Group Practice #9
5 miles on the schedule
Step back week!
Start time: 7:00 AM

Today’s practice started off with a fueling and hydration clinic presented by Red Rock Running Company, a local running store.  They made some interesting points and threw out some numbers to the group, some of which seemed a little high to me.  Perhaps I need to fuel more while running?  (Probably… I tend to have bad races!)

Pre-Run Fueling
– Drink 16 ounces of liquid 20 to 30 minutes before beginning.
– Eat 300-500 calories before a long run
– If you already are in the habit of drinking coffee, go ahead and keep doing that.

On the Go Fueling
– Drink 4-6 ounces every 20 minutes (every 10-15 minutes in heat)
– A sports drink is the easiest assimilated source of electrolytes, but capsules (like Endurolytes) are easy to control your levels for the conditions you’re in
– On a long run you should be consuming 200-300 calories per hour, broken down into 2-3 feedings

That last stat was the one that seemed high to me.  At the low end of that it would mean consuming about 2 gels every hour!

Post-Run Fueling
– Drink 16-20 ounces of water right after
– Drink a recovery drink in the 20-30 minutes right after that has a 4-1 carb to protein ration.
– Resume eating regular meals about an hour after you finish, but your first meal after a long run should be carb heavy because your body is rebuilding glycogen.

They were really big on the need for a recovery drink, saying that the liquids are easily digestible and they are engineered to be used by the body rapidly.  They did say that chocolate milk takes too long for the milk protein to be absorbed when compared to a whey or soy protein isolate.  I’m conflicted on that because I’ve heard lots of accolades for the chocolate milk recovery route.

Then the cool thing was they had coordinated with Nathan hydration to give every person on my team a Speed 3R hydration belt! That belt retails for about $50! I was stunned at that generosity.  So HUGE thanks to Red Rock Running Company and Nathan Sports! Many of the members of the team need something like this, several are still carrying water bottles (just a regular bottle of water that you’d buy at the store) or reusable bottles without holders.  This will help, especially as it heats up!

The team had 5 miles on the schedule today, which we set out for after our clinic.  By this time it was warming up some, but fortunately we’ve had a little bit of a cold snap here so it wasn’t as hot as it would typically be.  Most of the team did better on the run than I did today, simply because I’ve been sick all week.  Kevin came down with a cold after our California trip and he passed it on to me, so I’ve been coughing (and not running) the whole week.  This cold has settled squarely in my lungs/chest… so it’s been difficult to breathe!

Odd moment on the run today, I was walking with one of our mentors when we glanced up at the ridge that was just above the path we were on.  Leaning against the iron gate at the top of the ridge was a naked woman and a man was taking photos of her!  Seriously!

Post run one of our team members talked to me about how scared she is that she won’t be able to do this.  Not the fundraising aspect, she was scared that she might not be able to do the physical part.  I gave her a big hug and asked her if maybe it was just her negative mind playing tricks on her, that we all fall victim to negative self talk very easily and that we are far meaner to ourselves than anyone else would be.  I really do have confidence that she can do it.  She seems to genuinely enjoy the training and I’ve really enjoyed having her on the team.  I hope everything works out for her… but (and this is something I know all too well) if we let the negative voice in and listen to what it says we have a much harder time pushing through the hard moments.

I have forgotten my camera for the past couple weeks! I’m kind of disappointed in that, I’ve missed out on some great photo ops!  But I need to take it with me next week… we should have a fun training for our 8 miler at a “special” location!

I am coaching a group of runners for the organization Team Challenge. They are fundraising for the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation of America while training to run the 2011 Napa to Sonoma Half Marathon in July.