It’s 5:10 a.m. as I write this, and I am literally off to the races! Today at 8 a.m. I’ll run my first-ever 20-miler…20 freaking miles, all in one fell swoop! It sounds fantasically insane, the Black Cat 20 Miler does. I can’t wait to start 🙂
I feel like I’ve earned the right to run longer distances at a quality pace through lots of speed work over the course of the past 10 or so weeks. I’ve gone from “Single Speed CJ” to a girl who now has several speeds–I can run at paces including 7:05, 7:30, and 8:30, not just jogger-girl 10:00–and I know each of these when I feel it even before consulting my Garmin. But there are of course, so my unknowns, not the last of which is this darn heel of mine. Who knows what spell it may cast on my day.
I am also buoyed by two other facts: First, I have a new friend–the new-friend-of-the-opposite-sex type of friend–who is joining me at this race. 🙂 It will be our first race together and of course I am hoping it’s the first of many. 🙂 Second, I just found out my big sis is coming to see me on Marathon Monday, all the way from North Carolina! 🙂 Yeah! I love her! She is fantastic! So I have many reasons to smile through all these miles, yes I do.
Off to Salem I go–no broomstick here, just my trusty minivan. Channel positive thoughts my way! 🙂
Enjoy your morning–more later!
– Christine
Garmins Are a Girl's Best Friend 
Hi Christine- Hope your black cat went well- mine unfortunately did not. Fortunately, I met some nice people who know you and they suggested I read your blog. I became a vegetarian a little over a year ago and have been really struggling with energy during my marathon training. I saw your post and will try making some of those foods. Do you have any other suggestions? Do you take b12?
Thanks for any help!
Hi, Jamie! I am so glad you wrote! You know what? I looked at the results and it shows that you ACTUALLY FINISHED A FREAKING TWENTY MILE RACE, so girlfriend, in my book and in plenty of others’ books you had a darn good day yesterday! The biggest piece of advice I can give you is: EAT. I eat quite a lot you can see if you looked at that Hopkinton Patch article. Pretty much every four hours. Eat beans and tofu–and more than you’d think of each. . Also, do you use TrainingPeaks.com? If so, it’s really useful to take the time to plug in all your foods in a typical day and see where you are ratio-wise. I bet you’re falling short in some categories. I look quite a bit and adjust as I see issues arise. For instance, my typicall protein intake is great for your average avid exerciser but I’m adding a bit more in now that I’m your average avid marathoner-in-training. While I don’t use supplements plenty of people do and I’ve you’re feeling low I’d definitely start now while you’re figuring it out. Also, two great books are Vegetarian Sports Nutrition and Nancy Clark’s Food Guide for Marathoners. Don’t give up! Some of the world’s best athletes are vegetarians…for proof, see: http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=keri/080616 . Please stay in touch, OK? 🙂 cjohansen38@gmail.com
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