You must be swift as the coursing river (as long as it's the Lazy River) - comments welcome

[WillRunForPizza]

NBD, just me out here running a 22-second mile PR in the middle of a workout

 

[col1]

22 seconds of your mile time !! VBD congrats

 

[GollyGadget]

Yowza! Nicely done.

 

[WillRunForPizza]

January 27 - February 2, 2025
Half marathon training week 9 | 21 days until Princess Half Marathon
In which I ride an emotional roller coaster



Monday
Off

My calf was still painful from Sunday's workout. As you do, I immediately started flinging every idea I could come up with at it. Extra protein, massage gun, foam roller, heating pad, I tried it all. Also as you do, I spent the whole day imagining every possible worst-case scenario. Because every time I have a little niggle, I must descend into a spiral of panic and doom.

Tuesday
Core

Never mind. It was pretty much fine the next day. Very productive doom spiraling.

But I decided it was better to give it an extra day to recover before running on it. Then I reminded myself approximately 400 times that missing one easy run would not hurt my fitness on race day. Of course this couldn't have happened last week when I didn't want to go out anyway.

I did do a bonus core workout since I didn't really want to do nothing again.

Wednesday
Easy/strides: 6.2 miles (9:58), avg. HR 153, max 177
Upper body strength

Instead of jumping right back in, I pushed back Tuesday's easy run to make sure I was fully recovered. I went out with some trepidation, but aside from a bit of a twinge at the very beginning of the run, my calf felt okay. The run as a whole wasn't great, but I was kind of expecting that after two days off.

Thursday
Workout: 2 mile WU + 6 x 1 km @ LTP/1 min RI + 8 min RI + 1 mile AFAP + 8 min RI + 2 x 1 km @ LTP/1 min RI + 2 mile CD
11.9 miles, avg. HR 163, max 191
Lower body strength




Heheh. Heh. I'm doing all my mile time trials in the middle of a workout from now on. You really can't lose: if it goes badly, you can blame it on the preceding work, and if it goes well, you can be extra smug about it.

I did feel during the first set of threshold reps that I would rather have done 5 than 6. After 5 I felt okay, but after 6 my legs felt pretty tired. I also did most of them too fast (maybe, though based on the mile, maybe not). But at least I had 9 minutes to recover.

I then also started off way too fast with the all-out mile. If you scroll up a couple of posts, you might notice that I ran a mile in 6:05 (or 6:06? because the lap chart has it at 6:06. The PR says 6:05, though, so I'm sticking with that. ), but I ran a half mile at 5:56 pace.

That was the first half mile.

Oops.

By the time I got through that first half, it was clear that I was not going to be able to hold onto that pace. My legs were much more tired than they would have been for a straight time trial (thanks, threshold Ks!). But I managed to slow down just a little rather than having to stop and walk like I did a couple of years ago, so that was something. Once I hit the last quarter, though, I really felt like I was dying. I kept checking my watch to see how much I had left, except then my group chat was blowing up and covering up the workout stats. Friends! Don't you know that I am in the middle of something??

Anyway, I managed to swipe away the text notifications and FINALLY hit a mile. Then I stopped and put my hands on my knees and tried to remember how to breathe.

Going into this, I figured I might run about a 6:20. The mile equivalent I've been using is a 6:16, and I thought the km repeats would add a few extra seconds above that. So a 6:05? Yeah, I'm pretty happy with that.

I walked most of the post-mile long recovery, but honestly after running a flat-out mile, LT pace actually felt pretty easy. Plus I was riding high on success and endorphins. Of course, by the time I finally got to the cool-down, I was pretty much down to a shuffle (except for the last half mile when I really needed to get back to the bathroom and magically found an additional reservoir of energy ).

So yeah, new mile PR! Maybe that sub-6 mile isn't quite as far away as I thought...

Obviously the first thing I did after that was checked a few equivalency calculators to see what they said about my potential HM paces. And, uh...

• McMillan: 1:37:46 (7:28)
• VDOT/Daniels: 1:35:26 (7:17)
• Luke Humphrey/Hansons: 1:33:03 (7:05)

Wow. That's fast. And while I'm not sure a mile translates all that well to a half marathon (which probably explains why there's such a wide range of predictions), this was a fatigued mile. Presumably I could have run faster in a real race. And I've been doing over-distance long runs and workouts, also on fatigued legs, so the endurance is there. So...maybe?

This is making me excited for the half. Also nervous. But mostly excited.

Friday
Recovery: 5.8 miles (10:31), avg. HR 144, max 165

Kept it super easy due to being very, very tired from Thursday. (I had one brief HR spike due to an encounter with a bad driver. ) I thought I would do a core workout in the afternoon, but I was too tired to motivate myself to go upstairs for it.

Saturday
Easy/pickup: 11 miles, avg. HR 158, max 184
Total body strength



Me starting my run: Okay, today I will just do a small pickup because I am still a little tired from Thursday. Maybe like up to marathon pace or HM pace at most.
Also me, 80 minutes later, running at threshold: Oops.

I am so bad at this. I just really like progression runs. That's more or less how my races usually look too.

Today's fueling: 2-ish servings of Skratch + 3 UCAN gels + 1 Precision gel = about 125g of carbs or 75g/hour. I did it! More or less. Even with only one good gel. (My struggle is not really with the number of carbs; it's with the number of gels. I ordered more good ones but they didn't arrive until after this run.)

I just did a short strength video and then a short core video. I tried to do some calf raises too, but my calves were too sore. (But just like regular sore, not oh-no-I-think-I-might-be-injured sore.)

Sunday
Long: 15.6 miles (9:42), avg. HR 156, max 174

This was exhausting. I felt tired all the way inside my bones.

Also the gearhead convention from a few weeks ago was back at the bottom of the hill, so I ran up and down it until I couldn't tolerate the unnecessarily loud engines anymore and then turned around and just added an extra loop in the neighborhood.

I did have a good amount of fuel, I think: 3 servings of Skratch, 1 UCAN gel, 3 GUs, and 1 new gel which is just called Carbs and is supposed to have 50g of carbs in one gel. I don't think I've ever had treacle, but it tasted like what I imagine treacle tastes like. It was a little gross just because it was so sweet, but is also by far the cheapest gel out there on a per carb basis, so I might keep using it anyway because high-carb fueling adds up FAST. In total, theoretically about 190g of carbs or 76g per hour. But also maybe I should have had a little more just because I was feeling so worn out.

Probably just a hard week catching up with me, even short a run. I really hope I'm not getting sick. (After a smoothie, protein powder, lunch, and a snack, I feel slightly more alive now. Not alive enough to want to move, but alive enough that I'm probably not going to pass out on the couch. )

Totals
Running: 7h 58m, 50.5 miles
Strength/mobility: 1h 38m
Total: 9h 36m


Also a fun and exciting ride from panic to relief to elation to chagrin to exhaustion. Dear universe, I'll take a little more even-keeled next three weeks, thanks! But I still wouldn't trade the mile PR. That's mine now.

Coming up


We're getting close to the end of the journey. One more speed workout, a little more HM pace, and then just one more "real" workout the following week before we reach the taper!

Oh, also a postscript for @col1 and everyone else who worries about what their watch says their VO2max is: Starting on Thursday when I ran a big mile PR, my watch says my VO2max has dropped significantly. I'm sure that's not true; I'm just recovering from a hard workout. But also, it doesn't really matter what my VO2max is; what matters is my output (i.e. how fast I can run) at it. And THAT'S obviously improved! Just another piece of evidence that your watch is dumb and doesn't know what it's talking about.

 

[WillRunForPizza]

Ooooh, also I just noticed this:


A crown!! I've never had a crown before. I am the queen of this very minor segment!

Now I am on the happy part of the emotional roller coaster again

 

[col1]

January 27 - February 2, 2025
Half marathon training week 9 | 21 days until Princess Half Marathon
In which I ride an emotional roller coaster

View attachment 934965

Monday
Off

My calf was still painful from Sunday's workout. As you do, I immediately started flinging every idea I could come up with at it. Extra protein, massage gun, foam roller, heating pad, I tried it all. Also as you do, I spent the whole day imagining every possible worst-case scenario. Because every time I have a little niggle, I must descend into a spiral of panic and doom.

Tuesday
Core

Never mind. It was pretty much fine the next day. Very productive doom spiraling.

But I decided it was better to give it an extra day to recover before running on it. Then I reminded myself approximately 400 times that missing one easy run would not hurt my fitness on race day. Of course this couldn't have happened last week when I didn't want to go out anyway.

I did do a bonus core workout since I didn't really want to do nothing again.

Wednesday
Easy/strides: 6.2 miles (9:58), avg. HR 153, max 177
Upper body strength

Instead of jumping right back in, I pushed back Tuesday's easy run to make sure I was fully recovered. I went out with some trepidation, but aside from a bit of a twinge at the very beginning of the run, my calf felt okay. The run as a whole wasn't great, but I was kind of expecting that after two days off.

Thursday
Workout: 2 mile WU + 6 x 1 km @ LTP/1 min RI + 8 min RI + 1 mile AFAP + 8 min RI + 2 x 1 km @ LTP/1 min RI + 2 mile CD
11.9 miles, avg. HR 163, max 191
Lower body strength

View attachment 934973
View attachment 934974

Heheh. Heh. I'm doing all my mile time trials in the middle of a workout from now on. You really can't lose: if it goes badly, you can blame it on the preceding work, and if it goes well, you can be extra smug about it.

I did feel during the first set of threshold reps that I would rather have done 5 than 6. After 5 I felt okay, but after 6 my legs felt pretty tired. I also did most of them too fast (maybe, though based on the mile, maybe not). But at least I had 9 minutes to recover.

I then also started off way too fast with the all-out mile. If you scroll up a couple of posts, you might notice that I ran a mile in 6:05 (or 6:06? because the lap chart has it at 6:06. The PR says 6:05, though, so I'm sticking with that. ), but I ran a half mile at 5:56 pace.

That was the first half mile.

Oops.

By the time I got through that first half, it was clear that I was not going to be able to hold onto that pace. My legs were much more tired than they would have been for a straight time trial (thanks, threshold Ks!). But I managed to slow down just a little rather than having to stop and walk like I did a couple of years ago, so that was something. Once I hit the last quarter, though, I really felt like I was dying. I kept checking my watch to see how much I had left, except then my group chat was blowing up and covering up the workout stats. Friends! Don't you know that I am in the middle of something??

Anyway, I managed to swipe away the text notifications and FINALLY hit a mile. Then I stopped and put my hands on my knees and tried to remember how to breathe.

Going into this, I figured I might run about a 6:20. The mile equivalent I've been using is a 6:16, and I thought the km repeats would add a few extra seconds above that. So a 6:05? Yeah, I'm pretty happy with that.

I walked most of the post-mile long recovery, but honestly after running a flat-out mile, LT pace actually felt pretty easy. Plus I was riding high on success and endorphins. Of course, by the time I finally got to the cool-down, I was pretty much down to a shuffle (except for the last half mile when I really needed to get back to the bathroom and magically found an additional reservoir of energy ).

So yeah, new mile PR! Maybe that sub-6 mile isn't quite as far away as I thought...

Obviously the first thing I did after that was checked a few equivalency calculators to see what they said about my potential HM paces. And, uh...

• McMillan: 1:37:46 (7:28)
• VDOT/Daniels: 1:35:26 (7:17)
• Luke Humphrey/Hansons: 1:33:03 (7:05)

Wow. That's fast. And while I'm not sure a mile translates all that well to a half marathon (which probably explains why there's such a wide range of predictions), this was a fatigued mile. Presumably I could have run faster in a real race. And I've been doing over-distance long runs and workouts, also on fatigued legs, so the endurance is there. So...maybe?

This is making me excited for the half. Also nervous. But mostly excited.

Friday
Recovery: 5.8 miles (10:31), avg. HR 144, max 165

Kept it super easy due to being very, very tired from Thursday. (I had one brief HR spike due to an encounter with a bad driver. ) I thought I would do a core workout in the afternoon, but I was too tired to motivate myself to go upstairs for it.

Saturday
Easy/pickup: 11 miles, avg. HR 158, max 184
Total body strength

View attachment 934986

Me starting my run: Okay, today I will just do a small pickup because I am still a little tired from Thursday. Maybe like up to marathon pace or HM pace at most.
Also me, 80 minutes later, running at threshold: Oops.

I am so bad at this. I just really like progression runs. That's more or less how my races usually look too.

Today's fueling: 2-ish servings of Skratch + 3 UCAN gels + 1 Precision gel = about 125g of carbs or 75g/hour. I did it! More or less. Even with only one good gel. (My struggle is not really with the number of carbs; it's with the number of gels. I ordered more good ones but they didn't arrive until after this run.)

I just did a short strength video and then a short core video. I tried to do some calf raises too, but my calves were too sore. (But just like regular sore, not oh-no-I-think-I-might-be-injured sore.)

Sunday
Long: 15.6 miles (9:42), avg. HR 156, max 174

This was exhausting. I felt tired all the way inside my bones.

Also the gearhead convention from a few weeks ago was back at the bottom of the hill, so I ran up and down it until I couldn't tolerate the unnecessarily loud engines anymore and then turned around and just added an extra loop in the neighborhood.

I did have a good amount of fuel, I think: 3 servings of Skratch, 1 UCAN gel, 3 GUs, and 1 new gel which is just called Carbs and is supposed to have 50g of carbs in one gel. I don't think I've ever had treacle, but it tasted like what I imagine treacle tastes like. It was a little gross just because it was so sweet, but is also by far the cheapest gel out there on a per carb basis, so I might keep using it anyway because high-carb fueling adds up FAST. In total, theoretically about 190g of carbs or 76g per hour. But also maybe I should have had a little more just because I was feeling so worn out.

Probably just a hard week catching up with me, even short a run. I really hope I'm not getting sick. (After a smoothie, protein powder, lunch, and a snack, I feel slightly more alive now. Not alive enough to want to move, but alive enough that I'm probably not going to pass out on the couch. )

Totals
Running: 7h 58m, 50.5 miles
Strength/mobility: 1h 38m
Total: 9h 36m

View attachment 934988
Also a fun and exciting ride from panic to relief to elation to chagrin to exhaustion. Dear universe, I'll take a little more even-keeled next three weeks, thanks! But I still wouldn't trade the mile PR. That's mine now.

Coming up
View attachment 934990

We're getting close to the end of the journey. One more speed workout, a little more HM pace, and then just one more "real" workout the following week before we reach the taper!

Oh, also a postscript for @col1 and everyone else who worries about what their watch says their VO2max is: Starting on Thursday when I ran a big mile PR, my watch says my VO2max has dropped significantly. I'm sure that's not true; I'm just recovering from a hard workout. But also, it doesn't really matter what my VO2max is; what matters is my output (i.e. how fast I can run) at it. And THAT'S obviously improved! Just another piece of evidence that your watch is dumb and doesn't know what it's talking about.

That’s crazy it dropped after the PR !! I know you are right and it doesn’t really matter but just once I want my Garmin to be like…..

 

[WillRunForPizza]

February 3 - 9, 2025
Half marathon training week 10 | 14 days until Princess Half Marathon
In which there are sneccs



Monday
Off

Still not back to doing yoga

Tuesday
Easy/strides: 6 miles (10:10), avg. HR 147, max 179, 95% Z1-2
Upper body strength

I was apparently still worn out. Also after our brief Florida winter, it's hot and humid again.

Wednesday
Workout: 2 mile WU + 4 x 3 min @ CV (7:08)/2 min @ 3KP (6:39)/1 min @ 1MP (6:16)/3 min RI + 1 mile @ (H)MP + 1.1 mile CD
8.7 miles, avg. HR 164, max 191
Lower body strength




For this workout I give myself an A for effort and a C for execution. I am still bad at faster paces.

Also it was gross out.

I had about 1.5 servings of Skratch, 1.5 Santa Madre gels, and 1 UCAN gel, so about 95 g of carbs or 76g/hour. If you couldn't tell from the 0.5, that was a hard no on the Santa Madre gels - the first one, which was a cola-flavored caffeinated gel, was okay though not great, but the second one ("neutral") was so menthol-y that it burned when it hit the back of my throat and I couldn't even finish it. But pretty good fueling levels for a 75-minute workout.



Thursday
Recovery: 5.2 miles (10:39)

It was a day. My legs felt...not sore but like achy? Kind of like having the flu, but it was only my legs so I don't think I was actually sick. And then my watch did not feel like connecting to the cell network ever, so I had nothing to listen to.

It actually wasn't that bad for the first couple of miles, but then there was this woman letting her dog run around off-leash and not even paying attention, which . So I said, "Please leash your dog," and instead of saying "Oh, sorry" like a normal person or saying nothing at all and just putting her dog's leash on like a responsible human, she got all pissy about it. And then I had nothing to distract me from being angry at entitled people and then thinking about all the other terrible dog owners I have encountered, so that wasn't great. (Do other people's brains do this? Like you have one bad experience, and then your brain reminds you of all of the other similar bad experiences you have had? If not, you are lucky. )

At least my legs felt better by the end.

Friday
Easy/strides: 6.2 miles (9:49), avg. HR 148, max 173, 92% Z1-2
Core

My watch worked this time, and the run felt better than Thursday, but I still have this strange...weakness? fatigue? in my muscles. Don't know why; hope it goes away soon.

Saturday
Easy/pickup: 11 miles, avg. HR 154, max 179
Total body strength


My legs felt better, but I just did a little pickup from like mile 7-9 because I didn't want to wear them out too much. I ended up looping around the route I discovered last week, which as it turns out makes for an 11-mile run instead of 10.

Today's new gel was called Victus (strawberry and hibiscus, 45g of carbs). I actually liked it a lot - the flavor was pleasant and not overly sweet, and the texture was smooth and easy to consume. Will add this one to the list of acceptable high-carb gels.

In total I had about 150g of carbs, which made for a new high of 88g/hour. I thought this was overkill. Fortunately it did not make me feel sick - I have heard STORIES of what happens when people push their limits on fueling - but I did feel like I had more sugar than I really needed or wanted. So I think around 75g/hour is probably good for me, at least for now. Good to know.

Sunday
Long: 2 mile WU + 2 x 4 miles @ HMP (7:42)/2 min RI + 2.7 mile CD
12.9 miles, avg. HR 165, max 185



That was wayyyy harder than I was expecting.

It did not help that it was quite warm (T+D~140 when I finished). But it also felt hard starting from about half a mile into the first interval, which is not exactly what I was hoping for. In fairness, I did not adjust my paces for the conditions. I know I should have, but I said to myself, "I mean...my actual race paces will be faster than that, right?" and then I kind of regretted that because, as I said, it felt really hard. I am honestly kind of surprised I finished the whole workout. (And then I may or may not have added half a mile or so to my cool-down so I could get to 50 miles for the week. )

I also had this weird pain on the top of my left foot on and off, just below my toes. I think this might be a shoe issue? I had it after last week's run too. That would be really annoying, because I've been wearing Superblasts for my long runs the past few weeks, and I would like not to have wasted $200.

Today I tried my last new gel: Strykr mixed berry (50g of carbs). It was okay. The flavor wasn't terrible, but it was a little cloying. In total I had about 140g of carbs or about 76g/hour, which is what I was aiming for.

Totals
Running: 7h 46m, 50.1 miles
Strength/mobility: 1h 51m
Total: 9h 37m


I'm putting this recap together while watching the Super Bowl, obviously. We are just having a low-key night at home, but I made sure we had many snacks! There are meatballs*, pretzels*, Buffalo chicken dip, jalapeño poppers, guacamole*, stromboli*, and pretzel caramel chocolate chip blondies*.

*I made these!

Coming up


Last full week before the race! I adapted this workout from Run Like a Pro, but...it actually looks kind of easy at this point? I guess we'll find out! Might also add a few brief HMP surges into the long run to spice things up a little.

 

[jmasgat]

Is it bad that when you said "sneccs", I immediately looked down to see if there was a "dog with snack" picture? And then went back to read from the beginning.

but then there was this woman letting her dog run around off-leash and not even paying attention, which . So I said, "Please leash your dog," and instead of saying "Oh, sorry" like a normal person or saying nothing at all and just putting her dog's leash on like a responsible human, she got all pissy about it. And then I had nothing to distract me from being angry at entitled people and then thinking about all the other terrible dog owners I have encountered, so that wasn't great. (Do other people's brains do this? Like you have one bad experience, and then your brain reminds you of all of the other similar bad experiences you have had?

Right there with you on this one. And even though my dog has been gone for almost a year, I can still call to mind the a-holes at our local park and the arguments I would have with them over this. Oh, can we move on next to the neighbors who don't clear their sidewalks? No, let's not get Monday off to a bad start.

 

[azrivest]

It actually wasn't that bad for the first couple of miles, but then there was this woman letting her dog run around off-leash and not even paying attention, which . So I said, "Please leash your dog," and instead of saying "Oh, sorry" like a normal person or saying nothing at all and just putting her dog's leash on like a responsible human, she got all pissy about it. And then I had nothing to distract me from being angry at entitled people and then thinking about all the other terrible dog owners I have encountered, so that wasn't great. (Do other people's brains do this? Like you have one bad experience, and then your brain reminds you of all of the other similar bad experiences you have had? If not, you are lucky. )

I'm like that when I almost get run over or honked at by a car. How dare they? I've chased after reckless drivers just to blow them off and stayed upset the rest of my run.

 

[WillRunForPizza]

Fueling 101: The more, the merrier
In which I explain what I've been up to all this time

If you have been following my recent posts, you have probably noticed that I have been trying to increase my carb intake on runs. This is the point where I thought I'd pause and explain what it is that I'm thinking with fueling, as it might be helpful for others as well.

Why I am doing this
I 100% blame this on David and Megan Roche. As I've mentioned, I started listening to their Some Work, All Play podcast a few months ago, and for Christmas I got my parents to get me a subscription to their Patreon. One of their biggest soapboxes is high-carb fueling, and one of their biggest arguments in favor of this strategy is, "Look at the scoreboard." By that, they mean that virtually all of the athletes competing at a high level in endurance sports have moved in this direction.

Now, I am obviously not competing at a high level. However, one of the Roches' other principles is that everyone is an elite. If everyone is performing to the best of their capabilities, then everyone deserves the same consideration in terms of training, recovery, and yes, fueling. I find this argument at least convincing enough to try it, as there doesn't seem to be much of a downside.

What I am doing
All the carbs! More specifically, here are the approximate guidelines I've been more or less using (summarized from a SWAP Patreon post):

• Easy runs <60 min: no need for fuel, unless you really want to make sure you recover or you feel particularly tired
• Easy runs 1-2 hours: 45-60g of carbs/hour
• Easy runs >2 hours: 60-75g/hour
• Moderate/hard runs <90 min: 60g/hour
• Moderate/hard runs >90 min: 75-90g/hour

More is certainly possible - people are out there taking in 120+g/hour - but utilizing more than 90g of carbs per hour may require higher outputs (i.e. running faster).

Is it working?
I mean, define "working."

I would say that I have not noticed a big difference while I'm running. However, I have noticed a difference later on. Specifically, instead of feeling exhausted around 1-2 p.m. and needing a nap, I've actually felt okay. Which I guess fits with the idea that fueling enough helps with recovery. This is better for my productivity. So I guess I will keep doing it.

As I said in my last recap, I did find that getting up towards 90g/hour was too much for me. But 75g/hour feels fine (even for workouts <90 min), so that's what I'm sticking with for now.


Dog break! "Helping" me stretch. Or demanding belly rubs.

How bout them gels?
Before my SWAP indoctrination, I would have a UCAN or GU gel every 40 minutes during runs >90 min. In trying to move towards higher levels of fueling, I quickly realized that UCAN and GU (which each have about 20g of carbs) were not going to work out. My stomach is fine with lots of carbs, but it is less fine with lots of gels - at 20g each, I would need about 4 per hour, which is just too many.

So I went through the gels on the Feed and ordered one or two of everything that had at least 30g of carbs. Here's what I thought of them, from worst to best, and the flavors I tried.

• Santa Madre (cola with caffeine/neutral-mint, 30g): Nope. The cola flavor was more or less tolerable, but the non-caff version burned my throat going down. I do not need that in my life.
  
• Strykr (mixed berry, 50g): A bit cloying, both in flavor and texture.
  
• SiS Beta Fuel (strawberry & lime, 40g): Flavor wasn't great, but easy to get down.
• Carbs (no specific flavor, 50g): Kind of sticky and very sweet, but also the cheapest option by far, so .
  
• Precision (no specific flavor, 30g regular gel or 90g pouch): Good flavor, good texture, and the caffeinated gels aren't nearly as bitter as some.
  
• Victus (berry & hibiscus, 45g): Similar to Precision, pleasant flavor and texture with even more carbs for a regular gel. No caffeinated version though.

I also use Skratch (19g per scoop) for hydration, maybe with a Precision 1000 tab thrown in for extra electrolytes if it's hot out, which is fun because it makes it fizzy.

Caffeine!
Previously I had kind of thought that I just didn't really respond to caffeinated gels. This was incorrect. I had only had GU's caffeinated gels, which have 20mg of caffeine in them. After trying gels with 75-100mg of caffeine, I do in fact feel the difference. However, I probably wouldn't have more than one of those in a run. Maybe two if it's a very long run.

What's your fueling strategy look like? Have any other gel recommendations? Drop a note!

 

[WillRunForPizza]

Is it bad that when you said "sneccs", I immediately looked down to see if there was a "dog with snack" picture? And then went back to read from the beginning.

Here you go!


It's an ostrich bone.

I'm like that when I almost get run over or honked at by a car. How dare they? I've chased after reckless drivers just to blow them off and stayed upset the rest of my run.

Yup, seems fair.

 

[nancipants]

I have no recommendations for gels because I hate them. But if you want to try more liquid based fueling, Tailwind has 25g per scoop, and the recommended serving size is 2 scoops. I usually do one scoop in my handheld and refill every 3-ish miles (or every other water stop at Disney). I tried two scoops when I first started, but it was too much for my tummy. The flavors are very mild to me, so I don't get sick of drinking it. The only issue is actually having to stop and refill during races. I don't mind because it gives me a break.

 

[WillRunForPizza]

But if you want to try more liquid based fueling, Tailwind has 25g per scoop, and the recommended serving size is 2 scoops. I usually do one scoop in my handheld and refill every 3-ish miles (or every other water stop at Disney). I tried two scoops when I first started, but it was too much for my tummy. The flavors are very mild to me, so I don't get sick of drinking it. The only issue is actually having to stop and refill during races. I don't mind because it gives me a break.

I should probably give Tailwind a try at some point since lots of people like it.

My focus on gels comes from carrying capacity; 50g of carbs in a gel takes up a lot less space than 50g of carbs in water! I do carry water (or really Skratch) for longer races, but there's no way I'm stopping every three miles to refill.

 

[jmasgat]

My focus on gels comes from carrying capacity; 50g of carbs in a gel takes up a lot less space than 50g of carbs in water! I do carry water (or really Skratch) for longer races, but there's no way I'm stopping every three miles to refill.

Lots of people do a concentrated version in a flask/bottle and then drink extra water to balance. Keeps the carrying amount down, but still requires an external water source to supplement.

 

[azrivest]

The only fueling advice I have is for dogs We've started buying Yak cheese for Talia and it is great! It's a bit pricey, but keeps her chewin' for a loooong time. I need to keep my overactive dog stimulated...

 

[WillRunForPizza]

The only fueling advice I have is for dogs We've started buying Yak cheese for Talia and it is great! It's a bit pricey, but keeps her chewin' for a loooong time. I need to keep my overactive dog stimulated...

My dog loves those! It's the only thing he's ever tried to bury.

In addition to the ostrich bones (which I have stopped giving him because they mess up his ), he also likes antlers and sometimes Benebones if you need more ideas! He's only interested in chewing things that taste like food.

 

[col1]

February 3 - 9, 2025
Half marathon training week 10 | 14 days until Princess Half Marathon
In which there are sneccs

View attachment 936949

Monday
Off

Still not back to doing yoga

Tuesday
Easy/strides: 6 miles (10:10), avg. HR 147, max 179, 95% Z1-2
Upper body strength

I was apparently still worn out. Also after our brief Florida winter, it's hot and humid again.

Wednesday
Workout: 2 mile WU + 4 x 3 min @ CV (7:08)/2 min @ 3KP (6:39)/1 min @ 1MP (6:16)/3 min RI + 1 mile @ (H)MP + 1.1 mile CD
8.7 miles, avg. HR 164, max 191
Lower body strength

View attachment 936956
View attachment 936957

For this workout I give myself an A for effort and a C for execution. I am still bad at faster paces.

Also it was gross out.

I had about 1.5 servings of Skratch, 1.5 Santa Madre gels, and 1 UCAN gel, so about 95 g of carbs or 76g/hour. If you couldn't tell from the 0.5, that was a hard no on the Santa Madre gels - the first one, which was a cola-flavored caffeinated gel, was okay though not great, but the second one ("neutral") was so menthol-y that it burned when it hit the back of my throat and I couldn't even finish it. But pretty good fueling levels for a 75-minute workout.

View attachment 936951

Thursday
Recovery: 5.2 miles (10:39)

It was a day. My legs felt...not sore but like achy? Kind of like having the flu, but it was only my legs so I don't think I was actually sick. And then my watch did not feel like connecting to the cell network ever, so I had nothing to listen to.

It actually wasn't that bad for the first couple of miles, but then there was this woman letting her dog run around off-leash and not even paying attention, which . So I said, "Please leash your dog," and instead of saying "Oh, sorry" like a normal person or saying nothing at all and just putting her dog's leash on like a responsible human, she got all pissy about it. And then I had nothing to distract me from being angry at entitled people and then thinking about all the other terrible dog owners I have encountered, so that wasn't great. (Do other people's brains do this? Like you have one bad experience, and then your brain reminds you of all of the other similar bad experiences you have had? If not, you are lucky. )

At least my legs felt better by the end.

Friday
Easy/strides: 6.2 miles (9:49), avg. HR 148, max 173, 92% Z1-2
Core

My watch worked this time, and the run felt better than Thursday, but I still have this strange...weakness? fatigue? in my muscles. Don't know why; hope it goes away soon.

Saturday
Easy/pickup: 11 miles, avg. HR 154, max 179
Total body strength

View attachment 936958
My legs felt better, but I just did a little pickup from like mile 7-9 because I didn't want to wear them out too much. I ended up looping around the route I discovered last week, which as it turns out makes for an 11-mile run instead of 10.

Today's new gel was called Victus (strawberry and hibiscus, 45g of carbs). I actually liked it a lot - the flavor was pleasant and not overly sweet, and the texture was smooth and easy to consume. Will add this one to the list of acceptable high-carb gels.

In total I had about 150g of carbs, which made for a new high of 88g/hour. I thought this was overkill. Fortunately it did not make me feel sick - I have heard STORIES of what happens when people push their limits on fueling - but I did feel like I had more sugar than I really needed or wanted. So I think around 75g/hour is probably good for me, at least for now. Good to know.

Sunday
Long: 2 mile WU + 2 x 4 miles @ HMP (7:42)/2 min RI + 2.7 mile CD
12.9 miles, avg. HR 165, max 185

View attachment 936959
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That was wayyyy harder than I was expecting.

It did not help that it was quite warm (T+D~140 when I finished). But it also felt hard starting from about half a mile into the first interval, which is not exactly what I was hoping for. In fairness, I did not adjust my paces for the conditions. I know I should have, but I said to myself, "I mean...my actual race paces will be faster than that, right?" and then I kind of regretted that because, as I said, it felt really hard. I am honestly kind of surprised I finished the whole workout. (And then I may or may not have added half a mile or so to my cool-down so I could get to 50 miles for the week. )

I also had this weird pain on the top of my left foot on and off, just below my toes. I think this might be a shoe issue? I had it after last week's run too. That would be really annoying, because I've been wearing Superblasts for my long runs the past few weeks, and I would like not to have wasted $200.

Today I tried my last new gel: Strykr mixed berry (50g of carbs). It was okay. The flavor wasn't terrible, but it was a little cloying. In total I had about 140g of carbs or about 76g/hour, which is what I was aiming for.

Totals
Running: 7h 46m, 50.1 miles
Strength/mobility: 1h 51m
Total: 9h 37m

View attachment 936953
I'm putting this recap together while watching the Super Bowl, obviously. We are just having a low-key night at home, but I made sure we had many snacks! There are meatballs*, pretzels*, Buffalo chicken dip, jalapeño poppers, guacamole*, stromboli*, and pretzel caramel chocolate chip blondies*.

*I made these!

Coming up
View attachment 936955

Last full week before the race! I adapted this workout from Run Like a Pro, but...it actually looks kind of easy at this point? I guess we'll find out! Might also add a few brief HMP surges into the long run to spice things up a little.

I hear you on the inconsiderate dog owner, if I am not getting chased whilst out running then it’s out of control dogs unleashed running at my dog barking and snapping whilst the owner does nothing and shouts they only want to play….. well we don’t I have lost count of these type of events however I do remember on one run I was chased by dogs 3 times …… my heart rate was something to behold that day.

It also was a factor in moving my long run to Mondays, less people walking their dogs on the trails so hopefully less chance of getting chased !!

 

[avondale]

And then I had nothing to distract me from being angry at entitled people and then thinking about all the other terrible dog owners I have encountered, so that wasn't great. (Do other people's brains do this? Like you have one bad experience, and then your brain reminds you of all of the other similar bad experiences you have had? If not, you are lucky. )

I totally do this all the time. Same thing for rude car issues...see below.

Is it bad that when you said "sneccs", I immediately looked down to see if there was a "dog with snack" picture? And then went back to read from the beginning.

So I started out wondering what "sneccs" were and by the time I got to the end of the post, it hadn't been defined but by then I had forgotten!

Oh, can we move on next to the neighbors who don't clear their sidewalks? No, let's not get Monday off to a bad start.

I have been whining about that on my training journal this winter. Sigh.

I'm like that when I almost get run over or honked at by a car. How dare they? I've chased after reckless drivers just to blow them off and stayed upset the rest of my run.

So....I have been bottling up this story and just have to let it out because it still makes me so mad. I do my 7 x 20-sec hill repeat sprints on the hill in front of the local elementary school, a couple blocks from my house. The school was razed and rebuilt in the last year or so. During that time, they put in a new exit from the school (that I cross on my repeats). The exit makes the fourth direction in a four-way stop intersection. However, prior to this new exit, when the intersection was a T, there were no stop signs on the "straight" directions, only on the stem of the T. So it being a 4-way stop is "new". But when I say "new", it has been for over 6 months and 99% of the traffic through there is people picking up or dropping off at the school and others who live on the block - in other words, everyone knows about the change.

Ok, so big set-up. After one of my repeats, I had to adjust my shoe. So I stopped at one of the "new" stop signs, wearing a neon-orange long-sleeved top (it was daylight, too). While I was there, a woman in an SUV blew through the stop sign (probably speeding, too). I yelled "hey!" Then I saw that they pulled into the school close to me - it's the after-school childcare pick-up. I ran over as the woman was exiting her SUV and said, "You know, you ran that stop sign right in front of the school!" The woman says, "No, I didn't - the sign says you only have to stop between 7am and 4pm." (It was well after 4pm.) I'm like "whaaaa??? stop signs don't have hours." So I go back to check....NOPE, no hour limitations on the stop sign. What did she see? On a telephone pole about 8 feet before the stop sign, there is a parking restriction sign that says, "No stopping 7am - 4pm" (one of those little rectangular white signs with red lettering). <Facepalm>

I went back to her to try to explain that the sign was NOT for the stop sign but for stopping along the curb, but she was having none of it. So I'm happy to think about how many other people are reading the signs that way. In retrospect, I should've gotten her license plate to ask the police to politely inform her that she apparently doesn't understand traffic signage. And since I was flustered, I didn't even realize until later that her sign doesn't even work for what she was saying because according to the sign it was only "no stopping" between 7am and 4pm and so she should have been stopping anyway. Sheesh.

Anyway, this all happened after the first repeat out of 21, so I was good and ticked off for the rest of the run, and they were faster repeats! Ha.




Back to the point on fueling... I have tried before to work out how many grams/hour of carbs, etc., but that's one set of training numbers that I gave up on. I generally try to have 100 - 150 kcal of carbs every 30 - 40 min in my longer runs. I've never felt that I need more, but sometimes, especially in races, my stomach doesn't want this toward the end, so I don't force it. Of course, my intensity is way lower than yours.

I don't like the consistency of gels nor the stickiness on my hands. I like Honey Stinger waffles, so mostly I use those, but also some GU blocks and/or things like M&Ms. I always do long runs with a hydration vest with pockets and spandex shorts with big pockets, so I generally have enough room for the bulkier stuff.

 

[WillRunForPizza]

That reminds me of the guy who ran a red light at Logan Circle while my dog and I were in the crosswalk. My dog freaked out, I yelled some Power Words, and he said, "I stopped, *****!" Like, dude, stop lights are not stop signs. You have to stay stopped until they turn green. Oof, I am still mad about that one too.

 

[The Expert]

Have any other gel recommendations?

I'll use the opportunity to plug the fuel I found during this last Dopey training, Untapped. It's organic maple syrup-based, and their HQ is about five minutes from me here in Vermont. The "gels" are basically tubes of syrup, and they have caffeinated and salted varieties and a few flavors (salted raspberry is my fav, don't care for the caffeinated). They also have a hydration mix (ginger is my fav) and waffles. I absolutely love it, have had zero GI issues while using it, and have recommended any runner I know at least give it a try.

Bonus, it's a family-owned company and randomly the owner/founder will hand deliver my orders to my front door!