Long run today. This week is a cut-back week, meaning my mileage is shorter, so my long run was "only" 10 miles.
I finished reading Racing Weight: How to Get Lean for Peak Performance, and I absolutely loved it! It's unlike any other "diet" book I've ever read, because it's specifically geared toward endurance athletes, rather than the average person looking to lose weight. While I find it strange to call myself an athlete, I AM training for my second marathon, which is an endurance sport. So therefore, I guess I'm an endurance athlete?
But anyway, Racing Weight lays out the plan for endurance athletes--of different sports, and different amounts of training. There is waaay too much information to go over everything, but a few changes that I plan on trying out right now are: 1) To have a high-carb snack before I run; 2) To use either a sports drink or Gu during my runs (I haven't been doing the Gu since the marathon); 3) Eat as soon as possible after I run; 4) Try and follow this as a general plan:
So as soon as I got up this morning, I had a Larabar (almost pure carbs). I didn't have any Gatorade to take on my run, so I brought a Gu and water. I parked at my usual spot and headed out on my favorite route. My legs felt really tired! I was kind of frustrated, because I had barely started running when my legs felt heavy. I'm guessing this might be from the Wii Active workout I did yesterday, because it was a tough leg workout. I'm going to have to try and plan those better next time.
My legs finally loosened up a little after two miles. I ran a pretty consistent pace for the first half of the run. That is something that has always been hard for me--my splits are usually all over the place.
I only looked at my Garmin at the top of every mile (when it vibrated to let me know I had finished a mile). I turned around at mile 5 for an out-and-back run. I could feel myself picking up the pace, but I couldn't help it. There were a lot of people around at that point, and I always tend to go a little faster with people around ;)
When I reached mile 6, I ate my Chocolate Mint Gu. I love that stuff! It tastes like melted Junior Mints. I was fine with my water, and still had almost a full bottle, so I didn't even stop to refill. I could see a runner ahead of me by about a half-mile. At first I thought about making it a goal to catch up, but then I thought that was stupid, and I should just run a consistent pace.
I came around a bend in the path (in the woods), and I saw him on the ground doing push-ups! I'm sure he probably thought he was alone in the woods, and nobody would see. He was pounding them out though, and looked like he was in good shape. Then he jumped up and started running again--and took his shirt off. It was then that I decided to pass him. He was about a tenth of a mile ahead of me (and he still hadn't seen me), so I picked up the pace to an 8:30ish mile, and as I caught up, I said, "Good morning!"
Poor guy looked a little surprised to see me, and I felt kind of bad for passing him, so I said, "I may pass you, but I will NOT be doing push-ups up here... good for you!" He laughed, and maybe that made him feel better about being passed by a girl.
Right after I passed him, though, I thought, "Crap, now I have to hold this pace so I don't look like an ass!" I was hoping he'd turn around at the end of the park (about a half-mile ahead) and thankfully, he did. I kept going, out of the park, and was able to slow down then. I was absolutely pouring sweat. It was really humid this morning, and I was drenched when I finally got back to the car.
I could not decide what to have for a long run "treat" today. I've been having pecan pancakes from Cracker Barrel, but because the service was so bad the last two times I went, I really didn't want to go today. I decided I wanted a doughnut from the new bakery, but they were closed by the time I went. So Jerry and I went to Kroger to get the stuff to make burgers for dinner (veggie burger for me). While we were there, I got some Moose Tracks frozen yogurt to have for dessert.
The kids are staying the night with my parents tonight, so Jerry and I are going to have a stay-at-home date night ;)
I finished reading Racing Weight: How to Get Lean for Peak Performance, and I absolutely loved it! It's unlike any other "diet" book I've ever read, because it's specifically geared toward endurance athletes, rather than the average person looking to lose weight. While I find it strange to call myself an athlete, I AM training for my second marathon, which is an endurance sport. So therefore, I guess I'm an endurance athlete?
But anyway, Racing Weight lays out the plan for endurance athletes--of different sports, and different amounts of training. There is waaay too much information to go over everything, but a few changes that I plan on trying out right now are: 1) To have a high-carb snack before I run; 2) To use either a sports drink or Gu during my runs (I haven't been doing the Gu since the marathon); 3) Eat as soon as possible after I run; 4) Try and follow this as a general plan:
 |
| The book goes into a lot of detail about what foods are "high quality", as well as the timing of meals. |
My legs finally loosened up a little after two miles. I ran a pretty consistent pace for the first half of the run. That is something that has always been hard for me--my splits are usually all over the place.I only looked at my Garmin at the top of every mile (when it vibrated to let me know I had finished a mile). I turned around at mile 5 for an out-and-back run. I could feel myself picking up the pace, but I couldn't help it. There were a lot of people around at that point, and I always tend to go a little faster with people around ;)
When I reached mile 6, I ate my Chocolate Mint Gu. I love that stuff! It tastes like melted Junior Mints. I was fine with my water, and still had almost a full bottle, so I didn't even stop to refill. I could see a runner ahead of me by about a half-mile. At first I thought about making it a goal to catch up, but then I thought that was stupid, and I should just run a consistent pace.
I came around a bend in the path (in the woods), and I saw him on the ground doing push-ups! I'm sure he probably thought he was alone in the woods, and nobody would see. He was pounding them out though, and looked like he was in good shape. Then he jumped up and started running again--and took his shirt off. It was then that I decided to pass him. He was about a tenth of a mile ahead of me (and he still hadn't seen me), so I picked up the pace to an 8:30ish mile, and as I caught up, I said, "Good morning!"
Poor guy looked a little surprised to see me, and I felt kind of bad for passing him, so I said, "I may pass you, but I will NOT be doing push-ups up here... good for you!" He laughed, and maybe that made him feel better about being passed by a girl.
Right after I passed him, though, I thought, "Crap, now I have to hold this pace so I don't look like an ass!" I was hoping he'd turn around at the end of the park (about a half-mile ahead) and thankfully, he did. I kept going, out of the park, and was able to slow down then. I was absolutely pouring sweat. It was really humid this morning, and I was drenched when I finally got back to the car.
 |
| I assure you, I did not do a sub-4:00 minute pace at ANY point, so that must be a little blip just before mile 5 ;) |
The kids are staying the night with my parents tonight, so Jerry and I are going to have a stay-at-home date night ;)
