An experiment of one

Dr. George Sheehan famously included in his list of important running tips for every runner, "You are an experiment of one." He was talking about training schedules, but it seems to apply to everything in a runner's life. Newbies like me want the comfort of clinging to the "right" training schedule, being told the "right" number of layers to wear for a winter run, and dutifully writing down what the "right" pre-run and post-run snacks are...but the truth is that there is no "right" thing. There is only what works for me--which may or may not work for you. Trial and error is the only way to discover what your "right" things are.

In that spirit of experimentation, I decided to try an Elvis bagel as my pre-workout snack today. I loved peanut butter and banana sandwiches for lunch as a kid, so I figured I'd like the Elvis bagel--a toasted plain bagel with peanut butter and banana slices. I probably should have waited a bit longer to smear on the peanut butter because it melted a little, but that didn't detract from the taste. It was good. Now I needed to see how well it worked as fuel.

I gathered up my things and drove verrrry slowly through a raging snowstorm to the gym, where I mournfully handed over another precious red-and-black ticket to paradise and changed into my workout clothes. Somehow I managed to mislay the key to my lock in the two minutes I was in the locker room, so I had to leave all my stuff in an unlocked locker and hope it would still be there after I finished my two-mile run on the indoor track. Sadly, not even the threat of losing my wallet, phone and keys was enough to boost my speed. I hit mile 2 at 23:55. However, the Elvis bagel seemed to fuel my workout just fine. I didn't get the shakes or that horrible empty-stomach feeling halfway through, and I didn't feel nauseous, so I guess I can put it in the column of "pre-workout snacks that actually work for me."

Thankfully, my stuff did not get pilfered and I even found my key after I got home (dog kibble can bury a lot of things--'nuff said), so all's well that ends well.