Date: 2/17/21
Training Day: 33
Miles: 4
Time: 45 min
Shoes: Brooks Adrenaline GTS 21
Weather: N/A (indoors on a treadmill)
Strength Training: Legs

How It Felt: Stuck to relatively level course stages on the treadmill, so this run felt surprisingly easy. Either that or I’m getting stronger at running. The leg workout today was more about stabilizer muscles, so it was challenging without being hard, if that makes sense.

Commentary: Yesterday and today I worked in town. This means my commute has been a mere ten minutes vice 45-50 minutes (one way). So, I’ve been doing both my run and strength training in the mornings before work. It’s pretty much the best because I get so much more free time in the evenings.

I also get home earlier, so I’ve been eating dinner earlier. I’ve also been sleeping better. For the past three nights I have eaten after 6:30pm, so I’m wondering if that’s why I’m sleeping better. Or is it because I haven’t worked out in the evenings the past three nights?

This gives me two hypotheses.

1. I sleep better when I stop eating around 6:30pm.
2. I sleep better when I don’t workout in the evening.

I can test the first hypothesis tonight. Since I knocked out both my workouts this morning, I can eat later with no workout. Easy peasy.

For the second hypothesis, I need to workout in the evening and not eat past 6:30pm. This is a bit of a problem since I usually don’t finish my evening workouts until 6:30pm. And I usually don’t eat until 7:30pm. But I came up with an idea.

I usually eat a large snack around 4pm to get me through my evening workout. I’m thinking I can up the portion on that. But I still need something after my workout, and a protein shake usually isn’t filling enough.

A guy at work drinks Huel, a plant-based meal replacement shake. He said it tastes good and does well at replacing a meal without leaving him hungry. Bingo! I can drink this right after a workout, get all the carbs, protein and calories I need, and not feel hungry. And I’m willing to bet it’s easier to digest than whatever I usually make for dinner.

As soon as my order comes in I can test my second hypothesis.

Being the nerd I am, I’m excited to find out of either hypotheses is correct.

Training Journal exercise fitness journal running strength training