I just finished my first race. The Outward Bound Wilderness Colorado Relay! I ran 174 miles from Georgetown to Carbondale over Guanella, Georgia and Vail passes with my team of 10 very cool women all ranging in different ability levels. Ok. i didn't run all 174 miles but i did run 13.5 of it. I'm energized, psyched, tired and contemplating my next race on Sunday. I'm not sure exactly what to eat, how many miles to run this week or if I'm completely crazy for even thinking about running a half marathon a week after the relay race. My philosophy is do what feels best. I did a 2.5 hour hike the day after the race to get the lactic acid out of my muscles, which totally worked! So I'm resting today and plan on doing some easy runs on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Rest Saturday and win the race on Sun. Ok. maybe not win but we'll just say I will participate and hopefully finish within the 7 hour time limit. Ha.
For those of you whom have not run in a race and are terrified, let me tell you it is an absolute blast. People are amazingly supportive and energized and I promise you wont be sorry you did it. I'm addicted.
Keep running ladies, even if you are running with the enemy or you are trying to burn off the double cheeseburger that you ate cuz it just felt right.
PS: Any suggestions about food consumption before (morning and night) a half marathon would be greatly appreciated!
1 comment:
Puh-din! I'm so proud of you! And you loved racing! Yay!
Of course you can totally do that distance again next weekend, no problem. Hiking this past weekend was a really good idea.
Okay, so food. Here's my advice: no red meat the day before. For a half marathon, you'll be going more than an hour, so it's totally cool to carbo-load for a couple days. Pancakes for brunch the day before and pasta with red sauce the night before. Lasagna or some other complex-carb packed meal two nights before. The morning of, I eat either half a bagel with peanut butter or a piece of toast with PB and a banana. Here's the thing--this isn't enough for most people. The combination is right but the amount is not enough. I can't eat much before a race because my nerves kill my stomach and eating before running kills my stomach. Bad combo. I remember you saying you can eat and run which is great. Maybe think about consuming a whole bagel. DO NOT eat steel-cut oats that morning. Too long to digest. Also, you drink coffee every morning. You should have at least few sips before the race. Personally, i can't so I make sure my goos and blocks I'm gonna eat have caffeine in them. During the race, you shouldn't need more than one or two goos, about 45 minutes to an hour in, then maybe another to boost you through the last 5k or so. Drink lots of water this week but not too much before the race--you'll feel water-logged. After the race? Get in my burger!! Duh.
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