Proper fuel = better run

I ran again in the evening last night to continue testing my fueling theory. A few meals under my belt and a reasonable level of hydration...and hopefully I wouldn't run out of steam like I did last week. Conditions were nice on the seafront but a little muggy. Not too bad for a 5 mile tempo run: 1 mile warm up, 3 miles at 9:09/mile half marathon goal pace, 1 mile cool down.

Was really happy because the run felt good. Tried to make sure my warm up wasn't too slow, and settled into a pace quickly. Continued to feel strong at the end and was happy my "controlled discomfort" was a bit faster than half marathon pace.

Last week's bad runs and some experimentation this week have made me realize two important things:

1. Fueling properly is important before I run, and for me that means a meal. Sport beans or drinks aren't enough after a night's sleep
2. I have a few miles to lock in my pace. If I get the pace right at the start, it's much easier to stick with it and even speed up. If I start too slow OR too fast, I will end up dragging in later parts of the run.

I'm doing my long run tomorrow instead of Sunday, so plan on getting up early (really, I will!) to eat a good breakfast before running a few hours later. Let's see if my run feels better that it did last week!