Food, Food, Food

After last week's PR/major life accomplishment, I think people have started developing expectations. Case in point: I ran with my running group on Saturday, and over a post-run breakfast, I told a few of them about my half-marathon. One of them asked when the sub-3 hour marathon would happen.

Yes, the sub-3 hour marathon is a goal. But first things first -- break 3:05 and BQ.

On Sunday, I went for my scheduled 15M run. While I was drawing the post-long run salt bath (yes, I'm making it a thing -- try it and you'll understand), I got a text from a friend of mine asking about injury relief. She's training for her first half-marathon, did a 12M run, and reported some pain behind the knee. I referred her to my good friend, the foam roller. (If you haven't foam rolled before, I fully recommend it. Either before or after you try that salt bath.)

While this isn't the first time that a friend has asked me for running advice, I'm honored to be consulted, because it means that people think I know something about the sport. Later that day, I couldn't control my hunger. If you ask my family, this is just a typical day in my life. But this was worse than usual! I spent the rest of the day alternating between trying to be productive with schoolwork, and eating so I could focus enough to attempt to be productive. Still, I realized that knowing "something" doesn't mean knowing "everything," and so I set out to learn more about refueling after a long run.

What do you do when you've burned 1,500+ calories on a run, and your body needs about 2,000 calories to carry out its basic functions? According to the math, you need about twice the calories you'd normally eat just to function normally. How do you work in this many extra calories?

I researched fueling after a long run, and found that the Live Strong website "How To Plan Post-exercise Recovery Meals" best explained things in layman's terms. It also cited Nancy Clark's "Sports Nutrition Guidebook" as a reference. I borrowed this from the library when I was training for Chicago and read it, and it's a fantastic book. Maybe it's time I invest in my own copy? And while I'm at it, perhaps I should get "Food Guide for Marathoners"as well.

OR I could just look into the Michael Phelps diet! Remember those reports of his 12,000 calorie a day diet during the Beijing Olympics? If any athlete knows about eating crazy amounts of food, it'd be him, right? Well, here's the 12,000 calorie a day diet, outlined (source: WSJ):

"Breakfast: Three fried-egg sandwiches loaded with cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, fried onions and mayonnaise. Two cups of coffee. One five-egg omelet. One bowl of grits. Three slices of French toast topped with powdered sugar. Three chocolate-chip pancakes.

"Lunch: One pound of enriched pasta. Two large ham and cheese sandwiches with mayo on white bread. Energy drinks packing 1,000 calories.

"Dinner: One pound of pasta. An entire pizza. More energy drinks."

Said diet put into perspective. (Source)

Most of these foods are not in my normal diet, primarily because I try to eat healthy most of the time. (And by "try," I mean keep to the 80% healthy, 20% alcohol/everything else. I find that when I eat more nutrient-dense foods, I feel and function better.) So now the issue is, "Is there a way to consume seemingly exorbitant amounts of cleaner, healthier food?" In my research on the Michael Phelps Diet, I found this article from Men's Health that describes how his diet changed from the Beijing Games to the London Games. And an article titled, "The New Rules of Marathon Nutrition" from active.com. To sum it up, eat whole grains, lean meats, eggs, some dairy, and fresh produce, and eat until you're satiated.

So basically, just eat more of what I already eat? Oy. If you need me, I'll be at Costco, and trying not to go broke while fueling myself for this training. In the meantime, I'll also take other recommendations on balancing eating properly during training and not going broke.

(Disclaimer: Though I've taken nutrition courses, I am not a nutritionist or dietitian. If you want advice from a trained professional, you should seek one out.)

Over the River And Through the Woods

Remember that time I said, "If you don't like the weather in Portland, wait 10 minutes?"

That couldn't have been more true on my long run.

I woke up to rain outside my window and thought to myself, "Oh joy!" But I got dressed anyway. For a pre-run breakfast, I made myself some oatmeal with almond butter, dried cranberries, a few almonds, and cinnamon, and had a glass of water on the side. Mmmm. I got through part of my warmup routine, but not the whole thing. (I didn't leave myself enough time.)

I met up with my friend Jeff and ran about 1.5 mi to meet up with our friend Peter. (Yes, believe it or not, I run with people sometimes.) It was raining and 39ºF when we left, and because we were planning on running through the Southwest Hills, I commented that because of the altitude change, it might be snowing up in the Hills. Jeff told me that it probably wasn't going to be that cold. Now because a 7 degree temperature difference in one city seems very unlikely, I left it alone.

We met Peter down at the Esplanade (along the water on the East Side), and Peter guided us along (he knew the route). We ran along the waterfront, across the river, and through Downtown before trekking up into the Hills. We got about a mile up Terwilliger Blvd., and what did we meet? SNOW. I couldn't resist saying some variation of "I told you so," and the response I got was, "It's not cold. It's just...snowy." (Since when is 32ºF warm? Or am I the only one north of SF who thinks that 32 is cold?)

A little while later, we escaped the snow and found SUN! (In case you couldn't tell from my other posts, the sun in Portland in the winter is a hot commodity -- pun intended.) We proceeded through the River View Cemetery, which is perched on a hill and, as the name suggests, offers a view of the Willamette River and the East Side. (Why do the dead people need a stunning view? I presume that they already have a better view than any of us have on Earth. At least, assuming that there is a Heaven and these people made it there.)

Once we left the cemetery, we crossed the Sellwood Bridge (Woo for running across a new bridge in Portland!), and ran along the Springwater Corridor for the last few miles of our run.

Source

The path is lined by trees on one side and the river on the other. While this seems very peaceful, it also feels like being in the woods in the Middle of Nowhere. Eventually, we escaped and made it back to the Esplanade. I left them to head to the MAX, because I had a bunch of homework waiting for me at home, and after 16 miles of freezing (practically), mass transit sounded great (and it was). I did some lunges as a cooldown stretch while I waited, and consumed some of the water I brought with me on the run.

Once I got home, I got started on breakfast. Eggs and cheese (though I had them with polenta instead of on a sandwich), coffee (with some warmed chocolate almond milk -- in case anyone's wondering, it's a bomb combo), and a banana. (Three of five things off of the Friday Five -- not bad!)

Now it took my Garmin the entire run from my place to the Esplanade to locate the satellites, so I can't provide any stats on that. But as far as the rest of the run:

Distance: 14.78 mi

Time: 2:06

Pace: 8:31/mi

Faster than my last run of a comparable distance! And that route was flatter too. Improvement? I'd like to think so. I think running with people who run at my speed or a bit faster helped too. My knee only acted up a few times too.

PS Just a reminder that you can subscribe via email! Because who wouldn't love waking up to an email with my anecdotes? ;)

Happy Anniversary!

Happy Valentine's Day! If you know me, I'm not one to celebrate. But there is one anniversary that I have to acknowledge.

An anniversary with a running shoe? Yes. I realized that on Valentine's Day 2009, I went to Jack Rabbit with one of my best friends in NYC and discovered the Brooks Adrenaline 9. Three years later, the Brooks Adrenalines and I are still together. I currently run in the Adrenaline 12 (pictured above), but the 9s started my relationship with the company (and model).

(For some other cute stories involving love and running, check out this article from Runner's World!)

The Training

There's lots of catching up to do! So I'll just summarize.

Friday - 4.03 mi. easy run

Saturday - 9.7 mi. on the stationary bike

Sunday - 14.05 mi. long run

Monday - Vinyasa yoga

The long run could have been better. My knee started acting up around mile 10, but I was able to finish the run in one piece. Funny enough, the Fanconi Anemia 5K/8K/12K was happening at the same time and place as my long run. It didn't interfere with the run much, but I got to run across the finish line of the race! (I think the race officials understood that they were taking up prime running real estate.)

I think about a lot of things on my long runs, but after a certain point, I start thinking about what I'm going to eat when I'm done. On one of my 3 hour training runs for the NYC Marathon, I started craving a breakfast burrito. I ended that run at the Portland Farmer's Market, and upon seeing a burrito vendor, I was overjoyed. That burrito was so delicious. (True life: I have an inner fat kid.) On Sunday's run, I thought about eggs, oatmeal, and banana French toast, among other foods. When I got home, I opened my fridge, and was inspired by the smorgasbord of produce that I bought the day before. I ended up making an omelet with avocado, jalapeño pepper, spinach, and red pepper. I should've had some carbs with that too, but my mind was so focused on the omelet that I forgot about that part.

As far as my knee goes, I went to Vinyasa yoga yesterday. The combination of poses (pigeon included!) helped a bunch! I also started trying the IT Band Rehab routine I found on the Strength Running blog.

There's a 6M run in the forecast today, along with some stormy weather. Let's see how the knee and I hold up!

Go Big Blue!

I ran the Portland Marathon in 2010, and if I had to choose a word to best describe the conditions, it would be wet. Whenever I tell people (runners or spectators) that I ran that race, the first reaction I usually get is, "Oh, is that the one where it rained the whole time?" Yes, that would be it. I finished, and I was happy with the results, but that doesn't change the fact that I was soaked and had to stuff newspaper inside my running shoes to help them dry.

Memories of that day came flooding back (no pun intended) as soon as I stepped outside to go on my long run and was greeted by the rain. I won't lie; I did consider going inside. But then I told myself, "I'm dressed, I'm outside, I might as well just go for it."And so I did. I went down to the waterfront, because I know how far my place is from the river, and I have a 5-mile loop around the waterfront that I've run before. I figured that if I ran the loop twice and ran to and from the river, it would add up to about 14 miles.

Once I got moving, I felt fine. Well, as fine as could be, given that it was raining and about 40ºF. I was happy to see other runners (and cyclists) on the pathway, just for the sake of knowing that I wasn't the only crazy person out there. Between seeing other runners and different scenery, the miles go by much more quickly outside than they do on the treadmill. However, by mile 10, my thoughts changed from the scenery to how much longer I had and how cold it was. By mile 12.5, my hands were frozen (with gloves on, mind you), so I had to find a different way to hold my water bottle. From that point on, I basically had to tell myself, "Almost there. Almost there!"And so I ran home, and in doing so, ran farther than I intended.

The final stats (as told to me by my fantastic Garmin watch):
Distance: 14.62 mi.
Time: 2:06:29
Pace: 8:38/mi

As soon as I got home (and managed to get my keys out of my pocket with my frozen hands), I ripped my gloves off, walked to the kitchen sink, and turned on the hot water so I could thaw my hands. As the blood vessels in my fingers reopened, the pain was enough to make me wonder why I do this. But as I learned from my days of crew, "Pain is temporary. Pride is forever."

I've spent the rest of the day trying to be productive, but due to this headache that won't subside, that isn't going so well. Oh, and the Giants-49ers game. Good long run AND a Giants victory in OT (that's taking them to the Super Bowl)? Awesome day!