Eat or Not to Eat...

Are you an eater? I mean do you eat before or during a long run? From the buddies I've talked to in my running group and from other runners I've talked to at races, seems like there's two camps of thought—Eat or Don't Eat. Guess I'm a hybrid. I have to eat something before I run (about 1 hr before) or I'll get really bad hunger pangs, especially if it's a morning run, but I've never been much of an eater during the run, other than the ocassional gel. Some running friends (Lucy and her brother Ben) recently ran a 40-mile trail run (they're awesome). Lucy said she had to eat during the run and was ravenous, but Ben said he could eat very little. I guess everybody's different and what works for one may not work for another. Before I run I usually eat an English muffin with peanut butter and jam. I've found that if I have a little protein while I run it helps with the endurance and recovery. Accelerade® makes a really good gel (Accel Gel®) that contains protein and their Accelerade drinks also contain protein. It has a different consistency than Gatorade®, but it's good. I don't care for the bottled version of Accelerade, but the powder that you mix up, tastes good. Check them out at http://www.accelerade.com/. If you're an eater, what kinds of foods do you eat before, during, or after your run?

Marathon Training Plans

Many of you are tapering in preparation for your fall marathon or you've just finished up your fall marathon. I'm interested in what training plan or plans you used. Did you use a specific plan, create your own, or did you do like me and take bits and pieces from different plans to create your own? This link will take you to a plan from Runner's World that I used. It's a tough plan and I ended up having to alter it.
http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,7120,s6-238-244-255-11938-0,00.html The one thing I did learn from using this plan is the importance of speed work.I used the plan last year in training for Chicago and my endurance was the best it's ever been for short- and long-distance races. This year I didn't include as much speed work and my endurance and speed weren't anything compared to last year. So, send me some links to plans you've used. Thanks!

Athlinks.com

Looking for a great way to keep up with your training, race results, race photos, and connect with other runners across the country? Then check out http://www.athlinks.com/. It's free and a great site. Once you join and set up a profile, any results from races that you run (which are in their database) will be automatically pulled into your profile. You can also add races /times. I travel with work a couple of times a year and I've used the site to locate running groups in other parts of the country so I could join in their group runs. I've met some really cool people. Check it out.

Welcome!

Howdy! I'm new to this so bear with me. I'm an avid runner in NC and thought I'd start this blog to connect with other runners in NC as well as all across the country. I'm 43 and I've been running for about 20 years, more seriously the last 8. I've run 10 marathons and love the challenge of the long distance run. Running keeps me sane as well as healthy. I have a chronic illness, ulcerative colitis, that makes running interesting at times, but I'm not going to let it get me down. If you are a runner and are dealing with a chronic illness, it would be great to hear from you.