Lucozade Sport Super Six: keep going lass

Vixx - ha ha - I'll bear that in mind.    I went to the Alexander Stadium a couple of weeks ago to see the Athletics and they don't run all that fast actually   (... .takes tongue out of cheek....)

Tess has just left, my nutritionist - (doesn't that sound grand!!)   She took me through the "science" of nutrition in relation to sport and why it's so important not only to make sure you are adequately fuelled prior to your run which I think we all pretty much know, (even if we don't do it,)  but critically, the benefits of taking on additional protein with Carbs post run.   

I do usually have some carbohydrate after a run but have never really thought about protein for recovery and repair.  She tells me that if I take in protein and carbohydrate together post run, the elements  will work more effectively together to give a more efficient recovery, the effects of which are cumulative, so the more you do it, the stronger you will get.   

Sounds good to me!  I've got 13 miles to run in 9 weeks time, I need all the recovery I can get!

 I am sure there is still loads I can learn but having spent years on yo-yo diets, I don't want to be tied down to weighing and measuring my food and thinking about every morsel that passes my lips as  I have got into the habit of eating well and sensibly without being obsessive about it .  I would however like to  lose some more body fat over the next 6 weeks or so and the good news is that Tess thinks my current eating habits are pretty much ok..  

However, now that I understand a bit more about the relationship between protein, carbs and fat,  I can put more thought into my training day food planning to ensure I get the best out of what is going into my body.  Over the next few days, I'll post details of what I am eating on a day by day basis so that Tess can give me feedback on where I might  improve my nutrition for fuelling my running.

She left me some more goodies and I think I'm gonna need a bigger cupboard....

and now for the best bit ....... read on ......

<Paces up and down impatiently waiting for "the best bit">

Once the lesson was over, we went for a run....... (on a rest day aswell!)

 Well.........,we all know how hot it's been the last few days but what happened??   The heavens opened and chucked everything it had at us........     We ran in thunder, lightening, absolute torrential rain that was so bad that the bridge close by had flooded, so we had to hike up the side of the railway bridge and take the steps down the other side to avoid the puddle. (good cross training though)

Why did we do that Tess?  We were wet through anyway!! We may just as well have run through it!!

I have to say that although we got absolutely soaking wet, it was warm rain and really cooling.  Reminded me of when I used to play out in the rain when I was a kid .......  kids's don't worry about rain at all do they? Well after tonight - neither should we! 

We covered  3.35 miles in  34:38 minutes, average pace 10:20 although that includes the scrambling up the bridge, going down the steps and walking to find our cameraman who was supposed to meet us coming the other way but we somehow missed him  -  probably climbing up the side of the bridge!!

A more realistic pace for the majority of the run was between 9:45 and 10:00 minute miles and we held a conversation most of the way round.   I was quite pleased that I was able to do that, although I did notice that Tess wasn't even breathless, but then she is half my age!!

So, thanks to my son who got as wet as we did trying to find us, here is a picture to prove we did it and a link to a whole 8 seconds of video footage, although if he'd caught us the first time, he would have got us sprinting.....

run in the rain ....

Please, please, please send some of that rain my way.  Today wasn't a rest day for me but I knew it wouldn't be long before I melted into the ground if I went out in that heat so I decided to wait and see if tomorrow is going to be any cooler.

LOL at your comment about Tess not even getting out of breath!  I get really demoralised that my "flat out" pace is "cool down" pace for the girls at my running club but then I remind myself that I'm the granny of the group - most of them are at least 20 years (and often a whole lot more) younger than me.

Sounds like your visit from the nutritionalist was of real benefit KGL

I wouldn't have thought about having some protein with carbs after a run - may have to give it a go!

I love running in the rain...please send some our way, it's been 22 degrees here all through the night. It's foggy again this morning, but I think that just makes it feel more humid

True to my word, here is my food and fluid intake for today..... 

6.30 am, 2 slices of toast with ginger jam, fruit smoothie and cup of tea.

8.30 am, coffee

10.00 am, Banana and small handful of pumpkin, sunflower seeds and pine nuts.

11.15 am, one third of ham salad baguette and bag of salt and vinegar crisps (for the salt you understand - I was doing an experiement following Tess's visit last night)

12.00 pm, 6 olives and finished 500 mls of water started am.

1.00 pm, cup of coffee and bite size ginger biscuit in the hairdressers (well it would be rude to refuse wouldn't it!)

2.00 pm, rest of the ham salad baguette

2.30 pm, large orange, 500 ml of water finished.

4.15 pm, small granary roll with boiled egg and watercress

5.15 pm, 500 ml  Lucozade body fuel

5.45 pm, rich tea biscuit to soak up the Lucozade!

6.15 - 7.15 pm 500 ml water during boxercise class

7.45 pm, roast chicken, salad, home made potato salad with nuts, fruit, celery, made with yog/may base, home made coleslaw with yog/may base,  fruit yoghurt,  cup of tea........

So, what do you make of all that Tess??   

 ... and here  my lord is the case for the defense....

I always try to have extra carbs in particular if I know I am going to be exercising, particularly boxercise because it is so explosive and tires me very quickly otherwise.   It does look a bit scary though written down, but I am still losing body fat????

So, the experiments ..... 

Today, I had more salt with the crisps and olives to see if it made a difference to the amount of fluid that my body could retain.  Normally, if I drink plenty, it goes straight through me and after Tess's science less yesterday, now I understand why.  

I drank more fluid during the day than normal and it is really unusal for me to have more than one cup of coffee but I didn't notice any increase in the trips to the ladies room!

Also, the lucozade body fuel before boxercise did seem to make me more alert and improved my performance during the class.  Normally, I am hopeless at remembering the punch combinations which get more complex as the class progresses but tonight, I remembered them all first time.

Normally, on a good night, I will burn just over 500 calories.  Tonight it was 475 but I was hampered somewhat by forgetting to put my inserts in my shoes which meant that my ankles complained at the explosive leg work and shuttle running so I backed off a bit.  Had that not been the case,  I'm sure I would have gone way over the 500 mark, indicating that the increased hydration also increased my performance.

Let's hope I feel the difference on my next  run... which will be Thursday - 60 minutes easy....... in the meantime, I'm looking forward to my rest day tomorrow ...... 

Hope everyone else has had a good day......  

Ooh, that's all a bit technical! But if it works....

*wonders what she can eat with salt in it before tomorrow's run*

I thought salt was bad for you???

It  is in large quantities, but apparently we need some salt in order to keep the right balance of fluids - there are various glands aroud your body that monitor it, can't remember what they're called, which is why you pee a lot when you drink lots of water on its own - it's your bodies way of getting rid of the excess to keep the balance and vice versa if you take too much so you become dehydrated.

The lucozade products that Tess left contain sodium (hydrate in particular) which is why they are better than water alone before or during exercise because they replace the salts you lose when you perspire

Hope I've got tht right - don't want everyone collapsing with salt poisoning!!

Hmm very interesting...I think after reading that I may need to increase my salt intake then, im forever going to the toilet which might not help with energy levels for running hey!?

Oh I see where this is going....IM NOT STANDING FOR IT I TELL THEE!!

..I do quite like the orange lucozade sport though, mm...

  the recovery drink is nice...

lol Steve

KGL - I wasn't quite sure how salt affected your fluids - so thanx for that, though I can have a wee bit salt cause my blood pressure is so low (78 over 55).  To be honest I dont have salt on anything except tomatoes & bolied eggs.

Not sure I'd be able to handle all the lucozade - is it not really sickly?  The thoughts of drinking it make me feel a bit queezy 

Hi Steve, 

Oh dear, I'm in trouble all ready .... that didn't take long did it!!   ........I've swapped things around a bit again this week to fit with work and other commitments - I did my speed session that was scheduled for yesterday on Sunday, my easy run will be Thursday, tempo run Friday and long run Saturday or Sunday,     Next week I'm going to try and stick to the order you have given  ...... oh, and I did a shorter temo run on Monday.   Sorry for the confusion!   

On the subject of long runs, after your email, I did the week 2 long run on week 1 - does that means that I should continue to work a week ahead, ie, (week 3 LSR, 90 minutes) this week or run for the same time as last week again to bring myself back into line with the schedule?