Good Morning,

Got in some speedy fast 5.5 miles last night, with DS pacing me along on his mountain bike. He was complaining about not being able to keep up with me - well, I was just running, while he was exploring mud puddles and saving salamanders.

Meanwhile, the youngest DS was exploring a mud hill with his dad - once again, I was happy that I always stick to rule #2: "Always have a towel with you" (in the car). Family event nicely executed.

Planning on a run today, but not sure about miles or where to run. I should be working on getting accustomed to running  S L O W L Y, not fast, but I'm enjoying the speed so much if everything is working well. Maybe I should just stick to half marathons.

QOTD: Do you do "bonk runs", and do you think you benefit from them?

Me: Not on purpose, but I do bonk from time to time. I think it rather hurts my training than benefit me any, but that's just me. I have noticed that I need less food now than a year, or more, ago, but I attribute it to being in better shape and having gotten used to the distances, and not to the bonking experiences (and pushing through them).

Have a good day, everyone, weekend is just around the corner!

I got out onto the trail early and ran in the dark with my headlamp. I love night running on trails because it gives a new perspective to an old trail.

QOTD: Not intentionally, but when it happens, I use it as an opportunity to learn how to work through it.

I embraced the taper yesterday (haha) by not running, getting a haircut, a massage for the legs, and finally sat in the hottub with a cold beer on the side. Today I will run the gsp on the trail for an hour or so.

QOTD. No purposeful bonk runs but I've had them. My last "longish" run sort of went that way. Humid condition, slick rocks on the trail, bug slapping, only one gel and water for 4 hours. Yeah, it was pretty slow.

FTYC: Embrace the slow long runs for your 100 training. I've done a few of these this past summer (4-6 hours) and they are really sort of fun as you just putz around and don't worry about miles or pace. Usually I can go home and do yardwork afterwards as well for additional training. Well, maybe that's not a benefit. I hear you though on the joys of running swiftly.

5.5 miles in the dark, nice and cool- low 50's

jon- check into the BD Revolt- can use AAA's (alk or lithium) or their battery pack which can be charged via a USB port- it's a nice lamp that isn't too expensive (I also use a Zebralight H31 that is attached to my waist- find two lamps vastly superior to one and it lets me use a lower setting on both lamps which stretches battery life)

qotd: not on purpose, but occasionally my long runs turn into a somewhat of a painfest

Switched my rest day to yesterday, so I'll run 5-6 tonight instead. I am finally making headway on unpacking my new house! Almost been there for a month.....

Excited to get back on the trails tomorrow for a long run (~4 hours).

QOTD: I guess I do....often I eat much less during a training run than during a race because I want to train my body not to rely on the constant supply of food. Never considered it a "bonk" run before but essentially I guess that's what it is.

At work today until 8 tonight. Hopefully I'll get out on time and then I might be able to work in a short run or a easy elliptical workout tonight.

QOTD: I would occasionally do "bonk rides" when I was mostly biking. I never found that it really helped me for performance and it was debatable if it helped for weight loss. On a lot of my rides I would semi bonk. In other words I would plan to eat just enough to get back home without totally bonking. I did this mostly to help with weight maintence/loss. When I was training for performance I made sure I fueled to have energy. I never had any stomach problems when biking.

When I started long distance running I would always eat just enough to make it through the run. As I gain experience I believe that this is why I have some of the stomach problems during my runs. Lately I've been trying to eat more and my GI problems seem to be better. It seems that when my stomach gets too empty then I start to bloat and can't eat. On my last 22 mile run I consumed just over 1200 calories and felt good, both performance and stomach. I'm now trying to eat before I feel hungry or my stomach feels empty. Defintely notice that my runs are much better, so far.

I know that some people swear by bonk training but I never found that it helped me.

5 miles this morning, started sluggish and unmotivated but finished strong. I

feel better after finishing runs that are difficult, running when it feels easy is no

problem, but I feel like I accomplished something when I finish a run I'm not

really into.

 

Couch, Lace and XT: What type headlamp are you using, I'm looking at the Petzel

Tikka, I don't need anything fancy just yet but I don't want entry-level either.

 

QOTD: Not intentionally, but when I do I think  "man, what a knucklehead I am."

Definitely consider the Black Diamond ReVolt. I have two of them and I love them. The battery life is good enough for me to run all night without changing batteries or needing a recharge.