June 27

Had our team run this morning at the Mopac trail. We met early (6:30 AM) and Rachel gave a workshop on nutrition. It was very interesting...there is such a science to it all! So here's what I learned: As far as what to eat before run/walks, especially longer ones, (better known as fueling before walk/runs), it should be mostly carbs, a little protein, and low fat...so I've been having a cup of organic granola with soy milk and that seems to work well for me...so that part is taken care of. Next is fueling during walks/runs. Your body can go for 90 minutes of walking/running and then all carbs are spent and you need to replenish them or else your legs won't move very well. This includes carb replacements such as power bars, Cliff bars, gatorade, electrolyte powders to mix with water (to replace sodium lost in sweat), gu gels or shot blocks. The gels are concentrated mixtures of carbs and you need to chase it down with water so you don't get a "goo gut" (I don't know what that is, but it doesn't sound good!). Once you start to use the gels, you need to avoid a sugar crash by having more every 1/2 hour to 45 min. of your walking/running time. Finally you have your fueling post walk/run and that's where you need to quickly have a blast of protein to repair torn down muscle tissue and also to replace some carbs. You need to replace the protein within a half hour of finishing your walk/run. Each person is different as far as what will work for them...so it's all by trial and error. There's so much to think about instead of just putting your left foot in front of your right foot!

Back to the walk/run today...I did 8 miles in 2 hrs. and 12 min (16.5 min/mile) and by the end, my second toes on both feet really hurt...it felt like I had just stubbed them...so that wasn't so pleasant, but I felt good about going 8 miles today. My total miles for this week is 22!!