The 20 miler

Yesterday was the 20 mile training run. Conditions were pretty grim - cold (low to mid 30's) with a constant rain. I woke up early, as I have been every day lately, and headed out the door into the darkness around 6 am to plant bottles of JRP's new concoction for me - water + carb slam (dextrose) + BCAAs. Then I parked the car and...ran! Somehow it still amazes me that all one has to do to run, is to well, start running. Unlike other sports, there isn't much in the way of preparation, and there are no good ways to procrastinate once you are dressed and at the starting line.

Anyway, I enjoyed the heck out of my run. I think the weather helped push me - I knew if I could do 20 in those conditions, I was in good stead. And for the first time ever, my stomach didn't completely rebel. I believe the "concoction" was helpful, that and not eating much along the way. I had a few bites of banana but that was it for food. It was nice to not be out of commission for the rest of the day and actually able to function, do work, and not nap! My body is getting stronger and tolerating these demands much, much better than before.

Whenever I finish a longer run, I always wonder how the heck I ever did it. It's a long time to just keep going (for me, 20.5 miles in 2:54).

I was soaking wet, cold, but exhilarated! I'm looking forward to 22, then 24, then finally the big 26.2 mile run!

The song that got me through the final few miles was Switchfoot's Dare You To Move. I think it's actually about about someone hitting rock bottom, but the lines about "I dare you to move, I dare you to lift yourself up off the floor" just spurs me on!! Apparently this song/video has hit the mainstream...there's quite a bit of that crossover happening for Christian groups.

We live up to our expectations, not our desires

This article caught my eye -- http://www.peertrainer.com/expectations_versus_desires.aspx -- talking about how many diets fail because we rely on our desire for weight loss to carry us through to the goal, while in fact our deep-down beliefs and expectations for success can undermine that and keep us from our goals.

Maybe that's one of the things that is so great about working with a talented trainer. They help us recalibrate our expectations. That's true for me...the things I am doing now I could never have counted among my expectations.

Nutrition

Notes from papers I read -

Walberg Rankin, Janet (2000). Dietary Carbohydrate and Performance of Brief, Intense Exercise. Sports Science Exchange, 13(4), 1-4.

• for RT or repeated sprints, no benefit to high CHO intake compared to moderate
• carbs after workouts help recovery

American College of Sports Medicine and American Dietetic Association (2000). Nutrition and Athletic Performance, Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 2130-2145.

• fat should be 20-25% of diet; below 15% provides no benefits
• protein for me - around 70 recommended for endurance; up to 95 for RT
• body fat for female runners between 6 & 15%; skin-fold measures have errors up to 3-4%
• get screened for iron status? do I get enough iron?
• electrolytes are not necessary for sessions under 3 or 4 hours
• carbs during exercise good even for events lasting under an hour. For longer, about 39 g per hour can extend performance -- 1 pks Sharkies is 36 g, 1 PowerGel is 28g
• consume glucose, fructose can lead to diarrhea
• post-exercise CHO intake - 83 g @ 2h intervals BUT timing is not that critical if there will be one or more days off between intense training sessions.

Rough interval workout

Today I was scheduled to run 16x800m repeats and I wanted to start with a mile to see how close I could come to 6:00. I felt good, rested, fed, ready to go, but mentally I was worried and negative. JRP came out to support me but I was beyond help. I got through the first half mile at a 6:08 pace, but could not sustain it and just stopped...quit. I've never done that before. I got to work on the repeats but each one was so hard. I got through 10 and was advised to cool down. Which now that I think about, I never did. More like fell over on the giant pole-vaulting marshmallow pad, under a crystal clear sky with just a whisp of a cloud. I didn't want to get up again....ever. It was too perfect.

My times today for the 800's (.51/52 miles) were 3:12, 3:16, 3:16, 3:24, 3:16, 3:23, 3:07, 3:14, 3:08, plus that 2:54 for .47 miles. That's an average of 3:15. Lap 14 was a 6:02 avg pace....close, now I just have to learn how to sustain it for a full mile. That requires an attitude I did not have today.

Considering that a month ago on 2/7, I did the 800s in 3:20 and 3:25 for an average of 3:22, today was an improvement. I wish I had known that this morning when my head went south. The moral of the story is (a) I need to go into speed work knowing what my times have been historically and (b) I HAVE to have goal times to pace myself. Jake pointed out I'm not recovering enough in between so the idea is to use the HR monitor to get to about 20 bpm over resting before starting again.

I will go for an easy 5-6 tomorrow just to run and be happy...to get that positive vibe back.

Today's Run Inspiration

By Your Side by Tenth Avenue North

Why are you striving these days
Why are you trying to earn grace
Why are you crying
Let me lift up your face
Just don't turn away

Why are you looking for love
Why are you still searching as if I'm not enough
To where will you go child
Tell me where will you run
To where will you run

'Cause I'll be by your side
Wherever you fall
In the dead of night
Whenever you call
And please don't fight
These hands that are holding you
My hands are holding you

Look at these hands and my side
They swallowed the grave on that night
When I drank the world's sin
So I could carry you in
And give you life
I want to give you life

Cause I, I love you
I want you to know
That I, I love you
I'll never let you go