It was supposed to rain today, but it turned out to be mostly sunny (and breezy). Today's 18 mile run was my longest run so far. As has been the pattern in recent long runs, I felt so-so for the first 7-8 miles, then got into a nice groove for the remainder of the run. It was an out and back course. I ran 8:55's on the way out, and around 8:30's on the way back (8:44 overall pace - 2:37:12 total time). Took 3 Gu's and drank Heed. Had a bit of hip soreness and my feet weren't always happy, but all in all I'm very pleased with this run. Quite a confidence builder. I now know I can run 20, and the marathon seems a little less intimidating. I'm still not taking it for granted, though! The weekend after next (3/21) is the Mercer Island half marathon, so no long run next week.
One problem I have now is getting calories in shortly after the run. My stomach usually doesn't want food for 2-3 hours. Even now, an hour and a half after the run, I still feel a tad nauseous. I need to figure that one out, especially on runs like today, where I burned close to 2000 calories!
I took the usual 15-minute ice bath after the run and am sitting here in three layers on top and three on the bottom, also wearing two pairs of wool socks. It took about 20 minutes after the bath to stop shivering. Ah, you gotta love the ice bath! My legs will thank me tomorrow, though.
On your long runs, do you ever walk part of it? Or are you running the entire time?
ReplyDeleteI'm running the entire time...although I see no problem with walk breaks! If/when I eventually do an ultra, I'll definitely have to include walk breaks. Thanks for stopping by!
ReplyDeleteI found that I was nauseous after my runs and had issues during many of them with taking in fuel. My cure was two fold, but remember what worked for me may be of no use to you, I started only drinking electrolyte during my runs (no or not much water), I had issues with gu and this helped along with one other thing which may be the more important one for me, that is taking Succeed tablets (NFI).
ReplyDeleteSince I started taking the Succeed tablets, I have not had issues except when I get dehydrated and then they seem to help me as I get rehydrated.
Best of luck.
Glad to hear the run went well Colin. If you don't mind I will try and share a little of what I went through. (Sounds like you are doing some of the same things I did before.)
ReplyDeleteFirst, you do not feel good because if you are drinking HEED you do not need gels. I would recommend adding more HEED to the water and cutting the gels completely. (A quick call to Hammer Nutrition would say the same thing. I called them when I felt the same as you do now.) Hammer Nutrition recommends either using HEED, or gels, but not mixing the two. I have resorted to using HEED alone, but on race day I use gels with water and whatever sports drink is offered.
(Are you using Hammer Gel, or another brand? Hammer does not have caffeine in the gels, while other brands do. This can also cause upset tummy.)
Also, after the ice bath it is OK to take a hot shower to warm up. Just don't soak in the hot water or you will slightly decrease the effectiveness of the ice bath.
Additional notes: I use 2 scoops of HEED for each 20 ounces of water.
ReplyDeleteAlso, when it is hot and/or I sweat a lot I take one Endurolyte each 1/2 hour I am running. On cooler runs when I am not sweating as much I only take one per hour. (Some use Succeed in the same manner, but I like the lower sodium content of Endurolytes better.)
I don't use Hammer products but I notice I get some GI problems if I take a gel with a sports drink. If you take a gel, wash it down with water, not Gatorade (or probably Heed for that matter).
ReplyDeleteIt's important to get those calories back into your body as soon as you can. Try to find something that your body can tolerate.
Mike, Adam, Ari...thanks very much for the comments. I agree that I need to adjust my approach to nutrition for my long runs. I've never had any stomach issues with Heed, so that's a good option for me. I recently purchased a bottle of Hammer Gel. I've used their gels before and my stomach seems to tolerate them well. I'm switching to that instead of Gu. I just need to work out when to use them, and in what combination (if any) with Heed. I really appreciate comments & advice, guys. Thanks so much!
ReplyDeleteThat's a good 18 mile run! You're definitely getting ready for the marathon. I also find if I use gels I must drink water only.
ReplyDeleteNice work! That is awesome. A negative slit too - I've never been able to run those no matter how hard I try.
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