I want pizza. Or BBQ. Now.

If there were a pizzeria within half an hour of my home that were actually open right now, I'm pretty sure that I would have to go and order a slice or two. Toppings would be roasted red peppers and pepperoni.

You know, I'd even settle for a frozen DiGiorno at this point. I just want pizza. Or BBQ. I almost stopped for lunch at a barbecue place this afternoon when I was on my way home from a friend's house, but I didn't know the name or exact location of it. If I had known at that time that when I got home, there would be nothing to eat but salad, I would have made a point of finding the place. But I didn't. And oh how I wish I did.

It was a beautiful day, and when I got home, I went for a 3-mile run. I wasn't feeling particularly peppy, probably due to the fact that in a 24-hr period, my food consumption consisted of half a chicken-salad sandwich, chips and salsa, heavily-iced sugar cookies, fudge, chocolate, Cap'n Crunch cereal, and salad. I don't think there's much on that list that can be considered a good fuel for running. But I didn't feel that tired, so I did a Wii personal trainer workout after dinner. Dinner, by the way, consisted only of lentil soup. It was yummy and healthy, but oh how I wish it were a rack of barbecued ribs or a pizza. Not only am I starving right now, but I probably could have put a lot more intensity into my workout and felt better about my run. I noticed that my foot turnover was really fast on the downhills - better than I've ever noticed before - but I felt pretty slow for the rest of the run.

So, I guess that the lesson for today is to properly fuel for exercise. It will be nice to check on a good day to see if my running has improved in any other ways besides the foot turnover speed.

My first energy gel

At the half-marathon expo, I picked up a sample PowerBar energy gel from the Team in Training table. I thought that if I continue going for runs longer than 2 hours, especially in hot weather, I might need to try out some other types of fuel. I gave it a try on an 8-mile run last week. (Coincidentally, that was the getting-dive-bombed-by-psychotic-bugs-run, so I forgot to mention the whole gel experience in my last post.)

For this run, I ran an out and back on the trail, and my first problem was when to take the gel so that I could benefit from it and also have a trash receptacle to put the left-over packet. I had stashed the packet in the key pocket of my shorts and did not want to put the gooey package back. I decided on a spot at about mile 3 where there was a parking area and trash can, but I really think that I should look into getting a belt that will allow me to carry more stuff - just to have room for an extra plastic baggie to put the left-over packet would be better than jamming keys, phone, and fuel into one tiny key pocket.

When I got near the spot with the trash can, I pulled the gel out, tore off the top, and tasted it. Was it just the apple flavor, or are all energy gels that disgusting? Really. It tasted like apple-flavored amoxicillin - the same texture, too. I washed the initial amount down with some water and swallowed some more. Wow. Now I know why the companies have come out with so many other fuel products, like sport beans and gummies and water supplements. Energy gels are just gross. But I finished it, deposited the trash in the appropriate receptacle, and continued on my run. I did not feel like I had to take massive amounts of water to go with it, which I did encounter when I experimented with some household foods, so the gel did serve its purpose.

Besides the dive-bombing bugs, the run went very well after that. I didn't feel that drained, even though it was my first long run since the half-marathon and I was expending massive amounts of energy by flailing my arms wildly around my head. I also did not have any GI problems at all, which I know is an issue with energy gels. So dispite the gross taste and texture, energy gels are a fuel option for me. I'd prefer to stick to things like raisins, but it's good to know.