So one more fear of the unknown down... I finally visited the town of Hopkinton this weekend! Heidi's husband and son were kind enough to roll out of their beds on Sunday morning and drive us out to the starting area. Since we were on schedule to do an 18-mile run, we figured this would be a great chance to see Hopkinton, which is “conveniently” located about that distance from Heidi's house. After we passed the train station in Framingham (which already seemed about three days worth of running away from my house), I started to worry that I had bitten off a little more than I could chew…or run. The businesses began to separate and the houses were becoming sparse. The restaurants of Wellesley and Newton gave way to hot dog stands and scattered diners. I had no phone and no money. Dumb. Heidi's husband gave her twenty bucks as we crawled out of the car, so we had comfort knowing we could always call a cab if need be!
But then, as had been the case every time we started to run before, we began heading back east and talking about how great it was going to be once this run was behind us. Heidi joked that we were like the critters you trap in your yard and then drive out into the country to dump off, only to find them back in your yard making little messes the next day. I was focused on how this run was going to be long enough that I would need my “power booster food” to get me through. I decided I would “treat” myself at Mile 13 and eat my “GU”. My apologies in advance to any of you out there who work for the company that makes this stuff, but as I tore open the pretty Tri-Berry packaging, out oozed this pale green slime. I guess it was aptly named. It actually looked like it came out of a bird in the sky, if you know what I mean. I decided if I didn't eat it, I would probably be hospitalized for caloric deprivation, but maybe that would have been more pleasant in retrospect. Frankly, I think the package would have tasted better. So I guess it's back to the drawing board for me for how to eat during this thing. Heidi suggested I try Fig Newtons next time. Sounds decadent!
4 comments:
Martha- good for you to get the caloric supply thing figured-out now. Remember that it is all about supplying fuel without upsetting or overstressing your GI system... i have found that this also means sacrificing flavor, consistency, and appearance! If you find a source that works well AND is enjoyable, buy stock in it! As far as energy drink, the BAA usually supplies Gatorade Endurance Formula Sports Drink and bottled water (Belmont Springs I think). It is not a bad idea to match the energy drink you are using on your long runs to the one supplied on race day. Again, keeping your GI system happy on race day with familiar things can be key. Best of luck with the rest of your runs!
I’m curious to know if you and Heidi have decided whether you plan to finish the race together or will try to beat each other. I realize that this might not be something that you want to bring up for discussion during your training time together, but it occurred to me that Heidi may have been thinking all along that she’s going to leave you in her dust over the last mile of the race while you’ve been thinking that you were going to go over the finish line together. Do you have a plan and have the two of you discussed it? No matter who wins, congrats to the 2 of you.
From Martha's proud little sister Laura
my first blog response back!! here goes: Heidi may indeed leave me in the dust but it won't be out of her desire to finish first. She is always there for the encouraging word and I believe would carry me across the line if need be!! I hope I can do the same for her !!
Laura, You must be the sister who sent the info about gmaps, which I learned to use during all of this training. Actually, Martha and I have talked about the plan for the 16th. My husband had actually planned to run the last 6 miles with me but I realized that didn't make sense with an awesome teammate/support person like your sister. We have a plan to stick together and do our typical chatting/solving of life's problems during our 26.2 mile run. Our talks have been great distraction for all of our training runs to date. Hope to meet you some day and thanks for the words of support! Heidi
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