But first a pic of my pudding last night- a brownie cupcake- still gooey in the centre- perfect!
So 13 miles was the plan. Well, actually the plan was for 13 miles last week, and 10 miles this week, but I decided that I would push the 13 miles back to this week (the 10 mile weeks are “recovery” weeks I suppose, so not as important).
I was so so nervous about this run. I planned a route last night (www.mapometer.co.uk) which was similar to a route I did when training for my half marathon last year. I have only run this distance twice before, on each half, as I never got up to that distance in training. I was also nervous, as although I have been feeling loads better, I still have a little bit of a dull ache in my side (only when I need the toilet now) but I was worried about making things worse. Plus the weather was horrible- normal rain alternating with heavy rain- not the most motivating of runs.
So- it went like this- 8.30 up, wake up, get dressed, do some jobs and eat my porridge. Drink water. Wait for Andy to get back from his 10 miles. 11am- head out. For the first 6 miles, I convinced myself that I was dying for the loo. My route heads close to home about half way through, so I got through by convincing myself that I would stop at home, but then I realised that actually I was dripping wet and once I got inside I most probably would not carry on. So, the next 4 miles were ok, but my stomach was growling! I think I left it too long! I had 2 clif shot bloks with me, so had those, and that seemed to give me a bit more energy. But coming up to the 10 mile mark there is a horrible hill. To give myself more energy I had a packet of nakd lemon raisins (found at the back of the cupboard, best before October 2010 but they tasted fine)- sugary carbs mmmm. The last 3 miles were hard work- I had to focus a lot on lifting my feet off the ground so as to not trip over. My poor trainers were muddy (I risked the lake as part of my route which on the plus side is out of the way of cars splashing, but abundant with muddy puddles), I was soggy and tired. But by that point there is no way of cutting the run short, and I focused on the feeling of acomplishment I would get when I finished, as oppose to my ever stiffening hips.
Well, I made it. I got home at half 1, my run totalling 2 hours 33 minutes. This is slower than my previous long slow runs, but it is at the pace I should be aiming for. Mainly I was totally extactic to be home and to have completed the miles.
Now, how to recover? Normally I have a snack and wander around a bit, then shower, dry my hair and have lunch, but as it was already lunch time, I quickly had a little apple pie nakd bar and water, and then headed to the shower. I braved a long blast of cold water on my poor legs, and then stretched (lots of hip stretches) while Andy heated up some soup. I have also been trying out a new purchase of some compression socks.
I feel with the orange they look a lot like football socks! They even have a handy L and R to show which foot they go on (although Andy pointed out that this would not help me much haha!). In fact I was listening to marathon talk today (come on, I have not mentioned this in a few posts) and they were talking about recovery and a few people recommended compression gear.
The tips were; Refuel, rehydrate, stretch, keep moving, and possibly use compression gear.
I feel I refuelled ok- sometimes I lose my appetite, or I leave it too long and then have a bit of a blood sugar rollercoaster by compensating with sugary foods. Today I had a pitta and pb with the soup, plus a pear, clementine and some nuts. Later in the afternoon I had some cherries and a rice pudding with warmed up peach, a few chocolate chips and a bit of homemade choc pb.
This is so delicious. I love peaches with anything creamy (eg custard, yoghurt, soya yoghurt) and then adding in the choc chips and pb so they melted was amazing.
I have been trying to keep moving too- I made a pumpkin pie for tomorrow, and although I sat down to watch some TV after that, I kept wandering about (plus if you drink a lot of water you have to keep walking to the bathroom anyway- good tip). I also laid on the sofa with my feet up on the arm rest (shhh don’t tell)- trying to help the recovery.
At the moment I feel loads better than when I walked through the front door, and I have a nice day of rest planned for tomorrow (perhaps a walk in the mix) I am hoping I will be alright for my run on Monday.
I was also feeling quite emotional when I got home- 13 miles is such a long way and it marks the movement over to unknown territory. Until now, I knew I could complete my training runs as I have run those distances before, but from now on the miles are going up, and without the adrenaline and support from races. Plus the times that I ran those half marathons it took a while to recover from, as that was the end of the path, whereas now I am only half way to my end goal.
But anyway, I am focusing on one week (and one run) at a time. Now I am off for some dinner- a lovely mexican bean wrap and salad- mmmm.
So, how do you recover from your runs? How do you priotitise what to do first? Seriously as soon as I get through the door I need to collapse, stretch, shower, go to the bathroom, eat and drink! Too much to do!!
, dipping into a chapter now and then, and was interested to read the chapter about boosting iron intake and absorption. Now I did know that iron from plant sources is harder for the body to absorb, but what I did not realise what that the RDA is 10 times what you actually need as iron is poorly absorbed by the body. Interesting. Now according to the book I need 18mg per day, and the book has a handy table with common iron sources in them. Now although my meals do vary, there are lots of things I eat every day, so anyway, I decided to have a look and see if I get enough iron without the supplement. It was difficult to work out as the measurements are all in cups, as oppose to grams, but it gave me a fair idea.
