I’ve been taking it easy (maybe too easy? I don’t know anymore how much to push and when to hold back…) since the half on Saturday. It is currently 89 degrees (feels like 95, according to my app) and I have a 10k tomorrow. I really don’t like races on Sunday during the school year as it throws me off a bit, but whatever.
Fallgirl, I’m very sorry to hear about that! That is always rough. I’m glad you got to be there with her/him (sorry, can’t remember). Hard, but still.
busdriver11, I am awful with fueling while running. I was 22 when I trained for my first half and I tried one block thing once during the training and didn’t like it so I just didn’t do it. I did take some gummy bears with me during the actual race. LOL, I had NO idea what I was doing. Thank goodness I was young and much fitter than I am now! While training for the marathon, I had to find something. I just can’t do most of the gels, and I force myself to drink the sports drinks they have on the course. One thing that worked for me were these little blocks by gatorade. I got the apple and strawberry flavors.
It must be a real challenge to figure out how to balance the nourishment during longer periods of exercise. How much is good enough, how much is too much?
Exercise nutrition for endurance athletes really starts well before the event, as much as a week before, and continues up through the event warm up. Then you should also replenish during the event. The goal is to assure that you don’t deplete your blood glucose and muscle glycogen. Keep in mind several things: 1) for event an hour or less, you don’t need to worry about nutrition during the event, 2) it takes a minimum of 1-4 hours for what you eat your hit your blood stream and become available and 3) post event nutrition is important to resupply your reserves and provide proteins for rebuilding muscle tissue. So what are the conventional guidelines:
If you have an early morning event, eat a good meal at night at least 4-6 hours before the event. If the event starts later in the day, eat a good breakfast. These will be the meals that give you the fuel for the first hour. The meals should be carb centric with 50-60% of the calories coming from carbs. Have a snack 1-4 hours before the event consisting of about 50 gems of carbs and 5-10 gms of protein.
During the event, consume 30-60 gms of carbs every hour. Small increments every 15-20 minutes is ideal. This is what will give you your energy sources during the event itself. Star early do test you have a continual supply as you need it and don't find yourself bonking.
To avoid gastric distress, your pre-event meal and snack should be relatively low in fat and fiber.
Post event, you want to start replenishing within the first 30 minutes if you can and then every 2 hrs for 4-6 hrs. Each meal or snack should be about 1-1.5 gms carb/ kg body weight and .5/gms protein per kg of body weight.
Keep in mind that these are recommendations not absolutes and and the duration and intensity of your event will dictate what you need to do to avoid bonking and to recover.
Final training walk today, but it was only 8 miles than lunch afterwards which was fun. Looking forward to next weekend and keeping fingers crossed for cool, dry weather.
Congratulations sabaray! That heat sounds brutal and it’s a little scary that you stopped sweating. I’m really glad you were able to finish and glad that you don’t have any more races in the immediate future. You did great today and i hope you’re enjoying a nice evening.
Two of our friends did the RockNRoll Half in Nashville today. They said it was hot and they weren’t as fast as they hoped to be, but glad to have finished.
I got 10 miles in this afternoon. We’ve had a ton of rain since yesterday afternoon and it was pouring this morning so I held off on running until it stopped this afternoon. I’m not used to running longer distances later in the day. It was warmer and very humid from the rain, but the run went OK. More rain tonight and again tomorrow.
Lots of good info on nutrition! I keep trying to do better with it and appreciate all the suggestions.
Wholeheartedly agree with what everyone said about adjusting your goals according to the conditions. I knew my HI run was supposed to be brutal, and I trained the entire summer in the heat for it, so my goal was about 20 min off my PR. When the sun came out, I realized that the goal needed to be adjusted a notch… then another notch… then another… until it became apparent that the goal was to finish! Got it done and man… “Staying the course” on a tough course is not a wise strategy. You did awesome, @sabaray!
Thanks for all the support, everyone - I want to switch up my training a bit now and focus on some shorter races. I also noticed mixing up my training is helpful for my weight - almost like it’s a shock to my metabolism or something! I feel pretty good today, all things considered. Dogs were feeling the heat so we were pretty light on pup walks yesterday. Highly recommend the Hoka Ora recovery slide!
Great job on your trail race, @dmd77 - and @Classof2015 - yes, I am very glad it’s over!
Got my mileage in this morning and came back and enjoyed a delicious homemade waffle with fresh blackberries and maple syrup. Delicious! Rest of the “exercise” today will be shopping with D2 - maybe a trip to Athleta!
I can’t even describe how bad my eating has been. At my high school friends’ pizza party I had something called sweet pizza, which is a specialty from just a couple Philadelphia area pizza places. The tomato sauce is sweeter. It was fabulous. 3 pieces. That would be AFTER appetizers and before dessert. And beer. And white wine coconut pineapple sangria.
Probably good that it is prime grilling season again. I feel like when we grill I eat a little healthier and simpler - a piece of protein and then a veggie or two. I’ve been indulging a little too much in a nighttime sweet. I can feel it in my middle.
If I want to enjoy summer ice cream, I’ve got to find a few corners to cut!!!
Mixing up the race schedule sounds like a good idea, Sabaray. I know I liked doing the 4 mile then a 10k then a half then a 5K.
I did a half marathon this morning. Sometimes I kind of lay low about an upcoming race because it makes me more nervous when I post about it. I got very lucky with the weather – 60 degrees and low humidity. But I still ended up over 4 minutes slower than my previous half. Not sure why. I don’t think I went out too fast, but my 10k avg pace was 8:03 and 2nd half avg pace was 8:57 so that must have been it. One thing I noticed (vs the run in the winter) was pollen. I felt like my throat was closing up.
Funny thing is the sponsors (the main one was Shape, the fitness magazine). It was an all women race. The other 2 main sponsors were Bloomingdale’s and Motrin. Where’s Essie? And Opi? And the California wine grower’s association?
Essie and Opi figured out that they can’t sell much to distance runners - we have lost most of our toenails in training.
Good job, @Classof2015! Anything that affects one’s breathing will affect her performance - be it allergies or EIB. Good run despite the pollen’s evil plot to derail it!
^haha so true, BunsenBurner! We are not their target market.
Yes, the “can’t breathe” feeling is a little panicky, to say the least. Couldn’t wait for the first water/Gatorade station.
I met a real nice woman post-race. 51 and she’s doing Boston for the 2nd time next April. She’s from Florida. She said “too bad we can’t run together.” I’m like aw – a running buddy! That would be nice. But I’m sure I can find one locally if I try.
I’m glad you are OK, Classof2015. Going out too fast can really mess with your whole body. (I know this…)
I have only lost 1 toenail in 40 years of runnning. I think I wear my shoes extra long (I go up a full size from street shoes and 1/2 size in Hokas). My nail guy even commented how good my feet are for a runner. Not sure why. Genetics, I guess.
Don’t know what it’s been like in other parts of the country but this has been the worst Spring allergy season I can remember in years. My eyes are constantly itching, red and irritated and my throat is raspy. When I was riding yesterday, my tires were yellow from the pollen on the road. Time to get allergy eye drops that can be used with contacts!
@ohiopublic Thanks for that link. I had my 10k today and I just put in some info. I used my 10k time from earlier this month, put in today’s temp at start time, and the anticipated finishing time it gave me was only 13 seconds off. Not bad! That will be a great thing for me to refer to in the coming months.
I really, really want to echo the cautions about the heat and adjusting. Today was a big wake up call for me and I would love any help I can get! (I’m going to talk to my runner friend teammate at work about this, too, because I know she’ll be happy to help me make sure I’m doing what I need to!) I tried to run as far as I could, and then allowed myself to take walking breaks. I knew I wasn’t going to break any records and finishing was the goal here because of the heat.
At the start of the race, it was 76 degrees with 74% humidity. I’m sure it’s going to get worse. I have a 12k on Memorial Day and a 10k in June, then I’ll start training for a half in August. I absolutely do not handle the heat as well as I used to. I have been drinking more water, and I want to continue on that path. I am also looking to add more fruits to my meals. I need to do more of my runs outside (I’m only going to run 3x/week) to help my body adjust. And I need to take my exercise a bit more seriously.
I am hearing that multiple people today needed medical attention. My mom did the 10k as well as was redirected at the finish line as a woman had collapsed and they were doing chest compressions. We were there to watch as they loaded her into the ambulance. It stayed for a while as they worked, and I saw a police officer or paramedic speaking to the family. It was heartbreaking to see them start to cry, and then we say two of the members ride of with a cop to the hospital (this was a very small race and roads were blocked so we couldn’t leave; I really try to respect privacy of others…). I also just read that a man collapsed and lost his life. I do not know what happened to the woman, or if the news about a man dying today are true, but it is a reminder that we need to take the heat seriously.
Please take care of yourselves out there! I’m sure the main reason we are on this thread is to make positive choices for our bodies. It is so much better to have a slow race (or even to not finish it!) than to push ourselves too far. It is not worth it!!
