Wow ...

It's been almost a week since I posted last. So much for a daily log!

This week was a hectic week. First, I got to travel to Hank Hill country (no offense to anyone from Texas). Got into Houston at 10:30 Tuesday night, drove an hour to Livingston, got to the job site Wednesday morning, put in a few hours, and got back to Orange County by 10PM that evening. Whew!

I did get a run in on Thursday per my training plan. I think my "rest" days did some good, because I was able to put in a pretty easy 4.2 miles on Thursday.

Friday was another issue though. Work work work. Next thing I knew, it was 5:00 PM and I hadn't even had a chance to get a bite to eat since breakfast at 6:30 AM. I was physically and mentally exhausted, and even though a run probably would have been therapeutic, I just couldn't get myself together to change and drive somewhere for a run. So instead it was dinner at this new Japanese restaurant (at least new to us), and crash for the night.

Saturday started out equally as hectic. The first thing that we had to do to start the day was to get my youngest son on a plane. It is spring break for the local public schools this week, and he had an opportunity to train (he's a rower) in Seville, Spain. Now, I do a fair amount of travelling, and I have *never* seen the airport as crowded at it was Saturday morning! We were lucky to get him on his plane and away on time. In fact, I had to "tip" a skycap to get him on his way. An hour was marginally enough time before his flight. He made it by the skin of his teeth....

With that stress point behind me, it was time for long run Saturday. Our runs are now getting quite fun. We had a 10 mile out and back on the San Diego Creek trail. I had to "old time" it as far as pace, because my Garmin is kaput (that's another story)! So, I was happy to see that my brain still worked, and I was able to maintain a 10:00 pace for the entire run.

One thing for sure - as these runs get longer, I need to start eating before the run. About mile 8 or 9, I can really start feeling it in my legs. I do carry a water belt and carry up to 40 oz of liquid. Saturday, I carried 20 oz of water, and 20 oz of Ultrafuel (http://www.twinlabfuel.com/wcm/mb/fuel/en/content/products/Ultra_Fuel/index.jsp). I was turned onto Ultrafuel when I was rowing. It came highly recommended by Xeno Muller, Olympic Gold and Silver medalist, as a replacement drink. The advantage of this over a drink like Gatorade is the mix of complex carbs that can be used immediately by the body for energy. I really can tell the difference when using Ultrafuel on long runs. My 20 ozs give me about 300 calories that can be used during the run. When put in perspective, the 10 mile run for me burns about 1500 calories, so the 300 is about 20% of what I burn.

Today is a rest day. Now to tackle the Garmin problem.....