My arm cast is finally off now, although I do have a splint which I can take on and off. I have about 6 exercises that I have to do 5 or more times a day, to build my strength back up and they in themselves are painful to do - but hey, it's not for long. I ran my parkrun on Saturday, just wearing my arm splint and was only a minute off my PB, so I'm very happy with that.
Just wondering what other people do at the end of a run - I've got a 10K race coming up at the end of October. Currently, when I do my parkrun I run it but have no energy at the end to run over the line with a strong finish. I have a banana and a cup of tea, about 40mins before my parkrun and then just drink water afterwards. Would I be better to have a protein bar or something before hand, to give me the energy to run over the line. My friend runs, with a burst of energy over the line every week after running the 5K. I've never tried these energy gels or bars before and just wondered whether anyone has had any success with them, in giving them that last burst of energy.
Thanks in advance to any replies !!
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adnewg73
Graduate10
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It's entirely personal. I wouldn't expect to eat before a parkrun. Sometimes I don't even have time to grab a coffee!
And you don't necessarily have to have a sprint finish. It's not really going to change your overall time by more than a couple of seconds.
After parkrun my usual routine is to take the car to the Costco petrol station, then to Lidl for a bit of shopping. It's usually nearly 11am before I have the first bite of food (a Lidl jam doughnut).
I suspect what matters more is what I'd had the previous evening. That's usually fish and chips, so plenty of protein and carbs.
Glad to hear you're out of the cast! Keep up with the physio, it's definitely worth it (voice of experience, I broke my wrist and the physio was hugely helpful).
If you have no energy at the end of the run the chances are that you used it all up at the beginning. If you start really slowly you'll find a rhythm, then you can slowly increase your pace towards the end of the race and still have plenty left to give.
Have you got a Garmin watch? If so, go on the Connect app and tap 'More' on the bottom right of the screen. This will take you to a menu, choose 'Training and Planning' then PacePro Pacing Strategies. You can input the distance and the time you want to achieve then play with the numbers to see how you can vary your pace and still achieve your time goal.
So for example if you wanted to run 5k in 36 minutes you could either do a steady 7:12 or you could start the run at 8:19 and gradually increase so that your final km was 6:14 mins/km. It's really quite fun and enlightening to see how much you can play around with the numbers.
Personally I don't eat before I run unless I'm intending to go more than 7km, I just have coffee and maybe beetroot juice (very good for runners!). If it's more than 7km I'll have a simple porridge and maybe banana at least an hour beforehand. I've done one 10k and I took some jelly babies in my running belt and started eating them at 5km.
After you run it's apparently a good idea to eat protein to help repair the toll that the run has taken.
Hope you sort things out, plenty of time to do it before your 10k
Just what suits you...Park Run for many does not need anything extra fuel wise..
If you have a healthy eating regime and a great hydration regime.. and no underlying issues, then you should be fine. Up to 10K, also. I have never used anything like gels or protein bars, even on a HM.
But we are all different and we do what we need to. If you are feeling that you have not got a little bit left in the tank after runs, maybe, you are moving to fast...
From C25K beginning and moving on, it is always a good idea to run at a comfortable conversational pace. Making sure that there is just that little bit left.
So, if you feel that you would like to do a flying finish in style, over the last metres at the end of a run... you can !
Carbs before a run may help if you think you’re running out of fuel. I am okay doing a steady 5K on no food but prefer to eat. Certainly anything further and I will eat about an hour and a half before. Porridge with fruit/nuts/banana is my go to for morning runs. If I’m doing an event then I will likely have eaten earlier than this, so will have a few mouthfuls of banana about 20/30 mins before run. Water half way. After 10k I swap my water for Tailwind which keeps my carbs /electrolytes topped up.
Protein is good after to help with repair.
As you can see, how much we run on is so individual and you will find what works for you. Same with water - the variation in what people take on is huge!
The Running Channel YouTube videos are great for info and they have loads on fuelling and gels etc. If you search ‘The Running Channel fuelling’ on YouTube, you will see lots of videos - which explain the science too! Very accessible and informative!
Great news that the cast is off. That must be an enormous relief!
Thanks for this post - it has prompted some great responses.
In terms of fuel, I suspect I am similar to you in that I really need fuel to exercise. I seem to crash without it. I usually only have yoghurt and berries for breakfast but since getting back to 5K I find that I am running 'empty' at the end and it isn't pleasant. So I am now having a piece of toast about an hour before I go out. (I tend to run late morning) That was an interesting comment from nowster though about fuelling up the night before. I hadn't thought about that and since I am on a fairly low carb diet at the moment, that might be something that I have to think about as I increase distances.
Good luck with your fuelling experiments. Do post again on this - I'd be really interested to hear how you get on.
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A Christmas miracle! I finally ran 5k in under 40 mins ha ha ha...🎅🎅
Swansea Parkrun. More fun times 😃
Defeated by Gremlins.
Blowing off the cobwebs!! 🕸 🏃🏾♀️❤️