Today I got to run fast! Well, I got to run faster than I have all week. I don’t consider marathon pace to be particularly fast. It’s not a 5k pace. However, it sure felt good to turn over the legs a bit faster than the conversational pace runs I’ve been doing this week.
My run today was 5 miles at my goal marathon pace. I did a 5 minute warm up to get my pace going. Then, I ran the 5 miles at my goal pace and cooled down for just 3 minutes. I was really happy that I was able to hit my marathon goal pace and came within 4 seconds of my goal over the whole 5 miles.
Mid-Week Run Fueling
On days that I run a medium long run I like to fuel with a bit more food than on shorter run days. Short run days will typically consist of 5 oz of steamed red beets with a teaspoon of high quality, flavored balsamic vinegar such as fig or cinnamon pear. If I’m especially hungry, I’ll add a small banana.
When I’m running a fast workout or anything over 45 minutes I’ll usually add an ounce of almonds, as well. I find this is just enough food to keep my stomach from growling. It gives me the energy I need for my run without causing a side stitch or full feeling in my stomach.
Years ago I used to be able to workout in a fasted state but I found that I perform much better when I fuel a little beforehand.
Running on Beets
If you haven’t tried beets as a pre-workout fuel, I highly recommend trying them. If you have an Instant Pot then you are one step closer to an effortless, healthy morning snack. Not too mention, it’s a great way to get another serving of vegetables into your day and the nitrates in beets are great for your performance. Fresh beets fill you up and taste far better than drinking beet juice in my humble opinion.
Here’s how I prepare my beets:
- Put the trivet in the bottom of the Instant Pot liner and fill with water up to the bottom of the trivet.
- Scrub the beets and cut off any “tails”. I try to buy several beets that are similar in size so that they will each cook evenly.
- Place the beets on the trivet in the liner pot. It’s okay to stack them on top of each other but try to keep them from touching the sides of the pot too much or they may get a hard spot during cooking.
- Place the lid on the Instant Pot and lock in place.
- Select Pressure Cook setting.
- Timing will depend on the diameter of your beets. If the beets are large it could take 18-25 minutes. Smaller beets can take as little as 10 minutes.
- Let pressure naturally release when the timer is done.
- Open lid and slide a sharp knife into the top of a couple of beets to ensure they are done. The knife should slide easily. Then, using tongs, move beets to a colander in the sink.
- Rinse well with cool water for several moments to stop the cooking process. Then let cool for 20-30 minutes or until you can handle them with your hand.
- To prep beets, cut off the tops. Then, using fingers, push the skins off from the outside of the beet. Usually, the skin will peel easily and slide right off. Discard skins.
- Cut peeled beets into preferred size pieces and place in a large bowl. Store in fridge and use over several days.
Tips:
- I use vinyl gloves when peeling beets. This makes for much easier clean up and no red hands when I’m done. I purchase the gloves rather inexpensively at Target in the pharmacy section.
- If the skins do not slide off easily you may have let the beets cool too long. Try rinsing with water again to loosen the skins. If there are just a few patches that won’t slide, then use a knife to cut the patch off.
Workout
- 5 mile conversational pace run