Long Run Recap + Fuel

Happy Tuesday everyone.  I hope you all had a great weekend.  Mine was pretty jam packed but all of it with good stuff.  After enjoying happy hour with friends in Kirkland on Friday afternoon I went home to rest up and hydrate for my early morning run on Saturday. I knew it was going to be a warm sunny day so I set my alarm for 6:30 to wake up with enough time to eat breakfast, digest, and hit the road.

Pre-Run FUEL:

It has taken me a LONG time to figure out what works best for me for long runs and races and in the beginning a long run would equal me sleeping all afternoon with a splitting headache from lack of good fuel and hydration.  Once I figured out what works I stick to it like glue.  So, 2 hours before a scheduled long run or race I consume:

• 2 scrambled eggs
• English muffin
• Some sort of fruit
• Coffee
• WATER

The next 2 hours consist of TV watching, charging my Garmin and Ipod and food digesting.   Occasionally I will eat a half a banana or Luna bar right before the run but it's not a religious part of my routine.  On Saturday I filled my water bottle up with Gatorade and packed along a new gel to try.  My true love belongs with sports beans and I know they work for me, however, with marathon training coming up and the fact that I'll have to consume multiple energy eats along the way I wanted to try something smaller and more compact than the beans.

The Run:

8:30AM...out the door I went!  I discovered a new little trail that runs by the UW stadiums that took me right along Lake Washington.  I planned on trying out a new trail that connected with the Arboretum but too much rain the week before flooded most of it so I improvised and took some detours to add on the mileage.

Mile 1 - 9:59
Mile 2 - 9:53
Mile 3 - 9:46
Mile 4 - 10:17
Mile 5 - 11:01 <---gagging on gel :(

I stopped around mile 5 or so for a gel break and had to gag down the gel...so GROSS!  It sort of tasted like warm frosting and while I'm a huge frosting lover I do not crave it in the middle of a long run.  I knew I needed the fuel since it was pretty warm out so I choked it down and luckily none of it came back up during my run.

My legs felt heavy and tired most of the way and a slight discomfort in my right hip turned into a large pain with every step around mile 8.5  I decided that 9 miles would be good enough today (I tentatively planned on 10) and when I stopped to talk the rest of the way home my hip felt better so I was happy with my decision to cut it short.

Mile 6 - 10:10
Mile 7 - 10:34
Mile 8 - 10:06

Post-Run Fuel:

The second I got in the door back home I chugged a Muscle Milk Light.  Although I've heard some things about some of the ingredients in it not being great for you it really helps me recover and not feel like death the rest of the day so I partake!  I drank some coconut water and had a banana and left over corn bread snack. 

Revelations during this run include:

• I am NEVER eating a gel or gu again and now I have to figure out how I'm going to pack 5-6 packs of sports beans during a marathon on me.
• Stopping when I'm literally saying out loud "OUCH" with every stride.
• The sun and heat didn't affect me as bad as I thought and maybe I won't be such a weather baby anymore.
• I need a couple more long runs before I'm confident I can race the Rock and Roll at the end of this month.

Question for all you runners:  Any gus or gels out there I should try that won't make me gag??