farfromfearless
Easy Five Mile Recovery Run (Plus, Olympic Stuff, Magazines And McDonald’s New Sandwich)
Well, that break in the heat didn’t last too long.
While it’s nowhere near as hot as it was this time last week, the temperature is back into the high 80s with a humidity to match. As I said yesterday, my goal for the next few weeks is to move my weekly mileage up to the 50-mile mark. Hence, all I’m focusing on right now is longer, slower, easier runs, with little to no emphasis on speed.
The first mile was pretty good - there was even a moderate cooling breeze that felt great. That seemed to disappear after about 1.5 miles, however, and after that it was pretty hellish. I’ve taken to stashing a Gatorade G2 by the house which I pick up somewhere between 3-4 miles, drink about half before ditching it again, then pick it up somewhere again within the loop. I’ve always shied away from using energy drinks in the UK because I find it isn’t really necessary and I don’t like taking on the extra calories. But here the conditions are too extreme and I can tell by the extent of my sweating that my body is hurting.
Splits and chart:
One thing I’ve been amazed about since I started all of this is how great the condition of my feet has been - that was, at least, until I came over here. The humidity and heat has been pretty brutal on them, and I’ve been getting a few blisters (including one about halfway through my race). I bought some Bodyglide and that seems to be taking care of that problem nicely, however. I love that stuff! It seems to stop all chaffing issues but doesn’t hang around like Vaseline. Even thought I’ve only been using it a few days now my feet are pretty much back to normal. Gotta look after your feet!
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The advertisements over here for the Olympic Games are pretty cool. I love the one for Coca Cola with Lebron James and Yao Ming. But one that irritates me a little is McDonald’s promo for their new Southern style breakfast chicken biscuit. It’s funny on one level because my wife and I have often mused as to why nobody ever seems to serve chicken for breakfast. McDonald’s has obviously cottoned on to this huge gap in the market and come up with this sandwich (that isn’t the advert on their site).
What bugs me is that all the athletes featured (I’m not sure if they’re real athletes or not) are in serious, serious condition, and nobody gets anywhere near that level of toning by eating I’m not anti-McDonald’s at all - I’m pretty sure I’m going to try this sandwich before I go home 
- but it’s the duplicity of the message that is a little unsettling.
I keep meaning to say - I found both the almond butter and the Ezekiel bread. The former was about $5, which is expensive but it tastes fantastic. The Ezekiel bread is also $5, but I wasn’t aware that it came frozen and then has to be kept refrigerated. That’s bothered me enough to put me off buying it at all. I think I’ll stick with regular 100 per cent wholewheat.
I also picked up a copy of Dean Karnazes new book, 50/50: Secrets I Learned Running 50 Marathons in 50 Days, which is the same one I’m offering in my competition. I haven’t read it yet but had a quick flick through and it looks excellent. Some great pictures, as well, something I thought was lacking a bit from Ultramarathon Man.
I also bought Trail Runner magazine. I’ve been looking for a copy of Ultrarunning magazine everywhere but nobody seems to stock it. Trailrunner hit the spot, though - I don’t mind Runner’s World but like all generic, mass-appeal magazines of that kind most of the articles and content is aimed at beginners and people new to the sport. They seem to run the same kinds of plans, how-tos and nutritional articles each and every month. Trailrunner is a great read, with some fantastic motivational pictures. I’m considering a subscription - even with the International shipping it’s pretty cheap.
In other news, the US teams performance in last night’s 4×100 swim relay was unreal!
8 people have left comments
Ted said:
Terrific Blog! I just stumbled onto your blog yesterday through Michelle (Runnin’ Down a Dream). I have to admire you for doing 71 days in a row of running. Hat off to you. I am going to subscribe you through my Bloglines. This is interesting! Keep up the good work as I follow in your on-going progress.
Andrew is getting fit said:
That bodyglide is fantastic stuff! It is also extremely hard to find here in NZ so I ended up importing some.
And yes, having olympic athletes shilling junk food just seems wrong. But it seems to work…
Rahn said:
Man,what a disappoint…I got all excited seeing the title of the post and thinking “Hey, McD’s has a new sandwich? Cool, can’t wait to see what it is.”
Turns out your talking about Chicken…that’s been out a while and old hat now.
Speaking of which, you’re in the South now. Chicken is for breakfast. With waffle’s.
And if you’re up for it, gotta find yourself a “Chik-Fil-A”, and have some good stuff.
(Our running club usually hits up McD’s after our group run.)
Shéamus said:
@ Rahn - That may be old to you, man - the Big Mac only came out in the UK last week! 
Have you had the Southern Chicken biscuit? Would you recommend it?
I’ve eaten at Chik-Fil-A before. I played in a golf tournament they sponsored last time I was here in the States (’99). I can’t really remember if it was good or bad, to be honest. As a cynic, however, I’m a bit skeptical about their policy of closing on Sundays which seems like a blatant attempt to appease the religious folk.
@ Andrew - Yes, Bodyglide is great. I’m going to bring some home with me - it’s $8 here, which is about £4, but I guarantee it’s a lot more in the UK.
Speaking of prices, I’ve finally found an item in the store that’s far more expensive than the UK - Red Bull. Four cans for $7.99 - that’s about £4. You can get four cans for about £3.29 in the UK.
A small victory, perhaps, but an important one.
Shéamus said:
@ Ted - Thanks man! I appreciate your kind words more than you can know. And thanks for subscribing.
Rahn said:
Yes, closing on Sunday is religious. The founder of the company is a very devout Christian, and found the company based on the principals he believes in. Fine with me, but I wish I could get some nuggets on Sundays.
I like the chicken biscuit myself, and I’d say it’s worth the couple bucks to give it a try.
(And yeah, bodyglide is great. I also love my Injinji socks, which really help with blisters.)
Shéamus said:
Actually, I’ve confused things a bit here. The Olympic advert is for a new sandwich - the Southern Style Chicken Sandwich, which comes with pickle which doesn’t work at all and looks pretty grim.
The biscuit has, as you say, been around a while. But I like biscuits a lot and I’m quite keen to try that.
I just had sausage in an asiago cheese bagel - man, that was some eatin’.
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