I'm a bit of a mess right now. I did not have a fun massage this morning. Mark took pity on me and did not do as deep a tissue massage as he probably should have. It was still painful, but I know he was not stripping my muscle knots the way he should have been. On a happy note, he said that my glutes and hamstrings were getting very toned. I can thank my physio therapist Graham for that. He has me doing exercises to strengthen my lower back, glutes and hamstring. I guess it's working! Tonight's physio appointment consisted of a lot of stretching. I was sitting in my car a lot today and by the time I got to physio, I was super stiff!
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| This is what I got to see a lot of today and why I'm super stiff. It's a holiday weekend in Canada (Victoria Day) and this was the 401 at 11:30 this morning heading east bound towards cottage country. |
Tomorrow is my long run. I'm scheduled to do 20K, but I think I'm going to do a 7K loop three times and do a half marathon distance. I'm curious to see what my predicted finishing time will be. I'm going to try to get it over with fairly early. I'll still have to get up around 6:30 so I can eat before hand. Twenty-one kilometers means I have to get some energy into me first thing in the morning.
Thanks to everyone for their lovely comments on my last post. There were a couple of comments where questions were asked, so I'll answer them here. The first one I already answered on the post under the question but thought I'd answer in more depth here in case others were wondering as well.
I think peanut butter also counts as a carbohydrate besides the fat and protein. You also mentioned sometimes eating a banana before you run I seem to recall? So wouldn't that count as some form of carb loading before a run?
The carb loading I was referring to is the meal eaten 36 - 48 hours prior to an endurance sport lasting 90 minutes or more. So if I do a long run on Saturday morning and I carb loaded, that meal would be eaten on Thursday night. The natural peanut butter I have on long run days does have 3g of carbohydrate per tablespoon. I normally have 2 tablespoons with 2 hard boiled eggs prior to a long run. According to Runner's World magazine; prior to a long run, an endurance athlete should eat 4 grams of carbs for every pound of body weight two days before the run. So right now I weigh 167 (167 x 4 = 668) and I should eat 668 grams of carbs during my carb loading phase. If I have 2 tablespoons of natural peanut butter just prior to my run, I have 6g of carbs. That would not be considered carb loading. I need the peanut butter for energy and since I digest it really well, it's my fuel of choice.
I do eat a "pasta" dinner prior to long runs, but it's spaghetti squash that I eat. Spaghetti squash contains 10 grams of carbohydrate per serving, and I probably have 2 - 3 servings for a total of 30 grams of carb. The bolognese sauce contains 6 grams of carbs per serving and lets say I have another 2 - 3 servings, that's another 18 grams of carb for a total of 48 grams of carb. My point is that I feel fine during long runs without carb loading. This works for me, but it's certainly not right for everyone. Each individual is different and everyone needs to figure out what works for them prior to their exercise routine. It took some trial and error for me, but I finally figured it out. And just for the record, I do not eat bananas.
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| My meal in preparation for my long run tomorrow. Salmon, broccoli and mushrooms. |
You seem very, very disciplined! Do you never break out even a bit and eat some
junk/non-paleo food or eat more than you should at times?
The Paleo diet has a 85:15 rule which allows for the consumption of 3 non-Paleo meals per week. I try to stick as true to the diet as I can (The Paleo Diet for Athletes is a great resource). My "three non-Paleo meals per week" consist of the natural peanut butter I consume before long runs, the energy gummies (2-3) I eat during long runs, the red wine I drink on the weekend and the cream I have in my coffee. Added up, I'm sure they would count as three non-Paleo meals. I do not eat off plan any other time. The reason for that is because I know how bad of a sugar and carb addict I am and it's just not worth it for me to deviate from my eating plan. I also know that if I were to eat processed carbs or sugar, I would physically feel bad. I haven't had them in so long, and I don't want to find out how they would affect my body. And the plus side is that since I haven't had them for so long, they are not even remotely difficult to resist.
Paleo works really well for me but it's certainly not for everyone. I like the simplicity of it and the fact that I eat when I'm hungry, and stop eating when I'm full. I still don't count calories or portion sizes. I never did even when I was actively losing weight and following Dr. Poon's Metabolic Diet. The one area that is a potential danger zone for me is nuts. I really have to limit my nut intake and if I were to over-indulge in something, it would definitely be nuts. Sorry for the long winded answers, but hopefully this answers your questions!
Yesterday I was chatting with the assistant manager at the Running Room and we were talking about how I almost vomited at the finish line of the Chocolate Race. He told me that back in the day when his wife was a serious runner, her motto was that if you didn't vomit at the end of a race, you didn't run hard enough. Awesome! I want a redo! I just know I can barf the second time around!
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| Well, I wasn't drunk, but that's how I looked at the finish line! |
