Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Oh Shim Sham!


In two weeks my friends Bob, Penny, & Sam are conquering the Shamrock on the shores of Virginia Beach with my husband and I.  They are all front, middle, & (me) back of the pack runners.  Once the gun goes off we'll all be off and running our "own" race.  After today's training run, I'm not sure where my pace may be but I'm hopefully going to beat my old PR 2:18.  My hopes were to run 13 today and it started off pretty well.  Around 9 1/2 the "shim sham" started and I could feel the old tank emptying pretty fast, I fueled up with gatorade/water and sport beans at mile 6 but I don't think it was enough.  I pushed really hard trying to fight the urge to just walk.  At 10.94 miles I turned the "baby" off and decided to walk the last two miles home.  The good news is, I think my problem was fuel and not pain. The knees were ok, I just had no energy. The walk home was beautiful, 73 degrees!  Thank you Nelly for getting me through the hard parts of my run today!
Now off to have my Green Smoothie and roll around with foamy!

In case you didn't catch it....
My Babies Feedback:
Distance-Running 10.94
Time-1:52:41
Av. Pace-10:18
Calories-1017
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19 comments:

Wes said...

That's an awesome run! Nutrition and hydration are so important when you go long! Keep workin it...

Nicole said...

Keep up the hard work SISTER!!! I will be there in spirit rooting you on. I love you! :)

Glaven Q. Heisenberg said...

Man, despite what you said at my blog, I could NOT keep a 10:18 pace for 10+ miles.

Good job! This bodes well for you in your upcoming race I think, sister ...

Good luck!

P.S. I'm Irish, so I loved seeing that shamrock first thing ...

Missy said...

Honey and peanut butter - love that for fuel, real food. I've got friends that only fuel with real stuff and they wear by it (I do a mix). Apparently, roasted baby potatoes with lots of salt on a long bike ride are perfect! I'll use my food saver to make little packets of honey and/or peanut butter to fuel on the run.

Anonymous said...

Shannon -

It's up to you, but I'd suggest trying to get another 13 miler in before the race. It will help mentally. Do it at a pace that you know you can finish in. That way, there will be no uncertainty on race day.

A couple of training tips:
What are you eating before the long runs? If you can stomach it, consider a healthly light breakfast to get fuel in your tank. Whatever you're doing before a training run should be repeated on race day. That isn't the time to experiment.

Also, have you considered gels instead of beans? Sports beans only contain 100 calories for the entire package while gels typically have more. If you decide to try a gel, do it in a traininf run before the race. Again, no experimentation on race day. Make sure the wash the gel down with water, not Gatorade. The sugars in the Gatorade will neutralize some of the effect of the gel. You may want to inquire from the Sports Bean folks if they have the same recommendation.

Jess said...

I don't think a 2:18 HM PR puts you at the "back" of the pack! Give yourself some credit, chica!

ONEHOURIRONMAN said...

I'm right there with you. I literally just got back from 6 miles at lunch (lucky me, shower at work) and started walking after 3 miles. seems to be the norm these days. It may only be 15 seconds to catch my breath.. but still walking. In my case, I think it is age.

Iron Missys potato idea is a proven alternative that I used last year in training and IMAZ

Big Daddy Diesel said...

I hate when nutrition monster decides to make an unexpected visit when it comes to training. Still fiddling around with it. Good job on the run and pace.

Unknown said...

Please tell me 2:18 isn't back of the pack in your parts. I've been trying to get closer to the middle and that's a number that I'd be happy with

Gotta Run..... said...

The Green Smoothie is on my list to try this week. Need more spinach first.

teacherwoman said...

Not that I have that much experience with half marathon distances, but I have heard (from other bloggers) that sometimes it helps to "fuel-up" at mile 5 and 10 to get you through the run... just thought I would share.

RunToTheFinish said...

down with foamie..sorry kidding..mostly :)

11 miles way to go. you'll get the fueling and be unstoppable

Eric said...

your brake 2 10 goodl uck I ll be doing the national marathon

Lizzy said...

My shim-sham moment occurs promply about 30 seconds into me running. No lie. Then, maybe I get over it (if I really force myself) and it hits me again at 3 minutes, usually around 10 and I have never ran more than 20 minutes hahaha.

I wish I enjoyed to run, I think it looks very enjoyable, but when I start I just want to stop and get on a bicycle instead! Haha.

I guess what I'm trying to say is....
YOU GO GIRL! :) :) :)

Anonymous said...

Shannon, under 4 hours of the body under constant work I would avoid solid foods altogether (anything you have to chew). The body uses a lot of water and energy to break down solid foods in the stomach. This takes away from what you need to get through the distance. How may 73 degree days have you run for over an hour in lately? I would bet it wasn't nutrition, but electrolytes. You were probably behind the curve with them and the little bit of elevated temp made it worse. Endurolytes (or similar) are cheap and easy. Just take a few before your run and then every hour or so. A normal diet should provide enough fuel for a 1.5 hour work out. In other words, if you have eaten normally the day before and day of the workout you shouldn't need any fueling during a 1.5 hour workout. You can go the safe route and drop a gel pack 30 min before your workout and then another at 45 min to an hour. The body really cant deal with more than 200 to 250 cal per hour, so anything more is wasted. Everyone's different, but aside from staying on top of electrolytes during a recent 5 hr run all I took in was 1 GU every 45 min and water throughout and never lost energy. Of course I had gotten plenty of calories the few days before.

Travis Owney said...

Shannon you are going rock it. There is no one I know in better shape than you. Down days happen so don't sweat it. In the final miles, think of the number of people here that are pushing you to beat you goal!

raulgonemobile said...

Nothing wrong with those end stats, though. At least it's fuel, and not a 'mechanical' issue.

You'll do great!

Shannon said...

Thanks guys for the feedback. I really appreciate it!

Stacin, I was wondering if heat had played a roll in my fatique. I'm going to tweak a few fuel things for next week. I'm not to worried about race day but was bummed about the energy loss this week. Thanks bud, will I see you down there?

ShirleyPerly said...

Yes, I agree that a 2:18 PR does not put you at the back of the pack.

And I've found that warmer weather than you're used to, what you did the day before workout-wise, nutrition the day before as well as the day of your 13-miler can all contribute to a run that doesn't go as well as you'd hoped. But at least you enjoyed the short walk home!