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Welcome to the archive of the
ULTRAU TUESDAY EMAIL |
Photo courtesy of Full Send Media. Race by Go Beyond Racing.
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Hi all!
For those of you following along, last week I was crewing at the Sedona Canyons 125, one of 4 races held during the week of Cocodona. For me, the story of the week was Rachel Entrekin winning the women's race, coming in 4th overall, 5 hours after the first male finisher and 14 hours before women's second place. In videos she seems like both a normal person but also the happiest person out there. Being out on different parts of the course I will tell you, it is much more technical than the times of those front runners let on! For most of the runners there is a lot of walking, not easy when you have trained for a run. (and a reminder for everyone expecting hiking in your next race, it isn't the same as running, start hiking as part of training!) The cooler temperatures certainly messed with people's strategies and packing lists. Specifically, when you are counting on a race that is very hot and those temperatures don't play out, too many electrolytes can be a real risk. Then GI issues ensue making fueling difficult. Then every step takes you a little higher in altitude not making your gut any happier (or your pace!) Since fueling is the thing that takes so many people out, I have some snacking take aways for you:
STRENGTH No live class this week, I am taking a mountain bike clinic in hopes I can have an awesome season of riding without smashing myself. No skipping your squats, join HERE for a class from the archives. LOW IRON OR MENOPAUSE? Did you know the symptoms of iron deficiency and menopause are frustratingly similar? Here’s a list of symptoms associated with iron deficiency: Absent mindedness. Decreased cognitive function. Decreased exercise tolerance. YIKES! Depression. Dry skin. Fatigue. Joint pain. Sleep disturbances. Weight gain. Sounds a LOT like menopause. Full article here. Be sure to talk to your doctor about symptoms and advocate for testing so you can be your best self out on the trails! RUNNING ON MOUNTAIN BIKE TRAILS A question from an athlete was, which way should I run on a one-way mountain bike trail? Against the one way or with the flow of bikes? My answer is NEITHER! If you are running on trails with mountain bikes, that is fine, BUT when it comes to mountain bike specific trails with features for bikes like banked corners, jumps and trails designed for one way travel, please run somewhere else. Mountain bikers go really fast compared to a runner and fly around corners. Stay safe (leave ear buds at home)and run elsewhere. WHAT ARE WE THINKING? If you haven't seen this illustration from Semi-Rad, I just love how it captures the humanity of a race starting line. And the one that says, "I am going to place 158th," I feel seen!!!
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Hi all,
The Cocodona 250 and associated races are on this week, WHY SHOULD YOU CARE about a bunch of people shuffling for 250 miles across Arizona? You don't have to, and if you don't want to be convinced, move along to the next topic. But, if you are curious about people foot hustling for a very long time, I have some reasons to care as someone who thought it was the DUMBEST the first year it started.
I will have more reflections next week after I have crewed and paced at the Sedona Canyons 125, one of 4 races held this Cocodona week. Also, if you are thinking, MAYBE I could run farther than 100 miles, but 200+ sounds looney tunes, the Sedona Canyons 125 has a 75-hour cut off! STRENGTH TRAINING FOR RUNNERS But first, don't skip strength training. I will be somewhere between Sedona and Flagstaff on Wednesday night, so no live class this week, but no reason to skip when you can do this one from the archives. A PERFECT MARATHON TEMPERATURE Do you have a perfect running and racing temperature? Researchers studied this and came up with 48 degrees F and low humidity as the perfect marathon temperature. Full article here summarizing the data, but in general, you are better to be racing a marathon in cold than heat, humidity isn't a real problem for most runners until it is over 65 degrees and there is a lot of individual variation so don't freak out if your next marathon is 70 degrees and 80% humidity. ALTITUDE NONRESPONDER Research shows that when it comes to altitude "some athletes struggle to acclimate or adapt and see no positive impacts of altitude training. These athletes might be seen as nonresponders to altitude." If you feel like you have friends who tackle summits with no problem but you always struggle, it may not be your work ethic or training. Read on. And a podcast with the How To of training at altitude. A LONG WALK Can I walk there? The answer is, how much time do you have! This guy is on a 27 year walk around the world. When I saw the headline, I had so many questions. For some quick answers, the start was southern tip of Chile, through to Alaska where he crossed the Beiring Straight ON FOOT. He has been jailed, laid up for the pandemic and has had some serious visa red tape. In total it has been 13 years of active walking, 27 days of swimming and it looks like there is another year to go to finish this thing. He has two self-imposed rules: he cannot use any form of transportation on his route, and is not allowed to go home until he is finished. At this point, what is home? I am about to barrel down the highway into the middle of no where Oregon, then onto the middle of nowhere Nevada, Utah and Arizona. There are Ruby Mountains to see, a rarely visited National Park to discover and the sounds of my feet and bike tires. I am headed into a week with more trees than WIFI so this email is coming to you a day early.
NO WEIGHTS NEEDED No live Strength Training for Runners on Wednesday BUT, don't skip strength training because I am out of service! Here is a video from the deep archives of 2022 when we lived in Portland, had a different dog and did strength training without weights. So, no equipment needed, but you do need 45 minutes. Mark the calendar, protect your time and get this done. If having no home weights was a barrier, now there are no excuses. SMOOTHIES I saw this article on How to Make a Smoothie and I nearly went blind rolling my eyes. Well, I read it anyway, because I like those "Four mistakes you are making" articles and then feeling smug when I am not making the mistakes. Turns out this article is actually quite good and if you have a post run smoothie or aren't having recovery fuel for workouts over 90 minutes but a smoothie sounds good, READ UP HERE. I promise you will learn something (or you can feel extra smug because you knew it all already!) The same person also has a podcast you may need to hear right now, Why slower runners still need carbs. CAN'T SLEEP POST RACE I got a great question from one of my athletes, basically saying, why can't I sleep after a big effort? My answer: After a long run or race you have elevated cortisol from the effort, that effects sleep and ability to stay asleep. Post long run athletes often have more caffeine in their system disrupting sleep as well as elevated core body temps which impede sleep and core temps can stay elevated with dehydration, also not helping you sleep. If you didn't fuel well post-race you can still be hungry and low blood sugar crashes at night cause you to wake up. AND of course there are sore legs making a good body position hard and killing sleep even more. You can read more here. RUNNING VESTS If you are looking to add a new running vest to your running gear, a bigger or smaller size or one that bounces less IRunFar has a review of some popular running vests so you can get an idea of where to start your search. “Whatever you're meant to do, do it now. The conditions are always impossible.”
― Doris Lessing, Author and Nobel Prize winner Hi all, IRONMAN recently released a report with new survey data offering insight into global athlete trends within the IRONMAN triathlon community. Surveying 10,000 individuals across 97 countries, the findings reveal a familiar barrier for many women: time. Specifically, women cited the demands of family life and the challenge of finding childcare as key reasons behind the barrier of "finding time" to participate in triathlon or endurance sports. Currently, women represent just 18% of IRONMAN triathletes worldwide. In ultrarunning, while women have made up just over 30% of race participants (across all distances) since 2021, that percentage has remained stagnant for more than a decade, according to Ultrarunning Magazine. The report also includes data from USA Triathlon showing that while men's participation in the sport has rebounded to 91% of pre-COVID levels, women’s participation has only reached 71%. Now, I would love to wait until society fully values women’s work—until household responsibilities are shared equally, and women’s sports receive the recognition and support they deserve. But we can’t afford to wait. Until those systemic changes come, we only have ourselves. So, I ask: Are you valuing your own participation in sport enough to set boundaries, ask for help, and make space for your goals? Can you separate what is yours to carry and what you have been carrying for so long you forget others can do it too? (simple to say, so hard to do, but we can do hard things, right?) And if you’re not the one trying to “find time”—are you helping your wife, daughter, sister, or mother carry the load? The conditions are always impossible. Do it now. BARRIER FREE, I MEAN AS BARRIER FREE AS I CAN I know going to the gym is a barrier for many, so join me live to your screen for Strength Training for Runners. Class is always free knocking down the barrier of cost, commute and fear of gyms. See you on Wednesday nights. During the height of the pandemic multiple sets of moms joined in with their kids. Feel free to bring kids mature enough to do a decent lunge! If I see a kid onscreen, I promise to help modify the workout as needed and keep the language clean. A LABORATORY FOR VIRTUE This podcast with guest Sabrina Little, discusses running as a laboratory for virtue and other deep thoughts including, “fitness is feeling like you are dying at a much faster pace than you used to feel like you were dying at.” ― Sabrina Little, The Examined Run: Why Good People Make Better Runners Happy trails, Dana Hi all,
Last weekend I was spectating at the Peterson Ridge Rumble. Almost a third of participants in the 20-mile race had a dog, so if you are into dogs, running and being in Central Oregon, put this one on your list. It was also the Bend Marathon, the Walla Walla 6 hour run, the Yakima Skyline 50k/25k and Gorge Waterfalls races. LOTS of athletes out there, so naturally I got to hear lots of post-race stories yesterday, basically, best day ever. POST RACE STORYTELLING Let's say you set out for a 4-hour marathon and run a 4:15, how do you talk about that race? Let's say you set out to run 30 miles on a weekend long run and "ONLY" get in 26. Do you swat away the compliments like flies, feeling undeserving that you are a badass because you ran 30 sec per mile slower than you hoped? Do you go on and on about how it wasn't very good and why it was terrible and you are terrible and everything is terrible? Is that what you would want to hear from someone who ran 45 miles instead of 50? Be careful of how you talk about big accomplishments that are just off the mark. Talking to coaches, besties and running friends about missing a goal is a great place for reflection, real talk and nuance. Find the faults, figure out how to get better, lament what could have been. But your cubicle neighbor at work who doesn't run thinks you're awesome. So does your hairstylist and neighbor. They don't care that your time isn't what you wanted, they are damn impressed you trained every weekend for months and got out early in the rain. They may never run a marathon or maybe will one day because you did. But one thing is for sure, they don't need to hear your negative self-talk about how the amazing thing wasn't good enough. More importantly YOU DON'T need to hear that about yourself. You don't need to hear yourself over and over saying the run wasn't that good. I wasn't fast enough. I didn't get as far as I wanted. Repeating these sentiments can make you harsher to yourself and social media is already working hard on that! By putting yourself down you are convincing your brain to feel pessimistic about your running and what you deserve. You deserve to feel awesome, even when you don't hit the A-standard, gold medal level you set for yourself. It is ok to accept compliments on your run without saying anything disparaging about how it went or about your ability. You ran far, even if you were bummed at the outcome. POST RACE REFUELING I had an athlete ask a good question about post-race refueling. The question was, I typically have a protein shake post run, should I do that at a race? Funny enough, I hadn't really thought of that for runners at a race since there is food, no need to drive from the trailhead home, no waiting, just eat. BUT, many runners can't finish a tough race and then go right to the post race burger/pizza/burrito. If you live for finish line food and can get in good calories with protein post race, then no need to bring anything to supplement. If you cross the line and may not be able to eat for hours, BRING THE SHAKE, it gives you hydration, calories and protein without you having to stomach real food if you aren't ready. A REVOLT "A revolt against impossibility." A podcast with Jacky Hunt-Broesma, a cancer survivor, amputee and trailblazing ultrarunner who just ran really far. PROTEIN FOR YOUR AGE Check out this newsletter which addresses protein needs in female athletes. A key takeaway here (and why you shouldn't just copy a friend or some Instagram meals) is that a women in her 40s+ needs more protein post exercise than a woman in her 20s. JOIN ME Strength Training for Runners on Wednesday nights. Always free. See you on your screen. I just read a great piece from Matt Fitzgerald about self-disqualification, "whereby runners eschew certain practices because they view themselves as unworthy of them."
He opens with a runner realizing that fast runners run right through puddles to optimize the route and how it didn't occur to her to just run through the puddles. No need to save a few seconds here and there as a "slower runner". I haven't had a term for this before but I see it in two areas for age group athletes and he addresses these in the article as well. The first is having a coach (or a prepared training plan). Many athletes think that a running coach or purchased plan is only for the fastest among us when in reality, it doesn't matter how fast you are running, if you want to optimize your own performance, a coach or plan is for you. As a coach, I promise you, finishing before the cut off of a dream race or going whatever far means to you is a really valuable and worthy goal. The second is nutrition. I am serious, if I hear someone say that they didn't fuel that much on a run because they aren't running that fast, I will force them to eat a gel standing there until they fully apologize to themself. Fueling information is readily available but yet so many athletes are leaving performance on the table under fueling, thinking it doesn't pertain to their speed or their effort. I have linked to this post before but it helps you determine how much to use fueling before and during a long run. Hint, it is more than you think and yes, even your run needs it. Are you feeling unworthy of finding a great training plan or coach, not fueling enough, not buying yourself new shoes when you need them, thinking sports massage is for someone more serious or refusing to run with a group assuming they are too cool? This is all self-disqualifying behavior and it is time to starting counting yourself in. Think strength training is just for strong people? Nope! It is for people just lifting their first weight and people who can deadlift their bodyweight. Need a way in? Come to Strength Training for Runners on Wednesday night and see what it is all about. RUNNING NEWS
THINGS I AM EATING
A science newsletter I am loving right now highlighted a study examining how periods of high academic stress, think finals, impacted injury risk in college football players. The study period lasted 20 weeks and included over 100 male student athletes. Researchers found that injury rates significantly spiked during exam weeks to nearly double of the rates they found during low stress academic weeks.
The study suggests stress compromises your attention. Under pressure, you have reduced reaction time (hello twisted ankle). Stress increases muscle tension and then sprinkle in some fatigue from poor sleep, and it is no surprise you are running funny and now your knee or hip or back is starting to bug you. This study was on a bunch of college students, all of them younger than us. Who knows how much worse this is as we age. You can't always control your incoming stressors BUT you can control your training. Some things you can do to promote healthy training during periods of intense stress include more rest days, rest weeks that come more often and more easy days. STRONG GRANDMA Put down your phone, put down your work and go watch this video from the New Yorker, Strong Grandma. If I live to 95, I really hope I am deadlifting BUT even more I really hope I have a friendship like the one highlighted in this short where we share gym time and giant cookies. Want to be strong like Grandma? Join me on Wednesday nights for Strength Training for Runners. It is free, so tell work you have to go help your grandmother with something and get your workout on. BOUNCE, BOUNCE An unlikely injury tale from a runner losing vision on the trail and requiring emergency surgery. A story from Scott Dunlap. APRIL FOOLS These are the best April Fools marketing pushes that have come across my eyeballs today.
I just got back from a visit with my grandmother who recently turned 99. Imagine seeing this past decade and all that has changed. My niece asked her what her favorite era in fashion has been and she said it was the miniskirts of the late 60s and early 70s. Love that! She thinks she is losing memory but I think it is fair to assume you won't remember all the things that happened when they are 40, 60 and 80 years ago. She is sharp as a tack but cannot understand my career, am I an adult gym teacher? She also can't understand how I get paid through the TV. (I don't but thank you Venmo)
Her mother lived to 99 and now here she is at the same milestone. It makes me wonder if I will see the age of 99 in 2074. Genetics seem to be strong here, I just might and the year 2074 feels like science fiction. I am guessing super shoe mid-soles will be about four inches high, we will have seen a women break the 2-hour marathon barrier and I don't even want to know how many grams of carbs per hour we will be up to by then. Long races will be weeks long and I will be messing up and calling it a 50k. I do hope if I live to 99 that it includes quality time outside, friends (better start making much younger friends!) and something that gives me as much purpose as running. Stay tuned, maybe I will still be sending Tuesday emails. STEEPER IS CHEAPER "A steep slope will have a shorter course distance but be harder to run up. A gentle slope will be easier to run up but cover a longer total distance. For a given finishing time, what’s the sweet spot?" The article in Outside Magazine, Why Steeper Is Cheaper for Climbing Hills, by Alex Hutchinson answers the question how to choose a trail up a hillside for maximum speed, the longer but less steep way or right up. "If you’re choosing between two routes, remember this: If one route is twice as steep as the other, you’d have to walk twice as fast up the gentler route to reach the top in the same time. Counterintuitive though it may sound, that data shows that under most circumstances, twice as steep is easier than twice as fast." A FEW GOOD READS
Change out of your work pajamas and into your workout pajamas tomorrow night for Strength Training for Runners. Live to your screen on Wednesdays, stay home, get strong. Information here. Do you have friends that can make a hill less steep? If you run with a supportive longtime friend, this study says you do!
"It is important that friendship duration moderated hill slope perception. The longer participants knew their friends, the less steep they estimated the hill to be" The simple presence of a supportive person can change how difficult something feels, so maybe the hill isn't smaller, but it will feel that way. Knowing this we need to both watch out for bad route information from our most social of running pals and keep our friends on our same running plan. I have definitely been guilty of sending people on routes I ran with friends telling athletes they weren't so bad and hearing otherwise. And I have been sent up the side of a mountain by friends remembering routes 'that will only be a little longer' on solo runs feeling like death marches needing at least three emotional support treats to keep from having a tantrum. Time to get in touch with some running friends to join you on your next tough run. (or text a laugh to someone who sent you up something too difficult!) Also, time to mark your calendar for Strength Training for Runners on Wednesday nights. Is it easier if you have been joining me for years and we are friends? Not sure I can make that kettlebell lighter but why not come and find out. Information on the always free class is here. MOOD AND ENERGY If the study linked above has you curious to dive in more, there are lots of studies regarding "geographical slant", HILLS. Here is one study that notes, "observers in a sad mood reported hills to be steeper" and here is another in which "two experiments demonstrate that participants who had consumed a glucose-containing drink perceived the slant of a hill to be less steep than did participants who had consumed a drink containing non-caloric sweetener." Sounds like you need friends, good mood and calories for best results, but you could have guessed that! RAISE THE BAR If you want to watch women's sports, here is a new resource for finding a sports bar that pledges to show women’s college games on at least 50% of their televisions throughout the tournament and to ensure a safe, inclusive space where fans can gather for March Madness. GRAPE FLAVOR IS TRENDING Tailwind Endurance fuel just announced its grape flavor is no longer seasonal but part of its core lineup. Skratch just announced grape chews. What's next? Are we going to start seeing Grape Crush at ultramarathon aid stations? I just learned it does come in a drink mix (which has zero sugar, so I would avoid during a race!) But if you need your nostalgia hit pre-race, you can get it with grape Pop Tarts, which according to their own marketing are back by popular demand. Five years ago, I was home from the gym where I had been teaching Wednesday night Strength Training for Runners. I was supposed to be teaching class, but I had just returned home from Finland and having traveled from Europe was a risk factor for this Covid 19 thing going around. I thought I would be home for two weeks but in reality, as you know, it was a lot longer. At the urging of another trainer, I hesitantly figured out the newfangled thing called Zoom and taught class from my home office. I figured I would do it for a couple times and head on back to the gym. Five years on, you can still find me, different home gym, same time and place, on Zoom live to your screen on Wednesday nights.
When I was encouraged to teach online, I was not only hesitant, I thought it was dumb, no one would join and I didn't have interest in learning how to do it. If you would have told me that five years on, I would still be offering this class, I really would never have started. A FIVE year commitment to something EVERY week sounds like a no to me. There are some good lessons in there, about continual learning, being open to new ideas and not being afraid to start, BUT I am not going there. Instead, I want to express my gratitude for those of you who were a part of the five amazing years of Strength Training for Runners at the gym and these last five amazing years of Strength Training for Runners online. If you want in on this super happy fun crew lifting heavy weights and sometimes detergent bottles or Corgis, then JOIN US TOMORROW. Class is always free and the tip jar for snacks is always open. GET UP, RUN FAST, STAY WARM Here are some athletes at the TOP of their game.
KRISPY TREATS VALIDATED If you are one of my coached athletes, you know I am an advocate of the Rice Krispy Treat as fuel for ultras (not exclusively, I am not a savage!). Most people are able to stomach rice-based fuels, they are never super dry and don't melt in the heat. Skratch Labs attempted to make a healthy/sportified version that included quinoa (NO! BAD! STOP!) and it was discontinued because hard chunks of quinoa do not belong in your life. Maurten has a solid bar product in addition to their more popular gels and it is basically an extremely expensive Rice Krispy Treat. And now, the message board Let's Run is incredulous that a track runner has credited the marshmallow treats (and other sugar snacks) with some of his success. I think the evidence is in, the treats have been validated! My go to home recipe for the treats. If you are more a salty type and want to make the treats with potato chips get cooking. |
All images and posts © UltraU, 2022. Photos by Runnerteri Photography.