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: 

• Syrupy peach cups are easy to slurp, sweet and taste yummy, like childhood. Way too heavy to carry along and only 12g of carbs when most people are looking for 60-90g of carbs per hour, BUT at crew stops on a long race, these are fun, especially cold. 
• Idahoan potatoes come in a cup form now! Another good one. Especially if you are needing a break from sweet stuff, these are 30g of carbs, super salty and no chewing required. Make sure you set your crew up with a stove or the aid stations will be able to give hot water. 
• I am typically a NO on baby food products as it is too low carb and low cal for how heavy it is. BUT,  this one has 25g of carbs and when you are sick of gels OR need something to take down pre-race as you stand nervously questioning your life choices, this is a good one. 
• If as a child you enjoyed eating Jello and squishing it through your teeth you must get some Chargel. I just tried it and it is both delicious and an awesome throw back to childhood. Also 45g of carbs. (Guessing this is super polarizing and you are either team squish the Jello or think this whole concept is HORRIBLE. Go ahead and let me have it, team Jello teeth all day!)

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!!!

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. 

• If this isn't proof of a "if you build it, they will come" style project, I don't know what is. This race with over 250 entrants has a live stream, I mean, who wants to watch a bunch of slow-moving people travel for DAYS across the desert? Well, I went to click on the livestream yesterday and could not get through because of too much web traffic. A website crashing amount of people want to watch. Don't let people tell you your ridiculous idea is ridiculous. A 100+ hour livestream of a trail race may be the most ridiculous idea I have heard of and it is working because passionate people are showing absolute humanity and a triumph of the human spirit when other news right now drenches your soul fire. Watch the YouTube livestream, get a note to give to your boss for slacking off while you watch. 
• Here is a video of the third-place female at mile 36. She looks like she is running the pace for a 50k. Races that are farther and harder and steeper and longer are pushing the sport. We can all learn something from the new places trail running is going (even if you don't want to go there and want to run it real chill) 
• The course goes through deserts, mountains and down the main streets of towns. In Europe it is common to see finish lines in a town square where people can cheer, gather inspiration and trail running gets normalized. In the US we tend to have a sizeable distance between our trails and towns with most trail races ending in a small patch of open space far from civilization. Cocodona is a cool format that brings exposure to the sport and brings the sport into town. When towns have an Ironman there is an uptick of local people who join the race, start triathlon clubs and "create more racers within 300–500 miles of that location" Again, if you build it they will come. 

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?