Day 5

Strength-training:  These early days of strength training are going to be pretty standard.  Aiming for consistency and task-completion is more important at this stage than impressive results. (Those will come later).  Today was just one set of exercises such as flys, dumbbell rows, and push-ups.

Nutrition:  I'm a fan of real food versus sports drinks, gels, bars, etc.  The first time I tried a gel was during the Victoria half-marathon.  At the 13k mark station, I gagged down half of a free "banana" gel and am still getting flashbacks of the ghastly sweet pseudo-banana essence.  I think being disgusted actually cost me energy.

I used to prefer running on an empty stomach, mostly because I was worried about getting sick to my stomach.  Then last year while I was staying at a friend's, we had a late brunch, chit-chatted for an hour or so, and then went out for an 11k trail run.  Not only was I shocked to find that eating before running doesn't automatically lead to me honking in a ditch, but also that I had ridiculous amounts of energy to spare.

So now, I always ingest something before a run, whether it be a smoothie or just a banana (real, not gel-packed candy goo).  A lot of runners swear by classic pre-race meals like pasta and other high-carb foods.  Light veggie-based pasta the night before a race has worked for me, but pasta in the morning just reminds me of Michael Scott and the 5k Run for Rabies.