Alcohol-free trial

Yesterday I finished my first ever 30-day alcohol-free trial. And today I celebrated with one Corona beer---that never tasted so good!

In early summer I'd toyed with eliminating alcohol from my marathon training diet, as most runners concede that drinking regularly can set back your training:

* The extra carbs are empty calories. You are what you eat, and every bite counts toward better or worse performance during the next day's run.
* Alcohol dyhydrates you, which can be dangerous for runners on a hot day.
* And booze affects the sleep cycle. Your body needs extra sleep, especially after long runs, to repair muscle tissue and handle joint inflammation.

Plus, too much mileage on too little sleep can weaken the immune system. And runners on a strict training schedule can't afford to get sick.

Also I didn't like that I was using alcohol as a crutch to 'unwind' after a hectic workday or to open up socially. I figured the time was right to see how I handled completely eliminating alcohol from my life, if only for one short month.

So what was it like to skip the drinks for thirty consecutive days? Surprisingly, I didn't miss it. Only rarely did I feel the urge to drink wine with dinner, or go out for a beer on a Saturday night. Socially it was tougher, especially when all around me folks were clinking their glasses and cheerfully pouring out more rounds.

Always, though, someone kindly remembered to refill my iced tea or water glass. And I may have even inspired some others to change their drinking habits---after hearing about my conscious decision to cut back my drinking, one friend stated aloud to a roomful of people how she'd like to deliberately skip, or choose, her nightly glass of wine too.

Aside from the obvious benefits to my training, what were other pluses with passing on the drinks?

For one, I got to try alternatives! A french bistro in NYC served imported elderflower-infused lemonade (who knew?), and I sampled iced green tea lemonade at a recent BBQ.

For another, I found I could concentrate more closely on the conversations going on around me, a much different experience than recalling a melange of images the day after a party, with no clue about what was actually said. I found I survived just fine without a prop in hand to get me through an evening. And as it turns out, I'm just as funny without the booze. :)

What comes next, I ask myself? Is it smart to continue eschewing alcohol while I'm training?

Yes, but with some moderation. What I've learned is the control is important to me: making a conscious decision to drink, and to know it's fine if I don't. And until marathon day, I'll drink less at each sitting, and for just a day or two each week.

For sure, after all this is over, I'll lift up a celebratory pint to toast my efforts. But ultimately I'd like to make the occasional drink special again.

Long runs

Most online marathon training programs include 3 different kinds of runs: intervals/sprints, tempo runs, and long runs. Each contributes in its own way toward building cardiovascular capacity, joint resilience and muscle strength to eventually take you the full 26.2.

I've had experience using intervals and tempo runs to increase my running pace, but these long runs are new to me. And they present a host of problems that makes this part of the marathon training process as intellectual as it is physical.

Since we're talking about running for 100+ consecutive minutes during each long run, the question is what keeps your body going efficiently and effectively until the run is completed?

How much and how often should you drink? Do you walk while you're drinking, to avoid choking? Or keep running to stay on race schedule, taking small sips?

What do you eat along the way? Or is it better to just run faster and finish before the glucose levels crash?

What happens if you get a stitch in your side? Or your knee starts aching? Do you stop running and wait in a 10-minute line for the port-a-potty, or keep going even though you REALLY feel like you have to go to the bathroom?

What about the mental challenge of running for 2 or 3 hours at a stretch? So many people I've talked to tell me they don't run much because they get bored. I worried about that too at first, especially as my long runs consist of loops---I'm often traipsing down the same trails day after day.

You could write chapters about each of these subjects, and I don't know the answers. I'm sure it's different for each runner. So far I've found the best thing to do is run and just see what happens. Experiment, take notes, alter my technique and plan for future runs as I go. This is the fun part of training for me---fusing intelligent strategy with diligence and hustle to get ready for the race of my life.