Training Supplement – May 16, 2017
The Eugene Marathon was a little over a week ago and I’m starting to dissect the race. Did my carbo-load or shoes contribute to the rough start? Despite the internal criticism, I know I came out of it a tougher runner. Oh, and the Nike 2-hour project was thrilling and inspiring!
Clothing & Gear
Shoes. In my race report for the Eugene Marathon, I wrote about severe pain in my right calf at the start of the race through Mile 6 or 7. Dissecting the race, I wondered if I should have put more miles on the Saucony Ride 9 shoes that I wore that day. I only had about 30-35 miles on them and was unhappy with the laces the week before.
(My Complete Clothes & Gear Page.)
Nutrition & Hydration
Nutrition. I wrote about my carbohydrate load and depletion before the Eugene Marathon. Now that I’m on the other side of the race, I was very uncomfortable with how heavy I felt leading up to the race.
Post-workout Nutrition. PR Bar. I continued working through my Stridebox backlog. During my carbo-depletion during my Eugene Marathon taper, I had this bar since it had the most protein of the lot – 15g. I didn’t care for the flavor, but it’s the type of bar I like – crispies. The peanut butter granola flavor was a little bland.
StrideBox. Despite my best efforts to work through my stash, another box arrived! I like ginger flavor, so the Gu looked appealing. I also thought the Salt Sticks were coming just in time for summer.
Routes
Sights. The day before the Eugene Marathon, I visited Pre’s Rock.
I walked down the road a bit and took this picture of the area below.
It wasn’t until a few days ago that I realized this was the same breathtaking view I wrote about in my race report after the half marathon split. We were on the footbridge at the bottom of the photograph.
Media & Motivation
Music. “Me and My Broken Heart,” Rixton. Since I won’t buy Maroon 5, Spotify recommended the next best thing.
(My “Songs of the Week” playlist on Spotify.)
Podcasts. “Shalane Flanagan,” The Runner’s World Show. I felt relieved when I heard Shalane echoing a bit of what I wrote about doping scandals and feeling worse for athletes like Jo Pavey who didn’t get her podium moment. But, her point about doping ruining the hopes of the sub-elites resonated with me most.
“Babies in the Studio,” Pace The Nation. Like many runners, I’m fascinated by some of the stories on the Marathon Investigations website. In the episode, one of the hosts talked about a questionable running practice in a race. It was funny to me because I’ve been feeling as though I’m noticing more “cheating” since I’ve been reading these stories.
Books and Magazines. “Moonshot,” by Alex Hutchinson. This article provided an overview and details about the Nike Breaking2 attempt. The article is very technical – focusing on the training, course, and other scientific elements of the challenge.
News. “So Close, Kipchoge Runs a 2:00:25 in the Breaking2 Attempt,” Runner’s World. Unfortunately, I couldn’t stay up to watch the event live – I flew out to the west coast for the Eugene Marathon the day before and just couldn’t keep my eyes open. The next morning, the first thing I did was go online to find the result. Amazing! Despite the manipulations, it’s incredible to me that Kipchoge came so close.
Motivation. “Challenges are what make life interesting and overcoming them is what makes life meaningful.” Joshua J. Marine
The Eugene Marathon presented me with a new and interesting challenge – an injury during the first mile! I dealt with it, though, and finished the race a tougher runner.
What did you think of the Nike Breaking2 attempt?
