Double Digits, Princesses, & Bonus Bling!

So much for being better about posting, huh?  Last week was another one without weekday runs.  Geesh.  Although I did manage to get in a session of "Yoga for Runners" on Monday evening.  And actually, I think that helped some with my sore calf issues during Saturday's long run.  Also, friend S and I went on a 5 mile recreational bike ride Sunday evening.

Yeah - about that long run...the big group had 9 miles on tap, so my MCM group needed an additional 2  for a total of 11.  In light of the hot and humid temps, we decided to again meet beforehand and knock out the extra mileage early at 5:45am.  Thank goodness we did!  By the time we'd all finished that last mile of the big group run, we were worn out.  Depleted.  That was one brutal run - I'm really not looking forward to a whole summer of more like that.  But hey, it was the first double-digit long run of the training season and 11 miles done under gross conditions is a great feeling!

In more exciting news (please say that in a Peter Jennings newscaster voice - please?), my new friend L and I have committed to running the Disney Princess Half Marathon together next February!  I wanted to run it for the race's 5th anniversary and needed a roomie, and she's wanted to run a Disney race for quite a while but wanted someone to go with her, so we fit each other's needs perfectly!  We are going to have such a great time!!!

Patriot's Challenge Medal (middle)

Also, my Patriot's Challenge medal finally arrived yesterday evening!  And as a small "We're sorry this took so long" gift, they surprised all of us with a cool aluminum water bottle with the Run for the Dream logo on it!  Very neat!  And now my trio of medals from that weekend is complete - yay!  I really do wish I could do this race again next year.  The RD and the team are really a class act.

Last Week in Review:

• Monday: Yoga for Runners
• Saturday: 
• 2.2 mi; 0:31:52; 14:29 min/mi
• 8.8 mi; 2:26:32; 16:43 min/mi (includes 2 water stops)
• Sunday: 5 mi bike ride

Hydrating!

I try my best to drink water during the day, I really do.  Over the years I have kept numerous water bottles at my desk, but I either forget to drink from them, or if I do then don't have enough time (or willpower) to get up off my lazy butt and refill smaller bottles after I've finished one off.  I routinely find myself at the end of the day never having refilled my water glass/bottle that I started at the beginning of the work day - not good.

Then I saw this post on Pinterest.  What a great idea and easy way to make sure you get your daily 64oz!  Measure and delineate the water levels in a bottle for every 8oz, then mark what time you should be at each level by!  I pinned the idea months ago...and never implemented it.  Doh!

Last week, with an 11-miler scheduled for a forecasted VERY warm Saturday morning, I really concentrated on making sure I was drinking a lot of water in the days leading up to it, and was constantly checking the color of my urine to make sure I was on-track hydration-wise (there's no such thing as TMI amongst runners, right?).  The run was brutal, let's just leave it at that - I don't even want to think about what I would've felt like if I hadn't been properly hydrated.

I know myself well enough to know that I'm not always so diligent about getting all my needed water in while prepping for a run.  And summer temps are certainly not going to get any cooler, so I definitely needed an easy way to keep on top of properly hydrating.  And then the Pinterest idea re-surfaced...genius!

One thing I should note is that I am insanely picky about my water bottles - especially those I keep at the office.  So for this project I had the following criteria:

• "Cute" enough to keep out on my desk all day, but cannot be unprofessional (no cartoon characters);
• Clear so I can see the water level inside the bottle;
• Big enough to only need to be refilled at lunch (at least 32oz.);
• Rigid straw (I despise sport-spouts when I'm in a non-sport environment, so it had to have a straw, but not a bendy-flex straw - those are just a breeding ground for gross things.);
• Dishwasher safe; and
• BPA-free.

I truly spent about 20 minutes at the store pouring over all my options (thank goodness it's summer - so I had plenty of choices).  I finally settled on a clear pink one with cherry blossoms on it that has a straw that can be detached from the lid for thorough cleaning.  Once I got home and cleaned it, I pulled out my measuring cup and a sharpie and got to work.  Here's the final product:

It's working out really well so far!  It's so easy to look at clock and then at the water level, and know whether I need to drink more or not.  Plus I'm really loving the pink with the cherry blossoms - it's so cheery!  I'd recommend this easy project to anyone (honestly the hardest part was choosing the bottle)!