Group Practice #3
5 miles on the schedule
Start time: 7:00 AM

We had overcast weather for today’s practice! Of course, the overcast skies meant that it was also a little more humid than we’re used to, but the cooler temps made it worth it. So much more enjoyable than our first practice!

Before practice a Team Challenge alum who is a certified master nutritionist came and spoke to the team about the importance of eating something before the run/walk and post fueling.  The main points covered:

• You need to be hydrating. And not just the night before! Two days before is fluid that is going to be helping you on Saturdays, so you need to keep track of your hydration at all times.
• Please eat something about 45 minutes or so before practice. A mostly carb with a little protein/fat combination will give you some energy to keep going plus help slow the carbs from burning off too quickly.
• The optimal window to refuel with a mix of carbs/protein is within 30 minutes of finishing.

She told the team about how she used to bring her own little snack bag to practices for post-run fueling.  And she did… she brought her cherry juice for carbs and to battle inflammation and some turkey slices for protein.  She was one of the most vigilant post-run re-fuelers we’ve had on the team.  (We’ve had some that are SUPER precise on that window!)

Then it was time to get moving.  We had a quick dynamic warmup and sent everyone on their way.  Once again we had run/walk interval groups led by mentors, I’m really pleased to offer those and my mentors are doing a great job with that.  It is nice to be able to pop in and hang with their group for a while and then move on to others.  We also have a few people who have purchased their own Gymboss timers so they can do their run/walk intervals at their own pace.  I honestly feel that the run/walk intervals are such a solid way for people to progress.  I’ve seen so much more improvement from people who struggled to start running once they started doing this.  It builds endurance and strength, it works muscles in slightly different ways to prevent over-fatiguing the legs.

The bad thing was how bad my foot started hurting midway through.  I feel like I put on a pretty strong game face and most people didn’t know how bad I hurt… but I hurt.  I bailed early while the team was still having post-run breakfast and a fundraising clinic so I could get home and ice my foot.  This was the scene when I got home:

I walked in the door, straight to the fridge, slipped my foot out of my shoe while I grabbed an icepack and left my shoe sitting there while I iced!

Later I told my husband, “I don’t think I should wear my Minimus while I run for a while. My foot ends up super sore afterwards. When I run in the Kinvara, it’s been okay. I just need the extra cushioning that shoe provides for a while.”

He responded, “Well, DUH!”  Of course the healing bone needs a little extra babying.

I wanted to get a pair of bright orange Saucony Kinvara, but I can’t find them in women’s sizing. Maybe they only made them for men?  But I’m also considering trying on a pair of Saucony Mirage. Those have the same minimal 4mm heel to toe drop as the Kinvara, but have a tiny bit more stability to them. Just not sure what is best for my still healing foot, but I do know I don’t want to move back into shoes with a higher heel-to-toe drop, I’d like to keep it a little more minimal.

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