What a difference a day makes!

Last year, at the Hospital Hill 5K, I saw someone sporting a shirt that read “I Believe in The Blerch”.  I had no idea what that meant, so I hit up Uncle Google when I got done, and found a webcomic about The Blerch.  Essentially, it’s the amalgamation of everything that sabotages your running.

There are “in person” Beat the Blerch races on both coasts, but they’ve added a virtual, and I couldn’t resist jumping in.  It’s kinda pricey, but you get a medal, shirt, real bib, stress ball, snacks, stickers… a Blerchucopia of goodies.  🙂

Last night, I committed to running my Blerch race, and this morning, when the Sun started to peek out, I got up.  We’d had thunderstorms come through over night, so this morning, instead of facing 75° and icky humidity, it was about 64°, sunny, and slightly windy.  Great conditions!

I took off, westward, with the Sun at my back, and enjoyed some quick splits, and hit the halfway point, turning around into the Sun.  it was around this time that I decided to try another energy packet.

Last weekend, I tried a Gu root beer pack, and liked it quite a bit.  This morning, I took a Huma mango gel with me.  Unlike the root beer, this stuff was nasty.  I love mangoes, but this was pretty awful tasting stuff.  Of course, YMMV.  Part of what I’m having to learn to get past is the texture of some of these.  The root beer Gu was like the stuff you squeeze out of a bug, and this Huma was like baby food.  Frankly, the texture may be the thing that drives to using one brand versus another!

All that said, another 5k is in the books, early in the day, leaving me with the rest of the day to fight the Blerch!

Race Course