goldilocks and the 13 mile run

Here's a little story about me and my adventures on a long run.

Ok, so I ran 13.24 miles yesterday in 2:22:57, with an average pace of 10:47.  Not bad, not bad, but you know me,  I was hoping I'd gotten a little faster with all this training I've been doing.  It was a tough run for me so I had to incorporate some walk breaks in there.  But hey, I burned 1,518 calories!  That's a lot of Oreos!!  Too bad I didn't have any on hand on which to snarf.

So I tried out a few new articles of clothing on the long run yesterday.  Of course, I always want everything to be just right on my long runs, but sadly, I came up short with some of my choices.

The Intimidator

First up: the Bra

I'm still trying out this Moving Comfort bra.  It's one tough mother - I call it The Intimidator.  When I first got it, it was so STIFF and uncomfortable I didn't think it was going to be a contender.  It has since softened with washing and is no longer quite so rigid, but still has an air of no nonsense about it.  I used Body Glide to reduce likelihood of chafing and really have no complaints about the bra at all. It might just be a keeper!

Next up:  The Shoes

My Asics Gel Kayano 16

The Asics were great on my short run this week so I thought I'd try them on the long run.  Remember when I mentioned the right shoe slap, slap, slapping on the treadmill?  It seemed to settle down on the treadmill but not so outdoors.  The stupid right shoe slapped with Every.Single.Step. Multiply that by 13.24 miles and not only was it annoying as hell, but my poor hammer toe on the right foot really took a beating.  I also had some significant pain in my left hip - felt like the joint needed to be popped back in the socket so I had to stop a few times to stretch the hip flexor; that  would help for a short period of time but then the pain would return.  I'll have to try the shoes a few more times but right now, I'm not liking 'em as much as I did after my 5 miles on the treadmill.

Are these Fila capris ass-tastic?  Maybe a little!

Third up: Fila capris

I'll be honest, I did not need a new pair of capris.  Truth is, I succumbed to the marketing on these pants - Fila claims they will make my ass look amazing.  You should have seen how quickly I forked over the 40 bucks - seemed like a pretty decent price for a miracle.  <Marketing works!>  They were comfortable for the most part but the waistband was a little too big so I had to hike 'em up a few times during the run.  Question for pants manufacturers: Hello?  Why no pockets???  How am I supposed to carry keys, lip balm and GU without pockets???

The burning question: Was there a miraculous ass transformation?  Ya know, for capris, they weren't too bad!!

These socks just didn't do it for my size 11s

Lastly: Pearl Izumi socks

My favorite Asics socks (I love them so much I have 5 pairs) are all getting pretty threadbare so I wanted to try a new pair of socks.  (Try as I might, I can't find those specific Asics socks anywhere!)  I wore these socks and though comfortable, they were not the greatest for a long run.  The (ankle??) band was too tight and left a deep welt along the top of my foot.  Verdict: these socks are fine for short distances but fail for long runs.  I'll have to keep looking for new favorite socks.

Food Choice


Scrambled eggs before a long run = bad.

I usually have oatmeal but forgot to make it Friday night and didn't have 45 minutes to cook it Saturday morning before heading to Minneapolis for my run. Let's just say I won't be fueling with eggs ever again and leave it at that.  And thank God for porta-potties.

Oh yeah

I forgot to mention: My official half-marathon time is 2:30:45, which means that even with my walk breaks, I shaved 7 MINUTES and 12 SECONDS off my time! And that doesn't take into consideration the fact that I ran farther than a half-marathon.... so I'm going with shaving almost 8 minutes.... that feels just right to me.

The End.