Refueling Post Run

Workout: 8.77 miles in 1:19, great weather (yesterday)
7.87 miles in 1:13, hills, great weather (today)


This morning, I had a fantastic run.  At the beginning of the week, a massive rain/thunderstorm came through central TX, which brought us very welcome rain and cleared out the humidity.  Since Tuesday afternoon it has been sunny, dry and gorgeous.  I'm savoring every moment, as I know what could be coming very soon...

I wanted to talk about food, specifically refueling post run.  Obviously, eating nutritious food shortly after an intense workout will speed recovery, reduce injure and make you feel fantastic!  What one eats post-run can vary a lot person to person based on preferences, calorie needs, and dietary needs.  I did, however, want to put out there what I typically choose to eat after I run.

Most of my runs are in the morning and I typically do not eat before I run, because it bothers my stomach.  When I get back, I am in serious need of breakfast.  I have found that approximately 500 calories is a good size breakfast for me and carries me through until lunch.  I also find that my body (in general) craves carbs, especially at the beginning of the day, so my breakfasts are always carb-heavy.  During the week, I have two, go-to breakfasts; oatmeal and a smoothie with toast.  Both of these are fast, highly nutritious, made from whole foods and delicious.

Oatmeal
Although I have tried rolled oats and steel cut oats, believe it or not, I prefer the instant oats.  I buy plain, instant oats in the bulk section of the grocery store and boil water on the stove in the morning which I mix in to my desired consistency.  I typically eat 1 cup of oats with tsp of white sugar, and 1 tablespoon of flax seeds.  I then add 1-2 servings of fruit including banana, berries, apple and raisins, depending on my mood and what I have in the house.  I will also add nuts, especially walnuts and pecans and occasionally chocolate chips if I want something extra sweet.

Smoothies

I have previously written about my love for smoothies, but this post is old and lately I make my smoothies a little differently.  I use about 2 cups of liquid (usually 1 cup water and 1 cup almond or other plant milk), a ripe banana and 1 to 1.5 cups of frozen fruit.  I keep a variety of frozen fruits on hand including blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, peaches, cherries, mango and pineapple. Sometimes I'll add 1 tsp of sugar, fresh ginger, nutmeg or cinnamon if I want to add some extra flavor.   I'll also add 1 tablespoon of flax and a bunch of leafy greens.  For greens, I typically use swiss chard or beet greens, but I have also used spinach and collard greens.  I find that I can add quite a bit of leafy greens while maintaining a palatable and fruity taste to the smoothie.  The reason I like to add leafy greens is because they are the most densely packed source of vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients and they have quite a bit of protein.  The even better part (for me) is that I have a lot of leafy greens growing in my garden, so I just go outside and clip some fresh leaves whenever I want them.  It's super cheap and as fresh as you can get.  To make my smoothie breakfast a little more filling, I usually have a slice of whole grain toast with natural peanut butter.  Yum.

How do you refuel your runs?

Garmin Woes

Yesterday I had some serious Garmin problems.  The run started off rough enough; I didn't get a good night's sleep because my neighbors were playing music and being loud past 2am.  I had wanted to do my long run, but the lack of sleep meant that I got up later than I wanted and I not feeling refreshed, so I swapped it for the 8.74 mile run I had planned for Sunday morning.  Because I didn't get started until 8:30am (not to mention the humidness that is the essence of Austin), it was a very muggy run.  I was concerned about my sweatiness causing my Garmin 405 to go schizo, which it inevitably does if the bezel gets wet, so I locked the bezel.  You can do this by simultaneously pressing the enter and quit buttons.  When the bezel is locked, you can touch it without changing the watch settings.  After some rainy runs when my watch was going crazy and changed a bunch of its settings on its own and managed to stop recording run data, this seemed like a really good idea.  Sadly, I was wrong.

Just a few minutes after I had locked the bezel, the watch started beeping and flashing "bezel locked", which I knew wasn't normal.  At the next stoplight, I tried to unlock the bezel (which you do by simultaneously pressing the enter and quit buttons) but it did not work, no response at all!  Then I tried pressing each button on its own, still no response.  I was a little confused and annoyed, but the auto pause and auto resume seemed to be working fine, so I attributed the bizarre behavior to my sweat on the watch and resolved to worry about it when the run was done.

When I finished the run, I still could not stop the watch.  I got out my Garmin 405 manual, and proceeded to reset the watch, which you do by holding the same two buttons down for 7-10 seconds.  This worked and the screen went blank.  What is supposed to happen next is that the watch restarts itself automatically and displays the time.  Unfortunately for me, that did not happen.  In fact, nothing happened.  I tried restarting several times, and then only response from the watch was a blue line across the screen that would gradually fade and a soft beep.

I was very sad!  I checked some forums online that described similar problems but no real solution.  I checked the charging contacts on the watch and noticed one was a little rusty so I cleaned it with isopropanol and a q-tip.  Then I set the watch up to charge.  After a few minutes, the watch beeped and the screen turned back on, showing the time and the message "bezel locked."  Again, however, I could not unlock the bezel or get the buttons to do anything.  I repeated this process several times and was then resigned to the reality that I would need to get some help from the Garmin guys, but they are closed on the weekends so I would need to wait until Monday.

The reality set in that I would probably have to send the watch in to be repaired.  With that reality came that sad, sad feeling of being without the Garmin and my dependency on it.  This, of course, is one of the reasons I was reluctant to get one, which makes running without one feel so hard.  I find that using online maps to estimate the distance of my routes will overestimate, sometimes by a lot, so running without the Garmin almost feels like cheating!  With in a few minutes, I of course had developed a plan to deal with this, and it involved only running those routes that I had already measured with the Garmin until it was repaired.  Creativity would take a back seat to accuracy.

Bailey gives kisses

Today, twenty-four hours later, I decided to check on the watch one more time.  The screen was still blank, so I tried restarting it.  This time, I got no blue line or beep.  This was new, and surprising.  Then my expensive undergraduate education and 3.5 years of graduate school kicked in.  I realized that if the bezel had been locked then the watch couldn't go into power save mode, which meant the battery had probably been drained.  I plugged it back in, and sure enough, the charge was at 0%.  I let it charge up and then tried the buttons.  Like magic (or science!), it was working perfectly again.  I was very relieved.  A little patience and perseverance and the problem was fixed.  More importantly, Garmin was staying with me.  If someone else has this problem, I hope this post helps.


Bailey and I then took it on a nice, 2.70 mile walk to confirm that it was back to normal.  She is the best sidekick.

Some runs are just bad

Some runs are just bad.  Yesterday was one of them.  Everything about this run (except me getting it done) was bad.  I started off in the dark (thank you daylight savings - I actually like running in the dark).  Although it was in the 60s, which sounds fine, the humidity was ridiculously high and that made the 7.85 miles pretty uncomfortable and sweaty.  Extremely sweaty.  I was dripping.  The mugginess was insufferable and unpleasant and with sweat coating my face, it was hard to settle into a rhythm and zone out.  Also, it was buggy.  I kept getting tiny black gnats stuck to my eyes, eyelashes and sweat-lacquered skin.  My leg muscles were feeling crampy.  I stopped to stretch my calves and hamstrings several times, but they still felt achy and unpleasant.  It wasn't until the last 1.5 miles that they finally stopped their silent and uncomfortable protest.  Also, 2.5 miles into my run, I needed to use the bathroom, despite the fact that I had gone just before I left my house.  Fortunately, I was running in a park that had a public restroom, very good for me.  Going in was pretty gross though, because a large number of giant moths had situated themselves in there and added to the decor. To top it all off, I struggled to keep a normal pace, even though my run two days prior had seemed had been much faster.

When this run was finally over, I gratefully stopped my Garmin, pounded icy water, washed the gnats off my sweaty sweaty skin and realized that despite how hard it had been, I was glad I had done the run.  Not every run is easy, fun, or even moderately pleasant.  Some runs are really really tough, and it's that toughness, and getting through it, that makes us appreciate the good runs even more.  I know this and I appreciate this, and I can just hope that the day after a very bad run is going to be better.  It usually is.

Marathon Woman Book Review

Running related books are by no means the only thing I read, nor the majority of what I read (although if more were available that part might change), but I do love a good biography of a running legend.  You may have noticed I added a page to this blog entitled “Running Books”.  These are all the running related books that I have read, and as I read more, I will add them, along with a review of the book.  I am not sure if I will go back and do reviews of the books I have already read long ago, mostly because my memory may not do the books justice, but at this point, it’s a possibility.

There are many reasons that my family, friends and even strangers think I’m weird.  One of them is because I like to read books about running in my free time.  They don’t understand why it would interest me, but this passion is all encompassing.  I get even weirder looks when my labmates find out I’m listening to running related podcasts while I do benchwork.  What can I say?

Switzer in the iconic 1967 Boston race

Recently, I read Marathon Woman by Kathrine Switzer.  She is quite iconic in the running world, having been the first woman to officially run the Boston Marathon in 1967.  What may be even more famous are the pictures of race director Jock Semple trying to get her out of his race (once he realized she was a woman) and rip the race number off her clothing.  This book chronicles the life and career of Switzer, starting in her childhood and ending shortly after a women’s marathon was added to the Olympics (1984). 

I really enjoyed this book and give it 4 out of 5 stars.  I thought it was an excellent mix of historical information that was cleverly woven such that a true plot and story shone through.  Sometimes this is hard in non-fiction, but Switzer did a great job.  The most interesting parts for me were her early running career, mixed with a very busy and challenging personal life.  Roughly the first half of the book is devoted to this.  The second focuses on her career in the running world and the intricate and important role she played in the evolution of women’s running.  Switzer was probably the most important woman in running at the time, traveled the world and started up hundreds of races focusing on women.  As someone who went to high school in the new millennium, I was not aware of the full extent of sexism in sports and learning about this was both interesting and inspiring.  I live in a world where I am treated as an athletic equal because of people like Switzer.

I highly recommend this book and think anyone interested in running and marathoning would enjoy it.  In particular, this book will appeal to women but I sincerely feel men would enjoy it to.  

Puppy Running

Workout: (Yesterday) 2.7 miles with Bailey and 5.9 with Ike for 8.6 total

Ike and Bailey know how to run

(Today) 8.0 miles solo

Yesterday I ended up postponing my run until the evening because I was lazy and didn't get out of bed in the morning.  Both dogs desperately needed exercise, having been holed up all day while I was busy doing very important research.  I decided to split them up and take Bailey for the first part of the run, then swap her for Ike for the last 6 or so miles.  It would be ideal to run with them together, but that is an impossible task.  Their running styles are not at all compatible (Ike likes to run very fast and Bailey is in it for the experience -- i.e. she's slow).

Separating them was not an easy task.  Bailey was forlorn to leave Ike behind, and frankly Ike was mad at me. He loves running with me and knew that that was what I was doing (every time I touch the sneakers, he knows).  He cried at the door and the Garmin was taking an extensive amount of time to sync.  Finally, Bailey and I were off and we ran two laps of a nearby park.  Overall, Bailey's running is improving, but you wouldn't have known that from yesterday's experience.  She wouldn't budge from her slow and steady 10 min/mile pace and was totally resistant to any efforts on my part to speed things up.  In fact, every 5 or so minutes, she would just come to a complete stop and refuse to move as I tugged the leash.  So I would stop too, and watch her sniff the air, sniff the grass, and watch some stranger walk by.  After about a minute, she seemed to be over whatever it was that initially brought her to a halt, and we would resume our steady plod.  A few weeks ago, we ran 4.3 miles together (her personal distance record) and she seemed much more motivated than she was yesterday.  Sometimes she seems to really enjoy getting out on a run with me, and other days she just seems uninterested.  I can't say I'm not disappointed; I would really love for her to be a constant running partner.  I wonder if this is the universe preparing me for the possibility that I will have human children that reject recreational running?  That might be a rough pill for me to swallow...

While I don't know whether Bailey loves the running, I know she loves ME!  Yesterday when we were on our run, I tripped over my own feet (actually on a wooden step at the top of a rough and steep trailed hill) and went down hard on my shin and hands.  Bailey immediately came over to revive me and lick me back to health.  My face, hands and shin were thoroughly checked out before she felt safe having us continue.  Glad to know she won't leave me for dead if something serious happens.  She knows who buys the peanut butter in the house.

Ike, unlike Bailey, has thoroughly made up his mind about running, and he loves it.  As soon as he got on the leash yesterday, he took off at full speed like a sled dog.  I've found that trying to reign him in is more effort than its worth, so we typically do some or most of our runs on trail so I can let him off the leash.  Instead of fighting with him, I usually run hard and fast when he is on the leash, and then take it easier on the off-leash trail sections.  It's like a surprise tempo workout!

This morning, I ran solo because I wanted to do a route that had no off-leash sections.  Ike knew what was going on as soon as the alarm went off and was really annoyed at me when I shut him in the bedroom and left without him.  He's back at his house now, so tomorrow morning it will just be Bailey and she doesn't seem to notice me in the morning.  She is a late sleeper.

So that is probably more than you ever wanted to know about the time I spend running with dogs.  However, I love them both and running with dogs is a lot of fun and I think it is funny how different their personalities are. And for illustrative purposes, here are a few pictures from their adventures in the park this weekend:

Ike enjoying a juicy stick

Ike chasing Bailey.  She probably stole his stick

Bailey shaking it out

A brief moment where both are still; Ike is concentrating on the stick

Ouchy calves

Workout: 7.75 miles in 1:11 (yesterday)

Yesterday's run was quite uncomfortable, for at least the first 4 miles.  My calves felt very tight and were sending PAIN! and STOP! signals to my brain with every step.  It certainly didn't help that despite it being February, the temperature was 78F and humid.  I can't believe this is winter in Austin.  I could use a little more Boston right about now!  Running in hot or humid weather is not my fav.  In fact, it makes me noticeably slower and my muscles always feel sorer.  Ideal running conditions for me are dry and 40-60F.  Hook me up with some of that, weatherman!

Anyways, yesterday the calves were driving me crazy and I had to stretch them out when I was stopped at a busy intersection.  I attribute a large part of the discomfort to the humidity, but I know what the other culprit is: Heels.  Just the day before, I had worn wedge heels for a graduate student poster competition and industry networking event I had attended.  You are probably thinking these were some really high heels if it caused serious calf pain, right?  Nope, about 1.5 inches.  They are Dockers and as far as heels go pretty comfortable, actually.  I think the problem is really that I hardly ever wear heels.  I know they look stylish, but they aren't exactly conducive to doing wet lab research requires a lot of walking and standing, basically 8 hours of it every day.  Further, there aren't a lot of incentives to dressing my best when working in the lab.  Nothing like a splash of bleach or e. coli to compliment the outfit...Also, heels usually hurt my feet, which compromises my running, and I often put running as a higher priority than style...what can I say?  So needless to say, my feet are accustomed to flat, sensible shoes or going barefoot (which I do most of the time at home.  Don't worry, I don't do this in the lab.)

Wednesday's poster session required 6+ hours without sitting, at least two of which required me to stand graciously in front of my research poster, smile profusely, and expound the awesomeness and optimization of recombinant cell line development.  My feet were so tired and hurt so much when I got home Wednesday night.  So much in fact, that Bailey and I had a special couch potato session watching lots of TV with our feet (and paws) up.

On the bad side, the day of heel wearing carried over tired and tight muscles into Thursday's run.  On the bright side, I did win an award for my poster (the Baker Hughes Excellence in Research Award).  Boyfriend won an award as well (his was from Dow), which made me very proud.  We found out afterwards that the awards came with prize money from the sponsoring companies (sweet!) and were pleasantly surprised.  Neither of us knew that when we had signed up to participate.

What will I do with my winnings you ask?  Well, first I need to buy a new pair of dress shoes that are completely flat so I don't have a repeat fiasco of this nature.  I'm not kidding! A BME friend of mine was rocking the cutest and most comfy looking pair of professional looking ballet flats and I am going to find me a pair!  The balance of my winnings?  Why, I will use them to lavishly spoil my adorable pup-daughter, of course.

Bailey (left) and her cousin, Ike (right).

Lucky little Bailey has her cousin Ike visiting for the next few days.  Aren't they cute together??

Running in Oakland

This past weekend was a long, holiday weekend, which afforded a great opportunity for the Boyfriend and I to visit a friend in Oakland, CA.  He graduated from the same PhD program we are in, which is how we know him, and now he is working for the Man out in Cali.  We bought some cheap tickets on JetBlue and enjoyed a direct flight to and from SFO.  Our initial plan was to head to Tahoe for some skiing and boarding, but alas the winter has not been agreeable to those who love snow sports!  Tahoe has received negligible snow fall this season and the ski areas have had nearly daily highs in the 60s.  Definitely not conducive to skiing.  We skipped it and decided to do other, fun Bay Area stuff instead.

While I had previously visited the Bay Area (only briefly), it was the Boyfriend's first time.  We did lots of sight-seeing in San Francisco, ate good food, hiked the Marin Headlands, walked around a lot, went wine tasting in Sonoma, explored downtown Oakland, and rode the BART extensively.  We were gifted with four beautiful, sunny days with clear skies, which was very nice because we were outside A LOT.  No vacation is complete without some running (of course) so I also slipped in runs on three of the four days I was in Oakland.  Because of our friend's proximity to it, I found myself running around Lake Merritt in downtown Oakland.  This lake is actually a tidal lagoon from the bay, and therefore salt water. There is a path all the way around and one loop is 3.1-3.5 miles (depending on the exact paths you choose).  I was a fan of Lake Merritt for two reasons, 1) the scenery is absolutely gorgeous and 2) it is a safe place to run without traffic intersections.  I would highly recommend it for any visitors to Oakland.  The lake is adjacent to a lot of beautiful municipal buildings and churches, and there are green parks lining much of the shore.

I also enjoyed running in the dry, crisp and cool mornings.  Oakland definitely has a dry climate, and the difference was stark compared to swampy Austin.  Furthermore, the mornings were always cool (35-40F), which is a very nice running temperature for me.  On our last day there, I even got the Boyfriend to run 4.5 miles with me around the lake, and it was a very nice treat to have him come along!

Back in Austin, which means back to my usual (i.e. boring) running routes.  The weather is fluctuating between cold and damp and warm and humid.  I guess if everyday was like a vacation, we wouldn't need  travel to take a break!