Day Before Racing

I've decided to do the Oak Barrel 1/2 Marathon in Lynchburg, TN. This decision came just days before the actual race... so of course, I was going through a list of pre-race anxieties; Did I train enough? Did I really train at all?? Should I be doing such a hilly course? What should I eat today? How much should I run? and so on....
Well to answer a few of those nagging questions...

I ran an easy 6 miles this morning. I figured that should be enough to keep my legs loose without over doing it. Some core work also got done. Nothing crazy, just a mix of p90x and insanity moves.

As for the eating... Yum. Before a race, especially one of longer distances, it is really important to eat well the day before a race. Nothing greasy, too fatty, too light, too much dairy... oh the list goes on. And us poor celiac athletes... we have finicky stomachs which is only amplified by pre-race gitters.

I found a bag of Bobs Red Mill Pizza Dough in the pantry and whipped that up with a bit of skim ricotta, mozzarella, handful or canned tomatoes, basil, and caramelized onions.


The result was perfection. Just because we can't eat normal gluteny pizza, doesn't mean we can't have a delicious alternative!

Prana Bars

Gluten free bars at their best. These are super tasty, come in a good variety of flavors, and contain nutrients to promote athletic performance. However, like most bar foods, they are pricey. I think I'll try to whip these up myself...shouldn't be hard since they are made of ingredients I have in my pantry.
When I get the recipe down, I'll post it!

Caramalized Onion Salad

In my attempt to eat lighter dinners, hearty salads are a delicious and satisfying option. I know us celiacs get sick of salads, but this one will not let you down. Its simple but not at all bland.

Most people immediately associate salads with health food, but some salads can fall short in the nutrition department. They can contain fried items, too much cheese, fatty dressings, etc, and some restaurant salads can top 1000 calories! This salad delivers the nutrients a runner needs and nothing extra. Spinach is loaded with iron, walnuts contain healthy fats, and the balsamic vinegar has enough flavor that no extra dressing is needed.


Recipe:

4 cups Baby Spinach
1/4 c. Walnuts, halves or pieces
1 Yellow Onion, sliced
1 tbps Olive Oil
1 tbsp Balsamic Vinegar
1 c. Shredded Chicken
1 ounce Blue Cheese, crumbled ( I used stilton)

Heat the oil in a skillet, add the onions and saute over med-low until nice and caramelized. Stir in the balsamic, walnuts, and chicken. After about two minutes, remove from heat. Divide the spinach onto two plates. Top each pile of green with half the onion mixture and sprinkle with the blue cheese. Enjoy!

Bloody Toes

This is my left foot after the Rocket Run 10 miler. Not sure why my toes feel the need to explode lately... but peeling a bloody sock off my foot after a run is something I could do without. Must be my new Mizuno sneaks... but I love them!

Oh well. Sandals are overrated.

Rocket Run 10 Miler

Problem... my training runs have gotten better... good right? Except that my racing has gotten worse. wtf.

This morning I competed in the Rocket Run 10 mile race.

I was feeling good going into it. Woke up early, hydrated, showered, ate a piece of gluten free banana bread... I'll post the recipe soon, promise!

Finished 2nd female overall... but that really doesn't mean much when I didn't meet my personal goal. My pace per mile was 7:09.
Not bad you think... well you're wrong. If I can run a 13.1 race with a pace of 7:06 min/mile, then I should be able to run a ten miler a bit faster. Sigh.

Maybe I trained too hard this past week. Or maybe I'm getting worse.

I definitely was having trouble pushing myself. Mentally, I just couldn't go faster. Which was frustrating. There were no IPODs allowed, and the course was boring. No spectators, no scenery, nothing. Still, should have done better.

Race Results

Next time.

New Training Run

Today I tried something different. Its come to that point... the one where I've realized that in order to get better PRs, I must really step things up. Run run run, that's been my plan... but now its time to put more emphasis on speedwork, rest, tempos, and all those other specific type runs.

So today I tried one out.

The point is to split your goal race distance into smaller segments and take rest breaks in between intervals and preform the running segments at race pace.

Here's how I did it...

2 mile warm-up at 7.2 mph
3 miles at 8.6 mph
5 minutes rest
3 miles at 8.6 mph
6 minutes rest
3 miles at 8.6 mph
1 mile cool down at 7.2 mph
= 12 miles total.

Verdict:

This was a very hard run to complete! Goal race pace for 9 miles is difficult to do on a treadmill, without the actual race day anxiety and adrenaline.
I will definitely be adding this run to my training. We'll see if the effort pays off.

Pain free

Due to thunderstorms this morning I had to hit the gym for a treadmill run. Today I was hoping to get in 8 miles... normally that'd be no problem, but due to recent tendinitis anything over a slow 6 has been impossible.
Well today I made 10!! and without pain or tightness. I didn't take the pace much under 8min/mile, but it still felt great to do decent mileage. I also felt like I could keep running past ten miles... but felt I shouldn't get too greedy with it! No need to over due it, I want to be fully healed!

This run makes me think maybe I won't have to switch from the full to the 1/2 marathon on April 24th. Fingers crossed. I'm very late on my marathon training and hate feeling so unprepared for a race. Sigh, we'll see in the weeks to come...