Long Run Redemption + New Hair!

Last week’s long run couldn’t have gone worse. But yesterday’s long run couldn’t have gone better. Learning from my mistakes last week, I started prepping days in advance for this run. 

• Per Melissa’s advice on this post (thank you so much Melissa!!!), I iced my IT band almost every day and used The Stick to roll it almost every night. 

• I took a couple days off from running. 

• Friday, the day before my run, I ate bland foods and upped my carb intake. 

• Friday night, I ate spaghetti and had one glass of organic wine with no detectible sulfites. 

• Saturday morning, I woke up an hour before I needed to start my run so I could take a quick hot shower to loosen my legs and eat breakfast. 

• Prerun fuel: I hate two pieces of gluten-free, dairy free toast with honey and 1/2 a banana. I had two cups of green tea. No coffee!

• I ran the first mile super easy (9 min. mile) and tried not to focus on time or pace. My plan was to just enjoy the run and get in the miles. I was hoping to get 17-18 miles.

• I gradually warmed up as I ran and let the music drive my run (I haven’t run with music in a long time!) and ended up speeding up over the course of my run. 

• I fueled with water and Shot Bloks and had no digestion issues. (I bought a Nathan Trail Mix fuel belt (in hot pink of course) last week and loved it! It took a while to find a spot where it would fit comfortably and not bounce since I couldn’t tighten it enough for my waist – I had to slide it down a bit lower on my hips.)

• At my turnaround point to get 18 miles, I decided to keep going and complete the full loop because I felt so strong. (Locals: I looped Salem Lake 3 times) I ended up getting in 20.5 miles at an average pace of 8:15 min/miles. My last 3 miles were 7:55 – 8:00! 

I was absolutely thrilled with my run! I really needed a confidence booster in my training since I haven’t been feeling strong during my runs. Thanks for all your encouraging words and good vibes – they helped! I ended up running 45 miles last week (sunday – saturday).

After my run, I hurried home, made a protein shake (my favorite protein powder, banana, spinach, water), and chugged some water while I took a very short ice bath. I couldn’t get it very cold – not enough ice – but better than nothing I suppose. (True story: I cried when I took my first-ever ice bath. But I used snow instead of ice. 🙂 )

I had to keep it quick because I had a hair appointment at 11:30. (Nothing like a hair appointment to get me out of bed to run early! 🙂 ) I thought it would be nice to sit in the stylist chair after running so long but I was going crazy…I wanted to be moving around or stretching because my right legs was throbbing and aching. 

I chopped off 2 inches (maybe 3?) and went a bit darker overall. It feels so much better getting some length off but I’m still iffy on the color. It was a bit too blonde so I had him add more lowlights and now I feel like it’s just kind of a blah brown. What do you think? 

Alright, I’ve got to go give my pup and boyfriend some attention – I’ve been gone all day. (I plan to post tomorrow about it – it was an awesome day!) It’s gorgeous outside so I want to get out and enjoy this weather. Have a great night!