Long Run Awfulness and a Gluten Free Bar

On Sunday, we had crazy weather.  It was raining like mad and very windy.  My running partners were supposed to show up at my house at 9:00 for a 17 mile run but by 9:30, we decided to call it off....there was no sign of the rain letting up.  In fact, it was getting worse by the minute.  Now, since I was dressed and fed for a long run, if I were a smart girl, I would have gone straight down to my treadmill.  But instead, I sat on the couch with the paper and a cup of coffee.  That cup turned into 3 cups and talking with my husband and kids about what we were going to do all day.  Motivation to get on the treadmill quickly passed and hanging with my family won.  I didn't feel guilty about it at all because I figured I would get it done today.

My non-smart girl side was apparently still making the decisions this morning when I decided to go to Body Pump at 9:00 then do my long run after.  Yes, I am well aware (now) how stupid this is.  After pump, I headed into the Cardio Cinema prepared to run for 3 hours.  I kept the speed low and tried to get into the movie (The Professional).  After the first hour (6.5 miles), I took a few bites of the new Gluten Free bars that arrived this weekend (more on them in a minute!) then turned the treadmill back on....things would be so much easier if they didn't time out after an hour.

Unfortunately, the one waffle and coffee I had for breakfast was stupid mistake number three because by the time I got about 40 minutes into the second hour, I was done.  Totally out of gas.  I even got pretty nauseous.  Awesome.  So.  I only made it 12 miles today.  I walked out of the gym feeling horrible.  Not just physically but mentally as well.  I know I wasn't fueled properly for a long run and I know taking Pump (hello squat and lung track) before was idiotic but I still couldn't help feeling panicked about Boston.

OK.  Enough of that or I'll start crying.

I'm continuing on with the wheat free eating.  I honestly don't notice any difference in how I feel so I'm a little down about that.  I was really hoping to notice a big change fairly quickly.  I'm going to keep up with it though for two weeks just like I planned.  Who knows, maybe I'll suddenly notice a difference at the end of 2 weeks!

During my constant internet searching of all things wheat and gluten free, I came across GFB - The Gluten Free Bar.  They have a sample pack that includes one peanut butter bar and one chocolate peanut butter bar so I decided to give them a try.  My hope is that they will be fuel for my long runs and possibly even for Boston.

I brought the Chocolate Peanut Butter one to the gym today.  I didn't eat the entire thing, just took 3 good sized bites after the first hour of running and I have to say, it is really quite tastey!  I was very surprised.  I just assumed it would be like cardboard.  It was chewy which is a huge plus for me...I hate having a hard or crunchy bar when I'm running.  It was sweet but not overly so and it just had a very pleasant peanut butter taste.

The photo of the nutritional information isn't the best so I'll just say that the peanut butter bar has 235 calories, 9.5g total fat, 27g carbs, 2g fiber, 13g sugar and 13g protein.  The chocolate peanut butter flavor has 240 calories, 10g total fat, 28g carbs, 2.5g fiber, 14.5g sugar and 12g protein. 

I'm hoping that my wonky stomach during the run wasn't caused by the bar because I really did like it.  I had a few more bites of it a little bit ago and I still feel a little funny.  WHAT on earth could be causing this??  There is brown rice syrup in the ingredients which I've been noticing in a lot of things I eat lately.  Could that cause a problem?  Ugh.  So frustrating.   Sorry, that was a bit of a tangent.  Stomach aside, I really liked the chocolate peanut butter bar and would recommend it on taste.  I didn't eat enough of it to gauge if it would supply me with a kick I need on a long run but I will try again on Sunday!