I’m doing pretty well with weight loss. Back in January I was as high as 230 lbs. Now I am around 213 as of my last weigh in from a couple days ago. My goal is to be under 200 lbs before the marathon, so I have a couple months to go still. Hopefully I can accomplish this. During my week at the beach, I ate EVERYTHING! But I also ran 32 miles between Sunday-Friday, so that helped me neither gain nor lose weight.<\/p>\n
Injuries<\/strong><\/p>\n With running experience comes wisdom, but that doesn’t mean I still won’t get injured. I have had my fair share of injuries in the past, and they can be a race wrecker. They can come out of nowhere, literally overnight. I am fully aware of this, and my weekly miles are starting to increase a lot compared to what I usually run. 30+ miles\/wk is a lot for me, and it is about to increase into the 40s. So I need to be on top of things like stretching, foam rolling, and doing elastic band walks. I have been trying to do these regularly after runs or the day after\/before a run. I usually do not do elastic band walks right before a run. I did once, and my knee hurt on the run. It could have been a coincidence, but I am not chancing it. On this training cycle, I have had a sore quad that took 1+ miles to warm up to where I could increase my pace. I am keeping an eye on that muscle, and on my last run, it did not bother me. I have had pains here and there sometimes, but they all have been temporary so far. Let’s hope that I can just get through the next 4-5 weeks of very long runs and make it to the taper! Usually I get a massage at some point, probably 2-3 weeks before the marathon.<\/p>\n Fluid Intake<\/strong><\/p>\n This is something I have struggled with. This time I am training with what they will serve on the course, which is Gatorade Endurance formula. I have bought the powder and have been using it on my longer runs. I usually carry water and Gatorade so that I can alternate with them while running. But I have struggled in the past with symptoms of dehydration in the last part of the race – around or after 20 miles. Symptoms like nausea, as well as “hitting the wall” symptoms. I still need to figure this part out. I had problems in the last 2 marathons with this and haven’t even finished a marathon without some walking involved. It’s never an issue for me in half marathons (except once – very hot weather). Also post marathon race, I still experienced the dehydration symptoms. It is odd, but if I try to take in too many liquids, then I feel worse while running. But I am a heavy sweater, losing up to 3 pounds on a 6 mile run for a 75-80 degree day. I am not sure how fast liquids clear out out of my stomach normally, and in a race, it is even worse because blood is going more to muscles, etc. during all that exertion. For energy gels, I have been using Gatorade chews, but I know the Cliff energy chews (non-caffeine) also work for me.<\/p>\n
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