It was great to feel the sun on my skin again last weekend. Admittedly
there was still a lot of mud (thank goodness for mud claws!) And some
serious flooding. But I just loved being out in the Surrey Hills again
and feeling a hint of spring.
It also helped that Brett was running again. He was out of action for a
month before Christmas with a twisted ankle and has been ill since
Christmas. So I've been doing most of my running on my own. I do enjoy
having the time to myself to think but I get that for about 35 miles
during the week. When I'm out exploring the hills at the weekend I
prefer to have company - especially as the runs get longer and I've now
started regularly pushing up over the 3 hour barrier again.
So things are generally feeling pretty positive at the moment. Which is
good as we've got lots of exciting things lined up. And that makes me
realise that I've not committed electronic pen to paper and listed my
2014 races on here....
My racing has actually already begun - with the first race in the G3
series. This was the first 10k I'd done in a very long time and it was a
real lung and leg buster. Stupidly hilly and very muddy - but there was
no way I was going to let myself walk on a 10k course!
And that's been the point of entering - last year I think I did too much
long slow stuff and it meant I could keep going but lost top end speed,
got injured and it stopped being fun. So this winter I'm mixing it up a
bit - the G3 series plus two road half marathons (Wokingham and
Surrey).
Then in April the ultra season starts.... The South Downs Way 50 at the
beginning of April, the Malvern Hills ultra (54 miles) four weeks later
and then the biggie in June - the South Downs Way 100. My first 100
miler - eek!
Thursday, 6 February 2014
Wednesday, 11 September 2013
2013 season review
This may seem like an odd time to do an end of season review given that
I've still got several races to do before the end of the year. However,
my season was meant to end with the RAT on 17th August. And so I thought
it would be useful to explore why that ended up being my first (rather
than last) race of the year.
My number one learning is that I should have never ever ever thought I could keep up ultra training while moving house. Especially when that house move involved selling a flat, buying a house that needs a not insignificant amount of work, moving to an entirely new area, extending my commute by about 25 mins in each direction and meaning I no longer have the option of running from home to work. I massively underestimated the huge impact this would have in me.
We did decide not to do any racing until after the move and our first race wasn't until 2 months after the move. But that was a 20 miler and with a 50k scheduled for a month after that and my first 100k a month later it definitely added an extra layer of stress that I didn't need.
I've also learned some useful lessons about training for long single day events. Knowing that long training runs are key we scheduled a lot of these. So many that there were points when we were running around 30 miles every Saturday. During the heat wave I just don't think this was sensible - I took myself into some very dark places and don't think I helped myself psychologically as I didn't enjoy many of these sessions. I also had to dig so deep that I struggled to get good consistent sessions for the rest of the week. Next year I'll schedule a long run every 3-4 weeks rather than every weekend. And follow it with a rest week.
Consistency has been the main issue for me this year. I've been ill quite a bit (mainly due to stress) and with time needed for admin related to the move this means I've never really got to the point where I'm in a consistent routine. I believe that this sort of consistency (e.g. 3-6 months of averaging 50-70 miles per week) is key to ultra running success. It also helps me to keep my weight down.
My main objective for next year will be consistency. I definitely feel more settled now in terms of our new home and my commute. And I've had a rethink in terms of how I structure my week. I've recently realised that I can get off the train at Clapham Junction and do a 9 mile run to work through the parks and along the river. It's a nice route and that's important to me. My plan is to do it Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday mornings. Then on Friday I'll work from home and have a rest day before the weekend which will include an hour of yoga.
That's been a good learning from this year - I've bought some yoga DVDs and have been using them whenever I can. Being able to do an instructed yoga session at home and in my own time has made this much easier to fit in than going to a class.
On that note, we're buying some gym equipment for our front room. I did quite a bit of leg work over the winter this year and aim to get to the gym at lunch time for 30 mins 2-3 times per week to do core exercises. This helps me to maintain my form over the longer distances and builds my small stabilising muscles (e.g. knees and ankles). By having some basic weights and a wobble board at home it'll be easy for us to do this together in the evenings.
We're also looking at buying mountain bikes. This is something we always promised ourselves we'd do when we moved out of London. And we're both keen to start cycling again. It should be great cross-training, prevent us from doing massively high running mileage year round and will also be a good way of recce-ing running routes - for example the South Downs Way which we've entered as our "A race" for next year.
One of the main reasons for picking this race is that it's close by and we'll be able to train on terrain that's the same as we'll be racing on. We both loved the transalpine run but will be hard-pressed to "race" any of the big mountain races as we just can't train on similar terrain where we live. While we'll definitely look to spend time abroad training, we realised this year that we both got enjoyment from being able to race the RAT and be competitive.
We've now got a couple of marathons scheduled before the end of October and then we'll be buying our mountain bikes and doing some shorter faster runs over the winter before we start ramping up for the South Downs Way and hopefully learning some of the lessons from this year...
My number one learning is that I should have never ever ever thought I could keep up ultra training while moving house. Especially when that house move involved selling a flat, buying a house that needs a not insignificant amount of work, moving to an entirely new area, extending my commute by about 25 mins in each direction and meaning I no longer have the option of running from home to work. I massively underestimated the huge impact this would have in me.
We did decide not to do any racing until after the move and our first race wasn't until 2 months after the move. But that was a 20 miler and with a 50k scheduled for a month after that and my first 100k a month later it definitely added an extra layer of stress that I didn't need.
I've also learned some useful lessons about training for long single day events. Knowing that long training runs are key we scheduled a lot of these. So many that there were points when we were running around 30 miles every Saturday. During the heat wave I just don't think this was sensible - I took myself into some very dark places and don't think I helped myself psychologically as I didn't enjoy many of these sessions. I also had to dig so deep that I struggled to get good consistent sessions for the rest of the week. Next year I'll schedule a long run every 3-4 weeks rather than every weekend. And follow it with a rest week.
Consistency has been the main issue for me this year. I've been ill quite a bit (mainly due to stress) and with time needed for admin related to the move this means I've never really got to the point where I'm in a consistent routine. I believe that this sort of consistency (e.g. 3-6 months of averaging 50-70 miles per week) is key to ultra running success. It also helps me to keep my weight down.
My main objective for next year will be consistency. I definitely feel more settled now in terms of our new home and my commute. And I've had a rethink in terms of how I structure my week. I've recently realised that I can get off the train at Clapham Junction and do a 9 mile run to work through the parks and along the river. It's a nice route and that's important to me. My plan is to do it Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday mornings. Then on Friday I'll work from home and have a rest day before the weekend which will include an hour of yoga.
That's been a good learning from this year - I've bought some yoga DVDs and have been using them whenever I can. Being able to do an instructed yoga session at home and in my own time has made this much easier to fit in than going to a class.
On that note, we're buying some gym equipment for our front room. I did quite a bit of leg work over the winter this year and aim to get to the gym at lunch time for 30 mins 2-3 times per week to do core exercises. This helps me to maintain my form over the longer distances and builds my small stabilising muscles (e.g. knees and ankles). By having some basic weights and a wobble board at home it'll be easy for us to do this together in the evenings.
We're also looking at buying mountain bikes. This is something we always promised ourselves we'd do when we moved out of London. And we're both keen to start cycling again. It should be great cross-training, prevent us from doing massively high running mileage year round and will also be a good way of recce-ing running routes - for example the South Downs Way which we've entered as our "A race" for next year.
One of the main reasons for picking this race is that it's close by and we'll be able to train on terrain that's the same as we'll be racing on. We both loved the transalpine run but will be hard-pressed to "race" any of the big mountain races as we just can't train on similar terrain where we live. While we'll definitely look to spend time abroad training, we realised this year that we both got enjoyment from being able to race the RAT and be competitive.
We've now got a couple of marathons scheduled before the end of October and then we'll be buying our mountain bikes and doing some shorter faster runs over the winter before we start ramping up for the South Downs Way and hopefully learning some of the lessons from this year...
Wednesday, 4 September 2013
My lower leg injury - sporting the one-calf-guard-on-one-calf-guard-off look
It started on day 2 of our Isle of Wight run. Early on in the day, before I was properly warmed up, I suddenly experienced an intense muscular sensation in the top right of my right calf. It was totally different to any injury I'd had before.
Looking back I'm 99% sure that the cause of the injury was a long steepish descent at the end of the first day. The hill also sloped off towards the sea so it was a really awkward camber to be running on. The lack of training in my legs probably meant I was too fatigued after 35 miles of running to stabilise my leg effectively on that downhill.
Something I did on the Isle of Wight (and which I've done on long training sessions ever since) is put a Compressport calf guard onto the offending leg. I've worn these for recovery for years and swear by them. They're a great fit and seamless which means they don't rub / leave unsightly lines in my legs like other brands I've tried. I also find that compression gear massively speeds up my recovery - something pretty key with the amount of running I'm doing. I mentioned it previously in this article on the Transalpine.
I've not tended to actually run in compression gear though. To be honest this is largely cos I overheat and so in the summer I don't want to cover up my legs, I'd rather feel the air on them keeping me cool! But this summer I've been sporting a fetching one-calf-guard-on-one-calf-guard-off look. I've not overheated and the calf guard has kept my offending right calf warm and supported.
 |
| Finish line of The RAT - the one-calf-guard-on-one-calf-guard-off look |
In terms of recovery, I've been using all my tried and trusted methods. I've been seeing Martin for regular sports massage, particularly focusing on my glutes and then the band down my right itb / quad and into my calf. Charles has been using acupuncture to get deeper into the muscles of my right glute and leg to release specific areas of tightness / muscle spasm. And I've been seeing Paddy for osteo treatment. I've got a twist in my pelvis which he straightens out. He's also been doing a lot of work on releasing tightness in my lower right leg - it looks like the location of the pain is where everything feeds into the top of the fibula and that this has become all gummed up. So Paddy's been manipulating my leg to get everything moving smoothly again.
When I headed down to Cornwall for The RAT, the good people at MudCrew were good enough to put me in touch with Tim Saunders in Liskeard who gave me a couple of sessions of shockwave treatment which seemed to work a treat at reducing inflammation and releasing unhappy muscles / soft tissues. I'm going to see if I can find someone nearer home who offers this...
On more of a DIY front, I've been doing all the usual - stretching, loosening exercises for joints, rolling, glute trigger point release with a tennis ball and using hot wheat packs. Paddy's also given me an exercise where I lie on a couple of strategically placed books to realign my hips.
I've got a couple of marathon distance races lined up in the next couple of months but I'm keeping my mileages pretty low at the moment and just letting my body recover. It feels like I'm gradually improving so fingers crossed that the second half of the year will be injury free...
Wednesday, 28 August 2013
Night running / LED Lenser review
The RAT was the first time I'd raced in the dark. And I've done
very little running in the dark full stop. This made me a bit nervous
going into the race but there wasn't a huge amount I could do about it
given that the race was in August - training in the dark would have
meant missing out on sleep and I decided that sleep (and so not risking
getting sick) was more important.
As a member of the Trail Running Team I was lucky enough to be given a LED Lenser head torch. And I'd had the chance to practise using it when we were out in the Alps in June. I was really pleased about this as it meant I knew what I could expect from the torch and that definitely gave me confidence. In the Alps, I had felt comfortable running up and down technical Alpine trails. And so I was fairly certain I'd be ok on the Cornish coastal footpath.
I was more nervous about navigating in the dark. Whilst the race was on a well-marked long distance trail, my experience (e.g. Our trip to the Isle of Wight) has taught me that this doesn't always mean you can get away without knowing the route. We bought a map and spent the days before the race recce-ing the tricky bits - mainly when the route passed through villages. This wasn't the best option but it had to do as we couldn't head all the way to Cornwall twice and we couldn't run the whole 50k (it was a there-and-back route so that would be sufficient for recognising the whole 100k route) in the days running up to the race when we needed to be resting.
So when I stood on the start line at midnight I felt pretty comfortable with what lay ahead.
The LED Lenser head torch was really impressive. It lit up the path brilliantly and I felt I could run in pretty much the same way as during daylight. In reality, I probably wasn't quite as fast but that's not exactly a bad thing at the beginning of a 100k race! About 30 mins in I realised that the torch was a bit tight and was pressing on my head. But I was able to adjust the strap while it was on my head and I kept on moving while I did this. It was easy to change the direction of the beam (helpful on steep downhills or uphills) and its brightness.
My one problem was my batteries running out. But this was my fault - I hadn't put in new batteries for the race and dawn was about 2 hours later than I'd expected. So the torch lasted 6 hours on not-new batteries - I don't reckon that's a bad statistic. And it had a helpful red warning light that flashed when the battery was low. Given it was almost light I didn't change my batteries. Once the batteries were low, the torch would switch itself off to preserve the battery that was left. I could see enough to run most of the time and I was then able to switch it back on for the bits where I needed a bit of extra light.
And what about getting lost? There were a few parts where I went marginally off course or went round the perimeter of a field when I could have taken a direct route across the middle to the next stile / gate. In fact the only point where I got lost to the point that it bothered me was after dawn!
In terms of running in the dark, I now feel much less scared about this aspect of longer races. In an ideal world I'd still want to recce the night time bit of the course in advance. But a section of night time running is definitely not something to put me off a race anymore.
As a member of the Trail Running Team I was lucky enough to be given a LED Lenser head torch. And I'd had the chance to practise using it when we were out in the Alps in June. I was really pleased about this as it meant I knew what I could expect from the torch and that definitely gave me confidence. In the Alps, I had felt comfortable running up and down technical Alpine trails. And so I was fairly certain I'd be ok on the Cornish coastal footpath.
I was more nervous about navigating in the dark. Whilst the race was on a well-marked long distance trail, my experience (e.g. Our trip to the Isle of Wight) has taught me that this doesn't always mean you can get away without knowing the route. We bought a map and spent the days before the race recce-ing the tricky bits - mainly when the route passed through villages. This wasn't the best option but it had to do as we couldn't head all the way to Cornwall twice and we couldn't run the whole 50k (it was a there-and-back route so that would be sufficient for recognising the whole 100k route) in the days running up to the race when we needed to be resting.
So when I stood on the start line at midnight I felt pretty comfortable with what lay ahead.
The LED Lenser head torch was really impressive. It lit up the path brilliantly and I felt I could run in pretty much the same way as during daylight. In reality, I probably wasn't quite as fast but that's not exactly a bad thing at the beginning of a 100k race! About 30 mins in I realised that the torch was a bit tight and was pressing on my head. But I was able to adjust the strap while it was on my head and I kept on moving while I did this. It was easy to change the direction of the beam (helpful on steep downhills or uphills) and its brightness.
My one problem was my batteries running out. But this was my fault - I hadn't put in new batteries for the race and dawn was about 2 hours later than I'd expected. So the torch lasted 6 hours on not-new batteries - I don't reckon that's a bad statistic. And it had a helpful red warning light that flashed when the battery was low. Given it was almost light I didn't change my batteries. Once the batteries were low, the torch would switch itself off to preserve the battery that was left. I could see enough to run most of the time and I was then able to switch it back on for the bits where I needed a bit of extra light.
And what about getting lost? There were a few parts where I went marginally off course or went round the perimeter of a field when I could have taken a direct route across the middle to the next stile / gate. In fact the only point where I got lost to the point that it bothered me was after dawn!
In terms of running in the dark, I now feel much less scared about this aspect of longer races. In an ideal world I'd still want to recce the night time bit of the course in advance. But a section of night time running is definitely not something to put me off a race anymore.
Sunday, 18 August 2013
Race report - RAT / The Plague (Hannah)
Yesterday I ran my first ever 100km race – The Plague, which
is part of the Roseland August Trail (RAT) set of races put on by Mud Crew
Events in Cornwall. I’d never run more
than 35 miles and hadn’t run at night so there was going to be a lot of
uncharted territory, especially given that my training hasn’t gone to plan this
year thanks to issues with my right lower leg.
But, kinesio-taped to the max, I was stood on the start line at 12:05am
on Saturday 17th August, feeling relaxed and ready to go.
.JPG) |
| Ready to run |
We started by running across some fields down to the coastal
footpath. The grass was soaking wet
which meant that I had wet feet within minutes of starting – not ideal, but at
least the torrential rain which had been plaguing us for the last few days had
disappeared and we were running with a clear sky and a reasonably big
moon. It was very calm and some of the
views as we ran around the coast were really special – a flat sea lapping onto
secluded beaches, gently lit by the moon and only experienced by those “lucky”
enough to be awake at 3am to enjoy it.
The first 5 hours or so of the race went pretty quickly.
Focusing on where I was going, avoiding falling into badger holes, off the edge
of the cliffs or down the endless steps meant that my mind had no time to
wander. The problem with that was that I’d
forget to eat and drink as often as I usually would. I don’t think it caused any major issues as I
realised this fairly early on and so consciously kept reminding myself. I don’t run with a watch though so I couldn’t
do anything like set an alarm. Maybe
something to bear in mind for future...
I enjoyed the wildlife on the night section. Owls were hooting all around us. At one point a bat flew in front of my head torch,
a lot of the rest of the time there were white moths dancing entranced by its
beam. Then as the sun rose lots of
rabbits came out to play.
I ran with people for most of the night. Early on this was my brother Barney which was
really nice – this was also his first race of this distance so it was good to
share a piece of it. I then ran for a
long time with a chap who had an impressive running CV and who entertained me
with stories from last year’s Spine race – it was an honour to speak to someone
who’d completed such a challenge and to understand how he’d approached it. Running with people helped with
navigation. We still got a bit lost from
time to time but were usually able to work together to make sure that the
damage wasn’t too big.
Our worst detour actually came just after dawn. I’m still not quite sure how we went wrong
but we found ourselves at the edge of a field with a thick gorse hedge blocking
our progress and no obvious way through it.
Luckily the light meant that we could see exactly where we needed to be going
and so we did a bit of off piste... This
involved crawling through tunnels in the gorse which had been carved by
cows.
My arms and legs were ripped to
pieces! The subsequent run across an uneven,
sloping field meant that my right lower leg started to ache quite badly which
was very frustrating as it had been fine until this point.
The next stage of the race was a real low point for me and
one where I got very close to pulling out. I stopped to put on a Compressport
calf guard (I’ve found this has helped in training) and to take an Ibuprofen (which
I’ve never tried in training as I don’t really approve of running on
painkillers). And after this I ran on my
own for quite a while. My leg was still
sore and I didn’t see anyone for ages.
At the same time, conversations at previous checkpoints meant that I
knew that I was making really slow progress – it had taken 5 hours to cover 20
miles so indications were that this was going to be a very long race. I convinced myself that I was coming near to
last and that, if my leg continued to give me grief, then I’d have about 10
more hours of dragging my sorry state up and down hills and steps as the
backmarker on the course. It didn’t seem
like a fun proposition. In the midst of
this I came to a field full of horses where 2 were blocking the stile in the
corner of the field and were very stubborn about moving. I could have called it a day there and then!
I knew my family would be waiting for me in Portscatho (4.5
miles from the turnaround point) and so I’d be seeing them soon. But I didn’t reckon I’d feel proud of myself
if I stopped when I saw them. I decided
I’d keep going to the turnaround at 50km and then get them to pick me up. And that’s what I said to them when I passed
them, feeling pretty miserable with the world.
Shortly afterwards I got to the Portscatho checkpoint. I mentioned how slowly I was going and the fact
that I thought I was coming last. The people
on the checkpoint were brilliant at lifting my spirits – they assured me that I
was far from last and was doing really well.
This buoyed my sprits a bit. They
were lifted further as I ran towards the turnaround and realised that everyone
who was in front of me didn’t have the 2 hour lead I’d been imagining. True,
some of them were 1 hour ahead but anything can happen in the second half of an
ultra. The Ibuprofen was also kicking in
at this point – coupled with a flatter section of the route this meant I was
able to run quite a bit and get into a rhythm.
When I passed Brett and Barney I asked them to pass on a message to my
family – that I wouldn’t be pulling out at the turnaround but would see them
back in Portscatho.
I arrived at the turnaround in 8 hours and was greeted with
a hug. Again, the people on the
checkpoint did wonders for me psychologically and I was hugely grateful to
them. I had a small portion of pasta and
tomato sauce and a cup of tea. I also
got out my MP3 player and plugged myself in – this was probably one of the best
decisions I made all race.
After about 10 mins I headed off, feeling significantly
better and with my favourite tunes pumping in my ear. The stretch to Portscatho was brilliant. I ran pretty much the whole way and loved
it. I was feeling really positive. This was also helped by knowing that the 50km
runners were all due to start 10 mins after I’d left the turnaround so I knew
they were chasing me down! In fact the
top two guys passed me at the Portscatho checkpoint and they were flying – it was
impressive to see.
 |
| Applying some vaseline on the way back through Portscatho |
I overtook a couple of Plague runners in Portscatho and was
feeling in a good place when I saw my family for the second time. I stopped briefly to say hello, apologise for
my previous mood, apply some Vaseline and take another Ibuprofen. Then I cracked on. The next stage was quite fun as the 50km
runners gradually caught up with me – they were hugely encouraging,
congratulating me as they went past or patting me on the back. It’s this sort of camaraderie that makes me
enjoy ultra-running above a lot of the other sports I’ve done.
The 50km runners also acted as useful pacers. Once the front guys had gone past, I found I
was able to keep up with the runners on the flats and downhills. On the uphills they would drop me, but then I
turned to my music which gave me a beat that made it a lot easier to trudge up
the endless climbs at a consistent pace.
At some point along this section it started to rain very
heavily. We’d been warned that it would
and I was grateful that the rain had held off for so long. I decided not to stop and put on my
waterproof as it was still reasonably warm so I got soaked to the skin. There were a few dry patches as the day
progressed but for the remainder of the race we were mostly running in
drizzle. With this plus adding the 11
and 20 mile runners to the route as well, the paths started to get really
churned up especially towards the end. It
was lethal and I wished I had by MudClaws on me – they’d have been in their
element on that sort of terrain!
The rest of the second half of the race is a bit of a
blur. I felt stronger and stronger as
time went on and began to enjoy the race more and more. Around Mevagissey I found myself overtaking
lots of Plague runners and that motivated me even more. With only 8 miles to go I also knew I’d
finish the race and I felt really proud of myself especially after my tough
patch at dawn.
The last section was particularly hard cos of the mud and a
lot of people were slithering and sliding around. But I knew I was almost there and so I had a
big smile on my face by this point. The
smile got even bigger as I crossed the finish line – it had been an incredibly
tough race but I’d pulled through and had done myself proud. 100km, 3300m of ascent and descent in 15 hrs
and 58 mins. I came 16th
overall (out of 56 starters). I was also
very chuffed to be 3rd lady and so came home with a trophy which
will take pride of place in our house.
A huge thank you to MudCrew for organising such
a great event. And especially to all of
those who helped motivate me out on the cours.  |
| Me at the finish |
Also thank you to Mammut, Compressport, LED Lenser for giving me some great kit to race in. And TORQ for fuelling me brilliantly as always. Unfortunately the weather meant I didn't get the chance to wear my Tifosi sunglasses though they've been great in training.
Monday, 22 July 2013
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!
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!
Saturday, 20 July 2013
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...
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...
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