Yesterday I completed the Denver Rock N Roll Half Marathon and it was an experience to remember. This race is one of the first I have done in a long time that I didn’t have tummy issues. Yes, as a runner many of us know that dreaded feeling. So I thought I would share with you what I learned.

1. Drink, Drink, Drink. Yep, we have heard this many times to hydrate. The key is to find the right balance for you and your body. I thought I had stayed hydrated but during my training run I found that I actually was not. One way I figured this out was I weighed myself before I ran then again after. If my weight fluctuated more that a pound or two in either direction, I knew whether I drank enough or not. Example: Before run I weighed 103; after the run I weighed 101. This meant I was under hydrated.

2. Eating before a run was the other important point. I always thought I needed to eat to fuel my run. I also thought that WHAT I was eating determined whether I had tummy problems or not. I would do some long runs without eating, and to my surprise I felt good some of the time. Other runs I would eat something small (1/2 banana; 1 slice grain free bread with almond butter) I would sometimes feel good other times not. I began to see that it wasn’t so much what I was eating but again how much I was hydrating.

3. Journaling – I never could have figured this all out without keeping a journal of not only my food intake but my activity for that day AND how I felt. This helped me to look back to see what changed. I kept a excel spreadsheet so please don’t think you have to make it fancy & all. It’s more important that you write EVERYTHING down.

4. I hybrid running the the new program PiYo and what a difference that made. My core was stronger, the hills were doable and I felt strong! Love that program! If you want to find our more about PiYo go to www.RunWithCecilia.com

Those are my 4 big points I wanted to make. Now I just need to figure out my next race!