Winter Blahs and Injuries

Its Canada and it's mid March and we just had another dumping of snow.  Actually, the white, fluffly, full of grace stuff is still coming down right now (that was not so obvious sarcasm).  It all started with Wiarton Willy seeing his shadow and then came the bleak anticipation that we would be able to get outside and start training for the Paris to Ancaster that is a mere 6 weeks away.  I had a missed opportunity on one of the nicer Saturdays, but, life gets in the way.  Cornel made it out and came back with both him and his bike covered in mud, so, I was okay with my schedule.  I'm guess I'm a fair weather rider unless I'm forced to do otherwise.

I should be out there running and prepping for my 100 Miler at Sulphur Springs but since my six hour race in January, I have been recovering from a stress fracture and a diagnosis of Morton's Neuroma on my right foot.  It took weeks before even being able to walk on it.  The silver lining in all of this, is that I went looking for a new pair of shoes that would offer roominess and comfort to my foot.  I found a single pair of Altras at my local Running Room, which just happened to be my size and I absolutely love them.  With my falling arch, the toe box has continued to be a bone of contention.  It's confirmed, I have now crossed over the boundary of youth, looking for comfort rather than style, but, I am okay with it.   Just this past weekend, I had a 4 km trial run and all seems good.  The numbness and tingling were still present, but no pain.  Now to start ramping up the mileage.    

Zwift North American Tour - La Bicicletta, TO

But now, comes my night in shining armor,  Zwift!  I had not even used an indoor trainer until last year and then was introduced to the magnificent known as Zwift.  A digital destination for the global cyling community that alleviates the boredom associated to getting on a trainer.  It offers a variety of courses in a variety of settings: training sessions, social rides, races and just time on your own.  I think my second or third trial in this environment, I did 118 km as a training ride for last years Paris to Ancaster. It must have helped as I was able to hit my time goal on race day, minus the time spent waiting to clear the course sabotage of mature trees being cut down.  Who does that?  Certainly not someone that cares about the environment or someone that cares about the charitable needs of others that these races support.  So, I digress.  But really?  Okay, so you can customize your avatar and win achievements where you get to switch up your jersey for the fashion conscientious or tires and bikes for those that are the fanatical aero geeks.   

If you're a woman and have some free weekend time, try the ladies only social rides (you may even see the odd man joining in) that are offered by clubs like ODZ.  The group leaders offer helpful tips to assist in cadence and interval training.   Its such a great community and watching the screen lets you become absorbed into a virtual reality setting.  It even allows for a supertuck if you hit the right conditions; just make sure you don't get dropped while resting if you're in a race situation. Plus, all your efforts can be manually uploaded to Strava, proving to friends when you dominated the sprint sections of QOM.  It also offers a variety of challenges where you accumulate your distance and ride California or Italy to unlock presents which are presented as bikes (Pinarello Dogma F8 or Tron).

Well, I'm going to close off and do a quick Zwift session prior to heading to work.

Happy Trails my Friends and Ride On!  

On the Wagon

For those in Nashville, this is for real!

Well, its the start of another year and as I consistently attempt with each new year and this year is no different;   I elect to embark on a sudden withdrawal of sugar.  Yup, that's right, I get off the Sugar Wagon or on as it goes.
Let me tell you, sugar addiction is real.  The more you have, the more your body craves it and the more you want.  The month of December was horribly bad though.  I was not able to put the brakes on as I normally do.  I gained 5 lbs, but, it was more like 20 when I was getting dressed.  It's not a comfortable feeling.



So for anyone else trying this, start at the beginning of the week and be sure to check your calendar as you'll need a clean brake from functions, if you're going to be successful.  The first 3 days will be the most difficult as you skip carbs, wheat and other grains.  You'll also temporarily cut out fruits and dairy.  Yes, even cheese.  And wine, which is a whole other food group.  I feel pretty passionate about it getting a piece of pie on the Canadian Food Guide.  The premise of cutting dairy and fruit is to eliminate those sugars as well.  The lactose and fructose.  Pretty much anything that ends in "ose" can be translated to sugar.  Except for grandi"ose" which is the magnificent training plan and race plan we have all put together already.  I still have a few to decide on, but, I have committed to the major ones.  And, without the hangovers and sugar crashes you'll have more time and energy, so you can focus on your workouts.  Also, sweating during exercise encourages toxins to leave your body at a faster rate.  It is a trace amount as only the liver and kidneys can detoxify at any significant rate.  Milk Thistle tea is a good product to detoxify for the liver if interested.

So, that means a diet full of protein and vegetables.  Utilize fat to fight sugar, so eat nuts and avocados.  Now you can have fruit, but, limit it to just lemons and limes for the first 3 days.  Add them to your water as you'll want to focus on hydrating well during this time as well.  You can gradually add fruit, like an apple a day and add 1 serving of dairy a day as well.  The fructose will raise your blood sugar levels quite rapidly, so be prepared for the sudden spike.  Hold off on the wine for another week or so, unless you are so stressed that you may murder your husband or children.  Then, by all means, have the wine.  Have the bottle if it will calm you down.  In all seriousness, you may suffer from mood swings and headaches during the detox, so be ready for it and warn your friends and loved ones.

After a week, you may find that you are more focused and even happier.  The biggest take home for me was that I was suddenly sleeping through the night.  I read an article that suggested this may happen, but, I was doubtful.  So, plan those intense workouts as you will have increased energy. Usually, if I can maintain the absence of sugar in my diet for just 2-4 weeks and keep my regular running routing, I can usually drop 5-10 lbs.

So, leave the sweet cravings behind and ramp up the routine in the gym or outside if you're able to.  I'll be turning to by other addiction, albeit a much healthier one, running the trails or climbing on the trainer.  I've given a couple of options to ramp up your running program or just switch it up with some extra Tempo or Fartlek runs.  Be wary of ice if you're doing these outside.  Tis the season, but, at least we're burning up to 30% more calories by keeping core temperature being outside.

Option #1	Option #2
Run 1 mile warm up Repeat 8 times Run 1/4 at goal pace rest with 10 squats and 10 lunges per leg. Run 1 mile cool down / stretch	Run 1 mile at goal pace Repeat 4 times Run 1/2 mile at goal pace rest with 20 squats 10 / lunges per leg.Run 1 mile cool down/stretch

Happy Trails my Friends

Fluid Replacement and Pre-Race Fueling

Introduction

Well, I have officially signed up for my second attempt at the 100 mile distance. Lots of time though, as its not until May 2017.  Regardless, I will be thinking a lot about hydration and nutrition during my training and race day and thought I would share the following with all of you.  I had prepared this presentation for one of the running clinics I gave and just recently came across it; I know as runners, we are always looking for more information, so I hope it helps.  

Fluid Replacement

As we start to get into our longer runs, carrying fluids and or gels with you is something you’ll want to start experimenting with, so that your body will be accustomed come race day. Your body is mostly water-between 60 and 70% and although water alone does not provide any energy (or calories), your body requires large amounts of H2O in order to function properly. Water regulates the core temperature of your body.  I prefer to use coconut water and if you avoid the all natural variety, you will actually benefit from the ones that have the added sugar.  Sugar transfers to energy.  Further, try adding some tart cherry juice for the anti-inflammatory effects on the body.  The added cherry juice will enhance performance by reducing muscle pain.

As you run, your working muscles produce large amounts of heat that must be dissipated to prevent the core temperature from rising dangerously. To dissipate this heat, your body perspires, and loses large amounts of water. As a runner, you should consistently hydrate yourself during both warm and cold weather, so that you never become thirsty. By the time your thirst mechanism is activated, your body is already suffering from dehydration-hurting your running and putting you at risk.

You know you're drinking enough water if you urinate about once an hour and your urine is clear. 

Prehydrating with beverages, in addition to normal meals and fluid intake, should be initiated at least several hours before the activity to enable fluid absorption and allow urine output to return to normal levels. The goal of drinking during exercise is to prevent excessive (>2% body weight loss from water deficit) dehydration and excessive changes in electrolyte balance to avert compromised performance. Because there is considerable variability in sweating rates and sweat electrolyte content between individuals, customized fluid replacement programs are recommended. Individual sweat rates can be estimated by measuring body weight before and after exercise. During exercise, consuming beverages containing electrolytes and carbohydrates can provide benefits over water alone under certain circumstances. Again, try coconut water, but, avoid the pulp.  After exercise, the goal is to replace any fluid electrolyte deficit. The speed with which rehydration is needed and the magnitude of fluid electrolyte deficits will determine if an aggressive replacement program is merited.

Depending upon the metabolic rate, environmental conditions and clothing worn, exercise can
induce significant elevations in body (core and skin) temperatures. Body temperature elevations elicit
        heat loss responses of increased skin blood flow and increased sweat secretion. Sweat evaporation provides the primary avenue of heat loss during vigorous exercise in warm hot weather; therefore 
        sweat losses can be substantial. Besides containing water, sweat contains electrolytes that are lost. If not appropriately replaced, water and electrolytes imbalances (dehydration and hyponatremia- is an 
        electrolyte disturbance in which the sodium concentration in the serum is lower than normal) can develop and adversely impact on the individuals exercise performance and perhaps health. 

                              

WUT you looking at?

So, the good news is that there are three reasonably good and practical markers available to you 

to help you monitor your hydration status.  But, because none of these indicators are entirely accurate on their own, some clever people in the US Army came up with the idea of combining all three measures to produce a more reliable rating scale called the WUT system (Weight, Urine, Thirst). This establishes the likelihood of you being euhydrated (‘well hydrated’) or hypohydrated (‘dehydrated’).

Essentially their suggestion is to monitor your body weight, the colour of your urine and how thirsty you are first thing each morning. The ‘first thing in the morning’ element is important as it limits the influence of other factors that interfere with hydration status as the day progresses.

You then feed the results into a simple Venn diagram to give you an indication of whether hypohydration is unlikely, likely or very likely as you begin that day.

The data you need to collect each morning is:

1. Your body weight. Ideally as soon as you get out of bed, before eating, drinking or going to the bathroom. A loss of 2% or more of your body weight is deemed significant.
2. A rating of the colour of your urine (is it light or dark in colour)
3. A rating of your sensation of thirst (thirsty or not thirsty)

If 1 or less of the 3 scores you collect are ‘positive’ (i.e. body weight is within 2% of normal and/or urine is light and/or and you're not thirsty), then hypohydration (‘dehydration’) would be deemed unlikely.

If 2 out of the 3 are positive, then hypohydration would be considered ‘likely’ and this might impact your fluid intake and training plans for the day, especially if you were planning very hard or prolonged exercise in the heat.

If 3 out of the 3 are positive then hypohydration is very likely and therefore strong consideration should be given to correcting that before you undergo strenuous exercise or expose yourself to further large sweat losses.

See link for more details: http://www.precisionhydration.com/blogs/hydration_advice/116318276-how-to-tell-if-you-re-dehydrated

Pre-Race Fueling

The ideal pre-competition meal is palatable, well-tolerated and high in carbohydrate.  Athletes who
forgo eating prior to exercise because of unpleasant symptoms, as well as those looking simply to fine-tune their food selections, may benefit from experimenting with the glycemic index (GI). The GI, is system that ranks carbohydrate-rich foods according to their impact on the body’s blood sugar level, may be a useful tool when it comes to fueling up before you head to the line.

It was thought that runners needed to avoid eating large amounts of carbohydrate-rich foods prior to
exercise.  The inevitable “sugar high” would be promptly followed by a performance-busting crash in
blood sugar (hypoglycemia), leaving you feeling shaky, weak and unable to concentrate.  On the other
hand, a pre-race carbohydrate-rich meal, particularly before prolonged endurance events, such as a
marathon, has been shown to enhance performance.  Eating a meal, especially before a morning race,
helps ward off hunger pangs, restocks liver glycogen (stored carbohydrate) which fuels your brain
during exercise and it provides valuable energy for muscles during intense exercise lasting an hour or
longer.

The GI ranks carbohydrate-rich foods compared to glucose-a simple sugar with a GI ranking of
100.Carbohydrate-rich foods and beverages that enter the bloodstream rapidly following ingestion earn
a high GI (above 75) whereas foods that enter the bloodstream slowly have a low GI (below 60).
Choosing a low-GI carbohydrate food before exercise may enhance endurance by producing a slower,
more sustained release of glucose into the bloodstream.  The reasoning is: carbohydrate-rich foods and 
beverages trigger the release of the hormone insulin.  Insulin directs the liver and muscle cells to
remove glucose from the blood and store it as glycogen.  A slower, sustained release of glucose will
temper the insulin surge that follows, reducing the chance of the body “over-correcting” as it races to
lower the body’s blood sugar level back to a normal range.

A small percentage of athletes who are sensitive to swings in blood sugar following pre-exercise meals
will experience central nervous symptoms or premature muscular fatigue which are indicative of
hypoglycemia.  Feeling light-headed, shaky or weak and sweating profusely as you begin to exercise
are classic signs.  Therefore, experiment with both high and low index meals in training to assess what
works best for you.  Runners who wish to fine-tune their food choices before prolonged events, like
the marathon or those that are sensitive to decreases in blood sugar, should benefit the most from
manipulating the glycemic index of their pre-exercise meal.

Runners may be able to improve their competitive performances by consuming lower GI foods due to
the sustained release of glucose that these foods promote.  For me, I notice the benefits of eating an
apple about a half hour prior to racing; in fact, it has become a bit of a ritual.  

Be sure to try different hydration and nutrition methods during training, so that there are no surprises on race day.  

Happy Trails My Friends

Do More of What makes You Awesome!

Awesome defined......tempo runs!  Don't worry, you'll be finished before your body evens knows you started.  

Tempo runs are the single most important workout you can do to improve your speed for any race distance.  Long runs develop pure endurance, but, tempo running is crucial to your race performance because it rains your body to sustain speed over distance.  The problem being, as runners, we rain our cardiovascular system to deliver oxygen to the muscles but we have not trained our bodies to use that oxygen once its present.  Imagine doing the tango without a dance partner.  In essence, you are missing the crucial detail.  Tempo runs do just that; they teach your body to utilize oxygen.

There are many ways of performing tempo runs, but, I prefer to use the progressive type and build on the distance.  Its simple to perform and is in many ways more enjoyable as your body gradually warms up to your pace.  You feel stronger through the middle portion and can typically finish at a faster pace.  To do a progressive tempo, start with one kilometer (1/3 your distance) at warm up pace.  Then gradually and evenly increase your pace over the next kilometer or second part of your distance at an easy endurance pace (60-70% of your maximum heart rate-you can hold a conversation).  The last kilometer or final 1/3 of your distance is at race pace (90% maximum heart rate - just shy of breathlessness).

This type of tempo run can also be divided by time rather than distance.  It gives you the additional advantages of running while improving your ability.  It will also help with those negative splits.  You'll be running faster at the end of a long quality run.

Note:  Ensure that all speed work sessions begin with a dynamic warm-up and cool down routine.  And, don't forget to stretch.

Life's a Climb

Such a big hill to climb.  Its a love hate thing, but something I will soon have to embrace.  I'm about 3 months behind on my 100 Mile training and should be into hill training already.  If I get a good week of consecutive runs next week, I should be good to begin.  Here's some pointers if any of you are looking to rise to the challenge.

Hill training will improve your training distances, anaerobic capacity and strength.  Its essential to soar if you want to put the roof on your training.  Uphill running helps us increase our stride length by increasing our knee lift.  Our quadriceps and hip flexor muscle groups become stronger from lifting our knees higher.  This effect carries over to when we run on flat ground, because the higher knee lift translates into a slightly longer stride length on level ground.

So, if you run with longer strides using the same effort, it’s logical that you’ll cover a given distance in a shorter time. Here’s an example using the 10K distance for an 8-minutes/mile runner, who covers about 1.1 yards/stride. Simply lengthening the stride length by 1 inch, (multiplied by the 9,090 strides to cover the 10K distance) shaves about 250 yards, or around 1 minute off the time.The faster and more powerful your foot-strike, the faster you’ll run and the more steps you’ll have per minute. Hill sprinting improves the tensile strength of your leg muscles, and thus enhances the recoil or return of energy from each foot compression (g-force).  There’s also another way hill running can increase stride frequency—downhill running. If done with short quick strides your neuromuscular system adapts to a faster leg turnover, thus increasing stride frequency.   Let gravity do the work.

Studies show that VO2 max (the ability of your heart and lunges to utilize energy) contributes significantly more to uphill running compared with horizontal running. This high VO2 max level incurred during uphill running is partly due to the increased demands of the lower extremity muscles, the largest muscle mass in the body. As aerobic capacity is improved from uphill training, you‘ll use less energy and oxygen at a given speed, or over longer distances—in other words your running economy improves. This derives from better coordination of your neuromuscular system. At the metabolic level, hill trained runners experience an increase in lactate threshold and anaerobic threshold. Lactate threshold is the point where lactic acid produced in the muscle is not metabolized as fast as it is produced. Hill running improves the strength and endurance of the quadriceps, hip flexor and hip extensor muscle groups—so the increased ability of these muscle groups to resist fatigue (lactic acid) shows through in the latter stages of races. You’ll slow down less, improving your race times.The benefit to you, it that hill trained runners don’t fear steep gradients in races because they have improved confidence from training on them. They mentally withstand the extra demands of hills in races and training to the point of eagerly anticipating hilly courses. 

To maintain the center of gravity over the drive leg you need to shorten your stride slightly. Exaggerate your forward lean by bending at the waist to direct force up the hill, and bring your hands and arms up high (even as high as your ears), as if you were pulling yourself up.
Different gradients require different technique modifications: the steeper the hill, the more you’ll need to lean in to it and drive more powerfully with your arms. Run with exaggerated knee lift and push off hard with your glutes and ankles from your toes. Knee lift should be more exaggerated on steeper hills. On slight inclines run with a shorter, faster stride. Breath deeper when you run uphill. You’ll find in your early uphill efforts you’ll have to slow down. If you persist with this, going a little further up the hill on each outing at your faster pace, your breathing will get easier and your legs will not feel so fatigued and heavy. Eventually you’ll be able to crest the hill at the same pace you started at. 

The best way to think of hills is essentially like doing track intervals. Select a steady uphill slope up to 5% or 8% grade. It doesn’t need to be really steep. Do a number of repeats up it. Lean forward and pump your arms strongly. These repeats should be at about 85% effort, or close to your VO2 max.
Walk or jog slowly back down to the start. No hurry here, as you don’t want to jar your legs too much from the downhill running. You may even want to walk backwards down the hill to relieve the strain on your quadriceps.

"After climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb" ~ Nelson Mandela

NOTE:  The information was prepared for my half marathon group.  I received my personal training certifcation thru CPTN at Conestoga College.

14 Day Sugar Detox

How Sweet it is!

Well, onto another year of attempting to get through 2 weeks sugar free.  This year I have allowed myself fruits though, unlike the last.  It makes it easy to focus on having real, whole fresh foods when you attempt to break the cycle of carb and sugar cravings.   A key component to breaking that sugar cycle and gravitating towards those quickly absorbed sugars is ensuring that you get at least 8 hours sleep.  That's part of the problem.  I don't sleep enough and then crave sugary snacks and caffeine is ginormous amounts.  How many of you are the same.

Carry a snack pack with a supply of nuts, seeds, jerky, etc.  You never know when you'll be in a spot where you are unable to access a healthy food choice, so be prepared.  I hit this in day 2 and wasn't prepared.  I was lucky and kept the sugar demon at bay as I was able to get pulled pork and placed it between tomato slices.  There was literally nothing else that fit the bill, so if you're attempting this,  be prepared if you want to be successful.

I think the most difficult part was the absence of wine.  For those that know me, you can recognize the difficulty I endured.  The fact that alcoholic drinks are full of empty calories and have no nutritional value is bad news for the waste line - otherwise known as my sugar sack.  One drink may have the recommended daily intake of sugar.  If you're concerned about alcohol and the effects on blood sugar, try alternating each drink with a glass of water.  It will help keep you hydrated and clear headed.  This is always my goal when I start out.

Now that my diet is in check, its time to start focusing on some serious training as there is a new race added to the agenda.  Cornel and I are doing the 70k Paris to Ancaster bike race.

Happy Trails My Friends

Now, For the Rest of the Story!

One of the main reasons for signing up for the Boxing Day 10 Miler was that Claudia (Cornel's youngest daughter) was coming home for Christmas.  Claudia is a very active and vibrant young lady (so full of life as I found out on race day) and like her Dad, she enjoys a very active lifestyle, full of hiking, cycling and running; well and whatever else she can squeeze in.  She currently lives in Vancouver and attends at the University of British Columbia.  As she progresses in her studies, she will be a great resource for our racing nutrition, so stay tuned for that.
She, like the rest of us had started out with the best of intentions, but, those dreaded mid terms were omnipresent and so, her training runs also suffered.  It was hard for me to notice though.  Also, like her Dad, they have a natural running form that makes them a little faster.  I have to admit, it was on account of trying to run along side her and share in her first race experience that I started out with that sub 5 min pace.  Fortunate for me, I do the 10 and 1 program and lost her after 10 minutes.  I was then able to settle into my own personal and much slower pace.  As life shows us, sometimes, things just work out for the best.
It was her longest run to date, but, as her endurance and mental stamina prevailed, Claudia took first place in her age category of 19 and under, winning her a gold belt buckle in her very first race.  Cornel and I were so overjoyed to be part of this experience.  It appears that someone will be returning next year to defend that title in the next age group category and also beat her Dad, who only finished a mere 6 minutes ahead.  So proud of you Claudia!  Also, important to mention, our goal is to be well trained for next years race.

Happy Trails my Friends!

The Under Trained

How much training is considered too little?  Does it depend on the distance or on the amount that you push it?  If it happens to be the latter than my body is cooperating quite nicely.  My partner Cornel (you'll hear him referenced many times in my blogs) has said that we are not able to do any further races without doing the appropriate training and yet, here we go again.
The Boxing Day 10 Miler race was a great thought when we considered it back in late October or early November.  Easy to get in 3 runs a week, right?  That changed into one run a month in November and two in December.  Maxing the distance in those runs at around 5 km as I didn't want to push it too much.  I will do that on the next one.  Sure, then life gets in the way.  Why does time move so fast after 40?
Well, as I always said in my clinics and the mantra I have used in more than one race, "a finish is still a finish".  The one benefit in racing under trained is you tend not to push it as you fear risking an injury for that next race, so you finish without breaking much of a sweat, which means dry clothes.  This is a positive when its only 4 degrees outside.  The other benefits of running at a 60-70 max heartbeat, you can talk a lot; or at least to anyone that is willing to listen.  Its enjoyable, you notice things and the people around you.
Well, just be sure to start off slow.....or when you look down at your Garmin and you're running a sub 5 pace, ease up as you're running way to fast to get through it.  All in all, finishing at the half way point of your gender and age group is satisfying enough for lacing up. Good thing you showed up.

Happy Trails my Friends