Easter Brunch

After our 18 mile long run last Saturday, Brian and I met up with my sister (Samantha), her boyfriend (JC), and our friends (Justin & Andrea) for a Saturday Easter Brunch at Salty's on Alki. I had only been to Salty's for their brunch one other time and it was simply delicious. What better way to refuel after a long run with many different protein and carb options?! Also you really can't beat the view. Here is my Saturday Easter Brunch in pictures:

View from our table

Plate #1 of Deliciousness

Plate #2 of Deliciousness

Dessert Plate #1

Dessert Plate #2 - Had to get my fruit in!

As you can see I stuck to the seafood at the buffet. They just had too much good seafood for me to venture to the land animals. You can't tell by two plates of dessert but I'm not really a sweets person. I will choose savory over sweet any day. But the dessert table and chocolate fountain were just too enticing to pass up. And I mean who can really say no to dipping things into chocolate?! They even had rice krispies and marshmallows that you could dip into the chocolate.

After running 18 miles I thought I could do some serious damage at a delicious buffet but I actually didn't eat as much as I had planned. After I cleaned plate #1 I only took bites of each dish on each of the following plates. 

Salty's is definitely a great place to go if you love seafood and Dungeness crab claws. A must visit for anyone in Seattle.

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In marathon training news, Brian and I finished Week 19 with our last 20 mile run. We are now tapering until Race Day - which by the way is in three weeks!  In just three weeks Brian and I will be running our first marathon. So unreal! Our last 20 mile run was challenging but great. Mile 20 was a 1 mile long hill. It was brutal but we did it. I can't wait to see how our training pays off. 

20 Mile High

Brian and I just got back from our 20 mile long run. It was such a good run. The weather was chilly at the start  but we got some sun breaks. There were some pretty nasty headwinds along the way though. Just had to pop in to report our good run. Also wanted to talk about post run recovery, or at least what we do.

Brrrr

The dreaded ice bath is such a necessary evil. Getting in is so tough. There are different techniques that people share online on how it works for them. My first ice bath experience was definitely not the right way for me.  I barely put my feet in the ice water for about a minute, where I didn't even have time to sit down, before I started cursing up a storm and crying asking Brian to help me out and I just couldn't do it. I did eventually sit in the water but not before a few more curse words and crying. The second ice bath I sat down in the tub, then let the cold water start running and then dumped the ice in. It still sucks but it is slightly more bearable than my first attempt.  I also figure 15-20 minutes of pain for a quicker recovery is better than hobbling around for the next two days. I also like to drink chocolate milk and check Facebook on my phone to pass the time.

Forerunner 405

I got a Garmin Forerunner 405 yesterday and we ran with it today for the first time. It is so awesome! It showed me the average pace we were running for 20 miles to help us see if we were keeping our pace. I love it! It is such a great training tool and I can't believe we've been training this long without it. I can't wait to upload the data from our run. I love data and graphs.

Time to go stuff my face with Chipotle refuel!

Marathon Training

In marathon training news, Brian and I are in week 15. We are gearing up for a 20 miler on Saturday. Not only do we need to make sure we run the miles and wear the right shoes and gear but we also need to learn the right foods to fuel with the night before the run as well as during the run and how to properly hydrate.  Here are some tips we have learned along the way. Disclaimer: I'm not an expert so these are just from personal experiences.

Shoes & Gear- I can't speak highly enough of our experience at Road Runner Sports. We went there early on in our training to make sure we were wearing the right shoes. At RRS they analyze your gait and stride on a treadmill. They record you while you run and make the recommendations based on your mechanics. Aside from shoes, dry fit and wicking clothing and socks are important. This can reduce blisters and chafing because the material wicks sweat away from your body. Make the change, your body will thank you for it.

Pre-Run Fueling- We are still experimenting with what works best for us the night before a long run. I can tell you what doesn't work - drinking alcohol (more than 1-2 glasses of wine) and having tapas for dinner. Tonight we skipped out on FFDN and stayed in and made dinner. I made a slow cooked bolognese and we ate that with spaghetti and garlic bread. The Friday night before our 18 miler we both had different pastas from Barolo (decent food, bad service on the night we went) and I think we were properly fueled for our run the next day. Most marathons host a pasta/spaghetti dinner the night before race day so there really must be something to pasta and carbo loading. They are the experts after all.

For breakfast, about 45-30 min before our run we usually have peanut butter, honey & banana sandwich and a glass of water. This is a great combination of carbs, protein, and potassium (keeps you from cramping).

Refueling & Rehydrating - During our long runs we have been carrying a hydration belt and putting a nuun tablet with our water to help replace electrolytes and rehydrate. There are so many options when it comes to refueling. Go to any running store and you'll see products that range from gels, gummies, beans, and more. These are the products we have used so far:

GU Energy Gel

PowerBar Energy Gel Blasts

Sport Beans

GU Chomps

Of these different products, we have used the PowerBar Energy Gel Blasts the most. We recently tried the GU Chomps with caffeine on our medium long run on Wednesday as recommended by our friend, Andrea. We really liked them and are going to use it for tomorrow's run as well.  

Speaking of tomorrow's run, it's time for bed. Gotta rest up since we'll be up early pounding the pavement.