Good question, post run carbs and birds of worry

Here's a good question from an athlete. I’m faster than my friends, but I keep stressing about beating them at my upcoming 100-mile race this spring. Why does it bother me so much? I want them to have a good day and am honestly cheering for them. 
Well surprise, it’s not really about them. It’s about you. Deep down, what you want isn’t to win against your friends, it’s to prove you lived up to your own potential. AND you know if you live up to your potential, you should be ahead so beating them is a marker of that hoped for success. Since100 miles is not just about fitness but about taking care of yourself and fueling and hydration and mental toughness, of course you are stressing. It is AWESOME to care and that desire to have all of your fitness and toughness and ability to fuel on race day should be ferocious! So instead of focusing on where your friends are in the race, the focus needs to be on all the ways you are taking care of yourself to express all that fitness you built to run to your potential. Run happy! 

POST EXERCISE CARBS
Feel great on tough workouts some days and other days you struggle? Could be post workout carb replenishment from the day before. There is a study titled, "Delaying post-exercise carbohydrate intake impairs next-day exercise capacity but not muscle glycogen or molecular responses." If you read no more, that is fine because it seems obvious that you need to refuel post exercise. So eat carbs, yay. The study was performed on nine men, so tough to know if women would have the same, worse or more pronounced response. They had participants do a high intensity workout on a bike and then some had carbs immediately after, some waited three hours. Then the subjects were retested the next day where it was found that on average, participants completed 30% fewer intervals in the delayed carbohydrate condition. That means if you are not refueling properly post run on day one it could make it so you only get to only seven out of ten hill repeats on day two.  It is a small study for sure, but it is also a fun test you can run on yourself and the worst that happens is you get to eat something yummy post run. 

ICE CREAM
This guy is making ice cream while trail running in his hydration vest. The best part is he shares the how to so all of you can head out and make ice cream for your next trail run. Go buy some rock salt and make some new friends! 

LISTEN UP

• New podcast alert and this one is good. Three legends in women's sport teamed up to host a podcast called Welcome to the Party. Abby Wambach, Billy Jean King and Julie Foudy are letting us listen in on their chats and I am here for it. I listened to this one with runner Allyson Felix and thought it was a winner. 
• "You can't stop the birds of worry from flying into your hair, but you can keep them from building a nest. Intrusive thoughts are always going to come... try to respond to it rather than react to it." - Excellence, Actually podcast. 

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STRENGTH TRAINING 
Is this the week you will be joining me for Strength Training for Runners? It is this Wednesday and every Wednesday. Always free. Live to your screen, see you there! 

IN OTHER SPORTS

• Will there ever be women's sumo? 600 amateur women hope so.
• Will this guy ride the world's largest skate board ramp? Speeds of 120pmh on a SKATEBOARD! I can't watch.