Marathon Training Week 9: Experimenting with Nutrition on the Run

Total kilometers run: 385.2km
This Week: 59.1km

Week 9's runs:
Tuesday: 9.9km easy with sprints at end (6:41 min/km avg pace)
Thursday: 11.2km tempo (6:06 min/km avg pace)
Saturday: 8km easy (6:22 min/km avg pace)
Sunday: 30km steady (6:35 min/km avg pace)

This was a "peak week", where my mileage ramps up to an all time high. Next week is a stepback week where I have low mileage to rest my legs and I AM SO EXCITED FOR THAT.

Spring literally sprung on Monday with temps of 10 degrees and sun! It looks like we are not going to dip below freezing again so I am super excited. I think I run better in the sun. My paces have been terrible all winter and I really think that is why. But yay! Spring! Thursday I really pushed my tempo run and I am very happy with the pacing and it seemed to hold well through the rest of the week so perhaps my mojo is back!

And on Sunday I ran 30km!!! That is the longest I have EVER run. My original training plan had me capping out at 25.7km, but I felt that just wouldn't mentally prepare me for running 42.2km, even if I am sure there is some science behind why it stops so low. So I changed two of the long runs in my plan to 30km and 32km. The run was TOUGH, and my left knee is a little "WTF just happened?", but I am really glad I did it because mentally I was really good through it, which is encouraging.

I ran past the Polar Molars!

I also started playing with eating on the run and I have incorporated Gatorade back into my long run. There are a lot of options for run nutrition- you can bring your own snacks like nuts and dried fruits, or buy pre-made stuff, which includes gels, chews, and cookies. I decided to try one of each to see if I liked them on the run. I took one at 8.5km, 16.5km, and 25km.

Here is what I tried:
1. Vega Sports Gel- Orange Flavoured
This one was pretty good! I heard a some reviews that gels were messy and sticky, but this one wasn't like that at all. It was kind of gritty and not too sweet? Sounds weird but the texture didn't bother me at all. I did find it kind of hard to get out of the package.

2. Honey Stinger Waffle- Honey Flavoured
This one was SO yummy and didn't have sugar in it, which I like because I am on a no-added-sugar thing right now. But it was really hard to chew and took me a full 2 minutes to eat the cookie, which is no bueno because I can't run and do that. It could be that it just got a little cold and maybe this would be a better summer snack. But ya, really yummers.

3. Gu Engery Chews- Watermelon Flavoured
These came 4 to a pack and I ate one at 25km and one about 26.5km. They were much easier to chew than I thought they would be as they were very soft. Some people complained that chews were too hard to eat on the go, but I could totally run and eat these at the same time! Flavour was pretty good too!

Overall, eating on the go was a big success. My stomach didn't react negatively to any of them, they all tasted good and went down fine, and I liked the added energy they gave me. Plus I just love to eat so running towards my next snack was very motivating!! Next week I have some new chews and gels to try- Clif shot blocks, Honey Stinger chews, and a Vega gel that is raspberry flavoured. There is SO much on the market so it will probably take some time to settle on some favourites, but I will keep reviewing them as I go!