club handicap

Yesterday was the latest in a long line of Otley AC handicap events.  This was was a 10k event starting and finishing at Leathley, near Otley.

Just to make things a bit more interesting (for me ...) I decided to incorporate it into a long run.  Leaving Leeds at about 5.15pm I ran the 11 or so miles to Otley before embarking on the 4.3 miles from my home to Leathley.  I arrived just before 7.30pm and was told I had eleven minutes before my allotted start time.  Good timing.

I started with Mick Jeffrey, John Armitstead and Michael Pickard and together we began the 3 mile climb towards Almscliffe Crag.  For much of that distance Mick was about 20m in front with John and myself giving chase.  At about 2.5 miles we caught Mick and opened up a slight lead whilst also catching most of those runners who had set off earlier.  The steep downhill stretch between 3.5 and 5 miles proved quite hard work [I had already run 19 miles by this time].

The final mile or so was interesting as Mick Jeffrey managed to catch me again and made repeated attempts to pass.  He finally managed it in the final 10m or so.  Having not run this course before I was caught out slightly by all the twists, turns and undulations as we approached Leathley.  Still, he did very well and I was pleased with 43 minutes in the heat (about 23 degrees C) on a very hilly route after running 15+ miles to get there.

After a few minutes recovery I said my goodbyes and ran the 4.3 miles home for a nice round 26 miles.  At home I decided to try a new recovery drink.

I have used Lucozade Sport recovery drinks in the past but I think they taste really bad so stopped using them about six months ago.  However, recently I had an interesting idea ... instead of mixing the powder with water I could mix it with fruit juice in the hope of a better taste.  I mixed tropical flavour powder with orange juice and the taste was massively improved.

Also at home I found it increasingly difficult to walk, climb stairs, etc.  My right ankle was quite swollen and painful.  Took two ibuprofen before bed and woke up this morning completely pain free and able to move normally.  Very strange.

coffee

My love of coffee has been well documented on this blog quite a few times in the past couple of years.  At the moment I'm drinking Starbuck's Christmas Blend ... and enjoying every mouthful of the spicy, sweet, dark roasted brew.

Earlier today, whilst reading the Mud Sweat & Tears website I came across a link to an article about the effects of caffeine on athletic performance. The piece originally appeared in The New York Times back in March this year but you can read it here.

It's good to know that caffeine is helping my ultra distance races although based on personal experience after my most recent three or four races I'll probably try caffeine tablets rather than a caffeine loaded drink. This is because I don't drink enough at any one time to get any significant benefit, ie 200ml drink doesn't contain enough caffeine.

My usual drink, Lucozade Sport with caffeine normally contains about 32mg caffeine per 200ml.  This equates to about 0.57mg per kg of my body weight and from my research I would suggest I need about 3mg per kg body weight.  Which is about 168mg caffeine or 1050ml Lucozade Sport.

It's obviously not practical to drink more than a litre all at once during an ultra race ... so caffeine tablets may be the answer.

Training

Just finished writing a detailed training plan to take me to the end of May - and all the way to London.  More details can be found on the Run to London page.

Sainsbury's have a bargain on at the moment.  Packs of four Lucozade Sport for £1.45 ... that's about half price [and works out cheaper than a tub of powder].

Please leave some for me.

Test Results

Forgot to mention earlier that on what I referred to as my first 'proper' long run I tested a bottle of Lucozade Sport Caffeine Boost. Well, it certainly gave me the distinctive 'kick' which lasted about 30 minutes and comparing it with normal Lucozade Sport it is very similar indeed but with 80mg caffeine per bottle [and 10x the potassium].

In past 24 hr races I have used Red Bull to help keep me awake during the night and at dawn but as the caffeine content is the same and the carbs, protein, vitamins, electrolytes aren't it's almost certain that I'll switch to Lucozade Sport with caffeine.

Last week I used Powerade sports drink instead of my usual Lucozade Sport or Isostar. Not to be used again - EVER. Caused an upset stomach of immense proportions on both test runs. Not fun when at 10 miles into an 18 miler at 7:20 per mile.

This morning's long run saw me test some chocolate coated coffee beans. Easier to chew and swallow than expected ... nice taste ... no caffeine kick [not for me anyway] ... don't know the nutritional content. Will I use them again ? Not sure.