Exercise does not take a vacation

We decided that we needed a much deserved vacation. So...we went to fabulous Las Vegas for 5 days! It was AMAZING! Check out our view from the room :) We were in the Excalibur casino hotel and this view is of the Luxor hotel and casino. We had an amazing time shopping, relaxing, getting massages, seeing shows, laying by the pool! However great this trip was...I still made a point to bring my workout clothes and made myself commit to getting in at least one run while here! So, on March 5th I got up and ate breakfast, stretched good and set out for the fitness room where I treadmill ran for 9.01 miles! WHAT?! I am usually not a fan of a treadmill run, especially for that many miles in a row! I found out that a treadmill is programmed to end after 60 minutes...so I had a moment of transition after an hour. I decided to try and incorporate drinking and some food in my run for 2 reasons...1) your body will need refueling in a race this long and 2) I have never taken anything in during a race and I need some practice! Even during my first Triathlon which took me 2 hours and 23 minutes, I still did not in-take until after...which is not good! I always seemed to get choked up if I drank during a run race, or on my bike...so I just never do it. Well, I don't want to fall out in LA during this half marathon, so I got a start on drinking and eating. I ran 4.5 miles then walked at a 4.5 pace for a half mile and drank and ate. Then, I ran for 2 miles and walked a half of a mile again and drank and ate. Then I finished my last mile and a half running. I completed this training in 1:39:50, which is an average of 11:04 a mile. Not too bad. I would like to stay between 10:30 and 11:00 minutes per mile. It made me feel good to know that I walked a mile out of 9 and still kept my pace. I noticed when I got done that I felt surprisingly good, it was refreshing too. I wasn't sore the next day too bad either like after the 8 miles. My next obstacle is the 10 mile run. I have been told that this is the pivotal run in my training. I plan to do it on March 12th after work. I will have to make sure I carb up all day! The bad part about doing this run on a treadmill is that I don't have split information to base my next run off of. I did however purchase a camel back...so we will see how well that works in my run! Hopefully the water sloshing around won't get on my nerves! :) I will leave you with this great picture of my view during my run...

I was in the tall building looking out on the pool. I just kept telling myself, "When you get done you can go lay by the pool"! Here's to the next workout! Until then...

April