Welcome to the longest, hardest week

This is our last week of long runs before we start tapering! Congratulations!  Here is the schedule for Feb. 23-Mar 1:

Short: 5.5

Medium: 8

Short: 5.5

Long: 12

Maybe we should up the mileage on our taper weeks by a little bit.  Katie has me all worried that we're going to die during the half marathon if we cut our miles by that much...

I Changed the Schedule...

It's not a big change... Just a little one.  Here's the schedule for the week of February 16-23:

Short Run: 5 miles

Medium Run: 8 miles

Short Run: 5 miles (I changed this from 4.5)

Long Run: 11

Also, there is a full marathon on June 13, 2009 here in Provo... If we continue training after our half marathon, we'll be able to get to 22 miles before we have to start tapering.  I have a tentative schedule written up so let me know if you're interested! Click HERE for the website!

We Are Fiends...

9 miles? Really? I went running this morning.  It was so hard! But SO GOOD!  I can't do the candy (I've tried jolly ranchers and swedish fish) thing... I think I'll have to just try the Gatorade or some Gu or something.  Or maybe I'll try jelly beans.  Anyway, it was a good run!  Hope you guys all have a good run today too!

Hydration For Long Runs

*Proper hydration is essential!!

*Hydration targets:

15-20 oz. 2 hours before event
8 oz. 10-20 minutes before event
6-10 oz. every 15-20 minutes of exercise (~32 oz. per hour)

*This depends on heat, humidity, and sweat rate.

*Avoid over hydrating without proper electrolytes prior to long events. Add in electrolyte drops or use sports drinks.

Carbs For Long Runs

Here's some guidelines for how many CARBS you should be eating during your long runs.

*30-60 grams per hour of sustained endurance event (after the first 60 minutes)

*60 grams per hour is upper tolerable limit for most athletes

*Mix carb sources: glucose + fructose to maximize utilization and tolerance

*Ideas:
8 oz. sport drink = 13-17 g
1 sports gel = 25-30 g
1/2 sports bar = 15-25 g
1 oz fruit snacks = 22-25 g
10 gummy bears = 22 g
1 TBS honey = 17 g
1/2 banana = 12 g
4 oz fruit juice = 15 g

Here We GO!!!

This week (Feb. 2-Feb. 8):

Short: 4

Medium: 6.5

Short: 4.5

Long: 9

We are 4 weeks away from starting our taper and only 7 weeks away from our half! How exciting!

Upcoming 5k

There's a 5k coming up on March 7th.  It's the Run For Red that is put on by the Red Cross.  This was my first 5k ever back in 2005 and I think I have run it every year since then... I'm signed up to run it again this year so if anybody would like to join me click HERE.