An experience I'd not care to repeat

I know a couple months ago I posted about fueling for runs - before, during, and after - and that Gatorade was a nightmare on my stomach.
Well, with the half next month, I figured that now's as good a time as any to get back into checking out fuels. I believe Disney gives out GU brand energy gels and such, so I decided to look it up. I saw some good things, mostly. Some bad from some people, but nowhere near as many as had trouble with Gatorade. So I picked up three flavors of the gel to try, and one back of the Chomps chews. I decided to have one (lemon sublime) pre-run, and one (strawberry banana) mid-run.

I got to the apartment's workout room around 11 last night and - this, btw, is super creepy - I flip on the light and there's just someone in there on the elliptical! I about had a heart attack!
...
And pretty sure it's not safe to work out in the dark. Especially when using and surrounded by equipment.

Older BIL suggested that if the TV was on then maybe that was enough light.

No. It was straight up DARK. Talk about scary as hell.
A couple came in not long after I got started, so I didn't felt as, um... Weirded out. Considering the time and all.

Eventually the couple left, and I pulled out the iPad and started to watch Mulan. About an hour into the workout (so maybe 25 minutes into the movie?) I have the second energy gel.

BTW, the scene in Mulan where she chops off her hair and steals her father's armor? I watched that 3-4 times. It was wonderfully motivating. I ended up going 5.7-6.0 MPH (10:00-10:30/mile, my usual is 12:30-13:30, if that tells you anything).

I decided to keep going until the end of the movie. I made sure to take a picture of the treadmill when I hit 9.11 miles (because seriously, that's funny), but I did hit "stop" at the end of the workout instead of "pause", so no pictures of the 9.55 or 9.56 I ended with.

That's right. Yours truly finished out at 9.55-9.56 miles! In about 2 hours and 11-12 minutes, keeping in mind I used the first mile as a 20- to 21-minute warm-up. That is 2.5 miles farther than my previous longest distance. And even with walking I'm still faster than the required pace :)

I got back, uploaded my run (my first failed NikeFuel mission - short by 300-ish points, but my best yet, so I can't wait to try it again! Another shot for the "hard" difficulty. I WILL get it), and then when I got ready to shower... It hit me.

I'm sure you can see where this is going.

I spent about 2.5 hours between the bathroom floor and trying to snuggle my sleeping-like-a-rock husband, all while feeling nauseous and having a case of the shakes. It was horrible! Even the stomach cramps I had from Gatorade didn't have that impact! I finally got a shower and got o bed at about 4:15 this morning.

Let's put it this way: between my post-shower weighing and my waking-up weighing (not even 6 hours apart) I lost 8 pounds. Which doesn't put me underweight or anything, it puts me at a weight I was more accustomed to a few years ago, but it still isn't good.
TMI, but I'm not sure how much of the loss was water because I made sure to drink water pre-, during, and post-run, and especially when I thought of the risk of dehydration with the post-run symptoms, and the gels/symptoms really cleaned me out...

Part of me is going "Hey, maybe you should just try the same brand but do it differently, even more water or something! Or maybe try a different brand! You may just have to condition yourself for it."
The other part of me is going "Hell. No. Do you really want to sit through another night of 2+ hours of shakes and nausea?"

I'm quite jealous of those runners who don't experience GI problems with running. Apparent,y they do exist.

On that note, 47.5 days to the Princess Half! I'm really feeling that I can do this. I got to 7.05 miles without energy gels, 9.55-9.56 miles with. I just need to make sure I can get that last 3.5 miles in, and I'm all set!
Also, DH and I have discussed the Disneyland 10K (the first year for it!) and the Disneyland Half Marathon so I'd have a shot at the Dumbo Double Dare medal for doing the 10K and half, AND the Coast to Coast medal for doing at least two races of half marathon or greater distance, one at Disney World in Florida and one at Disneyland in California :)

Hey, Disney?
...
I'm coming for you.
I hope you're psyched, because I know I am.

(Now just some pictures to showcase some of the fun parts of last night's/this morning's run:
- 9.11 miles. Just for kicks.
- "Citizens, I need fire power!" "Who are you?!" "Your worst nightmare." (I think Eddie Murphy did the Batman voice better than Christian Bale! Haha)
- "Light me!"
- the fireworks :)
- "If you ask me, she should've brought home a man!" "Does Fa Mulan live here?" "Woo! Sign me up for the next war!"
It's the "small" things, right?)

I'll spread my wings and I'll learn how to fly

"I'll do what it takes 'til I touch the sky" - Kelly Clarkson, "Breakaway"

Last night's run was very reminiscent of that song. I'm pretty sure I've said before that I've really been struggling to get much higher than 4 miles. Some of that is related to speed, some of that is related to workout length... But last night my darling workout buddy and I got together for a run for the first time in a while. She got about 5.5 miles, which I think is a biggie for her, and I hit 7 miles. SEVEN!!! And I mean a legit 7, as in on the treadmill and not just my watch reading into how often my foot hits the ground along with... I think it measured my stride when I calibrated the shoe pod.
So on the treadmill I got 7.01 miles and on my watch I got 7.05 miles. It was grueling, and I walked at least a couple of those miles, but the fact of the matter is that not only have I done it but I can KEEP doing it! AND I can do it and keep faster than the max pace!
Disney had better watch out, because I really plan to take that Princess Half by storm! That doesn't mean I'll be the fastest or anything, not by a long shot, but will I finish? Yes!

Another fun bit on the running front: Nike+ now has Nikefuel Missions, where you're basically turning your workout into a video game and trying to get a certain number of Fuel Points in an hour.
(I told my running buddy about this and she got so excited because she thought the Fuel Points were like the fuel points we get from the grocery store that we can use to save money on gasoline. It was pretty funny, but also kind of sad. I can only imagine how many more people would be active if it could save them tons of money on gasoline!)
My first mission I decided to up it to the "hard" level and work toward 450 Fuel Points in 30 minutes. When I started my watch it recorded the 30 minutes that corresponded with the challenge, and according to the website, I "destroyed" the challenge and got 672 Fuel Points. The next challenge, if I go straight for the "hard" level, is 800 Fuel Points in half an hour. I think if I keep a pretty good running pace of at least 4.5MPH (I think that's a 13:20-ish mile??) then it should be pretty easy.

I admit that I have yet to figure out how Fuel Points are calculated. Obviously it's something to do with the level of energy that is used, but I also have to wonder how time, weight, distance, etc. factor into the equation.

I have yet to decide if I want to go for another run tonight or if I just want to wait until Friday. It could go either way, really. And if a lot of it ends up being walking, I won't be offended, as long as I keep at 4.0MPH or faster :)
And last night I was ridiculously thankful for my calf compression sleeves.
Oh, and I got a blender from older BIL for Christmas - the blender I've been eyeing with the dispenser on the side and everything. Methinks I there will be running smoothies made for this!

Bring it on.