Fun loop on Antelope Island with lots of Wranglers on the trail. The first mile my shins and calves were on fire from the shock of the climb. I haven’t ran on trails really for the past few months, so it took a min. Stopped for a quick stretch and felt ready to roll after that. Felt relaxed the entire run with no issues. Stopped my watch and forgot to restart for a few mins, which threw off my splits when I calibrated it on Strava to correct the distance but at least my time and distance corrected. Opened up the last two miles to sub 6:55 pace and felt so controlled and full of energy. Such a fun place to be ending one of my bigger weeks in road running.
I’ve tried several strategies with caffeine the past few years. I’ve ran seasons without it and ran with it for others. Last year when I trained for Ogden I decided not to take it in training or during the race. That was a terrible race, and my training was too, really. This marathon cycle I’ve gone back and forth about using it where I’ve used it for some weeks then change my mind. After reading some studies about taking the most ergonomic amount suggested for performance (3-6kg per pound of body weight), I realized I’ve never taken the recommended amount to be most efficacious. Today I took 200 mg one hour prior and 100 mg 2.5 hours later. I think it made a difference because today just felt effortless overall considering I’m ending one of my bigger and tougher weeks. At this point it’s clear I’m going to win Boston.
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