Monday, August 29, 2016

One mile at a time


We're now seven weeks out from the Baystate half and training is *supposed* to be kicking into a higher gear. I am not sure I have a higher gear in me, but I believe in miracles. After a summer of weekday lunchtime runs, I also have some gnarly tan lines and am tired all the time. How do you find time (but more importantly, energy) for anything more than 6 miles on a weekday? It's all I can do to just get the miles in, never mind stretching, foam rolling, or strength training. 

Some notes from my training log, which does actually exist, albeit in a place that is not this blog:

August 14. Sunday morning longish run: Planned 10. Actual 8. Started late (8am) after horrendous night with feverish coughing teething child. High of 36C today plus humidity. 
If horses sweat, men perspire, and women glow, I was glowing very hard all over the place and the glow was running down my elbows and knees and getting into my shoes. I must have been positively radiant

August 20-21. Child now will not tolerate >3 awake miles in stroller with no playtime for HIM. Mr GCA away on work trip. Creative run-planning ensued:
Saturday - run 2m to next but one T stop, take T, run 1m to friends' place for playdate, shower there.
Sunday - AM: run 3m to playground with stroller and friend. Chase offspring around playground. Run 2m to pool. Take offspring swimming, shower there. PM: walk and walk and walk downtown: park, carousel in park, chase little dude round park, walk to/ around Children's Museum, corral wriggly offspring at Shake Shack for dinner-treat. At least 4m walking. 

August 27. Saturday morning long run. Planned 12. Actual 11. 22C, mega humid.
Started 7am off the back of 1.5 weeks solo parenting a child whose antibiotics have been causing nighttime tummy troubles. Scooted out the door with a handful of cereal and a package of shot blocks. I was exhausted even before I tied my shoelaces. Told self to take it one mile at a time, and this wasn't a figure of speech. 
Started at 9:30-10:00 miles (good). By mile 6 had disintegrated into 11:00 miles (not good). Shortly thereafter there was walking. Mile 7 going uphill: mystery, brand-new shooting pain through right knee. Mile 7 going downhill: pain vanished. Eventually made it through 11 miles as I had to get home anyway. Actually literally the worst run of the year to date. 

And a nutrition side-note: I need to start a food diary, but not for the conventional reasons. Not too long ago, I hopped on the scale at the doctor's to find myself a few pounds below racing weight* and still losing weight. I generally think of myself as a pretty intuitive, balanced eater - I'll eat when I'm hungry and get cravings for vegetables when I've had too many refined carbs, and vice versa! - but this clearly is not optimal. I still feel fine (just tired?) and my periods are present and normal. But I need to figure out what nutrients or how many calories I might be missing, and see if I have more energy if I replace those.  

*Not a weight I typically *strive* to achieve, just where I usually am after a full marathon or a triathlon training cycle. 

Let's start with today:
- 1.5 slices toast with butter and jam
- 1 egg, scrambled
- Coffee 
- String cheese 
- Handful of animal crackers 
((went rock-climbing with friends))
- Lunch buffet at Indian restaurant (full plate, piled high, mostly rice, naan, dal, and vegetable curry) 
- Chia bar 
- 1/2 peach
- Cereal and soy milk
- 1 small bowl pasta salad with olives, artichoke hearts, tomatoes, red onion
- 2 squares chocolate
- 2 toaster waffles and chocolate ice cream


I mean, I'm eyeballing this and thinking, but seriously, what I am not getting enough of? and plugged it all into the USDA food tracker thing and am freaking baffled.  

6 comments:

  1. I think when you've got a young child & your spouse is traveling, it's pretty amazing if you find *any* time for weekday running. So I say good for you for working so hard to do what you can do.

    Hmm, my only guess (as a non-nutritionist) about the food thing is maybe protein? I see only 1 egg, some dal, & some soy milk, which doesn't seem like very much (though everyone is different & I am no expert). When I was seeing the sports nutritionist he recommended I be getting about 30% of my calories from protein, which turns out to be way more than I thought.

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    1. 30%! That is a whole lot more than I thought. The guidelines I read (Rice University) say 0.6-0.9g per pound of body weight, which for me works out to mayyyybe 90g of protein, which is like, less than 400 calories. Am a bit reluctant to eat red meat (global warming yadda yadda), and I already add protein here and there - flaxseed meal and quinoa in my morning oatmeal, for example; yogurt as a snack, etc... but who knows how much I'm getting? This is why I think I need to keep a proper food diary for a week. Right. Time to ring the sports nutritionist at my gym...

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  2. Interesting. You'd be horrified to see that I try to eat 25-30% protein a day. I don't always make it, but this approach has helped me slowly lose those last baby pounds (though I look different still for sure).

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    1. Horrified? I want to know how you do it! As in, what you eat to make that target.

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  3. Are you getting enough fat? Maybe start eating more nuts, avocados, salmon, olive oil, etc.? I just got Run Fast, Eat Slow and they emphasize the need for good fats as a way for us to absorb certain nutrients and also for satiation.

    BTW, *I'm* tired when I run more than 6 miles on a weekday, and I'm not juggling a small child and freelance writing! You're doing great!

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  4. Protein!!! I snack on pb if I have to.

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