Long Runs (and clifbars)

18.5 miles today (in before wind storm).  I don’t really have too much going on, just midterms taking over my whole life at the moment.  So I have decided to take a stab at reviewing these tasty gummies.

I tried out these Clif Block Shots.  I have also test tested other gels like the Strawberry-Banana Powerbar.  Way to sweet for me.  Plus I cant run with a bottled water.  The way I let my hands “hang” like they’re holding potato chips wont hold a bottle water.  I’ve dropped my ipod so many times because I don’t like to grip things running.  I find that it makes my arms stiff and I exert too much energy that I could use in my legs.

This is what I tried, Black Cherry Flavored.

After the first 6 miles I popped one in and tried to chew it.  It was kind of too big.  Small people have small mouths lol.  At 6.5 miles I popped another one in and chewed part of it and almost choked, so I decided to just stick it in my cheek and see if it dissolves in my mouth.  That worked.  At mile 12 I popped one more in my mouth, stuck it in my cheek and let it dissolve.  Mile 15 I popped my last one in and let that dissolve.  I’m pretty sure you don’t HAVE to chew these. I chew gum when I run, but this does not have the same consistency as gum and I ended up drooling a bit trying it the second time and pretending it was gum.  I also loved the fact that it had 2 servings of 100 calories and that I could space out my consumption.  Also holding it was real nice, its lightweight and like a stick.  I am pretty sure i can stuff a few in my sports bra haha.  Getting them open was a pain, I had to use my teeth (yeowch).

How I felt during the run, like I can conquer the world.  One block has 33 calories and a little kick of caffeine.

After the run I did some stretches for the hamstrings and the hip flexors (I have a history of tendonitis in the IT band).  I also rolled my foot out with a frozen piece of Jimmy Deans Sausage (I recommend this over a frozen water bottle) as I also have Planters Faciitis.  I got that in October and got it under control and it’s been acting up since I got tripped at my last race.  I also did a 20 minute session of runners yoga from Yogadownload.com *ahem*theyhavefreestuff*ahem*

I also got extremely nauseated after I ate (1 1/2 hours after I completed my run).  I am pretty sure that waiting 90 minutes to eat after a run like that was a dumb idea (after doing some googling).  It really didnt hit me until 4 pm.  I was half passed out for 2 hours.  Finally ate dinner, which wasn’t much.  Got hungry after 2 hours so ate a little bit more (my watch said I burned 1700 calories…like I don’t think I will be able to make that up in one day lol).  Half hour later I was doubled over with my face in the toilet.  Needless to say the nausea went away for the most part.

I don’t know if it was the shot bloks, or if it was waiting that long before eating (I do this a lot because of scheduling), or if it was from the fact that I kinda went fast (but I felt fine and I was on a flat surface so I assumed my faster pace was a result), or it could be that my blood pressure was extremely low (I have had problems with this in the past).

Question to all those who read my posts or stumble upon it:  Have you ever gotten sick from your long runs?  Have you found a cure to this?  I am open to any suggestions.