Paul, congratulations on your 10 mile race the other day (your last post on the February thread). Sounds like that was a good run.
I agree with everyone about the gels, and am glad you posted about that, Spareribs. I've always only had water on runs and then I usually plan my run so I stop at a water source if I'm running long and it's warm. I don't carry a bottle with me. If you drink up before you run, that's usually just fine. Runners don't need the extra sugar and calories in the gels when your body supplies what you need. It seems to be a new fad, much like the energy drinks you see. Just extra calories--they're like drinking shots of sugared caffeine ("energy" drinks), that's all.
We camped in a very isolated spot in the desert--there were no people around for several miles at least. We were on public lands near the edge of China Lake Naval Weapons Station at a tiny dry lake at the terminus of a rarely-used and difficult at times to follow track and could see the radio towers on two hillsides several miles away in opposite directions. Still, it felt like the ends of the earth, which was fine by me.
I would have liked to have found good herbs in that area for that pasta, Paul, but there was mostly scrubby creosote, and quite a few flowers in bloom. We had a our dog along and we took him for a four mile or so walk on Saturday and looked for signs of historic Native American presence in the area (my husband is an amateur-expert in archeology). Since I had 32 miles by Thursday, and was tired, I felt the need to rest. Sunday was also a three mile walk in the desert with our dog. The roads were too rough for running and I spent a lot of time in a chair reading or looking at clouds. This week is a reduced mileage week for me--only the third one I've taken in three months. I think I need it. Unfortunately, I'm traveling Sunday, so it will be a fairly low mileage next week too. Today was three miles on the dirt track, slow.
Facebook
MySpace
YouTube
Twitter