April 29th - Day 6

April 29th - Day 6

Weight 158.5 (before run)

So, 1.5 pounds "lost" pretty much overnight? Water weight for sure. Today is Sunday and we have a big training run to do today. I'm training to race 26.2 miles at a pace of 6:40 per mile and today is set to be 20 miles at that goal pace. Not an easy workout by any stretch of even the wildest imagination. GREAT. I love these runs. Bring it (whatever "it" is!).

Meal #1 Breakfast

I should be well fueled for today's run already from what I've eaten in the last 24 hours or so, but a small breakfast an hour or so before a long workout is always a good idea to get the body's systems woken up and elevate blood glucose levels. I opted for pb and j on toast with a banana. Simple and easy to digest. With my morning coffee, I was buzzing with energy and ready to tackle this run.
= 485 calories (under my target of 700, but I'm about to go run and this is about as much as I want to put in my stomach before I basically jump up and down for a few hours)

The run...booked it. I ran 23 miles total with 20 of them right on pace. I was pleased especially just one week after a half marathon race where I surprised myself by running 1:20 and change (a new PR for me). My legs got a little heavier than normal, but that's last weekend's race for sure still hanging around. It takes the body some time to recover from big efforts like that. I wasn't sure how today would go, but I was able to cruise steadily on pace ticking off 20 miles in 2:14. At this pace, I should nail my race goal of 2:55 or better.

What did I eat/drink during this run? I took in 4 energy gels (GU) and only a few mouthfuls of water from water fountains along the way. That's one gel (100 calories) for every 30 minutes of running starting at minute 45. This formula works very well for me and for many. Careful experimentation tells me this...just like "dieting" with a certain calorie target. Always work to discover your limits, but do it carefully. Only a few sips of water? Yep. I've always been good at going long without much water, but this is something that the body can learn to do over years of endurance training. It was pretty cool outside so, my personal needs were also a little lower.

This is probably not a hydration "plan" that would work for many people. I've arrived at this through years of careful practice. The trouble with running is that your body is like a moving washing machine. This makes is difficult for the stomach to empty anything you put in it. Blood is also predominately in your working muscles so, digestion is far from efficient. For me, I need to error on the lighter side of things to make sure I don't have any stomach issues...been there and done that many times before...at Ironman especially...great memories though!

Weight 154.5 (after run)

That's 4 pounds of water loss on my run today. Perhaps a little too much water loss, but I had a stellar run so, I don't think so even if the formula for optimal hydration would say so. Again, I know what my limits are in most conditions. The trick here is that I need to replace all of those fluids. 16 ounces of water for every pound lost = 64 ounces. No problem. I got on that right away after my run along with a recovery drink and a pb and j sandwich...complex carbs mostly with a little protein...that's the "best" way to restore glycogen (the storage form of carbohydrate). The 30 minutes or so immediately after any long and or hard workout is when our body is most receptive to doing this. It's called the "glycogen window" for this reason. Done.

Rest of meals for day...nothing really to add.

End of week 1 (day 6 actually). So far, I think things are shaping up nicely. All systems GO. Let's see where my weight goes tomorrow. Usually, after a long run like today's, my weight will be up higher probably because my body is "holding on" trying to deal with the big stress that has just been put on it. This is something that happens at least some of the time. Stress puts the body under, well, stress and it takes some time for that to "correct." Patience isn't a virtue, it's a prerequisite.

See you next week...thanks for reading! I hope my style is alright. It's pretty much a stream of consciousness coming straight from the source of the river! Fishing anyone? I think I got me a marlin!