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| Em and I "chill out" after a 25-mile training run along the Hudson River from the Staten Island Ferry to the George Washington Bridge--and back. |
For years running a marathon has been one of the to-dos on
my bucket list. When I saw an ad in the Springfield
News-Leader last April announcing the formation of a Galloway method training group, I decided that maybe it was time to check this (probably
ill-conceived) goal off my list. After all, I reasoned, I’m not getting any
younger.
So I joined the group and began the training
process for the Bass Pro Shops Outdoor
Fitness Festival Marathon (on Nov. 2), running long runs each Saturday with
my long-suffering fellow trainees. I also enlisted my daughter Emily (who lives
in NYC) to run the marathon with me. (She had already run a couple of the
26.2-mile races, so she knew what she was getting into, but she quickly agreed
anyway.) Then I booked trips to NYC to trudge through a couple of long runs
with her. (Any excuse to visit the Big
Apple.) Finally, my dear, patient husband Doug, a seasoned marathoner, also
agreed to endure a couple of other grueling long runs with me while we were
traveling to the Grand Canyon in July and to Berlin in August.
Even though I’ve had serious doubts about my ability to
cover the marathon’s distance, my biggest concern throughout the process has
been dealing with the issues that arise from celiac disease: What happens if I
accidentally eat gluten before a run? Will I have to run for a restroom while
I’m out on the trail? Since I can’t eat most carbs, will I have the energy to
cover the long distance? What can I eat during the long runs to avoid
“bonking”?
By trial and error, I’ve found workable solutions to these
problems as my training has progressed. First, I’ve tried to be extra careful
to avoid “glutening” during this six-month-long training process, preparing as
many of my own meals as possible or eating at restaurants that I know to be
reliable sources of gluten-free meals.
Morning-time diarrhea has been an ongoing problem for me,
even when I’m certain that I haven’t ingested gluten. I’ve discovered that if I
get up a couple of hours before my run, eat a light breakfast, and hydrate, I
usually have enough time to complete my bathroom business so that I’m not
looking around for restrooms along my routes. Before the very long runs, I take
Imodium, which has helped me keep things under control. (By the way, even non-celiac runners find Imodium to be helpful for long runs.)
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| A few of the many gluten-free options for energy in the long run. |
To maintain strength throughout the long runs, many runners
drink sports drinks or eat gels, power bars, or jellybeans, and I have found
that I need these pick-me-ups as well.
But this is another place where runners with celiac disease must be
wary. It is important to research ingredients and locate the gluten-free candidates
before you do your long runs. When I need a power bar, I almost always choose Kind bars or Larabars. My go-to gels are Gu Energy Gels, Honey Stinger Gels or PowerGel, and the best beans I’ve found
are Jelly Belly Sport Beans, which
come in a variety of nice flavors. Most sports drinks are gluten-free,
including Gatorade, G2 and Powerade varieties, and Gu Brew electrolyte tablets are handy
if you want to add electrolytes to your water.
Pre-run carbo-loading, which typically involves pasta, is
another detail that is necessarily different for celiacs. For my evening meals
before most of my long runs, I’ve had risotto, rice dishes, or rice/corn-based
gluten-free pastas. These easy-to-find carbohydrates have worked well for me so
far, so I intend to stay the course with these reliable choices.
With the training behind me and my gluten-free groceries in
order, I’m actually looking forward to marathon day on Sunday—and especially to
ticking this activity off of my bucket list—if I don’t kick the bucket in the process!
