Everything Counts

AM: 15 miles on our usual Monday route from Smiths with Ken, avg pace 6:57/mile. Ben blew a tire on his way to meet us, so we missed him. Denver and Matt ran same route as us but at slower pace. Spring is finally here, and it is most welcome to stay as long as it likes!

PM: 6.3 miles with 3 on the treadmill and another 3.3 outside after Amy finished her run, avg pace 6:54/mile.

13.1 miles easy with Ben and Jason down into Uintah and up to the Terrace on the toll road, avg pace 7:04/mile. I am attempting to train my body to handle fluid and calories for the marathon. So a lot of my runs in the next few weeks I am logging those details for my own record. 16 ounces of water total, started at mile 3 and drank every two miles. I mixed two Honeystinger gels into the water, so I also consumed 200 calories and 48 grams of carbs. I didn't notice any adverse effects until I had a few acidic belches in mile 13 and a small mucus buildup during that mile too, but it was easy to clear.

AM: 5X4K INTERVALS WITH 1K MODERATE REST

I met Ken and Ben at 36th and Harrison. We warmed up 4k and then started our workout. The goal was 5x4k about 10 seconds faster per mile than goal marathon pace with 1k about 60 seconds slower per mile for rest. I wanted to be in the 5:10-5:15 range or 12:50-13:03 per rep. Splits: 13:04, 13:15, 12:54, 13:12, 13:29 for a 13:10.8 avg or 5:18/mile. Including the 4 1k rests I ran 24k or 15-is miles non-stop at 5:26/mile. So, not quite as fast as I had hoped but still solid. Nutrition: I packed the same 16 ounces with two gels mixed in. I drank about 13 ounces throughout, mostly on the rest sections. I got throw-up burps on the third rep, threw up a tiny bit in the 4th, and really struggled keeping it down on the last rep, but managed to finish before it all came up. Not encouraging, but I have quite awhile still to get a nutrition plan that works. I think acid reflux may be at play. Today wasn't caused by mucus like it normally is. Will try an antacid of some sort before next hard workout and/or long run.

PM: 3.5 mile shakeout in the rain, avg pace 6:49/mile. Upon further research, I think I may have exercise-induced acid reflux. I had never heard of it until today, but my symptoms seem to match it. It occurs usually in physically fit adults when they participate in long endurance efforts of 80+ minutes at a moderate to hard effort. Acid from the stomach enters the esophagus causing belches, burning feeling, and sometimes mucus. An journal article I found stated that acid reflux medicines such as Prevacid have been found to help in most cases, though some severe cases may require more drastic measures.

AM: 9.55 miles easy in the South Weeby, avg pace 7:27/mile.

PM: 4.5 miles easy, avg pace 7:00/mile.

9.7 miles on the trails in a new inch of snow in the higher parts and traces of snow on the lower sections. I ran with Bret and Denver from 22nd Street to Beus Canyon and back, avg pace 8:47/mile.

STEADY STATE LONG RUN

The plan this morning was 24-27 miles with 20-24 of it at 6:00/mile or faster. I purchased some Generation Ucan to try for fueling on the run today. I woke up two hours before our run was scheduled and drank a Ucan with protein. Then 30 minutes before the run I drank another Ucan. I also made a gel out of another one to take halfway through the run.

I dropped water off around mile 10 at the Uintah trailhead for us and then met Ken and Ben at Kneader's in downtown Ogden. We ran from there along the parkway South to Riverdale and up thru Uintah to Highway 89. From there up Combe Road and then along our Wednesday workout route back thru Ogden to the Canyon and down the parkway to finish. Ken had set water out at mile 20, so we had water twice, spaced out ten miles apart.

Ben and Ken ran very well. They ran with me to mile 20 and then they cooled down to 23 miles. I kept the tempo up the whole way through the run and hit 25 miles at 5:59/mile avg. I took the Ucan gel I had made at mile 14 and it set pretty well in my stomach. I am pretty impressed with the product. My energy levels were really good throughout the run.

I finished off the week with 105 miles, which is the most I've ever run in a week. Things are looking pretty good for Ogden, as long as the whole acid reflux/mucus buildup doesn't rear it's ugly head.