8+ miles--Surprise! I'm alive!

Alright, so I just wanted to get down a recap of my long run today--and what I did to plan for it...because it WORKED.


I decided--yes, 8 miles isn't a lot for some of the runners I talk to--but this is a personal long for me--so went ahead with a micro-card load (up on the carbs, low protein, low fats)--not nearly the amount I see marathons put down but here we go:

Breakfast
3 slices of whole grain toast with some 'no sugar added' jam

Snack
Doctor I work for brought white chocolate cranberry scones...I cut off a small tip and had it with some coffee--good stuff.

Lunch
Steamed rice with some mushrooms, broccoli and chicken---More like a rice with a side of what's usually a main dish.

Right about here I got restless with my day off--I ALMOST laced up my shoes to go, but I held my ground and instead cleaned my house from top to bottom.  Was still amped afterwards, but forced myself to deal.

Dinner
I made some fresh tomato sauce with mushrooms and fresh basil from my two cute plants and boiled up a nice pot of pasta.  I made myself a pretty big dish of the goodness--but to my surprise I could only stomach getting down maybe a 1/3 of it.  I was kinda pissed at my stomach for tapping out so soon, all I could think was that I didn't eat enough and wouldn't make the whole route tomorrow.

Dessert
Two small scoops of Blue Bell--which sadly enough, couldn't get all of it down, had to scoop some into my husband's bowl.


So--like I keep saying, I'm constantly doing my research when it comes to endurance and nutrition in the subject of running.  This being said, I took a piece of advice that told me to set my alarm 1-2 hours before you want to go for a long run and get down a snack, slug some water, and then hit the sack again.

I did just that.  Set my alarm for 4:30AM (ON A FUCKING SATURDAY), and made sure I had a Clif bar and glass of water on my bedside table.  Then sleepy time.

4:30--my phone alarm goes off, and I had to think of why at first.  Grabbed the Clif Bar (Mint Chocolate with Caffeine) and started to chomp away.  Couldn't get all of it down, so I left about a third of it, and got some water down--promptly passed out afterwards.

Around 6 I got up and it was still crazy dark--and since I'm a puss, I stayed in bed a little longer, munched the rest of the bar until I could see a hit of daybreak.

Then I was off!  The course I mapped myself in the area I live included a good amount of hills (this place is UNFORGIVING) most of them in the first 2 miles, which I'm totally grateful for.

A little after mile 4, I was still feeling pretty solid, but since I was heading up another hill, I decided to take an nibble of my goodies (today--SWEDISH FISH--it seems counterproductive, I know--but there is science to it) before I hit a wall.  Dudes, they so helped--even more so then the "official nutritional supplements" that are way overpriced.

Around 6 1/2 miles I was starting to feel it in my hips, and geared down a little--but just kept trucking.  Between the Swedish Fish, my sips of water, and me telling myself I'd already come THAT far--I was able to push it over the last 3 or 4 hills home.

8.23 miles to add to the books, people--and I felt awesome.  Even better then I did with the smaller amount of miles I did this week, and IMMENSELY better then the 7 I pulled last Saturday.   From what I can tell, I can probably credit it to proper nutrition/calorie-intake before the run--at the right times. 

Getting enough calories in is so key, and I'm learning that little by little.  I spent such a long time counting points and calories to watch my weight--even when I was doing some moderate exercising--but with the intensity and miles ever increasing, I'm realizing that I have to balance my food for the runs that I do.  I'll be extremely honest--I was counting calories for EVERYTHING up until about 3-4 weeks ago.  Then I kind of stopped, I had a running count in my head--but for the amount I was burning off, my body couldn't sustain such a low intake.   I've balanced that all (pretty well, like I said still learning) and even without calories counting have dropped almost 10 pounds in a month!  It's bananas.  Anybody else notice that in similar scenarios?


86% to the October 75 miles I've set for myself.  I GOT THIS.

Anyways, this post is long enough right now--and I'm finally getting HUNGRY!

Go Fork Yourselves!

Krissy <3