Easy breezy running.

So, last week I was all about the hot weather runs. Heat? Humidity? Pshaw. What else you got, July?

Well, apparently, July has cooler temps and lower humidity and wouldn't you know it that means easier runs and faster paces. The highs this week have been only in the low 80s so when I went out for my run yesterday it was probably only about 81 degrees -- much cooler than my 90+ degree runs last week!

The result was 4.2 wonderful miles. I charged up my hills and flew across the flats. I barely felt like I was pushing my pace at all so I was surprised when I finished and saw my overall pace for the run was a hair under 8:30. For the longest time my easy-breezy go-to pace for my 4-5 milers had been 8:45. If I can keep it around 8:30, I'll be psyched.

Speed work tonight!

Totally separate:

The Gore-Tex TransRockies Run will be held this year from August 21-26. They are accepting applications for runners to RUN A DAY WITH DEAN. That Dean would be Dean Karnazes. Ultramarathon Man. Interested? Want to apply? Check out the details HERE. Go, go, go! And good luck if you decide to apply!

~ Felice

Local Love: Saratoga Peanut Butter Company

I love peanut butter. 

Maybe not as much as my 4-year old does but, yeah, I love it. PB&Js, peanut butter cookies, any sort of ice cream that includes a swirl (or more) of peanut butter -- it's all good in my book.

My new peanut buttery love? Adirondack Jack from the Saratoga Peanut Butter Company.

Oh, wow. 

Wow.

No, really. WOW.

Saratoga Peanut Butter Company recently sent me two jars of peanut buttery goodness to try out:

Blizzard Butter and Adirondack Jack

I took one look at the list of ingredients in Adirondack Jack and I knew which jar to open first. Almonds? Dried Cranberries? Cinnamon? Dash of honey? Yeah, I'm in.

All in.

Mmm . . . chunks of nutty cranberry yumminess:

It tastes as good as the list of ingredients sounds!

I tried some of the Adirondack Jack straight out of the jar. I know . . . so gauche. I kinda couldn't help myself. It was good. So then I tried some on toast. It was better. And then I tried some on regular bread with sliced bananas on top and hoo-ha! That's a winner!

Poor Blizzard Butter barely had a chance. Not that it isn't good because, really, it is. It's just . . . well, it just isn't Adirondack Jack. But, I like it. It's a decadently sweet mixture of white chocolate and peanut butter and, in my opinion, you can't go wrong there. I just probably should have tried it before indulging in the Adirondack Jack!

Now, these are only two of the many peanut butters made by Saratoga Peanut Butter Company, a local company that I'd like to give some local love. Saratoga Peanut Butter Co is a small company that was started in 2005 by Jessica, an active mom with a big-time love of peanut butter. So she's active. She studied nutrition and physical education. She's a mom. You gotta figure she's going to make her peanut butter healthy.

And that's what she does. Jessica states that, "My goal has been to make a delicious and nutritious product without sacrificing anything!" Her nut butters are all gluten-free and they are made without added sugars, preservatives or artificial additives. In short, just the good stuff.

You should totally check out Saratoga Peanut Butter Company. And not just to support the local economy around Chez Happy Runner. No, check it out because it is tasty and good for you!

You can buy the peanut butters online HERE.  (Just for reference, the Adirondack Jack retails for $8.99 for a 16oz jar and the Blizzard Butter goes for $6.75 for 16oz. A 16oz jar of Plain Jane is $4.99.)

If you live in the Albany area, you can find the peanut butter at several locations including Honest Weight Food Co-op, select Price Choppers and many stores in Saratoga. A full list of retailers is online HERE. 

Run, happy runners, don't walk, to check out some of the Saratoga Peanut Butter Company's nut butters -- especially that Adirondack Jack!

Have you tried any of the Saratoga Peanut Butters? Got a favorite? Let us know!


~ Felice




Review disclosure: I received two jars of Saratoga Peanut Butter to try out and review. I was not otherwise compensated and the opinions expressed are entirely my own.

Go . . . 10!

Yesterday was my long run, and it was a joy to finally get that run back into double-digits. Since it was going to be hot again, I wanted to head out early and figured I could go right after feeding Niall between 7 and 7:30. That meant that I needed to have something to eat (I cannot run 10 miles on an empty stomach) around 5:30. Forutnately -- ha, ha! -- Niall wakes up around then for a quick feed and then goes back to sleep for two hours before getting up for the day. So, when I fed him at 5:40, I ate a bar. Then, when he woke for the day, I fed him, got ready and off I went!

The Plan: 10 miles at 9:30 pace. If I felt good, speed up over the final 2-3 miles. 

The Run: 10 miles at 9:20 pace. Felt good. Sped up and ran the last 2 miles at 8:30 pace. 

Check out my elevation:

I always mean to plug in my runs and get my elevation but forget. My routes feel hilly and it looks like they truly are. As you can see, the first half mile is a pretty steep incline and right around mile 1 I get a nice downhill for about 2 or so miles. From mile 3.5 through 6.5, though, it is just about all uphill before heading down again for a half mile and then up and down for the last three miles.

Overall, my run was great. In fact, I would say it was exactly what I wanted in my long run! I drank about 32oz of Gatorade, which was the perfect amount, and I wore my fancy compression socks, which kept my legs peppy.

I also ran without my jelly beans. Gasp!

I know, crazy. But, I had run out of them and, honestly, I would like to break the habit. They've worked well for me but, you know, they are full-on sugar and do I really want to be relying on full-on sugar for my long run fuel? Can't I find something better?

Well, I'm trying. Two things: I ate a PR bar about 2 hours before I went out for my run. (Review on that to come.) And, I carried a Larabar with me to eat while I was running. But, I never needed to eat it. (Hmm . . . maybe that PR bar worked . . . ) That's my new plan: Try to eat something other than jellybeans during my long runs. We'll see how it works.

So far, so good! Week 1 of half-marathon training -- DONE.

Hope you all had a great weekend -- and have a good week ahead!

~ Felice

Running in the heat.

It's been all kinds of hot this week, which is to be expected given that it is July.

But heat like this (high, high-90s) doesn't always make for great runs. And yet, I've had a few. Wednesday evening tempo run, Friday late-afternoon easy run.

My Friday run rocked, even though it was probably 94 degrees when I headed out.

Why?

Because I did a few things right (at least in my opinion, I'm no doctor or sports expert):

• I hydrated early and often throughout the day
• I had a little extra salt with my meals and snacks
• I embraced the heat
• I ran easy

That third one? About embracing the heat? Yeah. It's key. You can't expect to run well in the heat if you start your run cursing it. And, frankly, that goes for just about any run. Start out cursing and, well, your run will pay you back with something to curse about.

For Friday's 94 degree run, I started out thinking that my muscles would be loose and warmed-up in no time. I also thought about how much of a treat every patch of shade was going to be. And then I thought that these high-heat runs are going to make my lower temperature runs feel easy peasy! I can go for that.

It all worked because I ran a nice easy, easy run; just over 4 miles at a comfy 9:10/mile pace. Not speedy but not draggy, either. 

Just right. And it felt great.

It probably didn't hurt that I was wearing these bad boys for the first time:

So, hydrate, salt-up, and embrace the heat! 

Enjoy the rest of your weekend, everyone!

~ Felice