It has been said that my taste in literature is somewhat odd, but if one is hungry for knowledge on running and nutrition then one must, at times, endure some rather dull books, it has been pointed out to me in fact I am often reading a text book!
It should come as little surprise then, that I have no real idea about post race/long run recovery as these books are generally written for people that already have a degree in sports nutrition, and understand the process of phosphocreatine synthesis with ease!
So my post race recovery has been a matter of trial and error. The error often comes after pushing myself far to fast for the last three miles of a 20 miler and wanting to do nothing other than spew up energy gels, powerade and porridge!
I have found a rather cliche strategy that works for me though, at least I think it does, listen to your body. Yeah yeah sounds all mystical, spiritual hippie stuff, but our bodies have been bodies far longer than we've had brains big enough to override them, and as a result have evolved subtle ways of letting us know what they want when they want it, without consulting the conscious part of the brain . Blimey, it almost sounds like I know what I'm talking about!
Any way, what does listen to your body actually mean. Bizarrely enough, exactly that, if you have a craving for something after a long run then eat it, even if its a burger!
My theory is, it's like a pregnant woman, no not round and unpredictable, but when their up the duff, hormones raging and they get a craving for peanut butter and gherkins its probably because there is something in peanut butter and gherkins that their body needs, but under normal circumstances this message would be over looked by the conscious brain. I am certainly not saying that to find out the best post race recovery strategy we should all get preggers, apart from being physically impossible for most, I imagine its a touch difficult running any distance with a mini me bouncing on your bladder!
What did I do then, and what works for me. Well, I tend to have a vast selection of confectionery and nibbles in my car and I normally end up in the car after a race/run, so I just looked at what I had, imagined eating it and if that sounded good I got stuck in! I think the easiest way to find out what your body wants is to imagine eating it first. Sounds a bit daft, but how often do we eat things without thinking because they're there, rather than because we want them, think about not just what your eating but about eating it, and you should find something that suits your post long run recovery.
What works for me? Yazoo strawberry milkshake, a packet of ready salted and a banana, that normally does the trick. I also enjoy driving home bare foot, heaters full blast on my feet and the windows open, try it you will be amazed!
Wednesday 19 December 2012
Thursday 6 December 2012
Training for the sand!
Yes believe it or not there will be sand in the Sahara, and as a result I have been advised that it would be prudent to get some miles with sand underfoot, behind me.
No problem I thought to myself, all I have to do is find some nice long stretch of beach where I can run for miles on a sandy foreshore, preferably in the sunset with waves lapping at my toes and dolphins frolicking out beyond the surf - how romantic!
Unfortunately in the South of England I'm left with very few options, I can either talk nicely to the owner of a nearby sand quarry and get some speed work in, or settle for the glitzy beech front of West Wittering.
West Wittering it is then. I book a Saturday off from everything and plan to be up and on the road at 0900, ready to catch the low tide, just an easy 10 miler to see how we go. Unfortunately due to extenuating circumstances, namely being a lazy arse, I don't get on the road until gone midday and as a result the sandy West Wittering, promised to me by the website, was somewhat depleted, owing mainly to the sand all being covered with water!
Not to let that dampen my enthusiasm, pun intended, I set of along what remains of the white-ish sand, dogs in tow. "Hey this is bloody good" I think to myself, the dogs run happily along with me, occasionally whizzing off for a sniff at the rear end of a long lost friend, then suddenly the sand stops and the groynes and pebbles begin.
My easy 10 miler had just turned into 10 miles of hurdles! Not to be out done I soldier on for nearly 2 miles, like the hero I am, until eventually I come to a 10 foot high boat ramp, with sea on one side and a sea wall on the other I have no option but to flake out, I end up on the coast path running along the top of the wall. Eventually I am able to get back on the shingle and remain on this until the return journey of the run.
Besides seeing a massive great bulldozer, which was exciting, not a lot else of note happened the dogs became less enthusiastic about running along with master and slowly fell into line, route marching behind the boss.
I did however manage to find a rather nice HTC phone on the way out, not one to be thieving I looked around, probably with a rather sweaty quizzical look on my face, and saw dad and embarrassed looking daughter running awkwardly over the shingle towards me. Hoping I didn't look like that when I run I handed them the phone and went on my way.
So, running on sand, a good idea in principle if you can drag your ass out of the house in time to catch low tide, although the shingle wasn't your ordinary running surface so not a total loss. I think next time I will head on up to the dunes at Merthyr Mawr, those sound far more appropriate and less likely to be covered by the sea, just got to stump up 12 quid for the bridge!!
No problem I thought to myself, all I have to do is find some nice long stretch of beach where I can run for miles on a sandy foreshore, preferably in the sunset with waves lapping at my toes and dolphins frolicking out beyond the surf - how romantic!
Unfortunately in the South of England I'm left with very few options, I can either talk nicely to the owner of a nearby sand quarry and get some speed work in, or settle for the glitzy beech front of West Wittering.
West Wittering it is then. I book a Saturday off from everything and plan to be up and on the road at 0900, ready to catch the low tide, just an easy 10 miler to see how we go. Unfortunately due to extenuating circumstances, namely being a lazy arse, I don't get on the road until gone midday and as a result the sandy West Wittering, promised to me by the website, was somewhat depleted, owing mainly to the sand all being covered with water!
Not to let that dampen my enthusiasm, pun intended, I set of along what remains of the white-ish sand, dogs in tow. "Hey this is bloody good" I think to myself, the dogs run happily along with me, occasionally whizzing off for a sniff at the rear end of a long lost friend, then suddenly the sand stops and the groynes and pebbles begin.
My easy 10 miler had just turned into 10 miles of hurdles! Not to be out done I soldier on for nearly 2 miles, like the hero I am, until eventually I come to a 10 foot high boat ramp, with sea on one side and a sea wall on the other I have no option but to flake out, I end up on the coast path running along the top of the wall. Eventually I am able to get back on the shingle and remain on this until the return journey of the run.
Besides seeing a massive great bulldozer, which was exciting, not a lot else of note happened the dogs became less enthusiastic about running along with master and slowly fell into line, route marching behind the boss.
I did however manage to find a rather nice HTC phone on the way out, not one to be thieving I looked around, probably with a rather sweaty quizzical look on my face, and saw dad and embarrassed looking daughter running awkwardly over the shingle towards me. Hoping I didn't look like that when I run I handed them the phone and went on my way.
So, running on sand, a good idea in principle if you can drag your ass out of the house in time to catch low tide, although the shingle wasn't your ordinary running surface so not a total loss. I think next time I will head on up to the dunes at Merthyr Mawr, those sound far more appropriate and less likely to be covered by the sea, just got to stump up 12 quid for the bridge!!
Tuesday 4 December 2012
The first mini (very mini) expedition
As part of my training regime, I have decided to try and get away to the Brecon Beacons at least once a month, to fit in some back to back runs.
Admittedly I could very easily do back to back runs across the downs, but lets be honest I see enough of them over the rest of the month and there's more to life than the South Downs! Besides by sneaking off to the peaks I get to go camping for a couple of days, and get used to the discipline of living out of a pack, and experiment with various easy cook foods.
At least that's the plan, unfortunately this month, Nov, due to financial circumstances, i.e. getting pinched speeding and having to pay for a driver awareness course, which was rather good incidentally, I couldn't afford it.
I did however manage to get away in Oct for a couple of days. Having set up my tent using a well placed Peugeot and full beam, to see what I was doing, I settled down to the first "heat me up" culinary delight, Thai red chicken curry and rice (depicted below). All in all a roaring success I must say.
On the food and cooking front, several lessons were learnt, and several great discoveries made!
If you want anything to stay dry whilst camping this time of year, leave it at home, so a lighter is a must, matches go soggy!
Some great discoveries made on the first expedition, were hexy block cookers, fantastic little things, I now know exactly how much of a block will boil me a brew (about a quarter). Admittedly they are limited to heating water, you cant really cook on them, but hot water means hot food, and I suppose that is cooking really.
Next great discoveries are powdered mashed potato and pots of porridge! Who knew you could get powdered mash, and it even tastes a bit like mash, just add water, and cheese for the adventurous! Porridge pots are the next great camping convenience, you just rip the top off chuck in some boiling water and honey, happy days! I don't much like porridge, but I acknowledge it's usefulness as a pre-long run breakfast so put up with it, if you are a porridge connoisseur you may find it tastes a little like wall paper paste, but hey get over it your camping!
Admittedly I could very easily do back to back runs across the downs, but lets be honest I see enough of them over the rest of the month and there's more to life than the South Downs! Besides by sneaking off to the peaks I get to go camping for a couple of days, and get used to the discipline of living out of a pack, and experiment with various easy cook foods.
At least that's the plan, unfortunately this month, Nov, due to financial circumstances, i.e. getting pinched speeding and having to pay for a driver awareness course, which was rather good incidentally, I couldn't afford it.
I did however manage to get away in Oct for a couple of days. Having set up my tent using a well placed Peugeot and full beam, to see what I was doing, I settled down to the first "heat me up" culinary delight, Thai red chicken curry and rice (depicted below). All in all a roaring success I must say.
On the food and cooking front, several lessons were learnt, and several great discoveries made!
If you want anything to stay dry whilst camping this time of year, leave it at home, so a lighter is a must, matches go soggy!
Some great discoveries made on the first expedition, were hexy block cookers, fantastic little things, I now know exactly how much of a block will boil me a brew (about a quarter). Admittedly they are limited to heating water, you cant really cook on them, but hot water means hot food, and I suppose that is cooking really.
Next great discoveries are powdered mashed potato and pots of porridge! Who knew you could get powdered mash, and it even tastes a bit like mash, just add water, and cheese for the adventurous! Porridge pots are the next great camping convenience, you just rip the top off chuck in some boiling water and honey, happy days! I don't much like porridge, but I acknowledge it's usefulness as a pre-long run breakfast so put up with it, if you are a porridge connoisseur you may find it tastes a little like wall paper paste, but hey get over it your camping!
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