Goo Then, Now

Ever hear of a Stretch Armstrong? It was a toy man whose appendages could stretch crazy far and, when released, return to their regular length. It was a pretty sweet toy, until stretched too far; thus abused, it would spill its innards out on the youth who dared test its limits. At this point the young man would find his hands coated in a strange mixture of goo and sand that smelled faintly of regret.

This is my rather long-winded way of describing the consistency of GU, the leading line of energy gels. If I had split open a Stretch Armstrong and devoured its viscera, I imagine the experience would be similar to eating GU.

The full line-up.

I’m writing about this product because it’s offered on the course of my upcoming ultra. Hearing that it takes some getting used to, I decided to try out the energy gel during today’s 20-miler. And, despite the ghoulish scene above, the results pleased me. I felt like GU helped maintain high energy throughout my run. It also seemed to ward off the slack feeling I sometimes get in my legs.

In short, I’m glad they’re offered on the course of my race. 40 miles into it, I’ll probably be sucking these packets down like pixie sticks. That is, if I can get past the texture.

End of the Week Marathon

Between student teaching and preparing myself for my first real job screening, I’ve been pretty busy. The days have whirled by with little time to focus on anything but my future.

And that is precisely why I’m running a marathon tomorrow. I’m going to take a break from it all, plot out a 26.2 mile loop, and run it. No official course or timers or anything– just the Turtlerunner Lone Marathon. I’ve been training at such high mileage that a marathon doesn’t seem too intimidating. At least, not at a turtle’s pace.

Winter (Not) Running

So, it doesn’t look like I’m running today.

It seems as though, as I sped home yesterday from the north, a blizzard was rushing up from the south to meet me. The Philadelphia region is now buried in several inches of snow, with a winter storm that’s supposed to bring much, much more. Weather.com is calling for 1-3 inches of snow per hour and winds gusting up to 40 miles per hour.

I want to say that I won’t back down from such extreme conditions. I run through heavy rains, lightning storms, cold snaps and heat waves. I want to be the winter warrior, the turtle runner, unbending under the elements.

But if I ran outside right now, it would be purely to say I did so. To satisfy my pride. And though I’m dedicated, and though I’m determined, I’m not a fool. My body needs cross training more than it needs a run in these conditions. And so I’ll devote my energy accordingly. Elliptical, lifting, and core (oh my!) for me today.