Feature Friday- Pre Long Run Nutrition

HAPPY FRIYAY! Finally! This week was equally long and short. Don't tell that's not possible, because it most definitely IS. I wanted to share a few of my favorite pre- long run (or race day) nutrition products with you today. I mainly stick with all natural products before my longer runs (but have a pretty strong stomach and have definitely eaten some crazy things before shorter runs...sandwiches, eggs, waffles, ice cream..you get the picture) that has a mixture of carbs/protein/sugar. I typically also have atleast a half of banana (if not a whole one) about an hour before my run and try to eat 1.5-2 hours before heading out for the race/long run. 

• Bobo's Coconut Almond Nut Butter Oat Bar 
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• Nuun Active Electrolytes with Energy (caffeine)

• Nature's Path Frosted Wildberry Acai Pop Tarts

• Kodiak Cakes Flapjack & Waffle Mix

• Nature's Path Instant Oatmeal Maple & Brown Sugar (these are AWESOME to travel with!!)

Do you have any favorites for pre-race or long run fueling? 

Any special tactics you have for eating before a big race (1, 2, or 3 hours beforehand)?

Favorite fuels that work well when you travel to a race or do you find them once you get there?

Weekend Things!

Last week felt like it went by so slow (and it was only a 3-day week) and then when the weekend hits, it goes by in a blink of an eye! Anyone else feel this way?? We were blessed with BEAUTIFUL weather here and it was hot. 

We slept in Saturday morning and didn't even get up until 8:30! I can't even remember the last time I slept in that late- we got over 10 hours of sleep Friday night. Definitely finally feel well-rested from our trip. 

I got out for an easy 7 miles (at the gym because sleeping in + over 80 degrees + no cloud cover= too hot to run outside) then 20 minutes of arms/abs. Here's a photo of my run on Thursday because it's too pretty not to share!

After getting home, we just relaxed for the evening! I finished reading up on the Hanson's Marathon Method (training plan I'm starting this week for the Las Vegas Rock 'n Roll Marathon in November) and it really is an interesting/unique perspective on marathon training! I'm starting to follow the 3:50 marathon training plan, but will alter it later on if I feel like the work-outs are either too hard/ easy.

On Sunday, I worked on putting their work-out plan into my own homemade calendars!

The calendars are now up on our fridge and I love that I also added in the paces that I need to hit for each work-out and think this training plan will be both fun/a challenge. 

Rewind to Sunday morning and this view with my coffee:

We took Stella out for a walk around the lake Sunday afternoon and she just had to get in a swim too. 

We came back and I started doing some meal prep for the week. Hoping to also fit in a run later this afternoon/early evening when it cools down a bit, but we'll see! I'm trying to relish in the last few days of an unstructured training plan before mine starts on Wednesday. 

Also totally obsessed with How To Get Away With Murder right now- anyone else watch this?! So happy that I can watch Netflix at the gym again, since I'll need to start doing more afternoon training runs to prep for the late start that Rock 'n Roll Vegas has (the marathon starts at 4:30pm). 

Finishing up my recap on our Hello Fresh experience and I'll post it over here in the next few days so be sure to check back! We weren't too impressed with Blue Apron, but decided to give this one a chance.

Ever tried HelloFresh?

Favorite training plan?

Are you currently training for anything?

Favorite Netflix show you're watching right now?

Tapering.

I always block how terrible the last few days of tapering for a marathon really are. I think I get so caught up in the excitement of the expo, the race, traveling, sightseeing, etc. that they become so miniscule compared to the race and finish itself; BUT DON'T LET THAT FOOL YOU! The taper-crazies are real and they suck. 

Accurate.

I'm cranky for no reason at all (well besides the fact that I'm not running very much and I'm *twitchy bitchy* to want to run). I'm really hungry all the time. I honestly feel like I could chow down on a steak dinner for LUNCH, but these feelings will just make my post-race meal that much better. Weird parts of my body just ache and 3 miles seems like it took forever to finish. Did I mention that I'm cranky and hungry? Ugh. 2 more days!

I slept in again yesterday morning and opted to do my run later in the day. So, I runched instead. What is runching? Running on your lunch break! I don't get to do this very often, so when I'm able to enjoy the bright sunshine and see other runners out it's truly something special. 

Did an easy 3 miles followed by some foam rolling/ stretching/ 30 second plank/ 2 x 10 dips. I wanted to do a few light strength exercises to help keep my body feeling strong going into the race, but definitely didn't want to do my usual full-body 30 minute strength session. I figured a few dips and plank were a good compromise.

I still am not feeling super nervous about the race, but mainly excited! I've basically got my race-day strategy done, but don't want to set it in stone (since you never know exactly how you will feel the day of the race). It looks like the high could get up into the mid-90s! Luckily the race starts at 6AM and I should be done by 10ish, although I definitely remember the race being super hot in the sun by the time I finished last year! Already prepping myself for the hot sun and the rolling hills in miles 12-17!

The first 12 miles are super downhill, so I don't have a time specific in mind (ultimately under 9:00 min/mi would be great), but will go by feel (not straining myself and keeping in touch with my form and easy breathing more than anything else). In the rolling hills miles 12-17, I ideally just want to push through them and know that this will be my slowest section. I know I have a few mantras that I'd like to repeat to myself during this time. 

If I stay right around goal pace (9:10ish min/mi), I'll be happy. The next section, miles 17-22 are pretty flat and fast (with some shade), so I'll try to stay at goal pace or slightly below (depending on how I feel). From miles 22-26, it is another steep downhill so I'll try to utilize this to power through near 9:00 min/mi or slightly faster if I can muster it. There is no shade in this section, so it'll be tough. But you're already feeling exhausted in a marathon after somewhere between miles 18+, so just propelling yourself forwards is all you can really do (and knowing that the faster you go, the quicker you'll be done).

Miles 18+ is where I have always struggled, so I am going to try to change my music at this point (possibly put in an uplifting podcast or music) to get my mind off the pain since it's inevitable anyways. 

I've been super focused on my nutrition this entire week and will focus on it even more today and tomorrow! More light meals, less fiber-rich foods, more iron-rich foods, and light carb meals & electrolytes/water throughout the day. 

Had this as my lunch yesterday (Spicy Sausage and Beans Minestrone Soup):

I'll also continue to have light snacks throughout the day like this one!

The race has a few pacers (one at 3:55 and one at 4:00). I kind of want to try to stick with the 3:55 and see how long I can hold onto it with them. I've never stuck with a pace group (since time-goals are still pretty new to me), so I guess I'll leave that up to the morning of! It would be kind of nice not to worry about my watch time so much, but that's also how I trained....hmmm.. decisions! decisions!

Still have plenty of time to decide and will be working on my race day playlist tonight and tomorrow!

Have any good race day songs?

Pace groups? yay or nay?

How do you deal with tapering? Do you love it or not a fan?

Recapping my Revel Rockies Marathon Training Cycle

And just like that it's time to recap my 4th marathon training cycle! I seriously cannot believe that this will be my 4th marathon AND my 2nd marathon OF 2017! I've only ever done one marathon during a year, so this was the first time where I went from finishing one marathon, took 2 weeks off of running, a few weeks of building my mileage back up, then started another training plan. I went with the Runner's World Advanced Training Plan to Break 4:00s and we will see if it pays off! I'm feeling pretty confident going into the race (especially with the downhills) and having done the course last year, I think I have a pretty good shot of meeting my goal!

So, let's start at the beginning of the training cycle with some HIGH points:

• This was the first training cycle where I actually logged my mileage! I know, I know, I was a crazy runner before...but now I'm converted! I love keeping track of my mileage each week and recapping the good, the bad, and the...well...unglamorous side of marathon training (i.e. chafing, lack of sleep, sweaty-smellyness, hair always wet when heading to work, etc.)

I logged 416.14 miles during this training cycle

• Tempo Runs. This was another first for me! I did some tempo runs (at marathon goal pace) and they were tough. I got through them and I think that was a HUGE confidence booster.
• Pilates every week. I think I may have only missed 3 Jumpboard Reformer Pilates Classes the entire training cycle. I was able to stay strong and keep the injuries at bay thanks to these classes (I believe..). 
• I set a new PR in the Half AND crossed off my goal of breaking 2:00 hours. This race was a huge confidence booster for me because it was a few weeks after my kidney infection and I was tired/ in the middle of this training cycle/ didn't completely push myself and still was able to break 2 hours. It was amazing. 
• I meal prepped every week during this training cycle. I normally have a few weeks where it's hard to meal prep and I get lazy, but I really stuck to this every week. 
• I took rest days when I needed and stopped going to the gym every Monday-Friday. This was a really big difference between my previous marathon training cycles and this one. I had ALWAYS thought that I needed to work out 6 days a week and never rested. Even my "rest days" typically included some strength training (which is still WORK/STRESS on your body). 
• I slowed down on my easy runs. My previous training cycles, I never really focused on keeping my easy runs slow. This was the first time where I really stepped-back and slowed down and listened to my body when it needed it. I feel like this was a HUGE reason why I was able to nail almost every interval workout I had.

The Lows:

• I got a kidney infection and found out I was Anemic half-way through my training cycle. This was definitely a big blow to my running and training. I ended up taking 7 days off of any activity and then took another week of blended easy running before tackling any sort of hard work-out (including long runs or tempos). Although, in the end it was needed for me to take some rest days and the anemia really helped me become stronger and healthier. I looked back on the weeks prior to my infection and I noted several times a week how tired I was, allergies were terrible, my runs were not going well, and my strength overall was just not there. Afterwards, almost every single one of my runs were happy (some were still hard) and I haven't dealt with any sickness/allergies/ rundown energy since! It really was a blessing in disguise. 
• It snowed. A LOT. I think the beginning months of any late-Spring race will always have weather as a negative. It caused me to run on the treadmill during the first few weeks of my training cycle, but it could be worse I suppose?
• I worked over 40 hours a week most weeks. It wasn't until about 3 weeks ago where I finally was able to only work 40 hours, but the majority of my training cycle I worked upwards of 48-50+ hours a week. This really isn't a change from other training cycles, but still can be a low.

Overall, this was a strong marathon training cycle towards the end. The first 8 weeks of training were rough, but the last 6 weeks finished out really strong. I feel like I'm trained and prepared. If my sub 4 doesn't happen this race, that's OK. I know that I've already become a stronger runner and want to go out and have fun and enjoy one of my favorite races of the year. I know my sub 4 will come either this year or some other year and that the steps leading to it will make me a better runner in the end! 

Track Tuesday & 5 DAYS

Started off the morning (my last early morning run until the Marathon) with an interval workout on the Track!

My training schedule called for 2 miles warm-up (10:00min/mi pace) then 6 x 400s at 1:56 pace (actual: 1:46, 1:52, 1:51, 1:52, 1:50, 1:47) with 200 recovery in-between sets then 1 mile cool-down. I felt so strong and definitely wanted to keep going, but I will save my legs for the race on Sunday! 5.25 miles total. 

I recovered tonight by putting my legs up the wall. I'm trying to do this and a foot stretch to help with any plantar facistis that I have at least once a day leading up to Sunday's race. Anyone else a fan of putting their feet up the wall? I normally try for just 5 minutes, but honestly love it so much that I've been like that for up to 15 minutes!

Also saw another gorgeous sunrise on my drive into town this morning. It's amazing what you can see when you're up and out of the house early!

We made Run Fast Eat Slow's Sweet Potato Salmon Cakes tonight and the Avocado Cream on the side. I didn't have any limes or jalapenos, so I subbed for some lemon juice and red pepper flakes--> IT WAS AMAZING! Highly recommend this recipe from their book if you haven't tried it already. It was pretty easy once I popped the sweet potato in my Instant Pot for about 20 minutes (this one was pretty large and took 10 minutes longer than most do). Prep and cook-time were ~25-30 minutes. 

Tomorrow's another rest day (all the rest days are ROUGH- I have way too much energy at night and need to fill them with some new projects)! I already scheduled a mani/pedi to treat myself after the race, so I know that will help push me towards that finish line! I haven't really started to feel too nervous yet and am mainly just excited for race day (I'm sure the nerves will come...). Happy Tuesday!

When do you like to do your speed work? Tuesdays? Wednesdays? Do you do it more than 1 time per week?

Favorite running recipe? 

Favorite way to rest & recover at the end of a long day?