May 24, 2014

FromHereOnOut

LiftAndBalance

Hey everyone,

Hope you're enjoying your Saturday!!

Laura, again good luck for your run! And yeah, that's exactly how I felt when I started walking. While all exercise helps, there's something about walking outdoors that just beats stress like nothing else. I'm wondering, though, how do you hydrate yourself when it's hot? I did my fitness test today which includes a one mile run/walk. It's hot here and unfortunately there's no forest close by where I could go so I was really thirsty after just that one mile. On the other hand, because it's hot, I actually drank a glass of water before I went out and it was soooo uncomfortable in my belly that it really kept me from running as much of the mile as I could have.

I lost 1 kg this week And I'm also quite happy with the improvements from my fitness test. It's this one: http://www.fitnessblender.com/v/article-detail/Fitness-Blenders-PFT-Physical-Fitness-Test/d2/

My mile was the same time as eight weeks ago (a bit under 13 minutes) but I'm almost tempted to do it again tonight without drinking a glass of water before since the water grumbling in my belly definitely kept me from giving it my best :grumble:
Push ups were technically also the same amount (14) but two of those were regular push ups instead of modified ones and the modified ones were, for the first time ever, "full" push ups, i.e. with my elbows 90° bent. It's still not very much but my shoulders are definitely a huge weakness so I'm proud of every little progress there!
Squats I went from 68 to 89 and deeper. Plank from 36 seconds to 45. And the sit and reach from 22.4 cm to 26.

So overall I'm definitely happy with the results! I also think my joints need a break from HIIT so I'm thinking I might stick to a routine of Pilates, walking and bodyweight strength training for next week and then see how my knee and ankle are doing.

PinkNinjaLaura

Ines congrats on your loss! I have a small (8 or 10 oz) water bottle that has a strap to hold it on my hand that I can take out on my shorter runs when it's hot, or on the runs that are just long enough for me to need fluids but not a lot. For my long runs I wear a fuel belt. I'm borrowing one from a friend right now that has four 6 oz bottles. The one I own holds a 20 oz bottle of Powerade but I find spreading the weight of the fluids out over 4 bottles is more comfortable when I'm running. I put Powerade in two of them and water with a Gu electrolyte tablet in the other two. I usually don't drink a full glass of water right before I go for the reason you described. Make sure to hydrate well the day before you run (or earlier in the day if you're not running first thing), and then just have 3-4 oz of water before heading out the door.

Today it's supposed to be hot, so I was out on the road by 6:15 for my run. I knew it would take me over 3 hours to get in my run so wanted to start early. I got up just before 5:00, ate a banana & a little peanut butter, then waited just over an hour before starting out to give it some time to digest. That seemed to work well. Finished my 14 miles in 3:02:42, which was an average pace of 13:03 min/mile.

Marla, Maureen, Diana, Sherry, Donna (who is still on vacation), anybody else I'm forgetting right now...hope you're all doing well!

FromHereOnOut

Ines, congrats on the fitness test. I feel your pain on the shoulder weakness--I'm in the same boat. It sure feels good to see actual improvement on something that comes so hard. About the water--I really messed around with that when I first started running and had the same question about how to handle it. But what I found was that after a certain point, water was less necessary. At first, my mouth got very dry (presumably from all the huffing and puffing/heavy panting, lol), but then that started to even out after idunno some weeks I guess, maybe a couple months. After that, i didn't need water at all for short runs. Now, I have water with me usually, because I usually have a small drawstring backpack with me at all times (since I'm usually in the middle of errands when I run, I have wallet, bus passes, keys, deodorant, babywipes, stuff like that, and a bottle of water), I have water, but don't usually need it until after about 4 or 5 miles. Now, this week I discovered something wonderful (LAURA<<<you might want to see this). I found these fizzy tablets of electrolytes (like the ones I usually get of vitamin C) and you just drop the tablet in water and it has all the hydration electrolytes like gatorade or powerade would have but without all the sugar and coloring and it's just a small tablet. I haven't taken it on a run yet (since I'm "grounded" at the moment), but I can't wait. It's definitely cheaper at about ~8euros for 20 than bottles of powerade that are usually too sugary for me anyway (powerade leaves my mouth MORE thirsty after).

see>>


Laura, congrats on the run. Another long one in the books!!



Today, I took the kids down to the coast and we walked along where I usually run and they played at the playground and then we walked to the Marina and had a bite at the cafe/bar there, then back to our neighborhood where they went to play at the churchyard before coming home. All together, we were out about 5 1/2 hours, a bit of walking, but nothing major. It has officially become Summer weather here and I'm going to have to start doing some planning for runs. Still can't wait. I miss the stress-relief so much--need that now, more than ever! DH gets back in 2 1/2 days!


Have a good one!

valmaebel

Ines - every body is different, so it's best to try things out for a week or two and if they don't work then ditch them. For example, I tried using GU gels for fuel on long runs...but they make me queasy. But the GU chomps work great. I rarely drink straight water. I prefer Gatorade...but I know others who can't handle Gatorade. I usually carry water with me for the gummy mouth that FromHereOnOut mentioned. I usually swish the water and spit it out to keep my mouth feeling normal.

I also prefer chocolate milk as a recovery drink when I get back. Yummy!