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.