Go Hard

Well I did it. My first 100km trail ultra is done and dusted. In short, it was an amazing experience. This is how it unfolded. I stayed down with my wife, kids and sister in a nice house a short distance from the race. A pretty chilled evening, some simple pasta and disappointing loss in the AFL prelim. In the middle was race registration and briefing. Signing in had me feeling nervous for the first time, but I soon relaxed after catching up with a few people. Though it played on my mind I couldn't check and recheck my drop bags after I handed them over, even though I'd already checked them at least ten times. The sleep was a little disturbed, but that's no problem. I'd slept well during the rest of the week. Up early, liquid breakfast, coffee and a selection of stretches and movements had me feeling loose and ready. Soon enough I got my way down to the start. The weather was brilliant. Bright blue skies, plenty of sun and a light cool breeze. I couldn't ask fo...

I've well and truly gone past the point where I can add any fitness. I have what I have, now all I can do is make the most of it to get the best result race day. The plan for the last couple of weeks was penned with the proviso: Naturally the plan will change if it needs to (and it probably will) Of course it did, and what I did put on paper was a bit too much. So I listened to my body, and I think I got that in the strange period that is a taper. Anyway, as of 14 days out the training went a little something like this... Trail Run 44km with race kit, race nutrition at race pace. All went to plan, plus I felt great. 90min @ race pace 1h45min @ race pace, maybe a little quicker over the last 30min Easy relaxed run to and from track, with 10x80m building strides. All relaxed and comfortable, took 60min all up Planned 4 hour trail run, but legs felt heavy and I felt tired, so just a very light 60min Day OFF. Legs still heavy, and I was wondering if I am fighting off the c...

Over the last few months I've experimented a reasonable amount with my nutrition during the long runs (4-6.5 hours). I've tried a few different regimens, and varied my amounts. In the mix has been low to high calorie levels (100-340kCal/hour). Different fuel mixtures which have included testing of maltodextrin, fructose, glucose, protein and electrolytes. From this experimentation combined with a good amount of study, I have come up with a plan that seems like the right plan for the Surfcoast Century. For the most part my plan falls close to the Hammer Nutrition Guidelines as found in their free eBook: The Endurance Athlete's Guide To Success . Well worth a read. Now I have to point out that I am not necessarily an advocate of Hammer Nutrition, and other than a few gels, don't tend to use their products. However, they do provide some very practical information that I have put to test in training. I was also fortunate enough to win a free entry into the Steve Born Nutr...

Due a reoccurrence of the sinus infection I thought I was getting rid of, the training over the last week hasn't matched what I planned on paper. I took an extra couple of days easy, the a day later than planned I hit the a nice steep hill for 6 x 40 second efforts, with about 2 min recovery, followed by 2 x 2min of fast, technical running over some twisting a jagged trail, with a good dose of rest in between. The run felt good and I had that flow I really wanted. Thanks to Dazzler I managed to score a free massage that put my legs into a better state than they had been. No surprises from the work, all the problems I thought I had were there, and nothing extra. The legs are looser, and my own tissue therapy now seem s a little more effective. The long run got scrapped for two reasons. First was with the sinus infection still causing a lot of grief, it would do more harm than go to go long. Seconds was 100km winds whipped some of the tiles from our roof and I some temporary repa...