Busy Monday #2

I went to my now usual Monday long ride this morning (on my way to work). The weather forecast was a little worrisome, but it was actually rather nice (14C, mostly sunny). Since some rain is (or was) forecasted for later during the week, I really wanted to get that ride done before my next long ride this coming Sunday:

So, instead of making my now standard energy drink, I went with a lighter version of it:

• 2 bags of Jasmin Green Tea brewed in 800 ml of filtered water
• 2 tablespoons of Agave Syrup
• 1.5 scoop of Maltodextrin (so about 120 kcal of Carbs)

Since I had (over)eat enough Sunday (it was a day off), I didn't feel like I really needed the extra calories punch in my drink not the electrolytes (since it wasn't going to be too hot). For nutrition, I packed some leftover home-made Larabar from our Saturday run. My hydration/nutrition plan was the following:

• Couple of sips of drink every 20 km
• One Larabar every hour

Worked pretty good as far as I can tell, except for the fact that the bars are kind of hard to chew and swallow while in aero position (in which I was for most of the ride, without much pain). I probably should cut them smaller so that I can chew and breath with more ease ;-)

To finish-off the day, I did an easy 8k run (with da wife). Felt pretty good doing it. Which I guess is a good thing ...

(pre) long run nutrition plan

In preparation for this October Marathon, I have started collecting tips and info on pre-race and race nutrition. Since we have a few long (> 20 km) runs left in our training schedule, it's a good time to specify a plan, and test it out so that it can be adjusted.

So, at the moment, here's the pre-race nutrition/hydration plan:

• 3 hours before the start: one (toasted) bagel + peanut butter (spread) + banana (sliced) + chia seeds (2 tea spoon)
• 2 hours before the start: one espresso (with one cube of brown sugar)
• drink water regularly (not over doing it)

As for the run, the plan is:

• After 5 km: starts drinking regularly 200 ml every 5 km (or whenever thirsty)
• Every 45 minutes: ingest a small Larabar (da wife's recipe)

For hydration, I'll be repeating the home-made energy drink I did for my ride last Sunday, but this time with a little less chia seeds. I'll also carry a smaller bottle of water to drink with each of the Larabar.

I'm not totally convinced that I need to eat regularly during this particular run since it will be only an extra 2 km from the previous time and that I didn't bonk then. However, it'll be good to see if I do feel fresher by the end and also if my stomach can take the food during a stressing time.

Carbo-loading & Energy bars!

So we just carbo-loaded some with a pretty yummy Kale/Lentils/Pasta soup (with Tofurkey sausage) made by da wife. I think she's planning to post the recipe online so I'll link to it when she's done so. She also made some "Larabars" for tomorrow run. It's a different recipe than the one from last week. I'll see to get the recipe as well ;)