Hydration and Sweets…

Well that’s the first of our four challenges ticked off.  The Angus half marathon was challenging – particularly at the end with what seemed like a never ending hill.  But we managed and I was pleased with my time at 1 hour 50 mins.  Mum did really well with a time of 2 hours 5 mins and that was after a fall at mile two, which I didn’t see but left her with bloody hands and even more bruised knees – she also had a tumble on Thursday!

Last week we also attended a talk by Dr John Babraj a molecular exercise physiologist  Dr Babraj brilliantly explained about the two key aspects of performing well on race day.  First of all you need to be a good weight, which makes sense as you don’t want to be lugging around a whole heap of extra fat that’s sure to slow you down.  Secondly he clarified the need for proper hydration before the start of the race.  Pee should be clear and you need to start hydration at least three hours before start time.

So… on Sunday morning mum was up at 6 am getting her smoothie ready.  Mum’s recipe was: frozen berries, small banana, orange and a spoon of oats and almond milk.  She whizzed it up and gulped it down.  I had much the same and we both had some toast and jam and a cup of coffee.  We followed this up with water and juice.  It worked a treat.  With the water available throughout the race neither of us felt dehydrated which meant we could use all our energy to keep going.

One final tip from Dr Babraj – sweets– we packed these sugary sweets into our belts and enjoyed these throughout the race for extra sugary energy.

Goody Good Stuff Cheery Cherries Vegetarian Sweets 100 g (Pack of 12)

Let’s hope the weather is good for next week’s Balmoral 15 mile run – we are going to need a whole lot more gummies for this challenging course!