I’m starting to think about MdS as a restful vacation with a bit running thrown in. I’m not underestimating the desert...
Land jogging
Liza
I am running on land consistently again. And all is right with the world. (Except all that bad stuff.) The workouts are given to me in minutes without any particular pace, but I am full of gratitude none-the-less. Now I have to concentrate on getting back in shape without getting broken again. I also need to concentrate on losing a roll of insulation I gained around my middle in Ireland. It is not doing me any good in this Texas heat.
Asa has decided he is afraid of the dark these days. Poor little guy. Last night he wanted to know, “What if bad guys come into my room at night?” I went with a “that will never happen” answer. And then I felt kind of sick to my stomach thinking about that possibility for the rest of the night. Yuck.
Eliot just walked in the door after a late night run for instant coffee, so I’ll leave off now to praise him like I should.
Training log: 2o minute run (Ultramarathoner indeed.)
Food log: Coming tomorrow for your scrutiny.
Glad to hear you are back on your feet so to speak Liza. I know it must be tough to get back into the groove of things after rehabing an injury. I know recently I was really disappointed when I had to quite in the middle of a Half-Ironman Triathlon due to food poisoning. It was the hardest decision ever to throw in the towel during the race but in the end I know it was a good decision. Keep it up and you will be back to your ultra runner self soon enough.
Thanks Herb! Strangely, I just had someone else tell me about getting food poisoning before a race. Awful. Hope your next Half is digestively uneventful. 🙂
So glad to hear you are back on terra firma! That little roll of insulation will be gone in a jiffy…
I am struggling with my long runs- I think I need to work on my carbs and hydration. When I run, I often see other runners who make it look super easy and I think ” I wish I felt like they do right now!” I know as I get more fit, I will be more efficient but it sure is hard work getting there.
It’s great fun and inspiring to read your blog Liza. So glad for you to be back running again!
Thanks Lisa. 🙂 What are you eating/drinking on your long runs now?
I did 16 miles last week. But lately my legs feel like lead, I am not getting enough sleep and/or the quality is bad. Worst of all, I am dreading easy runs of 7 miles! So I am taking a break from the long run this weekend and do easy all next week and then start again the next week.
On that last 16 miler I had 4 chocolate GUs and I drank a nasty energy drink called Perpeteum. I call it perpetual nausea. It tasted and smelled like baby formula but worse! How anyone can tolerate the stuff… So I struggled to take it in and the last 5 miles of the run were miserable. Super achy legs, and I felt like if I fell down, I would just stay there. I carried 20 oz of water with nuun electrolyte and then 20 oz of the nasty stuff. I really would like to try some more natural stuff that maybe I can make. I will also
experiment again with salted potatoes as I have had good luck with them a long time ago.
I know with increased lean muscle and decrease in fat, I will become a more efficient runner but the whole nutrition/hydration thing has been tricky for me. Life is stressful right now so I really need to take care of myself!
What do you take on your long runs? By the way, I am running lots of hills and it takes me 3.5 to almost 4 hours to do 16 miles. Do you think I need more water??
I’m following Bryon Powell’s ‘Relentless Forward Progress’ program for the 50k. I like it, it keeps me organized but I am really trying to listen to my body too.
I would love to hear your thoughts Liza!
Thanks,
lisa
That run sounded awful. 🙁
Nutrition really does seem like one of the hardest pieces to get right with ultras. I’ll tell you what I’m doing now, but I’m definitely still tweaking it. I take in 200 calories an hour. One GU gel on the half hour and a serving of the GU Electrolyte Brew in my water bottle. It sits very well in my stomach. I take in about 20 ounces of fluid an hour. Scott Jurek recommended these formulas to figure out carbohydrate intake in an article in Competitor.com.
“Over the years, with trial and error and plenty of research on carbohydrate intake, I have found the following formulas work for almost all endurance athletes:
Body weight in kilograms?(BW in lbs/2.2) X 0.7 = grams of carbohydrates per hour
Body weight in kilograms?(BW in lbs/2.2) X 1.0 = grams of carbohydrates per hour”
Use the low end of the range for runs under 3 hours.
It seems like it’s just a matter of experimenting to find the thing that sits best in your stomach.
Are you eating after your long runs? Your dead leg feeling might be from low glycogen stores. I’ve been told to take in a recovery drink in those first 30 minutes after the run — something with close to a 4:1 ratio of carbs to protein. I can send you more info about that over e-mail if you’d like.
“What if bad guys come into my room at night?”
“Daddy and mommy will beat them to death with baseball bats, sweetie.”
Snort. 🙂
great to hear you’re back on land. Don’t rush things and appreciate/enjoy the process.
I will!
Woohoo!! Land! That’s great news!
That is a lot of exclamation points!!
Welcome back 🙂
Thank you. Eliot’s life is much better now too.
Liza,
Thanks a million! I am NOT drinking enough nor eating enough. And you know, I am not eating enough during the recovery phase either. Man, what a learning experience!
I will try the GU electrolyte brew- hopefully it takstes ok for me!
I will take it easy this week and then start again next week. I’m going to have to buy a waist pack for extra bottles.
So glad to hear you are running again! Thanks alot Liza for the info and I’ll let you know what happens!