Alas, ShotBloks

Hmmm…yeah. Well, first things first, I did twelve miles on Saturday and it was great. For the first time EVER, I ran the SC and was not precipitated on, not even a little. That right there would have made it noteworthy. I was also well-rested because I moved a short run from Thursday to Sunday (Thursday was my B-day), so I had two days' rest going into it. That gave me the confidence to really work on my pace, and I finished the 12 miles in 1:47:06, for a pace of 8:55! Holy crap! It went by in a flash. I don't think I need to tell you how much this boosts my confidence.

The questionable part was that I tried Shot Bloks for the first time. I sort of wondered how you were supposed to ingest them on the run, and then I read a suggestion that you sort of tuck a square into your cheek and let it dissolve. That's nice in theory, but in practice having my cheek puffed out messed with my breathing, and made me feel like a chipmunk. They took forever to dissolve (I ended up chewing them a little because I needed to take another square while the old one was still hanging around). Plus, my tummy (which normally doesn't bother me at all) seemed a little uneasy about the Bloks. It just gurgled and felt vaguely out of sorts. On the other hand – I kept up a 8:55 pace on a relatively long run, and that may be because I pretty much constantly had a Blok in my mouth. On my 19-miler this weekend I think I'll try them again – that is a true long run, and I'll be on one day's rest.

I’m not really nervous about nineteen – now that whatever was bugging me in January is gone I feel great about running. I am a bit anxious about the route, however. At the last minute I was invited to the beach this weekend (and I will never turn down a free beach weekend), so I'm trying to find a route nearby that seems safe. I emailed the local runner's club, hopefully they'll have some suggestions. And for the ice bath – into the ocean!! Can't wait.