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The Return of the Long Run

Oh holy jet lag! This time Bo nor I were able to beat jet lag and instead have just given into it 100%. Typically we do our best to quickly adjust to the time zone by going to bed at normal times, making sure we wake up at normal times, eating healthy, and hydrating. When we arrived back in Geneva on Friday, after over 30 hours of travel, we immediately headed to a wedding celebration for Mike & Nora.

 Photo: No better way to celebrate Swiss National Day than at Nora and Mike's wedding! Cruising around the lake through Switzerland and France in gorgeous weather surrounded by fireworks. I'll take it. ✨

The celebration was pretty amazing and included a yacht tour of Lac Leman with 50 of their friends and then an after party at Java, a local club. The night ended at 2am and by this point we’d each been up for over 36 hours.

Needless to say that between Friday night and Saturday night, Bo and I slept 24 hours. I think you could say our bodies were screaming for sleep. Yesterday we woke up at 3pm and today we woke up at 12pm. I don’t think I’ve EVER slept until 3pm; not even in college! With the crazy jet lag, it would have been easy to skip this week’s long run and just put it off until next weekend. The Berlin Marathon my goal race this Fall, is just 8 weeks away which means that only 7 long runs remain until the big day. That, along with the fact that Theodora would be crushing the NYC Tri at the same time, gave me the inspiration and kick in the butt needed to get out the door this afternoon.

My goal for today’s long run was to start practicing my fuel and clothing plan for race day. I relaxed for an hour, while catching up on emails and blogging, as I ate my pre-run “brunch”. This morning was the return of a classic, as we brought PB and Company Bee’s Knees peanut butter back with us from the US.  In addition to peanut butter and banana on toast I enjoyed a cup of coffee and Vega Sport Prepare pre-workout energizer. The Vega was a little too earthy or plant tasting for me but I will continue trying it as so many people swear by it before long workouts.

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When I left the house it was overcast and around 70 degrees; perfect long run weather. My goal was to only stop 3 times during the run, once for fuel and then another two times to refill my water bottle. The course I mapped was simple to follow and parts of it were along the lake and through the botanical gardens which meant lovely scenery.

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As the pictures show, the overcast weather quickly turned to a sunny and humid summer day complete with temperatures in the low 80s. My route provided very little shade and I quickly regretted forgetting to add NUUN or Vega Sport to my water for electrolyte replenishment. But, the good news is that the 13 miles went exactly as I hoped. I felt strong and my pace was exactly on target for my Berlin Marathon training.

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The middle miles, seven through nine, were slower than planned as I had to weave through Fete de Geneve festivities including lots of fair games and rides. I will share my playlist this week as it was perfect and was only half way through when Map My Run told me I was finished with 13 miles.

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Next week I have 15 miles on the schedule and my sole goal is to maintain a similar pace. Thanks for all the suggestions and positive motivation earlier this week as you all really helped me believe that I could come back from my training break stronger than before!

I finished the run with a refreshing green smoothie including spinach, powered peanut butter, frozen banana, skim milk, ice, Blissful Eats granola and Designer Whey protein powder!

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Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a date with the couch!

How was your weekend? Did you have a long run or other workout which you especially loved?

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ashleyd /

After 8 Years of Running It Finally Happened

Even though I took today off work, I still woke up at 5:55. Getting out of bed wasn’t easy but as soon as I saw specks of blue sky waking up became far easier.

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It’s rained so much in Geneva this week that I figured I’d be doing my long run in the rain this morning. In fact, when organizing my gear last night I included a visor and my running raincoat in the pile. As I didn’t have to be at work this morning, I took my time getting ready. I treated the morning much like a race morning. I sipped my coffee and ate my peanut butter and banana before getting ready.

382By 7 o’clock, I was out the door, without my raincoat, excited to spend the next 2 hours running along the lake. 390

I have started getting a bit bored with my regular route so I changed things up today, heading further north along the lake than normal. I only had the lake on my side for half the run but for three of the middle miles I weaved through small towns, sunflower fields and vineyards.

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This route was a nice diversion and added a few hills to my normally flat, long run. My lake route has spoiled me with the multiple water fountains. I underestimated my water need since the temperature was only 65. But, due to the 90% humidity, I was sweating immediately and finished my water after just a few miles. There were no water fountains past the second mile and, unfortunately, many of the local bakeries and cafes I passed refused to give me water or let me use the bathroom. I am going to leave some money in my Spibelt from now on so I can buy water in the future.

imageimage At the half way point I stopped to take a few pictures and try a new to me Gu flavor, Salted Caramel. I have tried using natural food like dates and apricots for fuel but have found that my body is craving something a bit more substantial during long runs. Even though, this Gu had caffeine it didn’t upset my stomach and the flavor was delicious. In fact, I felt like I was eating candy!  If you tend not to like most Gu flavors I highly recommend this flavor! I like it better than my old standby, Vanilla frosting.

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I was perfectly in the zone,  with just four miles left in my run, when a sudden, wet surprise snapped me back to reality. After 8 years of running a bird, finally pooped on me. I’m not sure why they say it’s good luck to be pooped on by a bird because it felt like anything but this morning. Of course, I didn’t have any paper with me so instead I resorted to cleaning my hand and water bottle with a few leaves. 402As soon as it happened I couldn’t stop laughing. While laughter isn’t how most people would react to this I couldn’t help myself. For years, I’ve often found myself thinking that I am surprised I don’t hear more runners get targeted by birds during long runs.

This run didn’t feel easy, but I’m proud of my pace especially since I changed things up a bit and added a few more hills. My pace for the 14 miles was 9:55, perfectly on target for my marathon goals. 394

The next time I head out for a long run it’ll be back on American soil in Savannah, Georgia since next weekend’s long run is replaced by my triathlon! 

Have you ever been pooped on by a bird?

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Geneva Triathlon Training – Stronger

Not every day of training will be perfect. I sat down to write this post and saw that there were many areas I could stress over in regards to last week’s training. One of my runs didn’t happen at all and another one of them was on the treadmill instead of outside. But, at the end of the day I have to take a step back and remember a few things.

I have come SO far from where I was this time last year.

I am mentally stronger than I’ve ever been.

My body is stronger than it’s ever been.

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I am giving myself a bit of a break between now and July 19th when I will complete my first triathlon. I know that my marathon training will not be perfect between now and then. For one thing, next weekend I will not have a long run as I’ll instead spend nearly two hours swimming, biking and running in the actual triathlon. But, I hope to take the confidence and overall strength that I’ve developed during this “out of my comfort zone” training and apply it to my marathon training to ensure that my final two months of training are the strongest yet.

So, now that we have cleared that up, let’s get down to business and take a look back at last week’s training.

Monday: Rest

Tuesday: Another great Tuesday two a day including a 6 mile treadmill tempo run during lunch followed by 90 minutes of power yoga in the evening.

Wednesday: I did a 45 minutes pre-programmed hill workout on my gym’s upright stationary bike. This workout quickly proved to me that you CAN in fact get a killer workout on this under utilized piece of gym equipment.

Thursday: Rest

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Friday: Due to hail and inclement weather I ran 13 miles on the treadmill after work. Even though it wasn’t nearly as enjoyable as my lakeside runs, I lived to tell the story and even learned a few tricks which I shared in Friday’s post; 5 Tips for Making Treadmill Long Runs Easier.

Saturday: Bo and I had great plans to do a brick workout including a 30 minute open water swim followed by an hour bike ride. I’m going talk more about our adventures and misadventures in triathlon training later this week but needless to say, one flat tire derailed our plans quite a bit. I ended up having a great 1,000 meter open water swim but only biked for 10 miles.

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Sunday: We joined the Geneva Runners Club evening swim practice for a 1.5 hour open water swim which included about 15 minutes of pre and post swim triathlon tips and coaching. The actual workout included about 1 mile of open water swimming including a 600 meter warm-up and lots of drills. I really enjoyed the sighting and breathing drills, in light of my upcoming triathlon. Bo and I biked to and from practice for a total of another 7 miles on the bike. This amount seems like nothing but every little bit helps me become more confident though I’ve learned from two side falls that clipping in while navigating Geneva’s crowded sidewalks isn’t a smart move. 

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How about you? What are you thanking your body for this week? I’m thankful for a stronger, more positive mind than I’ve had previously. This mindset is allowing me to overcome fears, slowly but surely and push through mental exhaustion.

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