Tuesday, September 16, 2014

Updates

The last week has really been a whirlwind.

The half marathon was great. My "untrained" friend ended up being super fast after a summer of cycling. She ran a personal best beating her last half marathon time by 8 minutes! At 8 km I begged her to carry on without me! I was happy with my run. I had forgotten my watch, but even without the speed training was only 2 minutes slower than last year. If I'd had my watch, I may have been able to break two hours again, but the run was fun and I felt good the entire time, so I'm not disappointed at all.

With school still not starting here in BC, I decided to head to Edmonton to see my sister in her new home. The drive is 10 hours long, and unfortunately it had snowed in the mountains the day before I left, so the drive there was long and tiring. But we had a great time, and the drive back was beautiful!

Now there is talk that school is starting soon. It is really time for me to get organized! I like to have several lunch options in the freezer, and a few things for snack, especially when they first start and they are starved at 2:30.

Also time to start advertising. I'll be offering a fall special for new and returning clients, so watch for it.

Thursday, September 4, 2014

Wine Country Half Marathon- what I'm eating the day before

Only two days to go until the Wine Country Half here in Kelowna! Training hasn't been totally on track, but I eat really well and I got all my long runs in, so I'll be okay. A friend of mine is now running it and is staying here the night before the event too, so my whole focus has changed to having a great run, in a great setting, with one of my best friends!

Recommendations for intake for an event lasting longer than 90 minutes (and it will definitely be that!) are to take in 7-14 grams of carbohydrate per kg of body weight in the 24 hours prior. On the lower end for less elite athletes, and higher for those who are really well trained. In order to eat all those carbs, it is recommended that protein and fat are eaten in slightly smaller amounts.

However, I find it is really hard to achieve the 7 grams per kg. So I just kind of concentrate on carbohydrates and eat what I can. Recommendations are also to eat less fibre, but when I do this I feel bloated and exhausted, and my body is so used to fibre it doesn't hurt me. So here's my plan:

Breakfast- (24 hours before)- baked oats with chia, pumpkin seeds, chocolate chips :) and peanut butter
Snack- peaches, because they are so good right now. Probably 2 of the small ones.
Lunch- Salad and an open faced hummus sandwich
Snack- a smoothie, if I'm hungry
Supper- Tofu alfredo pasta with zuchinni and 2 homemade chocolate chip and oatmeal cookies

Pre-event breakfast- super cereal- chia seeds, oats, pumpkin seeds, agave, chocolate chips, hemp seeds, soy milk. And maybe a peach. All at around 4:30 am.
And 20 minutes before- the Vega pre-workout energizer. Placebo effect or not, this stuff makes me feel very energized!

During any event longer than 75 minutes, it is recommended to take in 30-60 grams of carbohydrate. I'll have 2x30 gram gels during the half marathon- one at 45 minutes, one at 1.5 hours. And drink water with gels. There is also PowerAde or something on course if I feel my energy lagging, but I'm guessing I'll be fine.

I'll report back when the day is done!