Have I discussed my adoration of club soda*? It is amazing after a run. I crave it while I'm running. The carbonation settles my stomach (for one thing, it neutralizes acid; for another, bubbles stimulate the gut to normal motility to head of cramps), and if you read the bottle most club soda contains potassium and sodium salts. Just what I need after a run! I often drink an entire liter post-run.
My run today was awesome for two reasons:
1. It was fast, 2:51:27. That is my fastest twenty-mile to date.
2. I felt amazing the whole time. I could have done another 6.2 no sweat!
The difference has to do a little with the course: I planned a course in areas I was familiar with, and it included four loops in Audubon park to make sure I was always near a water fountain. There was also way less traffic and stops on this route!
Another difference was the weather: not running in saturated shoes through ankle deep water and mud was so much nicer. And even though it hit the low-90's, I felt like the weather was ok this morning. My educated guess was humidity about 92% early on, then more like 85% later. Not bad at all!
The biggest difference, however, was fuel.
To avoid last week's hypoglycemic drama, I ate two pieces of toast with butter and honey late last night. Then I woke up early and had a cup of coffee and a tiny bowl of oatmeal with leftover cherry-brandy sauce from my book club (brandy at 6 am!). Then I brought with me my new favorite fuel mix: Frozen Vitamin Water Revive with potassium, half a GU from last week, and a small ziploc bag with a few tablespoons of cooked oatmeal! I heavily salted the oatmeal because the Vitamin Water has no sodium. Just lots of potassium.
During the run, I ate the half GU at 45 minutes in, then swallowed some oatmeal every half hour thereafter. I LOVED IT. The reason I brought the salty oatmeal was to make up for the lack of sodium in my beverage, and because I'm getting to the point where I can't stomach sweet stuff while running. It's ok with water, but when I'm drinking a sweet drink it completely grosses me out. The oatmeal was much easier to handle in both taste and effect on tummy, although I did get the sense it was swelling a little in my stomach as I drank! The only drawback is that it's hard to eat. You have to open up the baggie and squeeze some into your mouth, which is way harder than it is with a gel. In order to not make a mess I walked as I ate the oatmeal and washed it down. It gave me a running break and really didn't affect my time much - maybe added 30 seconds for each break. No biggie.
A photo of my heroes!
The only drawback to today's run was that I chose a cotton T-shirt. It was a sticky wet mess in minutes and stuck to my stomach the whole time. Oh,that and the guy who asked for directions right as I left the house, then stepped up close and murmured, "Thank you. You are kind and beautiful," to which I saucily replied, "Yeah, and you're drunk and creepy" before dashing off. Running shoes give me unwarranted bravery!
I guess it's time to go scrape the salt of my face in the shower. I really feel like if I sold the salt I produce running I'd cause the world salt market to plummet, thus leading to third world chaos.
So has anyone had those just wonderful runs that stand out in awesomeness? Do you still remember them, or has one or two rally crappy marathons totally sponged them from your consciousness? Care to share? :)
* Not to be confused with tonic water, which contains quinine and sugars. However, if you have leg cramps, may I recommend tonic water before bed? Diet tonic water if you're a diabetic? That was free from your friendly pharmacist.
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