Keep it slow when you go long

I made it through my 7 miler on Sunday in great shape (3:30/1:00 jog/walk ratio) and actually felt better than I did for my 5 miler 2 weeks ago. This time I actually followed Galloway’s advice to run slow – something that can be very hard for me to do. I am always tempted to get the long runs done quick, an hour pushing it seems easier than trudging it out for an hour and a half. In addition, I feel competitive when I run – whenever I see other people running ahead of me I want to “reel them in” and get past them. This time I fought these feelings and had a more enjoyable run and felt great today (compared to the heavy fatigue I felt on Monday two weeks ago).

Returning to the subject of hydration and electrolytes – I am continuing to research this issue to gain more complete understanding of it before I make recommendations. At this point I will say maintaining hydration on a daily basis is a must and the bare minimum for fluid intake is 64 ounces a day (half gallon). Personally, I accomplish this by filling a half gallon pitcher in the morning and placing it in the refrigerator. I make it a goal to finish half the pitcher by the time I finish lunch. In addition to this I also take 500mg magnesium in the morning and have substituted using table salt in cooking with using salt substitute (potassium chloride). My rational behind these steps is that magnesium deficiency is the most common mineral deficiency in the US and potassium is frequently deficient in endurance athletes. I hope this helps until I complete my review of the research literature.

Upcoming posts:

• How to start running
• Buying shoes
• Kettlebell training
• And – Hydration and electrolytes (of course)