Homemade Sports Drink

          Recently during my 50 mile ultra in October of 2011 I used a new fuel source. What I did was use a mixture of maltodextrin and www.RunningFood.com's micro milled chia seeds. During my 100 mile in August I used the chia seeds and Gatorade packets. I went with the maltodextrin for a few reasons. Mainly I do not believe in excessive electrolyte supplementation and I do not like the price. 

The only ingredient is pure maltodextrin from corn. 

Benefits of using maltodextrin are:

• It's a carbohydrate calorie
• Low particle density
• Not likely to cause GI stress
• Cheap sports drink
• Not a lot of taste

I purchased two pounds of it for 12 dollars off Amazon.com. That is 3500 calories for 12 dollars, or only a bit more then half the cost of the big jug of Gatorade Endurance I have. And the more maltodextrin I would have bought, the cheaper it would have been.

During my 50 mile Surf the Murph my primary fuel source for the first 35 or so miles was a camel bak with this maltodextrin in it. Everything went smoothly and I was very satisfied.

The powder is a bit harder to mix. What I have done is put it into warm water as I find it mixed better that way. The taste is nothing special, I've read of athletes using sugar free flavor along with the maltodextrin, however I simply drank mine plain.

If you are a believer in the use of electrolyte supplementation during endurance sports (I am not) you can customize this drink to your liking. I often use RunningFood.com's Milled Chia Seeds as well, which contain different electrolytes themselves, along with the occasional Clif Blok/Shot I have found supplementation with pills or powders to be unnecessary.

There are a few different places to find this product. I checked at the two local health food stores and neither had it, however the one in your town may. Maltodextrin is used in brewing beer, so you could just go to your local brewer and ask if you could purchase some from them. Third, and my route, was Amazon.

Needless to say, if you want an inexpensive, simple, gluten free, and fully customizable sports drink to use while running, biking, etc, Maltodextrin is a good option to look into. 

Little things you don't think of...

          When I first met Desi and she found out I was an ultra marathoner, she asked me if I've ever lost toe nails from doing it. Well, here's my documented case of losing a couple nails after my latest 50 mile run. I've heard of hard core ultra runners actually having these nails removed completely, and now I understand why. My barefoot running friends are probably laughing at me. However, the race that caused this would have been excessively difficult to run BF due to terrain. I'm all for BF running on roads, but this would have been a very very difficult trail to run without proper protection.


*EDIT*


          And...They're off!

          Well, the right one kind of broke off. There's a bit left of the rear half. The left one was a bit different. The front 90% of the nail was not attached. So it was just kind of hanging around. What I did was cut most of what was not attached off. What you can see of the left nail is still not attached, but deeper down it's not coming off. I will just have to keep an eye on it.


          The fast majority of my running takes place road or bike trails. Generally my shoes are fairly loose and this gives me the most comfortable fit. However during my recent 50 mile trail race with many steep and fast downhill running my feet did a lot of sliding forward inside the shoe since I left the straps of the shoe relatively loose. This would not have been much of a problem, except I neglected to give my toe nails a good trim before the race. Thus my two big toe nails did a great deal of hitting the inside top front of their respective shoe. This, along with the occasional kick of a rock or root really beat up my toes. My two big toe nails and my left little nail are turning black.

You have not ran far enough, if you have not lost a toe nail doing it.
Or, as they say,
Toe nails are god's way of telling you that you are not running enough.

          However, I would equate it more to kicking shit while running, not having my shoes snug enough, and all the down hill running.


          Damn those little things you don't think of....

Mindful Eating - Proper Chewing

Eating quality food such as fruits, vegetables, organic, and grass-fed/free range may be the most important aspect of a healthy diet. Next is how the food is prepared. Microwaves may destroy nutrients, and steaming is great at preserving them. Chewing may come in at number three. It is an often overlooked skill when discussing health and weight loss.

In this fast-paced country we live in, people are often in a hurry and spend less time chewing their food. Go to the Student Union and you may notice individuals having the next bite ready to be shoveled in before being done chewing the previous bite. I have seen numbers from three to seven as the average number of chews an American will chew a bite of food. There are many very cool things going on when you spend time chewing. Unfortunately when we rush and skip this first step of digestion, later processes that should be triggered are compromised.

When you chew your food a sufficient amount, two key digestive enzymes are excreted in your saliva. Lingual lipase begins the digestion of fats/lipids and amylase initiates the digestion of carbohydrates. Other digestive enzymes in saliva released during chewing are antibacterial and lubricate.

The processes that are triggered during chewing, but take effect later on in digestion, include the hormone cholecystokinin (CCK). This is a digestive hormone that stimulates fat and protein digestion in the small intestine and triggers the release of bile and other chemicals important in digestion. CCK is also an important indicator of satiety when eating, and an increased amount has been linked to weight loss, healthy body weight, and smaller meals consumed. Eating a meal more slowly stimulates a release of CCK and allows you to feel satisfied with your meal. Eat too fast and you may eat too much too soon.

The best analogy I have heard of is comparing chewing to starting a fire. You cannot start a fire with logs. You must use twigs and branches. These have more surface area in contact to the flames and oxygen and you get a larger fire. The same goes for the metabolism of digestion. Thorough chewing of food increases its surface area and how much of the food comes into contact with digestive enzymes and hormones. Imaging a huge chunk of potato or carrot entering your stomach– not pleasant.

If you are afflicted with heartburn, gas, or irritable bowel syndrome, better chewing of your food may be of some relief. For example, if you skipped proper chewing and large clumps of food enter the stomach, thus not getting a good stimulation of hydrochloric acid released into the stomach, the food may not get broken down as thoroughly, and you can get a back flush up into the esophagus. In this instance, acid reflux was actually due to a low amount of acid in the stomach, not too much.

Some tips are to chew your food 15-25 times. It’s really not as hard as you think. This will better prepare your food and your body for the digestion to come. Also I try to put down my fork and/or take a sip of water between each bite. A study with two groups found that the women who were instructed to chew each bite 20-30 times and put down the spoon between bites ate less of the meal, even though each participant was given the exact same amount of food and told to eat until satisfied. Eating with chopsticks will also slow your meal down (or make you good at eating fast with chopsticks). A three-year study of the eating habits of Japanese subjects in Okinawa found that those who ate until full at a rapid pace were three times more likely to be overweight than those eating at a slower pace. Something I have really been working on is to eat until satisfied and not actually full. It comes in handy during the holidays when in the past I would generally be in pain from the massive amount of food I inhaled at family meals. Finally, mindful eating is the practice of observing your food and being aware of how food makes you feel before, during, and after consumption. Thinking about how I will feel after eating a bunch of Oreos will keep me from consuming them in the first place, it’s an excellent way to have power over your food. Learn the difference between being hungry or simply being bored. Experience your food, how it feels and what’s it’s like to chew it.

Whether you want to lose some weight, avoid over eating and becoming too full after a meal, or get rid of acid reflux, practicing chewing can possibly help. Chewing is part of the process of digestion that many people skip. Take time to be aware of what you are eating and make sure it is the best fuel you can give your body.

The dangers of improper stretching

*Update*


HERE is a great article from at the NY Times on the subject of stretching, mainly discussing a review of 12 studies done in the last 25 years on if stretching diminishes muscle soreness post workout.


The conclusion:

If you’ve never stretched, though, don’t feel obligated to begin now, Dr. Herbert says. “There is little evidence that stretching does anything important,” he says, “but there is also little to be lost from doing it. If you like stretching, then do it. On the other hand, if you don’t like stretching, or are always in a rush to exercise, you won’t be missing out on much if you don’t stretch.”

The Dangers of Improper Stretching


As an ultra marathoner and triathlete I spend way too much time at the Wellness Center. One of the most common activities I notice is how people warm up and stretch incorrectly before exercising.

The most common warm up  is a couple very brief leg stretches, five minutes of light cardio, and then the individual  jumps into the workout. Sometimes even the few minutes of cardio are skipped.I used to do the same thing, but with a bit of research have changed my ways contrary to what I was taught in grade school gym class.


Behind too much mileage and too much speedwork, improper warm ups and stretching are the third leading cause of injury in runners. A short bout on an elliptical is a great idea, since it is low impact and uses the legs as well as arms to slowly increase blood flow throughout the muscles. There are many physiological reasons why a light warm up should never be skipped. This with proper stretching done at the beginning or end of a workout may result in beneficial health results.


There are multiple types of stretches. Most common, Passive-Static uses force to stretch a body part to the peak of it’s range or farther, which is the reason it may cause rather than prevent injury, and decrease strength, power, and agility. An example of this is the classic sit and reach.


Another common form of stretching is Ballistic, which is more rapid and uses momentum to stretch a limb beyond it’s range of motion, such as swinging a leg from side to side. This is the worst form in that the rapidity of the movements triggers muscle tension, rather then relaxation. This may result in micro tears and inflammation in the muscles from over stretching. 


The best option is Static-Active stretching. This is a slow, deliberate, and light 10-30 second stretch promoting relaxation of the stretched muscle. An example of this is to lay on your back and lift a leg up straight in front of you. The tension of your agonist quadriceps contracting causes your antagonist hamstrings to relax via reciprocal inhibition. With a hand, bring the leg up to a point where you can feel tightness, let go, and hold it for 10-20 seconds.


There is much research backing up the dangers of incorrect stretching. A study by the U.S. Army on recruits found that the most and the least flexible individuals were more than twice as likely to be injured compared to moderately flexible recruits. Another example is the hamstring muscle, the most stretched, yet most injured muscle in the lower body. Also a paper published in Research in Sports Medicine reviewed previously published research on static stretching and found “strong evidence that routine application of static stretching does not reduce overall injury rates.”


And for the fellow endurance enthusiasts out there, here’s some interesting info. Two studies, one published in The International Journal of Sports Medicine and one from the University of North Carolina, on the subject of running economy and flexibility, found an inverse relationship between flexibility and running economy. The two studies concluded that “stiffer musculotendinous structures reduced the aerobic demand of sub maximal running by facilitating a greater elastic energy return during the shortening phase of the stretch-shortening cycle,” and that the lack of flexibility “minimized the need for muscle stabilizing activity” while running.


But I am not going to leave out the weight lifters looking for either mass or pounds added to the bar. Studies have also shown that stretching before performing strength and power exercises will reduce power and thus the amount of weight lifted. Of course you still want that precious range of motion, but stretch after performing the lifts when the muscles are warmed up.


Now am I telling you not to stretch? It’s up to you (but please do not skip the 5-10 minute warm up). There are many studies out there that show a positive relationship between flexibility and injury prevention, especially with iliotibial band injury. Also flexibility is key in many sports such as swimming and football, that put the human body through movements we were not designed for. I found some great examples and put them at www.RunningOnTheWhiteLine.com so you do not have to go searching for them yourself. However if you have have not done much stretching in the past, there is no need to feel bad and start a routine. As Woody Harrelson said in Zombie Land, “ You ever see a lion limber up before it takes down a gazelle?”

First is a video that goes through many positions I am incapable of getting into. However many of them I could perform and would be great stretches.




And here are some great photos of various types of Static-Active stretching, courtesy of http://www.trickstutorials.com/index.php?page=content/flx3#daf.

     The Back Lift Hold

     Front Kick Hold 1

     Front Kick Hold 2

     Side Hold 1

     Side Hold 2

     Side Hold 3

     Ankle Weight Mime

     Upper Body Hold

     Twist Hold

     Twist Hold with Weight

How to make an ultra marathoner not run

Give him a tattoo

          I had Damion Cressy from Electric Dragonland located in Hopkins MN outside of Minneapolis do the tattoo after my 50 miler a couple weeks ago. It is finally healed so I can run again! 

Check it out, Hermes was a minimalist runner too!

Plans for 2012

          After the 2011 Surf the Murph  I took two weeks off to recover, plus I got a tattoo and Damion told me to sweat as little as possible in the next two weeks to allow the tattoo to heal. It was likely a good idea as well for body healing as it can easily take 2 weeks to truly recover from endurance race. You may feel "recovered" two days after a marathon, but you're not. Professional marathoners and Ironman triathletes rarely do more than three or four events during a season, some only two. That's how long it takes, physically and mentally to recover.

          I am going to spend the next half year laying down a good foundational base in preparation for next season's events. It is said that marathoning is a winter sport that is merely played out in the summer. This fact is often over looked by many runners. What you do from April to August during the peak season is not a quarter as important as what you do the half year before, or the year before, two years, etc.

May
Rocky Mountain Double Marathon
     May 27, 2012
     Laramie, WY


June
Deadwood Marathon (probably the half)
     Deadwood, SD
     June 3, 2012

24 Hours of Laramie
     June 23rd, 2012
     Laramie WY

July
Wedding
     July 28, 2012
     Rapid City, SD

2011 Surf the Murph Race Report

          It is said there are three ways to learn wisdom. First is by reflection, which is the noblest. That is what I am doing when I write a race report. I look back upon what worked and what did not. Second, by imitation, which is the easiest. My biggest inspirations have been Anton Krupicka and the minimalist lifestyle. Minimalist running is not simply putting on light shoes, but it's an entire lifestyle. Socrates said, "the secret of happiness is not to seek more, but to develop the capacity to enjoy less." Finally the third way is experience, which is the bitterest. I would argue that running an ultra marathon is a bit more than bitter. But, as always, an excellent learning experience.


Race Description


          The Surf the Murph is composed of three 17 mile laps with each loop being about 2000 feet of climbing and about 2000 feet of descent. Here is an excerpt from the 2010 description in UltraRunner Magazine:

Much of the 16.8 mile loop race is held on double track trail, but the RDs like to challenge the quickest by adding several off-trail sections. Off-trail, that is, until today. A half-mile of the race was marked straight through 8-foot prairie grass. Also, near the end of each loop runners encounter what is signed as the "Fun Zone" which includes another half-mile of sketchy animal trail and the accent of "Pikes Peak", where using tree branches as climbing aids is not prohibited. 

          The first 6 and last 4 miles of each lap are very short steep climbs. In between these sections it's mainly gradual climbs - not too bad. During these hilly sections there are trees everywhere. This time of the year with all the leaves on the ground the roots and rocks were hidden very well. I believe one person twisted his ankle three times before he DNFed, and I may have heard someone actually broke a bone. I caught a rock or root while running down a hill and was air born for a bit. Luckily some of the trail is sand, which I was fortunate enough to land in.

          Much in the middle section of each loop is made of two to four narrow horse trails, which makes for a very uneven running surface and acts a bit like single track. My right ankle hurt for the majority of the race and the inside of my ankles are scrapped up pretty bad from my shoes brushing this area. I am used to running on a sturdy road, not sand, straw, rocks, etc.

          Other sections of the course include animal trails, a river crossing, running over a...dried up marsh with lots of very long tall stiff weeds. There was also a short section of dried up long grass. Under the grass there were tons of holes large enough to easily swallow up the front of your shoe and break your ankle. Needless to say I walked this section.  It was a very diverse trail overall.

Pre Race


         The lead up for this race went well. I rested after my 100 and had a few weeks of good running, then went back into taper mode. However I became very worried when three days before the Surf I woke up and I believe I had a pinched nerve in my neck! Wednesday I had a very limited range of motion with my neck. It improved slightly over Thursday and Friday. Race day I had mild discomfort for the race but nothing that hindered me. Writing this now it still hurts a bit, but should be relieved by the end of the week.

          Desi and I camped at the middle of figure 8 course with some other runners and crew. It dipped to about 26 degrees that night/morning but we were comfortable inside the tent.

Lap 1


          The 6am start was cold and dark. Everyone had extra layers and headlamps on. I had little idea of the course so was just going to take my time and go with the flow. I was going to do this lap with only my hydration pack instead of bottles so I would not have to stop at the stations to refill. I used this little guy that I found on clearance for $4 at Walmart! I loaded it with 2 liters of agua and about 800 calories of maltodextrin. During this lap I believe I had a Hammer gel from an aid station and one of my Clif Shots. At the start I had a Lara Bar and Clif Bar, totalling about 1100 calories for lap 1.

          My hair and the straw for my hydration pack both actually froze. I had to run for about 5 minutes with the straw in my mouth thawing it out! Yes that is a Bubba Gump Shrimping hat.

          There is a bit of resemblance, he has...a bit more facial hair than myself.

          With only a few miles left of lap 1 I ran past a giant pile of cut up wood. Maybe they were clearing the area to build something? Anyway a few miles later I run past a very similar looking giant pile of cut up wood. I then catch up to a lady running much lower than myself, and start to get worried. I told her I promise I have already passed that pile of wood before and continue on. I start to get passed by people running the 50k. Luckily one of the guys passing me sees the turn that I (and many others) missed and we take that. Turns out I added a few miles on to the ultra, more miles for my dollar I suppose. Desi later told me about a guy who apparently yelled at the race director at the end of the loop and quit the race out of anger/frustration/being an a-hole.

Lap 2


          Lap 2 warmed up a bit where I eventually took my jacket off. I went through the second half of my hydration backpack, two Amphipod bottles with Running Food Chia, and maybe another Clif Shot along with a pack of Bloks as well.

          It was during this lap that things started to get a little sour. I was tired of running around horse crap and kicking roots and rocks that I never saw under the leaves. The uneven-ness of the narrow trails was getting to my right ankle as well.

          I never really felt like quitting, but I did think to myself that if I would happen to trip and twist my ankle and be forced to DNF, I would not terrible mind. However, I also thought about how I could make a crutch out of a thick long branch with a towel or sweater wrapped around the top. I figured it would probably take me six hours to walk a lap with a crutch.
          Since there are not years of a solid base under my feet, I am still not a fast ultra runner. The two that I have done both have been back of the pack finishes. I am half the age of probably 1/3rd of the finishers and most of those have been running for many many years longer than I have. So I'll take what I can get. However, of the 7 ultra distance runs I have done, not once have I felt like quitting. When I DNFed at Lean Horse in 2010 it was due to injury, otherwise I would have kept going. So far I have shown a great resilience to the desire to drop out of a race, and that is something I am proud of.

Sketchy creek crossing

Literally the only time we spent on a road was when crossing one twice a lap. 

Lap 3


          This was a pretty good lap. I made it through the tough first 6 miles and realized I had less than a half marathon to go! Easy peasy lemon squeezy. I kept saying to myself, "Embrace the Suck". There's nothing I can do about how I'm feeling, so I may as well make the best of it. I was lucky to be running with so many cool people on such a beautiful course. My nutrition was pretty much the same as the previous lap. Chia and some Clif stuff. At the beginning of the lap I broke the #1 rule of running: Never try something new on race day. But I had a little bottle of Guayaki Herba Mate's Organic Shot

          I cannot comment on if it actually did anything, but I liked it. If anything, it has caffeine, which is going to kick in. Stuff was good!

          At the finish you are awarded with a block of wood as your medal. It was cool because I got to brand it with 50m myself.

          They claim it is a person "surfing". I told them it looked more like a person catching their foot on a hidden root and falling down a hill.

          When I got home I removed my Skoras. Lots of dirt made it's way through the light top material into the shoe. Overall my feet held up really well. I did receive one blister inside my left little toe, but it was my own fault. I began the race not wearing the Injinji socks, but a pair of Power Sox, which I took off early in the race. One area of the top material is ripped due to kicking something, otherwise they held up pretty well. For Skora's future trail shoe, I would suggest bringing the tougher solid material up a bit higher and have a little more structural support for keeping the shoe together. The front toe area could also have a bit of material added for protection.

          Pretty gnarly. My left little toe nail is black now. My left big toe nail is missing a piece. And both big toe nails hurt if pressed on, and are turning darker by the day. There is a saying in ultra running. "Toe nails are nature's way of telling you that you are not running enough." So apparently I ran enough on Saturday. Actually the cause is from the downhill running, and my nails that I neglected to trim repeatedly hitting the front of the shoe. Same with the blisters, my fault.

          Overall, I am very happy with how the ultra went, ending up 32nd out of 72 who signed up.I mentioned to another runner that if it were a flatter course I'd like sub 9 hours. If the total miles for the Surf was 50 and not 53 I would have finished under 11 hours. Taking into account the amount of hills, walking up many of these hills, and my severe lack of trail running skill, I am very happy with 13 minutes per mile!

• What Worked
• Nutrition
• Maltodextrin, Chia Seeds, Clif Shots, Clif Bloks
• Not supplementing with massive amounts of electrolytes. 
• My only sources were the gels I had and the chia seeds, a rather low amount compared to what most athletes take during an endurance event. I figure I probably had less than 500mg salt and less than 600mg potassium during the event. If I were to follow Hammer Nutrition's average guidelines for taking their Endurolyte capsules plus my regular nutrition I would have consumed about 2000mg of sodium and about 1500mg of potassium. 
• Drinking to thirst.
• Injinji socks, Skora shoes. 
• After I switched socked, there were no issues with my feet from socks or shoes. 
• Newton Natural Running
• I recently purchased Natural Running by Danny Abshire. The book does a really great job of laying out and explaining good running form. My favorite section is the walk through of different form drills. 
• The majority of lap 3 was spent simply working on my running form. It just so happened that it was taking place during the final miles of an ultra marathon. This gave my mind something to focus on and kept me moving forward. 

• What Did Not Work
• CW-X tights. 
• I wore these to hopefully deal with (or not have to deal with) the chaffing issues I have had in the past. Well instead of light chaffing spread out over my inside thighs, I had one long line of super bad chaffing from the single seam in the crotch of the tights. 
• The course
• I realized at about, mile 22 of the 53 that I dislike trail running. Obviously not the optimal moment to come to this realization. 
• When I am out training or racing and I can look up and see the next few miles that I am going to run I get this rush of energy and can feel the thrill of running. When I run I enjoy what I call Meditative Running. Basically meditation for people that can't sit still. When meditating it is common to count breaths, when I run I count each time my right foot makes contact with the ground. Others feel it when they are out in the wild running animal trails and doing massive ascents and descents over crappy rocky terrain, being "one with nature" as some say. However due to the terrain I was simply unable to relax at all during the race like I prefer to. Instead always having to focus on not tripping or not stepping in horse crap. Give me the open road any day!
• The Temperature
• Not the fact that it was cold. There's no such thing as bad weather, or bad clothing. I never really felt particularly cold. What bothered me about it was that it forced me to simply wear more, and that's something I dislike to do when running. Look at the photos from my last race. During the day I had three things on. Shorts, socks, shoes. That's how I like to race and train. I apologize to those who have to see my stretch marks and ugly extra skin from being fat on my lower stomach, but it's how I'm the most comfortable. Being as minimalist as possible works for me. I may be cooler if I wore some type of heat gear, but I simply do not want to have to deal with that. 

• Thanks
• First and foremost to my beautiful fiance, Desi. She was out there in the cold cheering others on and helping me at some of the aid stations for 11.5 hours. Thanks to all my family and friends for your support as always :)
• To my sponsors, who help make this possible. Skora for providing me with the best pair of shoes I've ever ran in and Running Food Chia for my favorite endurance fuel, their micro milled chia seeds. 
• And of course, all the volunteers at the great aid stations and everyone who put on the race who made the event so much fun! What a great time :)
• Also thanks to you for reading this race report. Whether you were at Savage that day running along side me, planning on participating in the race in the future, another athlete, a friend peeking into my life, or a stranger who ran across this blog, this is for all of you. 

          Finally, I grabbed the camera from Desi for the last section of the course and did a bit of filming to show it off a bit and describe the layout.