training, races, retiring ... and questions about drinks

Recent training has been good in the warm winter sunshine - the temperature here has regularly been over 11 C (52 F) whereas the average is only about 7 or 8 C (45.5 F).  It's all starting to come together and I've added hill reps to the training schedule.  In fact I find myself choosing the hilly route almost every time I go running at the moment - it's good for strength though so I'm not complaining.  It will also come in handy if I choose to do a hilly ultra in June.

Early next week I'll be doing my first 20 miler (32 km) since late August last year and I'm really looking forward to it.  I've no idea yet where I'll be running but those three hours will be fun if the weather stays as it is.

Sad to read about William, Anth and Torill all having bad races recently for various reasons in Espoo and Evreux.  I'm sure they'll all bounce back, learn from the experience and have some good performances later this year.

Received news yesterday that it's extremely likely that I'll be taking part in a 24 hour race in eastern Europe in early September.  Nothing definite yet (the wheels of officialdom are turning slowly this year) so I can't say any more than that.

On a similar note many of you will be aware that the IAU is pushing very hard to have a 24 hour race included in the 2018 Commonwealth Games which will be held in Australia.  If that does happen it will be a fantastic opportunity and experience for all the athletes.  Not just for ultra runners but for all the other sports and media people who will get an chance to see first hand what we do and the extreme levels of fitness, endurance and camaraderie involved.  Fay said recently that I'll be retired by then ... don't tell her but even though I'll be 54 when the Games take place I'll be trying my best during 2017 to make the team.

Retire ... don't be silly.

A couple of thoughts recently came to me when reading the label and website of a well known brand of isotonic sports drink:

100ml contains 6.4g carbohydrate (of which 3.5g are sugars).  What is the remaining 2.9g ? and
if I aim to take on board 60g glucose per hour during a 24 hr race will 100ml provide 6.4g or 3.5g of that ? and
500ml bottles of liquid and 390g tubs of powder have slightly different ingredients and nutritional data, why ?

Hope someone has an answer or two (or three maybe) - for ultra runners nutrition is important ... everyone else thinks we're bonkers !!!

Thanks to everyone recently for the birthday greetings via Facebook or otherwise ... much appreciated.

Nothing to do with me this time

Nothing much to report about me and my training at the moment - everything is going well - so I'll post a few bits and pieces about other ultra related stuff.

First up is a piece I found in the Northern Running Guide recently which mentions that at the up coming Sheffield Adventure Film Festival there will be a screening of the recent 16 minute film about Scottish international Fiona Rennie made by her husband Pete and Helen Brogan.  Congratulations to everyone involved in that.  You can also read about the short film at the Diversity Films website.  Do watch if you get the chance ... it is rather inspiring.

Next weekend there are a couple of races of interest.  Firstly there's a rather unusual race taking place in northern France from 22 February - a 48 hr treadmill race to which six top ultra runners have been invited including William Sichel.  As usual all the details are/will be on his website.

And then there's the Espoo indoor 24hr in Finland which is hosting the Swedish Championships (but not the Finnish - don't ask [I don't know the answer]).  All the best to Anth Courtney and Torill Fonn who are both taking part.  I hope Anth gets to see the northern lights while he's in Finland.

Finally, it appears that at the start of this month the Australian Ultra Runners Association announced selection details for the World 24 hr Championships later this year.  Basically the qualifying standards are 210 km for men and 190 km for women.  One thing I noticed, which I think is a good idea, is that they are also offering performance bonuses, ie

50 Aus dollars for men who achieve 200 km and women 180 km
100 Aus dollars for men who achieve 220 km and women 200 km
200 Aus dollars for men who achieve 240 km and women who 220 km
300 Aus dollars for men who achieve 260 km and women who 240 km

and also:

50 Aus dollars for finishing third
100 Aus dollars for finishing second
200 Aus dollars for finishing first

I think that's a really good motivational idea, especially as the AURA funds are limited and travelling expenses are less generous than for UK teams - all the details are here.

Overall, if I had a choice, I think I'd prefer my country to pay travelling expenses though.