A Super Exciting Saturday

I did manage to make myself go for a run on Friday morning. It was completely uneventful, so let’s just skip ahead to Friday after work. I went by Jack Rabbit to stock up on running supplies. This included another pair of running shorts. The cheap ones I got at Target were fine, but not good for long runs. So I went to the professionals.

Jack Rabbit is like a toy store for runners. And the lovely ladies that helped me out informed me of something I didn’t know- running shorts are made to be worn without underwear. WHAT? REALLY? I always struggled with what kind of underwear I was supposed to wear when I ran. Nothing really worked for me. So this made me super duper excited. (Is it sad that this made me so excited?) I also picked up some energy gels. I tend to get nauseous from super sugary things when I run, so I like the Honey Stingers because they're made with natural sweeteners.

The pink package is a chew, kind of like gummy bears. I eat these before my run. The other package is literally honey, fortified with good things for runners. I eat these during my run.

Saturday was a beautiful morning to go for a run. It was sunny, with a light breeze and low humidity. I still wasn’t particularly looking forward to it because of my previously discussed general ickiness. And because I was supposed to run 12 miles. That’s a whole lot of miles.

I met up with my DetermiNation teammates for our long run. Michelle and I decided to be rebels and went on a different route than everyone else because we were planning on running longer than everyone else. So off we went. It’s nice running with a friend. We had enough to talk about to help pass the time. It went by faster than I thought. And when I was feeling like I couldn’t make it up the last hill, she kept me going. Yay for running buddies!

After my runs I’m basically ravenous. It’s estimated that the average person burns about 100 calories per mile. So if I run 12 miles that’s about 1200 calories that I burned, and therefore, get to replace. Usually I use these extra calories wisely, but sometimes it’s nice to splurge. I spent the rest of the day eating, drinking beer, eating more, drinking more, etc, etc. By the end of the day I was so full of beer and food (especially taco truck tacos!), I ended up falling asleep on the couch around 11pm.

Ah yes, the life of a runner really is exciting isn’t it?