One thing that has been frustrating for me to get my head around, and also to implement correctly, is running nutrition.Firstly though I want to share a recent running experience….

Last Sunday while I was doing my long run up in the hills and was about 8km from the end, mentally lamenting abut how my legs felt tired, how far I had to go and why don’t they have toilets out here…. When – “Oh my god what the hell is that?!!!”  My mental conversation with myself had gone from worrying about trivial stuff to screaming at my legs to move faster! I was being dive-bombed by a rather zealous magpie who was convinced that I was trying to steal its babies!! Sore, tried legs were forgotten in an instant, I could hear myself screaming and rampaging along the trail. I sprinted the last 500m until I was out into the open and back onto the road again. Fastest 500m I’ve ever done and there’s nothing like a dump of adrenaline into your system to get you moving. When I got home I Googled how to avoid the ‘protective’ nature of magpies. Apparently screaming and running flat out isn’t the way to manage attacks – you should just walk away calmly and quietly. Um, yeah nah no thanks. I have run this track many times over the past year and have never experienced this.   According to Google, magpies remember faces and will attack the same person again even if there is no perceived threat. Breeding/dive bombing season finishes in November so I will be altering my run route until then!

Right back to relevant stuff like sports nutrition. I know that the science behind fueling right means that I can run for longer and getting my nutrition right obviously also helps your body recover faster, ready for next time. I have been learning about the power of carbohydrates being the main providers of energy in my run diet. My day-to-day diet is usually focused on ‘whole foods’ and I try and limit my sugar intake (added and hidden). Running nutrition is an area that is new and feels completely foreign to me and it appears, (very frustratingly) can take a while to get right. Thanks to some information supplied by Richard I have worked out that between my electrolyte replacement drink and gels, my carbohydrate consumption might have been unbalanced, causing me to feel thirsty even when taking on fluids and also giving me an upset stomach post-run. Last weekend I tried just water with an Em’s power bar and it was good in the sense that this combination didn’t upset my stomach, but my energy levels didn’t feel balanced. I don’t have a sweet tooth so using gels and energy chews takes a bit of effort.   Plus needing around 60g of carbohydrates per hour equals a lot ‘real food’ in comparison to chews and gels!   So I am back to the drawing board of what is going to work for me. I have a 30km run planned for this Sunday so will be trying out some new combinations to hopefully find something that sustains the energy levels without too much gastro upset. I am also working on some new strategies for refueling post run at the moment as I find it difficult to eat after a long run. This inevitably leads to wanting to eat the entire contents of the fridge about 2 hours post run. Never a good thing! So tomorrow will be another step in the process of conquering a marathon!

Last week ended with my first attempt at a real hill, Westmorland. It wasn’t pretty and I am very glad no one witnessed it! There may have been a bail out detour required at Sedgwick St but that was only so I could do a U turn and continue on up the hill minus the imminent cardiac arrest!
So this week was meant to have been a rest week but it hasn’t really felt like it, probably because I have filled the non training time with other things. There is daily yoga and having to consult a massage therapist about my lymphoedema. If anyone wants to know more about this condition just holler. So this morning’s programme had me going up Flowers Track in Sumner as there is a treat at the top for me.

Check this swing out.

Getting inverted or even just getting your legs above your heart is wonderful recovery and with this swing you get to sway back and forth too, I love it! You could do acroyoga on this…

Get a load of them socks!

The last month has seen a noticeable increase in milage on the bike. Two weeks ago saw my biggest ever training week, with 25 hrs, 415km (all on MTB) and some swimming. The biking included a mid week 148km ride, followed by a weekend trip from near Timaru to Twizel and return. Last week I rode in Micro Adventure 3 around the Methven area. Some knee problems saw me cut the ride short, but i still managed my first night out in the new tent and got to test my gear out in some pretty cold conditions. A trip to the physio showed the problem to be a muscle imbalance problem pulling my knee slightly out of alignment, rather than any structural problems. With my long rides now getting up around 12 hours (away from home) the little things are starting to become important!
Having now ridden with a few different people, mostly experienced in Brevet style riding, I am starting to find the pace that i can sustain all day, and for multi-days. It is a far cry from the intensity and speed of 100 mile bike race and Iron distance tri pace, but i’m loving the more relaxed attitude to riding and the essential cafe stops!
last week I received my front roll, feed bags and top tube bags from Stealth bike Bags and had the opportunity to test them on Micro Adventure 3. I have some minor adjustments to make, but they worked superbly. Being my first opportunity to ride with a full gear kit, the set-up worked remarkably well and it made a world of difference having ready access to food and gear.
Training wise, it is now just a matter of keeping the milage rolling along and keep on testing the gear. Each time I load up the bike i find a better way of packing things. As I am anticipating taking around 17 days for Tour Aotearoa, if I can save 30 mins a day in packing, unpacking and sorting gear out during the day, I can gain nearly a full day!!

Epic bike, Epic trip, Epic views. Alps to Ocean trail, Pukaki

Back country roads near Albury

The Stour valley, Hakatere Conservation area

First weigh in of gear. Give or take a bit, 10.4kg including bags

I have just finished the Catch Fitness 20 Week Challenge and the last 4-5 months seem to have whizzed by in a flash. To end the challenge Pumped Training (where I train) hold a fun run event and I entered the half marathon. My race plan was to try and emulate some of what I plan to do when I run the Queenstown marathon in a couple of months. I rested up last week and only did a couple of shorter runs. I was seriously twitchy and ready to run by the time Sunday rolled round. I was nervous but felt prepared. The run went really well and I was pleased with my pace and my form. Unfortunately my legs weren’t too happy towards the end of the run but hopefully once I get a few more long runs in, they will cope better with the distance I am preparing them for!

As with any plan there is always something that is bound to go awry. I wrote a list of what I needed for the day and a couple of omissions made me realise the importance of double checking everything. It was a bit chilly on arrival as I left the puffer jacket at home (wasn’t on the list) and I only planned for it being cold (only took long sleeved run tops) which in the end wasn’t really a problem but it spun me out a bit at the start!

Also, I had rehearsed in my head how I would warm up, with a focus on some of the static exercises I had practiced in my training. What actually happened on the day was I got so busy catching up with everyone and chatting, that the warm up plan went right out of my head which could explain some of the soreness in my muscles this week!

My nutrition during the run seemed to be adequate but I think that perhaps I may still need to eat a bit more either for breakfast or carry more fuel with me. This time I tried eating something within half an hour of finishing my run which is something I don’t normally do. My stomach didn’t really appreciate the new plan so I might have to re-think post-race refuelling!

So, this week my focus shifts from my 20 week challenge goals to fully focusing on the Queenstown marathon – back into the training and long runs. I see on my training plan I have a few 30km runs coming up – when I first saw them written down I had heart palpitations and having just run 21km, a full marathon distance just seems daunting and a bit overwhelming at times. However, the power of the BHAG is that it gets you out of thinking too small. And it wouldn’t be a BHAG if it wasn’t a little bit scary….

The countdown has begun! With only 2 weeks until Spring Challenge I’m starting to get excited. For those that don’t know Spring Challenge is an all-women’s adventure race. It involves rafting, mountain biking, running/hiking and navigation. It is raced in teams of 3 women. There are 3 different race options – 3, 6, or 9 hours. We have entered the 9hr race. It’s an awesome race and I’m really looking forward to it. I have raced it twice and each time it has been quite different. Each year the race location changes and this year it is in Wanaka which is really exciting because it’s such awesome place.

I’m on study break so I decided to head home to Wellington. I had an exciting weekend of training filled with mountain biking, running and lots of hills. Although our Spring Challenge team is spread throughout NZ we all managed to be in Wellington for the weekend to do some training. Kathryn and I weren’t exactly sure how our Saturday was going to end up, we were recently warned that Spring Challenge is going to have lots of mountain biking and hills in it this year so we decided find some hills to ride(which is easy in Wellington!). Kathryn’s sister wanted to take us mountain biking in Belmont Regional Park so that’s where we started. About 3.5hrs later we made it back to Kathryn’s house – sore, cold and a bit muddy having concurred a few hills. Wellington threw some great weather at us – we got not just rain but heavy hail!

We decided that wasn’t enough training for the day, especially since the weather was clearing up. We enjoyed some much-deserved food, got warm and then went for a run up Mt Kaukau carrying gear. My legs did not enjoy it the run very much.

To finish the day off Kathryn and I loaded the car with our bikes and headed off to Wainuiomata to meet up with Nicole for a mountain bike. Yay! We managed to all get together as a team! We enjoyed some nice single track, a four-wheel drive track and some more hills… I slept pretty well that night.

On Sunday morning I enjoyed a little sleep in and even managed to get some study done before jumping back on my bike. Kathryn, Nicole and I got to enjoy some wonderful sunny weather mountain biking in the Akatarawas. Kathryn had to leave a bit early to drive back to New Plymouth, so Nicole and I continued on. I even hut bagged a hut for the first time on a mountain bike (I really like hut bagging)! It was awesome way to complete a good weekend of training. It was also exciting exploring mountain bike tracks that I don’t normally ride. Now bring on Spring Challenge!

Nicole, Kathryn, Rachel

One of the advantages of being an older soul is that over the years I’ve tried out loads of different kit and equipment so you’d think I had pretty much figured out what I like and what works well for me. Thing is that new products and refinements of older ones keep coming along and so I am just working out that the world of sports and fitness hasn’t half moved on since I last looked some 5 years ago.

I’ve been very short sighted since I was about 10 yrs old. Unless I use contact lenses (and I have in the past but can’t be bothered now) the world of fancy sports sunglasses is largely denied me. Now I’m ‘older’ my focal length for reading is heading in the other direction! I want to have sunglasses I can wear on the bike that protect my eyes from the wind, let me see clearly, work in bright and low light and it would also be nice to be able to read my cycle computer when it’s on my stem. Check out my Adidas ‘Evil Eye’. I came across the sunglasses in one of Torpedo7’s terrific sales. Keeping a look out for this sort of bargain can really pay off as prescription lenses don’t tend to come cheap. A bit of googling showed they come in a small size, (great for women), adjustable all over the place, interchangeable coloured lenses included, with a yellow for low light, and can take an inserted prescription lens. Off to my favourite opticians, T+S at Northwood and hey presto, clear vision, a lens for every weather condition and they look the part. Even in the drizzle at the Brunch Ride, sunglasses of this lens colour can make a big difference for comfort and clarity.

One of my other favourite bits of kit are Ground Effect’s ‘Chipolatas’ gloves. Newer materials mean I can have gloves that fit snugly, keep my hands warm and dry and I can still work the controls. No more mashing or missing the levers!

On the training front, Fleur continues to unleash her stash of stairs on me. I actually really enjoy them; honestly! I was just having a bit of fun here for the camera. I am also doing circuits and bumps on the ‘Downs’ more and more. Got up to 8 bumps yesterday… Hmm I wonder how many bumps it will take to equal Coronet Peak?

Most of my runs are on long, straight country roads due to us living in Irwell. In fact, I had to run 27km a few weeks ago and I ran it in one direction due to a strong southerly blowing (I don’t do head winds) and I literally turned only about four bends. Many of you would find this unbelievably boring but not me. It is a great feeling getting to the end of the road and the Garmin is telling me I have just run 20k. Great only 7 to go!

On Sunday I ran 31k’s around Brookside to Leeston and back. It was a great run! I have run these roads many times before and I know most of the families that farm in the area and they know me. One farmer calls me “the crazy running lady”, which is slightly offensive but I quite like it!

The first thing I do on a long run like this is to drive the course and put out my drink bottles – they are always waiting for me. No one out here thinks it’s odd that there is a water bottle lying beside their letter box or road sign. If I get hot I can leave my jacket or hat in any of the letter boxes and they will always be there for me to pick up later. I have one farmer who leaves lollies in his mail box for me – do you get that town??

The scenery is always changing in the country. You get to see all the seasonal transformations. Watching the paddocks being turned over and planted to then seeing the header coming in to do the harvest when the crops are ripe, the calves and lambs being born means warmer days are beginning. I have even had to do the odd rescue. One time I heard a little lamb crying on the side of the road. There were no other sheep around so I picked her up and put her under my jacket to keep her warm and went up the first driveway I came to – why do farmers have the longest driveways in the world? The farmer named that little lamb “Pauline”. Another time I saw a poor old ewe trying to give birth but the lamb had become stuck, so I ran up another long driveway and told the farmer. He said “well did you pull it out?”

Running in the country does mean running on the roads. There are no footpaths out here. I always run on the right so the traffic is coming towards me. Most drivers are really considerate and will give me heaps of space, I always give a ‘thank you’ wave and nothing beats a cheering toot, toot from friends as they drive past. If I happen to see another runner (a rare occurrence) there is always a big shout out and even a mid-road conversation. I can’t say the same about some of the townie, Lycra wearing, road cyclists that dare venture over the Selwyn bridge, unfortunately!!! *

So give country roads a go. Come on out. Did I also mention there are no hills, no smog, just the sweet smell of the silage being fed out and occasionally the not so sweet smell of the offal pit burn off!
*CP cyclists do not fall into this category.

For the most past I am pretty good with what I eat, I know about good nutrition and how to eat well for my body. I eat a good range of foods – fresh vegetables, fruits, lean meat, dairy, grains and a few treats here and there. I am also a Weight Watchers Coach, each week I help people to reach their weight loss goals. I really enjoy learning about nutrition and food, recently I have been researching about sugar and the effects that it has on the body.

Something I do not know anything about is performance nutrition. This is a whole new ball game for me! I literally have no idea how to fuel for performance. This has meant that I am now floundering and wondering what the heck I am supposed to do when I am running!

In the past I have only ever done half marathons and for the two and a bit hours I would be running have never felt like I needed anything to eat. I have always just had the standard water or sports drink at the drink stations and the complementary banana as you cross the finish line.

I went for my first longer run this past weekend (1hr45min) – so I thought it would be a great chance to start playing around with what I should be eating while running. Richard gave me some guidance and said to look at fueling by having 60gms of carbohydrates per hour. As someone who has never had any type of gels or anything like that I was wondering how it would work and if I would like it or not. I tried the Clif Shot Bloks – 40mins in I started with one “shot” and proceeded to eat one every 10 or so minutes till they were gone. I also had this very stylish “fuel belt” full of water – I looked like a real professional!
The Shot Bloks were really good, I think I could work with them! Over the next few months in the lead up to the marathon I am going to try some new things and play around with what I can eat and deal with while running. I have a 2hr run planned for this weekend so I am going to try something else this week and see how it goes!

I guess I have a lot of researching to do….but then again I do enjoy it!
(I have a book about the Glycemic Index on its way)

The CP Brunch Ride was great. In the pic is Fleur on the left and my fellow newbie, Amy on the right. That makes me the one in the middle! Both Amy and I were nervous beyond any sense of proportion, anyone would think this was the World Champs or something. But for us new folk it is a bit like that, any new challenge is a mix of excitement and anxiety. The good news is we both won our ‘World Champs’ and felt really pleased to have earned our cake and coffee. Big thanks to Brett and Richard and the bunch for looking after us. Thanks too to Richard for letting me fill in all you brunchers on my mission for the Pinc and Steel Cancer Rehabilitation Trust. I collected some donations at the time and will keep this fund open for a bit and then these will be added to the site under the CP team banner. Of course you can go direct to the site and donate that way too.

Now it’s time to try pointing the bike at some baby hills. There are not a lot of these around locally I find. Plenty of stonking great big ones yes, but not much in the way of gentler slopes and/or shorter stretches. I headed out to Cashmere Road this morning and rode over ‘the downs’ a couple of times. It wasn’t my fault I had to climb from a dead stop, the road was being repaired and was single lane! That’s my excuse for having to find granny gear and I’m sticking to it. That and the southerly head wind added plenty of resistance of its own. Coming back with a tail wind was a lot nicer, I am getting craftier in my old age and thinking about these things in advance.

See you out there!

Well here I am less than 12 weeks out from my current BHAG. I have finished sulking about the cancellation of the Bedrock50 and have readjusted my mindset and reasons for doing the Queenstown marathon. I have also been vigorously researching other runs to replace the Bedrock and at this stage I am planning on entering Mission Mt Somers in October and the Routeburn Classic run in April 2016.  It’s not quite the ultra marathon I was after but it’s a good starting point….

Being only 12 weeks out from my BHAG has made me quit procrastinating and sign up with CP to get a training programme.  Thanks to Richard I now have a plan to get me to where I want to be come 21 November (marathon day!) – my body in one piece and my mind raring to go!

Training over the past two weeks has consisted of runs of various lengths as well as cross training.  Prior to my training programme I convinced myself that each run I set out on had a purpose i.e. time, distance, pace, focus on form etc.  However upon reflection my self-prescribed training programme looked more like this:

• Long run = meandering in the hills preferably with my camel bak stocked with ‘nutrition’
• 5km TT = 3km good speed, 2km my mind screaming it was tired and convincing my body to stop
• Aiming to run at intensity 5 = woo hoo I’ve made it out the door, just cruise

This didn’t necessarily happen with all of my runs but its fair to say that once Bedrock was off the table, I was much less focused on running/training and spent a lot of mental energy ‘self-congratulating’ myself for just getting out the door.

So with my training programme comes accountability with a sharp focus on the end goal.  There is also nothing like someone else checking in on how you are going to make you keep at the right pace or finish the run that has been planned. As I log my runs both on-line and in my training journal, I am holding myself accountable for doing what I said I would do, as well knowing that there is a coach who is going to see what I have (or haven’t!) done. For me accountability also has a flipside which is knowing that there is someone who is knowledgeable, and has the expertise, to get me to the start of my goal strong and ready to go.  It also means that Richard gets bombarded with questions every time he rings to check in with how I am going!

Another part of my training over the past few weeks has been planning and fitting in my cross training sessions.  I learnt a lot last year about how cross training can complement my running as I made the mistake of forsaking all other physical activity to 1) focus on my running and 2) I was petrified I was going to get injured if I kept playing all of my other usual sports.  This time round I am continuing with Pilates, swimming, tennis and strength training. I have discovered that with epic fails comes wisdom!