Yesterday's run was my hardest run in a long time. I was completely drained from the start. While I could have blamed it on the heat and humidity, that I was running later in the morning than usual, that my legs were tired from doing T25 every day or that I had run a hilly eight miles the day before, I knew the real reason.
I was hungry. I was hungry the night before when I went to bed. I was hungry when I woke up in the morning. And I was still hungry after I ate my pre-run banana.
Now for the reason I was unusually hungry. Last week I added T25 to my training. Cross training has really helped with my injury prevention, and I felt like T25 could do both that and help me focus on my core strength more, which is important as a runner. I decided to give the T25 5-Day Fast Track meal plan a try this week. I knew the 1100 calorie plan would be hard to follow with my running mileage, so I added a few extras on the first day - a frozen juice pop, half of a slice of zucchini bread and a banana - which brought me closer to 1500 calories for the day.
Well that clearly is still not enough to fuel my body.
Before the true misery that was my run began, I ran about 1/4 mile with my little family. Then I took off on my own.
I usually don't know how strong my run will be until about a mile in, but I knew by the 1/2 mile mark that it was going to be rough. I just kept waiting for my some energy, but it never came. I texted this to the hubs a few miles in:
With 1.5 of my eight miles left to go, my little fam showed up with a fresh, warm, white chocolate chip macadamia nut cookie. It was the most amazing cookie EVER.
The rest of that day, I focused on eating healthy but with the idea of making sure I was adequately fueling my body.
I want to get to my race weight goal, but I'm not willing to compromise my running or my health to get there. I am still loosely following the T25 meal plan, but I am supplementing it with healthy additions.
One of my favorite things about running is the lessons it teaches me, even if sometimes it means learning them the hard way.
what a great family to deliver a yummy cookie when you needed it the most!
ReplyDeleteIt really makes you stop and think, doesn't it? I tried the Jillian Ripped in 30 meal plan and dang..she had me eating only like 900 cals on some days (I always added a little extra but still...900?). Needless to say, with marathon training, that didn't last long! :0) Glad you were able to enjoy a cookie at the end of your run! It sounds like the perfect post-run treat!
ReplyDeleteI often have runs like that. Way too often! But it is always difficult to keep that balance between eating for weight loss and training enough. When I'm fit and in shape for ultras the problem goes away as I run enough to eat anything. I try to follow the rule to always eat something when I feel hungry. Even if it might seem to be too much, I rather eat.
ReplyDeleteMmm.. delivery cookies. If only they handed those out during road races along with the cups of water. ;-D
ReplyDeleteLove this! I would simply die if I only consumed 1100 calories a day...I mean heck it's only noon and I've already had that many. The key is listenning to your body and it sounds like this was a good lesson for you.
ReplyDeleteYour family is the cutest!