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Long Run Energy Experiment
Before I go on about my long run energy experiment let’s rewind a little bit…. we passed a major holiday here!
Our Thanksgiving meal was typical for this family: all brand-new recipes that were a hit!
Whole Wheat Sweet Potato Biscuits with Cranberry Jam from Caroline @ Chocolate & Carrots
Healthy Mashed Sweet Potatoes
Brussel Sprout, Butternut Squash and Apple Stuffing with Turkey Sausage
(of course) Turkey
& a not-at-all-healthy Pumpkin Caramel Pecan Cheesecake with Gingerbread Crust for dessert
YUM. I’m still full. (That’s a lie. I’m always hungry. ha.)
Now onto Christmas…Happy Holidays!
God, I love my family. ;)
While the crazies were out Black Friday shopping, I opted for a morning run with my best guy friend from high school!
Cardio > Sales (blasphemy coming from a 20 year old girl, I know.)
We had a KILLER run we call “Kingdom Loop.” The first 4 miles are a gradual incline, until you get to Kingdom Dr. Then its a steep steep climb to the top, about 3/4 mile. You know the hill gets serious when the conversation stops ;) After that it’s a downhill coast to home, a decent start at working off this monster of Thanksgiving (and the next day, and the next day’s….) dessert:
Made by yours truly
My marathon training plan is roughly following this plan from Boston Athletic Association: Beginner 16 week program. (I fast-forwarded to week 9).
This morning I cranked out my 15-miler first thing before it got too hot (yes “too hot” in December….SoCal probs.) With my dad by my side, of course!
I started a little bit of an experiment. On the actualy Marathon Day (50 days and counting!) I will be needing some edible energy on the run to keep my glucose levels up and active. My mom hooked it up on her last trip to Sports Authority and bought me just about every type of energy product on the shelf.
- Jelly Belly Sport Beans (4 different flaves)
- Clif Shot Bloks
- GU energy gels (regular and Roctane) *Bonus for this one, there’s Peanut Butter & Espresso!!!!
- Power Gel energy gels
- GU Chomps energy chews
- Honey Stinger Organic Energy Chews
I’m starting my experimenting now so I know what works best by January 19th! Today I took along Honey Stinger Organic Energy Chews in Pomegranate Passion (I promise I’m not affiliated with any of the companies and this is not some cheesy sales pitch!)
My personal opinion…
Pros:
- Tasted delicious and fruity
- “Organic” (if you’re into that sort of thing)
- No stomach ache
Cons:
- You have to eat 10 for one serving…..considering I’ll be needing 4-5 servings, I don’t want to be eating 50 chews!)
- Non-resealable package
- Says “contains protein & fiber” on package…… 1 stinkin’ gram! That barely counts.
I liked the flavor of the Stinger chews and they didn’t have any horrible side effects but the fact that I would be eating dozens of them for energy doesn’t sound appealing. Next week I’ll try out a Gu or PowerGel. One gulp and DONE. To be continued…
Marathon Mode
I’ve been keeping a secret and I can finally let it out.
For the past month, I have begun training for my first marathon (The Phoenix Rock n’ Roll Marathon in January). I’ve been training for this instead of track. That’s right. I am no longer an NCAA Division 1 athlete. (Not gonna lie, that was hard to type.) The decision to leave the team was all mine, and I waited until the end of cross country season to talk with my coach about my decision to leave the team. (I’m trying to avoid the word “quit” though I am fully aware that is technically what I have done.)
Quit: a word that doesn’t often come up in my vocabulary when I’m talking about myself. I haaaaate that word (more than the word “moist”…bleh).
7 years ago I was a high school freshman, dead last on the JV cross country team, and not the least interested in a future of running.
3 years ago, a senior in high school, I was being recruited by a couple dozen universities across the country and I started to like the idea of being a collegiate athlete.
Yesterday I ended that career, and today I started training for my first marathon.
When I was 17, I signed my Letter of Intent on National Signing Day in front of my team, coach and family at a little ceremony at my high school. One of my proudest moments ever!
Over the past three years at NAU, things just didn’t turn out how I expected. Overuse injuries plagued not just me but our entire girl’s team. In three years I was hit with three major setbacks and it feels like I spent more time injured and recovering than healthy and competing. Instead of training with a team and coach, I spent weeks at a time in physical therapy rehab sessions and substituted running with the bike and elliptical.
So now that my body is back to pre-injury shape, I’m not going to risk another “overuse” issue. I’m taking my training into my own hands and looking forward to my first ever 26.2 mile race in just 60 short days.
Obviously I’m going to miss having a team to train with! Since I was 14, I have had designated “practice” schedules, workouts dictated by a coach and a handful of teammates to run next to. Yesterday had a bittersweet moment emptying out my locker and realizing I’m no longer a collegiate athlete. Sigh, weird, ugh, ahhhh, what, okay getting over it.
So here come the weekly marathon training updates, protein smoothie recipes, core and strength training sessions.
P.S. I hope this post doesn’t come across as regretting my decision to join the team/quit the team. I’m so appreciative of the opportunity to come to NAU as a student-athlete, work with the amazing athletic trainers and meet some incredible athletes. I only wish things had worked out differently, I’d been able to actually compete to my full potential and take advantage of my hard work and summer training. That being said, Long-distance Training > Track Workouts. No more spikes! :D
Hiatus Complete
I realize I have been MIA from SLMC for a while. (Over 2 months to be exact.) Let’s just not talk about it? Okay :)
“I’m Back!”
The last couple of months have been a struggle of overcoming a hip injury due to “overuse” (overtraining). Remember those weeks I was running 80 miles while working 40 hours? Yeah not recommended. If you’re training for a 5k then a 16-miler every Sunday is prooooobably a little extreme. I was just following my coach’s training program! I learned better & will be listening to my own body from now on ;)
This weekend I came home to sunny SoCal for the first time since August and I can’t even tell you what a recharge button it was. When I rang the doorbell at 10:30 Friday night my mom had no idea that I was even in the same state as her. Missy was equally as surprised.
Back to Basics:
I’ve totally learned from injuries and recovery what works and doesn’t work for me. Running 80 miles a week with not enough sleep doesn’t work for me. Keeping a food journal and a training log DOES work for me. Being a student-athlete for a Div. 1 school is cool and all, but really I just want to be happy & healthy.
Current Healthy Obsessions:
- I just adopted my mom’s first SLR Panasonic camera that I’m taking out on some Flagstaff trails. Covering ground, fresh air, nature, photography. All good things!
- Sprout’s coffee beans. I got my parent’s hooked on their flavored coffee beans this year too, currently sipping on Pinon Hazelnut but my favorite still goes to Vienna Cinnamon <3 Grinding your own beans smells heavenly.
- The blog Skinny Confidential. Lauren knows what’s up!
- Eli Young Band and their Pandora station
- Nexxus Heat Protector Spray. Smells delishhhhh.
The next phase of my healthy lifestyle is to begin training for MY FIRST MARATHON. (I made a Pinterest board and everything. I mean, obviously.) This will give me so much more to blog about & keep track of. But first I’ll do a quick catch-up of the last two months:
I spent a lot of time outside.
Spent even more time with my favorite redheads:
Although this is a little more typical…….
We like to grab coffee and hang out in a field…..
Escaped to Sedona for a day of hiking, which was all fun and games until the “Bear Sighting” signs popped up (and you knowww how I feel about wild animals):
And many mornings started out enjoying the little things. (Oh and the lovely sounds of construction out my window.)
Because of my injury, I spent a couple weeks just “resting” with no exercise, and about 6 weeks slowly progressing back to running. This blog post is sparked by my increasing inspiration to get back in shape! While it might not be obvious or noticeable, I can tell that my body has changed after more than 2 months of limited exercise and more than a few splurges on frozen yogurt, homemade pizzas, Sprout’s chocolate-covered blueberries/almonds/cashews (OBSESSED.) and of course peanut butter ;)
Tomorrow I will climb back up to a 12 mile run and I feel like myself again. Long runs are my thing. And I’m working on a lot of goals for myself:
- Build back up my long run (the difference this time? Proper rest and recovery. Duh.)
- Eat clean (95%…..girl’s gotta have her coffee creamer). I’m cutting out processed peanut butters (actually all nuts for a few weeks because they are so addicting that I can’t stick to a serving!), crackers/granola bars/cereals (because honestly they are sugar & flour clusters) and definitely avoiding the chocolate bulk section at Sprouts for a little bit. I’m a scale-avoider and I don’t like weighing myself so I will base my progress on how my clothing fits and how I feel about myself when I look in the mirror :)
- Two consecutive pull-ups (currently at 1.5!)
- Plank for 4 minutes
- Stay injury-free
- Stress less over things I cannot control
- Take a new fitness class every week
- Try a new recipe every week from my new Pinterest board “Domesticated” ;)
It’s good to be back.
