Virtual Run Weekend (updated 8/1 8:30pm)

Virtual Run Weekend is here at last and our first report came in via email last night. SGT. Brian sent us word that he'd finished a 4.4 mile jog. Looking forward to hearing reports from everyone.

Participants and Goals

Amanda: Goal 5 Miles. Okay, I just got done. 7.96 miles total...Yep, did a bit more today that I was planning on.Here's the breakdown:.31mi warm up walk5mi @ 13:34 per mi.5mi cool down walk2.16mi walk @ 17:15 per mi(with the dogs)Feel pretty good overall...Wish the speed was a bit better, but it'll improve :)!Good luck to everyone else that still has miles to log!

Byron: Goal 5 Miles. Byron checked in this morning via email and reports Byron 5 miles in 1:26:36 Keep Moving Forward!!! Thanks for the report Byron it great to hear from you!

Bryan: Congrats to everyone for getting out there and shooting for those goals. I got up this morning and did the longest run that I've done in a while. I did about 9 miles in 1 hour 29 minutes. It's been really hard to do long distances in this extremely hot Florida weather lately. And it's not the heat and humidity that bother me so much but the sun beating down on me. The evening runs tend to go much better but I just don't have time to do long evening runs so I try to do my long runs first thing in the morning on the weekend. So there you have it... I hope everyone is doing well with their goals and I can't wait to see you all either in October or January in WDW.

Chris: Goal 10k+. Stroller Boy, checking in. I got out late morning but wasn't planning on doing my virtual run till tomorrow. However, the weather was just too perfect to pass up. 80 degrees, low humidity and a slight breeze, had to take full advantage. In the end, I got in a very hilly 9 mile run at a nice and easy pace for a 1:25:xx total. I tell ya, after running in the insane heat/humidity last week down in WDW, this was just too nice to pass up. I'll try to recap the vacation on the blog soon.Great work out there, looks like everyone is tossing any excuses to the side and getting the job done!

Eric: Goal bike 10k

Jeff W Goal 10k. Awoke Saturday at 6:15 to extream fog making it unsafe to run in my neighborhood. Have help coming at 8am to hang drywall in my basement. Will be evening before I can get out the door. I may run Sunday morning instead. Drying walling ended around 9:15pm. Rather than showering and heading out the door for a run I opted to be in bed early at 10. I set an early alarm and was out the door for a 6am wog the Sunday. Got in my 6 miles and averaged a 13.25 pace.

Jonathan: Goal 5k.From Jonathan. Due to time and location constraints, my virtual run will be tomorrow. :) I'll update y'all when I'm done. ;)We'll hold you to it buddy.

Okie dokie!!!Checking in with a 5k (3.1m) walk in 60:15. Wanted to be under an hour, but these dang hills (I start having to go up a biggun to get out of my condo) are killing my left shin.
But then again - how do you get to Carnegie hall? ;)

Justin: Goal 13.1 Miles. I got mine done! Due to a very busy schedule today, I had to get up at 4:30 in order to get my run finished. I hit the very foggy trail at 5am and ran the first hour in the pitch dark. It started getting light around 6am and remained foggy the entire run. All that, and I still made it into the office on time to start a wonderful Saturday morning at work. Wasn't that fog nuts? If i'd have awoke earlier I would have hit the in town trails.Hold me accountable between this evening anf tomorrow

Lisa: y'all are amazing!!!! trace and i are just about to head out the door... i'm wayyyy back to week 2, day 2 of C25K and trace is restarting day 1 today. enjoying the C25K/Bridge@10K apps by run helper! have a great weekend, y'all! from deep in the heart of texas,

Matt: Goal 10k. Hi guys,My run was not as eventful as the rest of you. My goal was a 10k and I wanted to push it even more my going 8 miles. Well, that didn't happen. I only got 4 miles before the heat got to me and I got sick. It was my fault... I slept in and had plans for last night, so I went out around 3:00 when the temp was 101 and humidity was insane! Yeah... Stupid me!
I am going to try to make things up this evening... LATE this evening. You've all done great!

Mike: F Goal 10k. Mike checking in. 6.2miles(my hill training loop) 1:00:35. And on 3.5hrs. of sleep. Keep moving forward!

Nat: Goal 10k.

Princess Fee: Goal 5 miles. Princess Fee checking in with 5k in 33minutes! Got 5 miles to do tomorrow and wasn't even supposed to run today but the encouraging emails got me out there!!!! Thank you team!

Rae: Goal 10k.

Richard: I think I forgot to say what I was doing so here it is....I did a 40 mile bike ride in 2.5 hours on Saturday and 7.2 mile run Sunday (including some warmup and cooldown walking) in 1:13:08.Good work everyone!

SGT. Brian:: Goal 6 Miles. From Brian: It is already Saturday in this wonderful land of Oz. I woke up this morning and with some friends I did my run. I was planning on 6 miles, but my buddies were only willing to do 2, and I had a time restraint. So I ended up with a 4.4 mile meander with a time of 36:17. Not my best time, but I am happy to have done it. I hope everyone enjoys their run.

Trace: Hi all you Team Voicers! I sure needed this email from Deb! I have not ran or watched what I have eaten the past year. I have gained 50 pounds and not happy! Today started, "back to being me run!". I completed week 1 day 1 Couch to 5k. Wish me luck! I have a Disney Wedding to get in shape for!

Theresa: Goal 5k.

WDWDeb: Goal 5k. All done with my 5K, and it was good to get out again. I haven't run in two weeks, so I'm starting over again. But STARTING is the most important thing we can do!
I did 3.1 miles in 54 minutes. Sounds crazy, but I was just happy it was under an hour!!
Congrats to all the finishers -- and get out there tomorrow if you haven't run yet -- you'll be glad you did!

Food 101

From Runner's World :

BALANCING ACT

Whatever time of day you run, you have 60 minutes after your workout to properly refuel. Here's how to take it all in.

By Scott Douglas

From the August 2004 issue of Runner's World

If you're like a lot of runners, your postworkout routine goes something like this: Stretch, drink water, shower, and get on with your day. Food? That can wait until you're hungry, right?

Not if you want to feel your best on your next run. When you run, you burn mostly glycogen, a fuel stored in your muscles. Your mission right after a run, therefore, is to eat, even if you don't feel hungry. And fast. No matter what time of day you run, the enzymes that are responsible for making glycogen are most active immediately postworkout-leaving you a 60-minute window in which those highly stimulated enzymes are at maximum capacity to produce glycogen.

"After exercise, especially following intensive or prolonged bouts, the body is primed to reload muscle glycogen," says Suzanne Girard Eberle, M.S., R.D., author of Endurance Sports Nutrition. Wait more than an hour to refuel, and your body's ability to make glycogen out of what you consume drops by an astounding 66 percent. And the longer you wait, the more likely you are to feel sluggish.

"Everything runners do is about how well we recover," says Lisa Dorfman, M.S., R.D., a sports nutritionist and marathoner. "That's when the gains from training come."

In that crucial first hour, shoot to consume 300 to 400 calories-ideally containing three grams of carbs to every one gram of protein. Your body's already primed to make glycogen out of simple carbs, and a little protein helps repair muscle-tissue microdamage. Of course, what you'll feel like eating (or drinking, or not) after a 7 a.m. run will probably differ from what you'll want after a run in the noon heat or between work and dinner. Here's how to maximize the refueling window, whatever time of day you run.

Early Risers

Byrne Decker, a 2:22 marathoner and law partner in Maine, runs early in the morning near his office and then eats back at his desk. "Breakfast is usually yogurt, cereal, and fruit," he says. Many breakfast foods have the perfect postrun carb-protein mix. "Cereal with skim milk is a great recovery meal," Dorfman says. Choose a cereal with a few grams of protein. If you have time to cook, Dorfman recommends egg whites on toast. If you eat on the road to work, choose easily transported foods, like energy bars or a bagel with cheese.

The Lunch Shift

You've spent your lunch break running. Now you have to eat, but you're on the clock. Use the office refrigerator and microwave for tasty leftovers with the right nutritional balance (a small serving of pasta with red sauce, a turkey sandwich on whole-grain bread). Of course, if high noon means high temps, the heat might have zapped your appetite. "Drink your carbohydrates and protein," says Girard Eberle. "Flavored milk, fruit smoothie, meal-replacement beverage, or postworkout sports drink."

After Office Hours

If you can't sit down to your evening meal within an hour of your run, graze on raw veggies, crackers, bread, and a little cheese to tide you over healthily until your fully restorative dinner. You'll want more of a glycogen-reloading plan if you run from the office and still have a long commute in front of you. Joe LeMay, who lives in Danbury, Connecticut, trained for his 2:13 marathon PR with evening runs from his office. He always had portable snacks on hand (apples, bananas, bagels) for the 45-minute drive home and was especially careful to rehydrate en route. "This would be the perfect scenario for a sports drink," says Dorfman. "Then you have dinner."

Night Moves

Finding good recovery-window foods after late-night running will involve some experimentation. "Try a carbohydrate-rich drink," Girard Eberle suggests. "Or eat half of your dinner before and the other half after." Anne Woodman, a 20-mile-a-week nighttime runner in Morrisville, North Carolina, has learned that a half to one cup of cereal does the job of restocking her muscles without interfering with her sleep. "The key is to end up not starving at dinnertime or after the run," says Eberle. "This will easily lead to overeating."