A Surprising Five

Before we went on our hike, I had hoped that I would be able to get out and run 3 or 4 miles today. After the death hike, I thought it would be a stretch.

Speaking of stretches, I contemplated getting up early to beat the heat. Well, the alarm went off, I hit it and the next thing I knew D was tapping me saying, "I'm going to the Commons." I didn't get out of bed until she got back. My motivation knows no bounds.

The good thing about waiting until this evening to run was that I was able to stop at Midcoast Multisport and pick up some supplies. D sent me out to replenish our supply of Hammer Gel, and while I was there I grabbed a single serving of HEED to test it out. I figured it was going to be about 137° when I went for my run today, so what better time to try it out?

I waited as long as I could and headed for the Commons a little before 6:00pm. The temps had dropped, but not much. It was in the mid 80's and 127% humidity. I was originally going to just do 4 miles, but I couldn't think of a 4-mile route in the Commons, so I opted for the 5-mile "out-and-back". I brought along my Fuel Belt (not pink) with 8 ounces of water and 8 ounces of HEED. It felt a little overkill for a 5-mile run, but based on the weather, I thought it was a smart move. I ended up drinking all 16 ounces of the fluid I brought with me. It was intentional, as a I probably didn't need it, but I didn't want to get dehydrated either.

Overall, I felt really good. A little creaky in the knees, but no surprise after backpacking the last two days. I just stretched out really well, so that will help a lot. As I said, I was really concerned that I would have trouble combining backpacking and running, but today's run was a really good sign that I should be able to make it work, which is a good thing as I have a long run on the schedule for tomorrow. I'm even going to try to get up early. Wish me luck.

HEED Review: Overall Grade: B+. I really dug it. It's a weird taste because it's not sweet like a typical sports drink, which is exactly what Hammer was going for. That makes it really easy to drink. Plus, there's no aftertaste. The only negative is that it's a bit mediciney. I had the mandarin orange flavor, and it reminded my a lot of St. Joseph's Chewable Aspirin. (What happened to the little soldier on the bottle? Anyone else remember him?) But, I think that's something I'll get used to. I think it will be a good boost on these hot days.

And, in case you're wondering, this is exactly the type of boring post that caused my sister to stop reading this blog. Now, I'm down to 3 visitors a day...