Saturday Morning Run and Soccer Game

It's another game day. For the Florida Gators and for me. So I woke up early and put on my school-spirited running gear. And I got at least one "go gators" on the road!

I met Nikki in Woodley Park and we started our 13 mile run together. It was really great to do a long run with her again. We went north on the Rock Creek Park trail and then on Beach Drive, which is closed to cars on the weekends. Running thirteen miles wasn't such a great feat, as I've been slowly building up to it for weeks and knew I was ready. But running and talking for thirteen miles was different. It was fun though, and not that hard. We talked about running tricks and food, races, work, family histories, and plans. We returned to Woodley Park, said a quick goodbye, and went our separate ways. I ran another .2 miles uphill on Connecticut Ave and then Josh showed up, in the car, to drive us to our soccer game. I hopped in, feeling really weird going from running for two hours straight to sitting in a car, without even a little walk in between. Not the healthiest recovery. My kneecaps started to feel some sharp pain that was really uncomfortable. It lasted only about ten minutes and they've been fine since.

We arrived at the soccer field and I changed into cleats and shin guards. A few of our players didn't show up so we were without a single sub. I was thrown in midfield which meant a lot of running (con), but less pressure to be aggressive defensively and prevent shots and breakaways (pro). To my, and my teammates', amazement, I held strong throughout. I had some lazy periods but I also had a lot of really good plays and runs. I had one assist and we won 2-0. And I wasn't completely spent. But I did take some time to lie on the fluffy turf afterward.

I have tried to be very careful with what I consume today, given the headaches my long runs have been giving me and my back to back run and soccer game. I ate whole wheat toast with peanut butter and honey for breakfast. Then had half a pack of cherry (caffeine infused) sports beans and about 20 oz. of water throughout. Between run and game, I finished the pack, drank about 16 oz. of chocolate milk, and had an entire pack of Clif Bar Shot Roks which are like little energy bar balls that can be eaten in about two bites each. Within about 1.5 hours of the game ending, I had a chicken salad sandwich on freshly cut olive oil ciabatta, cucumber onion dill salad, and grilled veggies. Throughout the soccer game and since, I have drunk about 200 more oz. of water. 

I made it until about 4:30 before any feeling of a headache. I have one now but it is slight. I think that the added electrolytes and the chocolate milk did help me feel better throughout the day. And watching the gators play now makes me happy, as always. I am actually a little shocked at how good I feel given the added hour of soccer. I am proud of myself and I'm not ashamed to say it. Baltimore half is four weeks from today and I feel ready. I want it noooooow!