A while back I posted about 5-hour energy and Gels....well, I'm here to report that I am now up to 9 miles and using 2 gels during my long runs. The gel that works the best for me (since I dump) are the Cliffs brand...they are 90% organic and do not kill my stomach. So happy that these still work for me as I have a few half marathons planned and now I don't have to worry about losing fuel.

Okay' date=' I ran the Form Follows Fitness 5K in Downtown Dallas this morning. I have a new PR, but I am trying to figure out which time is the time I use. My Runtastic App has me at 24:26.04 at the 3.1 mile distance. My official time is 26:35. Now, I started my app as soon as the horn went off, so I had not crossed the start line yet. Either way it was my best run ever and fastest continuous pace ever. http://www.runtastic.com/en/users/eric-dickey/sport-sessions/47755227

That is pretty speedy! Congratulations.

Okay' date=' I ran the Form Follows Fitness 5K in Downtown Dallas this morning. I have a new PR, but I am trying to figure out which time is the time I use. My Runtastic App has me at 24:26.04 at the 3.1 mile distance. My official time is 26:35. Now, I started my app as soon as the horn went off, so I had not crossed the start line yet. Either way it was my best run ever and fastest continuous pace ever. http://www.runtastic.com/en/users/eric-dickey/sport-sessions/47755227

Way to go. Either way you were flying.

Ran my first 10K yesterday. They had 15000 runners so needless to say it was quite crowded. A little too crowded for me. But my official time was 1:11:20. We did have a great time.

Ran my first 10K yesterday. They had 15000 runners so needless to say it was quite crowded. A little too crowded for me. But my official time was 1:11:20. We did have a great time.

Great! Can you give some details on the actual experience. How often we're you drinking water. When did you eat your gels or energy squares. Did fatigue set in? Etc, etc.

Great! Can you give some details on the actual experience. How often we're you drinking Water. When did you eat your gels or energy squares. Did fatigue set in? Etc' date=' etc.[/quote']

Well, I didn't eat anything during the run. I had a whole wheat roll with PB2 and honey on it about 3 hours before the run, and a green Protein shake about 90 minutes before. Then about 20 minutes before it started, while we were standing around in the start line I ate a few energy squares that I had in my pocket. The run was in downtown Houston and was followed immediately by a big parade so they closed many of the streets down there early in the morning. So we had to be there quite early. We were standing in the starting line for an hour. I had a bottle of water that I was sipping on.

During the run they had water stations about every 3/4 mile. I really didn't feel thirsty but I decided to grab some anyway just to be safe. I think I drank 3 cups during the run which was plenty.

It was super crowded. I was constantly in a crowd and you had to always be adjusting for slower runners while faster runners were always passing you. You're supposed to line up at the start by your mile pace with the faster runners in the front, but plenty of people didn't do it. In fact, I was passing walkers within the first 200 yards. There was a lot of elbow rubbing going on.

There are no natural hills in Houston but the course did take us on 4 big overpasses so that was the extent of the hills. I didn't have any trouble with those because I had trained a few times on other overpasses/bridges.

The course was kind of an out and back, so at some point we saw the leaders heading back the other way and everyone cheered for them, but then I started looking for the turnaround. Big mistake. I wasn't even close. Those guys were so fast.

One funny thing....at about the one mile mark I saw a woman in front of me suddenly jump off the course and whip out a cigarette. Just the fact that she had one with her amused me. I wonder how many smoke breaks she took before the end of the run.

I'd love to do it again but I'm thinking a smaller run (less people) would be more fun. It was cool having so many people lining the streets cheering. I must have slapped hands with 500 kids. That was motivating.

Ran my first 10K yesterday. They had 15000 runners so needless to say it was quite crowded. A little too crowded for me. But my official time was 1:11:20. We did have a great time.

Congrats on your first 10K! Good time on it.

Did my long run for the week today and had my best long run yet. I tried out a different park to run in instead of the one I am so accustomed to and I wonder if that may have helped with the run today. Anyway I wound up running 10.6 miles in 2:01:14.

I used a new hydration belt today as well. I knew that I got tired around the 8 mile mark on my run so I bought a hydration belt last week to use. Holds two 6 ounce bottle of Water and has a middle pouch to hold energy chews or whatever. I wound up using all 12 ounces of water and three of the six energy chews. That seemed to help quite a lot.

Anyway here is the link to the map of the run. http://www.runtastic.com/en/users/eric-dickey/sport-sessions/48009009

Well' date=' I didn't eat anything during the run. I had a whole wheat roll with PB2 and honey on it about 3 hours before the run, and a green Protein shake about 90 minutes before. Then about 20 minutes before it started, while we were standing around in the start line I ate a few energy squares that I had in my pocket. The run was in downtown Houston and was followed immediately by a big parade so they closed many of the streets down there early in the morning. So we had to be there quite early. We were standing in the starting line for an hour. I had a bottle of Water that I was sipping on.

During the run they had water stations about every 3/4 mile. I really didn't feel thirsty but I decided to grab some anyway just to be safe. I think I drank 3 cups during the run which was plenty.

It was super crowded. I was constantly in a crowd and you had to always be adjusting for slower runners while faster runners were always passing you. You're supposed to line up at the start by your mile pace with the faster runners in the front, but plenty of people didn't do it. In fact, I was passing walkers within the first 200 yards. There was a lot of elbow rubbing going on.

There are no natural hills in Houston but the course did take us on 4 big overpasses so that was the extent of the hills. I didn't have any trouble with those because I had trained a few times on other overpasses/bridges.

The course was kind of an out and back, so at some point we saw the leaders heading back the other way and everyone cheered for them, but then I started looking for the turnaround. Big mistake. I wasn't even close. Those guys were so fast.

One funny thing....at about the one mile mark I saw a woman in front of me suddenly jump off the course and whip out a cigarette. Just the fact that she had one with her amused me. I wonder how many smoke breaks she took before the end of the run.

I'd love to do it again but I'm thinking a smaller run (less people) would be more fun. It was cool having so many people lining the streets cheering. I must have slapped hands with 500 kids. That was motivating.[/quote']

Thanks for taking the time to write down your experiences. Bummer you had to wait an hour at the starting line.

Must be a good day for running. New PR for me in the half marathon, 2:03. Still had a little something in the tank at the end.

Must be a good day for running. New PR for me in the half marathon, 2:03. Still had a little something in the tank at the end.

Nice! Mass, how long have you been running?

Nice! Mass, how long have you been running?

Probably 15 months or so. I mainly run as part of my triathlon training but I'm starting to do more races. Started out with 5Ks, then moved up to the longer runs. I'm not real fast but it seems like my endurance is pretty good.

Ran my first 10K yesterday. They had 15000 runners so needless to say it was quite crowded. A little too crowded for me. But my official time was 1:11:20. We did have a great time.

Way to go BTB, I was waiting to hear how you did!!! You rock!

New PR today for 5 k of 22:30. Sweet spot was 6.5 mph adjusting up to 7.0 every few minutes.

I could have gone longer, but I was having trouble with balance after a while. I try and keep my center of gravity right in front of my core while running chi style. Any thoughts about how to work on balance and form at faster speeds? I was not tired, but just a tad unsure of my footing at times which caused me to move out of my running "zone" just enough to be distracting. Losing the weight has allowed me to take running to another level. Love it!

Congrats Butter!

Yeah, those big races do get a bit annoying with all the people. I can never understand why the walkers would even WANT to be at the front getting jostled by all the runners ... oh well ...

Races sure are fun. The people, adrenaline and everything. Just being surrounded by so many (relatively) health-conscience people. I can't wait to get back into it. My physical therapist says about another month before I can try running again.

Congrats to you, too Mass! It was suggested that I swim as an alternative to running, but I just can't do it. Staring at the bottom of a pool for an hour just drives my crazy. I've tried ... wanted to, as I have a desire to do tri's, too, but I gotta enjoy it. I enjoy swimming recreationally with my kids and whatnot, but as an exercise routine ... oye. If they could have one of those stationary, infinity swimming pools with and LCD screen on the bottom, I could do it. I gotta have something to look at besides blue tiles ...

So I went to the doctor today for my regular follow-up care visit and found I have begun to develop an enlarged heart from exercising. They ran a bunch of blood tests and an EKG on me to see whether I can continue or not. The doctor seemed to think that I would be OK to continue but I might need more frequent monitoring. Have to wait a week for the results and this week will be long because of that. I don't want to have to give this up.