The Payoff

I believe my plan has helped greatly!  I felt much better on my runs this week, each one feeling better than the last.  From what I've read, it takes approximately 10 days of training to acclimate to the heat.  Not sure what can be done about the humidity, but I am able to keep a respectable pace of 9:15 or so.  I ran an "easy" run last night and came in at a 9:25 pace, with a walk break at mile 3.  The first 3 miles had an average of 9:15, the second half a bit slower, but all in all, a good easy run that worked more on my case of  "I don't wannas!" than anything else.

This weekend will see about 20 miles between Saturday and Sunday's runs.  This will finish my mileage up at over 40 this week, over 100 for the month.  Pretty sad that most of that 100 will be from one week of running! 

I've also been playing with nutrition a bit this week.  Basically, I've dropped everything.  No S-caps.  No honey stingers.  No sports drinks.  And I have not noticed any difference in performance.  Well, maybe that isn't quite true.  I've noticed that I didn't bonk on my runs, granted that were only 6 miles, but I've always at least used an S-cap or two because of the recommendation for hot weather.  I think that what I have been eating before and after my runs have become more important.

I am trying out some recommendations from Brendan Brazier and they seem to be working.  He recommends a mixture of dates and agave before the run and then a protein drink after the run.  I have not had dates on hand, but I did have some golden raisins so I've been eating those or a natural fruit chew.  I guess the idea is the simple sugar gives enough support for the run.  And I would agree that it does.  I am actually going to try his recipe with the dates this weekend before my long runs. 

After my runs, I had been taking in chocolate soy milk, but I have decided to drop soy as a staple from my diet until I can get a better handle on the whole GMO situation.  Brendan talks about the estrogen levels being raised from soy as well, so this is something else I need to take into consideration.  To replace the chocolate soy milk, I am using Vega's Whole Food Optimizer with vanilla almond milk.   It is delicious!  And what's more, my recovery between runs has been fantastic!  My legs have felt great all week and my energy level has been high enough that I am even doing my Spring Cleaning!   The real test will be how this works after the longer runs. 

My push-ups are coming along nicely as well.  I will not be outdone by Bill!  I hit 90 yesterday! Meow!