For those of you new here I’m currently training for London Marathon, Boston Marathon, and yikes, I signed up for Marine Corps Marathon too! I said I never wanted to run three marathons in a training cycle ever again, but here I am, doing it again. This will likely be the last time I run three in one training cycle and this time I mean it.
I’m approaching training this time in much the same way you would train for a relay race. I plan to give it my all at every race but I won’t be all-out racing at any one of them. Instead what I will be doing is giving my all on that day knowing that each race is only ⅓ of the overall picture.
I’ve trained for and run multiple marathons in various ways, but this approach has been my favorite thus far and works well if I am not aiming for a fast-for-me time or a Boston qualifying time.
When I threw my name in the hat for Boston Marathon I honestly didn’t think my time was fast enough to get me in this year. It came as a bit of a shock when I received the acceptance email. Boston is 8 days after London so recovery has been something I’ve been really focusing on.
One aspect of my recovery that I’ve been extra diligent about this cycle is making sure that I’m rehydrating as quickly as possible after my runs. The heat and humidity in Northern Virginia have felt next level this summer. My schedule has been all over the place so most of my runs have been during less than ideal temperature conditions. I’m someone who sweats more than your average man, so it’s really important for me to not dig myself in to a hole during or after a run.
During a marathon I start hydrating in the first five miles. Based on how much I sweat, if I don’t start hydrating early and often I’m playing a game of catch up the entire race, something that hasn’t ended well in a few races.
Because of the sheer volume that I sweat, I often lose a lot of sodium and can finish a long run covered in what I call “a salty dust” – it’s basically what remains after my sweat has evaporated! Sodium is one of the electrolytes that contributes to unwanted muscle contractions – if you don’t have enough it can lead to cramping, something I’ve suffered from on long runs and during races.
As a new runner, I didn’t realize just how important hydration on runs + during races was. I drank a lot of water once I felt thirsty, but it was already too late by the time I started hydrating + I wasn’t replacing the electrolytes I was losing. I didn’t make the connection till years after I started running between late-race muscle cramps & not being properly hydrated.
Pedialyte Sport has been my go to hydration this training cycle, it has a scientifically designed balance of sugar and sodium. I like the way Pedialyte Sport tastes but what I like even more is that it’s designed with 5 key electrolytes (Potassium, Phosphate, Chloride, Sodium & Magnesium) for fast rehydration and muscle support that quickly replenishes fluids and helps to replace the electrolytes I may be losing. Even a relatively small loss in fluid can completely change your body’s concentration of electrolytes such as sodium! In order to continue to train at this level + strength train, it’s imperative that my body is fully hydrated so I can recover and get back out there again as quickly as possible.
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