Running Reflections 6

I ended my previous post with some thoughts about joining Team World Vision this year. If you'd like to help me bring water to Aftrican kids who will likely die without it, please watch the short video and visit my support page.

Water changes the lives of children. They have better health, improved nutrition, and can go to school instead of spending the day fetching water. Through World Vision’s comprehensive and sustainable water projects across Africa, $50 will provide clean water for one person for a lifetime.

video:

donation page:http://www.teamworldvision.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=donorDrive.participant&participantID=58677

To continue:

Wed, Sept 28th, I experienced the best short distance run of this entire training period. Mary and I really enjoyed our "City Group" time with friends from our church out in Raymore, and a short while after we got home I prepared to head out for a night run (which the vast majority of my runs are). I've begun to pay much more attention to my physical health over the last couple weeks, and been trying to give ear to the cautions of my wife and others when discussing the run. (Mostly my wife...since she's the most vocal about her concerns with my age and health.)

I have been noting that though I try to stay hydrated during the day, and I've historically always drank quite a bit of water as a habit that I developed working through the hot summers for about 15 years in lawn maintenance; that I was still feeling dehydrated during my runs - sometimes to the extreme in my opinion.

While running, about 4 or 5 miles out I would have very little moisture in my mouth, at times making it very difficult to swallow and almost feeling a bit nauseous from thick saliva being caught in my throat when trying to swallow. (Sorry - I know, TMI)

This time I decided to try an energy product I found at Sprouts Market that replaces electrolytes and provides natural energy with no chemicals or artificial sweetners. You mix the powder into a few cups of water and drink about 20 min before excercise.

I believe the use of this product with alkaline water really helped me not to feel as depleted. On this run, I never "hit the wall", but was able to maintain a very good pace (for me) and actually getting up to 8.5 mph!

I've also been trying to pay more attention to getting more sleep than I've been accustomed to over the last 30 years or more. My son, Josh was relating some information about the importance of sleep to operate at your maximum potential for productivity the next day. I'm not near perfect at it by any means, but trying to be more diligent... and aware that it is a potential pit-fall for my health.

(to be continued)