Before I began… I’ll warm you: A long post ahead! 😀
Saturday night is PASTA night. I had an amazing seafood lunch in Alexandria with friends (sorry no pics) in addition to the carb comma the night before. So I wasn’t feeling hungry but I knew I had to fuel well to prepare for Sunday’s long run.
Tahini, soba, broccoli, onion, brussels sprouts and spinach. While cooking I snacked edamame (new love! ;))
simple stir-fry with olive preserve
Sunday morning 7 AM I was like them
what was I looking at? Weather.com because it was raining and I know I’m not an evening runner, so I check the website every 10 min to see when it will stop raining. I usually don’t eat breakfast before running but since the weather left me with no option…. let’s do breakfast first 😉
raspberries topped with greek yogurt and flax meal
half Udi’s gluten free bagel + cream cheese that I got in WF (first time)
Not a big fan 😦 I prefer LC more!
Udi’s bagel: it’s chewy, spongy and tasty. I wouldn’t say it’s like conventional bagel because of its lack of chewiness, but I like it. Its texture is between cake and bread. I had this half toasted and the other half later without, I like it more without toasting. Coco’s rating: 4/5.
At 10 AM, the sky cleared up. So I put my new running short! 😆 Now I feel like a real runner 😉
I don’t know what moves I was trying to do… feel you can see my excitement.
oh… if you didn’t realize it… I forgot to take off the label… 😯
< 2 hours later… I finished 12 miles!!! It’s the longest run in my life and the longest run I’m doing to prepare for the incoming half marathon. And let me tell you… 2 miles up from last week’s 10 miles was HARD!!! I never got thirsty during long run (well, apparently not long enough) but yesterday I got it, I need to DRINK before, during and after!!! I was doing the before and after, but didn’t do properly the during. By mile 6 I drunk the whole bottle of vitamin water and ate two fruit straps. Those gave me a good boost, but I got thirsty again in mile 8. By mile 10 I was really thirsty. 😦 It was not fun to do 2 extra miles feeling thirsty. Fortunately my mental strength pushed me to the end but I learned the lesson: drink baby drink!
Things to know about hydration (source)
1. You need to be well hydrated before you start your run or workout. If you start partially dehydrated, it only gets worse from there.
2. The color of your pee should be pale yellow, rather than clear or dark yellow. It should look more like lemonade than orange juice.
3. Electrolytes are lost along with fluid when you sweat. You need to replace these electrolytes through an energy drink, electrolyte solution or electrolyte tablets.
4. If you don’t replace electrolytes, particularly sodium, you won’t be able to absorb the fluid you’re drinking. This means that you could be drinking plenty, but not re-hydrating.
5. Dehydration leads to a loss of performance, cramps, digestive problems, and ultimately an inability to cool the body. These progressively worse problems will eventually stop you in your tracks.
6. Drinking too much plain water can also be a problem. Drinking lots of plain water can dilute the sodium level in your blood, leading to a problem called hyponatremia. This is why it is important to use a hydration product to replace electrolytes.
7. The term “drink to thirst” means that you should not drink just for the sake of drinking. You need to drink an amount of fluid that replaces what you’re losing in your sweat.
8. You may not actually feel “thirst” while running or racing. If you don’t ever feel the sensation of thirst, don’t make the mistake of stopping drinking completely. Continue drinking fluids in a moderate quantity to make sure that you’re getting what you need.
another things that I realized yesterday
- Outfit matters. I was wearing cotton shirt, it got all wet and it was heavy.
- Strength training. My legs weren’t tired but my upper body was. My arms and shoulder got very tired during the run and sore after the run. I haven’t done power yoga lately and I got the consequence. Somehow I don’t feel into yoga these days… but I know I need to do cross-training and strength work to have a balance workout. More on this later 😉
Post-run fuel: more bagel
I showed and laid down a while before getting to prepare lunch.
I roasted brussels sprouts
with salt, cinnamon and cocoa powder
spinach and mushroom sauteed in coconut oil
couscous and wheat berries
curried tofu with green peas and cauliflower
more edamame
it looks like a KERF meal, isn’t it?
A long nap, some work later… I went to a gym 2 blocks away from home. Yes, the strength and cross training thing stuck in my head.
vida fitness is a really fancy gym. It has a big variety of fitness classes (spinning, yoga, pilates, steps, body pump, etc), two stationary swimming pool (I was shocked 😯 when the guy showed it to me like “this is the pool”)
I did the tour and left the gym. I thought about it “seriously” during groceries shopping in Whole Food and went back 30 min later
I became a member 😆
yes, I know, I’m really COMPULSIVE or better said, I’m a DECISIVE person 😉
I heard a lot runners talking about the after long-run hunger. Well… since I started running, it never happened to me. I don’t know why. Since I’m a true believer of intuitive eating, I won’t stuff myself just because. So, for dinner I craved something simple.
I made Miso Soup from 101 cookbooks
firm tofu, chopped parsley
green onion, carrots
cooked and rinsed soba noodles
miso seaweed broth
The taste is clean and simple. Maybe in another day I would find it bland but that was all I wanted yesterday 🙂
Q1: Are you a compulsive or decisive buyer?
Q2: Are you a gym member? What do you do at the gym?
Balance, Joy and Delicias 