I know how important it is to fuel during long runs, but I was stupid today. My running group are an amazing group of people who provide snacks and water stations at the 3 and 4 mile point of our runs. (well just water and Gatorade at the 3 mile part, the snacks are at the 4 mile point) The problem is that there are mostly cookies and candy at these stations. Since I’m trying to stay away from gluten and I don’t want to eat gummy bears, I didn’t eat anything today. I don’t like the whole idea of eating processed sugars just to finish a run. It goes along with the whole I don’t want to eat shit just because I run a lot ideal that I’ve discussed before. I try to bring dried fruit with me but I forgot. So I didn’t eat anything at the mile 4 mark.
My plan was the run 9 miles today, but after I got to mile 5 I started to hit a wall. I was kicking myself for not grabbing something to eat at the water stop and my legs started to get really heavy.
Every step I took was a challenge. My legs were pissed at me. But I kept pushing on and I started thinking of things to get me through, reminding myself that it’s OK to slow down because after all, this is just a training run. I started thinking of Forrest Gump and how he just kept running and running…which kind of made me laugh. So I ran 8 miles instead of 9 and felt completely satisfied with that.
Time? 8.12 miles in 1:11:44, average pace 8:50.
I’m going to need to be sure to have a snack with me from now on so I don’t have to work so hard to finish my runs. I’d love to be able to run my 1/2 i under 2 hours but this might be a hard pace for me to keep for five more miles. However, I have time to get my time down and I have to remember to eat!
Oh, and did you know that the Olive Garden has a gluten free menu? I didn’t, and as we were running errands today, Dennis wanted to stop for some soup, salad and breadsticks. I don’t really care for chain restaurants but I know how much he loves that special. I figured I’d find something I could eat, and all I had to do was ask a few questions about breading on the chicken before the server brought out the gluten free menu. They bring food in specially from another kitchen and cook it to order. The server said that their chicken is coated in a light layer of flour and is already prepped beforehand. So it’s basically re-heated when you order it. Good to know.
Check it out:
That's awesome about Olive Garden's gluten free menu- I had heard they had one but I hadn't seen it- Looks like it has some good choices!
ReplyDeleteoooh I wish we had an olive garden in Australia - looks great!
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