Dining on Potassium

With my Country Music Marathon 2 weeks away and an increased workout regime the past month, my body has been crying out for help and guidance. Let's look at what my feeble mind is thinking.

When you run, you have a lot of time to think. I mean a LOT of time. My mind wanders aimlessly through my runs, switching topics as often as my dog wants out on a sunny day. It's usually important things, like why are my hamstrings tight today and not yesterday, or why don't more people recycle, or why can't bacon be a health food?

At my age, it becomes difficult to even remember my thoughts later that day so I can write them down in a blog, but one thing keeps coming back. We can land people on the moon, calculate the square root of 183184 in a nanosecond, even map someones genetic make-up based on a single strand of hair; so why can't we design a program that will record my thoughts while running, swimming, biking, walking and put them together in a concise, easy to read document? Doesn't seem too far fetched, does it?

Well, even without this miraculous program, which I shall dub "ThoughtPress", I actually remembered thinking about this topic on my last run. Potassium.

Potassium is especially important in regulating the activity of muscles and nerves. The frequency and degree to which our muscles contract, and the degree to which our nerves become excitable, both depend heavily on the presence of potassium in the right amount.

Other roles for potassium

Potassium is involved in the storage of carbohydrates for use by muscles as fuel. It is also important in maintaining the body's proper electrolyte and acid-base (pH) balance. Potassium may also counteract the increased urinary calcium loss caused by the high-salt diets typical of most Americans, thus helping to prevent bones from thinning out at a fast rate.

Now don't go thinking I'm like a doctor or nutritionist or something, I just know how to research the interent and this is from the Worlds Healtiest Foods website.

I've been wondering in some recent workouts why I've been cramping more often, not necessarily while running, but more often during Pilates. The instructor mentions the need for potassium if you're cramping. Like most everyone, I know things like bananas, figs and kiwis are a good source of potassium and I eat those fruits regularly. But look at this list of better sources;

Maybe Popeye has something there!

So anyway, here's how my workouts have gone the last few weeks in preparation for the upcoming marathon.

Fri Mar 28

Run 18.5 miles pace 10.35

Sat Mar 29

Run 4 miles 9.02 pace

Mon Mar 31

Pilates class

Tue Apr 1

Run 9 miles 10.13 pace

Wed Apr 2

Run 4 miles 8.52 pace

Thu Apr 3

Run 6 miles 10.30 pace

Pilates class

Sat Apr 5

Run 6 miles 10.30 pace

Sun Apr 6 - Brew to Brew

Run 8 miles 8.22 pace

Tue Apr 8

Swim 35 laps, 1750 yards

Run 4 miles 9.45 pace

Wed Apr 9

Run 7 miles 9.47 pace

Golf 9 holes (c'mon, it was cart path only, lots of walking)

Thu Apr 10

Run 5 miles 9.53 pace

Pilates class

I've only done 2 long runs in this training session, one 18.5-miler and one 20-miler. I'm hoping that the increased workload of swimming, boot camp classes and pilates will help compensate for the lower total number of running miles I put in this time. That and the extra spinach, avacado and papaya I plan to eat!