Ready Set Run

To prepare for my Saturday long runs (which start at 8:15 when my buddy shows up at the front door), I make sure I drink all my 80 oz of water in the day before ~ no point trying to catch up the next day & slosh around while running.

I get up early (by 7 am) and eat Low Glycemic ~300 calorie balanced breakfast (30F-40C-30P) - usually a raspberry & strawberry fruit smoothie with whey protein powder and fish oil (can't taste it - I swear) - even though some say to avoid the fiber. I have a wand mixer that makes this very easy.

I also have two espresso's with a little milk - even though some say don't eat dairy before a run....I like the caffeine.

I drink 8-10 oz of water as soon as I am standing in front of the stove to make the coffee.

Getting up early gives my body time for its morning "toilet" routine, so I don't feel the call of nature on the run.

I bring sports dextrose tablets with me on the run - they're like lemon sugar wafers. I eat one about every half hour. They're about 15 cal each. More frequently towards the end of the run, if I'm feeling a little low. They dissolve. They're not sticky - not gummy bears or hard candy (blech...). This helps me avoid bonking.

I keep myself on a low-glycemic, moderate protein (~80 grams a day), No-White-Food (skip the wheat & white rice, mainly), calorie-deficit diet (trying to burn excess fat...). So I consider the tablets to help me guard against low blood sugar and make up for glycogen depletion while running. This could be pseudo-science on my part, but it works for me.

My running buddy carries these little water bottles on an elastic strap. I have some somewhere in a box I haven't unpacked yet.... But at the mid-point of my run, I'll drink about 6 oz - or what I'm thirsty for.

When I finish the run, I go to the kitchen and refuel within 30 minutes ~ a good carb selection with some protein - usually fresh grapefruit fruit juice and cheese sticks or a boiled egg, deli meat, whatever I can rummage in the fridge. There you go.