David is still training for his marathon. (Have I mentioned
how proud I am of him?) Last week, he ran
* 16 miles Saturday
* 6 miles Monday
* 6 miles Wednesday
Can you say ROCK STAR?
I've learned a lot about what one needs if they're
going to run the kind of distances David is doing.
Listening to him talk with Barb and Jason, his running
buddies, is always educational. :) It turns out,
it's not just a matter of throwing on a pair of shoes
and hitting the road with a stop watch. You need stuff.
Lots of stuff.
The first thing David wanted to get his hands on was this
watch. It's a Garmin, and I have to admit, the thing kicks
ass. It's got built in GPS. So, when he turns it on, it instantly
connects with a satellite. After his run, he plugs the chip
from the watch into his computer, and it downloads the
information from his run. It shows him his route (whether
he ran on streets or trails). It maps his distance. While he's
running, he can look down at it to learn how fast he will
complete a mile at his current pace, how far he's gone and
what his heart rate is. It's pretty sweet.
As the days grow shorter, there is less sunlight when
he has the time to run in the mornings and evenings.
So, he had to go get a headlamp. It uses rechargeable
batteries, which is great, and he said it's comfortable
on his head.
It's chilly in the mornings now, too. So, I picked this hat
up (in black) for him the other day. It's got a built in
sweat band inside.
Another one of his new favorites for running are toe
socks. So far, he's just tried the injinji brand.
They keep his toes dry and prevent blistering.
His favorite running clothes have been Nike Dry Fit. He's
just starting to have to bundle up a bit for this colder
weather. So, he may have to look around for things with long
sleeves. This is what he has been wearing to run in all summer.
When you run that many miles, certain physical realities
set in. For example, friction between the nipples and
the shirt and other fun things that can be very distracting
if not prevented. For that, he has found simple solutions.
And he's got to stay hydrated. Originally, he was
using this...
But once his runs got longer, the fuel belt didn't
carry enough water. So, he tried out the Camelbak
he already had (which was originally bought for
biking and hiking). It only had one strap across
the chest, meaning that it would bounce and rub on
him as he ran. It also didn't hold enough water. So,
he found this Camelbak at REI with a strap across the
chest and around the waist. It holds 100 ounces of
water, which seems to be enough.
Running so many miles at one time uses up a lot of energy.
To keep himself going, he use GU (pronounced goo).This
stuff gives him a burst of carbohydrate-based calories to
keep his mind and muscles going without making his belly
feel full while he's running. The orange flavor is his fav.
His other must have snack source is the Clif Builder bar.
He goes through these things like he does Diet Coke, which
is to say, quickly! Each one has 20 grams of soy and nut
protein and 23 vitamins and minerals. Plus, no trans fats
or hydrogenated oils. He loves the peanut butter ones.
All these little details and his many, many miles
have meant big weight loss!
Since around March or April, he's lost roughly 26 pounds.
Maybe more. He looks amazing! Because he's working out
so much, he can afford to eat a lot, but he still watches what
he eats 95% of the time.
I guess that's pretty much everything on the topic. :)
His marathon is in January. I'll keep you posted!
(NOTE: All pictures downloaded from the Internet.)
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