I was a little hesitant to run my long run yesterday since I ran my long run from last week on Monday. It seemed like a lot of mileage in just a few days. But, I really want to get back on my running schedule so I gave it a shot. Yesterday’s long run was 12 miles ( just 1 more mile …couldn’t be that bad..).
The weather was perfect and I finally made it completely around the White Rock Lake trail. For those of you not familiar with White Rock Lake, the trail is a complete circle which is about 10 miles long. I’ve ran White Rock a number of times and am always confused on which paths to take! Every path I’ve chosen so far leads me to a dead end or some desolate, creepy area. Finally, I made the right turn!
I ran the whole ten miles and then some. For energy during these long runs, I like to bring packets of Gu Energy Gel 
I use Gu simply because I like the taste. Chocolate Outrage literally tastes like brownie batter..it’s delicious. I’ve also tried the espresso flavor and that’s pretty tasty too. I usually eat one every hour, so yesterday I just had 1 gel.
The nutrition stats are pretty good too. I wanted to stay away from gels with a ton of sugar and calories in them. Gu only has 100 calories and packs the electrolytes you lose when running. It also has a little kick of caffeine which I’m totally fine with when running such long distances.
I completed all 12 miles. I have to say it was pretty exhausting. There are some hills on that trail that I didn’t know existed. It’s good for me to get some hill practice though, I hear Eugene is a bit hilly (Boston is for sure….but I’ll cross that bridge if I get there). Here were my stats from yesterday:
Marathon Training: Week 5
- Distance: 12.01 miles
- Time: 1:36:12 hr/min/sec
- Pace: 8:00 min/mile
- Calories: 755 (heart rate monitor), Nike Plus claimed 1,039. I’d like to believe that number….
A few weeks ago, I picked up a couple Coconut Waters that were on sale at a local grocery store. I know they are sometimes handed out after races since they’re also packed with electrolytes. I tried one after my run yesterday…
I have to say…I’m not a huge fan. To me, it basically tasted like funky skim milk. It’s low in calories which is good (about 60) but still has a bit of sugar (14 grams). I think I’ll stick to my Gu gels and water to replenish after runs.
If you’re a long distance runner, what gels/drinks do you use to re-energize? Do you like coconut water?
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