One bottle of water. A small jug of chocolate milk. A bowl of Oatmeal. One Smirnoff. The only thing missing was a peanut butter and banana sandwich as I recovered from my long run this morning (and a midterm review).
After ten miles in near-freezing temperatures, my body couldn't decide what it needed-water for hydration, chocolate milk for nutrients, Gatorade for electrolytes, peanut butter for protein, alcohol for...rest? So I picked a few, hoping to cover as many bases as I could with only two hands.
If I had to choose just one, I would choose... Smirnoff. Just kidding. Water, seriously. It's a basic necessity of life, pure and delicious, refreshing and cooling. There is nothing more relieving than a bottle of ice cold water after a tedious run in the sun with sweat dripping from your earlobes, running down your arms and legs, making everything sticky and salty. That wasn't the case this morning.
This morning was cold and dark. Yesterday I failed to hydrate properly. Thus, I'm not sure if I even broke a sweat the entire run. Not smart. But all is well, as far as I can tell.
The other choices are there for extra fuel, to help you along the way. Chocolate milk, for instance, so I've heard, provides just as many nutrients to the body as a protein shake. And it's incredibly refreshing after a hard workout on hills, in the gym, or cross-training. Gatorade replaces the electrolytes you spent on the road (don't ask me to explain further). Peanut butter is an excellent source of protein and energy, and it's filling. Not to be forgotten are the carbs that come with the bread of your sandwich, which are extremely important to long-distance runners who burn hundreds to thousands of calories in a run.
I'm sure that if my diet were properly balanced, I would not crave these "extras." I could easily rely solely on H2O and sweat my heart out during every run. But as it is, I'm not perfect, and I enjoy eating whatever I want whenever I want it, as long as someone else pays for it...(I kid.)
Training Update
We are progressing in mileage and keeping tabs on potential injuries. Next week we will taper, meaning to decrease mileage in order to recover from the past two weeks and rest up for the next two (12 and 13 miles).
I am taking it easy the rest of this week, leaning more on cross-training, while I await a compression sleeve to hopefully help relieve some pain in my shin.
I'm still not getting as many comments as I would like (zero, to be specific). So, the next five people who leave comments on my blog, any post you choose, will be part of a fictional story that I will write and publish in my next post (if you wish to have your name mentioned.) This means you must leave your name. Comments on Facebook do not count. Please refrain from only typing your name and a quick "hey" or "good job" or "you can do it!" While I appreciate greetings and encouragement, I love to also receive questions and insight, topics, and meaningful commentary.
I hope this works and that you are encouraged to comment in the future.
