Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Eating for races over 3 hours...and some other things

As you might remember in some of my past races I've been experiencing the dreaded wall in different forms.  Fatigue, muscle pulls, tired legs.  Usually around the 21 mile point.  So I've been trying to do a little more research to see what I can do to make those last 5 miles a little more enjoyable.  I came across this article last week and it had some really good information.  Check it out here.

So according to this article I'm only taking in about 1/4 of the nutrition I need.  I usually eat one pack of Clif Shot Bloks throughout a marathon, plus water & Gatorade.  According to this article I should be eating a pack an hour.  That's 5 of those jelly squares an hour.  That could take a lot of getting used to. 

How much do you eat during a marathon? 
How does your stomach hold up? 
Is this a good plan of attack? 

I'm going to try it on my 20 miler this weekend, we'll see if it makes a difference.

Now on to what you've all came to my blog to find out about today...
          Ok, ok.  I will post some pics of the hair.  So, here is my hair from at least the last few years...


You can flip through the blog to see other pics of my hair color but that's a good head shot...bleachy blond weaved hair.

I could only stand to give you the back view of my hair.  Remember it has been wrapped up in a bun for the past 3 days. 


A little different, don't ya think?  What a mop of hair...

So today I went back to have a little more work done and we're getting closer.  We're trying to pull the red out and lighten it a bit.  My hair has had the works done to it in the past 4 days and now it's like my hamsting, it needs some time to heal.  We'll probably try to lighten it again over the weekend.


  
Am I hoping for too much here?  I just need a few extensions and some more brown, right? : )

Oh and remember this is a running blog.  What are your race day nutrition secrets?  What tricks do you have?  Secrets for pulling red out of your hair color?  I mean, how much do you eat during a marathon?  Focus... : )

14 comments:

  1. You are cracking me up! I can't say I've tried to pull any red out of my hair lately so no help there.
    But yes you need to eat more! I take a gel every 5 miles or so plus Gatorade and water then when the going gets hairy after 10 miles I insert the GU IV drip...no really I chew Honey Stingers and try to hang on for dear life.

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  2. I do GU every 5 miles or so and i LOVE the honey stingers!

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  3. You just have to figure out how many calories you burn over the course of the race and then make sure you're replacing them as you go along.

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  4. I don't know if I will be able to take in as many calories as I should when it cmoes to race day. I don't even like drinking too much water while running.

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  5. Adding blonde hi-lights will help.

    It's hard for me to get enough calories for race day as well. I don't like to feel full before or during a race...and by mile 20 or so, my mouth feels frozen in place, and it's hard for me to chew...too tired, I guess!

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  6. I think your hair looks better than fake, plastic girl Parker's does. I would leave it for a while. Sometimes you just need a little time to get used to a hairstyle or color.

    Back to running...I used to use sports beans and gu on long runs but it was a lot of eating and sometimes lead to stomach issues. Now I use Perpetuem by Hammer Nutrition and I love it. It is a powder that you mix with water. I put 1 scoop per hour of running in one of my water bottles and take a little sip every mile or so. It tastes pretty bland which I like because I have trouble with strong flavors while running. I still eat sports beans on short. long runs and they work just fine.

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  7. P.S. That hair advice is from a girl who generally cuts her own hair and doesn't color it anymore so take it for what it's worth. :)

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  8. Funny post! Who cares if it is a running blog? I like all the other "stuff" too!

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  9. that bun-down picture looks like a halloween wig! i'm betting this is not as bad as you think it is. you just have sticker shock.
    you've inspired me. i'm going for some color. not sure what, exactly i'll let the stylist decide. although if i wanna play guinea pig, i gotta be prepared to end up looking like one. i'm scared.

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  10. I love the red!

    As for nutrition, I've tried lots of stuff and am sold on Hammer Nutrition. For < 2 hr runs, I like either the Hammer Gels or HEED sports drink. For longer than that, the Perpetuem drink is really good. AND, I swear by their drink that you have immediately after a hard effort, Recoverite. I really think my legs recover faster, sooner if I use it. Check out their website for good info on their products & recommended uses.

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  11. http://www.hammernutrition.com/problem-solver/bonking/

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  12. dawn i do hair and i want to give you my opinion. sjp has the most amazing hair! she is gorgeous! so you need to use a really good conditioner for days, then get your hair bleach washed (that is a cocktail of bleach, developer and shampoo) it will pull all of the red out. then do your roots a darker blond that is very neutral, you may need to even have a little violet in it because after the bleach wash you may have yellow/orange hair. then add in some highlights and and an all over darker blond. the key is having your ends lighter then your roots. but i wouldnt stay with the red/golden color. go for the sjp look and you will be a rockstar in running shoes.

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  13. Wow, Dawn. I feel your pain. I decided to go back to my "natural color" of dark brown back the first part of the year, and it ended up looking black! I felt like a vampire... my face looked so pale & washed out! I vowed to never do color again! Except I do do highlights. Best of luck figuring it all out!!! :)

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  14. Eating more will definitely help. I only eat on runs longer than 5 hours. For a marathon I find water and GU enough. I take a GU Gel 15mins before the start and then one every hour.

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