Half Marathon Trainers

Half marathon trainers- May "08 (Read 594 times)

    For my 11-mile run at 8 am tomorrow, should I eat anything first?
    Teresa if running more than 5 miles in the morning I get up early & have a banana, half a whole wheat bagel & small cup of OJ. I'm good to go in 60 minutes if it's going to be a easy pace about 75 min. for something harder. Everyone is different as far as what & when they can eat. There's also the theory that you can learn to burn fat better by not eating before or during some of your long runs, I've never tried that. Best of Luck to you...

    Courage ! Do one brave thing today...then run like hell.

    mark_v_socal


      Wanted to update on my Santa Barbara Wine Country Half back on May 10: I ran my second-best time so far, 2:12 and change. My wife came in at 2:28 I think it was? Next up: North Olympic Discovery (Half) Marathon up near Sequim, WA. Should be fun - cool and FLAT baby!
      Teresadfp


      One day at a time

        Thanks, Sarge! I have to get up early for the kids, anyway, so I think I'll eat a little. Mark, great job! Good luck on your flat HM coming up! Sounds good. I heard that my first, coming up in September, is NOT flat.


        Prince of Fatness

          Hi Marsha - just wanted to say I totally agree with Simon about gels for a HM - completely unnecessary. Just make sure you are properly fuelled before the race.
          I'll throw in another vote on the gels. Like Mandy says, you don't need them. Just make sure you eat something a couple of hours before the race. I'll usually have a bagel and a banana. I also will have a cup of coffee.
          For my 11-mile run at 8 am tomorrow, should I eat anything first?
          My weekend runs usually come in around 2 hours, and I don't eat anything. I'll have a couple of cups of coffee about an hour before I go out. When I get home I'll eat something right away and wash it down with some Propel. I had a couple of 3 hour runs while marathon training last year. I did have something before those runs.

          Not at it at all. 

            i normally have a bowl of cereal and a cup of coffee 2hrs before a half marathon. before running 11 miles i'd definitely eat something - again normally a bowl of cereal (i like training my body to get used to race day by doing the same before long runs)
            Teresadfp


            One day at a time

              Well, I ended up not eating anything this morning, because I wasn't hungry at all. The conditions were perfect - 50 degrees, sunny, and slightly breezy. The run went great! My running partner and I ran from my house all the way through the town of Yarmouth and back again. She made her planned 9 miles, and then I went on for another 2. Those last 2 were challenging, but my Garmin helped get me through it. I feel really good right now, which is different than last week. Running an HM is seeming more possible now!!
              mark_v_socal


                Good job Teresadfp! I am sure I'm late to the party on this one, but before a race or a big run, I usually try to eat a light breakfast, preferably instant oatmeal if possible. Basically something small (I saw someone mention a half bagel) with a decent balance between the sugars and fiber. It is my understanding that the more fiber and protein something has, the longer it will take your body to burn through the energy contained in that food. For instance, during races I love to eat those Jelly Belly Sport Beans. Sometimes on the longer races I'll eat Cliff Shot Blocks because it seems that the energy is released more consistently than the immediate burst and fade you get with an all-sugar food like the sport beans. Then again I do have a sweet tooth. Cool And I can tolerate solids while running, like Power Bars (which I also eat). My advice, after hearing competing theories on food during runs is twofold: eat something (!), and listen to your body. Like the taste of the Cliff Bars but your stomach hurts? Try something softer. Make sure you wash that food down with some water/gatorade/whatever! And most of all - have FUN racing! My wife and I do the Galloway method (run/walk - I run 5 mins, then 1 min. walk ... my wife does 3:1) and we LOVE the long runs and racing - much better than running the whole way and being destroyed at the end. EDIT: Oh and how awesome are the GPS watches? I have a Garmin 201 that's been with me for every run for 2+ years and the thing is still going like a champ. It'll outlast me at this rate!
                  Thanks everyone for their suggestions about fueling during runs. I do eat oatmeal about 3 hrs before my runs. I think I'll stick with alternating water and sports drinks for this Saturday's race/run. Happy running to all!
                  Goals:HM <2:30:00 htfu encourage my dh to get out of his recliner. htfu="" encourage="" my="" dh="" to="" get="" out="" of="" his=""></2:30:00 htfu encourage my dh to get out of his recliner.>
                  Teresadfp


                  One day at a time

                    Thanks everyone for their suggestions about fueling during runs. I do eat oatmeal about 3 hrs before my runs. I think I'll stick with alternating water and sports drinks for this Saturday's race/run. Happy running to all!
                    Good luck at your race, Marsha!


                    Prince of Fatness

                      Nice job on the LR Teresa. Good luck on your race Marsha.

                      Not at it at all. 

                        Way to go "T". Have been offline a few days and just going back through messages and stuff. Isn't it a great feeling of accomplishment. Now just a few more miles and you've gotten to the HM level. Do you have a HM planned (you probably told us before, but I don't remember) LPH
                        Well, I ended up not eating anything this morning, because I wasn't hungry at all. The conditions were perfect - 50 degrees, sunny, and slightly breezy. The run went great! My running partner and I ran from my house all the way through the town of Yarmouth and back again. She made her planned 9 miles, and then I went on for another 2. Those last 2 were challenging, but my Garmin helped get me through it. I feel really good right now, which is different than last week. Running an HM is seeming more possible now!!

                        LPH

                        "Today I broke my record for most consecutive days lived!"

                        Teresadfp


                        One day at a time

                          Thanks, guys! LPH, I've signed up for the Maine Coast Marathon on September 21 in York, Maine. All women, except for one guy who gets in through a lottery. I'm looking forward to it!
                            Is that a HM or Full? One guy in the whole race! Maybe that's a lottery I should get into!!!!!!!! Big grin I did Hill repeats last night in preparation for my 5M on monday. my legs felt pretty good but I know the hills on the course are even tougher than what I did last night. Been taking it fairly easy all week and will do the same next week except for my race on Monday. Starting to get excited about my HM on June 1st. Drove the course the other night (I knew part of it already) and no major hills (sorry even in this stage of my running I hate long or steep hills). Still shooting for that 8:00-8:05 pace. Larry aka LPH
                            Thanks, guys! LPH, I've signed up for the Maine Coast Marathon on September 21 in York, Maine. All women, except for one guy who gets in through a lottery. I'm looking forward to it!

                            LPH

                            "Today I broke my record for most consecutive days lived!"

                            Teresadfp


                            One day at a time

                              Oops, It's the Maine Coast Half Marathon! Getting ahead of myself. Your race is coming right up, Larry. Sounds like a good one!
                                My 5 miler is Monday, I have a score to settle on this one (which is the main reason I'm running it) Ran it once before two years ago and ran very poorly, did a 45+ min race and walked a lot of hills. So this course has messed with my mind and I have to conquer it. I did find out last night, that my son is going to run it with me. He's only running a few days a week now. He has won this race before and finished 2nd a number of times, but he's not in the same shape he was so he's trying to remind him self not to try and go out with the pack he's used to running with. My HM is next Sunday and like I said, I'm getting excited. Went on line this morning to register and then looked at last years results. I didn't realize it was so large, over 500 people in the HM and they also do a 10K. So this large crowd should get me pumped up, but at the same time, the large start will definetely add time onto my overall. Not to worry, because I'm more concerned with my actual time which I'll set by the start line. Well take care and have a great weekend, hope you're getting a long run in this weekend!
                                Oops, It's the Maine Coast Half Marathon! Getting ahead of myself. Your race is coming right up, Larry. Sounds like a good one!

                                LPH

                                "Today I broke my record for most consecutive days lived!"