As a lot of you know, I am currently training to run my first half marathon in September. My training involves running four days a week - one long, one short, and two moderate runs. I have been anxious about this week since I started the training, since the long run this week was seven miles. The longest I’d run before this was 6.4 miles (when I ran a 10K last month that went a tad over).
Being the wife of a cyclist, I knew that as the length of my runs became longer, that I’d be burning more calories and would need some kind of “fuel” to keep going. My husband takes gel shots and electrolyte replacement drinks with him on his rides, and although he gets these from our local health food shop, they still have undesirable ingredients in them. So while I was looking forward to completing my longest run to date this week, I was dreading it, knowing that this would be the week I’d need “fuel.”
I had posted in one of the running Facebook groups I belong to asking for suggestions for “clean,” unprocessed recommendations, and while a couple of people had good, clean suggestions, most suggested wht I already knew – peanut M&Ms, jelly beans, gummy bears, gel shots, Coke, etc. Most runners I’ve talked to swear by eating half of a whole wheat bagel with peanut butter an hour or so before running as well. So, based on all of the suggestions, tips from my husband, and what I know myself, I concocted my own “fuel” drink and had a lovely pre-run breakfast. I am thrilled to say that I completed a 7.2-mile run this morning, nine minutes faster than my goal, with no upset stomach, cramping, etc. Yay!
For my fuel drink, I juiced an orange and strained it through a fine mesh strainer to remove the little bit of pulp that made it through the juicer. I mixed a little bit of water with a dash of salt a generous squeeze of honey and heated for a bit so that the honey and salt would mix in well. I poured in the orange juice and added more water for a mixture of approximately half juice and half water. I don’t love the taste of honey, but this tasted okay – good enough to drink an ounce or so at a time, followed by a swig of water to wash it down. I just started using my Fuel Belt that my husband and the kids gave me for my birthday; it holds four 8-ounce bottles - I filled one bottle with my fuel juice and the other three with water. For my 7-mile run, I went through about 6 ounces of fuel juice, so it was perfect! Two bottles should take me through my half marathon nicely!
About an hour before my run, I had half of a homemade whole wheat hamburger bun with homemade peanut butter and half of a banana. I kept the other half of the bun and banana in the car (in a thermal container with a cold pack) for when I finished running. It was perfect!
So for those of you that think you can’t keep it “real” when it comes to fueling your body for runs, bike rides, etc. – you totally can! I feel great and I’m not tired or sore.
I’d love to hear what some of you use in place of store-bought energy supplements.
