Long Beach Half Marathon

This is long overdue, and has been sitting in my drafts for a couple weeks now. I've been wanting to post it but have just been so busy to get all my thoughts about the Long Beach half marathon.

The Long Beach half marathon was a very memorable experience for many reasons:

- This would be my second half marathon.
- This was my goal race that I planned for after injuring myself during my first half marathon training.
- This would be my first real race while on Keto
- This was my first big race with my running club

I woke up around 4AM and headed to a nearby 24 hour Starbucks to pick up a Venti Americano with heavy cream. Headed back home to meet with my friend from my run club who was going to carpool with me. We headed off to Long Beach and after dealing with some traffic, arrived just in time to catch the full marathoners take off. Before we left the car, I took my "shot" of bouillon and coconut oil. (A little over an hour before my start time)
 
It was a brisk morning, but my club singlet, shorts, and arm sleeves kept me just warm enough.

It was about 30 minutes to our start, but I had yet to "clear my system". The coffee did not do it's job yet. I ended up "clearing" a little bit out of my system, but not as much as I would have liked and it made me a bit uncomfortable.

The half marathon started right at 7:30, but I was back in the 3rd wave so we took off about 10 mins after the gun. I ran with my friend from my run club, and started faster than I probably should have. (I think around 8:45-9:00 pace.) I felt great for most of it, until we reached around the 7 mile point. This was the beginning of the "boardwalk", a three mile cement path along the beach.

I originally planned on drinking my race drink during this stretch. The drink was a mixture of Vega sugar free natural electrolyte drink and coconut oil. Unfortunately, the cool weather caused the coconut oil to solidify. This made it very hard to get any liquid through the spout and also prevented me from getting any of the fat and MCT oil to give me the boost I was hoping for towards the end. This messed with me mentally a bit more than it probably affected me physically.

At this point I was starting to lose steam and my friend and a gap started to form between my friend and I Around mile 9, I had my first walk break. One of a couple. I noticed my posture was breaking down in my run and it was causing discomfort through out my body. I could feel some tightness in my inner left knee and my Achilles. I got a boost from seeing the leader of one of my other groups I run with. This made me straighten my back and fix my form a bit and instantly I felt relief. That only lasted for a little over a mile.

As soon as we finished the "boardwalk", the final stretch, I felt everything all over again. At this point, I was wish I had brought some sort of "backup" nutrition. I originally planned on bringing some Justin's hazelnut chocolate packs just in case I needed it, but ended up forgetting it in the car. I realized I would just have to do it without anything more. I passed by the Gu station, spectators with donuts, candy, and various fruit, and decided to push on as best I could. I did end up taking in half a cup of watered down Powerade at one of the stations.

I struggled through miles 10-12, having to walk a few times. Eventually, I can across the "1 more mile" sign. I knew I had to finish strong. I straightened my back and posture, and focused on running form and strides. The spectators started to build up as we got closer and closer to the finish line.

The last tenth of a mile was down hill so I came down flying. I crossed the finish line triumphantly.

In the end it, I completed my second half marathon with a time of 2:02:26. Just about a 13 minute improvement over my first half marathon. Granted, I was injured during that race and it was hilly. I still feel very happy with my time, and I'm looking towards that sub 2 hour half marathon.


Life and running is all about learning from prior experiences. My first half marathon I learned to not overtrain and follow a properly structured plan. This allowed me to come into this race healthy and ready. From this race I take away the importance of proper pacing. Especially when you are running Keto and not traditional carb heavy. This race also reminded me how important form is. I should know this considering my prior powerlifting experience, but when your body is fatigued it tends to slip away. Ironic, as I noticed as I focused on my form and posture, my fatigue, aches, and pains would seem to go away.

Overall, the experience itself was great. This was the first big race I ran with my running club, and it was great to get all the support from fellow club members throughout the race. After the race we had our own masseuses in our club canopy which worked out my calves and hamstrings a bit. Running with my friend was great, but I think it definitely hurt me pace wise. It was nice to celebrate with her at the finish line though knowing we both pushed ourselves.

I have confidence that with proper pacing, I can do much better, and I know first hand that you do not need carbs to run long distances. I look forward to the next race!

Daily Log - 10/06/13

My 10 mile run (actually 9.5) went well.

I woke up early and stopped by Starbucks around 6:15AM to pick up an Americano with 3 Splenda and  heavy cream. My daily morning drink. The run wasn't planned until 8:30 so it gave me a good 2 hours to drink and "process". By 7:30, I was able to "clear out my system". I took my pre run "shot": half a cup of hot water, bouillon cube, and 2 tbsp of coconut oil, and headed to the meeting spot.


Met up for the run and took off. It was flat or downhill for most of the first part of the run, which was great, and I felt fine keeping an easy pace of around 9:45/mile. Pace slowed down a bit as we hit the 6-7 mile mark where there was some slight incline. A little before that I took a drink of my electrolyte/coconut oil mix. I really didn't want to have to bring a belt and water bottle to the race, but I want to do the race without carbs as much as possible, and I've been training with that particular concoction.

Finished the 9.5 mile run with a 10:14 pace. We had a couple stops to check up on some of the run/walkers so that brought the pace down a bit too. I wanted to take it really easy with the race next week. I kept an eye on my heart rate which will be the key. I felt fine with the few hills we encountered. Something that was an issue when I first started keto running. The course is extremely flat so this is a great race to start my keto racing. I'm anxious and looking forward to the race next week!

Random Updates

I've been really bad at keeping this up.

My running has continued, following my training plan as close as possible. I've been doing all of my runs fasted. Taking in a "shot" of bouillon cube and 2 tbsp of coconut oil about 30 mins before each run.

I had a 10K last week which I did in 58:22. Had some stomach issues at the tail end of the run and after, which I attribute to a couple of drinks I had the night before. Stupid move on my part, and I definitely learned a lesson.

I'm currently sitting at Starbucks having a coffee with heavy cream before my 10 mile run today. After today, a few short runs through the week and then race day next Sunday.

I'm anxious. I feel my body is ready. I just need to get my nutrition down. My biggest hurdle will be stomach issues as I'm still trying to figure out what works. If today's 10 mile run goes well, then it will do wonders for my confidence on race day.

Daily Log - 09/16/13

Had my usual Monday Runday club run with the Gone Running group.

A nice 5 miles at what I'd like to be my race pace. Monday runs are always the hardest for me. Take forever for me to start and get warmed up. I didn't really get my rhythm until about mile 3 and by the end of the 5 miles, I felt like I wanted to run more, but held back.

My Nike+ Sportswatch kept showing me at around 8:55 pace but ended at at about 9:15.


Nutrition For The Day:

Venti Americano w/ Heavy Cream

Lunch

Left Over Chicken Curry
Blue Diamond - Rosemary & Black Pepper Almonds

Dinner

Left Over Chicken Curry
Halo Top Creamery - Chocolate Ice Cream

Daily Log - 09/15/13

Today was a "rest" day, so no activity for me.

I made some chicken curry last night from scratch for the first time.

I used the following ingredients:

Chicken Thighs
Unsweetened Coconut Milk
Curry Powder
Onions
Ginger
Garlic
Spinach
Chinese Long Beans
Red Pepper Flakes
Salt
Pepper

Unfortunately, I'm not a measurement type of guy so I can't say exactly how much of each I put in. It came out a little more soupy than I would have liked, but I liked it and will make it again.

This will be dinner and lunch for a couple days.

Daily Log - 09/14/13

My schedule called for 9 miles today. This will be my third "long" run in a fasted/Ketogenic state.

Last night, a couple friends and I ate at Sizzlers. I ended up getting the steak with broccoli and melted butter and the salad bar. As usual, when I go to Sizzlers (not often), I take my main meal to go and just eat the salad bar. I want to get my moneys worth! I ate some broccoli salad, beef stew, carnitas pork and loads of guacamole. When I got home that night I took 6 capsules of Fish Oil and my Glusosamine Chondritin (pill 2 of a 2 pill serving).

I woke up met up with my friend Janice at the Back Bay around 7 AM. Janice has been my long run partner. She's a long time friend training for the Nike women's Half Marathon. She completed the full last year and has a couple of half marathons under her belt so she has a bit of experience under her.

After my usual dynamic stretching routine, we took off. Right off the bat, we had to climb a hill. I really hate starting on an uphill, as my body takes so long to get warmed up. Legs felt tight as usual, no rhythm in my step. Eventually we made it over and on the downhill and subsequent flat road ahead my body got warmed up. The run overall had about 6-7 rolling hills. The first one was the longest at 175 ft gain, but the rest were no more then 50-75 ft gain. I noticed that on the hills, my stomach would start to hurt. Not a cramp, but pain like I ate something bad and needed to go to the bathroom. I sucked it up and finished the run. It was quite disappointing as I had to focus so much on my stomach during the run. Lungs were great and legs were feeling ok.

This happened to me earlier this week during one of my shorter runs. I was running much faster, and felt the same pain in my stomach. I actually had to stop and use the bathroom mid run. Earlier that day I had a salad and broccoli for lunch and didn't have a chance to clear it out of my system before the run. I felt instantly better after going to the bathroom that day. I wonder if I'm taking in too much fiber before the run? Actually, I'm pretty sure that I am. I'm going to make sure I don't take in fiber unless I know for sure I will have time to clear it out of my system before the run.

I have 2 more long runs and a 10K "race" before my half marathon. I need to get my nutrition down because I do not want to have any issues on race day. 

Some other random observations from the day:

I had a Justin's Nut Butter at the 5 mile mark. Not sure how I feel about it. My stomach was in pain from the beginning of the run so I can't tell if I had a reaction or not to it. I'm still on the fence about in race fueling. I've been running my runs fasted and depending on my ketones and feeling fine, but part of me wonders how my body will be race day when I'm pushing the pace. I want to make sure I can handle whatever I decide to use. Plus, I really like to up my pace towards the end and want to make sure I have something in the tank. I've been listening to some podcasts and reading the runketo.com website and MCT oil seems to be the trick so I may have to pick up some.

After the run, I stopped by Starbucks and got my usual quad espresso over ice with 3 splenda and heavy cream. It's amazing how within minutes of ingesting the caffeine and fat, my body felt "recovered" and numb from the run.

I also spent some time in the gym stretching and foam rolling.

The Alternative Runner

¹al·ter·na·tive

adjective \ȯl-ˈtər-nə-tiv, al-\

: offering or expressing a choice
: not usual or traditional

: existing or functioning outside of the established society

I decided to start this blog to document my experiences in running. I am a runner who doesn't follow some of the widely accepted practices of running. For over a year I've been running in Vibram Five Fingers and as of this month, I have taken up running on a low carb or Ketogenic diet.

I had a lengthy explanation and introduction, but apparently, blogger decided not to save it, so I will have to update this later.