Better Weather, Slower Pace and Energy Gels

What a difference cool dry trade winds makes. Along with a slower pace and two energy gels, I finished feeling pretty good; not really tired at all. I did my 17.47 miler in 3:28.39. Although the sun was out and it was getting pretty hot by 7:30 which was about my 2 hr 30 min mark (started at 5:00 AM), the air was not very humid making it a lot easier to run. I slowed down my pace throughout the run to conserve energy, and it helped towards the end climbing the hill.


I tried two of the energy gels I had purchased earlier a Gu Orange Burst Energy Gel with caffeine and later a PowerBar Raspberry Cream Gel without caffeine. Both went down easily and sat well in my tummy. Made sure I drank water after each. Now I have to figure how to squeeze the gel out without getting all over my fingers. Guess I don’t have to get the very last drop out of the package. Nothing like running with sticky fingers. As for the flavors, I preferred the orange to the raspberry cream. I still have lemon, chocolate, strawberry banana, and green apple to try. As for the caffeine, I couldn't tell the difference with or without it. Perhaps I was too involved in running to feel anything or the caffeine’s effect was too subtle. I’m sure the extra calories the gels provided helped though.


Again Kay made a smoothie for my breakfast. Actually, she had two glasses waiting for me. I inhaled the first one as soon as I walked in the kitchen and saved the second for after my shower. We had lunch again at Burger King only because we got a free Whopper when we bought a value meal with a coupon that was going to expiring soon. Whoa, that's 2 burgers in a row.