Nutrition - single- versus multi-day events (Hannah)

I'm really interested in nutrition and so, off the back of my recent article on multi-day versus single-day events, I thought I'd compare how I fuel myself for each of these...

Until last year my running events had mostly been on road and had maxed out at marathon distance. After my two first half marathons taught me it wasn't sensible to race on water alone, I became a committed user of energy gels. I'd use them in my long training runs and that plus water got me through a lot of races. I never particularly liked the idea of putting such concentrated sweet stuff into my body but it did the trick. I also discovered TORQ gels fairly early on - at least I knew they were pretty natural so I didn't feel I was putting something from the chemistry lab inside me!

When I started training for the Transalpine last year I did a quick calculation and realised I'd need about 60 gels over the course of the week. That just didn't seem like a particularly good idea. I also figured I would lose the taste for them pretty quickly - even towards the end of the Ironman day I find that all I can stomach is coke and that I don't fancy anything sweet for several days.

So I thought back to how I'd fuelled myself for multi-day treks and cycle rides. These had all been done on "proper food" and so I started applying this concept to my running. The intensity I'm at when I'm doing ultras is so much lower than straight road races that digestion hasn't been a problem and I've transitioned pretty well. Most of my Transalpine running was fueled by plain cake or Kelloggs Elevenses bars. During the Transalpine itself I also enjoyed orange segments, cucumber and watermelon at the feed stations. But recently I'm a convert to TORQ bars - I love the fact that the flavours aren't too sweet and that they taste natural cos of the dried fruit inside them. And thanks to the clever science of the guys at TORQ, they're obviously made in a way that gives me exactly what I need from a  performance point of view.

The other thing I've learned with multi-day events is the importance of "fueling for tomorrow". When I'm out running, I need to make sure that I don't deplete my energy reserves to a point that will be hard to recover from in time for tomorrow's run. I might sometimes take on more nutrition than is totally necessary to make sure I am always comfortably fueled. I'll also still have a couple of "emergency gels" in my pack just in case - though on the 8 days of the Transalpine I didn't touch these once.

Linked into this is what I eat after I finish each day. Through practice and  experimentation I've learned that the difference between eating within 30 mins off finishing versus not is massive when it comes to running the next day. And when I don't then the next day isn't pretty! When I'm doing training runs I'll leave some TORQ recovery powder in the car and some water. I can mix it up and have it inside me within 10 mins off finishing. It goes down really easily, contains everything I need and it's really convenient as it doesn't need to be kept cool. It's less practical if I'm light-packing though (e.g. when we were in the Isle of Wight) as I want to keep my weight down as much as possible. In that case I'll find  somewhere that can sell me a chocolate milkshake. I'll usually have a sandwich as well. And on the Transalpine they had a massive vat of quinoa at the finish every day - perfect!

Single day versus multi-day (Hannah)

Last year was all about training for the Transalpine. So our focus was on getting to a place where we could get up day after day and run the marathon distance. This year I'm training for a 100k race (the RAT) and so my training focus during this peak period is a bit different. At the moment it's all about massive days on Saturday - the sort of days that almost make ironman training sessions look short!

And this, combined with my recent trips to Chamonix with the Trail Running Team and the Isle of Wight with Brett and my bros, has caused me to compare single and multi-day racing / training and think about what I prefer.

What I've realised is that I prefer multi-day. And that it doesn't have to be about doing a race. I enjoy the journey, the adventure and the camaraderie. I enjoy the fact that the adventure is spread over several days and that at the end of each we can reflect on the day that's gone as well as plan for and look forward to the next.   Recently, I've found my Saturday runs getting longer and longer to the point where they're not much fun anymore, especially given all the hot weather we've had recently (not that I'm complaining!).

At the extreme end of the multi-day concept is Jez Bragg's journey that took him the length of New Zealand. What he did earlier this year really inspires me. The places he saw, the people he met, the wealth of experiences he built up. But there are more accessible adventures closer to home and I've found myself building a list of these - the GR20, Offa's Dyke, the Southwest Coastal Footpath, Hadrian's Wall, the Welsh Castles relay route,..... Suffice to say that there's enough I want to do to keep me going for some time. And I want to spread it over a few days and savour the experience rather than rushing to do it in one go and pushing myself into a very dark hole.

So I guess this is all a useful learning and will help me know how to plan future seasons to make sure I'm enjoying myself as much as possible. One thing's for sure - it certainly doesn't mean I'll be slacking off,  especially given the list I've now committed to "paper" above! Here's to it...

The importance of sleeping

A big learning (or re-learning!) in the last week has been the importance of sleep. Saturday morning, feeling super-motivated and confident after my trip to the Alps with the Trail Running Team, I headed off on a tough 40 mile-ish run. About 10 miles in the wheels well and truly fell off! My nutrition was ok and  my legs didn't feel too fatigued (surprisingly) but all I wanted to do was curl up on a ball and go to sleep.

If I get less than 8 hours sleep a night then I start to struggle and it won't be long before I pick up a bug. When I'm training hard then I ideally need more than this, at the very least at weekends when I can also sneak in an afternoon nap or two.

In the Alps I was getting well short of 8 hours a night and it's really hit me since getting home. I was straight back to work (5.30 starts and long commute) and various things made for late nights.

So I hit the weekend and I was absolutely shattered. Friday night I got 10 hours of unbroken sleep but this  obviously wasn't enough recovery. Sunday's run went better but was still very hard going. A hint that I need to take this week easy...