Saturday vs. Sunday

2/4/11

8 easy peasy miles

1:17

9:37 avg pace

Mother Nature is being quite the bitch lately.  I normally do my long runs on Saturday but tomorrow’s forecast looks like this:

A “wintry mix”.  All day long.  Since I don’t want a repeat of last week’s slippery run I’m moving my long run to Sunday.  Bleh.  I know I should just go with the flow and not complain since Sunday will be a nice day but I LOVE my Saturday morning long runs.  Why?

1.  I’m a creature of habit and routine.  I’ve always done long runs on Saturday.
2.  It fits my schedule.  In rarely have plans on Friday night (and if I do they are low-key) so I can get a good night’s sleep and still get up early for my run.  Pushing the run to a Sunday means I have to watch my Saturday night shenanigans (going to bed early, not drinking too much, etc.).  I’m a real party pooper.
3.  I like to get it over with.  If I wait until Sunday I think about it and dwell on it.

Sorry that I complain so much about the weather.  This winter has been brutal though.  I have never used the treadmill so much.

Let’s switch topics a little and talk about long run prep.  That’s right, preparation.  I’m never able to just get up and go, even in the summer.  Aron at Runner’s Rambles wrote about this last week.  It’s nice to see that other people also plan, plan, plan their long runs.

I begin stalking weather.com on the Tuesday prior to my long run.  Not sure why since I can’t change the weather.  I continue to stalk until I can see the hourly forecast (usually on Friday morning).  Then I plan what I’m going to wear and lay everything out.

Then I gather all the stuff that I need to take with me.  I used to carry all this stuff to the car by hand.  Then I got smart and started throwing it in a bag.

• Obvious items:  iPod, Garmin, hand-held water bottle, towel
• 2 pair of gloves:  when it’s really cold I’ll change my gloves halfway through the run.
• Shot Bloks in Black Cherry:  love ’em.  On runs over 15 miles, I eat 3 (half the pack) every 4-5 miles.
• Blue water bottle:  chocolate milk for post-run fuel!  I only fill it about halfway.  And you better believe I think about that ice cold chocolate milk waiting for me in my car during the final miles.
• Gum:  can’t run without it.
• Aquaphor:  I smother my lips in this stuff during the winter.  If I don’t they get terribly chapped.  I even use it around my eyes.  My eye area tends to be dry and the sweat just aggravates it.

You should see my marathon checklist..one day I’ll post about it.  Shockingly, it’s pretty thorough 🙂  Laugh if you want but I’ve never forgotten anything.  Prepared is my middle name!