It’s great to be blogging again, enjoying a cold drink after a strong run. After a hiatus due to moving, visiting family, and just plain good old summer activities, I’m ready to dig in and write about my progress.
Having family visiting from England was great and the timing perfect. I was on a recovery week from running so my relaxation meter was high. We vacationed in Boothbay Harbor for several days. I love the Maine Coast. The salt water smell, tranquility, and...
laid back time are always relaxed. Having ready access to wonderful seafood doesn’t hurt either. The running: Superb.
laid back time are always relaxed. Having ready access to wonderful seafood doesn’t hurt either. The running: Superb.
I went out one cool morning to run before the village came to life. The air was filled with fog and the temperature was cool. By the time I got back from my run over rolling hills along the peaceful bay, I had drops of water beading on the hairs of my arm. Being connected with nature: Priceless.
I learned something about my eating habits during vacation other than the badness of splurging on yummy, bad food. Oh, what the heck, enjoy culinary delight during vacation.
Seriously, before vacation I believe that I had been under eating. It’s so easy to do when trying to eat well. This past week, after recovery, I noticed how strong I was running. This was completely opposite from what I was thinking. I was worried that I was going to feel like a slug and be upset with the bad eating habits. Maybe I need more vacation time. Hands down, we all agree that we all need to vacation more.
Getting away from the simple sugars and fats is a must. I need to eat higher quantities of high fiber, complex carbohydrates, and proteins, all “good calories.”
Today’s run was incredible. Because of the hurricane warning for tomorrow, I already planned on not completing back-to-back runs of three and four hours. Instead, I completed 32 miles in five hours; a new milestone, breaking 30 miles.
Running ultra distances is new and exciting territory for me. I don’t know what to expect when pushing my body and mind to the brink. I’m learning so much. When my legs and feet ache and I know “the wall” is looming and I want to throw in the towel, there is no one there pushing me. I am fortunate that my family is there to help at a moment’s notice. I needed them a couple times recently. Thanks to Jenn, I was able to make a 911 call to her for more water as I continued plodding along. I don’t know what I was thinking, bringing only 48 ounces when I should have topped the bladder at 64 ounces. It must have been my subconscious kicking in at 3:30 in the morning; I didn’t want to carry the added weight. I ended up drinking 84 ounces, so I wouldn't have had enough anyway.
Since food is a topic in this blog, here is what I ate leading to the run today. Last night I had about four slices of homemade pizza followed by a bowl Cheerios and raisans. This morning, before leaving, I had a banana and a cup of coffee. When pre-loading with carbohydrates, timing is my problem. When I begin running at 4:00 am I don’t have enough time to eat. Carbohydrate loading should occur 2-5 hours before running otherwise gastrointestinal distress can occur and rebound hypoglycemia (low sugar). If eating too close to running, insulin is released which reduces the blood sugar. The blood sugar is meant for the muscles, so hypoglycemia rebound steals sugar from muscles.
I just found out that my brother-in-law, Jim, who was with us in Booth Bay, who is hiking with a group of eleven others in England as a fundraiser on September 3rd for underprivileged children at a hostel in India, completed a 24.5 mile training hike today. Between the two of us we traveled 56.5 miles for similar causes. Now that's cool!
Check out Jim's Website. Go Jim!
No comments:
Post a Comment