Signed up for Frederick (May 3) today. I plan to eat the hills this time, instead of last year when they ate me!

Guess I'd better get some long runs in. It's been a few weeks.

I started training for my first marathon just about 2 years ago. I had been running for many years (like, really many; I'm old), but never running far enough to have to think about things like "hydration". I ran. Then I drank some water. And I was happy.  But when I started to train for a marathon and my distances started to extend, I realized, hey -- I'm getting thirsty. I didn't really think about it in terms of hydration, only in terms of thirst. 

I really wasn't ready to run my first marathon - in retrospect I was woefully unprepared. I made it, but I walked a lot. One thing that other marathon runners told me before that first one was, "stop at every water stop and drink at every one."  So I did. I dutifully drank a cup of water and a cup of the koolaid at each and every stop. Didn't know or care about "fuel" but that's not the point here anyway. I made it and that's all that mattered to me then.

Over the summer of 2007, my running partner and I started training in earnest for the fall Marine Corp Marathon. He was the one that started actually paying attention to hydration - he would carry an 8-oz paper cup with him and measure how much he drank at each of our water stops. But the mantra always seemed to be to drink more. Especially in the heat and humidity of DC summer. As our runs got longer, we started carrying more and more in the way of water bottles, belts, etc.   I now own three different belts, a camelback fannypack and a hand-held bottle. I can carry anywhere from 20oz to 64oz when I run. And, for a while, that's what I did. At the peak of my water intake regime, I was carrying 56 oz. to get me thu 5.5 miles during the DC summer heat. And it never seemed enough. I always seemed to want more.

Things reached a breaking point this past Spring at the Frederick marathon. I felt dehydrated the whole run and ended up with cramping and had to walk significant portions of the last 6 miles or so. But I noticed something odd -- even though I felt dehydrated, I had to stop (twice) to pee. How could that be?

Well, I took some time off training after Frederick and when I started back, I began to reseach the hydration thing a bit more. I got a scale and weighed myself before and after runs. And that data told me some things. But not enough.  I also read some interesting material from Hammer Nutrition about hydration. They hold with the theory that when we run, we can replenish some of the fluids (and fuel and electrolytes too) that we lose from long runs - but we can't replace them. They contend that us mid-to-back-of-the-pack runners tend to overhydrate because of the emphasis on "drink drink drink".  And that felt right to me -- that if anything, I was overhydrating. As I read about the problem, I realized that many of the symptoms I was ascribing to dehydration (like cramping) are also attributable to overhydration.

So, armed with this new vision, I cut way back on the fluids. I now consume less than half what I did (and I realize that the amount depends on all kinds of factors) and that what I consume is simply going towards the goal of replenishing lost fluids - I'm no longer trying to replace them.  In my new vision of hydration, I see my internals as like a sponge. As I run, it's getting wrung out. As I drink, some of what I drink is absorbed by the sponge, rehydrating it. The rest of what I drink runs off -- just as if I were to pour water on a sponge - some (or a lot, depending on how fast I poured)  would run off.

An important part of this vision is the realization of what this means for running over time, and especially in the heat. It means that there is a slow degradation which will eventually cause me to stop.  How soon depends on just how hot or humid it is. But it is inevitable. Part of training is to increase the amount of time I can go before that happens, but it will happen. It's just a question of time. But I've found that I can now run faster and farther using less water than before.

Now, if I could only figure out how to drink from those dixie cups while running - I always end up choking on the water!

A few months ago, after reading a bunch of stuff from Hammer Nutrition on the subject of protein cannabilization and long runs, I started trying their "Sustained Energy" product which has some protein mixed in with the carbs. This stuff is kind of a pain for me to use - I do my runs after work in the evenings and the mixed form of this stuff starts going bad after a few hours. So I fill a couple of dry gel bottles with the powder and leave it sit all day. Then, just before heading out to run, I add water and shake well. I played with this for 4-5 long runs, I think plenty to see how it works out.

Well, I have to say, I'm going to stop using it.  Nothing against Hammer. And I'm sure this works well for manypeople, just not so well for me. First, I'd prefer to simply carry a gel packet than a belt and bottles, especially during a race. The belts wear on me after a while. Second, I just don't like the flavor of the mix. It's not bad, but it sure doesn't inspire me! Third, and this is the real issue, I think they leave me constipated for several days after a long run. The gels just don't do that too me.

Yesterday evening my RB and I completed our first 22+ in preparation for Baltimore. We'll be doing one more next week and then start our taper towards the 10/11marathon. http://www.mapmyrun.com/route/us/dc/washington/457409879

The run last evening was fantastic. Temps in the mid-70s and resonable humidity. We ran slowly, though pushing a little throughout. I hurt today, but not from anything be the effort. So I'm pleased with where we are.

Hills Monday.

Actually, a little less. And reducing that by 3 weeks for the taper means we have 4 heavy training weeks to go. At this point we're up to 18 miles on the long runs and 6x800s for intervals. I'm still hoping to get as far as 10x800s before the marathon, but it doesn't seem likely. I am comfortable that we'll get a couple of 22-milers in. This week is 18, then 20, then 22. One thing I have to add in is more hill work -- Baltimore is hilly in the latter half. I'm planning to do some strong hills in place of some of the intervals runs in the next few weeks so as to prep for them. 

I'm getting comfortable with my hydration and fuel plan too, though the jury is still out on protein in the fuel. I think it's a good thing and will probably keep it in -- I've been doing my long runs with the Hammer "Sustained Energy" for a while now and it doesn't bother me much, except it means wearing a belt for the marathon and I would prefer not to. So I should look for a prepackaged gel that has some protein in it. Or suck it up and wear the belt (I'm such a whiner). But, I'm feeling good -- like I should at this point. 

Jay Silvio mentioned an internet training planner program called smartcoachin one of his blog entries (Jay’s Week That Was: Baltimore 1 of 16). One of the things I've been troubled by is the lack of goal or target times for the various runs in my marathon training plan. Since I'm working towards the Baltimore marathon as my 5th marathon, I'm no longer just interesting in finishing (though that's always the fallback goal, should the event go badly). I want to improve my times. I ran the B&A in March in 4:35, so I would like to break 4:30 in Baltimore, assuming it's not too hot or humid or...  And that seems like a reasonable goal. 

The training plan I put together (based on Moores Marines plan), has lots of speedwork and distance running, but the thing that eludes me is something of a target pace for each run. I know the distance runs should be slower, but how slow, if I want to hit a specific target for the marathon? And really, it's too hot and humid now to run that fast (for me, anyway).  And as for speedwork, I have no idea how fast I shoud be running intervals. I have some mileage goals but no target paces.

Smartcoach gives me that. I don't know if they are too aggressive or too easy, but at least I don't feel like I'm floundering anymore.  As I look at the plan, it seems like the target paces are slower than 've been pursuing, but I've had trouble maintaining my paces, so that's probably a good thing. So I'm going to try it out, for a few weeks anyway, and see if it feels right.

I was lucky enough to be in San Fancisco last week and since I usually do my long run late in the week, I decided to try and run it on Friday morning there. It was a fantastic run, though I had touble -- I was way too tired and dehydrated and ended up walking a bunch. But the run was well worth it for the scenery and the thrill.

I was staying at a hotel on 3rd and Market, so I chose a route down to the Embarcadero, then north past Crissy field and over the Golden Gate Bridge, and then back again.   Seemed to be about 16 miles.

http://www.mapmyrun.com/images/btn_view_interactive_map.gif 

I got started around 7:30 am -- a little later than I had planned, but still early enough. It was warm in SF and I wnated to be done before it got too warm. I carried a water bottle, though the runners at Fleet Feet in SF had told me there was a lot of available water along the way.

San Francisco is a fantastic place to run and I tried to take some pictures with my cell phone along the way. They are crappy, but better than nothing? Maybe not.  Anyway, I hit the Embarcadero at the Ferry Building. There was this neat park/sculpture/waterfall:

I could see the Coit tower on my left as I ran along the waterfront. Alcatraz Island was popping in and out of view as I ran past buildings:

There were sooo many other runners out, I felt like I was at home, running with my fellow addict. As I passed Fishermans Warf, there were the very cute small fishing boats and all the neat local seafood restarants:

Then along past the aquatic center and up the hill to Fort Monroe. Then down the back-side of the fort park with a beatiful view of the water and the Golden Gate Bridge in the distance:

Then past the "Gas-House" cove and on to the  Yacht Club area. First water stop and bathroom break at about 4.5 miles. The on through Crissy field and up to the "Warming Hut" which is at the foot of the bridge. I took the steps up to the bridge...

And I walked those -- just too steep for this turtle. But then I was on the bridge and headed across:

The views were just plain fantastic. The Bridge was awe-inspiring.

I ran over to "Vista Point Park". Refilled the water bottle again. I waited there for about 20 minutes before starting back. For some reason my nose started bleeding and it took that long before it stopped. I didn't want to get underway again until I was sure it wasn't bleeding.

On the way back, I got a great view (and a lousy picture) of the workers painting the bridge cables:

Coming back, I got dehydrated and hot -- had to walk a bunch. Or, perhaps I pushed too fast for the first half. Or maybe the travel had exhausted me. Anyway, I was beat. But I will do that run again next time I'm in San Francisco.