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This is an update to my post in April.  For the Coastal Delaware Marathon, I used Spring gels every 3 miles with a Clif Bloc chew as an alternate.  What I noticed recently is that these gels provide significantly less carbs than the Huma gels (17g vs. 21g) and less sodium (60mg vs 250mg).  This might explain some of issues that I saw in the race (bonking around mile 20 and cramping at mile 24).  I am targeting 60g of carbs and 750mg of  electrolytes an hour.  To get there, I am now planning on using/executing the following:  taking a gel, electrolyte capsule and BCAA capsule 15 minutes before start of run (to pre-load energy processing prior to the run) taking a gel every 20 minutes  rotating through carb boom!, huma, and spring gel every hour (one of each, and 1-2 will be caffine) adding 1-2 salt capsules from gu every hour (140mg per capsule) adding a BCAA capsule from gu every hour (will have to see if this helps in long runs) I hav...

Currently Recommended for Different Uses, If I had to Pick One Today for Each Use (June 2019): Races - Vaporfly 4% Tempo, Interval - Zoom Fly Flyknit (will retire July @ 250), Carbon X Hills - Razor 3, Zoom Fly Flyknit (will retire July @ 250), Carbon X Easy, Long - Vomero 14 (will retire July @ 300), 1080 v9 All Around - Beacon Other Shoes: Adidas Prime Parley - On hold.  Will use on treadmill. Hoka One One Carbon X -  I really didn't like this shoe the first 25 miles.  I'm not sure if it was break-in issues or the drop.  I'm on mile 40 and the shoe is starting to work for me.  I still don't feel a pop like the Zoom Fly or Vaporfly.  It is comfortable up to the 11 miles max that I have run so far.  Reebok Sweet Road 2 - On hold. Reebok Floatride Forever Energy  - Will rotate them in after Beacon. Reebok Floatride Run Fast - Ran in them recently, and they really feel like a racing flat.  I don't get as much feedback fro...

So, I decided that I wanted to try to find a running coach this summer to help with my marathon PR.  I started by reaching out to a coach that reviews shoes on 2 websites that I go to.  After a 30 minute discussion, I wasn't totally sold.  He was nice enough, but he lives in CA (so no one-on-ones), and wanted some level of commitment to his plan/schedule (i.e., his workouts would trump other training, like my Striders' marathon training).  His costs were $325 per 3 months. I then reached out to a coach on another website.  Most of the coaches had significant running experience.  I had a free consultation with the recommended one for me.  It was a nice conversation and he was more flexible than the 1st individual.  Cost was $60 for a plan, $39 for a consultation or $189 per month for more one-on-one work.  He lived in OR, so it was video conferencing one a week.  I was ready to try him out for a month, but I sent some final questions to...

I really didn't want to run this race.  Last year was one of the worst experience I've had in a race.  The temperature was hot (73 degrees and up) with high humidity.  Coming off a good half marathon at Fredrick (almost 8:00 miles), I had high hopes for this race.  By mile 5, I was hurting.  I had to walk through the next water stop so as to not pass-out or throw-up.  My pace slowed significantly.  I was able to finish, but it took me over 30 minutes to recover.  My end time was over 9:10 miles, way off my target.  I didn't sign up till 2 week prior to the race.  I had recovered from the marathon, but still wasn't sure if I was ready.  In reviewing last year's race data, it was clear that my heart rate was 10 beats above normal for a race (171 vs. 161).  I promised myself to manage this race better than last year.  I would continually adjust my pace so as not to exceed 161 bpm.  I wasn't too worried about PRing give...