I Have Taken Control

If you are wondering...I'm not still pissed but this is one of my favorite songs. I love Poe!

One of the things I like about running is that I get to control it. You can't say that about a lot of things in life but to quote from Pretty Woman: "...I say when..." Um, so she was talking about something a little different but you get the gist.

I decide how much I want to run and when.

Me.

No one else gets a say in it.

Oh, sure, I have a plan that I'm using right now to get me ready for Javelina Jundred but I'm playing fast and loose with it. I've been switching weekend mileage around to fit races but getting all the key runs in.

Being in control means that if I'm not feeling a run, I can cut it short. Or the opposite...If I'm feeling awesome, I can add a few miles. And that's just what I did this weekend. :)

Saturday - I was scheduled for a 16 miler but felt so good and was having so much fun, I took a detour and ended up doing 18.3 miles. Oops.

Sunday - Schedule was for 14 miles and did 14.5. I thought about going more but with ET this coming weekend, I decided to be somewhat smart and stick close to the plan.

When I first ironed out my 100 training plan and saw the back-to-back 24/20 milers scheduled in it, I was wondering if I would be able to do it. But after last weekend and this weekend, I am feeling much more comfortable about them. My legs are doing fabulously with recovery and getting some pep back in them.

I also tried a new strategy this weekend. The other day, I sent out a twitter poll asking people how far they ran without eating or drinking carbs before/during. There were quite a few responses and I was surprised at how far runners went on empty. My summary of the poll (and a link to a cool Runner's World article) is on Run It Fast if you'd like to check it out: Carbs...Who Needs Them?

It got me thinking and I decided not to eat before either run. On Saturday, I took my 20 oz UD bottle filled with water and I added 2 scoops of Gu Brew to it after 8 miles. I had planned to run the last 6 miles at quicker pace so thought that the carbs would help with that. My energy level was good throughout the run. In fact, I ran it faster than I've been running my long runs since I started doing them again. Weird, huh? I didn't take anything but water with me today and it was a good run too.

I think 18 miles might be my limit and I have to keep working on nutrition during the run so all runs can't be like this. Nice to know I have the option though. Especially because it meant I could sleep in a little since I didn't have to eat and then let it settle. Bonus!

So...awesome running weekend, if I do say so myself. I was good in one respect...I didn't ride either day. Not eating before either run meant that I had a LOT of carbs to replace afterwards and riding would have just added to that (plus I didn't want to totally toast my legs). I sometimes find it hard to catch up on carb replacement and making sure I get enough protein. Not a bad problem to have, I guess. Although, I did have to go shopping today to buy some new skirts since some of the old ones were getting too loose! Woo!

So, I am now 61 days into my runstreak and I think it's really paying off. It also looks like I'll have my highest mileage ever this month! I haven't decided whether I'm going to stop or keep going. Hey, what do you know? I get to control that too. ;)

Hope you had a great weekend too.