Food is a funny topic, especially among women. Everyone has different rituals and taboos.
Ritual:: don't eat before a run.
Argument: they'll be sick.
Me: If I don't eat before a run, I'll crash and burn within 2k - and then I'll get sick.
Taboo: don't eat chocolate before X (e.g. 11am, lunch, etc.)
Argument: because chocolate is bad for you?
Me: I'm more loose on this one... Lately, my post-run "second breakfast" has included cookie dough.
Yep, I joke not. I made a batch of cookie dough on the weekend to bake cookies fresh for a dinner I'm attending tonight. In a flash of insight I even made a double-batch, for extra extra cookie dough goodness to kick me off before work. All this week after training I found myself grabbing a bite of it on my way to work...or maybe two bites.
And it doesn't stop at the cookie dough. My training has become so intense that I find myself eating two of everything in sight. I try to keep the healthy foods at eye-level, but at the end of the day I need calories and more calories to fight the lethargy and exhaustion (so I tell myself). What a great feeling!
A more serious athlete than I sees food as fuel for the body and eats appropriately - why fill up on diesel petrol when the engine needs premium? I instead see exercise as a "get in free" pass to any food I want. It's not often I get this guilt-free pass to the buffet table, so I'm taking advantage as much as I can. Is it impeding on my running? Sure. Is it worth it? Absolutely!
Today was a tough day. We did a few reps (a few being 4) up a steep, steep hill to begin. The sign on the hill said 30% grade - that's steep! Then we looped up and around and down and back up. That's a summary. Actually, we wound our way around my home running grounds, which was kind of nice. Sadly, this morning I was absolutely lethargic. I could bring up the energy to run, but it was slow. Even on the reps, it was all I could do to get up the hill - speed was not an option. One foot in front of the other, mouth shut to prevent any whining. Some days that's the best I can do.
Total time: 52.29
Total distance: 6.99km
Average pace: 7.30min/km
Total elevation: lots!
I'm going to let you in to my dirty little secret - I run for exactly the same reason. Why do I bake so much? So I can eat cookie dough, bits of chopped up chocolate, cupcake batter and icing straight out of the piping bag. This is perfectly normal behavior isn't it?
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