Training Tuesday: HOMEMADE Long Run Fuel Recipe!

Happy Tuesday! It’s BEEN A DAY. We got a crazy amount of ice and snow last night and I still had my clinical this morning (all the schools close to where we live got cancelled, but not where my campus/clinical is held), so I had to commute! My drive took AN HOUR longer than it should have and I was late and yeah…it was most certainly the Monday-ist Tuesday I’ve had in quiet some time. I can’t wait to get home tonight and do a total “day reset”. Flashback to this cute photo I took with Maples a few months ago.

I thought it would be fun to share with you the recipe I use from Run Fast Cook Fast Eat Slow cookbook for their Energy Squeeze Marathon Fuel. I ended up using this for my last race day and had ZERO gut issues! It really worked so well for me. I highly recommend picking up a copy of this cookbook because every recipe I’ve had in it is amazing.

1/2 cup mashed sweet potato

1/2 cup finely chopped dates

2 tablespoons peanut butter

1 teaspoon chia seeds

1/8 teaspoon high-quality sea salt

I put each individual serving (this recipe gives you three servings total) in a ziploc bag and carry it with me on the run (or pop it in my car to pick-up while out on my long run).

I like to alternate an energy squeeze with a 1/2 of a banana.

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What’s your favorite gel to have on the run? Anyone else ever tried to make their own?

Loco Marathon Training RUNdown Week 10: 9/30-10/6

Running a day late for this post, but here we are! Last week was extremely busy and stressful in almost every aspect of my life, so I was grateful that it was a ‘cut-back’ week in regards to running. I was very thankful to get in those runs because they helped my stress, but also happy that it took less time than other weeks.

Monday, 9/30- 2 x 2 mile repeats (paces: 7:46, 8:36, 8:26, 7:45) and strength

Tuesday, 10/1- 5 easy miles at 10:04 pace

Wednesday, 10/2- 30 minutes elliptical and strength

Thursday, 10/3- 10 easy miles at 10:00 pace

Friday, 10,4- 10 easy miles at 10:22 pace and strength

Saturday, 10/5- 4.14 easy miles at 10:52 pace

Sunday, 10/6- Rest Day

Total Miles: 35.4 miles

Total Elevation: 1, 063’ up

Lessons Learned: Seventh Marathon

I wish I could say that I’ve got it mastered from my seventh marathon. I know when things will hurt, how to push through them, the secret sauce to power through to that finish line, but I don’t. This marathon was part of my 50 miler training, so my ultimate goal was to still not get injured (among I also thought that getting a sub 3:40 really wasn’t too far off). Oh, how I still have so much to learn!

You can’t train for a bad day. They will happen and it’s just a fact of life.

You also can’t train for stomach issues. You should still try to take gels in (I didn’t until much later in the race, when I should have tried to take another one sooner).

Be proud of your effort through the race and beyond. There will always be things out of your control. Show up to the start line knowing you gave it your best (or being realistic and knowing that you haven’t) and give it your best that day.

Training on hills is necessary.

Don’t slack on marathon paced miles. I slacked on these a bit (they were HARD) and paid for it.

Don’t rely on an awesome half marathon PR to pull you through on the marathon. I got a big half marathon PR 5 weeks out from race day and maybe had too much ego (that I will get my time goals) leading into the full.

Finding out what works well for you (nutrition-wise) the days leading up to the marathon is really important. I’m still working on this one.

We’re all up to date on my marathons! Cheers to 6 more weeks of training before my eighth marathon! Also shocker- I’m not using this as a build-up for anything else! It’s all marathon-focused over here right now.

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What works well for you for fuel before race day?

Anyone else find marathon (or race pace) miles super challenging?

Lessons learned from your past races- tell me what they are!?

Lessons Learned: Sixth Marathon

After getting a big PR during my fifth marathon, I was hopeful going into my sixth that maybe I could break that elusive 3:50 mark on 26.2. I also had another goal during this race: not get injured. I was using it towards training for MS Run The US Relay the following month. This was also my hilliest marathon to date. I came across the finish line really proud of my race and my effort. I also felt extremely fit for this race (fit enough to drive 5+ hours home post-26.2 . ha. NOT recommended).

I learned that when you work really hard on something, it will pay off. Training on hills through the winter also really paid off for this hilly race.

Find your fuel. I ended up switching-up how often I had my gels and that made a big difference for me come race day.

Don’t be scared to cut-back your mileage if you’re injured. I ended up going to PT during the last few weeks before my marathon because I was having some knee pain (actually stems from tight hips). I scraped some runs, but showed up to the start line healthy.

This was the first marathon where I finished and still had gas left in the tank -> the most amazing feeling ever.

Also another amazing feeling? Passing people in those later miles of the race. I wish I had remembered this lesson during my next 26.2, but alas there’s always new things to learn!

Switching up your sneakers during training runs = necessary. I think I rotated between 3 or 4 pairs and it helped a lot.

Don’t be afraid to change around your training runs or break up your longer runs. I did my last 20 mile run as two shortened runs. It’s not the best practice for someones first or second or third marathon (I truly believe in the power of training your mind/body to be on your feet for long periods of time), but this wasn’t my first rodeo ; )

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What are some ways you’ve switched up training runs on the schedule?

Ever ran a hilly race? How’d it go?

Lessons Learned: Fifth Marathon

I finally got to go from an over 4 hour marathon to under 4 hours when I ran my fifth 26.2. This was THE race. You know, that one where everything just ‘comes together’, you never hit a wall, and that runners high goes strong for quiet some time. I ended up following the hansons marathon method for this building block and I really think that that, paired with getting my anemia back to normal levels, was the key to me obtaining my sub 4 hour race. I ran more miles-per-week than I ever had and introduced so many crazy different speed workouts that they all came together to help build my speed. So, here are some things I learned during the training block and the race:

Building in marathon-paced runs are necessary if you want to achieve a certain time goal.

Running in the late-afternoon/evening for a marathon is amazing. No sun = no problem.

Sometimes listening to music during the race is FUN, but sometimes running with no music during a fun race is even better.

Training well and smart is the best plan of attack when trying to reach a time goal.

Mantras are really important. I put a few really important-to-me ones on my arm before the race and I think they really helped me in those last few miles where everything hurt.

Things are still going to hurt those last few miles, even if you are in excellent shape. I was in the best shape that I had ever been in leading up to this race and I still remember how challenging it was to get my legs moving those last few miles.

Bigger weekly miles and more speedwork = the best results in a race for ME. Find what works for you! Maybe it’s getting a coach (I’d like one of those someday…ha), running with friends, trying out different training plans, etc. No one person is the same, so why should we all expect to have a training plan that fits for us?

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Ever tried Hanson’s Marathon Method?

Do you remember that ‘magical’ race where everything just came together? Tell me about it!