you want a good laugh, check out these race photos.

First International Marathon: Berlin Marathon 2015 Recap

I'm very much aware that the Berlin Marathon was two weeks ago. But I had to take my post-race vacation, travel halfway around the world (and adjust from the jet lag), process everything, and then put it all into something that sounds coherent. It takes time, people! Rome wasn't built in a day. (Nor can it be seen in a day. Trust me, I tried. Horrible travel planning on my part.)

So Berlin. I entered my name into the lottery last year on a whim, because the race was on my bucket list and "What did I have to lose?" I ended up getting a spot, and as luck would have it, Meredith ended up scoring a spot in the race too. Yay for finding out that other runner friends would be running the race!

Now to get from the Western US to Europe requires a long-ass flight, and I wasn't about to make that trek for a 4-5 day trip. So I decided to go to Italy after the race (because I've always wanted to go there), and with that, the marathon trip became a two-week European adventure. To top it off, my mom had planned her own trip to Italy for around the same time. So with a little adjusting, our trips overlapped. Germany with friends and Italy with family?? Woot!

But since you're reading this blog, you probably care more about the running portion of this trip, so that's what I'll discuss (at least first).

Training

As with my last few marathons, I used the Pfitzinger 55/12 plan (i.e., 12 weeks of training, with a peak weekly mileage of 55 miles). Everything (for the most part) about this training cycle just felt right. No, I'm not saying that this was the most amazing and perfect training cycle EVER. But compared to Boston and even previous marathons, it was great. So what went right?

Scheduling - With some help, I figured out that what works best for me for getting workouts done is to put them on my calendar at specific days and times. Given how type A I am and how much of a slave I am to my calendar, I'm kind of surprised I didn't figure this out sooner. But having someone else suggest it helped tremendously. As a result of that, I logged most of the required miles for my training plan.

Strength training - One of my friends at my now-previous job encouraged me to get a Groupon for 20 Crossfit classes. I know, I know -- I'm sure you've heard the rumors about crazy Crossfitters, and how this type of exertion can easily lead to injury. I capped my visits at about 1 per week, and scaled the workouts based on my capabilities (since my upper body strength is sorely lacking). Also, the workouts had a good amount of cardio (e.g., running, rowing), some leg stuff (e.g., squats), and circuit training, which could definitely be beneficial for running.

Nutrition - Between Boston and the start of this training, my focus on nutrition waned quite a bit. Gluten and dairy returned to my diet, and after weeks of that, I just wasn't feeling optimally. Around the time my training started, another friend mentioned that she was going to cut out gluten from her diet, which opened my eyes and made me think that I should get back on the wagon if I wanted to feel better. After making a more concerted effort to avoid those, I noticed that I had more energy, which definitely helped my workouts.

Workouts - I would be lying if I said that every single run was pleasant and delightful (like the 16 miles of hills I ran with Meredith two weeks before race day). But I had more good runs than bad, and I generally remained injury free. And my VO2 max workouts were way better than I would have expected (i.e., sub 6:00/mi pace for most intervals 1K and less).

Race Week

Because I was dealing with a 9 hour time difference and a 20+ hour journey, I decided to leave on Tuesday and arrive on Wednesday. Having 3-4 days to readjust seems reasonable, right? Well... we'll get to that in a moment.

I arrived on Wednesday evening, tired and very hungry. Doner sounded super tasty, so I opted for a doner salad with fries on the side. I was so hungry and tired that I didn't even bother asking if it were GF. (Their English seemed limited, and I had no idea how to ask about GF in German.)

After dinner, I went for a short walk, during which I seemed to gain a second wind. I contemplated visiting a bar for a drink, but I decided the responsible thing to do would be to go home and try getting some sleep. So I returned to my Airbnb around 9:30, popped some melatonin, and was asleep by 10:30.

I wasn't planning on meeting up with Meredith until about 2pm on Thursday, so I had all of Thursday morning to myself. So I went for a solo shakeout run, and found the Brandenburg Tor (the marathon finish line is about 500m from there), the Tiergarten, and a random riverfront path! Nice run.

Brandenburg Tor

Selfie!

River Path

Tiergarten

The search for a suitable breakfast afterward - not so nice. You see, a common German breakfast consists of coffee and a pastry. The coffee is obviously okay. The pastry is not. After checking out several places (and seriously considering just nixing the GF thing), I found a place that served a potato salad with some steamed veggies. Seemed safe enough.

Did some sightseeing, grabbed lunch (at a place that was advertising GF food!), and then met Meredith at her hotel. We then tried to find the expo. Apple Maps told me it was on the south side of the Tiergarten, and since we were on the east side, we just decided to walk there. Unfortunately, Apple Maps led us to the marathon press conference, which was nowhere near the expo. Navigation fail. I'm still surprised Meredith didn't kill me after that one. So we just cabbed it from there to the expo. While at the expo, we met up with Shokofeh and Keith, who Meredith had met during The San Francisco Marathon.

Friday morning, I prepped my race day breakfast while Meredith went for a short run, and then we met up at her hotel for breakfast. (She had a buffet breakfast for two included with her reservation, so I just played the role of plus-one.) Good options, though I definitely overloaded on smoked salmon. After that, we proceeded to do all of the sightseeing (Holocaust Memorial, Potsdamer Platz, etc), and walk all of the miles. In hindsight, it was too much walking. But live and learn.

Holocaust Memorial

Potsdamer Platz

The urban beach we found

Us at said beach

Checkpoint Charlie

Saturday could be summed up with "shake out run, buffet breakfast (with less smoked salmon), heaps of sightseeing, and pre-race dinner with fellow dailymiler Darren". But I would be remiss if I left out how Meredith and I grabbed liter bottles of still water, only to find out that they were still carbonated. Also, "bratwurst with no bread" apparently means that you should have two bratwursts.

East Side Gallery

Drink all the fluids!

Bratwurst no bread = two brats without bread?

Darren (right) and I

The Race

The race started at 9am, which ultimately meant that I didn't need to wake up at WTF o'clock (like with Santa Rosa). So I woke up at 5, putzed around and had my usual pre-race breakfast (millet porridge with dried fruit, and coffee). Around 6:30, I left to go meet Meredith at her hotel (which was super close to the start/finish line) for coffee and more food (and by food, I mean fruit). I think we ended up leaving there around 8ish (after a stop in her room, so I could drop off everything except my warm-up gear/post-race clothing).

Bag check was a shitshow, just because it wasn't clear how to get to the baggage area. Seriously, at least 15 other runners were confused at the same time as me. Again, I'm surprised Meredith didn't kill me for deciding to check items. (Thanks for your patience!)

By some good grace, we made it to bag check, through the bathroom line, and to the starting area before the gun went off. Of course, we ended up in start block H, and I was supposed to be in D. So I parted ways with Meredith (she was content in that block), and I dashed along the sides up to E, before saying, "This is fine." (Starting one corral back from your assigned one isn't so bad, right?)

The start seemed anticlimactic, but I think that's because they didn't play a national anthem (or maybe they did, and I just didn't notice/understand it). Before I continue this story, I should say that because this was an international marathon, mile markers were nowhere to be seen, and the marathon distance is only reported in kilometers. So instead of 26.2 miles, it's 42.195 km. Also, the water stations were set up based on kilometers. (Remember this. It'll come up later in the story.)

For the first few miles (or several kilometers), I just felt really bottlenecked. It was like a repeat of Boston, where the first 5 miles were wall-to-wall (or would it be curb-to-curb?) runners. I had to weave through quite a few people (since I was so worried they were going to keep me away from my goal time of 3:00).

Since most of these runners are from countries that use the metric system, they all had their watches set to km. So every 0.62 miles, I heard a chorus of beeps indicating a new lap. Marginally entertaining to hear beeping every 4-5 minutes.

I ended up settling into a zone early on. The good news about this was that I wasn't distracted by the other runners. The bad news was that I wasn't taking in the sights of the course. (From what I recall, it was a bunch of cute neighborhoods.) For the first half of the race, I was hitting my target splits, and everything seemed to be going fine. My usual fueling strategy is to take my first gel at mile 8, subsequent gels every 5 miles after that, and wash all gels down with water. Unfortunately, I had to adjust that (slightly on the fly) because the water stations were at specific kilometers and not miles. So somewhere around 12 km (between 7-8 mi), I saw a water station and took my first gel (salted caramel Gu). It was a little earlier than I would've liked, but given the circumstances, there wasn't much I could do. I told myself I'd take the next one whenever my watch said I was at 12-13 mi. So when I thought my watch said 12(ish) miles and I saw a water station, I sucked down my second gel (caramel macchiato Gu). As I was washing it down with water, I realized that I was only at 11(ish) miles. Fuck! Too early!

I recall my watch beeping for 13 miles at 1:29, because I thought, "Oh, I'm right on track for my goal." However, a half-marathon is 13.1 miles, and the official half-marathon marker was off in the distance. By the time I crossed that, my watch said 1:30:46 and 13.2-13.3 miles. At that point, my thought was, "Crap! I ran long, and now I'm off of my goal time."

Somewhere between here and mile 15, I could feel myself getting tired. All I could tell myself was, "No, this is too early to hit the wall." I grabbed some sports drink at the next aid station, and managed to keep trucking along until mile 17(ish), when it was time to take my third gel. I had a chocolate espresso Pocket Fuel gel, and even though I hadn't used that flavor before, I thought it'd be okay because I had used that brand. Plus, it had more caffeine than any gel I brought with me, so I just figured I'd suck it up and use it. Bad idea. This gel had the consistency of almond butter (i.e., way too thick), and immediately after finishing it and drinking some water, I felt like I had to shit. (Fortunately, I didn't have to stop for that.) I realized that I had dropped one of my gels, so when I spotted the PowerBar gel station around 30 km (or wherever it was), I grabbed a vanilla flavor gel. (It seemed like the most basic of the flavors.)

From here on out, I was giving it what I had, and focusing on nothing else except getting this race over with. I was still passing people, but by this point, my splits were above 7:00/mi. I knew that 32 km was roughly 20 miles, so I was looking for that marker so I could tell myself I just had 10 km left. Once I hit the 32 km marker, I decided to just count down kilometers. I figured it would be easy to do because I could see the markers. However, counting down from 10 instead of 6 just made it seem so. Much. Longer.

Somewhere during that 10 km march, it was time to take that vanilla gel. This gel was way too sweet. I could barely finish it, and the only reason I did was because I needed all the help I could get. Soon after that, I recall hitting the 38 km marker, and just telling myself, "Almost there, almost there..." It also helped that we had reached Potsdamer Platz, and for the first time since starting the race, I knew where in Berlin we were. At 41 km, I reminded myself of all of those 1 km repeats, and attempted to put it in the next gear. At 42 km, my watch read 3:03, and I just went as fast as I could to try to snag that BQ. I crossed the finish line, stopped my watch, saw that it said "3:05:16", and just said "Fuck!" I missed my A goal (sub-3), my B goal (PR/sub-3:01:41), and I missed qualifying for Boston by 16 SECONDS. At that point, I wanted nothing more than to reunite with Meredith, because I knew that as a runner, she would understand my frustrations. But until then, it was just time to smile for photos and revel in the fact that I finished marathon #12 and World Marathon Major #4.

Until I saw these photos, I had no idea I crossed the finish line making the "4" sign (for 4 majors)

4!

On my way out of the finisher area, I got my official time, which was 3:05:14. I actually missed qualifying by less than I thought! AND I ended up running an extra 0.2 miles. I was slightly more pissed at that point.

Post-Race 

When any marathon (good or bad) ends, there are two things that need to be dealt with. One is all of the emotions. You spend months training for this one event, and when it finally ends, there are bound to be some unexpected emotions that rise to the surface. The other is trying to extract all of the possible lessons you can learn from that particular marathon, so that you don't make the same mistakes again. I'm going to start with the emotional issues, and then hit the technical issues (partially because this is how I experienced them in Germany).

Emotional

When this race first ended, I honestly wanted to just forget it ever happened. I was in a zone for the first half, and hating life for the second half. And for the better part of both of those halves, I was ignoring everything and everyone around me. As a result, the three hours and five minutes I spent on the course are a giant blur. My most vivid memory is the last 1K, when I gave it everything that I had left in the tank and STILL came up short. Well, okay, that's my second most vivid memory. My most vivid memory is the heartbreak I felt after crossing the finish line, and simply wanting to drink all of the booze, eat none of the things, and commiserate with Meredith (because I know that as a runner, she would understand why I was disappointed).

After two weeks (one of which was my post-race vacation to Italy), I'm no longer wishing that the race didn't happen. But I'm still unsure how to describe Berlin. Aside from being my first international marathon and fourth major, there's nothing else notable about it in my mind. It's just the race that was. Between the months of training and the disappointing results, I just feel emotionally drained. And thinking about that makes me NOT want to sign up for another marathon. (However, not having one on the calendar to train for makes my running feel purposeless. It's a catch-22!)

To be honest, part of me still has these "What ifs" in my mind. Like, "What if my best days as a runner are behind me?" "What if I can't go faster than 3:01?" "What if I never qualify for Boston again?" Maybe I'm being a little dramatic, but I'm being honest here. And worse than having those thoughts is the fact that I have no idea how to silence them.

Technical

A good runner friend is one who will help you brainstorm (over some booze, of course) all of the possible reasons why your race didn't go according to plan. A great runner friend is one who, in the midst of this brainstorming, will point out all of the idiot/rooking mistakes that you made during your race. Meredith falls into the latter category.

Wine!

Post-race currywurst! (Now would be a good time to say that I had been itching to try that since I arrived)

More wine! (Because any good debrief requires multiple bottles)

Anyway, with her help, we came up with the following:

1. Too much walking in the days leading up to the race

2. Traveling and adjusting to a completely different time zone. Even though I arrived four days before the race, I hadn't had a night of quality, uninterrupted sleep between when I arrived and race morning. Also, at the risk of TMI, it took my GI system three days after traveling to normalize. Meredith's suggestion was to try targeting a hometown race. (Though after having run Portland twice, running the hometown race a third time has little appeal.)

3. The food I ate in the days leading up to the race. Given my issues, I should've conducted a "GF Berlin" search before I left Portland. But in classic Austin fashion, I assumed everything would work out and decided to wing it. Also, smoked salmon and bratwurst the day before the race would've probably only worked if I ate those foods on a regular basis. I also broke from my usual routine and had coffee and wine the night before the race. Maybe that had some impact?

4. Fueling strategy. I looked at the course map and knew that the water stations would be at specific kilometers, but I never adjusted my fueling strategy to say, "At kilometer x, I will take gel y." When I told Meredith this, she gave me that look of "What the hell were you thinking? No wonder why you were thrown off!"Another gem from this conversation:

Her: Did you even read the program?
Me: No, it was in German.
Her: There was an English section too!
Me: Oh.

Also, my last two gels were completely new to me. I broke the age-old adage of "Nothing new on race day!"

5. The kilometer conversion. This messed me up to an extent, specifically in the second half. It also messed up my fueling strategy too. (See #4)

6. My mental breakdown in the second half. This breakdown started when I couldn't brush off the fact that I was off of my goal pace at the halfway point. According to Meredith, I can hit my targets just fine in the first half (because I've run the first half of my last 4 marathons between 1:29 and 1:31), but the back is another story. Her idea was that I need to have a better idea of my target times in the back half (e.g., target at 20M).

With all of that feedback, I need to figure out how to incorporate it into my training and racing. Any thoughts? And/or do you have anything else to add?

"Just the Tip" Tuesday

I just realized that it's been a while since I shared some tips with you. So in honor of Tuesday, I present you with "'Just the Tip' Tuesday."

-The crock pot is an amazing gadget. I can throw food inside, turn it on low, and then head out for a long run while it cooks. I've tested this out twice already with jerk chicken. The chicken was delicious, and my house has yet to burn down.

-If you want a gluten-free gel that contains more than 50 mg of caffeine, look no further than the Cold Brew Energy Shots from Pocket Fuel! I just tried the mocha this morning. The gel pack is a little big, but it tastes great. (They also have java and vanilla flavors, but I've yet to try them.) I might've found my 18th-mile caffeine booster.

-When packing a gym bag to go workout in the morning, use a checklist to make sure that you've included everything. I seem to be very absentminded, and so far, I've forgotten a shower towel, belt, deodorant, tie, and even underwear (yes, this did happen). The day that I remember everything will be a huge victory.

Source

Okay, now that that's done, it's time for training talk. Since switching up my routine to not run during the hottest part of the day, I think my running has improved. And by improved, I mean "cool enough so I don't feel like I'm gagging on 80-something degree heat."

Also, I finally started one of my long runs at 6am (the Santa Rosa start time). Lessons learned: This requires waking up at 3am to give myself ample time to eat. But wake-up call at 3am, start running at 6am, and start working by 9am. And it was comfortable outside too! (Minus the rain, but "You can't control the elements; only how you respond to them.") I felt like I crammed a lot into today, but like the saying goes, "Runners Rowers cram more in before 8am than most people do all day." Perhaps I should try that again.

Do you tend to be absentminded? 

Do you prefer morning or evening workouts (or midday)?

PS I entered the Runner's World Cover Photo Contest! Vote for me (and keep voting daily until 8/26)!