Reader Questions Answered! Part Two

 

Last month I dedicated a post to answering some of the common reader questions that I received by email.

I have a few more questions which recently came in on great topics so let’s get to answering them today!

You eat oatmeal every single morning but what brand of oatmeal do you buy and which type of oat do you prefer?

Great question! I know I talk about oatmeal all of the time but the specific details aren’t always mentioned.

Current pantry trio: Trader Joe’s Organic Steel Cut, Multigrain Hot Cereal and Old-Fashioned Rolled Oats.

My number one, all-time favorite is steel-cut oatmeal. I love the dense and chewy texture BUT I also love cooking a combination of oats for variety as well as more volume.

Check out this post which further explains the difference between the types of oats as well as this post on how to make your own oatmeal packets.

I am all about volume. The more oatmeal in my bowl, the better.

I find that old-fashioned oatmeal thickens up and creates more oatmeal per serving than steel-cut. When cooking both together, you create a terrific texture combination while increasing your volume which means you have more to eat.

I normally prepare four servings at a time and store them in the refrigerator.

In addition to the Trader Joe’s organic oatmeal varieties, I also like TJ’s Gluten-Free Rolled Oats, Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-Free Steel-Cut Oatmeal and Love Grown Foods Oatmeal varieties.

There is something overly awesome about the texture of Love Grown Foods Super Oats.

I honestly think this simply pure oatmeal, which contains chia and quinoa, might really be my favorite (or at least tied at the top) but I can’t always locate it in the stores which upsets me.

Your long runs always seem to be at least 13 miles, every single week. Do you really need to taper for this half marathon?

Yes. I do need to taper. While I run 13.1 on a pretty regular basis and can absolutely run this race without tapering, I paid $65 to race, not to run.

I want to perform to the best of my ability. I want to go into this race feeling fresh and ready for a PR (under 1:45) and the only way to do that is to give myself some taper time in order to really rest and recover from all of my “training”.

I put training in quotes because I didn’t exactly train for this half marathon. I never follow a training plan but I do put in the time and miles to get myself in what I consider race shape and it’s time for a well deserved vacation.

That’s right, vacation. Vacation is exactly how I am looking at this week’s workouts leading up to Sunday, rather than making it feel like a taper week where you get antsy and struggle to fight the urge to run your usual miles.

I will still run a little bit but my focus is on embracing some much needed rest as a reward for my running dedication.

Check out this post for a taper week workout plan along with race day essentials.

Do you sweat a lot when you run? Do you have any tips for people who sweat a ton, especially for during a race?

I do not sweat a whole lot when I run unless it is the middle of the summer but even then, I can’t say that I am often a dripping mess.

That being said, here are some tips for attempting to keep the sweat in check:

Sweat-wicking material <— a total must! Wearing the right athletic apparel which is manufactured to help absorb your perspiration and wick it away from your body. Sometimes I don’t even realize how sweaty I am until I take my clothes off after my run — my clothes are usually wet but I didn’t even feel it!

Wear light colors as to not attract the sun <— light colors deflect the sunlight while darker colors will absorb the sun’s heat making you hotter than you need to be.

Try wearing a sun visor like this one from Lululemon to limit sun exposure when running outdoors. Too much sun beating down on the face can certainly cause you to overheat which makes you sweat more!

Run early or later in the day to avoid being outside during peak sun hours and look for routes that have some shade.

My summer boardwalk runs are certainly pretty but oh my goodness, the sun is hot and relentless without shade!

Stay hydrated and balance your electrolytes – Sweating is your body’s way of regulating it’s temperature. As you run and “heat up” your body will sweat to cool itself down. Sweating releases fluid (I know you know this but just go with it) which contains minerals, including sodium and potassium.

You can sweat your way to dehydration and even create an imbalance in your electrolytes, which in basic you and me terms means, you will not feel well. You will literally feel imbalanced; lethargic, dizzy, nauseous, achy and have zero ability to focus.

Electrolyte imbalances can be super serious so let’s try to avoid that, okay?

I actually find that staying hydrated on a regular basis,  not only with water but with hydrating fruits such as watermelon and adding salt to my food (and drinks) to increase my blood volume, actually helps my body regulate the sweat production.

If I am not eating/hydrating properly for my workouts, I do notice a difference in how quickly I overheat which is exactly why I bump up the water intake, salt my food more often and eat copious amounts of watermelon in the days before a race, like this week for example. Do you see all of that watermelon I just cut up? All from one melon!

I recently bought this Fringe Fighter headband from Lululemon and love it by the way.

If you have the tendency to sweat a lot around your hairline and/or experience sweat dripping down to your face, I highly recommend this type of headband for keeping the sweat out of your eyes!

I was also asked if I would advise running a race with a towel to wipe off sweat.

I can’t really answer this because it isn’t something I have needed to do. I would love it if you could leave a comment on this post and help your fellow reading runners out on this one!

[bctt tweet=”Reader questions answered – oatmeal, taper week and sweating #questionsanswered #taperweek @lovegrownfoods”]

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Have a question for me? Please ask! You can contact me by clicking here if you don’t want to leave a comment!

Are you a big sweater? How do you handle it, especially during races?