week 2 results

Starting weight: 172 pounds. Count down to marathon: 2 weeks (from end of week)

Nutrition:
After suffering through a few workouts last week as my glycogen levels in my muscles quickly depleted I decided I needed to add in some additional carbohydrates to fuel my workouts. With exercise a high priority for me this week (3 weeks out from goal marathon race) the post on primal athlete compromises for athletes came none too soon. To handle the increase in volume and intensity this week I increased the amount of fruits (raw and dried) and also added a cup of oatmeal to some of my post-recovery meals. Allowing myself to consume carbohydrates during exercise and in the hour immediately after only allowed me to be able to back up for the next day's run workouts.

My typical week while training for the marathon includes many sessions which are either intensive and/or long (up to 2.5 hours) which requires the increase of carbohydrate intake during the period of exercise and in the critical period for glycogen refuelling (first hour).

Doing a quick search on the internet and calculating my energy expenditure I settled on a post-run carbohydrate intake strategy of around 0.8-1g C per pound of bodyweight (about 130-165g). Also during my longer, more intensive sessions (e.g. 2.5 hour long run with the last 50 minutes at marathon pace) I consumed sports drink at 15-30 minute intervals for the duration of the run.

After my long Sunday effort (which went phenomonly well and helped redefine my marathon goal race pace) I ate a variety of fruits only (dried and fresh) and felt fantastic all day. The high lasted all the way into bed that night.

Exercise:
Total 78 miles

Monday: 10 miles w/ 3-4 miles @ marathon pace (mp)
Tuesday: 25 miles (3:05)
Wednesday: rest
Thursday: 6 miles w/ 3x3min hard + 6x20 sec sprints
Friday: 8 miles w/ 4 miles @ mp // 3.1 miles hard
Saturday: 6 miles easy
Sunday: 21 miles w/ 7 miles @ mp (marathon pace test run)

Results:
Before sunday's long run I had a lowest weight of 163 pounds but after the long run and post-run food and drink consumption my weight climbed back up to 164 pounds (2 pounds down from last week/8 pounds lighter than starting weight).

Diet and energy wise I feel like I have hit the right pattern at the moment with my endurance and activity requirements. After my marathon race in two weeks I am really looking forward to seeing how I can improve my diet in this area to only take in what I need. I have some epic long mountain runs (40-60 miles) coming up and I am going to experiment with taking in higher quantities of protein and fat and only rely on carbohydrates from natural sources like friut.