Sunday, April 25, 2010

Salt with a Side of Salt, Please

This afternoon I went down to the cities to run my long run. Sophie got to hang out with her Grandma and Uncle Nik and I got to run something other than my same old routes around the house. I had 22 miles on the schedule. Luckily my mom lives right beween two nices parks with a great trail system, so I knew I just had to strap on the Garmin and go.

The run was great, but hilly. I never remembered all those hill from when I used to rollerblade those trails in high school . . . I ended up doing only 20. I made it back to my mom's house at 19.6 and convinced myself to get the extra .4, but just couldn't talk myself into the last two miles. Ended up running the 20 miles 25 seconds per minute faster than my last 20 two weeks ago. I'll take it.

I have noticed the last couple of weeks that I am a super salty sweater. I was really salt after the half last week, and notice lots of salt, especially on my face, during and after the long run today. I refueld on salt with some yummy chips and cheese after the run. Anybody take salt on the run? If so, what do you use and how often? I might have to try something.

All in all, a great week of marathon training:

Monday: 5 miles (with 1K, 2K, 1K, and 1K - a tough track workout, but I rocked it!)
Tuesday: 3 miles easy, 1 hr kettlebells
Wednesday: 6 miles tempo
Thursday: 3 miles easy
Friday: 1050 m. swim, 45 min kettlebells
Sunday: 20 miles

A couple more hard weeks and then it's taper time. I can't believe how fast this training has gone. I am getting exciting for the marathon - and reading all of your race reports is helping pump me up.

20 comments:

Alee said...

Awesome work! I didn't have a long run scheduled this week, and your Sunday run is making me feel like a slacker. Way to go. Keep it up!

Beth said...

Great job getting the 20 miles in, especially with the hills! My husband is a very salty sweater, and he uses salt tablets if it is warm weather for a marathon. I don't know how often he takes them, but I'm guessing the running store can help you. Great job this week!

DRog said...

Nice long run! Good training week, and GREAT swim !!
-Derek

Sarah said...

Love the new blog look! I have never done anything about salt. I do notice in the hot weather that I get a salty film on my skin, but nothing too terrible.

Anonymous said...

I had to cut my long run short today also :( It's a bummer, but you should still be so proud of yourself!

I am also a super salty sweater. Sometimes even after 10K runs, I have salt caked on my face. I don't usually use salt tablets. Sometimes I eat the Margarita Shot Bloks (extra salt), but most of the time I use regular fuel.

MCM Mama said...

Good work! 20 hilly miles is awesome! I noticed I've been pretty salty on some recent runs, but I've been feeling fine. I do drink a lot of nuun though.

Julie said...

Good job on your long run Heather! I noticed alot of people last week who were salty sweaters...including myself. I have never had that happen before. I have never taken the salt tabs before but would like to learn more about them. If you start to use them let me know what you think.

Also, I like your blogs makeover:)

Anonymous said...

I tried taking salt on the run once - once...

Diana said...

Nice job on 20! Hills-UGH!
Never been a salty, then again, never ran 20 miles yet either!

Marlene said...

Great job on the hilly 20! A 25s per mile improvement in HUGE!

I use electrolte capsules ("eload") for long runs, one every 30-60 minutes. However, the sodium content is lower than I would like so I want to look into something else.

Tall Mom has recommended "Salt Stick" which looks good.

Tricia said...

spimds ;ole a great rim!

joyRuN said...

Funny how we can't just round up & let it go. The fact that you ran with a stronger pace is AWESOME though!

I keep hearing about S-caps for electrolyte replenishment & have thought of trying them - I'm encrusted in white salt after my runs.

Anonymous said...

In the summer I do a salt tablet because I sweat like a gross pig!!!

Sounds like a great run! I am jeaaaalllous!!!!

Heidi said...

25 sec per mile faster ... wow, that's a big improvement on that distance. Awesome.

I'm a super salty sweater. I rarely get damp at all, but I always have a good film of salt on me. In hot weather it's kind of crusty. I didn't realize this was a bad thing. Hmmm, will have to look into it and find out what it means.

LMC said...

Great training week, particularly that hilly 20 miler! I take salt tablets, 2 or 3 of them during long runs (more than 20 miles). I do that because I sweat profusely when I run. I can easily lose 4 or 5 pounds of water during long runs which is why I drink a lot too! I also find that the salt tablets settle the slushiness in my belly from all that I drink. This stuff is all very individual though. I think you're gonna have to try different things to see what works for you. Good luck!

RunMommyRun said...

Love your new layout, BTW.

Great job on that 20 miler! You will have a terrific race on marathon day...yeah, I've noticed being salty lately too, though I've never taken salt pills before. Let me know how they work if you try them!

Unknown said...

you do kettlebells? I used to take a class but stopped, I really liked it though! Maybe I'll take it back up...

Felice Devine said...

I'm a salty sweater, too. I've never taken salt on long runs but always made sure to eat more of it before and after. That worked for me.

dawn @ running the dawn said...

I salt--I mean sweat--like crazy! There seems to always be some residue on my face after all runs longer than 6 or 7 miles. I just got some salt stick capsules. I've tried them out for mid-distance runs, and will be doing my first long distance run with them this week. I plan on doing one before I start and one every hour-ish or 6 miles. That way I don't take them and my gu (every 4 miles) at the same time...

Jeri said...

Hahah I'm in the same boat my salty sista! I just posted my 20 mile report last night (was w/o internet) and our posts are almost identical. Too funny. I'll have to come back to your comments here to see what salty suggestions you get. I just end up craving chips and fries for 2-3 days after my LRs. Probably not the most effective proces...