S.P.U.N.K. Experimentation

Sports Performance Utility Nutrition Kick*

After experiencing some major mental lows during the Baton Rouge Marathon, I figure it is time to start trying to find a nutrition source that I can stomach during long races.

I've never taken a gel during a race or a training run and felt any discernible "boost" of energy. I know lots of people who SWEAR by them, but for me... it's always just been something that takes extra time and either upsets my stomach or makes me gag (or both!), which is why it has been easy to just completely stop using them. BUT, I do think mentally, I could use a charge of calories. So, that's why I'm trying to find something that I can get down easily during a race.

So, the criteria for me on gels is just a couple of things:
1. I can actually eat the thing without gagging.
2. It doesn't make me vomit and/or shit.
3. It's easy to carry. (Stupid ShotBlox).


So far, I've tried the following gels:

Cherry Lime Roctane Gu

This gel is advertised as an "Ultra Endurance" energy gel. What makes it ULTRA, you ask?

From Gu's website:

Roctane Ultra Endurance Energy Gel contains more of the ingredients that matter during long or intense activity while still being based on the proven ratio of simple and complex carbohydrates found in GU Energy Gel.

• 3 times more Branched Chain Amino Acids
• 10 times more Histidine
• 2-3 times more electrolytes

Ok, now if you're anything like me... you read that and you're like.. WTF? I still don't know what any of this means.

• More key electrolytes - Sodium and potassium help to properly maintain hydration
• More Branch Chain Amino Acids (Leucine, Valine, Isoleucine) - Shown to serve as a fuel source (when taken with carbohydrates), reduce muscle damage, enhance recovery and delay fatigue – all critical during intense or long efforts
• More Histidine (Amino Acid) - Can promote muscle buffers to prevent accumulation of lactic acid in muscles during exercise

You lost me at Amino...

Amy's Scoring:

1. It was thick and the amount was fairly easy to get down. No gagging.

2. It did not make me barf or shit.

I tried the Cherry Lime Flavor. It was okay. 

Overall Grade: B

Hammer Gel

From their website:

The staples of any energy drink, bar, or gel are carbohydrates. In this regard, Hammer Gel stands alone in today's glutted market of energy products. A look at the ingredient list on the label will tell you why: we use long-chain complex carbohydrates for smooth, consistent energy release. There's only a trace of sugar, so Hammer Gel doesn't set off wild insulin spikes causing "sugar high" and "sugar crash." You won't find our products saturated with cheap, ineffective, commercial-grade sugars, which can ruin health and performance.

Hammer Gel is an easily digested, concentrated source of complex carbohydrates with four amino acids added to enhance performance and prolong energy levels during intense training and competition. Hammer Gel has a syrup-like consistency that mixes easily with water if so desired. You can drink it straight, dilute it, or use it to flavor other Hammer Nutrition fuels. Use it before, during, and after exercise.

Okay, so, now my mind is BLOWN. I can mix hammer gel with WATER???? WTF?? That changes everything! Now, I have to try that.


Amy's Scoring:
1. It doesn't make me gag. But it is thin and I find that there's a LOT of gel in the packet.
2. Stomach happy.

Apple Cinnamon flavor is my favorite. It doesn't taste chemically or overly sweet.

Overall Grade: B-

The killer for me is the volume of gel. But the taste keeps it in the mix.

Power Gel

So, their website is acting wonky, and it's not letting me cut and paste their blurb about why their product is the best on the market. But, basically, it looks like Power Gel's offer the most sodium of all gels. Honestly, that might be a big plus for me. (The white ring around the edges of my face after a run would agree).

Amy's Scoring:

1. Goopy and thin, but no gagging.

2. No stomach problems.

I actually really liked the flavor of the Strawberry Banana. But, it did have globs of something in there, which made me worry that maybe it was expired??? And then I was afraid I was going to die from eating expired gel. But, who knows... maybe it just has little "bursts" or something in the gel.

Overall Score: B.

Conclusion: I'm going to try the Hammer Gel in water thing, I guess. And maybe give the Power Gel another go?

What are your favorite gels?

*You win at life if you know where S.P.U.N.K. comes from. And I mean, what television show... not where it literally comes from, you Perv!

When your entire body begins to burn, when the challenge has taken you to the max, fuel up with PowerGel® Energy Gels. Each Gel is designed with 27-28 grams of PowerBar’s C2MAX dual source energy blend, which can help deliver 20 to 50 percent* more energy to your muscles. Not only that, PowerGel® Energy Gels have the most sodium** of any leading gel on the market.
So if you’re the type of athlete that continues to push yourself on to new heights and achievements each day, PowerGel® Energy Gels can help boost your performance.
[SOURCES]
**200mg sodium - compared to other leading gels that offer less than 75mg per pouch .
 ** - See more at: http://www.powerbar.com/Products/powergel-strawberry-banana#sthash.lasNo7qm.dpuf

When your entire body begins to burn, when the challenge has taken you to the max, fuel up with PowerGel® Energy Gels. Each Gel is designed with 27-28 grams of PowerBar’s C2MAX dual source energy blend, which can help deliver 20 to 50 percent* more energy to your muscles. Not only that, PowerGel® Energy Gels have the most sodium** of any leading gel on the market.
So if you’re the type of athlete that continues to push yourself on to new heights and achievements each day, PowerGel® Energy Gels can help boost your performance.
[SOURCES]
**200mg sodium - compared to other leading gels that offer less than 75mg per pouch .
 ** - See more at: http://www.powerbar.com/Products/powergel-strawberry-banana#sthash.lasNo7qm.dpuf

When your entire body begins to burn, when the challenge has taken you to the max, fuel up with PowerGel® Energy Gels. Each Gel is designed with 27-28 grams of PowerBar’s C2MAX dual source energy blend, which can help deliver 20 to 50 percent* more energy to your muscles. Not only that, PowerGel® Energy Gels have the most sodium** of any leading gel on the market.
So if you’re the type of athlete that continues to push yourself on to new heights and achievements each day, PowerGel® Energy Gels can help boost your performance.
[SOURCES]
**200mg sodium - compared to other leading gels that offer less than 75mg per pouch .
 ** - See more at: http://www.powerbar.com/Products/powergel-strawberry-banana#sthash.lasNo7qm.dpuf

Nutrition Training

I've been really making an effort to fuel my body a little better during training this time around.

Pre-Run:
Before a speed workout or a run of more than 10 miles, I try to eat a little something:

Udi's Gluten Free Cinnamon Raisin Bread.

I generally eat this before a speed workout or mid-long run.
Really tasty.

 

 Udi's Gluten Free Muffins

These are the lowest calorie GF muffins I could find. 

They've got about 300 calories and I usually eat 

one before a long run.
Also, really good.
The texture of baked goods with GF flours is different... softer.
 

Post Run:

After a hard run, I try to remember to have a protein smoothie as soon as I get done.

Garden of Life Protein Powder has been my choice lately.

I usually mix it with some unsweetened cocoa powder,

agave nectar, pinch of salt, almond milk, and wheatgrass powder.
It tastes like a frosty.

 

Supplementation:

Also known as "expensive piss."

Coenzyme Q10: Honestly, I can't remember why I take this except that I heard this man say I should be taking it:

Dr. Andrew Weil.

My health guru.

I pretty much do about 33% of everything he suggests.

I seem to remember something about cardiovascular health or something? I dunno.
 

Iron: Obvs.
 

Holy Basil: Dr. Weil strikes again! I read about this herb in his book Spontaneous Happiness (one of the best books I've ever read about mental health). This just takes the edge off and helps me handle stress a little easier. I dunno. When I was buying it for the first time last year, the woman at the health food store described it by saying....

"You know when you're driving in your car and you want to run over everything and everyone?"

"Yes, YES, I KNOW EXACTLY WHAT YOU MEAN."  

"yeah, this herb makes just makes you totally chill about it all."

 I bought like 5 bottles on the spot.
 

ZMA: I just started taking this, The KoB bought me some. It's supposed to help with recovery. The bottle says something about testosterone? I dunno, I keep expecting to wake up like the Incredible Hulk in the middle of the night or something.

I haven't really been taking it long enough to know whether or not it's helping. And honestly, I'm not sure if it's absorbing all that well, because you're supposed to take it before bed on an empty stomach. But, I pretty much always go to bed immediately after dinner. So.... I dunno. I'll let you know.

 

B-Complex: All my B levels were low the last time I was at the doctor, so I take this to hopefully help that. And when I take it at night, I make sure to take my Holy Basil with it. I think the B-Complex can hype me up a bit, and plus, when I take the Holy Basil at night I have very awesome, vivid dreams. The best thing I think about the B-Complex that I actually notice, is that when I take it before bed, I wake up a LOT easier in the morning.

 

Not pictured: B-12 drops: Same health food store lady INSISTED that I start taking B-12 when she found out my diet. I'm not complaining... it tastes like cherry kool-aid. But, since it's kept in the fridge, I often forget about it.
 

A word on supplementation: This is something that I am very interested in. Particularly herbs, etc. But, I find it overwhelming to keep track of WHEN you're supposed to take certain things for the best absorption. Like, Iron is supposed to be taken with Vitamin C, right?? Ugh. I am also forgetful about taking them consistently. I guess I need to make a chart or something. Any suggestions on this? Does anyone else take supplements or do you just think it's a bunch of hoo-ha (for the record, up until a couple of years ago I was a strong believer that vitamins and supplements were a waste a money. Now, I'm obsessed with them.)

 



BQ Training Week 3

The theme of this week was procrastination. GOOD GRIEF, if this scheduling bullshit continues I will have a nervous breakdown in a couple of weeks.

So, let's talk a little bit about my overall scheduling for this training period.Generally it's supposed to look like this:

Mondays & Wednesdays: Easy. Ideally, I'd like to run a few easy miles with my dog in the morning and then 6-7 easy with The KoB in the evening. Coach has suggested that 2 a days might not be good for my workouts on the following days, so I'm trying to figure out how to juggle that advice with keeping my dog happy and getting to spend an hour or so talking The KoB's ear off in the afternoon.

Tuesdays & Thursdays: Dedicated workout days. It looks like Tuesdays are mostly track days and Thursdays are longer runs with Marathon Pace miles in them.

Fridays and Sundays: Fridays I can take off or run a few easy junk miles. Sundays will be reserved for a few recovery miles.

Saturdays: Long.

So, this is all pretty doable and pretty similar to my training cycles in the past, except in the past, I've only really had one workout a week. So, if I missed it on Tuesday, I could easily make it up on Wednesday or Thursday. This time around I have two workouts a week (which I am LOVING), but whoa... that extra workout really makes the schedule less flexible. If I screw up my Tuesday somehow (which... I did this week) then I'm kinda effed.

Now let's look at this week specifically.

Workouts:
Track: 3x2000 progressing from Marathon Pace to 10K pace.
Longer Speed: 12 miles total with 40 minutes at Marathon Pace.
Long: 17 miles evenly paced.

My track workout didn't happen in the morning, since I had to be at a client's at 9am and I woke up late. No problem, I'll just do it in the evening. Except when I ran over to the track, there was a soccer game going on and while I still could have done my workout, the idea of doing my 2000s in front of a crowd of people in the stands made me want to vomit. So, I turned around and ran home. UGH. The good news for this week was that my long run was going to be on Sunday, so I was able to do my workout on Wednesday.

It went really well. I loved having to use my brain so much during the run to figure out if I was on pace or not and I had no problem running these faster than I was supposed. Oops.

The 12 miles total with 40 minutes at marathon pace almost didn't happen. Friday morning I set out to do it, but I only managed 3 warm up miles with my dog and told myself that I'd do the rest of the workout Friday afternoon. Haha. THANKFULLY, The KoB was planning on doing a workout too, and mentioned that we should meet at the park after work for accountability. Uhhh... good thing, cause I would have TOTALLY bailed.

I got to the park and started my workout and when The KoB got there, he hopped along with me and used the rest of my workout as his warm-up. This run was pretty hard. I did run it too fast, so that didn't help, but it was also just really hot out and I didn't want to be running.  Having The KoB there was great, it kept me from slacking off or bagging the run entirely, but the actual running part was pretty miserable. I was happy with the outcome and so glad that even though I procrastinated till Friday night. I got in all my workouts for the week.

Now comes the weekend. The Nashville Striders were having a training run on Sunday, so I just jogged around for a bit on Saturday before spending the day with my Dad, some uncles, my brother, The KoB, and my dad's other woman:

Sarah Ruth had a beauty pageant in BFE, TN this weekend.

Saturday night we were scrambling to get some dinner before heading to a baby shower. We ended up at Jason's Deli where I had the salad bar and didn't realize until I had shoveled about 3 bites worth of pasta salad down my throat that uhhh... yeah, that has gluten in it. Well, that's okay... It was just a couple of bites.

We got to the party and somehow I remembered to stay away from the crackers and bread there, but as soon as I had just finished scarfing down a piece of carrot cake and was on my third beer The KoB says... "doesn't beer have gluten?"

HOW DID I FORGET THAT? HOW DID I ALSO EAT CAKE?

Apparently, I am the worst gluten-free eater in the world. I mean, it's ONE day a week, right? I can't even get my shit together for one day a week. UGH.

Needless to say, my long run wasn't as successful or long as I had hoped. I ran about 14.5 and had to duck into the bushes twice. My stomach felt iffy from the moment I started running till about 20 minutes after I had stopped. NOT GOOD. Lesson learned.

And I leave you with a scruffy pic of Leo that I found

on my camera from last weekend. Apparently, I took

lots of photos, but didn't remember taking them. 

Beast Ice Strikes again.

And also a random video that was on my camera, too.
Hahahaha. Drunky McDrunkerson.

20 Miles of Awesomeness

So, yeah, it's Spring and everyone and their brother is training for a spring-time marathon. Which means that all my running pals are getting in long runs on the weekends and OF COURSE I CANT BE LEFT OUT. WTF, guys? So, at 6:30 Saturday morning I found myself standing around with a bunch of other Nashville Striders embarking on a 20 mile training run. Mostly, I was lured by the promise of IHOP afterwards.

I actually really like this particular run. The first 13ish miles are the Half Marathon route for the Country Music Marathon and there is something about running in a pack of runners through downtown Nashville on an early Saturday morning.

Anyway, I was happy to see my friend Melissa at the run who is training for BOSTON and we set out to run together. It had been awhile since we'd seen each other, so there was plenty of catching up to do. My garmin was dead, so I didn't have the distraction of being able to look down every minute to see how far we'd gone. Anytime that I asked Melissa and she'd respond, I'd always be like.. Really... that far, already?

And by the time we finished, I couldn't believe that we'd just ran 20 miles. It went by so fast and so easily and all I could think was... well, shit. none of my 20 milers for Birmingham went that well. Thanks, universe. Ugh.

More importantly for future reference: It occurred to me two days after the run, that I didn't fuel at all during the run. I had sips of gatorade at the water stops. But no gels, blocks, or anything. And I never felt like I was running low on energy or had extreme muscle fatigue or anything. Good to know, eh?

Week 14

If you wanna fly, you've got to give up the shit that weighs you down.

Toni Morrison

Surprisingly, after that half marathon PR (!!!), I was not sore. Like at all. I did experience dead legs for most of the week, though. Luckily, it was a step-back week and Coach encouraged me to take a day off and she let me use the race as an excuse to bail early on a long run. YAY FOR LAZINESS!

So, there's really not a lot to report from last week. I only ran 40 miles and had a nasty fall on Tuesday evening.

The End.

Actually, not the end. So... I realized this weekend that I've been been a total slacker lately. So, it's time for some things to change starting TODAY.

1. MORE YOGA: Ugh. I have been totally slacking on the yoga lately. I have started practicing at home a lot more (which I actually enjoy) because I'm a picky bitch when it comes to teachers/classes/studios and my regular studio kinda pissed me off recently, so I've been staying away from there. BUT, it's a lot easier to just skip it altogether if you're not going to a class. So, I gotta keep myself accountable and try to up my at home practice. SOMEONE OPEN A DHARMA YOGA STUDIO OR A JIVAMUKTI STUDIO IN NASHVILLE, PLEASE! THANK YOU.

Related to the yoga... I've also been slacking on my meditation and pranayama practices. As in NOT DOING THEM AT ALL. Ugh.

2. MINDFUL EATING. I've been really lazy about watching what I eat lately and I can tell... in my clothes, my attitude, my skin, the mirror. It's time to step away from shoveling whatever food is in the vicinity into my mouth and start thinking a little more about what I'm eating and how it's going to make me feel. Less sugar, more spinach. Less coffee, more sparkling wine. What? Okay, okay.. less booze, too. Blarg.

Good thing I stocked up on booze this weekend. 

Oops.

3. LONG RUNS. So... lately, I seem to always come up with a good excuse to bail early on my long runs. Last week it was the half marathon, the week before that it was I had to get home in time to meet my mom, and the week before that I'm sure it was something else. The point is... there are always excuses I can find to bail early on a long run. But, the race is in 2 months and it's time to take the long runs seriously.

So, there ya have it. I've put it on the blog, so now I gotta do it. (Sorry for all the yelling in today's post. I BLAME THE COFFEE. Oops. Sorry).

Make me feel better... have you guys been slacking on all the things lately, too?

Race Report: Team Nashville 10 Miler

AKA the race where I used every possible crutch I could (well, except for a pacer):

1. I wore my GPS, with current pace, last mile pace, mileage, and overall time on the screen.
2. I wore sunglasses (I never wear sunglasses to run).
3. I ran with my ipod.
4. I ran wearing gloves. (Not really a crutch, but I have to say it was nice to have something to wipe my face with as I ran).

As much as I want to be a hardcore runner who doesn't need music or my GPS watch... they both came in REALLY handy on Saturday morning. So, yeah, softcore Amy all the way.

My goal was to not just PR (My 10 mile PR was 1:31:51 set back in 2008). But, I wanted to break 1:25.

I woke up and did a few things differently than I normally do before a race. First, I took a B-complex vitamin and an Iron pill. Then I putzed around a bit and ate a bowl of cereal around 2 hours before the race. On the way to the race, I stopped and bought a diet coke (for the caffeine) and then once at the race before my warm up and about 30 minutes before the race, I ate a Luna bar.

NONE of that stuff is stuff I EVER do before a race. Did I know that all this new stuff had the potential to royally fuck up my race morning? Yeah, I did. But, it was a risk I was willing to take.

Lately, I've felt like when I start a race, my legs feel like shit. Heavy, slow, etc. But, Saturday, they felt light and fresh. I knew from the warm-up that it was going to be a good day to try for my 1:25.

Less than a mile into the race. School started early on Saturday.

I knew I needed to run 8:30s, and after sending freak-out emails to both Coach and The KoB on Friday about OMG, WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO DO AT A RACE (yes, this happens before EVERY race), I kinda had the strategy of, start off conservatively (8:45ish) and whittle my way down. Did that happen? Um. Not exactly.

Mile 1:  8:27
I knew going into the race to keep an eye on the race mile markers and the total time, instead of just relying on my Garmin. And when I got to the first mile marker, my Garmin already said 1.1. WTF? This made for a crazy day of lots of my math-doing in my head.

Or, ya know, I'll become an accountant and work with numbers 

ALL FUCKING DAY LONG.

That first mile felt good. Not labored or hard (like the half marathon a month ago felt). The second mile had a bit of a hill in it, but I powered up it no problem.

Mile 2: 8:22.
I was looking at my watch oh... about every 7 seconds and instead of it annoying the crap out of me, it was actually a welcome distraction. It was almost soothing to know that I was keeping my pace in check.

Mile 3: 8:17
Mile 4: 8:20
Mile 5: 8:26

It was at this point that I started thinking about the hill after mile 5. It's a pretty big hill and I was hoping that it would only slow me down to around 8:35-8:45.

Mile 6: 9:17
Doh! I was so pissed about this time. Sure it was a tough hill, but it wasn't THAT tough. I soldiered on and started thinking about the hill in the last mile. I knew that I was going to need to bank some time while I could for that hill. I also started doing the math in my head, trying to figure out what I had to run for the last few miles to make my goal. Basically, I told myself that I couldn't run slower than 8:15s.

Mile 7: 8:00

Mile 8: 7:55

Mile 9: 8:09

And then the hill. UGH. It was a bitch. It's a long grind (which I usually don't mind) and then a steep section near the top (my least favorite types of hills). It was terrible. My legs and chest both felt like they were going to explode. Once it was over (by the way, thanks to the dude that passed me on the hill and tried to give me words of encouragement. Sorry I gave you the death stare and grunt), I started to really pick it up, as I knew that every second was going to count (particularly after the hill). I passed by Elly, the photographer and she said to me.... "That bad, huh?"

 Yeah, it felt pretty fucking terrible.

 At least with sunglasses you can't tell that my eyes are closed.

I had about a quarter of a mile to go and I just ran as fast as I possibly could. I started dry heaving and thought that I was going to throw up all over myself (luckily there was nothing left in my stomach). I dry heaved about 5 times before crossing the finish line and dry heaving again. EVERYONE in the finish line area was quiet, they thought that I was going to start spewing like a volcano at any moment. Luckily, I didn't.

But I did come in with a PR and I met my goal... 1:24:37! BOOM BITCHES! Schooled!

Mile 10: 8:38 (stupid fucking hill).

This race was a huge boost for me. Aside from the hills and the last minute sprint, I felt REALLY good during this entire race. Which is very rare for me. I think my experimentation was right on the money and I'm going to continue to tweak a few things with that routine. This day was a HUGE difference from the Half marathon I ran a month ago. That's progress, bitches!

Bullshit, etc...

On the blog:
First off, as much as I HATE filling out the stupid word decoder thingy on other people's blogs when I leave a comment. I'm turning it back on here. I got 63 spam emails yesterday from "anonymous commenters" and 24 already this morning. YOU WILL NOT WIN SPAMBOTS. Sorry, I know it's annoying and probably discourages people from commenting, but I can't handle anymore of those emails.

On the Run Bitches:
Also, just thought I'd share with you the original prototype for the Run Bitches shirts:

Same Front.

But a slightly different wording on the back:

Classy, right?

Probably for the best we went the less offensive route.

On my Health:
I went to the doctor on Monday for my yearly check-up and got lots of red on my results.

No need to panic, I'm only borderline anemic.

Anyway, after self/google diagnosing myself with Pernicious Anemia, turns out my doc isn't worried about my numbers, at all and initially told me my results were fine. (And then I nagged him about WHY IS THERE SO MUCH FUCKING RED ON MY RESULTS and that's when I got the... you're fine, but you're borderline anemic. Take a supplement if you want, you whiny bitch). But hey, my cholesterol went down 28 points from last year whogivesaflyingfuckaboutcholesterolatage32?!

So, I'm going to continue with my B, B-12, and Iron supplements. And possibly experiment a bit more with the amounts and the timing of when I take them.

On Running:
Speaking of that, holy shit balls, y'all. I've started running some after work lately and like whoa... I kinda/sorta like it! Obvs I picked the best possible time for this: when daylight savings ends. But, whatever. Generally, my legs feel really good in the afternoons. I'm not sure if it's because of my lunch, or the supplements I take after lunch, or just because I wasn't sleeping approximately 10 minutes beforehand? I'm not giving up on morning runs entirely, but I'm definitely enjoying mixing it up with an afternoon run occasionally.

On Eating and Running:
I never eat before a run in the morning. Races are slightly different. I'll generally eat half of an energy bar a couple hours before a race of 13 miles or longer. And in a marathon, I'll usually use shotblox a little during the race.

And I'm thinking maybe it's time to experiment a little more. Particularly since I had an amazing run on Sunday after eating an enormous breakfast. Not that I should be eating a pound of homefries before a long run or race, but maybe having a little something on the stomach isn't a bad thing. I'm so nervous about my GI issues flaring up, that I generally think that no food is best. But... maybe some white carbs wouldn't be so bad before a race? I actually just purchased these items to test out tomorrow morning: Kryptonite Peanut Butter Puffins and Lemon Zest Luna Bar:

Breakfast of champions or just the breakfast of my dreams?

Swoon.

Everyone is different. So tell me... what fueling plan works best for you?

On Friends:
Shout out to my BFF, Lauren who is going to kill it at the Richmond Marathon this weekend. School some bitches, girl!

On Hydration

I used to carry around a bottle of water everywhere.

First it was this bottle:

It looks like it was made in 1982.

It probably was.

Until I realized that the BPA in that bad boy was likely killing me and/or doing odd things to my lady bits. So, after that scare, I went out and bought a Nathan Stainless Steel water bottle that is perfect except it sweats a lot and water gets trapped in the top where the straw goes and spills water all over me about 65% of the time. It's awesome. not.

Mine is navy and has green pine trees on it.

Anyway, I used to drink about 2-3 bottles worth of water a day. When I was doing hot yoga, I was probably drinking more than that. But when I quit hot yoga, I started to ease up on the water drinking. This kinda naturally happened, but I also stopped drinking so much water for a few other reasons:

1. I'm lazy.

2. I don't really like drinking room temperature water, but when I drink cold water it makes me cold. (When I crunch on my ice at home, I have a blanket over me and usually a sweatshirt on AND the A/C going. I know).

3. My possibly-future Guru once made fun of people for bringing water to a 2 hour yoga class (a hatha class, not a hot yoga class). 

Dharma and me, BFFs. 

He explained that if you're eating a healthy diet of fresh fruits and vegetables that you don't need to be drinking gallons of water. And then he went on to talk about his Teacher who once went 45 days or something without drinking any water. Obviously, I took all this with a grain (or 4) of salt. But he does make a good point. (And for a disclaimer, he was saying this to a room full of yogis, NOT runners. I should have realized that I sweat a shit ton more than my fellow yogis).

5. My diet changed in a way that I started incorporating more liquids, so I was kinda naturally getting more hydration. Which I thought would be enough.

All of this is fine and dandy and probably wouldn't be an issue for a normal person. But for someone who lives in the humidity hell of Middle Tennessee and who starts sweating when they just start thinking about the heat... uhhh.. I probably should drink a little more water than NONE. 

I do usually hydrate well on the weekends. Funny how that works.

So, instead of just drinking water when I'm thirsty (which isn't that often), I'm going to start making a conscious effort to get back onto the water-drinking wagon. Starting this week! I think it does make a difference in my running and how I feel and what better a week than before a half marathon race weekend?

We'll see how it goes. Currently, I've got a bottle of water next to me and a cup full of ice that I'm munching on annnnnd I've got my little space heater on. Awesome.

The Sweet Spot

Warning: This post could cause extreme nausea and/or eye rolling.

Something happened last week. At some point last week something clicked inside me and I realized... Whoa. Running is fun! After almost 3 months of standing at my front door every morning trying to make the decision of whether I'd rather slit my wrists or go for a run, I found myself happily heading out AND I actually felt good during most of my runs. People! This is huge!

And so I spent all last week basking in the gloriousness of running. W.T.F?

I felt so good that after I got my weekly schedule from my Coach, I emailed her back (because I can't even tie my goddamn shoelaces without asking her if it's okay. Co-dependent much?) to see if it was okay if I can run MORE miles that week.

Bwhahahaha. Adorbs.

I've decided to spend these next two months before my marathon training gets into high gear to base build. Which coincides nicely with this new found love of running that I have also means I'll probably be burnt the fuck out before marathon training. yay!

But of course, I can't just be happy and leave things alone. Nooooooo sir. I have to start analyzing every minute detail of my running to figure out WHY I'm feeling so great and probably ruin everything in the process.

The only thing that I can come up with is an idea that I'm in the sweet spot right now. And this sweet spot is comprised of the following things:

1. I'm only doing speed work once a week, so, I'm not super fatigued. And in general I don't give a rat's ass about my pace.

2. I'm finally adjusted to the humidity. I don't even really notice the humidity until I notice that I can wring my shirt out during a run. Ew.

3. I'm eating enough.

4. I'm getting enough Iron. I know that's like the hot topic these days on blogs, but I've been consciously trying to include more iron in my diet since June or so (blackstrap molasses, spinach, and when I remember, I take a supplement). I did this because I had all the symptoms of low iron (extreme fatigue and pagophagia) plus I'm a girl AND a runner. Jackpot Anemia! And while I am feeling better, I'm still craving and eating ice like CRAZY. I'm afraid I'm like one step away from that god awful show on TV where people eat chalk or rocks or some shit. I do have a doctors appointment in a couple of weeks, so I'll get a blood test then.

5. I'm drinking a shit ton of water (mostly in the form of ice, thanks pagophagia! ugh).

6. I'm getting enough Protein.
7. Carryover excitement from the Olympics?

Anyway... it's probably a mix of a lot of these things. But in any case, I'm sorry in advance if this awesomeness persists, because if it does... it probably means some shitty/boring/rainbows and unicorns blog posts in the future. And let's be honest... who wants to read about that shit?

Yayyyyyy Running!!!

(Go ahead and gag. I know I'd want to).

Product Review: Vega Sport Performance Protein

 So... I haven't talked much about my diet on here in awhile. Mainly because I've found that your diet is kinda like your dreams: as much as you want to talk about it, nobody else really gives a shit. And also because, last summer I did some tweaking to my diet, found what works for me and have been happy as a clam ever since. The END.

A couple of months ago, my ass was dragging. I was training for the shittacular DNF marathon and I was super fatigued. I bitched and whined in my running log about how dead my legs were and how awful running felt. And my coach sent me a nice little note with a pep talk telling me to take some easy/rest days. Which, I did. She also mentioned that when she gets dead legs that she revs up her protein intake a bit and that she's noticed that it helps.

Meh. Protein? Admittedly, I'm a little irrationally sensitive to the protein issue. But, I just assumed that I was getting enough protein. I eat pretty healthy, all the nutrition should be there. Including protein!

Uhh... except, it turns out, it's not there. The seed was planted and I started thinking about my diet and how much protein I get. I came to the conclusion that I get about 15-25 grams of protein a day. Hmmm... probably not enough.

So, I picked up a huge ass container of this the other day:

Vega Sport Performance Protein

Full disclosure, I don't really know what the hell all the mumbo jumbo about glutamine and BCAAs means and I don't really have any interest to find out. All I know is that it's plant based and the nutritional stats seem pretty decent:

26 grams of protein and 120 calories and no sugar?
Okay, that seems reasonable enough.

I've only been using it for a week or so and as I have droned on for the past zillion blog posts, I'm not exactly having the greatest runs lately. So, I can't really speak to whether or not it's helped with recovery, leg fatigue, or performance. But, I've been able to incorporate it into my daily life seamlessly. I just scoop out a serving and add it to my lunch smoothie. Easy. I kinda wish there was a "non" flavor, but the vanilla flavor is pretty mild.

In my eyes, if it helps with recovery or performance, then that's just a bonus. The real success is realizing that just because I'm eating healthy, doesn't mean I'm getting everything I need. Sometimes it's good to be reminded to take a look at your diet and see what you need. I would have NEVER given a second thought to protein if my coach hadn't mentioned it. And while, the hippie in me kinda hates the fact that I'm not getting enough of what I need from my daily diet, I'm pretty happy with this protein supplement that seems about as natural as you can get (in a giant tub).

Anyone else use protein powders? Can you tell any difference in performance or recovery?

Dead Legs.

If one were to go through my running log for the past 6 weeks or so, you'd see lots of miles (for me) and lots of entries like this:

Spectacular run!

Who the F am I? This was a really, really good run for me!

Felt great to do intervals again!

My legs felt GLORIOUS.

etc, etc, etc...

That is, until this week...Tuesday I did an interval workout with the deadest legs I've had in ages. I made all my splits with no problem, but my legs just felt like concrete. And the next day's easy run didn't feel much better. I chalked it up to running the intervals a bit fast and didn't think much of it.

Until I got an email from my coach with the subject "dead legs."

So, I saw your run(s) this a.m., and what you're feeling right now is the cumulative fatigue that's been building since TK...not yesterday's run. That is exactly what's happened to me about 3-4 weeks out from a major PR effort at a moderately long distance. Speaking as one of the worst past mileage whores I know (for god's sake, look at the title of my blog), I would really recommend only a few, if any, miles tomorrow in addition to taking Friday off. Also, take in extra protein...I don't know if you're into protein powders or bars, but when I've felt ultra-dead, I double my protein intake and it really helps.

Because you're a good runner and devoted to training, taking time off is waaay harder than any workout, I know. But I would say you're at that teetery edge before injury or overtraining, so you want to be pretty careful.

Sincerely,

Coach Know-it-All

BOLLOCKS! (although please note that she told me I was a good runner! holla! coach's pet!). My first reaction was disappointment. Because, of course, I had planned on running like 8-9 miles this morning. I'm in the groove, yo! I want to get my miles on. Overtrained? Me? NEVER! I mean, seriously, me? The casual, recreational, funtimes mcgee runner being overtrained??? Hahahahahahaha. No effing way.

But, I decided to listen to Coach's advice and I scaled back my run this morning to only 3 easy miles. The thing is... I would have never considered dead legs this week to be a "cumulative fatigue." I would have just powered through and kept going. Which is DUMB as shit. (Amy=Dumb as shit). That's not to say that I'm not going to have dead legs after an interval workout. But, it is important to look at my training as a whole and not just pick and choose a couple of days here and there. I'm having so much fun with this running stuff now, that I kinda forget that I'm training pretty hard (for me). It's easy to get caught up in the awesomeness and the ultimate goal and not pay attention to the little signs that might show up along the way. I've said it a million times and I'll say it again... Thank God I have a coach.

Also, as an aside.... protein? Really? You've got to be freaking kidding me. I'm that hippie bitch that always scoffs at people when they start talking about protein in their diets. And now I gotta start looking to see if I'm getting enough? Does quinoa, broccoli and dark chocolate have protein? Crap.

3 Stages Race: Stage One 18 Miles on Raccoon Mountain

I know. Everyone loves Raccoon Mountain. Everyone loves how fast and flat it is (ummm... flat for East Tennessee, that is). Except me. I freaking hate it. It probably has something to do with the fact that the first time I ran there I fell 4 times. And the second time I ran there, I felt like death for half of the race.  So, to say I wasn't looking forward to this first day is a bit of an understatement.

The good news was that it was the first day of the race and it was the shortest day... 18 miles.

I felt prepared when I got to the race on Friday morning. My gameplan was to go nice and easy. I had 3 days of this trail running bullshit, no need to go all out on Day 1.

Ready to get this shit over with.

The morning was cool and overcast and I was hoping it would stay that way for the next... ohhh.. 5 hours or so .

Our Nashville Posse

Before we knew it (and after fashioning a regular water bottle into a handheld water bottle with electrical tape and ingenuity, because someone left their handheld water bottle in the hotel room (not me, by the way, and I had no part in the engineering of the new handheld))... it was time to line up at the start.

The start line. (Photo by Jeff Bartlett)

My goal was to try and maintain a 12:30 pace for most of the race. Of course I'd walk up the steep uphills (although there aren't too many on this course), but I'd try to make up for it on the downhills. So, I figured maintaining 12:30s on a fairly technical, but flat trail would be perfect. And my goal was to finish under the cut-off time of 5 hours (although, with the weather starting out so nice, I was hoping for a sub 4:30).

When we started... I realized why I truly hated Raccoon Mountain. Because I've never been able to run MY race for the first few miles. The course isn't full of crazy elevations, and because of that... people go out super fast and even though I started out in the back of the pack, I got caught up with a crowd barreling through the trail like I was only running a 5 mile race. My first few miles were all under 12 minute miles. My breathing was heavy. Sweat was pouring out of me... It was not pretty.

I tried slowing down a bit after the first aid station. But, I somehow got stuck in the lead of a pack of about 5 runners.. none of which were eager to pass (I know, because I offered). As we flew through the trail, chit chatting along the way... the inevitable happened... I fell. Flat on my face with a group of 5 runners behind me to witness it all. I picked myself off, slunked off to the side of the trail, told everyone I was okay and hopped in at the back of the line. I slowed down and started feeling a lot better.

Honestly, though the fall hurt and scuffed up my knees pretty bad... it was probably the best thing that could have happened to me, because it forced me to finally slow down and run my own race. The next few miles  were the best miles I had all day. I settled into a nice, even pace... my breath settled down and I started enjoying the run.

By around mile 13 or so, though... I could tell that the faster pace in the beginning and the stupid nutrition plan I was using (I was just drinking water at aid stations and filling my handheld with water only) was starting to upset my stomach.

Typical aid station fare: peanut m&ms, fig netwons, gels, peanut butter stuffed pretzels,

sliced apples, oranges and bananas. (Photo by Jeff Bartlett).

For the next 5 miles I struggled. I ran when I could, I stopped and felt like I was going to throw up a number of times. I even ventured off the trail in search of some big ass leaves to use in case I needed to take a crap.

With about 2 miles left I let a gentleman pass by and he asked how I was doing. I told him fine, except my stomach was really upset. He offered me salt tabs which I refused (clearly, I'm an idiot... I thought to myself... well, I'm not cramping, I don't need salt tabs) and he tried to have me keep up with him, but I couldn't. And then, as soon as he got out of sight... my right calf started cramping... to be followed my left calf. Oh my god, welcome to my life...

The one saving grace was that my garmin was wayyyy off, so when I thought I had many more miles to go, I only had a few, and before I knew it... I was hitting the pavement and nearing the finish line where I tried to kick a bit in the end... I ended up finishing in 4:02. Plenty of time to spare the cut off.

Afterwards I felt like shit and I was told that the salt tabs would have helped my stomach, that if I'm only drinking water on the course, that I need to be taking salt tabs to keep it from souring on my stomach. A lesson that I would take with me on the following days...

Day one FINISHED! 18 miles on Raccoon Mountain done... and only a little blood to show for it...



Mystery Diagnosis...

So, Mystery Diagnosis happens to be one of my FAVORITE television shows. I'm a sucker for anything medical related anyway... but I love the drama of hearing all the people fight for their health when they know something is wrong and don't give up until they find the doctor that can diagnose them properly. Seriously.. it sounds awful, but it's actually AWESOME.

Anyway... this isn't something so big that the producers from Mystery Diagnosis are going to give me a call... but it is something that I had to piece together to figure out...

Here's the deal... my running sucks right now. And it's been long enough... a couple of months now.. that's not normal. Sure, we all go through slumps.. a week or two... hell.. maybe even a few weeks. But two months or more?? That's just not right. I haven't had anything in me after about 6 miles these days. At first, I started blaming my fitness level... but in fact... I feel like I'm in pretty good shape right now. My yoga practice is making me stronger and strengthening leg muscles that should help me feel less fatigued during runs.

But.. I'm just dead on my runs. Sometimes it's my legs... but most of the time it just my whole body. I keep thinking I'm just going to shake it off and get back to normal... but it's not happening. And dude... running when your body feels like shit is NOT FUN. Even 3 mile runs sometimes feel like death marches. It's not good.

Saturday morning, I had another spectacularly shitty run... and as I made my running partner Carolyn walk for a good little stretch because I just didnt have it that day, I started thinking about what was going on with me... and it dawned on me... !!!!!!! I started taking blood pressure medication on March 1st again... after not taking them for awhile (I'm a bad patient, yes). Aha! And then I remembered I've felt this way before...

So, yes... I feel like my meds are jacking up my running. I mentioned this to Carolyn and she did some research for me this weekend and it turns out... I might be suffering from a bit of an electrolyte problem. Which makes sense... my meds are meant to take fluid out of my body... so, in doing so... I could be losing major electrolytes and I never take gatorade (except sips in races) or anything else.

I'm thrilled with this!!!! If it is an electrolyte problem... then that seems like an easy fix! I'll just start pounding the Smartwater.

I really hope this fixes the issue. I miss feeling good (or hell, at this point, I'd take feeling decent!) on runs...

Hopefully this I just solved my own medical mystery... To be continued, I suppose...