21. Run a Marathon

This may end up being the worst idea of this entire list. But once again, 16 years later, I have signed up to run the Marine Corps Marathon. I swore to never try this again, but let's see if I'm still up to it... Always a good reminder that these are goals, and I don't have to do them...

Week by Week

Week One (May 11th) Listening to: Shake It by Metro Station - So I did a considerable amount of walking in Ireland so I was already getting my ankle and leg flexibility back a bit before this week. I’m going to be using a combination of Strava and Runna to manage my training and pacing, since pacing is something that I always struggle with. On May 17th I did a fun 5k with Alison’s daughter Kayleigh for the Girls on the Run program. It was beautiful weather and we had a great time out around Montgomery Mall in Bethesda.

Week Two (May 18th) Listening to: Confident by Demi Lovato - I was supposed to have done a 4.5 mile run on Sunday, but with the 5k and helping out at the pottery after, my plantar fasciitis was flaring up in my right foot, so I did some work releasing the tissue in my ankle so that I had some better movement (and less heel pain) and got some advice from my PT about ways to help. I switched to my Bondi Hokas since the running shoes have considerably less padding, so hopefully that will help until I can get more flexibility.

Week Three (May 25th) Listening To: Mary on a Cross by Ghost - The real reason I haven't tried to do a marathon in over a decade is that it really takes a lot of time to train. I have already fallen into the rhythm of doing very little but running, eating, work, and sleeping. And laundry. I don't understand how it seems I have three times as much laundry when I'm training…

Week Four (June 1st) Listening To: The Vultures Circle High by The Dropkick Murphys - I made it to a de-load week, which was really nice as I started working on inclines during my long run the previous week. There is a pretty serious incline about 2 miles into the marathon and last time it caught me off guard. I’ve mapped it all out and that hill is almost the exact same climb as the hill from Georgetown to Cathedral. So now, on my Sunday long runs, I’ll be running down the Georgetown before running back up to the cathedral and finishing the run. Mercifully the long run this week was only 3.5 miles because the 90 degree heat was brutal. I wore my hydration pack for the first time, and I'm definitely going to have to make some adjustments since it was riding up and rubbing the back of my neck...

Week Five (June 8th) Listening To: Oh My Bride by The Deadly Snakes - Well I'm back from my de-load week with a vengeance and this week had the first really intense hill workout. Since doing 1 minute hill sprints repeatedly is quite tricky outside, I decided to do them on a treadmill in the gym before work. I have done a lot of different types of exercising from weightlifting to rock climbing and swimming, but the complete and total physical exhaustion you can get from running isn't like anything. It resets your nervous system unlike anything else. Also, I decided to do a half marathon in August as another B Race before the marathon. I was going to have to run one for training anyway, so I might as well get some practice under race conditions, right?

I had my long run (6.5 miles) on Sunday and, I screwed up. I got up early and got outside by 7 am. I ate an energy honey zinger ahead of time, and took a pack of electrolyte jelly beans to eat an hour in and wore my hydration pack with two 17 oz. bottles of water, which I thought would be fine for this 1.5 hr. run. And the run was just fine. Drank my water, ate my jelly beans, got slightly lost on Woodley Rd. and after the run I did a walk back through the cathedral woods. When I got back I was feeling fine and decided to take the dogs for a long walk around the block for another 30 minutes (still felt fine), and when I got back I was gross and my legs were achy so I took a hot bath. And that is when everything started going sideways, literally. I couldn't see straight and everything felt like it was spinning. I got out and sat down on the floor, wondering if the run + hot bath had messed with my blood pressure or something. After elevating my feet (didn't do anything) I called the advice nurse and after she confirmed I wasn't having a stroke, she said I was likely dehydrated. So yep, drinking a lot of water during the run doesn't help you if were slightly dehydrated before and then sweat out 24-50 oz of water an hour while you're running. I ate another pack of jelly beans and drank more water, and then crashed on the couch with the dogs until I felt better.

Week Six (June 15th) Listening To: Hallelujah by Panic! At the Disco - It’s a weird week because we went camping on Wednesday and I had to arrange my runs and lifting around that. I moved my lifting to Monday and Tuesday and adjusted my running schedule to have my runs on Thursday and Friday while I was camping in WV. The 4.5 mile run on Thursday was a bit rough because of all the hills at camp, but Evan’s girlfriend Kaitlyn ran 2.5 miles with me on Friday, which went really well. When we got back on Sunday I unpacked, hydrated, and got out on my 7 mile long run for the week. It went relatively well and I managed my electrolytes better this week, so I felt fine and had no side effects after. Score!

Week Seven (June 22nd) Listening To: Don't Threaten Me With a Good Time by Panic! At the Disco - I increased my weightlifting to three times a week and started biking twice a week, and I'm starting to see changes to my muscle tone. I had never done box jumping before this week, and it's pretty terrifying how jumping flat footed onto a box can be. I've also noticed that I'm a lot more careful about my lifting now than I was when I was in my 20s. The reason weight rooms are covered in mirrors is not because weightlifters are self-obsessed, it's a genuine safety measure. Because if your positioning is wrong, that's how you tear something or throw out your back. The reason I have problems with my back now is because I was doing weighted lunges and went to turn around to walk back, and between the weight and the positioning on my back, it screwed a couple of discs. For my long run, it rained all morning and around 1 pm it looked like it was just sprinkling so I headed out on my 7.5 mile run. And it proceeded to keep raining the entire time. I never realized how heavy shoes can be until you’re heading into your 7th mile and they are waterlogged and weight 3x as much as they should. Yikes.

Week Eight (June 29th) Listening To: Everybody Talks by Neon Trees - The thing that has derailed any attempts for me to get in really serious condition in the past has been injuries. I just wasn’t expecting that this time around it wouldn’t be my injury. After a solid beginning to the week, Georgie hopped off the couch Tuesday night and broke her leg. She had surgery the next day and stayed a second night in the hospital after, while I got a plan together for how I was going to monitor her for the next eight weeks while trying to keep to my training schedule. Yikes. On the 4th of July, I crashed my bike, and banged up my knees and arms, which made my 8.5 mile long run on Sunday rough. My arms were in the worst shape, but my knee ached from the impact and by the time I finished I was glad it was over.

Week Nine (July 6th) Listening To: Magic by B.o.B. I made it to another de-load week, and after the bike fall and Georgie breaking her leg, it was nice to not have to cover quite so many miles. Sweat + bandages and bruises is not a great time. Since I couldn't be away from Georgie for very long, I started doing some of my runs on the treadmill in the gym at work, which is pretty good for pushing myself on pacing, since the treadmill doesn't let you cheat and slow down. The "long" run on Sunday was only 4.5 miles so it was a nice easy couple of loops around the neighborhood and the cathedral to round out the week.

Week Ten (July 13th) Listening To: Run by OneRepublic Back on track and the heat is back again as well. I also made a likely (worse) decision than deciding to run a marathon, and that is that I decided to also run an ultramarathon this year. Now, I didn't know what an ultramarathon was, but it's basically any race longer than the distance of a marathon (26.2 miles) and the ultramarathon I will be running in November (the day after Thanksgiving) is 50k/31 miles. And there is a significance to the date. Because I will be running the Taco Bell DC 50k, which involves not only running 31 miles, but also eating a food item at each of the Taco Bells along the route. I'm sure that's going to be a good decision. The long run was north up the Capital Crescent trail and back up Mass. Ave. It was the longest I’ve run away from the house, and it’s weird how it feels to be that far from home on foot…

Week Eleven (July 20th) Listening to: I Wanna Get Better by Bleachers Cranking up the mileage now. Long runs are all over 10 miles and I’m using Strava to map out long loops rather than doing laps of my usual “short” routes (3-4 miles). It means I get to see more of the C&O and CC trails because that’s the best way to run around DC safely. My feet were the issue this week. I had stood in the kitchen barefoot for several hours making the croquembouche Saturday night, so my plantar fasciitis was acting up for the long run Sunday, even with lots of stretching. Lesson learned. Stay off my (bare)feet on Saturdays before long runs…

Week Twelve (July 27th) Listening to: Dog Prophesies by Josie Edwards It's another week of the longest run I've done in 16 years! This time it's a 12 mile run and I used Strava to map out a long loop that took me down through Rock Creek, across the Arlington memorial bridge to Arlington, and then through Rosslyn, then back up through Georgetown. I started early, and while I had planned out everything so I could leave at 6 am before it got hot, I made one major tactical error. I forgot the body glide. I decided to wear my Nike running shorts and about four miles in I realized what I had done. Now, when you think about running, you think about the repetitive nature of it. Your feet hitting the ground, your knees bending over and over and over, and lots of breathing. What you don't necessarily think about is that all of the clothes on your body and your socks and your shoes are also moving over and over and over. And if something is rubbing the wrong way, that is actually going to cause a very uncomfortable injury at best and at worst, could damage you in a more permanent way.

And four miles into my 12 mile run I discovered that the seams on the edges of my shorts were rubbing the inside of my legs. And aside from running weirdly to keep from rubbing my legs together (and possibly screwing up my hips) the best I was going to be able to do was to just...keep going. So that's what I did. I made it through with just some slight friction burn and immediately decided that I was not going to be running in those shorts for any of my long runs going forward. Compression shorts only and I'm never forgetting the body glide again.

Week Thirteen (August 3rd) Listening to: Breezeblocks by alt-J It's a de-load week! Since Georgie got injured at the end of June I've mostly been needing to do my weekday runs on the treadmill at work, since she's able to stay quiet in the office. But on Tuesday I needed to take her to the vet to get her bandage removed and I was in a bit of a quandary. The bandage removal was going to take 45 minutes, which meant that I didn't have time to wait for her to be done and get to the gym to run. So I dropped her off in my running clothes, and did a 4 mile run from the vet's office. It worked out great! I got to do some running out in the neighborhoods and when I got done I could just pick her up and get to work for a shower. Didn't plan it, but it worked out great!

For the long run, since I have a half-marathon coming up, there was a slight mileage dip for the long run this week, only 9 miles. I've been trying to vary my Strava routes to get as much hilly runs in as possible, and this week it took me up Mass. Ave to Western and then over through Friendship Heights and down Connecticut Ave. to Rock Creek Park. I hadn't ever run through the park from this direction, and there were a lot of people so it felt safe. My left foot is definitely feeling like I have a bunion (misaligned toe) starting, so I made a mental note that in addition to a bandana (I was melting) I also needed to finally talk to my podiatrist about what to do. I ran back up Mass. Ave and through the Cathedral to finish up the run and get off my feet. Feeling good about the half-marathon next week!

Week Fourteen (August 10th) Listening To: Movie Screen by Ian Elliott This week is a slight de-load week because it's going to end with a half marathon on Sunday! I only have two "short" runs instead of three, so I'm going to plan out what I'm going to wear and make sure I have my gear all set. The course has plenty of water stops, so I'm not planning to bring my full waterskin on this run, I'm debating skipping my running vest altogether so I have less to carry (which will be more like the actual marathon).

I had a great for the half marathon! I had been shooting for 2 hr. 30 min. and my final time was 2 hr. 20 min. Overall I was able to maintain around a 10:30 min mile which was great. I did not enjoy running on the towpath though. Frequent puddles and washed out portions of the gravel path along with some larger rocks that I almost missed made it much more frustrating to run than on pavement. I landed on a rock wrong in the last few miles and it hurt. I appreciated having the bandana since it kept me pretty cool in the crazy humidity.

Week Fifteen (August 17th) Listening To: Riptide by Vance Joy No breaks here! After the half marathon on Sunday I was right back into training, but I only had two "short" runs during the week instead of the usual three. Since the gym was closed Monday-Wednesday I did the runs towards the beginning of the week instead of spacing them out, so I spent more time outside this week than usual.

The long run on Sunday was 15 miles and I planned out a loop that ran all the way down to Georgetown then along the Capital Crescent Trail (Rails to Trails) to Bethesda, then up Wisconsin Ave back to the Cathedral. I was a bit sluggish towards the beginning of the run, which was odd because it was all down hill on Massachusetts Avenue until I got to the waterfront. There was a ton of construction and I had to keep navigating on my phone to not get lost, which could have been the problem. I just don't run well with things in my hands. I made it to the CCT and then it was time to start my 10 min. race pace. The CCT is mostly flat, so I was able to keep a 10 min. pace fairly easily for the 8 mile segment. Afterwards as I got to Bethesda and the "easy" pace section started, I definitely started lagging again. My hips stiffen up around 12 miles and I made a mental note that I needed to start yoga again. I'm getting stronger but clearly not more flexible, and that needs to change before I damage something. My left foot was mostly alright until the last half mile, so I think the night split (while extremely annoying and somewhat painful) is actually working. I finished off the 15 miles and then Georgie immediately wanted to go on a walk, so my post-run stretching was the slowest walk on earth and she kept looking up at me like I was a moron for going so slow.

Week Sixteen (Aug. 24th) Listening To: Miyazaki by Paris Paloma Well, workouts are shifting and my back has decided to remind me that it has feelings. This week my weight workouts shifted to the first part of the week, which meant that I had several back to back runs leading up to my 12 mile hilly long run on Sunday. Oh and I gave myself a silent migraine by staring at my computer too hard. Not a great week for me on making good health decisions as it turns out.

Around Thursday I woke up with some stiffness in my back and though I tried to pop it or loosen it up, it stayed stiff through most of the weekend until my stretching workout on Saturday. I continue to try and remind myself that I need more time for yoga… My long run on Sunday was the first time I spent most of the run in Rock Creek Park, which is a massive parkway in the middle of DC where it feels like you got transported to some country road in the middle of nowhere beside a small river.

Running in the road in the woods at 7 am.

On Saturdays and Sundays Beach Drive, which runs through the park, is shut down for cars and the road becomes full of runners, walkers, and cyclists. It’s also hella hilly and that’s what the training plan called for this week. Part of the marathon runs through Rock Creek, so it’s good to be prepared. I got out early and felt great for the first 1/3rd of the run, the hills started half way and my pace started lagging with it. About 8 miles in I had the climb up out of the park onto Western Ave and the incline was so insane I had to laugh. But then one of my favorite pump up songs came on and I powered through.

I made it back in pretty good time and decided to try using my Firefly for recovery. Goodness what a difference. The Firefly is weird, because your legs are basically twitching, but the usual heaviness that sets in and basically parks me on the couch for several hours didn’t happen. I left it on for about an hour while I was doing things around the house and it was great. Definitely adding that to the routine!

Week Seventeen (Aug. 31st) Listening To: Dog Prophesies by Josie Edwards Well, my training programs are colliding this week. My triathlon is in three weeks so I need to start putting in longer distances on the bike in addition to blocking my rides/runs. The goal is to train enough but not overdo it. For my two “short” runs this week I biked half the distance I need to for the sprint triathlon and then ran my “short” run as scheduled. It takes me about 30 min. to bike 8 miles so as long as I can keep that pace I should be able to keep the bike leg to an hour.

Week Eighteen (Sept. 7th) Listening to: Gasoline by Ian Elliott It was a week to load up before I start heading into the deload period before the tri. The long run was 17 miles on Sunday and the night before I decided to get some egg drop soup and General Tso’s chicken for dinner and while I felt fine before the run, I was seriously dragging. It was a tempo run and try as I might to keep it to the paces I kept dragging. So, no more cheat meals before the long run :( My legs hurt, my hip hurt, my feet hurt. My breathing was doing fine, I was just hitting a wall with my muscles. More work to do to get the right combo of conditions clearly.

Week Nineteen (Sept. 14th) Listening to: https://youtu.be/5CUyWJ7UINM?is=RBiVCr3gHDHK7GN6Check Yes Juliet by We the Kings Deload week! And by deload it means the short runs (three) are only 3.5 miles and the long run was 8.5. Everything is relative. After the slog of the previous week’s long run, I did some research (and got my Rhythm bloodwork back) and decided to switch my breakfast routine for overnight oats, because there’s a good chance that because I am trying to drop weight I haven’t been eating enough carbohydrates and my legs are feeling it as I get into the longer runs. Oatmeal is also good for my (genetically stubborn) cholesterol, so that’s sorted. I made sure not to miss my stretching session on Saturday since my hips had started locking up last week as well. The run went great. I kept my pace throughout most of the run until I hit Mass. Ave. and had to do some serious uphill work, so I’m going to count that as a success!

Week Twenty (Sept. 21st) Listening to: Pierre by Ryn Weaver

Week Twenty One (Sept. 28) Listening To: Solo by Myles Smith

Week Twenty Two (Oct. 5) - Listening To: Hallucinogenics by Matt Maeson So on Monday I decided to make this week even harder than it would have already been. I was biking home and saw a metro bus ad for the Army 10 Miler on Oct. 11th I already have to run 14 miles on Sunday so I figured a 10 mile race would be easy. Now, the race is at 8 am the morning after I get back from Iceland at 8:30 pm so…not great decision making but no one runs because they’re perfectly sane. We got back from Iceland at 9:30 pm and the weather for Sunday is cold with a chance of post-hurricane rain…the entire time. My co-worker Rachel had volunteered to pick up my packet so I took a Lyft to the pentagon and met her at 6:30 am then headed in to the race area.

I am a damp Mylar burrito.

So damp. So cold. But I can say I ran in (the leftovers of) a hurricane…?

Week Twenty Three (Oct. 12th) - Listening To: Storm II by Yung Lean After swimming 10 miles on Sunday, I needed a week to recover a bit, and it was a good thing I am well into my taper because I immediately got sick on Wednesday. I had a scratchy throat on Sunday morning before the swim/run, but being outside in the rain for four hours absolutely did not help anything. So after doing a run on Tuesday morning, I didn't run again for the rest of the week. Wednesday I crashed out middle of the day and proceeded to spend the rest of the week through Saturday at one with the couch and Mucinex DM. On Friday I did a test to make sure I didn't have the flu or covid, and no, just regular plague. By Saturday evening I was feeling better and since I had a long run on Sunday scheduled, I decided to play it by ear and see how I felt in the morning. I didn't want to miss too many runs leading up until my final week, but I also really didn't want pneumonia. I woke up on Sunday morning, spent a little while letting the meds kick in and then decided to give the long run a try. I did a 4 mile loop and decided I was feeling alright, so I finished out the rest of the 8.5 mile run just fine. The morning was the exact conditions that it will be for the marathon so that was good prep for what I might want to wear. Feeling good and back to running condition!

It was 40 degrees when I started and closer to 60 when I finished. Need to adjust clothing plan accordingly!

Week Twenty Four (Oct. 19th) - Listening to: Heads Will Roll by Yeah Yeah Yeahs Well, this is it. Six months of training, and I have one last week to basically relax and rest before I do the thing. It's not 100% resting, because I do have two runs and some light weightlifting, but most of the time I'm going to be relaxing and trying to not to do anything stupid that would mess up my race prep. That means sticking to my diet, getting my stomach in order, and then a carb-loading dinner at Jinya on Friday night so that I can make sure I have sufficient carbs in my legs so they don't feel like concrete during the race.

Race (Oct. 25th) I'll be starting with my wave on Sunday, Oct. 25th but if you don't want to get up early or trek down to the Mall to cheer in the cold, you can leave me a message on Cheer My Run to help me make it through the tough bits. https://live.cheermyrun.com/?code=KWOWDS

Equipment/Gear/Food

The last time I did this there were relatively limited options for a lot of running gear, hydration, and energy/food for marathons and while Gu is effective, having your entire mouth coated in a slightly acidic goo while running...not so much. So I decided that this time around I was going to do more research and testing on the things that made me feel my best, tasted good, and didn’t require me to wash my mouth out my while also trying to hydrate half way through a 4-5 hour run. I’ll mom k as

Shoes

Surprisingly I tested out two different types of running shoes, both Hokas. After getting a flare up of plantar fasciitis I learned a lot of about foot positioning while running, heel drop in shoes, and why cushioning (though sometimes heavy) is important for keeping your feet safe while running long distance.

To start with, I opted for a lighter, traditional running shoe, the Hoka Mach 6. However, after the first couple of weeks of putting in actual mileage in them, my feet were not in good shape, and I switched to my “everyday” tennis shoe, the Hoka Bondi 9, which is bigger, heavier, but definitely has some serious cushion on them. I’m not trying to break any records on this goal, I’m just trying to get this done with the least amount of damage. I know my feet feel good in the Bondi 9s and I was more comfortable running after switching, so I decided to make a permanent change, and relegated the Mach 6s for cycling and weightlifting. My new (got them at the end of April) pair of Bondi 9s will definitely need to be replaced before the marathon because they will hit their mileage before then, but I plan on replacing them with the exact same shoe, because if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

At the beginning of September my pink Bondi 9s hit their mileage and I swapped them for a new pair of Berry Bondi 9s which will be the shoes I run the marathon in. They were a bit stiff for the first couple of runs but I was able to break them in pretty quickly.

Hydration

I didn’t wear a hydration pack or carry a water bottle the last time I trained or ran a marathon, but I also didn’t train on a lot of different inclines, which was a problem. If I’m not going to be running loops to train I need to carry enough water with me for the long runs, especially if I’m training in the summer…in DC…which I certainly will be. The biggest difference this time around is that I’ve plotted out the course incline and I am going to train for the 250’ elevation that occurs in the first 2.5 miles of the course…an incline that is very similar to running from Georgetown to the Cathedral, a notoriously tough hill. Ooof.

I am going to be testing out the Osprey Dyna 1.5 hydration pack, which is sort of like a close fitting vest with water bladders and pockets for energy nutrition strategically placed all over it. And it’s purple.

After running with the pack (and figuring out the bungee situation) for a couple of weeks on my long runs, I decided to buy the larger bladder for the pack so that I can carry more water on my runs. It is SO hot outside right now and after my electrolyte scare I'm not messing around with water on these long runs. It's one thing for a 3-4 mile run to just head out without much planning, but anything over 6 miles (1 hour) needs plenty of water and sports chews, and 30 oz. is just not enough to get through over an hour of running in DC weather in the summer.

Planning/Apps

The last time I trained for a marathon I had a set week-by-week planning chart that I found on the internet, and 24 weeks out, I started doing exactly which runs it recommended each day. It was lots of running, and not much else. This time around, there are a lot more options available and I'm taking advantage. I got an Apple Watch (because Fitbit got purchased by Google and they decided that the new models were only going to be Android compatible...so goodbye Fitbit) and started using the Strava app. Strava a mapping and exercise tracking app that interfaces really well with the Apple ecosystem and many other apps so that you can really keep everyone centralized. They also have a specific running training app called Runna that is geared towards holistic running training that includes not just running, but weight training specifically for running and stretch and stability workouts to increase flexibility. After a serious sprain last year I was looking for something that could make sure that my joints were solid and as protected as possible as I trained for a long distance run in my 40s (yikes...). So I decided to use both Strava and Runna.

Runna was the best decision I've made of this entire challenge. You can find your race, and it will plan out your entire weekly training plan including runs, weights, and stability training, help you with pacing and different running exercises to help you decrease your time further. The weight training side of the app is phenomenal, better than some of the weightlifting-specific apps I've used. And the best part is that if you decide to do B-races, don't feel well, or need to go on vacation, you just need to enter the information and it rearranges your entire plan to accomodate when you need to de-load or be off training for a period of time. Unbelievable. It's easy to use, and after weight training with it for a couple of months my ankle and knee stability was noticably improved and I wasn't as worried about reinjuring a joint while I was running.

Highly recommend for both experienced runners and those just wanting to have a plan to improve their time. I'm loving it so much that I feel like this might be an app I keep using that will encourage me to keep running beyond this current challenge.

Energy/Nutrition/Electrolytes

So this part really has changed significantly, because I think runners and athletes in general were not fine with energy chews with so much citric acid in them that they made your tongue burn. So the last time I was in REI I got a wide range of products to try, and I will be testing them out each week for my long runs so I can make a decision about which one(s) I want to use for my various races.

• Sport Beans (Fruit Punch) - So Jelly Belly had started to make sport beans around the time I was running back in 2010, and they were mixed flavors back then. These are all fruit punch and they’re excellent, if a bit tart. They have electrolytes and vitamin B and C, so more than just energy. Easy to put in a pocket and eat a few at a time. But sometimes fumbling for the beans in the little pouch can be annoying (but they are compact).

• Honey Stinger (Salted Caramel and Honey) - I got these to try because they looked like Stroopwaffles, which I am obsessed with. And they are exactly like Stroopwaffles...and I am obsessed with them. Now, I have to see whether they are safe to eat while running, but I am definitely going to be buying more of them. No electrolytes, just energy for these though. Might be a good option before long runs.

• Bolt Energy Chews (Strawberry) - I only got one pack of these to try and they were very good. Didn’t get goopy in my mouth and I felt good on the run after. Would definitely try these again.

• Sports Beans (Original) - No. They work fine, but these are mixed flavors and the lime in there is VILE. I’ll be sticking with the fruit punch.

• Gu Energy Chews (Fruit Punch) - These were alright. I was eating them while running in the rain and they still didn’t get soggy. Flavor was alright as well.

• Gu Energy Chews (Rainbow Fruit Mix) - Meh. I think I just don’t like mixed fruit chews/beans because at least one flavor is gross and it ruins the entire batch. It’s a pass.

• Clif Bloks (Tropical Punch) - These are not nearly as gross as I remember. The tropical punch isn't as good as the Jelly Belly beans, but still alright. You just bite the end off of the package and then you can squeeze them out in your mouth, so 10/10 for being able to eat them while running, even if they do take up some space. Would get these again.

• Nuun (Grape) - What in the merciful hell is this crap... I have never in my life ingested something that was so completely not what it was advertised. I have an entire tube of these tablets now though, so I guess I will have to drink this when I'm desperate.

• Clif Bloks (Black Cherry) - Love. The black cherry flavor is excellent and I would get an entire box of these. So good.

• Clif Bloks (Orange) - These have 25 mg of caffiene in them apparently, which I couldn't really tell, but the flavor was okay. A little medicinal but not terrible.

• Clif Blocks (Sour Green Apple) - The first block was off-putting but once I got over the shock of it being quite tart, it was pretty good. Would definitely eat these again.

• Clif Blocks (Mountain Berry) - I thought this was grape while I was eating it, and it was reminiscent of the blocks that I had eaten when I was training years ago, so I think this must be a relatively consistent flavor. It's okay, just didn't like the associations it was bringing up for some reason.

• Clif Blocks (Salted Watermelon) - This was…weird. I know salted watermelon is a thing, but I don’t know that I would have picked this flavor out. It has 2x the salt as the other clif blocks so there’s that…but the taste was strange. Will probably eat the other pack I have, but don’t think I need to buy more.

• Propel (Grape) - Not great, but compared to the Nuun this actually taste like (fake) grape flavor, so it's managable. Still prefer straight gatorade, but these packets are a lot easier to carry if you can't bring actual gatorade.

• Clif Bloks (Margarita) - This was vile. Tragically I have two more that came in the multi-pack. I don’t know if I can bring myself to eat them.

Other Gear

Firefly - I hadn’t planned on using any sort of recovery device but since I travel a fair bit I had looked into a device that helped with leg soreness/fatigue after flying and the Firefly is a sort of tens device that activates the muscles in your lower leg to keep the blood moving. It also has the added benefit of helping with recovery after running, so I figured I would give it a try. Immediately love it for recovery. Going to bring them on my trip to Iceland in October to see how they help with the plane as well.