You would think that after so many years of running and racing I would have this fueling thing down. Sadly, I still make mistakes and sometimes I pay dearly for them! I’m also not just talking about food. It’s of the utmost importance to fuel your mind and spirit. Let’s discuss…
WEEK OF JUNE 15, 2015
RUNNING: Here is where the trouble started. I was released into the wild and given the task of running on a soft surface for 8 x .50 pick-ups. This was not supposed to be full on speed work but kind of a testing-the-hamstring workout. The issue was I had to teach spin in the morning and then do this workout in the afternoon, which meant I had to eat lunch before running. This is never good for me unless it’s simple banana or bagel in the morning. Unfortunately, I would be much hungrier and needed more nutrients after an hour of spin.
I don’t know why I ignore facts, but I simply chose to ignore the fact that it takes my body well over an hour to digest peanut butter. It was 11:30, and I was going to be running around 12:30, in the heat and humidity and faster then I have in a while on actual solid ground. I thought about it and made the damn peanut butter and jelly sandwich anyway.
Bad move.
After each and every .50 mile pick-up I thought I would puke. I could taste the peanut butter while I was running and it basically made the whole workout miserable. Just so I never ever do this again, I made a note in my training log:
Road running: 13.5 miles
Elliptical running: 6 miles
Pool running: 45 minutes
Kicking up dirt on the trails, while churning up food in my stomach.
CYCLING: I had some fantastic long rides this past week, some ‘brick, brick’ training (run 2 miles, transition, bike 8 miles, transition, run 2 miles, transition…and so on) and some road blocks. I’m not sure why this keeps happening but I had to ride on a major road with way too much traffic to get back on course after this little detour:
When I’m running I can always go around stuff like this…no so on a bike!
But, that wasn’t the worst part. The worst part was that I didn’t bring enough food. And I brought no money. FAIL!
Last Wednesday I had a swim (2300 yards), bike (30 miles), run planned (3 miles) – yep, all three! I was ready. I thought. After the swim I ate a Chia Bar and brought 7 chomps with me. About 4 miles in, I was starving. Remember what I said about the pool? It makes me ravenous! So, I had to literally ration out my fuel like I was on survivor and time it out so I was keeping my glucose levels steady. I savored the last one, used up all my reserves to make it back to my car, the whole time thinking “I’m skipping the run. I have no energy. Be smart”
So of course I stowed my bike, ate another Chia Bar, and ran it out.
Looking back, I could have cut the ride short, but that would have been crazy. #ObsessMuch
Lesson learned! I will now not venture out without money and extra fuel.
FUELING: For whatever reason, my fueling has been off. I had the disaster on the bike and the rest of my meals have just been wonky for one reason or another. I’m having a hard time determining what exactly my body needs and I don’t think this has happened before. What can a girl do but experiment!
Body Armour This is super refueling, recovery drink that elite runner Tina Muir told me (and the rest of the world) to try. I remember she mentioned it was sold at Target and lo and behold, I found it! It has great flavor, all the recharging nutrients you need after a hot run and/or bike in the summer.
That’s It Fruit Bars I found these tasty tidbits right at the grocery store. The best part? What you see on the label is exactly what’s inside. Just fruit. That’s it. Mind blown.
THINGS I LOVE: Surprising the boys with The Wild Kratts live show at the Bushnell. What is a Wild Kratt? It’s two grown men (the Kratt brothers) who romp around forests and oceans, pretend they have ‘creature powers’ and teach kids all about wild life. It’s actually worse then it sounds, but the boys love it and since they’re learning something and being non-violent, I must approve.
In their ‘creature power suits’ waiting for the show to start!
The Kratt brothers – Chris and Martin – as themselves and also their cartoon selves. #Weird
THINGS I DON’T LOVE AS MUCH: Having to call the fire department at 6am on a Monday morning. Yeah. I was working quietly downstairs when I heard the distinctive ‘chirp’ of what I thought was the smoke detector running low on battery.
First of all, is this the best idea we can come up with for these things? Can’t my detector send me a text message or something when the battery is low instead of beeping out a decibel that rivals the boys screams, and always in the middle of the night or at a God-awful time of the morning?
So, everyone is sleeping and I want them to stay that way so I can work. I grab a 9-volt battery (this is another issue, I mean really, a freakin’ 9-volt battery?) venture upstairs to the offending detector, which is of course right outside the boy’s room, and realize it’s the carbon monoxide detector.
I actually remained calm and woke my husband up. He assessed the situation and we agreed to call the fire department. They showed up in a matter of minutes and declared the house poison free. Whew. However, when they went to reset the detector, which had been steadily beeping the entire time, it really started going crazy! This insanity finally woke up the boys, who were more then a little excited to see a house full of fireman and a real life fire truck in their driveway.
Miles: “Is this a dream?”
No sweetie, it’s a nightmare.
READING: I’m feeling really lucky in the book department. I keep coming up with gems and finding books I cannot put down. My latest favorite is Crazy for the Storm by Norman Ollestad. Little Norman (to his dad’s big Norman) was an 11 year-old sole survivor of a plane crash that killed the pilot, his dad and his dad’s girlfriend. Yes, he was 11 and survived a Cessena plane crash into a mountain! In the winter! In nothing but his Vans and a ski sweater!
It was a perfect Father’s Day read because the relationship he had with his dad, although insane, ultimately saved his young life.
A picture of Norman Sr. with his baby son strapped to his back while surfing! I think he would be arrested for this today.
Norman Jr. grew up skiing and surfing in and around California in the 70s. His father took him on wild escapades and pushed him to (and past) the limits of an adult, let alone an adolescent. The book is a reflection on how being raised as he was, lead up to that fateful plane ride and the events that transpired after the crash.
Read it.
SOCIAL MEDIA: Although I couldn’t possibly get though all of Rolling Stone’s 100 best Instagram accounts, I tried and was rewarded with some sweet eye candy:
How does @baddiewinkle have 996K followers and I have 650?
RANDOM QUOTE OF THE WEEK:
Coach: It’s a little hot to run too fast, so take it easy.
Kid: I’m going to run SO FAST!
Other kids: Me too! Me too! Me too!
Overheard at the boys last Pee-Wee track session. When did we lose this?
How was your week?
What is your favorite snack or drink these days?
Ooph, that sounds like a week! I’ve had occasions that I have felt certain foods and wished I never ate them as well. UGH, that feeling is the absolute worst! For me, I find myself needing a lot more fuel in the summer because I’m sweating so much (whether that is just electrolyte fuel or actual food).
Maybe that’s what it is Hollie!? I’m going to try more electrolyte type fueling and see how it goes. Thank you!!
In other breaking non important news–we have the same exact sneakers!!! Lol.
Ick about the peanut butter. I remember going too far one time on one of my very first long runs and realizing at the half way point that is need a lot more water and food to make it back and I didn’t have a sweet dime on me. Smh!! Crazy!! Make sure you hydrate like a crazy person before Denver because apparently the Colorado levels are no joke.
Omg about the carbon monoxide alarm. I know that noise because I test it often but only when the boys are awake and warned. First thing to always do is open a window or door to get oxygen in. Glad everything was okay though. We’re the firemen cute? Just asking for research purposes.
Hahahaha – you are the best!!! I love that we have the same running shoes because of course! And no, sadly the firemen were not cute. Not even a little bit 🙁
What a week! And I’m glad I didn’t find out about the Wild Krats show till the day of it (and it was sold out!). My kids would have loved it but me…not so much. #thingswedoforkids. I’m off to follow Baddie Winkle!
Very funny Angela!
So glad you know about Wild Kratts and insanely jealous you did not have to sit though that crazy weirdness. Creepy.
It is Monday and if my carbon monoxide alarm starting going off right now to wake the whole house for no good reason, I think I would want to pull the covers over my head and call it a day sadly. Glad it all ended up OK though and here is to a better start this Monday and week now.
Yep, it was definitely that kind of Monday and threw off my whole morning and therefore, my whole day. *sigh* By comparison, this Monday is much better! Thanks Janine.
Allie
I love your posts! I wish I had time to log on and read them every single time! Never heard of those bars! Will have to try them. This is why I like working out before any meals right before breakfast! I can’t stand afternoon workouts! Laura at Mommy Run Fast has gotten me into Shaklee products. They have some energy chews you should try out! The company is unreal and all-natural!
I hear you on the alarms in the house!
Thank you so much Emma!! I think you would love those bars.
I so wish I could do more early morning runs but the boys schedule is not allowing for that right now…
I’ve seen those on both of your sites so maybe I need to check them out!!
SO glad you tried body armor, they are SO refeshing in the summer, I love them so much!! As for fueling, I loved the story about rationing the chomps, I feel like that sometimes when I forget to take enough too haha, and you have to pick when you are going to enjoy the one big thing….sometimes I make the mistake of having it before I run….I dont get the stomach upset, but then after I am just about to eat my hand as I am so hungry. We are such funny creatures. I was explaining hangry to steve the other day haha. Glad training is coming together….fueling is an issue you can easily sort……with no pb this time 😉
So glad you can relate Tina and I am seriously loving the Body Armor!! Thank you!!
I always have to explain that stuff to Mike and he looks at me like I’m insane. I cannot even imagine what he would be like as a runner!!
My week was on point for workouts. Dialing in the nutrition can be tough and I think the heat makes a difference. I can’t wait to read just because I love to read! #studyprobs
I can agree with the reading cravings! Is there nothing better then reading a good book (or interesting one) outside in the summer? It’s my favorite downtime!
At least now you know no PB :). I can usually do a pb & j before a workout and be ok….although I wouldn’t put too much pb on it. Everyone is totally different though and that is the hard part. I wish someone could tell me exactly what to eat and when and it would work for me…but unfortunately it doesn’t work that way. I am always asking people what fuel they take on long runs and when so I can try it 🙂
I have been feeling a little tired and dehydrated so I am going to try to pay attention to my fueling this week. I have been sweating an insane amount on my runs!!!!
That fruit bar looks awesome!
This seems to be a recurring theme so maybe it’s the change of the season that’s throwing us all off?? It makes sense but I feel like I’m hydrating like crazy all day long! I’m still tweaking (which is frustrating!) so we’ll see what happens. Make sure you drink a lot before, during and after those sweaty runs!…I know you are 🙂
Speaking of fuel and peanut butter, we made a very dangerous discovery this weekend! Smiths Pies makes daily pie deliveries to a small specialty food store practically right around the corner from us AND you can call Smiths to place your requests for their drop offs. It was a lot easier to resist the urge knowing we had a 25 minute drive to Chatlton, now we are in big trouble ! 😉
That is amazing! I’m so glad we don’t live anywhere near there because Mike has gone off the rails with desserts lately. I may need to get him into a program.
And we’re going to Saratoga for the Jazz Fest this weekend. Trouble!!!
*Charleton
I am terrible about fueling. I never eat in the morning before a road race. Very bad.
Our carbon monoxide detector went off one day while my husband was at work and I was freaking out. I had to reset it. I don’t remember what the problem was now, but my husband of course talked me out of the panic attack I was having and helped me figure it out. I’m glad it was nothing…that’s a little scary. Our fire alarms are super sensitive and go off all the freaking time…to the point where everyone assumes it is nothing (because its always someone cooking bacon in the kitchen or my husband cutting something with the electric saw in the basement) so the carbon monoxide one was scary for me.
Baddiewrinkle looks hysterical.
That is very bad Michelle but at least you know it is, so that somehow makes it better 🙂
And yes, the smoke detector is often ignored. That used to happen all the time in the house I grew up and, when we had a real fire, it didn’t even go off!! I mean, really.
Yes she does. You almost have to follow her.
wow thank you! i just totally started following baddiewinkle and have been laughing my butt off so far 😀 i love fun people, i was raised by a crazy chain smoking great-grandmother so this lady is VERY sweet and close to my heart. <3 awesome ladies who don't give a bleep!
fueling properly is a struggle for me when i'm cycling for some reason, i have rarely had all i needed with me and used to think i could 'just ride' and not worry about the fuel to after. HECK NO. lessons learned of course. with running,i can run easily on empty but for tougher workouts i will need something. coffee is always a nice start 🙂
Cheers to awesome ladies who don’t give a *bleep*!!
I agree about the bike – you just NEED that fuel. Hopefully that won’t happen again because it was horrible!
My week was not so great…..came back from vacation to having lots of work to do which leads to stress which doesn’t always lead to great choices with food…. I did get my minimum amount of work outs in at least. Time to reset this week!
I feel you! The reentry can be hard but hang in there and think about how amazing your trip was. Glad to hear you’re getting some sweat time in as that is always helpful to get back on track.
You know I’m familiar with calling the fire department…. oy. But better safe than sorry with the poisoning thing. Once you get that thought in your head you won’t rest easy until you have it checked out.
LOL!! YES!! So true…
I’m an early morning runner, so I usually don’t have anything in my stomach when I workout. I always have to force myself to eat something during my long runs – usually consists of an energy gel of some sort. For race day, I always have something, but is it crazy that I just prefer to workout on an empty stomach. I know it’s bad, but I can feel your peanut butter pain. I’d be the same way!
I would have been much better off on an empty stomach and maybe a few chomps and some water to get me though it!! When I used to run early in the morning I would force down half a banana 🙂
I LOVED Kratt’s Creatures as a kid. I didn’t know they were still making shows but it was so fun as a kid to learn about all the animals.
I’m totally with you, peanut butter is no-go before a workout. My roommate would polish off cheese and crackers or peanut butter and jelly and then go off for a run 30 minutes later, and I was always like, how do you not get sick? A banana an hour before I run is my go-to.
OMG they were around when you were a kid?? That is crazy! I had never heard of them (of course I’m 40!) until the boys somehow found them on PBS. So glad you can relate to the fueling thing and I wish I could be more like your roommate!!
Bummer with the fueling issues but you got some running in and that’s what counts. I can’t eat peanut butter too close to a run either. It’s crazy how it comes right back at you. Yuck!
Yes it is. SO gross! But yes, I was very happy to be running no matter what 🙂
My favorite quote is definitely “is this a dream?” Haha. Kids are so funny!
Our smoke detector always lost batteries at 3am. Never noon or 5pm. 3am. One time we couldn’t get it to stop and it turns out we needed a new one so we went three days with no smoke detector. We don’t even have on in Brazil.
Miles is usually especially funny and I love his humor!
I can’t believe you don’t even have one in Brazil!? What??
OMG, my kids are obsessed with Wild Kratts. I may have to see if they are coming here, because it would make their month!
Oooh, will have to check out Body Armour and the bars!
I have had that happen to me on a workout. I had pasta with red sauce and it was HORRIBLE on my stomach during a tempo run. This was in high school which tells you how traumatized I still am by it. Ha!
So glad you got through Monday (so sorry the fireman weren’t cute!) and cheers to Tuesday!!!
Seriously? That is too funny! I think they just wrapped up a tour. I only found out they were coming her by chance when I was helping the boys search for them on YouTube.
If you check out the bars and drink, let me know what you think!
I believe that you were traumatized!! I haven’t had PB since!
Ok, I’m totally with you on the smoke detectors! With all of the technology we have these days there has GOT to be a better option!! Ours ALWAYS goes off when my hubby is out of town, in the middle of the night of course. They are also located on our cathedral ceilings, so super easy for me to change…uggh! One of my biggest annoyances!! Those bars look awesome, I love the fact that there are no dates in them. I’m not a fan of dates and I can’t seem to find any of these low ingredient bars without dates!
Oh Lord! I cannot imagine if it was up that high!!! So dumb.
I never really thought about the date thing but you’re right. These bars come in a variety of fruits and I have yet to see one with dates 🙂
Ok I need to read that book!!
Immediately. I hope you’re reading it right now.
Where I come from, a house of firemen is called a dream come true, not a nightmare 😉 I’m glad everyone was okay and they were eventually able to sort everything out for you!
I’m trying to put more effort into my workout fuel, so I really appreciated this post. Sorry I haven’t been checking your blog more often! Finally getting back into the swing of things!
No need for apologies! Glad to have you back and hope you can figure out your fueling 🙂