Harder Faster Better Stronger

I can't believe it has been 10 days since I updated the blog. And what an interesting 10 days it has been. To sum it up: a couple of fun runs in Boston, a trip to the ER, a beetle in my undies and a visit to the Cowboy Hall of Fame. Now, moving on.

Ever since I hired Christine Hinton as my running coach, I have been very consistent with my running. I haven't been as consistent with my cross-training, but i have to blame travel a little bit for that. I am on vacation this week so I plan to rectify that by hitting the gym hard on my non-running days.

Saturday's long run of 7 miles was awful. I got out there at about 8 in the morning. it was only 73 degrees, but with 90% humidity, it was extremely unpleasant. I completed the run, but I thought I was going to die. I had to stop several times and I was so slow during the 'back' part of the out and back course. I felt sluggish, my body ached--I thought I would fall out a couple of time. I just wasn't prepared for the humidity.

I planned a little better for today's weather and I was determined to have a good run. What did I do differently? Glad you asked:

• I got out there at 6 AM. It was 62 degrees and 90 humidity. Sun wasn't beating down on me for most of this run.
• Brought out the Hammer Endurolytes. I popped a couple of these halfway through the run.
  
• Took Hamer HEED instead of just water. Christine sent me a sample.
• As a back up, I had Gu Chomps ready to go.

The result? Fantastic run. I only had to do 5.5 miles and it was supposed to be an easy one, but I couldn't help but push myself a little. The best part? With every mile, I got faster--not by much, but faster none the less. The first mile was clocked at an 11:00 pace. The last half-mile was at a 9:40 pace. And I didn't even feel winded after the run was done.

I think the time of day had the most to do with my run going well. Not having the sun mocking me with every step really helped. I am sure the HEED and Endurolytes helped too. I never got dehydrated and I felt strong through the entire run. I think on these humid days I will have to skip plain water and make sure I have some sort of sports drink with me. This was my first real experience with Hammer products and they appear to work very well. Any suggestions on other Hammer products I should be looking at? Oh, I didn't have to touch the Chomps.

Song you should add to your run playlist: No You Girls by Franz Ferdinand