"I think I can. I think I can!" - The little engine that could

I'm beat! Yesterday I ran a 5/20/5 which covered a 2.16 mile circuit (see below) and struggled from beginning to end. Dang near wanted to drop & pass out when I got to the last 2 minutes of a 20 minute jog. Weather conditions were great, it was around 4pm, and the trail flat. I couldn't understand why I was struggling so much but after much online research that evening, I believe part of my problem is improper nutrition. I need to regulate my diet, eat proper nutrition (i.e - carbohydrates and protein), and begin to fine tune how I eat & when to eat in relation to my training. My current pace is at 14:52/mile. Slow! I'd at least like to improve my pace to at least a 12 minute mile.


Today I ran and felt better. I ate a light lunch which included a peanut butter-jelly sandwich on whole wheat breat, an apple, and a handful of raisins about an 1.5 hours prior to jogging and made sure to hydrate well in advance. I jogged with my son on a completely different trail around 2:30pm in the warm sunny afternoon and felt much better today, although thirst was a definite issue.

Not sure if I like running 2 days in a row, but at least I'm going to have tomorrow to give my day a rest before the run on Saturday morning. Going to try hard to increase my pace and attack the trail with some gusto. The trail on Saturday is the same circuit as the 5k marathon we will run Nov. 6th. More to come.