Marathoning is way more than Running

It's me again guys! I figure if I can run twice a day I should be able to blog twice. I have so many things to say but the fatigue monster keeps throwing me on the couch. haha

So, as I continue my training for my 3rd Boston Marathon I have tried to pull out what works for me and hopefully it will help you too.  We all know that eating well, hydrating, sleep etc are important. But let me analyze things a little further.

Diet:

Sugar: I'm on my 3rd year of no refined sugar. I'll never look back. Sugar is inflammation. Runners typically avoid that at all costs. Easy. Done. Next!

Protein: Quest Bars and Quest Bars. 20g of protein. 180 calories. No sugar. I eat 3 a day minimum. Or whatever it takes to keep my daily protein at 80-100 grams. Lots of chicken, beans, almonds...Protein repairs your muscles. When you destroy them like I do it's almost a guilt trip if I don't feed them. I think of my muscles as a 3rd person helping me do what I love. Good job guys!

Carbohydrates: Yes please. Pasta, sweet potatoes, rice..repeat....

Water: Hate it! I've been adding Herbal Life Mango flavored Aloe to my water. It's really good and makes hydration bearable. Otherwise I could exist on espresso.

Nutrition on the Run:

Last year was about the gels. This year I've bonked twice upon taking a cafinated gel. I got dizzy and had a bad reaction. So my super talented friend Diluca told me to try Generation UCAN. I did and haven't hit the wall yet! I mix one drink 30 minutes before I run long or any run that I think is worth $3.50 for the single serve packet. lol. It is sustained energy. Even keel. And can I say yummy? I like the raspberry one.

Sport Legs have always been in my bag. They keep the burn away. I take 2 before every run with effort.

I don't hydrate while running. Carrying a water bottle wears me out. And I seem to do ok without. This only applies to winter running.

Sleep: For weeks 1-4 of my build up I didn't need naps. For weeks 5-8 I needed 2 1-hour naps a week. Now, if I don't get a daily 30-60 minute nap I will cut you! Napping in the car while waiting for my child to finish their 75th extracurricular activity is okay! I have tints.

I'm trying to think of what else. It's very important to get a good 20 grams of protein in immediately post run. I don't care if it's 8 miles. Eat a Quest Bar. I say this emphatically because I'm turning out big weeks and every run has the potential to nick at me. I need to protect myself from injury.

Keeping the niggles away

I guess it's not rocket science. But I can guarantee that if I ate doughnuts and drank Pepsi I would not feel the same and most likely I would be nursing some injury. #not20anymore

I hope this helps. These products work for me. My next blog will be on the people that are getting me to the start HEALTHY! Again, I don't just wing it for 100+ miles a week. I'm giving gray hairs to someone. haha.

Continued happy running guys!

Laura

Why I Probably Run More Than You

Hey Everyone!!

I am so sorry I have been slacking on my updates! This Boston build up is deliciously exhausting. When I have 30 minutes to spare I'm using telling Siri to wake me up in a few.  But seriously, I've never trained so hard or so much in my life.

They say you really learn about yourself in a marathon. I will extend that to marathon training. Because there are all sorts of fun things you get to deal with along the way! Such as:

The usual suspects:

*Fatigue
*Excitement
*An out of control ego
*Quickly beat down by the epic fail training run
*Insatiable appetite
*Irritability

Then the less obvious suspects:

*Friction burns, turned into permanent scabs
*2 to 3 showers a day from doubling and sometimes X-training
*Accepting that life for 12 weeks will be in a pony tail
*Doing a double and farting the whole way while waving to your neighbors
*Bloody noses from freezing temps
*Explaining to non runners that running 2-3 hours a day is epic and rewarding!
*Explaining to your child that you can't sit in a folding chair and watch them practice. It hurts!
*No, I'm not trying to lose weight!

SO WHY?! What is the point? I love to ponder this question and have a million different answers.

Why have I run 1254 miles since January 1st? My weekly totals are:

95, 95, 100, 104, 114, 120, 100, 71, 109, 125, 108, 103 (this week) That includes 6 long runs that were 20-24 miles.

That's more than a lot of men will run and go sub 2:30. Some people will run 40% of that and kick my ass. I'm aware. But it's not my goal to beat them. It's my goal to beat me. It's my goal to push myself till I want to give up and then learn to make that my comfort zone. I'm not training for complacency.

It's about grinding and pushing the envelope. Sucking it up. Wiping the tears. And doing it again and again.

Mentally, this kind of training is probably harder than the physical act of moving your body. One day you feel invincible and the next, trashed. Over and over. It's a mental beat down. So you have to believe in yourself and your training. Because odds are you will need to get your shoes back on and run within the next 5 hours.

I know what I can do. I don't want to train for a 3rd 2:58. I'd like to give a little more this time. I'm no different from the 4 or 5 hour marathoner. I think most of us throw down our best. We don't roll up to a track for 800's and run easy pace. We all try. That's all you can ask for. And at the end of the day or week it puts a smile on our faces.

It teaches my kids and yours that giving up is not an option. That this is what commitment looks like. That somedays your best will be last weeks worst. And in the end you can check the DONE box feeling accomplished.

I'm going to cut this off here. But I have some dietary tips, tricks and hopefully not placebos to share on the next post. I don't have a double today so I'll work on that now : )

As always you guys rock! I couldn't do it without you! Thanks again for your support. T-3w2d to turn this mutha out! See you at Hopkinton!

Later Taters!!

Here are some random pics:

Running out of poses nowadays

A great 10 miler!

Props to my LMBT for being 75% of the reason I'm still on the roads

Fashion "situations"

35 degrees in the am. 80 degrees in the pm. Sure!

This has become acceptable...somehow...

Seeing this on my run!

That's a happy dance right there!

What else does one do betw parked cars while celebrating a great day?!

I would like to thanks my family and pets for supporting me

And my training partner who I will always look up to

And the pendulum swings...a good day...