sugar – Slacker Runner

And the long run headaches are back.

I drink plenty of water so it’s not a lack of hydration. Granted I am prone to headaches and migraines so there is that. I am still loving the Ultima for shorter runs but I am wondering if my issue with longer runs is a lack of calories. I still fuel horribly…as in I don’t. I just can’t eat on my longer runs. I buy gels and gu’s and chews and never eat them. I carry them with me but they just end looking very beat up and expired. So maybe my water needs to gain some weight?

With that in mind, it was time to experiment. So I hit up The Feed.

#1 Gen Ucan Orange- I heard great things and I really liked their protein powder so I was hopeful. Out of the package, it mixed chalkier than I had expected. It kind of seemed like it didn’t dissolve. It didn’t taste powdery it just looked like that. It actually had very little taste. Very bland. Taste aside, I had a surprisingly great 8 mile run. I ran a hill I have never run in its entirety before. I even posted about it on Instagram. My mother made fun of me. My post run headache was very muted.

#2- Glukos Orange- Mixed and dissolved well and was very orange in color. It also tasted very yummy. That said, I slammed into a wall at mile 6 of a 9 mile run. I felt ok leading up to that point and then things went very south. It was the same route as before and at first I thought to blame it on the French toast that I had for breakfast but again that was the same as before too. And I had a headache.

#3 Tailwind Raspberry Buzz- Caffeine!!!! I was heading out for what I thought I was going to be a shortened long run because I wasn’t feeling it so I admit I only mixed 1/2 the pouch. It blended well but oh man, it tasted like medicine. I wasn’t a huge fan of the taste but a I went from not wanting to run at all to bartering with myself to just run 4 to actually running a solid 8 miler that day. Hmmmm. I do like that it has caffeine in it. I feel like my asthma cranky lungs appreciate it sometimes. I had a medium headache.

I am still cycling through these options. I bought multiples so I could try each one on multiple runs in hopes of finding the golden ticket. But a new contender has entered the ring too.

Thanks to Bibrave, I get to try the Beachbody Performance line. I’ve heard great things about their Hydrate product so yay! One of these has to solve the long run headaches, right?

How do you hydrate?

Fuel?

Ok, for the week but we’re getting somewhere right?? 🙂

Last week was weird and long and rough and short -all wrapped up into 7 days. My boss said it best- when you wake up Monday thinking it’s Friday, you know it’s going to be a long week. While I wasn’t quite that bad, I was pretty close. Part of my issue was vacation brain. I was trying to get everything done that I had to do before I left. I wanted to try and leave nothing behind when I left for 2 weeks. It didn’t help that open enrollment for our health insurance fell during the 2 weeks I am gone. Well, that’s not good timing. Grrr. But as of 6:30 Friday I am on vacation! Ask me again in 3 days if I am still liking this vacation thing. 😛

Monday- Rest Hmmm, I can’t remember anything particularly special about Monday

Tuesday- Rest Same as above

Wednesday- 3.1 miles Another night run. Farthest one yet! I was bundled up and in reflective gear. Or at least I hope it was reflective. It’s not like I stopped a car and asked and I received no helpful cat calls this time. On the plus side, Christmas lights are going up and every light helps to run to! Then I went and did some shopping for the Toy Bank and that was nerve wracking. When did toys get so expensive?? If you follow me on Twitter, you know I was asking for help. 😛

Thursday- Rest I’m giving my lungs a chance to adjust to the 4o’s and only running at night once a week and I just couldn’t force myself to go to the gym just yet.

Friday- Last day of work! Also, my mom’s birthday. I made poor food choices throughout the day. Oops.

Saturday- 4.7 miles Farthest and fastest run in a month! Which is awesome and kind of sad all at the same time. I set out in the middle of the afternoon and I quickly realized how over dressed I was. The plan had been to run to the high school where my mother was having tennis practice then we’d run some errands. I was hoping to run 5 miles but unfortunately all of my sugary, carby food choices made over the last few days came back to haunt me while I was running across the bridge. The fact that that was also my fastest mile in well over a month and a half probably didn’t help either. I spent that last .7 just trying not to be sick. That put me right at the high school and I figured that was good enough for the day.

Oh, and for the first time in the 30+ years I’ve lived in this town, I went to the Christmas Parade! We froze- 70 floats?!!- but it was super cute. The announcers on the other hand- they needed help. They either thought they were funny or were a little deeper in their cups then they should have been.

Sunday- 3 miles Ooof. I had a headache in the morning and a dinner plans with the family in the evening so I headed in the early afternoon. Maybe I should have skipped it. My Garmin died 1/2 mile in. My lungs never got on board the run train. I took a ton of walk breaks. Near as I can tell, I completed 3 miles around a 13:00 pace. Say what? 3 miles is 3 miles right? My legs felt fine, my lungs and head had other plans. It is what it is, right? I brushed it off before joining the family for dinner at Olive Garden. Breadsticks, anyone?

Just barely over double digits for the week, woo hoo! Food choices on the other hand got a little screwy by the end of the week. With work having donuts on Thursday, a celebratory lunch on Friday, my mom’s birthday Friday and my dad’s birthday Sunday, I’m feeling a little fluffy and bogged down. I didn’t even feel like this after Thanksgiving.

How was your week?

Any vacation tips?