Susanne Aces Marine Corps Marathon
On Sunday, Oct 28th, 2012, I participated in the Marine Corps Marathon (26.2 miles) in DC. This was my 5th marathon (if you count 2 Ironman triathlons plus a marathon I walked earlier this year with my 71-yr-old dad). To be completely honest, I had been very laid-back in training for this race and hadn’t done any of the “requisite” long training runs – the longest run I had done was a 13 miler. Life had become very busy, and sleep took precedence over 3 hour runs.
The day before the race, on Saturday, I began to feel as if I was fighting off a bug. I was exhausted and just felt “off.” I began taking Taheebo, “Vitamin-C Product”, 4 extra ounces of “Liquid Organic Product”, and a couple of “Energy Product”. The next morning I woke up at 5:15am and felt great. I had my Body Balance (6 oz), a glass of water, a coffee. I then had the smoothie I have every single day for breakfast: 1 scoop Amino Charge, 1 scoop Tru Greens, a teaspoon of organic cacao, a teaspoon of chia seeds, a banana (I normally have half), a handful of frozen organic blueberries, a glass of water & a handful of ice. That was breakfast. I then prepared my Fuel Belt (as you see in the photo: a belt that can carry four 8-oz bottles). I only had 2 bottles with me so I filled one with 8 oz of “Energy Product” and the other with water. I packed some energy gummies (by PowerBar).
About 20 mins before the race began, I drank an extra “Energy Product” I had brought. During the race itself, when I had drank all my water I would stop at an aid stop and refill the water. All in all, during the race itself, I had 32oz of water and 8 oz of “Energy Product” (I started sipping it after 90 mins of running), & 4 energy gummies. I had trained this way. I don’t believe in sports drinks, which are full of sugar and crap, and I don’t believe in drinking anything other than water unless you’re training for more 90 mins. My stomach can be sensitive, so I do best with liquids before and during competition.
I felt GREAT during the entire race, which took me 4:13. In part, because of my race strategy, which my dad, a marathon veteran, had taught me: go VERY SLOWLY the first 18 or so miles, then pick it up. My last 6 miles I was passing by dozens and dozens of runners who had slowed to a walk or were bent over at the side of the road. I just kept getting faster. At no point did I feel drained, not even after the race. I never had any GI issues. I really feel that my successful race day and the recovery since, which has been a non-issue, is in large part due to the “Company X” products. When I see other athletes consume Gatorade, PowerAde, etc, especially children – it makes me cringe. “Energy Product” is my #1 choice during training & racing, and all of the other products are key to successful training, racing & recovery.
– Susanne Navas