Wednesday, August 6, 2008

Ravenous Runner

First - thank you so much Willie, RBR and tiny frog for your comments! Yup - I need to slow my ass down on these long runs. They're wiping me out a bit and I don't want to risk injury. So - (right hand raised in the air...) I solemnly swear that I will not try and kill myself on Saturday's run (12 miles again...) by pushing too fast too quickly.

So, here's the question that I have for today. After the long run on Sunday I have been RAVENOUS for the last several days. Seriously...I'm eating myself out of house and home. Ack! I need to get hold of my nutrition and eating habits. I'm sugar loading. I think I'm reaching for the sugar because I'm not consuming enough calories directly before and after the run. (I'm not a nutritionist, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express...ha!) Yesterday I focused on hydration and that helped a bit. I made myself drink my 64 oz of water. That curbed the cravings a bit. I would really appreciate any nutrition/eating advice that you guys have though. I seriously need help.

Tropical Storm Edouard missed us completely, but not before pushing a truck-load of humidity up to us. Joy. So, now it's 95 freakin' degrees with 80% humidity. Awesome. I saw some runners out yesterday at lunch time. In. The. Middle. of. The. Day. Are they insane? Whew...I don't know how they do it, but more power to them.

Today I LOVE: www.mapmyrun.com to find new cool running routes!

3 comments:

Junie B said...

ok i typed out this LOOOOOOOOOOOOONG response to your question and blogger ATE IT!!

email me at txmusicbug@yahoo.com for access to my blog and I will respond again via email!!!

STUPID COMMENT EATER BLOGGER!!!

Sarah said...

Jen, just so you know, I think you are doing fantastic.

All that aside, sorry I didn't get your post yesterday. In response to yesterday's question- you're right. Slow down. The most important thing for the first marathon is to get finished without dying. Cover the miles any which way you can. I was willing to crawl to get my medal! :) You're doing super and being smart, and getting your training runs completed. Great job.

For today's question- nutrition. That's a toughie, and different for everyone. I've heard if you eat a bowl of cereal post-long run that it is the best post run fuel you can find because it has everything you need. Not the sugary cereals, but some elite runners eat a few bowls of cheerios afterward. I find if I don't eat enough calorie dense food and high fiber food (but stopping the fiber about 2 days prior to long run) I'm ravenous too. I drink about 3 liters of water a day too. I read a GREAT book last year called "Food For Fitness." It talks about the stages of training and what you need to eat for each phase. It's great and even has some recipes. It's by Lance Armstrong's trainer.

Hope you have a good day and I hope you get some good information!

Oh, and glad you finally shook that nasty bug!

Willie said...

Everyone who trains for a marathon goes through this. I gained about 3 pounds while training for my first. I was Pissed! The only saving grace was my pants fit better and I looked better so I knew I was loosing fat and gaining muscle. I stopped looking at the scale.

I'm not great at nutrition. I like junk food A LOT! I have a few habits I stick to though. I try to eat a bowl of cereal after every long run. I like the "Go Lean" brand but anything that has a good amount of protein and carbs is good. I am a huge fan of peanut butter for lunch and sometime dinner. It has tons of protein and it gives me huge amounts of energy.

I never limit my carb intake. I eat all the carbs I can get while training. Bread, rolls, pancakes, bread, bread, bread, (can you tell I like bread?). I figure my body is going to burn these quickly so I don't worry about it.

I also gave up soda. I drink tons of Cranberry juice mixed with water. I try to have a drink in my hand at all times when I'm laying around the house. I am a big believer in super-hydrating but that is because I know I am easily de-hydrated, you may be different.

Don't worry about eating too much if you are running your plan. If you are running 25+ miles a week you shouldn't limit yourself. Your body is telling you it needs FOOD! So give it some, you're a marathoner now girl! You can eat like one!

P.S.
I am a big sugar freak also, I love Sour-Patch-Kids and Mike'n'Ikes but these are horrible for you! They will mess with your blood sugar and energy levels. Still I can't resist sometimes.