And as a kid, I was terrified of roller coasters! The only ones I went on were ones that lacked that big drop, which includes a whopping two out of how many million there are out there?!
Anyways...
As you read HERE, I did my long run on Friday. I was very happy after that run; thirteen miles up and around my old school. What you don't know is that I turned it into a bit of an experiment. Remember how I ran 20 miles a week ago? (if not, check it HERE) And remember how I was wide awake and couldn't sleep until well after 1AM? (if not, check it HERE) I think I figured out why.
After I got home from thirteen miles on Friday, I was tired and ended up hitting the hay around 9:20PM, which is extremely early for me given my recent schedule. So what gives? Why can I fall asleep early after thirteen miles and be an insomniac after twenty?
On the twenty mile run, I had four gels. Two of them were the same GU Lemon-Lime I had on the thirteen mile run. However, the two others were Clif gel shots citrus which contains caffeine. So what might be the reason I was up past 1 AM after three hours of running? I had the equivalent of one - that's right ONE! - cup of coffee.
That's what you get for giving up caffeine 8 years ago!
After that revelation on Friday, Saturday brought the pain. No, literally. PAIN!
I woke up early on Saturday to go coach my 5k group. It was rainy, so we had a slightly smaller group, but I was happy to see some brave souls come out to run anyways. At 7:30:00 we headed out on a 2 minute walk & 7 minute run program. Around 7:32:05, I realized that it might not have been such a smart idea to do my long run the previous day. I had really bad pain in my left knee. I ended up becoming the sweeper (coach in the back making sure no one got left behind) and walked 90% of the day's mileage. That was a huge downer.
The rest of the day on Saturday was filled with movies, ice, heat, and resting. I sat in bed with my knees propped on two pillows for 75% of the day and miraculously my knees felt great by mid-afternoon. I used to have really bad cramps in my calves after long runs. I've cured those by wearing compression socks, but now my knees take the brunt of the pain. A part of me is really looking forward to some time off after this marathon! My body needs to heal these little oddities it's acquired this season.
Sunday wasn't anything exciting. I worked. Enough said.
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Questions
1. Does caffeine have any affect on you?I know some people who down two Monsters and then go to sleep.
2. What did you do this weekend?
I've seen a few race reports. Anything else fun happen?
Swim fast. Bike smart. Run hard.
5 comments:
I just posted a blog with the same exact title at the same time as you....eerie!!!
So good that you you figured that out NOW versus late on - at least you know what you need to get the well deserved sleep after a long run!
I only use gels w/ caffeine during long runs, and they don't have that insomnia affect on me, thank God.
Last long run before Chicago, no racing for me this past weekend!
Hope your knees are doing better!! My weekend was full of work, shows and fairs. Yay!
I'm also very caffeine sensitive. Redbull totally gives me wings.
Hope the knees are doing better!!
Hope your knees are doing better!
I ran the Medtronic TC 10 Mile on Oct. 2. Trying to catch up on a lot of blogs (I took some time off while prepping for my wedding, going on honeymoon, moving to my new condo, etc.).
I can always use more caffeine. :)
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