i want adventure in the great wide somewhere - running journal! (comments welcome)

[xjillianpaige]

Happy belated birthday and congrats on your promotion! I'm up way too early to get my long run in today, and was very psyched to find you writing about Chicago training too. Thanks I needed this.

Thank you! I hope your long run went well! Good luck with training!

 

[xjillianpaige]

Chicago Marathon Journal Weeks 4-6​

Still here. Still trucking along. Since July 8, I've gone away for a long weekend for my friend Colleen's bachelorette. I've had one lazy weekend. And then this weekend my cousin is in town. She's actually skydiving with my brother right now (literally) and I stayed behind because I'm traveling again this week and needed time to run, do laundry, run errands, and pack (and write this).

July 10: 5.11 miles • 59:07 • 11:34 avg pace
Since this week led up to my friend's bachelorette, this was a Monday-Wednesday-Friday week so I could relax on the weekend. I ran after work and my workout was a 2 mile warm up, then 6x2 minute at 9:14 with 2 minutes in between and a mile cool down. This was in a downpour so I really made the effort to get it done fast. I think I somehow hit a button and ended my workout early during my cool down, but ran to my car and ended up getting to the expected distance of 5.1 miles.

July 12: 3.00 miles • 45:13 • 15:05 avg pace
This was a weird week. I was supposed to run 6 miles here, but ran 3, and clearly slower than usual. I decided to mix up my route and went to my parent's house to do a few laps there. It was oppressively hot, so I figured I could use their house for water/gatorade refills. When I got there I found out my brother and his girlfriend are on the rocks and so she was moving out and long story short, I ran just enough to catch up to my mom as she walked the dog and I walked with her. Every so often we would split up our routes, and then I would catch her again and walk again.

July 17: 3.00 miles • 37:40 • 12:10 avg pace
I was supposed to do an 11 mile workout on Friday, but when I woke up it was pouring rain and by the time it would have stopped and I could have started my run, it would have been too late to make it to my 9 am nail appointment. So I skipped and went on the bachelorette weekend and came home Sunday to full on thunderstorms. So I decided to run after work on Monday. Yeah. It was so hot (and my brain was so done) I made it 3 miles to my car and quit. The original plan was 2 mile warm up, 3 miles at marathon pace, 1 mile recovery, 4 x .5 miles at 9:55 with .25 recovery, and 2.25 cool down. I managed 2 mile warm up and 1 mile easy.

July 19: 5.00 miles • 57:42 • 11:32 avg pace
This was 5 miles easy (since I was supposedly recovering from 11 not-actually-done miles). I did them after work around the lake. Nothing to report.

July 21: 6.00 miles • 1:12:03 • 12:00 avg pace
I was going to try to run this outside, but it started to rain (the story of the summer) so I went to my friend's house and used her treadmill. When I came upstairs it was full on thundering and lightning every 5 seconds and I sprinted to my car so I wouldn't get struck. I threw Legally Blonde on and watched that while I ran.

July 23: 12.11 miles • 2:26:44 • 12:07 avg pace
I went to the bike trail for this one. Parked about halfway through and did some out and backs so I could refuel. Finally, the weather was decent. It was low 60s and minimal humidity when I left the house so my first 7 miles felt great. The workout was 2 miles warm up, 2 easy miles, 2 x 3 miles at marathon pace with a 1 minute recovery and then 2 miles cool down. My paces were 12:04 for the easy 2 miles (right on track) and then 11:02 for the first 3 at marathon (on track) and 12:26 for the last 3 at marathon (slower). It got hot at the end but I got it done.

July 25: 6.00 miles • 1:07:35 • 11:16 avg pace
This was a workout and I'm back on track (more or less)! Traffic was awful so I didn't get to do my warm up early and do the workout with anyone, but I still met everyone at the restaurant and ran what I could with them. I thought I would be very late to the dinner & drinks part, but I walked in as they were ordering drinks. Also! It poured rain on us halfway through the run! My workout was 2 miles warm up, then 8 x 2 minutes at 9:55 with 2 minute recovery between each. I walked my recoveries and my paces were faaaaast. All fast by at least 30 seconds. Then I had a cool down of about 1.27 miles to get 6 miles total.

July 28: 6.00 miles • 1:15:17 • 12:33 avg pace
I was supposed to (again) run Thursday, Friday, Saturday but instead did Friday, Saturday, Sunday. Anyway, I did this in the morning since we had a change of work schedule and I could work from home Friday. Then I did some work from home, ran to the office for a few hours, and then picked up my cousin from the airport.

July 29: 3.00 miles • 37:08 • 12:22 avg pace
I felt really great on this morning run, it was muggy but what slowed me down was my cousin. She hasn't run lately and felt pukey so we did some walking at the end. My first mile was 11:16 and I would have kept at that pace (though I really needed to slow down for my easy pace. The next two were 12:22 and 13:28.

July 30: 13.00 miles • 2:40:04 • 12:19 avg pace
My workout was similar to last week: 2 miles warm up, 2 miles easy, 2 x 3 miles at marathon pace with a mile recovery in between and then 2 miles cool down. It was such beautiful weather this morning. It was high 50s, low 60s and no humidity. I forgot that, even with cooler temps, it still warmed up so I should have taken salt. Other than that, my fuel was on point. My easy two miles was a few seconds slow since I walked for fuel (12:33). My first 3 miles at marathon pace were on track (11:07) but the second 3 were slow again (12:10). I think it was the lack of salt.

 

[xjillianpaige]

Chicago Marathon Journal Weeks 7-11​

So it has been a month. And to be honest it was a rough one. I feel like it's been a rough year for running but let's not unpack ALL of that just yet. I left off before I went traveling! So let's start there.

Week 7 I basically didn't run. I did the 7/30 run and was scheduled to do another one before my trip, and then I had a few optional ones during my trip if I had time. I did not have item for ANY of those. Between work and packing and the trip itself, no time was had.

Oh! Let's do a quick trip recap. I flew to LA after work on Wednesday, landing just before 9 pm pacific. Thursday morning we woke up (I was up at 5 am thanks to the time change) and then went to the Beachwood Cafe for breakfast (no sign of Harry Styles) and to see the Hollywood sign. Next up was getting dressed for Taylor Swift! She was incredible. Friday morning I was up early, again, then went to West Hollywood to get breakfast with my college roommate, then back to the house to get ready before driving down to San Diego for the Padres/Dodgers game at Petco Park. My official review of the game was a 10/10 because the Dodgers won and there were so many former Red Sox players that it felt like a Red Sox game (and I in fact kept calling it the Sox Game). The review of the park is 8/10 because there's lots of food and drink/beer options and it's huge and has a cool culture/atmosphere, but loses points because it's called Petco park and I saw like, 0 dogs. The next day we woke up and did some shopping/exploring in North Park, then went to Coronado to explore and shop some more, then we drove back to LA and I went home on Sunday!

August 8: 6.09 miles • 1:09:08 • 11:21 avg pace
This was a Tuesday night workout. I had 1 warm up mile, then 1 mile at marathon pace of 11:02 (actual pace 10:57). After that I did a .5 mile rest followed up 6 x 2 minutes at CV (9:14) with 1 minute jog recovery in between each. My actual reps were 9:13, 9:20, 10:15, 10:33, 9:49, and 9:14. I think I tried to run some of the recoveries but then did some walking as my pace slowed. Ended with a 1 mile cool down before heading in for drinks and food. If I recall correctly, I ended this one in some serious rain. Gross.

August 10: 6.00 miles • 1:17:27 • 12:54 avg pace
I had another stormy night here, so I ran on a friend's treadmill. Guys, this was the beginning of the end. I didn't know it yet, but I would spend the weekend with a sore throat and the beginning stages of a wicked summer cold. The first 3 miles on the treadmill were fine. The next 3 were awful. I was hit by fatigue and couldn't run anymore so I did a lot of walking to get through the final 3 miles. Fast walking, but still walking. With the cold coming on, I skipped my long run of 16 miles that weekend and then couldn't run all week because of respiratory crap. Coughing, sneezing. MISERY. I ended up calling out of work on Tuesday.

August 19: 6.00 miles • 1:17:00 • 12:50 avg pace
The next time I ran was 9 days later when my coach said to go out and just run as far as I could easy, until my lungs or legs told me to stop. Turns out that was at 1.75 miles but I couldn't stop there. So, coughing every few steps, I managed to get myself to 6 miles.

August 22: 5.00 miles • 58:26 • 11:41 avg pace
There wasn't anything scheduled for me this week, and it was the last week of camp, so I just went out for an easy 5 miles to prove I could do it. So Tuesday night I met the girls for a run and a drink and got this done feeling better but still not great. Just had to get through the week.

August 27: 11.30 miles • 2:30:01 • 13:17 avg pace
An attempt at returning to a long run. I was instructed to run as far as I could in 2.5 hours. I had hoped that would be 13 miles, but clearly it was... not. Okay. Since there's not a lot to report here, let's dive into a bit of a reflection. Having a one week planned down week turn into nearly 3+ weeks of an inability to run or run well SUCKED. It had me questioning everything. This whole year, to be honest. I feel like I've been working really hard and hitting some paces during speed work, but then my overall paces seem slower and I have nothing too show at the time of the race. I feel like my pre-run fuel is off (my fuel during the run seems good, I just need to get better at taking salt in regularly), too. After this run, I needed a really good week.

August 29: 5.00 miles • 56:32 • 11:18 avg pace
With work done and vacation started, I had more time to focus and relax. So I had a 5 mile easy workout so I did that with the Tuesday girls followed by dinner and drink. I felt great this WHOLE time. And negative splits! 11:49, 11:28, 11:20, 11:06, 10:48.

August 30: 5.75 miles • 1:03:22 • 11:01 avg pace
Back to the track! Carmela has moved some of my workouts to Wednesday (well, this one and this coming one) so I can join her at the track and she can see what I can do. I felt really good again. I had a 2 mile warm up, then 6 x .25 miles at 9:55 with a .25 jog recovery and a 1 mile cool down. I had intended to get to track early to do my 2 mile warm up and some drills with everyone, but vacation brain made me forget that there was traffic heading north (oh, and on Tuesday morning I woke up to my bedroom ceiling leaking so I've moved back with my parents while I get that all fixed) so I got there right at 5:30 and did the 2 mile warm up solo. I did some very basic, quick drills then jumped into doing 400s with some of the girls there. My pace on each rep was 8:40, 9:20, 9:09, 8:57, 9:12, and 9:24. For each recovery lap, I walked about 100 meters, then jogged the next 300 meters, then stepped off the track for a sip of gatorade before getting back onto the line for the next rep. At the end I did my mile cool down and was SO stoked about how this workout went. I needed this success.

September 2: 13.00 miles • 2:52:29 • 13:16 avg pace
This weekend's long run was back to 13 miles. The warm up was 3 miles, then 4 x 1 mile at marathon pace (11:02) with a mile jog recovery between each and a 3 mile cool down. This started strong. It was a beautiful morning, mid 50s and cool. So my 3 mile warm up was about 11:43 pace averaged across the 3 miles. Then each marathon mile rep was 11:10, 11:14, 11:36, and 12:11. The first 3 went pretty well. That last one was when I struggled. It had really gotten warm with the sun out and in my face and I wilted pretty hard. I was feeling pretty sorry for myself during my cool down and was going to skip breakfast with my friends, but they had told me they were still there, so I picked up Starbucks across the street and then met them. I wasn't hungry so I just had my coffee and we chatted. Carmela was there and she liked that I looked good after the run and is feeling optimistic about me joining the 5:30 pace group in Chicago. For fuel I ate a muffin for breakfast. On the run I had gatorade and my maple syrups plus one salt tablet.

This next weekend she wants me to practice my fuel, so I'm going to be really thoughtful about my food intake the day before and that morning. I used to do PB & J on an English muffin before a run, so I might go back to that. Pop tarts aren't cutting it. Then I want to alternate between the salted clif bloks and the maple syrup to help get more salt without taking a ton of salt tabs. Maybe 30 minutes in I'll do a salt tab with maple syrup, then alternate from there.

 

[xjillianpaige]

Chicago Marathon Journal Week 12​

Look at me not making you wait a month for an update. I know, you're always on the edge of your seat wondering what I'm doing since I'm obviously a running influencer...

I won't make you wait any longer, either! I had a good week! Being back at track makes such a huge difference. Running with other PEOPLE just makes it so much better.

September 5: 6.00 miles • 1:14:37 • 12:25 avg pace
I made plans to get dinner with some friends on Tuesday, so I went for a solo 6 miles in the morning instead of my usual Tuesday night crew. Now that fall is here, we're in a heat wave. I went out for half my run, came back to the house for some water refill, then went back out to finish the run. The first half was good, pace in the high 11s, then the heat really kicked in and I slowed down for the last 3. This is my first time really training in the summer and it's awful, thank you.

September 6: 5.01 miles • 1:02:15 • 12:25 avg pace
Back to the track this week. Mu workout was a mile warm up, then two descending ladders of 800, 400, 200, 200, and repeat once. In between the 800, 400, and first 200 was a 400 recovery, and then a 200 recovery between the 200s. The target rep times were 4:56 for the 800, 2:11 for the 400, and 1:06 for the 200s.

Actual:
800: 4:52 and 4:36
400: 2:09 and 2:09
200: :53, :52, :57, :58

A little speedy! I walked each recovery lap, which brought my average pace down, but it was HOT. At the end of my mile warm up, I was literally dripping sweat. I ended up going to my car to get a towel to wipe my face down in between each rep. And I drank a TON of water. By the end, I wish I had taken a salt tab because I could feel myself getting weak. So I cut my cool down in half and did .5 mile. My coach said it was fine because this day was all about the reps and hitting those and less about the stuff surrounding it.

September 9: 15.00 miles • 3:23:16 • 13:33 avg pace
I decided to do this one solo because it was another hot, soupy morning and I wanted access to cold gatorade and a bathroom. This was fuel practice, and it went okay. I really wanted to have PB&J when I woke up, but I really struggle with eating in the morning. I'm just not hungry and I can't even make myself eat. I ended up managing a small bowl of cereal and a tiny bit of iced coffee, but it wasn't what I wanted. Right before I started my run, I took a salt tab and a maple syrup. I carried blue gatorade with me.

The first 6 miles were overcast and I got the occasional breeze, so it wasn't bad at all. I did some winding through my parent's neighborhood streets for 3 miles then followed the route back for a total of 6. The workout was 2 warm up miles, then 6x1 mile at marathon pace (11:02) with a mile recovery in between. My warm up was completed in 11:56 and 12:02. The first two marathon pace reps were 11:15 and 11:12 - not bad at all. The first mile recovery was 13:08 and I walked about the first .15 so I could take another salt tab and maple syrup. The second mile recovery was 13:20 and at that point I was home for a drink refill and my next bit of fuel, which was a salted margarita Clif Blok.

I let myself enjoy a moment of A/C before going back out to do that 6 route again. This time, though, the sun came OUT. No more shade. Just full sun with the humidity and heat. Somehow, I still managed to do that first marathon mile at 11:08. No idea how I did it. Then my recovery mile was 14:08. At this point, my next marathon lap was MUCH slower. I really struggled to move my feet. I also got salt in my eye from my sweat pouring into my face which BURNED. I did it in 13:08. This brought me to the turn around where I had another salt tab and maple syrup and I walked the mile recovery in 18:14. My next marathon mile was in 13:56. So.. you know.. not even remotely close to being on pace. What's wild is the recovery was 16:18. Only 2 minutes slower. The heat had really gotten to my stomach at this point and I could feel that my tummy was about to give me trouble.

The good news is this brought me back to my parent's house where I could use the bathroom, refill my gatorade, and have another maple syrup and salt tab. The sun sort of went away again behind some clouds so I just had to get out there for one final marathon paced mile and a cool down of 2 miles. So I gave it my ALL. My last rep was 11:11. And then I walked a LOT in the cool down. I did about a half mile walk, then a half mile run, repeat until I got home. And then I jumped into the pool fully clothed. Worth it.

 

[azrivest]

And then I jumped into the pool fully clothed. Worth it.

Love this

Good job getting out there despite the summer in September weather

 

[jmasgat]

Saturday was a bear. I am in town to help out a little with my new grandson, but did 14.5 on the Somerville Community path and Minuteman trail. Thought Saturday might be better than Sunday, but in hindsight maybe not. Nice cloud cover for a lot of it, but the sun came out (which I wasn't expecting) towards the end of mine. Brutal last 2 miles for me, but I detoured to Dunk's for an iced coffee. I have NEVER had as much chafing as I did after that run, including new spots.

So good for you to get it done!

 

[xjillianpaige]

Love this

Good job getting out there despite the summer in September weather

Thank you!

Saturday was a bear. I am in town to help out a little with my new grandson, but did 14.5 on the Somerville Community path and Minuteman trail. Thought Saturday might be better than Sunday, but in hindsight maybe not. Nice cloud cover for a lot of it, but the sun came out (which I wasn't expecting) towards the end of mine. Brutal last 2 miles for me, but I detoured to Dunk's for an iced coffee. I have NEVER had as much chafing as I did after that run, including new spots.

So good for you to get it done!

Congrats on the new grandson! How was the new Somerville extension? I've heard it's not well protected from the sun - might have been why the last two miles were especially brutal.

 

[xjillianpaige]

Chicago Marathon Journal Week 13 & 14​

It is FINALLY fall and all of the busy busy things that have been so stressful are over. My best friend got married and I (with 2 other bridesmaids) gave the speech/toast. And the past two weeks have been pretty darn good for running.

September 11: 5.00 miles • 59:14 • 11:51 avg pace
I forget why I ran this on the treadmill, maybe weather? But anyway, I did this on the treadmill. An easy 5 miles. Nothing remarkable to report.

September 12: 5.75 miles • 1:15:47 • 13:11 avg pace
Okay so this one was a little wild. I had a workout but I also spent the afternoon working on a big work project. Of course after we finished, we all wanted to go for a "quick drink." We figured we'd go, have a super fast margarita, and leave at 5:45. That gave me enough time to get home and get my run started at 7. Nope. Not what happened. We got a drink... and queso and guac... and tacos. we left the restaurant at 6:50. I got home and DID MY WORKOUT. I stared at 7:40 p, which wasn't too much later than I planned. I had a 2 mile warm up, then 6 x .25 repeats at 9:55. I was slow on the first one and then too fast on 4 of the other 6. A mile cool down and done. I did the warm up by looping the neighborhood and then the workout on a fairly well lit stretch of side road. Ran .25 down, walked .25 back. Repeat.

September 14: 5.00 miles • 54:58 • 10:59 avg pace
I didn't have to be at work until 10 this morning, so I went out with the early Thursday morning group. I did 1 mile at 6:15 am and then ran with Kristin for the next 4 miles before getting my coffee to go and heading home to get ready for work. I have to say, running easy with friends makes me a speedy lady. I felt really good. Walked a tiny bit at the last mile when there was a hill.

September 15: 16.00 miles • 3:10:22 • 11:54 avg pace
My last long long run! This had no pace work, just an endurance run. I was told to stop at 3 hours but obviously went an extra 10 minutes to hit mile 16. This was a GREAT run. The weather was perfect. I had company for the middle miles. Just perfect overall. I started solo and did 5 miles from one end of the trail to about the middle. Those first 5 miles were 12:22, 12:27, 12:12, 11:38, and 11:44. They felt super easy and relaxed. Kristin joined me for miles 6 though 12. We did those at 10:55, 11:00, 11:29, 10:53, 11:33, 12:28, and 10:32. I think I did some fueling during that mile 11 and we walked a bit. After that I had 4 solo miles back to my car which I did in 14:12, 12:09, 12:40, and 12:02. I have NO idea why that mile 13 is so slow? I don't remember like, walking much or taking a break. I had already fueled and wasn't due for more. All I can think is that I messed up my watch somehow and didn't pause it when I intended to or something. Overall, I am VERY happy with this run. I felt good. I had some fast miles in there, a good average pace. I ended it very confident. And then I wore heels to the rehearsal dinner! No runs for the weekend - wedding time! My last hurrah because after this weekend no more grown up beverages.

September 19: 5.58 miles • 1:06:37 • 11:57 avg pace
This workout was a 2 mile warm up, then 8 x 2 minute repeats at 9:55 with a 2 minute recovery. These were all faster than pace. I can do anything really fast for 2 minutes. I did these solo because after the wedding weekend (Friday and Saturday Rehearsal Dinner and wedding), I had a bachelorette on Sunday with some of the club girlies, and then I had an overnight work retreat Monday into Tuesday. After all that, I needed some time away from other people.

September 21: 5.00 miles • 54:19 • 10:52 avg pace
I worked from home on Thursday, so I met the Thursday morning group for a run. I intended on running 2 miles or so at 6:00 am, but I woke up late and didn't leave the house until 6:00 am, so I ended up getting there with enough time to get .75 done. I did an out and back, turning around when I ran into the early group and coming back to meet others. Then I did 4 with Kristin and tacked .25 on at the end by going around the building. Again - look at that pace? When I run with these girls I go fast but I feel good.

September 24: 11.00 miles • 2:12:08 • 12:00 avg pace
Back to some pace work today. I had a 2 mile warm up, then 4 x 1 mile repeats at marathon pace with a mile recovery in between each and a 2 mile cool down. The weather today was nice, but this summer has been so hard and my workouts have been so hard that I get in my head about whether or not I can do it. I had to remind myself that those fast miles last weekend with Kristin were basically pace work! I can do it! And I did! Each of my 4 marathon miles were on pace exactly or within 4 seconds. I did way more running in the recovery miles than walking than I have all summer. Overall, I am so pleased (as is my coach) with this long run. Two weeks until Chicago!

 

[jmasgat]

How was the new Somerville extension? I've heard it's not well protected from the sun - might have been why the last two miles were especially brutal.

Let's just say, it has that "new tar" smell! But honestly, it is great that you can now go from Boston all the way out to the burbs on paths. If we move back to MA, I need to be someplace where I have access to good running routes.

 

[xjillianpaige]

Chicago Marathon Journal Week 15 & 16​

Well... I'm really doing this thing in 3 days. Let's get caught up as my next post will be a Chicago Recap.

September 26: 5.00 miles • 55:52 • 11:10 avg pace
This was an easy run instead of a workout. Did 1 solo and then 4 with the group. Nothing memorable for me... just an easy run.

September 28: 5.74 miles • 1:03:36 • 11:05 avg pace
I was meant to do the workout Wednesday but I had a volunteer commitment so instead went on Thursday morning with the crew. I did 2 warm up miles solo and then started my workout with the group, but my workout was 4 x .5 mile repeats at 9:13 pace, so I did those by myself ahead of the group. Walked the .25 recoveries in between. Initially I was running them but having trouble hitting the pace so decided to walk them. The 4 reps were 4:40, 4:43, 4:30, and 4:41. Then did a mile cool down and grabbed coffee before work.

September 30: 8.00 miles • 1:30:22 • 11:18 avg pace
My last "long" run! I did this with the group. Kathy is also running Chicago but only had 6 miles. I did the first 6 miles with her then the last 2 miles with Kristin who met me along the way since she only had 3. I was roughly right on point, maybe a hair fast, on my pace. Gotta say, within the first 3 miles I was convinced that I was almost done. I had been running for nearly 30 minutes so that had to be enough!

October 3: 4.00 miles • 44:00 • 11:00 avg pace
Another group run with the girls. Did 1 early with Kristen and then the next 3 with her, Kristin, and Monique. It was humid! What is going on with the fall weather? I tried out a fuel belt that settled into my waist and was fine once the run started. Spoiler: I tried the same fuel belt today in a smaller size and it annoyed me the whole time so we're going with the bigger size. It'll move less once it's stuffed with fuel. And if I hate it I can throw it away or give it to the first person that I see that I know (there will be lots of friends and family along the course).

October 5: 3.00 miles •33:03 • 11:01 avg pace
My last easy run. Did this one with the girls then got coffee. It's funny to see my coach cringe when people hug me to wish me luck. She wants to put me and the other girls in a bubble. I have a 2 mile shakeout on Saturday that I will likely skip since I'll be walking the expo and doing a Wrigley Field tour. I figured I'm not running a half marathon the day before, so 90 minutes at Wrigley should be okay and give my legs some movement but not tire me out. I'm taking today to do laundry, finalize my singlet, and pack.

Weather looks good! Carb loading is HARD. I had a glass of apple juice and a bagel this morning and I'm still full. I drank a gatorade and a small snack also, so I'm at just over 100 carbs on the day and don't know how I'll eat 400 more before bed. And to repeat this tomorrow and Saturday?! Any tips and tricks to get all the carbs I need?

Good luck to my fellow Chicago-ers!

 

[azrivest]

Any tips and tricks to get all the carbs I need?

Sorry, no. Eating too many carbs is one of my toxic traits

Good luck to my fellow Chicago-ers!

Good luck to you and enjoy the marathon! Chicago looks like an awesome city to run in!

 

[DopeyBadger]

Have fun!

 

[WillRunForPizza]

Weather looks good! Carb loading is HARD. I had a glass of apple juice and a bagel this morning and I'm still full. I drank a gatorade and a small snack also, so I'm at just over 100 carbs on the day and don't know how I'll eat 400 more before bed. And to repeat this tomorrow and Saturday?! Any tips and tricks to get all the carbs I need?

Have you done this protocol before? I feel like what I mostly hear from coaches is that carb-loading isn't worth it for most recreational runners - the risk of upsetting your stomach outweighs the benefit of extra carbs on race day. But if you do want to keep going with it, I vote for doughnuts

Good luck on Sunday! You got this!

 

[Naomeri]

Good luck, I’m glad the weather is -landing to behave for you!

 

[striker1064]

Any tips and tricks to get all the carbs I need?

Maurten 320 or Tailwind make it easy.

Good luck!

 

[xjillianpaige]

Sorry, no. Eating too many carbs is one of my toxic traits


Good luck to you and enjoy the marathon! Chicago looks like an awesome city to run in!

I also thought I was a "too many carbs" person but it turns out 500 is a LOT of carbs.

Have fun!

Thank you!

Have you done this protocol before? I feel like what I mostly hear from coaches is that carb-loading isn't worth it for most recreational runners - the risk of upsetting your stomach outweighs the benefit of extra carbs on race day. But if you do want to keep going with it, I vote for doughnuts

Good luck on Sunday! You got this!

My coach first suggested a carb load for my half marathon this past spring. I had a big cereal for breakfast and then quit because it was SO much food and I hated tracking it. I'm giving it a good go this time because everyone I run with feels like it works for them and I do feel like I hit a wall in the marathon. I always do pasta the night before - a classic pre-race meal, but I'm not sure I'll hit the 500 per day so I might just go for "as many as possible"

Good luck, I’m glad the weather is -landing to behave for you!

Thank you! Me too!

 

[RuntheMouse]

Weather looks good! Carb loading is HARD. I had a glass of apple juice and a bagel this morning and I'm still full. I drank a gatorade and a small snack also, so I'm at just over 100 carbs on the day and don't know how I'll eat 400 more before bed. And to repeat this tomorrow and Saturday?! Any tips and tricks to get all the carbs I need?

Good luck to my fellow Chicago-ers!

I love oatmeal with blueberries in it. Also roasted sweet potato ”fries”. In reality I’ve never met a carb I don’t love.

Have an amazing time at Chicago!!

 

[DopeyBadger]

My coach first suggested a carb load for my half marathon this past spring. I had a big cereal for breakfast and then quit because it was SO much food and I hated tracking it. I'm giving it a good go this time because everyone I run with feels like it works for them and I do feel like I hit a wall in the marathon. I always do pasta the night before - a classic pre-race meal, but I'm not sure I'll hit the 500 per day so I might just go for "as many as possible"

I wrote this 5 years ago if it adds any insight to the conversation.

Glycogen Supercompensation (AKA Carb Loading)

I'm an advocate of using liquid sources because it lessens the bulk of carb loading. Although I've reduced the total content from liquids from 5 years ago. I used to do 50/50, but these days I'm more like 60/40 or 75/25 (slanted towards real foods). I prefer to use Maurten 320 because it's absorbable using less water than traditional carb sources.

The above review does include a 2011 paper that uses data from recreational runners ranging from marathon times of 2:48-7:40 and and average of 4:33 (which is close to the US average marathon time). It concluded that ~7g/kg bw or higher of carb consumption was the threshold for seeing less of a fade when comparing pair-wise matched runners that did not consume >7g/kg bw carbs. It's not perfectly designed from what I remember, but it is good.

When I carb load I aim for ~12 grams carbs per kilogram body weight (or for me is ~983 grams carbs).



ETA - It is something you'd want to practice weeks before the event though and not something I'd recommend trying given the race is this weekend.

 

[GollyGadget]

Have fun this weekend!

 

[NYC_MW]

Good luck and have fun!