T.M.I. 18 Miler

After last weekends' deuce of long run fails I felt some pressure to get 18 miles logged. The mileage actually didn't phase me too much. I wasn't nervous about whether or not I could complete it, especially when I thought of it as two loops around the Sandrat trail. But, unfortunately, even though I tried hard to eat clean this week I ran into some unknown trigger ingredients towards the end of the week. I suspect decaf coffee uses corn as a preservative on the beans and also in the de-caffeination process. Companies will swear up and down they don't use any chemicals, blah-blah in their process but corn avoiders pretty much have a hard time finding a safe coffee -especially decaf. Anyway that and a couple other ingredients led to some more days where I just felt sluggish and had bodily function problems.
Never-the-less, I got out to the trail a 1/2 hour earlier than the usual meet-up time to run 2 miles. Shaving those off left me with two 8 mile loops.
Gary was waiting in his car as I came out of the woods. After waiting around a bit we decided no one else was coming and set off into the forest. I like running with Gary because he lets me fly at my own pace and has lots of conversation for keeping your mind occupied. We talked about jobs, family, endurance running and the Hawk 50. We saw mulberries and snake berries (pictured to the right). We ran into our fellow Trail Hawk, Christine, who was a Hawk Marathon finisher last weekend. And then Gary taught me a big trail lesson I'd been wanting to know about: Poison Ivy. Because the trail is a popular biking trail for weekend warriors (the ones that don't know the rules of the trail and that the runner actually has the right of way), we have to quickly step aside off the trail as they come swishing by at top speed. They almost never slow down. They barely say thanks. Mostly they just breeze by as we are teetering on the edge of the singletrack and the brush just glad to have seen them in time to hop out of the way. Well, I had be worrying that every time I'd jump to the side, I was standing in poison ivy. It turns out I was right, it's everywhere. Gary had me point it out along the way (I think I got pretty good!). The trail is maintained super well but still, there's so much poison ivy that it seems a matter of time before I'm going to come in contact with it.
While chatting we were trying to come up with a Trail Hawk name. It's customary for each new member (I finally paid up in dues) to be named out on their next trail run. Laurie had already came up with a hilarious name about a month or so ago but then Gary suggested 'Bama Hawk.' It's hard to sum up who you are in one little name, but as soon as he said that I thought, yeah, I got a soft spot in me for the deep south. And it stuck.

Southern Girl, Erykah Badu (Link to Play or Lyrics)

After about 8 miles, where I'd felt pretty good, the cramping came back. Gary thought it was salt/water intake. It was warm but I'd ran farther distances in lots of warm weather and I knew from experience and from the days before that it was my food issues. I was still paying for mess ups the day before. Heck I still had eczema and issues from a week ago when I ate wheat.
I slowed down a lot and started walking off and on. ARGH. Makes me want to pull my hair out that my body overreacts to food that isn't truly a poison.
I thought about taking a break and going to a bathroom where I could deal with part of the issue. But, I was so thrown by my previous failed attempts that I couldn't let myself stop, even if it was just a break. I was worried I'd go home and log another too-short attempt.
So after saying goodbye to Gary I headed back into the cooler woods and plugged my ear buds into my ears. Surely the scenery, the music and the cooler forest would help move me forward the last 8 miles. Relentless forward motion as they say.
I did move for a few miles but then as a lovely biker came hurling towards me around a corner. I stepped out of the way in time but he chose to stay in the middle of the path instead of hugging the opposite side of the trail (as I was) and totally clipped me.
*#@*% BIKERS!!!!!
It hurt but wasn't lasting. More frustrating than anything else. And sometime soon after that the cramps and nausea came back and the last 6 miles were a battle. The closer I got to finishing the worse I felt. I just needed to get the h-e-double hockey sticks off the trail.
But I wasn't going home early that's for sure. I was sticking it out if my body had to blow up and all I had left was legs.
I was finishing.
And I did.

18 miles DOWN!

Food that worked: Coconut Water, Whole Foods Electrolyte Water, Reed's Ginger Chews (2), Chocolate #9 Agave Gel @ 6mi., Banana @ 10 mi.

Next up: Storm the Dam Trail Half Marathon, El Dorado, Kansas

Long Run Fail

They say if you first don't succeed try, try again.

They also say, if you first don't succeed then skydiving is not for you. *lol*

Luckily my feet were firmly planted on the ground running or I'd be a goner.

I tried getting in my 18 miler twice this weekend. Both times I ended up with only 5 miles in the bucket. I'm super frustrated and don't even want to really be thinking about running right now.

Saturday I woke up at 3:30am and volunteered at the Hawk 50 Ultramarathon for a mere 16 HOURS. I think the Trail Hawks put on a pretty great trail race especially considering the amount of rain that poured the week before. Marking the course alone had to be a huge challenge. You can read Laurie's awesome and detailed race report about how the water crossings were chest high in places (includes photos). CRAZY yet oddly intriguing and fun sounding, no?
Anyhow, I naively assumed we would be rotating shifts or at least that we'd have people relieving us at noon or something. But when are there really ever enough volunteers to have that luxury?
Well, it was extra hot and I was stationed on road by myself where there was zero relief from the sun. I underestimated how much water I would need (and turns out that the runners needed it too at that point in the race) and that I would need to bring safe food for me to eat. I knew I'd have fruit available (although, I wouldn't be able to leave my post to really get to it) but I just thought I could get by with bringing some nuts and a raw bar. I just didn't think I'd be there all morning, afternoon and evening. I didn't know I'd have access to my car and that I could have made myself a cooler stocked with ice and food for myself. It was just partly poor planning, I should have asked how long I'd be expected out there. I should have asked if I'd have access to my car, and therefore could have packed better. I don't expect people to cater to my food allergies but I should have asked more questions to make sure I could prepare. And the person that was supposed to be out there with me didn't show or I might have even been able to leave more... but even that, I can't go to fast food places really. Even if I get a salad to go I have to make and bring my own dressing.
Soooo... long story all to say that by hour 14 or so, I popped something into my mouth that I shouldn't have eaten. I was HUNGRY. I read the ingredients and although I suspected the product to be made of wheat, it named only soy and fish. So I believed it and ate it. In the U.S. wheat is supposed to be clearly labeled on a product as it's a top 8 allergen. It's the law to label food in this way. Well, it must have been mislabeled and when my symptoms started happening I realized that I had never seen this ingreident to not have wheat in it and therefore I had been duped. It's not the first time a label misled me. Won't be the last time either, I'm sure.
And for the next two days I paid a price.
Oh yes.
Oh yes.
Sunday my parents decided to go for a bike ride. I thought I'd tag along and run my 18 miler. Within 4 miles I knew my body was not up to it. I was tired, I was over-heated, I felt out of it and foggy, and my body was wanting to reject and eject the "poison" from the day before.
Monday I tried again. Rinse and repeat. Reject and eject.
5 miles each time and it just leaves me frustrated at myself and my body. This week however I resolve to eat like a saint so I can try, try again next weekend.

Homemade Salty "Margarita" Trail Runners Drink

Is this for real?! Well, ...maybe. :) If you are wild and crazy like that, you could add some tequila. Heck, I ran a marathon with a guy who chugged a beer, kept it down and finished just fine. But, otherwise, this virgin margarita has sea salt for sweat replacement and to keep you drinking, potassium, calcium and magnesium to balance your electrolytes, water for the obvious and limes for taste! I also added agave nectar not only to sweeten the drink, just like a margarita mix, but to add some calories for energy. It's all natural, home made and works on a hot, summer run!

Recipe: Amy's Salty Margarita Runners Drink

• 22 oz. (650 mL) Hydration Bottle
• Whole Foods Electrolyte Enhanced Water
• 1 Lime (2-4 slices, to taste)
• Sea Salt (2-3 dashes, to taste)
• Organic Lime Juice (Optional, 1 Tblsp.)
• Agave, Honey or Sugar (1-2tsp, to taste)

Shake well & best chilled before run!
Enjoy!

Fourteen Mile Garage Sale & Review: Sportslick

Five days later and I still have little dots on the insides of my legs. They don't hurt at all anymore but I forgot how long it stays with you! I also forgot the stinging and burning experience in the shower after your run. I cowered under the dripping water on the verge of crying for my mother. I forgot how a mixture of moisture (rain) and friction (running) on a warm day is a perfect setup for chafing. Oweeeeeee!
Saturday was the Fort Leavenworth Yard sale and I had 14 miles to lay down so I decided to just do both. I actually didn't stop at any of the sales, but it was interesting to people watch and browse on the fly. I started up at the old DB and worked my way through the 100+ year old housing and toward the brand new housing at the back gate. The furthest houses toward the West side of post sit on a hill overlooking the Leavenworth Federal Penitentiary (photo: view from the hill). At about 5-6 miles (one hour-ish) into my three hour run, it started raining.
As I made my way back down, eastward, I found a nice little trail behind some housing and was surprised at how close you can come to the Federal Pen! Ft Leavenworth also did a good job with the walking paths. Although too short for a runner doing anything over a mile or two, they are perfect for families and strollers. They really add to a park-like feel and better quality of living for Post housing I think.
Anyhow, at this point I was about 7-8 miles into my run and the burning/chafing had started. I've only ever had one chafing issue with a sports bra on a double digit run about 6 years ago. The elastic band had dug into my skin and left slash marks for a week or more. I had always chalked that up to the material (even though I've always tried to stay away from cotton). But this wasn't the material. I think it was just sweat drying and then re-wetting as well as the rain mixed with warm temps.

By this time I also needed to use the restroom and wasn't in the luxury of a hidden forest trail so I made my way to the PX. This was on route back to the db and my car, where I was looking forward to dealing w/my skin issues. In the PX I felt really self-conscious with the hydration pack on my back. It just looks, ...pretty out of place. Not to mention the rest of me, red faced, sweaty, smelly, etc. :) But I ran in, did my thing, had a chance to look at the chafing, washed up really good and felt completely refreshed. I had a fleeting hankering for a small espresso at Starbucks, which is located in the PX. I was feeling tiredness creeping in and thought it might be a nice pick-me-up as well as something to warm me on the inside. But, I still felt weird that I looked like a hiker, 7 days off trail and lost... so I walked back outside. At this point I also unstrapped my long sleeved shirt from my Nathan Intensity pack and threw that on. Back out into the rain I went.
I took a different route on the way back, which has the most scenic views on Post. This street meanders along the new Command and General Staff College campus, as well as the oldest housing along the Missouri River. I stopped off at the historical markers and checked out the old canons lining the bank. Fun!
Making it back to my car, I was able to throw on a wind breaker. The temps had dropped and by now I had been running in the rain for about an hour and a half. I also figured I'd try out my new Sportsslick Solid anti-chafing/blister stick. Although the only brand I've heard of is BodyGlide, this is the brand they carry at EliteFeet, so it's the one I picked up. They are very picky about the brands they carry and I should have known this would be a good one just because they carried it. Literally, from the moment I started walking and then running again, the pain was gone. I had another half hour or so to finish my run in the rain, and I felt zero discomfort. Had I put it on before the run - or at least when it had started raining - I believe I wouldn't even had the chafing at all. I had just thought it was mostly caused by cotton clothing but now I've learned better!

Food eaten successfully:
VitaCoco Coconut Water - best tasting brand so far.
WholeFoods 365 Electrolyte Water
Chocolate #9 Agave Energy Gel
Justin's Maple Almond Nut Butter
Reed's Ginger Chews

Trail Run with a View

Saturday morning I met the trail hawks at Clinton Lake again. There was a pretty good sized group gathered with some new people (new to the group, not running). A couple were road racers and one of them was a triathlete.





We had some good talks about triathlon training, which I always think is something I want to do. Then I remember that I don't love the water. I can't even do a technical stroke. So at that point I always go back to hoping to get into duathlons. Until I remember that I don't own a bike anymore. Gaw.

The group went fairly slow because some people had a 25 mile run planned ahead of them and others were new to trail running. This was perfect for me as I only needed to do 12 and I was able to keep up. Finishing is always goal #1. Keeping up is goal #2. :)


The morning had started out a pretty cool 50ish degrees and almost half the folks were in long sleeves. I went sleeveless knowing that it'd warm up 20ish degrees while running in addition to whatever the sun would do for us. Nick had on some Moebens which I have been lamenting over online for quite awhile. I haven't bought any because I had no idea what size to get. I have freakishly long arms but they are skinny. Nick had size large and let me try on a sleeve. While the bicep area was almost too loose, it would totally work and was definitely the right length. So happy I got to test them - and it was exactly the right kind of day to wear them.


About mile 7 I started feeling some tiredness... energy wise. I had gotten very little sleep the night before and I'm not sure if that is why I was feeling it so much. I took a Chocolate #9 and never really felt like it did a whole lot. I don't know - the jury is still out for me on that product. If there was any way to put caffeine in that product with out using a corn derivative it'd probably be the most perfect product. This time I ate the product very slowly - maybe over a half mile or more. I didn't experience any nausea this time and I think that consuming it as slow as I can is key to this success.

I turned around at Land's End and took a mixture of blue and white trails back with one other gal. We ended up with only 11 which was fine by me. By the last couple of miles my legs were trashed. The trails are pretty tight and winding, with some hills and a good amount of mud. So the ole tree stumps took a lot of pounding. I was also out there for 2 hours and 45 minutes so if you look at "time on my feet" I was pretty happy with that...

One of the girls who had wrapped up earlier with 6 miles had gone to a cafe and brought back bagels. She opened the huge box for me but sadly, and hungrily, I said, "no thanks." My gluten free little body thanked me and I rewarded myself with at a coffee shop later with hot coffee and an allergy free Bumble Bar. :D

Dogwood Canyon 25K Trail Race Report

This is the 2nd year for Bass Pro's Dogwood Canyon Trail race. The trail is located a little over an hour SW of Springfield, MO and dips into Arkansas a bit as well. This part of the Mark Twain National Forest is actually private land of the owner of Bass Pro Shop.
The Web site for this race completely sucked. Maps were promised and never posted. In fact, the forest was easy to get to using my iPhone GPS but we only found the entrance to the Dogwood Canyon park because of 5 cars turning there in a row. Had we been on our own a few minutes before, we would have certainly driven right by. Additionally, more race info should have been posted to the site. Since I am not from this area, I had no idea about the terrain. All I knew to train for was the mileage and "trails." The obvious. Well, trails can certainly vary in description... city/park trails, bridal paths, cut grass paths, single track, double track, paved.... How easy would it have been to post some pictures and/or post a more descriptive review of the challenges? Challenging it was and a few words about what to train for would have certainly focused my training runs to hills, hills and more hills! And I know true trail races might factor in hills but an elevation map was promised and in this race, the elevation change was the most significant factor in the race and they should have posted it. I need to send an email with that suggestion to the race director for next year.
There are two options for this race, the 25K (which I did) and the 50K. Weather: Although it had been freezing and winter-like all week, we woke up to temps in the 50s and a race day ending in the 60s although, it rained alot during the race.
We took off from the Springfield area about 6am and got to the park a little after 7am. Everything was easy at this point... parking was close and organized, finding the bib table was a short walk from the car and there were no lines, ... within minutes we had our stuff and went back the car to get ready. I would guess there was a 150 runner turn-out so it's quiet small and I loved that! Lining up right before 8am the race director had a LONG winded talk, introducing some famous runners and explaining the rules. We were off and running on time however.
The race starts out on the parks' paved path and within a mile or so starts going off-road. The most significant thing about the first 4 miles of this race are the 14 water crossings. We think there were probably at least 15 total in the race, with almost all of them being in the first quarter. Some are shallow and narrow and some go up to your knees and are very wide for a creek. Either way, your shoes are wet and muddy this entire section. Also starting a couple miles into the race are the hills. We counted about 9 hills throughout the race which doesn't sound like a lot at first but considering a 15.6 mile race, you are pretty much going up or coming down at any given point. You'll feel some fire in the quads, calves and glutes! We read afterward that the hills ascend around 400 feet and my Garmin 405 gave me an elevation gain of over 4500 feet! The hills were steep, muddy & rocky. It rained for 3-4 miles straight, adding to the mud fest especially around the water and really making the downhill sections a slip-in-slide except in the grown-up version if you slip, the rocks are gonna tear you up. The one thing we kept saying about the rain though was that it could have really made for a freezing cold day - but luckily the temps held and somehow I had dressed just right so that I never felt too hot or too cold! My race outfit was: wicking long black pants, short sleeved shirt, Nike wicking light jacket w/fleece outside, and a ball cap.
The course was very well marked. They used pink ribbon tape that was easy to see and marked off areas to not go and marked other ares to make sure you were still on the path. Additionally they had some signs up as well. Another nice thing was the mobile aid stations on jeeps. We heard them and saw them throughout the race and I really felt like if something happened, help would not be too long or too far away. They also were constantly joking with us and checking in to make sure we were still having fun - nice! The aid stations were also wonderful. I didn't really pay attention but I want to say they were every 3-4 miles. I don't use aid stations much due to my food allergies so I'm not sure what all they had but I did eye the gummy bears for a few seconds until my friend slapped me out of it. We did however, take advantage of the steamed new potatoes! They left the salt off and I THANKED them profusely because had they pre-salted them I would not have been able to eat it due to my corn allergy (a corn derivative binds iodine to the salt in regular table salt). This made me overly happy and gave me such a boost to be able to eat something new. Otherwise, I munched on a couple of my Yummy Earth organic candy (the only candy I've found that i can eat), a half a ginger larabar (before I knew I could have the potatoes), and one packet of maple-almond butter. I had my Nathan filled with coconut water (natures Gatorade folks, try it) and Smart Water. I had zero cramps, good energy the whole time and only a little nausea towards the end after trying to eat a 2nd potato. In my training I hadn't had any nausea since going all natural and eating less and I used to SUFFER from it constantly back in my days of Gatorade and GU products. Yuck.
Best news for last: The swag. Wow. Entrants receive a New Balance long sleeved tech tshirt (in white - bad news for girls - totally see through) and finishers received a workout towel w/race logo and a NORTH FACE TKA Glacier pull over fleece jacket!! Yes, it says North Face. Yes, it feels great. Yes, it's worth $50 which is more than the race itself cost ($45). The womens jackets were black and the men's were a mossy green. Wow.
Overall the race was a lot of fun. Beautiful scenery with numerous waterfalls towards the end of the race. The hills totally killed my legs at about halfway through the race but if I ever do this race again I'll train for the hills and take 'em on a lot stronger! Don't expect to PR here -- my time was not quite, but almost double of my normal half marathon time. But, I should add though, we also didn't go all out - not that we didn't run or try but just that the hills really made us hang back for safety and to conserve energy and we also stopped to take pictures of ourselves and the views. I don't regret that either - - I'm running to enjoy the ride. Some racers have a problem with that but I'm not a racer, I'm a trail runner and I'm out there to experience it all, not just let it whiz by unnoticed.

Link: Trail Runner Magazine review of the race.
Link: Anton Krupicka's review of the race from 2008

Zero Tolerance: Training with Food Sensitivities

I am ecstatic to see food issues get attention in the running world! Trail Running Magazine wrote an article on training Gluten Free.

Most of the article is super informative about celiac disease in which the only cure is to avoid gluten. The author did a great job explaining what the disease is, how it is diagnosed and how gluten is hidden in our food system. However, I felt like the article was a little narrow in their advice and solutions so I wanted to write my own addendum. For example, they suggest dairy and don't take into consideration that at least 50% of people with celiac disease also can't have dairy. Also, most people with food sensitivities are actually allergic to multiple foods. So, a lot of their suggestions for gluten alternatives included soy (top 8 allergy) and corn. Better advice would be to encourage the exploration of natural, whole foods like dried fruit (dates), agave, honey, seeds, and alternative grains like quinoa. The article could have been a lot more original and informative by showing readers how to make their own allergy-free granola bars or fruit roll-ups from whole foods. Both would be great race fueling alternatives.

The article was directed towards the newly diagnosed runner, which makes sense as they are probably the ones in most need of direction and help. I did think it was a great suggestion to go see a nutritionist. Especially for help learning about all the derivatives made from gluten. But the author focused too much on suggesting that the runner slow down when they are beginning to run again after being diagnosed. I can tell you that you don't have to tell someone starting to purge gluten out of their system to slow down. One of the biggest, most common complaints with this condition is extreme exhaustion. Believe me, no one has to tell me to lay down when I've been "food poisoned" because it'd debilitating when I've eaten enough. My arms and legs are completely fatigued. My mind is fuzzy and I usually have headaches so bad I used to lay in the dark. Gluten makes me feel achy all over and extremely tired, paradoxically however, I can't sleep because my body inside is in a frenzy trying to "work out the problem." Then, there are more annoying side effects like coughing, wheezing, itching and stiff joints. The author does say one time that erratic energy levels can be a side effect initially and I would say that is almost going to be a definite.

Anyhow, I just came up with a lot of negative points but I am really impressed to see an article addressing this condition. And I wouldn't expect a race to accommodate people with food allergies anymore than I'd expect to go to a foreign country and for everyone to speak English! Although, really, wouldn't dates versus gummy bears be a healthier racing fuel for all of us runners? Like they said though - and the best advice for runners with food allergies is that you have to change the way you fuel and race to accommodate food sensitivities. Gatorade, etc is out for me - - so I will have to carry my own hydration because I can't drink the common race provided beverages. I can't eat cookies and candy or broth (etc) provided at a lot of races - - so I will have to carry my own fuel. I can't use GU or powerbars and most other energy replacement products (because of my corn allergy) so I will have to carry my own natural foods. I can't even pop an ibuprofen anymore (unless I get it specifically compounded with potato starch) because it's made with cornstarch.
It definitely takes extra thinking and extra work and I enjoyed seeing that noticed by Trail Magazine.

Air Assault 4 Miler

Tonight I ran 4 miles (2 loops) around the Air Assault Track on Post. The feels like temp was 96 degrees and humidity was almost 100% as its supposed to rain any minute now. There was lightening in the distance as it grew darker and darker.
I felt sick the entire run because the last couple days I've been hit with what feels like food poisoning. It's not truly food poisoning however, it's just that my body thinks that corn/wheat/dairy is it's mortal enemy. So a few days ago it started with a headache, then stiff/achy fingers, then as I messed up a few times more it grew into eczema, nausea and then today added on exhaustion and body fatigue. When I say fatigued I don't mean like tired-at-the-end-of-the-day feeling but like as if I had the flu. But... as I looked at my running goals and my schedule, I really needed to get in 4 miles. I can't do it tomorrow, and Friday would be the day before my long run, - it had to be tonight. I decided that even though I felt like I had the flu, I knew I didn't. Even though I felt sick, even to my stomach, I knew it was just my body overreacting to what it thinks is a toxin. So I decided to run/walk as much as I could. And, I ended up going 4 miles - feeling sick the whole way, feeling tired and walking on and off but I finished.
Most people have challenges running. Running is a challenge in itself. Then there's weather, hydration, old injuries, overtraining, undertraining, etc.. And this is just one of mine - but now I know I can run through it.

Golden Hawk 12 Mile Run

On Sunday morning at 6am I started the Golden Hawk 6 mile course. This route is 100% road but I ran on the grass when I could. Since it was so early, I saw very few cars. I wish I could stay on the trails but the only ones we are "authorized" to run on are short 2 mile-ish loops. I was not going to loop 6 times on the same path, especially since I did that for my 10 miler (5 loops).

The humidity was choakingly thick. I had started early just to avoid the heat and worried that I'd still be in for a steamer. Oddly though, as the sun came up it seemed to burn away the moisture and cloud cover moved in, keeping the temps down. Every so often I'd feel an almost cool, refreshing breeze move past me! Nice!

My legs and previous weak areas (calves, left knee and heels) felt really great the entire run. I've been using a hand massager on them and working out any knots I feel during the week. I also was back to wearing my Brooks Adrenaline 9 and they felt great on the grass as well as brief trips over asphalt. The major battle I had for this run was nausea - almost the entire time on and off. - - I'm still experimenting with food however, and pretty much stuck to all natural products this run. I'm just wondering if my stomach is going to be my achilles heel, causing issues no matter what I throw down it. In all other areas I seemed fine (ie: no cramping). Towards the 10th mile and then definitely at the 11th, I was running out of energy. And I know why... I simply had not been able to take in enough calories. I'm so freaking slow - especially running in grass and on trail - that in 3 hours, I had probably depleted all I had in me. I tried to eat half a luna moon around the 6th mile and could only get that much down before spitting out the rest, wishing to throw up.

Let's see, about 45 min before running I ate an Almond & Coconut KIND bar, 1/3 of a Sugar-free Red Bull, and some coconut water. I did want to eat the bar a little earlier but I was already waking up at 5am to do that and really, that's going to be the earliest I'm rising. Then, during the run I had a total of 1.5 luna moons, which are the size of 2 gummie bears. Not much. And my Nathan was filled with very, very watered down Clif Luna Sports Drink. Also interesting to note, I filled my 70oz bladder up completely and only drank 30oz. I'm sure I should be drinking more since it took me hours to finish. Then, I finished the coconut water after my run.

So, disappointingly, the nausea that haunted me in the past is still nagging me even though I'm trying to go as natural and easily digestible as possible. I don't know... maybe I still need to go more broken down, more close to the earth. I'm considering honey as my only source of fuel. Or even a honey product like Stinger. At Whole Foods I used to be able to buy raw honey sticks where you bite off the top and stir it into a drink or whatever. I don't have anything like that local but it would be convenient and easily absorbed. So, if I went the honey route, I'd probably want to get into S-caps (sodium and potassium) and then drink plain water from the bladder. Hitting some coconut water (5 electrolytes & 60 calories for energy) whenever I can as well. That would really pair down the amount of work my stomach has to do and maybe, eliminate the nausea.

Anyhow, to rap this up, next weekend I should only go out and do 8. On my last run I kept thinking I needed to re-do this 12 miler. I don't know why.... maybe just to go out and do it stronger before moving up again. I have a little bit of healthy fear about pushing mileage in one run. Things are going good and I want this to last - even if that means backing off.

Goal: I would really like to do the Dogwood Canyon 50k (31 miles) Oct 25, 2009. If I keep going up in mileage every two weeks I can probably hit 26 miles two weeks prior to the race. That should be enough training to go out and try for my first ultramarathon!

Link: Dogwood Canyon Nature Park, Missouri-Arkansas


Note: Update 4/21/10... I now know that most of the products I was eating contain ingredients such as citric acid which are usually made from corn. Corn causes a lot of problems in my body and probably caused a lot of the issues I experienced that day.

Waiting Game

A little video for inspiration or torture if you're not running, like me. *sigh*

I've been sitting on my arse for a few days now and worrying over my knee. I've monitored it going downstairs. Listened for clicks or aches walking the dog. I've taken ibuprofen when I remembered too. Massaged my calves. ... All just hoping that the next time I run my knee issue will be magically gone.

Most of my alternative means of entertainment happen to be visiting running blogs, perusing Runners World, reading running books, watching running DVDs, talking to runners and searching for all natural alternatives for fuel while running. So all this not-running just makes me want to drop myself off at a trail head and disappear for an hour in the woods.

I might be difficult to live with meanwhile. *sheepish grin*

Yesterday, I hung out in this little beach town and got to go to a Fresh Market grocery store. They carry a coconut water, Zico, I've been wanting to try. I'm not sure where I first got the idea, but I'm pretty sure it was an article online about alternatives to Gatorade and GU products. Coconut water (not milk or the oil) turns out to be natures' sport drink. It has five essential electrolytes; potassium, sodium, magnesium, calcium and phosphorous, and tons more potassium than commercial drinks. I'm so excited to try it during a run! Some brands like, Goya, have added sugar. The only benefit I can see from that would be some carbs during a run but I don't really want it. I went with Zico, although I hear that Vita Coco is also good.

Speaking of run, I may go out tonight around sundown and try for a short run. I'm almost scared that my knee will still feel weak and I'm just in for disappointment. Part of me wants to put it off another day and see how it feels....

Review: Clif Shot Block & Unsheduled, scheduled run

Today I was scheduled for a 6 mile run, but nothing I did today ended up being planned. I woke up late (8:30am) which means I'd be running in the heat. Not having slept well, I got up and around quickly, going out the door pretty groggy. It was hot.
My friend texted to meet her garage selling. I didn't exactly feel like shopping for junk, but I also wasn't feeling like running at all. I felt tired, hurried, I hadn't eaten, hadn't sipped coffee, and mostly unorganized. I decided to meet up with her and put off running for a few hours telling myself it was already hot and a few hours wasn't going to make much difference.
We ended up driving to the nearest city and retail shopped - until 4pm!
Going home, we both relayed how tired we were. I laid my head against the car passenger seat and planned my run for tomorrow.
Then, I remembered I wanted to try out my Clif Shot Blok. The directions said to take one before running, and although I never did that with GU products, I thought it might create some energy and help me salvage a run tonight.
I ate one. Ugh. Hard to get down. Overly sweet. Overly soft, like a jelled syrup. Whew! I swigged a little of my watered-down soda. You're suppose to eat this with a good amount of water, but I don't have it on me.
I decided to run the 6 miles. I hopped in my car and headed for the Beaver Lake Trail to do 3 loops of 2 miles. I figured that paved running would literally be the path of least resistance.
Within a mile of starting out, I felt nausea. Enough nausea to double over, hoping to throw up, only to stare at a dead, black lizard. Instead of the relief of hurling, I unfolded back upright and kept moving forward. My stomach stayed upset for most of the run and the swealtering heat just added to that discomfort.
I ended up detouring from the paved path onto a dirt obstacle course. This is a totally old-school ARMY obstacle course where the idea is to run from point to point, stopping only to hurl yourself over logs stacked up at varying heights or pits filled with water. Needless to say, I skipped that fun. I walked a lot.
I saw a fuzzy, white rabbit tail hop into the darkened forest. I saw lots of blackberries starting to juice up and turn from red to black. I got scratched until I bled on my legs and arms from said blackberry bushes (at least I think that's the culprit). I sweat salt into my new wounds. My head pounded so much that I couldn't listen to my ipod. I felt dizzy. My stomach ached on and off. My body lagged. I worried that I had gambled on pushing a crappy run instead of waiting for the next day. It was just really sucking. Until..., it wasn't.
On the 3rd lap, I all-of-a-sudden felt good. So good that I thought about throwing 2 more miles on the fire, making it 8. I basked in this new found delirium..., until the tiredness came back and I realized I was mistaking good for just better. I felt better, that was all, but not well.
Coming into view of the last bit of road I thought about how bipolar runner can be during training. The highs and lows, the goals and revisions of those goals as you delve into more miles. Getting off the roller coaster, I walked into the parking lot, to my car and was just glad to be done today.

Review for Clif Shot Blok: I felt nausea, but that's not all that uncommon for me and GU type products. I also didn't have the water to dilute it in my stomach. I felt perked up after it got into my system, but it was short lived and I wondered if it was simply a sugar (brown sugar syurp) high. But, I also had been really, tired today and additionally, I'm not exposed to a lot of sugar in one sitting like that. - Although I'd only had two of the bloks (not even a serving). I will say though, that for the first run in a long time, my legs felt GREAT. No cramping, no tightness, and really they were the least tired body parts. I was running on paved ground however, which is an eleviation from the difficulty of unpaved surfaces. Soo... I will try the Bloks again, with water, and see how it goes.

Update 2010: I now know that I can't eat Clif Blok Shots or take Ibuprophen or Aleve or drink Powerade. I had thought back then that if it didn't have corn syurp, I was okay. I now know that citric acid, salt and other additives come from corn. I probably was having an allergic reaction in this run (dizziness, tiredness, nausea, etc).

Build'n.

I've played sports my entire life but I have always sucked at running.
In April I ran every few days on the paved trails up to 2.5 miles. This month, I have finally built to 4.5 for a "long run." It's been slow and I wasn't prepared either. What I mean by prepared is that I have to baby everything about my runs: stretching consistantly for flexibility (overuse injuries plague me), eating just a little but not too much at the right time before a run, the right socks, new shoes fitted at Elite Feet about every 5-6 months worth of milage... My body is not forgiving and already, from running on old shoes, I've had twinges of knee soreness.
Running has always challeneged me in this way. Even when I was conditioned for a marathon, an 8 mile run could never be called "easy." I run slow, at a 12 min. pace that could creep up to 11min/mi if the stars align just right. This is just where I am. My passion far exceeds my natural ability as Alison Colavecchia says.
It's REALLY hard to start over in running. When you were running long distances, you feel like that's the runner you have become. You also develop a healthy fear of losing that conditioning. I had to take a year or more off from running as I got more tired and more consistantly suffering from my symptoms until I could find out what was plaguing me. I ran a couple short races and took a cycling class regularly but I really struggled to show up for work outs with how bad I felt. I was hard on myself too! I thought I was lazy, or getting older, or just never slept well enough, etc. So, now that I'm on a healing and healthy path, I've started to run again but I am basically a beginner in terms of my physical condition. In my mind I can still go out an run 8 miles any day I want. :)
My other challenge right now is what I eat. It affects me immediately and/or sometimes up to a day or more later. I can get really exhausted, body fatigue, body aches, itchy skin, headache, sinus trouble, asthma and wheezing, my fingers can swell & pop, I develop ezcema on my hands, arms and face, I have sleeping trouble although I feel so tired and sick I stay in bed.... Needless to say it affects my workouts when I eat an offending food. And I mess up ALOT. Sometimes due to temptation: living in a household with a doughnut, cookie, bread, pasta, etc eater. Sometimes it's due to cross contamination and I have no idea I'm eating it. But mostly, I don't have a lot of natural foods available in this small town Alabama so it's very easy to reach for a normal food item and try to get away with it.
The biggest hurdle however is our food laws and labeling lies. Even though I try to read down a list of chemical names, it is hard to know every single name for a derrivate of wheat/barley/oats, soy and corn. Companies can be very misleading and hide allergens under "natural flavoring" or "spices." Even more obscure, if it's not a top 8 allergy (such as corn) they don't have to specifiy it. And if they buy an ingredient pre-made and it contains the offending allergen, they don't have to specify it on the label because they didn't add it. Pointless! It boils down to a mess and almost every single packaged food in the store contains wheat, corn or soy.
It's very frustating to think about every single thing you eat.
I do believe though that eating whole foods is the healthiest path for everyone and I'm better for it I'm sure.

If you haven't seen the PBS documentary KING CORN, I highly recommend it to scare you into checking labels.


Current inspiration: Alison Colavecchia "On Being a Beginner"