Weekly Summary
Nov 18 - 24
How is it already the end of November?
Mon - off
Tues - 4.5 easy
4.5 miles in 1:16
avg pace 16:56
Wed - off
PT evaluation
Thurs - 5 Tempo
5 miles in 1:18
avg pace 15:39
Fri - 2.5 easy
2.5 miles in 41:55
avg pace 16:44
Cold and windy.
Sat - 4.5 easy
4.5 miles in 1:16:38
avg pace 17:01
My desire to go run drops dramatically when the temps go below 50
Sun - 9 easy
9 miles in 2:31:22
avg pace 16:49
Nutrition Strategy Test -
This week I tried the Maurten 320 drink mix the night before my 9 mile run, thinking it's something I might want to use for carb loading marathon weekend. It had the usual sugary Maurten taste and I felt very full trying to drink it after dinner, but my stomach didn't object.
The next morning I tried the UCan Energy Powder before my run. You're supposed to drink it 30 min before you start and I didn't leave quite enough time for that so I had a little trouble wanting to take the first fuel for my run but I think if I give it a little more time it will be fine.
During my run I used Ucan gels and saltstik chews. My goals are 40-60g carbs/hr, 200 - 300 mg sodium, and over 100 potassium. With 7 Ucan gels and 14 saltstik chews I hit 58.8g carb/hr, 280 sodium, and 210 potassium, so that was pretty perfect. Other than the first gel which I delayed a bit because my pre-run drink was still settling in, I mostly hit my goal of fueling every 20 min (I did the gels every 20 min and just chewed on the saltstiks in between).
Keeping in mind that I don't want to use more than 11 Ucan gels in any run, because of the vitamin C, I think 2.5 - 3 hours of Ucan is doable, then move on to something else.
After my run I tried the Tailwind Recovery Mix in chocolate. One serving has 11 g protein, 43g carbs, 440 mg sodium, 438 mg potassium, plus magnesium, calcium, iron, and a little fat. It was definitely easier to drink than my normal protein shake, and it came in a tube that would be easy to throw in a gearcheck bag. I do need to try this one again, though, because something upset my stomach later that night. I'm thinking it was probably the sauce on the bok choy I got with our Chinese takeout because I'm vegetarian and sometimes meat-based stocks sneak into sauces and that'll cause problems for me. So I will definitely have to try the recovery mix again on a day when all of my other food is known to be issue-free.
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I talked to DopeyBadger about my PT's suggestion that I increase my pace to help with the knee pain because he wrote this plan for me (and my previous two plans). Knowing that my first goal is to make it to the starting line in good shape, I asked if maybe walking my easy pace miles would be a better idea and he said he was fine with that as long as it's a normal walk and not some sort of new speed walking form I have to do to hit the pace. I'm a decently fast walker normally, so I gave that a try this week and found it to be pretty easy to accomplish, with no pain during or after, so that's a win!
I also noticed this week that my 9 miles felt so much better than the 4.5 the day before. The weather was better, so that helped a lot. I also got more sleep the night before, and my fuel test for this week was pre-run supplementation, so that probably helped a lot too. But it made me think about something I read in the book "How Bad Do You Want It?" It's all about the mental side of athletic performance and one chapter is all about how your expectations really affect your outcomes.
I know in Kung Fu our teacher would have us start doing kicks. We usually do a series on one side, then switch to the other side. My other side was always better because by then I knew how many and what kind of kicks we were going to be doing.
I have noticed this with running too. When I get to the end of a race, I am done. Doesn't matter if it's a 10k or a half marathon. I know what the distance is and so I'm just mentally prepared to do that distance and no more. This gives me hope for the marathon because previously I'd come to the end of a half and think "there's no way I can do that twice!" But it's because I was only mentally prepared to do it once.
Totals for the week
Running: 25.5
Walking: 9.35
Pic for the week. There's a restaurant here that does really over the top decorations for Christmas. It was my late grandfather-in-law's favorite restaurant and his birthday was in late November so we've made it a family tradition to visit around this time every year as a way to remember him.
This picture is just silly, though. My older son was popping his head in and out of frame while the younger one was trying to cover him up. I managed to snag one decent photo with both of them in it but I was laughing at their antics. Teens are fun, I tell ya. They really are.
Although mine will probably kill me for suggesting that he hang out with a stranger just because I know his wife.
