Race Day - Valentine's Day 8K

Hey all,

So, I ran the 8K Sunday and it went great!! Actually, beyond belief. I actually won my age group, 45-49. Overall, there were 241 runners in the 8K and I finished 14th. My time was 38:30 which is an average of 7:44 minute per mile. Pretty wild. I felt prepared and nutritionally, this is what I did:

Wednesday/Thursday - Stopped protein supplements (shakes, bars) but ate normal meals, just larger quantities, so it did take a bit longer. I did drink with my meals so I was able to get more in. Did run 3 miles Wednesday, 5 miles Thursday.

Friday - Doubled up on vitamins and fluids. No cardio. Still no protein supplements, but also reduced protein in meals. Still drinking with meals trying to get carbs/calories.

Saturday - Avoided protein, drank lots of liquids (clear urine), doubled up vitamins and ate carbs all day long. I thought I was going to burst. I'm not kidding. Drinking water definately relieved the restriction. I don't understand how some people post that they cannot feel the difference in their restriction whether they drink or not. I guess the bottom line is that we are all different, but I can DEFINATELY eat more when I drink with my meal.

I wasn't going to do any cardio, but my running group meets Saturday mornings. I went because we start with a 20 minute speaker and the topic was about injuries and foot striking which I really wanted to hear. Plus, the coach talks for a bit about what's going on and blah, blah blah ... I dressed thinking I would maybe just go out for a mile or two but then I looked down at my Garmin and I was at 2.5 miles ... and I still had to run back!! So ... I ran 5 miles the day before a race. Not smart ... and one of the reasons I crammed so many carbs in. I knew I hit my energy stores hard.

Morning of the race I woke up two hours early and had a bowl of oatmeal and orange juice. I continued hydration moving to electrolyte drinks and a GU energy gel about an hour pre-race. The energy gels are in a form easily converted to glycogen. You can look them up and research them and see if they are for you. On the way to the race, I stopped and grabbed a tripple expresso and pounded that (I am not a coffee drinker). 10 minutes pre-race, I cracked open a Roctain, which is an energy gel used by marathon runners/endurance athletes. I figured with our limited ability to get energy, this would top me off.

Gun sounded and we were off. I started right at the front and the elite runners took the lead and I fell in behind them at a 7:15 pace (They were zooming at sub 6) I have a running belt and had it filled with electrolyte liquids as well, though I didn't need any until the 4 mile mark. I slowed my pace, as I was afraid of bonking, back to 7:30 at 2 miles and held it there for another mile. I felt good. At mile 4, I was beginning to feel a little winded (and over-heated ... I need to assess my clothing for races), so I drank some. Let me tell you, running and drinking with my little sleeve is not easy. I ended up getting a bunch of air in and belching and ... eesh. I gotta figure out a drinking system. I had slowed to a 7:50 pace and felt good after finally getting some liquids in and stomach settled, so I picked it back up. I could see the finish line a quarter mile away, so I sprinted (if that is what you could call it after 4 3/4 miles) the rest of the way. I felt great. Did some stretches ... grabbed a banana, orange and drank my protein drink.

So, what did I learn? Nutritionally, I felt right on. I probably could have even maintained my 7:15 pace longer. Hydration ... I am going to have to work on this. Researching this says you shouldn't need to hydrate during a race of this length (<45 minutes) but I think we are in a different bucket here. But, I know I also over-heated, too, so I had some extra liquid loss there, which ties to what to wear for a race. I have never had this issue during training, but racing is far more rigorous so I need to have a different clothing plan there.

Thanks for reading and good luck to any and all who decide to take up running. I have to say I am loving it and couldn't have done it without my sleeve.