badgerland striders 1/2 marathon

badgerland striders 1/2 marathon - august 23, 2014

time = 1:50:35 (1:51:12 last year)
pace = 8:26
placed 11 in my age group (40-44) out of 66 (9 out of 61 last year)
placed 65 in women out of 441 (58 out of 408 last year)
placed 226 overall out of 838 (226 out of 792 last year)

weird to get 226 again this year. also weird that i ran faster and placed lower in my age group...

awesome striders' medal

there's some fast old ladies out there.

so i did a couple of things different for this race which proved to be disastrous. i used a new nuun which has caffeine in it.  not sure if that contributed to the problem or not.  i'm guessing not but it's hard to tell at this point considering the disaster that i call my stomach.  i stupidly opted for an aleve which is an nsaid. i haven't taken an nsaid since ragnar and we all know how well that worked out.  basically, nsaids wreak havoc on my intestinal tract.  i also took an imodium assuming that they would cancel each other out yet i'd reap the benefits of both.  yeah, um, not so much.

the products i use that are beneficial and wonderful are:

• x2 performance - 1 2oz bottle
• 2 capsules of sports legs
• 1 tablet of nuun in my water bottle

i'm going to assume that the nuun was fine and that my gut problems completely stemmed from the aleve.  

my splits

so... the run.  the race started out and i was supposed to be running it as a training run.  i decided i was going to keep it slow, steady, and run at a comfortable pace.  i decided on 8:20 as a good pace and began there.  i kept it there and ran.  at mile 2 my friend jim from the LPTR group passed me, and admittedly it was all over for the "training run" at that point.  oh, who am i kidding... i was never going to be able to contain myself and run this as a training run.  so jim passed me and i spent the next mile catching up to him.  we ran together until about mile 4 when i realized there was no way i was going to make it any further without peeing.  thankfully there was a port-o-potty conveniently up ahead at which point i ducked off to go.  moments later i was off again.  interestingly enough mile 4 was my fastest mile at 7:48.  i could see jim ahead of me and spent the next couple of miles catching up again.  i think i caught up to him around 6 or 7.  we then ran the rest of the race together which was really great.  it was around 77 degrees with 95% humidity.  very foggy and so wet!

my stomach started letting me know how uncomfortable it was around mile 10.  by mile 11 i had to take walk breaks.  i wasn't sure i was going to make it to the end without hitting a bathroom which was so disappointing!  thankfully this course is almost completely flat so it goes very quickly.  

jim stuck with me the whole time bless his heart!  it's pretty awesome that even with the walking we still managed really good splits!  i'm disappointed with the last 3 miles, but it really couldn't be helped.  i just keep thinking about how i could have shaved at least a whole minute off my time if i had not had the stomach issues!  what a stupid idea to take the aleve!  admittedly, if jim had not been there to encourage me on i may have walked that whole last mile... or stopped at that last port-o-potty.  i'm so grateful that he was there.  i finished strong and with a PR from last year.  so... good enough for me.  next year i'll do better.  

this is such a fun race.  the weather was so gross that i just was so happy when it was over.  they fed us sausages, potatoes, and of course beer.  i don't drink beer so whateves to that.  they also had the standards... bananas, water, some sodas, and oranges.  the start and finish is at the estabrook beer garden which wisconsinites really love (obviously).  

my poor toes

i've been running in my shoes for over 300 miles now.  this is notable because when i got home today and got my shoes off i realized just how badly i need to replace them.  ugh... blood blisters.  i will be losing a nail for sure.  my poor toes.  runners toes... oh yeah, so hot.   yup... those are my toes fresh out of my shoes.  don't worry... i have since lanced the blisters and painted the nails so they look presentable.  geez louise...

x2 performance product plug

ok... i don't usually talk about the stuff i use to fuel or supplement during my runs but this product is pretty awesome.

first, here's what the above mumbo jumbo means:

• ATP di sodium ~ a multifunctional nucleotide, which is essential in a variety of cellular functions.  ATP is the main energy source for cells, via transportation of chemical energy into cells.  functions as a coenzyme in many reactions that function in cell motility, cell division, and biosynthetic reactions.  increases the activity of calcium activated potassium channels.
• glucose ~ energy/fuel source
• ribose ~ energy/fuel source and ATP building block
• coenzyme Q10 (coQ10) ~ antioxidant and co-enzyme in electron transport chain and ATP production
• caffeine ~ decreases perceived exertion and increases fatty acid metabolism
• distilled water ~ pure water
• electrolytes ~ prevents cramping and muscle degeneration
• pinitol ~ aids in glucose uptake into cells

best of all x2 performance does NOT have any artificial sugars, sweeteners, stimulants, or substances banned by any sports organizations.

a few months ago i ran across it somehow (i don't remember how anymore... maybe somewhere on the book of face?) and decided to go for the advertised "free sample"...  just pay for the shipping.

i paid the $5.99 for shipping, received the product, and promptly let it sit in my kitchen for weeks.  it was winter-ish after all, i was sort of injured, and i wasn't running any races so i didn't bother with supplementing my runs too much.

when i finally looked at the bottles i realized that they were going to expire within a couple of weeks so i should probably use them.  i decided to try a bottle out for a long training run.  i liked that the implication is that the energy level will be sustained for a couple hours duration.  from the website's description it seemed like i should be able to drink a 2oz bottle down and be good for up to 2 hours... at least that's what i decided.

my experience:  while there seems to be a significant amount of caffeine in this product (74mg) it didn't effect my system in the way taking a no doz (200mg) would.  jitters and feeling weird.  compared to the following products i expected to feel something but it might just be that i'm not all that sensitive to caffeine.  i didn't notice any significant change.

although, to be fair... i AM quite sensitive to the dosage of caffeine in excedrin (65mg caffeine) as i am prone to migraines and i have been know to (on the rare occasion) thwart one by taking 2 excedrin (130mg caffeine) and pounding a mt. dew (54mg caffeine)... so  there's that.

products i use:
gu chocolate outrage = 20mg
orange shot bloks = 25mg
extreme sport beans = 50mg
honey stingers = 0mg
nuun = 0mg
sport legs = 0mg

comparatively:
12oz can mt. dew = 54mg
12oz can coca cola = 39mg
8oz brewed coffee = 95-200mg

this product has the highest content of caffeine of any i've used in my running.  what i found is that i didn't notice anything upon drinking the supplement.  no noticeable difference in my "pep" for lack of a better term.  what i did notice is that my level of energy doesn't wan as my long run progresses.  my usual pattern (with any other supplements or combination of supplements) has been to run positive splits and poop out near the end.  when i run while using x2 performance i've noticed my energy is steady throughout the distance therefore my pace is also steady.  there's been very little variance in that i'm not noticing my legs getting fatigued as quickly.  i am able to sustain a bit quicker of a pace for a longer duration which is nice.

this is encouraging for my upcoming marathon in that i feel confident that i will be able to use this product to maintain my energy level throughout the distance without hitting the proverbial wall.  i've utilized this product for road runs longer than 12mi and on one very hilly trail run that was 6.5mi.  what i noticed that is significant on the trail run at lapham peak (the black loop also called the moraine ridge trail) was that i was able to run up more of the hills with more consistent effort and less desire to walk.  if you're a distance runner i think it's worth looking into this product.  unfortunately, i don't think that they're offering the free trial any longer.  happy running!