Pre-Race:
Black Hills 100
Nutrition,
Visualization, and Turning 25
There are 2 days until my 25th
birthday, a quarter of a century, and 3 days until Black Hills 100. The timing couldn’t be much better. I get to run and explore a new place, doing
what I love for a very long adventure, as a celebration for what I have learned
and accomplished thus far in my life.
Nerves haven’t really hit me. I
actually get more nervous before shorter races, but with 100s, I always know
that I am strong enough to conquer the distance.
While I enjoy 50ks and 50 milers, and
other shorter trail races, 100s are my race of choice. Sometimes I forget this and fret about
unachieved time goals in the shorter races, but my boyfriend always reminds me “you’re
a 100 miler babe”. And he’s right. Why?
To answer this, I always go back to a quote my sister has repeated so
many times to herself, myself, and others: “When your legs get tired, run with
your heart.” I view 100 mile races as a
chance to prove how big my heart is.
Do I have a time goal for Black Hills
100? Yea, I have an idea of what I’d
like to run. But I know there will be
struggles. If they’re small enough, I
know I can reach my time goal. If they’re
big, probably not. But then I get to
prove my strength by overcoming those obstacles, and I will be just as
satisfied with my efforts.
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If you read
my blog on Virgil’s Crest 100, you know I had a decent race, but made a few key
mistakes. Number one was nutrition. (http://rachelnypaver.blogspot.com/2012/10/virgil-crest-100-culmination-of-hills.html
)
NUTRITION:
At Virgils,
my nutrition went downhill before I even started the race. Why?
Because I had almost no nutritional plan. Basically, Steve was to give me a new water
bottle packed with a few gels (and a ginger chew, which saved me) at each aid
station, with whatever the race provided.
I also grabbed whatever food looked good at the aid station at any given
time.
In other
words, I was basically fueling with foods and liquids that I had not trained
with, and that often had little nutritional value. Looking back, I realize that this show a very
large lack of intelligence on my part.
Moving
Forward.
This year, my plan is to fuel mainly
with Hammer Nutrition products and other natural foods.
The Hammer products making the flight
with me to South Dakota are: Perpetuem, Hammer Gels, Endurolytes, and Fizz.
(Pictured Below)
(Note: I’ve also been using Hammer
Vegan Protein for recovery after training runs)
I love Hammer products for several
reasons: awesome taste, natural ingredients, and great results. Bonus for me: the race is sponsored by
Hammer, so each aid station will carry HEED and Hammer Gels!
Here’s a brief low-down on my race
fueling strategy:
Fizz: The days before the race, I’ll
probably pop a Fizz into my water bottle to help keep hydrated and keep my
electrolytes balanced.
Perpetuem: At most aid station with crew access, I’ll
probably keep a 1 hour mix of Perpetuem in my bottle. As other aid station I’ll most likely used Heed. During the few stretches where aid stations
are about 7 miles apart, I’ll be wearing a fuel belt in addition to carrying my
hand-held bottle. I plan to have water
in one of the 8oz bottles, and a stronger (multi-hour mix) of Perpetuem in the
other, and a light mix of Perpetuem in my hand-held.
Gels:
I plan to consume a lot of gels over the course of the race. I’m guessing I’ll take one to two between
every aid station, saving the caffeinated flavors for later in the race. (I love Hammer’s gels and Perpetuem because of
the natural sugars and ingredients used in each, which provide energy but not
the dreaded crash at the end.)
Endurolytes: As of now, the forecast is showing sunny and
80 degrees for Saturday (though I’m planning for hotter). A beautiful day, though it can be quite warm
for running, meaning lots of sweat and lots of loss of sodium and
electrolytes. The help replace what I’ve
lost, I plan on taking one to two capsules every other aid station.
Natural Foods: Wednesday will probably mean a grocery store
trip for Steve and I to stock up on natural foods such as peanut/almond butter,
gluten-free wraps, bananas, energy bars, etc.
I plan to make banana/pb wraps the Friday night for a grab and go snack
at some aid stations in addition to some bars like Larabars. I also have almond butter and chocolate
hazelnut packets I use like gels that I’ve experimented with before and really
liked, as long as I’m not running too fast and have enough water to wash them down. I’m sure I’ll grab some stuff at the aid stations
too, but just do my best to pick good choices.
These foods should provide me with enough substance and protein to keep
me from going hungry and sustain an even energy level.
VISUALIZATION:
My second big mistake at Virgils was
having a very little knowledge of the course.
I basically just knew there would be a lot of climbing, which is why I
signed up. However, I didn’t have a good
understanding of where the big climbs would be or even the aid station
distances.
This year I wanted to be ready. From what I’ve heard from past Black Hills
runners is that the race is harder than expected, mainly because the course is
comprised of many rolling hills. To help
myself understand the course, I checked out some pictures, videos, and printed out
the detailed course description. The
past week and a half, I’ve been using visualization to help my mind get
prepared for the race. I’m not going to
go into detail here, but I simply start of by relaxing my body and then
picturing myself strong and calm at different points in the race.
Second, the course is an
out-and-back, and while it features a lot of up and down both ways, the second
half has more downhill. That means I
need to be ready to run in the second half.
I went out a bit too fast at Virgils, so this knowledge will help keep at
a more steady pace at the beginning.
I also have at least enough aid
station knowledge to know when and when I won’t see Steve, and when I’ll need
my fuel belt.
SHOES:
The trail shoes I wore at Virgils
were probably not the best for the course, especially the rocky and (later)
muddy portions of the trail. This year I’ve
changed it up a bit and will be wearing my New Balance 1010s. They’re a minimalist shoe, but with a little
more material that will keep my feet as happy (in addition to my new Swiftwick
compression socks) as is possible for 100 miles. The shoe has great traction and even a light
plastic plate to keep any rocks from jabbing my foot.
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So that’s my basic game plan for
Black Hills 100! Steve will pace me
either 30 or 17 miles, and Sandi will of course be my spiritual pacer. I’ll also be infused with extra strength when
thinking of some of the amazing women part of The Girl Effect ( http://www.girleffect.org/ ), a charity
that empowers women, and to which Sandi made a donation in my name as a
birthday present (she also gave me a copy of Jennifer Phar Davis’s new book “Called
Again” which I’ll be reading on the plane for extra motivation).
Happy Adventures! (and good luck to
all my friend running Western States!)
Rach
