Showing posts with label coconut water. Show all posts
Showing posts with label coconut water. Show all posts

Saturday, March 13, 2010

The rain won't stop falling so the elliptical and treadmill are calling

The rain was coming down hard this morning, as expected, so any hopes for an outside run today were dashed. My wife was already on the treadmill so I hopped on the elliptical and joined her for the last 15 minutes of her run. It was a good warm-up for my 25 minute run that followed hers. Between the elliptical session and the start of my run I re-hydrated with a mixture of Zico coconut water and ground chia seed. Between the 15 minute warm-up, the five minute break and the energy mix I was able to start fast on the treadmill instead of working up to cruising speed like I usually do after starting cold. My goal was to run 30 minutes but after less than a mile I decided that was too ambitious. There's something about treadmill running that causes me to silently plead for it to end as soon as possible. As I've mentioned before, the lack of stimuli makes the minutes crawl by like hours.

I bargained with myself to reduce the intended length of the run as I reached the 15 minute mark. I'd already covered more than a mile on the elliptical and I was running at a good clip so I reduced my time goal by 5 minutes. I ended up covering 2.8 miles in about 25 minutes at 8:51/mile and finished feeling like a wet noodle. I've spoken to other runners who tell me treadmill running is far easier for them than street running but for me it's just the opposite. I can run 5 or more miles on the road or trail and come back feeling relatively fresh, but, perhaps due to the static air and the heat in the room, the treadmill is tougher going. With our new treadmill due for delivery next Thursday I'll see if it's the treadmill or just my treadmill that's so exhausting. The rain is predicted to continue through Sunday but perhaps it will be polite enough to stop for an hour so I can take my workout outside.

Saturday, February 13, 2010

My Chia fueled run

Yesterday's trip to Jackrabbit did not result in the purchase of a new pair of shoes as I'd expected. I was accompanied by my friend FS who was interested to see if the store carried her shoe of choice, the Brooks Addiction (unfortunately not). She is running a half marathon in late March and now would be the time to start breaking in a new pair. As soon as I saw Mark I knew I wouldn't be going home with any shoes on Friday. The snow had delayed the Brooks shipment and he was out of the Brooks Adrenaline GTS 10's that I was ready to buy.

You may recall that I tried the Brooks Ravennas a week ago but, despite their lighter weight and responsiveness, I wasn't convinced they were the shoes for me. I tried them on the treadmill on Friday and validated that doubt. While the shoes performed okay at speed the Ravenna's fairly narrow forefoot required me to move up a half size to allow for adequate room in the toe box. That was fine but the heel volume prevented the snug fit I want in an everyday training shoe. I just didn't feel like the shoe fit my foot that well. Mark had me try a pair of Mizuno Wave Inspire 6's and they felt great when I ran with them. I need to decide whether the Mizunos are the shoe for me or if I should follow my instincts and get the Brooks GTS 10's. I'll go back next week and try them both again. I asked Mark if I should be looking at higher end shoes (like the Brooks Trance 9) and he said it's absolutely unnecessary to spend more to get a top notch shoe. Honesty like that will make me a return customer.


Today I took a trip to a local mega-vitamin store in search of Chia energy bars. They had what I was looking for but they priced the product too high (I'd comparison shopped online) so I didn't buy a whole box as planned. I did buy one bar just to try it and I also bought  a bag of ground Chia so I could experiment with that. When I got home I mixed 1 1/2 teaspoons of the ground Chia with 10 oz. of coconut water and drank it down. I was pleasantly surprised by the taste and the lack of grittiness in the mix. I then headed upstairs and ran 5K on the treadmill. Although the room was warm and my choice of running shirt too heavy I had a great run. Unlike most longer runs on the treadmill that devolve into boredom and exhaustion I was almost as fresh at the end as I was when I started. I only ended at 3.14 miles because I'm still recovering from pneumonia and didn't want to push past my limits. Was it the Chia that provided the energy to get through the run so easily? Or was it the coconut water? Maybe it was neither, just a combination of good timing and decent rest. Either way I'm intrigued. More experimentation to come!
 

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