Now that my long runs are early on Saturday, my Friday nights consist of little more than reading a book and taking it easy. I am still getting accustomed to this - not to the early nights, but to the early Saturday runs. For a while, Saturday mornings were golden - I could sleep in or watch TV. Now that I get up early, I need a nap after my morning exertion. Then the day is halfway shot. But today, I was a little more productive. I went to REI and purchased some resistance bands, restocked my kitchen, and partook in the ubiquitous Saturday acitivity of walking around third street Promenade. All of this after a 7:20am run start time. I also did get in that nap.
I ran today with the LA Legger's 12 mile/hour pace group. It's beautiful running by the ocean, and that initital view running down toward the Santa Monica Pier with the sleepy ocean view makes it all worth it. Since we just started the training season, we are only at 6 miles - plus the half mile I jogged to arrive at the start on time. The weather has been really beautiful this time of day - overcast and cool. We started off fast and ended slow, with a little bit of drama in between. Two runners (one being Leslie to my left) tripped and fell sometime after a large black dog walked by us. The action seemed to trigger another runner to fall further ahead of us. Note to readers: Always handy to have some Band-Aids just in case. They are useful for blisters or for unexpected cuts.
The run south toward Venice Beach is really crowded even just at 8 in the morning. The path is jammed with various running groups, walkers, bicyclists right next to us, dogs and their masters, and the requisite homeless population. Leslie was a trooper, and even though she had a cut on her hand, she got it taped up and caught up with us. I've fallen once or twice myself - It's one of road hazards of being a roadrunner.
So I tried the peanut butter and jelly snack from Bonk Breaker I mentioned on day 5. Prior to my run, I could only rummage some toast (hence the need to restock breakfast supplies mentioned earlier), so I ate about 3/4 of the Bonk Breaker. The outer crust reminded me of those commonly found on Nutrigrain bars, but a bit thicker. It has a nutty taste, but there isn't a lot of peanut butter. It's not slopped on the way I would normally eat a PBJ sandwich. But that's what makes this a twist on the lunchtime favorite. In fact, the bar (which is about half the size of a run of a mill bar but wider) is very compact, and the lack of excess peanut butter goo proved to be a good thing. I couldn't even finish it and found it provided enough to sustain the 6 miles. So I would recommend it. I also had half a Gu about 50 minutes in (tri berry!).
Good luck to anyone doing a race tomorrow. Happy weekend.
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