The #NatConTraining Home Stretch

This is not a drill people.

Connor and I are in the home stretch of the epic Dumbo Double Dare #NatConTraining cycle. Awww, yeah!!!

This past Sunday, we each did our last long runs in our respective cities and both rocked it! On tap for me: 11.5 miles. I ran it all without music (though I did have my headphones in my running belt just in case) and felt really great afterward. I don’t know why that keeps surprising me lately – how good I’ve been feeling post-run. Of course it was a great run – I just kicked it through 11.5 miles and am still standing! Despite the hot and humid New Jersey summer (and those dreaded treadmill days), the number of days where I had a “bad run” were actually quite few, which I am very thankful for. Some days you’ve got it; some days you just don’t and that’s ok. This kind of venture is never just about the running; it’s about the entire journey.

My fuel plan was a few Honey Stinger Grapefruit Energy Chews (I just discovered these and am in love with them) about 30 minutes before the run—in addition to my standard pre-run multi-grain English muffin with peanut butter about an hour or so before—plus two GU Energy Gels along the way, one sea salt caramel and one cherry lime. Much to my surprise, I actually went through both my Gatorade and water quicker than I thought (they’re only 9 ounce bottles…and yes, they definitely slosh as I run). Thank goodness there was a bubbler along my route to refill!

I’ve mentioned this one part of my route before that always gives me a rough time: Alexander Road. There’s a little hill at one part and then the rest of the road is a very steady incline that you don’t notice when you’re driving on it, but when you’re running…woof, it’s a doozy. Plus, it’s pretty much in full sun the entire way. Well, this past Sunday, for the first time all summer, I dominated Alexander Road! I don’t know what was different this time, but I took the road in stride and when I got to the top, snapped this quick pic kinda sorta in the middle of the road because I was so proud. Take that Alexander!

Also in other fabulous news – drum roll, please – Connor and I have surpassed our Autism Speaks fundraising goal! Thank you so much to everyone who contributed to the cause and helped us get there. We literally could not have done it without you!

With our trip just over a week away, I’m finally starting to look forward to it. Not that I wasn’t excited about it before, but as quickly as parts of this past summer have gone by, much of it has crept along at a snail’s pace for me. I haven’t done a whole lot of planning for our upcoming vacation and, even though it’s a Disney trip, I’m oddly ok with that. Though we should probably buy those park tickets…note to self. After this final long training run was when it really started to hit me. And now every time I think about the trip and the run, I pretty much look like this:

You may be wondering what’s up with all the Zootopia gifs (or not, that’s totes fine)? Well, for the 10K, Connor and I are going to run in costume as Nick Wilde and Judy Hopps! When we saw Zootopia over the summer, we pretty much fell in love with it (the DMV scene is Connor’s favorite). And we also figured that the 10K would be a fun run to do in costume. One of my weekend projects is to finish putting our costumes together. I’ve literally had the entire summer to do this and yet…there’s nothing like waiting until the last-minute, eh? Sometimes craft projects are just more fun that way. Only a few more days of #NatConTraining fun…before we have to change our hashtag. Stay tuned! 😉