This article was featured in the latest edition of Travel Play Live

Dawn was breaching through the darkness as I pulled on my running tights, thermal, beanie and gloves.  From my lounge room window I could see Mt Wellington and my beloved trails covered in a thick blanket of snow.  Winter has arrived!

Winter training poses many challenges to all of us.  Increased darkness and cooler temperatures disturb our homeostasis and require alterations to our exercising habits.  Developing an understanding of the physiological changes your body goes through during winter will assist you to maintain healthy, safe & sustainable exercise routines this year.


Physiological changes during winter
Add more carbohydratesThrough the door… kick off the running shoes… flick on the kettle then head to the pantry. This increased hunger and search for nourishment is partly caused by an increased baseline metabolic rate as your body uses more energy for warmth.  Furthermore, research shows that genetic changes sparked by the onset of winter are also responsible.  During winter, genetic up-regulation causes your body to naturally store more adipose tissue (fat cells) and switch to greater carbohydrate dependence.  No wonder I crave a big bowl of steaming porridge after a cold morning run in winter!    For endurance athletes, this research suggests that our ability to efficiently burn fat for energy during winter exercise is slightly reduced.  We lean towards a higher carbohydrate dependence for driving the muscles and consume greater quantities of oxygen.  This can create increased lactic acid production during intense bouts of training at this time of year.  To avoid carbohydrate depletion during sessions longer than 60-90 minutes, take a source of glucose-based energy, such as a sports gel.  Ensure adequate cool downs and replace your carbohydrate stores afterwards.  Add quality carbohydrate to all your meals, such as whole grains, pumpkin and sweet potatoes. 

Be flexibleYour circadian rhythm is a hormone driven process that determines your sleep & wake cycles. The average individual has an internal circadian clock that ticks on a 24hr11min cycle.  That’s right, for most of us our circadian rhythm would actually extend beyond one day if it wasn’t for light.  The presence of light resets our circadian rhythm so our body remains in sync with the time of day.  However, in winter the shorter days and longer nights create changes to our sleep & awakening cycles, and lead to that 2pm slump hitting you a little earlier in the afternoon.  Altered circadian rhythms can make clambering out of bed in the morning even more difficult and could be the reason behind lethargy on your morning run.  If possible, in winter try to have days where you can allow your body to awaken naturally and shuffle some of your runs to periods of the day when you feel most energised.  This will help to keep your stress levels reduced and enhance recovery from exercise.  So, turn off that alarm! 

Get your restMany of us could relate to the sensation of entering winter hibernation.  This is likely influenced by the increased production of the hormone Melatonin, otherwise known as the hormone of darkness.  Melatonin has a strong influence on the length and quality of our sleep, and is often used as an alternative to sleep medications. In individuals who experience Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), Melatonin is shown to be elevated.  The moral of this story? When Melatonin-induced hibernation kicks in, have your daily dose of exercise then get your ZZZs!  As the body does most of our physical recovery during the earlier stages of the sleep cycle, enhancing the quality and duration of your sleep will ensure that you recuperate faster between exercise sessions. 

‘Listen when the body whispers’
A study published by British and German researchers showed that over one quarter of the genes in our body become more or less active during different seasons.  This impacts on our mood, sexual behaviour, metabolism and now it appears, our immune defences.  Their research also suggests that genes responsible for promoting inflammation also become more active during the coldest, winter months and are particularly elevated in Australia’s southern-most states.  Whilst inflammation has an important role in healing, excessive inflammation can generate discomforts and diseases, such as the common winter ailments of arthritis and cardiovascular disease.  With increased inflammation involved, perhaps niggles in our active bodies whisper louder during winter?  It is critical to moderate exercise routines to avoid unnecessary injuries and sickness.  One option is to see Winter as an ideal time for gentle base training, building up to races in Spring or Summer.  Furthermore, winter is the ideal time to focus energy on strength weaknesses in the body.  Therefore, preempt the danger months by switching to aerobic base training, pre-habilitation exercises and cross training.  Protect the immune system with quality nutrition, sleep and self-nurturing. 

Don’t become chilled
Physiological changes become more dramatic when your core temperature drops.  To avoid this, layer thin thermal clothing ‘like an onion’.  This traps warm air closer to the body and layers can be removed to help effectively regulate your temperature.  However, also be aware of exposed regions of skin.  When skin is exposed to cold air, vasoconstriction of blood vessels prevents excessive heat loss and helps to maintain a warm core temperature. If vasoconstriction occurs during exercise, blood flow and nerve impulses to muscle fibres in these regions is reduced.  This will lead to reduced exercise performance and unnecessary discomfort.  On very cold days where the ambient air temperature has plummeted, keep the entire body warm with layers of clothing and full length garments.  And wear gloves or beware the hot shower after a cold run in winter!  Cold fingers that have turned numb and a pasty shade of grey will yell at you as they begin to defrost. 

Be prepared to pee!
There appears to be a urination goblin around whenever the cold sets in.  This goblin is actually a result of the vasoconstriction processes just mentioned.  Vasoconstriction limits the available blood vessel space for our blood, raising our blood pressure.  The increase in blood pressure then triggers the perfusion of kidney nephrons, triggering a faster released of urine into the bladder.  Whilst urinating is a natural process, the combination of the increased fluid loss through urination and sweating from exercise can lead to a sneaky build up of dehydration.  Therefore, during winter aim to drink more, especially electrolytes to replace your exercise & urinary losses.


In summary, the onset of winter should not lead to your trail running shoes being relocated to the closet and the bike being banished to the garage.  Understanding the physiological changes that occur during winter and cold weather training can assist in making smart decisions that will keep you exercising throughout the coldest, darkest months.  So layer up, listen to the whispers of your body and play hard this winter! 


Quick Fact Sheet Physiological changes:

• Increased dependence on carbohydrate
• Increased fat storage
• Alteration to circadian rhythms caused by decreased light exposure
• Elevated Melatonin levels
• Inflammatory processes increase
• Vasoconstriction reduces blood flow to working muscles
• Vasoconstriction increases blood pressure & urination 

Coaching Tips:

• Increase carbohydrate consumption before, during and after exercise.
• Increase electrolyte & fluid consumption.
• Layer up ‘like an onion’ and avoid fabrics with poor breathability that retain moisture such as cotton clothing.
• Consider using a light-weight, wind-proof jacket to decrease windchill.
• Consider using different shoes with a more aggressive grip for muddy, winter trail running.
• When possible, try exercising in the middle of the day. This will be in greater harmony with your circadian rhythm, melatonin levels and warmer air temperatures.  The extra vitamin D is a bonus!
• Utilise cross-training on days when being outside is less appealing. This will help you to stay more consistent with your exercise routines and can help avoid overuse injuries.
• Use Winter as a time for addressing your weaknesses, especially your core & gluteal muscles.
• Consider using winter as a time for base training in preparation for Spring and Summer races
• If possible, try using a Compex muscle stimulator to assist with the warm up, cool down and recovery processes. They can also greatly increase muscle recruitment for strength training.
• Expect to take longer to warm up. Start gently and build into your exercise session.  Try beginning every run with a short walk.
• Boost your diet. Eat a range of brightly coloured vegetables and protein sources, and avoid calorie deficits that place greater loads on an already slightly stressed physiological system.
• Manage life stressor to enhance the recovery processes.
• Get your Zzzzzs!

The Sweat Rate TestIt is important to develop an understanding of your sweat rate so that you can develop a thorough understanding of your sweat losses during an event.


The easiest way to measure your sweat rate is to weigh yourself without clothes on before and after exercising for one hour, taking note of the climatic conditions you were exercising in.


Method

• Weigh yourself without clothes on before you head out to train.
• Conduct one hour of training in as similar conditions to race day as possible. intensity, pace and discipline. 
• After one hour, return home, strip down, thoroughly dry your skin and hair, and then weigh yourself again.

Results:
Assuming you did not use the toilet or consume any fluids during exercise, your weight loss is your sweat rate.

1kg of weight lost = 1L of fluid lost

If you drank any fluids or used the rest room between the two weight samples, you will need to include both of these estimated weights in your calculations.

• Add any fluids consumed to the amount of weight lost
• Subtract estimated bodily void weight from the total weight lost.

Important Considerations:
Weather and climatic conditions strongly influence sweat rates.  For example, on a cooler overcast morning you will loose less sweat volume than on a hot, humid morning.  Therefore, be sure to record the heat, humidity and weather conditions in your sweat test and repeat the test in cool, humid, windy and hot conditions.

Sweat rate also changes with pace and effort increases.  For example, if you monitored your sweat rate for a shorter ½ marathon race pace and then want to step up to a 50 or 100km race that requires a lower effort over a prolonged period of time, you will need to conduct the above tests again to highlight the new effort zone.

Conclusion:
Now that you know your sweat rates, you now need to develop an understanding of how much fluid replacement your stomach can tolerate.  For more information on how to rehydrate during events, you may like to read the article Hydration for Endurance Performance

For a comprehensive understanding on sports nutrition & hydration read: Sweat. Think. Go Faster by Darryl Griffiths
See our comprehensive Sports Nutrition range for Trail Runners HERE

We have all heard that our bodies are comprised of mostly water.  A 60kg individual is composed of around 48kg of water in which all their body’s biochemistry will take place.  Water has a number of other functions in the body - evaporative cooling, glycogen storage and maintaining electrolyte balances.  The loss of even a small proportion of this fluid (ie. 2% of body weight) can significantly reduce body functions and for athletes, performance.  It can also be life threatening.  When we consider that this is only 1.2L in our 60kg athlete, we begin to realize how significant the process of optimal hydration is. 
 
Evaporative Cooling
A 60kg adult at rest will consume around 0.2L of oxygen per minute, generating 70 watts of heat output.  However, when running at threshold, oxygen consumption can increase 16 times and heat output rises to 1100 watts.  The only way that this heat can be lost rapidly is through evaporative cooling, otherwise known as sweating.  Sweating involves the loss of large amounts of fluid from the skins surface, which is then wicked away by air resulting in body cooling.  In hot conditions it would take our 60kg individual around 1.5-2L of sweat to remove this excess heat.  
 
Glycogen Storage
Replacing fluid lost through sweat and urine is not the only justification for the importance of hydration.  Glycogen or stored muscle carbohydrate is the body’s main source of energy.  However, fixing 1g of carbohydrate into the muscles in the form of glycogen requires 3g of water ie. a 3:1 ratio of water to carbohydrate.  This is one reason why you can often feel thirsty following a carbohydrate-rich meal.  With this in mind, fluid is critical during times of recovery and taper.  If you are focusing on carbo-loading but not drinking adequate amounts you can actually risk pulling extra water from the blood stream into the GI Tract.  This can result in dehydration.  Therefore, fluid is critical for replacing sweat and urine losses, but also for glycogen storage before and after exercise.
 
Are there other reasons important to remain hydrated?As you heat up, the body begins to enter survival mode.  Rather than shunting blood to the working muscles, your blood stream prioritizes blood flow to the skin and vital organs.  The reduced blood flow to the GI Tract makes the digestion of complex drinks and nutrition difficult, and as a result people often begin to experience stomach upsets and nausea.  During such periods of stress, your breathing and heart rates will increase, and your general efficiency takes a dramatic nose-dive.  Under these additional stressors, your body temperature will start to rise, resulting in stress to the brain.  Clarity of thinking will decrease, your ability to assess you body state becomes compromised (runner’s often complain of feeling cold when they overheat) and you may begin to feel disorientated.  All sound like great things to avoid when racing!
 
So should I just guzzle water?
When we sweat and excrete urine, we don’t just loose fluids but also vital minerals.  The main ingredient in sweat is sodium that is lost at a rate of 1-2g per liter.  Other minerals that are lost are calcium, magnesium, potassium and chloride, although these are generally lost in much, much smaller quantities.  Therefore, to replace fluid losses an electrolyte drink is far better than drinking pure water and the focus should turn to sodium.  
 
Why not water?
Are you putting the energy gels in but not receiving the ‘kick’?  Over prolonged periods of heavy sweating, an individual can lose significant amounts of sodium.  The combination of drinking pure water and sweating can cause a dilution of the concentration of sodium in the blood.  This can begin to impair many of our normal physiological processes, including the transport of fluid and glucose across cellular membranes.  That’s right, a lack of sodium can inhibit the transport of glucose into the working muscles cells.  
 
Another good reason for opting for an electrolyte drink is that the use of sodium is known to promote thirst.  This is often the reason why pubs serve salty, greasy food as it will generate greater drinks sales.  And finally, when electrolytes, particularly sodium, are present in appropriate concentrations, the rate of fluid absorption from the small intestine into the rest of the body is enhanced.  This is particularly important to consider when we are racing at intense levels with few possibilities to drink.
 
Are electrolyte drinks made equal?
The simple answer is NO!  Many sports drinks market themselves as the best on the market, and yet are made by soft drink companies such as Coca-Cola or Pepsi.  Beverages such as Gatorade are literally pumped full of simple sugars that are very foreign to the small intestine under stress.  In fact, the presence of the sugar that remains dormant in the GI Tract can create a net movement of fluid from the blood stream back into the gut, resulting in stomach distress and dehydration.  Therefore, sports drinks based around the medical principles for oral rehydration are perfect.  Complexes such as Shotz Electrolyte that are tablets dissolved in adequate water are proven to initiate rehydration even under the most stressful environments.  These beverages contain a high concentration of sodium and minimal traces of the other elements.  This is important because often sports drinks are pumped full of magnesium which also happens to be the first ingredient in all laxatives!  Watch out for the heavily marketed brands, as these tend to be the worst for tummy-disrupting ingredients. 
 
How much should I drink?
How much fluid you need to consume is dependent on your fitness level, size, sweat rate and the weather conditions.  Hot, sticky conditions will cause greater fluid losses due to the necessity to lose greater amounts of heat from the skin’s surfaces.  Conversely, a cool, damp day will require lower fluid quantities to be consumed.  The best way to determine how much you should drink is to monitor your body weight before and after training runs under a range of different weather conditions.  For example, on a 20-degree day you may find that in 1 hour of exercise you loose 1kg.  This then equates to 1L/hour of exercise under such conditions.  On a hot, humid 30-degree day this may increase to 2kg during the hour.  Therefore, you would be loosing 2L/hour.  The most important rule of hydration is to drink what your stomach can tolerate and the best way to find this out is to know your losses then practice, practice, practice!  
 
Conclusion
​The good news about running in hot weather is that you can teach your body to adapt.  Learning about how much sweat you loose during training and beginning to replace these with an advanced electrolyte formula will make a world of difference to your training & racing performances.  Recently I conducted a sweat test for Shotz at the Australian Institute of Sport.  I had been complaining about taking on energy and water without feeling like I was getting anything back.  When I did my sweat test they found I was loosing over 1.5L of fluid each hour on a 20-degree day!  Further to this, in each liter of my sweat I was loosing 1.8g of sodium.  As you can imagine, this knowledge has significantly impacted the way I approach rehydration. In fact, sitting here writing this article after my morning run, I have a cup of tea on one side of me and a bottle of electrolyte on the other.  In summary, all I can say is that if you get hydration right, it is like putting rocket fuel into your system.

The Ultra Trail Australia events have many exciting challenges, one of the most noteworthy being the large and numerous hills that runners will encounter in the Blue Mountains. As this event has expanded, so too has the spread of runners from across our vast country. The race is now attracting runners from as far away as Tasmania, northern Western Australia and Darwin.

One of the greatest challenges that some of our Aussie runners are facing is preparing for this mountainous event when they live in a flat area. For instance, some of the runners I am working with are training in Broome where anything remotely resembling a hill is a very, very long way away. 

Therefore, I wanted to share some suggestions for how to prepare for hills without hills.

Run on Trails
The shear nature of trails requires runners to be strong. As you bounce from foot to foot over the uneven surfaces of rocks, roots and sand there is a more holistic activation of your muscles. These are the same muscles that will activate when you run up and down a hill, such as your quadriceps, hamstrings and gluteal muscles. So, if you have the chance to hit the trails and even practice some faster speed endurance work on them, this is a really good training strategy.

‘Heavy’ Fast-packing
Fastpacking is the term used to describe fast hiking. One strategy that I have found highly beneficial for runners preparing for the UTA events is to load up their running vest pack with lots of weight and set out on a fast hike. The way I load up my pack is to use a 5 or 10L water bladder or wine cask filled with water. I put this in my vest pack and set off for an hour or two. The muscles required to hike with this weight are similar to those employed to run up and down a hill. Therefore, this can be a really great way to get stronger and more resilient by May.

Uphill treadmill running
Whilst I personally detest running on a treadmill, they occasionally have some usefulness. Conducting a hill interval session on a treadmill can help to replicate the nature of hills. Set the treadmill to an 8-10% incline and carry out a session. You may also like to finish the session off with a short period of time on a stair climber machine.

Flat treadmill running for downhill
Again, desperate times may call for desperate measures, a great one being running on a flat treadmill. Evidence suggests that running on a flat treadmill has some impact similarities to downhill running. Whilst this strategy may be somewhat useful, be careful not to overdo it.

Get out of the saddle
Standing out of the saddle on a bike or stationary bike is really hard work. Powering down through your quads without sitting on the bike seat activates similar muscles to those you use to run or hike up a steep hill or set of stairs. Building in some out-of-the-saddle work into your training could be really helpful. One suggestion would be to do 10-15mins of out-of-the-saddle training before you start a fartlek session or tempo run to help simulate what it feels like to run on the flat after you have just climbed a steep hill.

Go for a wander
Walking activates slightly different muscle groups to running. And in the Blue Mountains we will likely find ourselves walking at times. Therefore, the more efficient you are at walking the less emotionally stressful you will find this activity on race day. It will also help to build strength. Therefore, add in a little fast hiking into your training program.

Take a pilgrimage
If you have the luxury of sneaking a weekend away over summer or the Easter holiday period, then this could be really helpful for your training. Rest a little before flying to somewhere which has luscious hills to play in. After the rest earlier in the week you can go ‘a little bit nuts’ over the weekend and maximize some time spent in the hills.

Small can be beautiful
Small inclines or stairs should never be overlooked. If all you have time and access to is a small lump in the local park then just enjoy switching off the brain and running up and down it a zillion times. Just like sand granules on a beach, small things really do add up.

Get strong
See if you can find a local strength guru to give you a hand with a strength program specific to hill running. This can include body weight exercises, skipping, hopping, single leg activities and some weighted gym work. Exercises could include: lunges, squats, deadlifts, single leg drills, gluteal activation work, calf raises and isometric holds, core work and much more. Sometimes you might like to do your strength session before you go for a run so that you can learn to ‘run heavy’ as you might feel after climbing up a large hill on race day.

Get sandy
My last suggestion comes with a little caution… sand. As we all remember from our childhoods, running on sand can be somewhat exhausting. Adding a little sand running into your program can help. However, be careful! Sand running places great loads on tendons and soft tissues, such as the Achilles Tendon and your hip flexors. Therefore, rather than setting off for an isolated sand dune running session, I recommend incorporating only a little running on sand during a standard session.

In summary, whilst I firmly believe there is no perfect substitute for running on hills, if you find yourself living in a region void of steepness then the above suggestions could help you feel more confident come the race day in May. Start carefully and gently on the path to adding hills because if you have been training on the flat-lands for a while you don’t want to shock your running legs and risk injury. Finally, be gentle on yourself. Whilst hills may not be your strong point, some of us have no flat regions to train on! So where we might have power on the hills, you might be superhuman on the flats!

Are you currently basking in the beautiful aftermath of ultra-running euphoria? On returning to your hotel did your saturate your day of running in the shower then crawl under the white hotel duvet to twitch yourself to wakeful sleep? At dawn, did you utter a groan when your feet hit the carpet and cringe as you lowered yourself onto the breakfast chair? Did you quietly revel in the ‘you-are-mad’ stares from hotel guests?

If so, you will be experiencing Euphoric Ultra Runner Syndrome. Enjoy it whilst it lasts because sadly, this is often replaced with Lost-Your-Mojo Runner Syndrome for which you must orchestrate your own recovery.

Here are my recovery suggestions:

Day 1-3: Euphoric Ultra Runner Syndrome and the DOoMs Days - Delayed Onset of Muscle Soreness Days
These are the days of craving Mum’s apple crumble with more ice-cream than apple. During these days you might be lucky enough for someone to take pity and play the violin for you. Revel in the attention. For soon the novelty of mopey runner will wear off and you will be left to make your own cuppa again. 

DO:

• WALK gently in bare feet. This will help to reset your sensory pathways and relax stiff muscles
• WADE in ocean water as much as possible. The movement of the cool water will massage the muscles and the high sodium concentration will help to reduce inflammation. 
• ELEVATE. Lie with your legs vertically up a wall at the end of a day. The optimal duration would be 10-20 minutes of upside-down time. This will help to remove poorly draining fluids from damaged muscle units.
• EAT a horse in small mouthfuls. Small frequent intakes of protein will help to rebuild muscle fibers.
• FUEL on avocado with cashew butter? Pick your poison but small, frequent doses of high-quality fats will help to rebuild the body tissues including cell walls, neurons and our hormones.
• SLEEP like Grandpa. The run will have induced a coma-like state. Don’t fight your inability to focus on emails or the evening news. Instead opt for large and frequent amounts of quality sleep. If you can’t sleep then rest in a darkened room away from outside stimulation.
• REHYDRATE on electrolytes not coffee. Your sodium levels will be dramatically depleted. When you are feeling flat and fuzzy, opt for a bottle of quality electrolyte over an afternoon caffeine hit. I could also fill a bath with the amount of green tea I enjoy during this phase of my recovery. Green tea is a natural antioxidant and has been shown to help reduce inflammation.
• YOUR HOMEWORK. Write down the key lessons of your race with as much honesty as you can muster so that you can dissect this again later. Don’t forget to mention the brain fades, tummy grumbles, clumsy moments and negative thought processes. These can all inform you and a coach/mentor about what did and didn’t work in the race preparation and execution. Now put it away and forget about it. It is now time to ‘chill’.

DONT:

• PLAN your next race. I bet you are having trouble deciding on what to make for dinner let alone which race to devour next. Leave race strategizing for later.
• INVOKE PAIN. Massage, dry needling and other forms of torture should come later. For now, focus on gentle movement, elevating your legs, rest and nutrition.
• TRAIN. Enjoy flying by the seat of your pants. If this was a key race in your calendar, you shouldn’t be focussing on returning to training for a while. The rule I use is every 10km I race at optimal intensity will require one week of recovery.
• GRUMP. Go to bed.

Thousands of runners recently attended the Ultra Trail Australia 100 and 50km races in the Blue Mountains. Sometimes it is hard not to be amongst the racing. However, sitting on the other side of the fence whilst the action gallops past gives a wholesome insight into the nutrition & hydration strategies of athletes. 

Three Classifications of Athletes
In the race, we observed three types of athletes:

1. The Blank Stare Runner
The scenery of the Blue Mountains is stunning. Jagged tracks clutch to the side of overhanging cliffs. Damp forests hold tumbling waterfalls. However, the Blank Stare Runner will see little of this handsomeness. They also appear not to hear much until they stumble across your wildly clapping hands and goofy grin. They pull a tight smile and march onwards. From close up, they appear to have the ‘lights off’ - the I’m-on-a-mission facade with eyes glazed-over. From afar, there is an element of a plod, a trip, a stumble. One guesses behind it all is a negative mindset.

2. The Weary but Starry Eyed Runner
Fifty or one-hundred kilometers is never going to feel easy. There will always be an association with pain and a little suffering. But no matter how physically fatigued, the Weary but Starry Eyed Runner can maintain a smile. Their eyes sparkle with the challenge and even from a distance they easily acknowledge your excited cheers. They mutter a thanks, give a gentle high-five and then scuffle off around the corner.

3. The Prancer and Dancer Runner
This runner has the ability to make you forget about how much pain everyone else seems to be in. You find yourself pulling out your phone and googling entry dates for the next race. Before you see them, they have seen you. Their iPhone is out and they are happily snapping pictures to capture the memories. They are dancing across the rocks and prancing past the course marshals giving praise and a hearty, ‘thank you’. Their eyes are alight with anticipation. They might be fatigued but they are holding those negative thoughts at bay.

Which type of athlete are you?

You may fall somewhere in the middle and may shift from one to another at different points of a race. However, I am sure that looking back at race photos or your race debrief will help you identify with some of the above analogies?

Athlete Classifications: Symptomatic of Your Nutrition & Hydration

1. Race fuelling is about fuelling your brain not your body
Even for the slimmest athletes, the body has enough adipose tissue (fatty acids) stored to carry you a very, very long way. In endurance activities where the intensity is lower, a reasonably trained athlete should adequately utilize stored fatty acids for locomotive energy. However, there is one organ in the body that cannot use fatty acids for energy, and that is the brain. 

The brain’s functional tissues is surrounded by the blood brain barrier. This is a physical block to protect the organ from harmful intruders and substances. When fatty acid is transported in the body, it is attached to a protein called albumin. This creates a molecule too large to pass through the barriers of the brain. Thus, the brain’s fuel source is glucose, the simplest molecular form of carbohydrate. 

In races, we require the central nervous system and brain input to keep every other tissue of our body functioning. It drives our breathing, our heart, our working limb muscles. With an inadequate supply of glucose to the brain, this system starts to slow and will eventually grind to a complete halt.

2. Feed your brain glucose
If the brain holds everything together, then we must ensure that it receives an adequate supply of energy in the form of glucose. It is true that we can utilize stored muscle and liver glycogen for conversion into glucose and energy, but these stores are dramatically limited. Therefore, a fueling strategy for endurance race day must included simple forms of glucose, the best of which is a maltodextrin (pure glucose) gel.

3. Glucose absorption requires sodium
The absorption of glucose across cellular membranes requires a transporter protein that sits lodged in the cellular membranes. The functioning of this glucose transporter is often spared as the digestive tract starts to slow (the functioning of the digestive system will be overridden by the blood flow demands of the working muscles). That is, the body will prioritize the functioning of this glucose transporter over the digestion of fats, proteins and more complex carbohydrates, such as fructose.

4. Sweating causes a loss of sodium
Sweating causes large losses of sodium, especially over prolonged periods of time such as during endurance races. The amount of sodium varies from person to person and day-to-day, but can be in the vicinity of 1500-2000mg per 1L of sweat. No other electrolyte loss comes anywhere near the losses of sodium. This is because most other electrolytes, such as magnesium, are found within body cells. That is, sodium is an extracellular molecule floating freely in the bloodstream so it incurs the largest electrolyte losses during exercise.

5. Failing to replace sodium disrupts glucose absorption
If you fail to replace the sodium you are loosing, chances are you will not be absorbing the glucose you are trying to ingest. Without sodium present, the functioning of the transporter proteins slow. Therefore, the cellular membranes of the digestive tract, working muscles and mitochondria (power houses where energy is produced) become impermeable to glucose. 

6. Low sodium and glucose intake affect the brain and central nervous system
If you are trying to rehydrate during races on water alone, you will likely be disrupting the body’s ability to absorb nutrition. Further more, if you are using a sports drink or electrolyte with inadequate sodium to meet your losses, you may also be disrupting your nutrition intake. Begin to become aware of your sweat losses both in volume and in the salt crusting that can appear on your clothes if you are a heavier sodium sweater. This can be a great guide to judging your losses.


Your Athlete Classification Explained:


The Blank Stare Runner
Your central nervous system is seriously affected. In essence, you have become similar to a diabetic with low blood glucose levels. Whatever you are drinking and eating is inadequate to supply sodium and glucose to the transporter pumps in your cellular membranes and thus, energy to your brain. Try to learn to listen to your central nervous system. Negative thought processes, clumsy feet, feeling cold, dizziness, vertigo, numb feet or hands, or even nausea can all be symptomatic of low glucose levels in the brain. If you observe someone like this or their eyes have a glazed-over appearance, feed them instant glucose along with a higher sodium concentration electrolyte. If they are nauseous, you can rinse their mouth with glucose as the oral mucosa has a direct glucose absorption pathway to the brain. If this helps, you can then start to slowly feed them glucose via gels, chemist jelly beans and glucose tablets. 


The Weary but Starry Eyed Runner
Your nutrition and training strategies are strong but likely the quantities need adjusting. Sparkling eyes and alertness suggest that the central nervous system is coping. The physical weariness can be a symptom of further training required, or it may also be that you need to increase the quantity of glucose and electrolyte replacement. You should also be paying close attention to changes in your central nervous system as the race progresses. If negative thoughts, anxiety, clumsiness or any of the other symptoms above settle in, make sure you increase your glucose and sodium intake. This is especially true if you start to experience cramping.


The Prancer and Dancer Runner
You are nailing it! To run like this, your central nervous system must be functioning fully and you are alert enough to absorb your surroundings. Further to this, it appears that your training has prepared you optimally for the challenge you have embarked upon. However, keep an eye on climatic changes throughout the race as increases in temperature, humidity or wind will alter your evaporative sweat losses. Monitor your thoughts and alertness, with any small changes requiring a top-up of energy.

The weather feels colder.  Your sick of the colour of your running shoes.  Work should be for the under 30’s.  Where did all this traffic come from?  You think you will just start training again in Spring or Summer.  

If any of these thought processes have crossed your mind, you are likely suffering from Lost-Your-Mojo Syndrome.  Here are some suggestions for getting it back:

DO:
CLIMB A MOUNTAIN.  Whether it be literal or symbolic, make it your mission to achieve a highpoint.  This might be walking to a peak, learning a new skill or finishing the spare room renovations.  We are addicted to achievement so pick up your camera or a hammer and do something noteworthy.
EMPOWER OTHERS.  I recently took a Gone Running Tour to my favourite part of Tasmania.  Showing them my playground and helping them summit mountain peaks was like taking a holiday - refreshing and up-lifting.
INVEST.  A massage.  A physio appointment.  A tweak from the chiropractor.  Each modality has its place and will only speed up your recovery.  Furthermore, investing in yourself will remind you that bliss doesn’t just come from crossing finish lines.
MOVE.  It shouldn’t be training but it should be simple movements.  Go for a short swim.  Walk barefoot on the beach.  Jog slowly on grass.  Trot a trail or two.  Go wherever and however the heart desires.  
SOCIALISE.  We need to hibernate for our recovery but chances are you feel like remaining in your warm cave all winter until the daffodils come out.  Short social outings involving running shoes, tea pots and laughter will help you regain the balanced lifestyle that probably got put on hold during the previous training phase.
SLEEP.  Sleeping, especially in the hours before midnight, is when our body heals. If I am having trouble with healthy sleep routines, I try relaxation and a small dose of Melatonin at bedtime. Melatonin is produced naturally by our body and plays an important role in maintaining our sleep cycle. You can often purchase it from health stores and natural pharmacies.
EARTH.  My father has a theory that we absorb the busyness of life, much like the generation of static electricity.  His way of teaching me to release this energy was to earth - pitching the tent in nature and sleeping long hours in our sleeping bags.  When I need to unwind you won’t find me at home anymore.

DONT:
STRESS.  Stress causes a boost in the catabolic hormone called Cortisol, our fight or flight generator.  Your body won’t want to heal when you are running away from a tiger.  Therefore, avoid stressful situations when possible and if you find yourself in an unavoidable situation, focus on taming the tiger rather than fighting it.
GO ON A DIET.  Not training and starting to feel frumpy?  I can empathise but now is definitely not the time to pick up the latest Women’s Weekly magazine.  Instead, focus on upping the veggie, healthy fats and protein intakes.  Include plenty of water and some whole-grains.
JOIN THE GYM.  Unless you need a warm winter haven or some social inclusion, avoid ‘gym training’.  Heavy weight training, boxing classes and any other activities that make washing your hair a painful activity should be avoided.  Acute muscle damage will only slow the repairing of the more chronic tissue degradation still lingering from race day.
WATCH TOO MUCH TV.  It is easy to slip into sedentary mode.  Sitting down for long periods will cause a shortening of the repairing muscle fibers, especially those around the hip joint.  If that chosen tv series is too all-absorbing, opt for lying on the floor over curled-up on the couch.

I was anxious for the race on Saturday. Excited, but anxious. I wasn’t scared about breaking records or standing amongst a cohort of amazing elite runners. No, I was scared for the same reason as any other athlete there – will I finish? How much will it hurt? And most importantly, can I run well enough to feel content with myself afterwards? After all, can there be any greater emotion than contentedness? 

In the week leading in to the race I allowed myself to feel scared. As Henry Wadsworth Longfellow explained – ‘For after all, the best thing one can do when it is raining is let it rain.’ And through my life experiences I have come to realize that some of the things that rightly scare us can also become our greatest strengths. 

I find change scary and it was the plethora of change that had occurred in my life in the last six months that was making me anxious. In October we sold our first ever home and left all our friends to move back to Tasmania. In November I started working with my new coach, James Kuegler, and started an extensive fit out of our new retail store. In December we opened the first Find Your Feet store and with that all the challenges of employing staff, paying bills from thin air and generally chasing our tails. January heralded my first international orienteering race in my home country and a further three weeks overcoming knee niggles incurred on the last day of racing. February welcomed Gus, my new strength coach, and the last year in my twenties. And March? March was 6 Foot Track and the start of my year of trail racing. So, yes, I was anxious because my benchmarks and parameters for performance had shifted. But Einstein said, ‘ Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results’. As the changes had all been positive I now just had to trust in my coach, the overall process and myself. 

I ran this race learning from yesterday, living for today and hoping for tomorrow. I started faster than last year to find space on Nellie’s Glen. I didn’t want the risk of not being able to watch my footing as I had new shoes on and decided not to strap my ankle after the tape fell off last year. The fast start got me into a better rhythm through the first section of the course to Megalong Road. This was where I hit my maximum heart rate of 192 beats. Despite my fast pace of sub 3:40min/km pace through this section, I later saw that Emma Murray was still faster than me through this section and down to the Cox’s River.

The descent to Cox’s River is beautiful and I tried to forget about the race for a while. I was comfortably tucked behind a cluster of boys for this section and just tried to relax as much as possible, saving energy for the large climb to come. This is a great section to refuel and I started my routine of Shotz Gels and a very concentrated sodium electrolyte solution in my 250ml hand flask that I carried for the entire race.

Conversations about pace and time began amongst our group as we neared the river. I tried not to buy into it. I knew that focusing on record pace and times was only going to burn the energy that I desperately needed to conserve for the latter part of the race. I purposefully had no idea what time I needed to be at certain points of the race because I know that my strengths can never match another athletes’. Instead, I focused on running very wide through the cleaner flowing water of the river to avoid getting gravel in my shoes like last year. This worked a treat and I cleared the running waters with purpose.

Maybe I am a sucker for punishment but I love ascending big hills. However, this year I felt a little out of sorts when I first hit the hill. My legs felt a little nervous and jittery, and felt like I couldn’t apply power through my quadriceps. Instead of letting the negative thoughts overcome me I tried to focus on activating my glute muscles and unloading my quads. I also kept the energy intake happening and sipping my electrolyte. This worked and by the end of the first descent on Pluvi I felt light and fast again.

Climbing towards the top of this long hill was when I started to notice some of the other athletes struggling. The sun was coming out and I could see the beads of sweat on their shoulders. It was also dripping off the brim of my cap. I knew I needed to keep drinking and made the decision to drink water at every aid station I came to whilst constantly sipping my Shotz electrolyte.

Unlike last year, I hit the Black Range alone. Whilst this was hard from a pacing perspective, I felt comfortable running like this. Back home I have done many long hours hiking and running on the slopes of Mt Wellington on my own. Through training and overcoming some fears of wild places, I have learnt to love this sensation of isolation. I tried to run strongly but conservatively along the range, focusing on a short arm action and purposeful steps. I tried to avoid the plod and kept reminding myself that each step serves me a purpose of one step closer to the finish. I also tried to engage with the volunteers at the aide stations to ensure that the race didn’t become too serious and ‘all about me’. I kept expecting the boys to come racing past but as time went on, I realized I was probably alone for the long run.

As I came off the range someone yelled that I only had 10km to go. I was shocked and it was the first time I allowed my bubble to burst to look at my watch. I saw I had around 45 minutes to cover the last 10km. This was when the negatives started – ‘no way?!’ Then I remembered my coach saying to me just before the race, ‘Never let the negative words out if you can’t catch them’. I now had to catch my words! I went back to my strategies, taking on some energy to ward off the negative thoughts and giving my brain the glucose it was asking me for.

The last part of the race had been really tough for me in 2014 when I had found myself walking on many of the smaller pinches. This time I set myself a challenge of running more than last year and except for one purposeful walk, I ran everything. I kept reminding myself that I had been doing more than this duration in training and that I was stronger than I knew. With thirty minutes to go I took my last gel as a sign of ‘now the hard work really starts’. 

My strides were starting to shorten as I ran past an official looking sign saying that I had 5km to go. My bubble burst for the last time and I looked at my watch. By my fuzzy calculations I had 20 minutes to reach the finish and this was the first time I began to really focus on the race record. But how could I do it? I had to run sub 4 minute kilometers to the finish line and although it was almost all downhill, I was beginning to experience a lot of discomfort. My new The North Face running shoes were a size too small due to availability in Australia and my big toe nail was ripping at the tips of them. All I could feel was a searing in my sock and stiffening quads from trying to run with my toes bunched up. I started talking out loud to myself. ‘Come on Hanny! This is not pain, just discomfort!’ I tried not to look at my watch for fear of what I might see. I just ran. My legs were stumps and my crunched up toes where disrupting my balance. Because of this my arms flailed wildly as I careered down the last rough hill. As I crested the arch I looked one last time at my watch and hoped I had done enough. All I could think about was not letting down the people that had believed in me so much.

The first time I realized I had done it was when I careered off the steps. Emotion exploded out of me in a flurry of excited bounds before I sank to the ground and shed a tear. People were taking my shoes off but I couldn’t concentrate. So much had led to this moment and so much relief was pouring out of me. I was niggle free for the first time in a very, very long time and it was the first opportunity I had had to race at full strength for a long while. Whilst you run alone you don’t succeed alone. So many people and circumstances gave me my armor out there on Saturday - Jackie Fairweather, James Kuegler, Darryl Griffiths, Canberra, Hobart, Find Your Feet and of course Graham... just to name a few. For all involved, I am entirely grateful. 

Through running Six Foot this year I have learnt a huge amount:

• Racing against the clock is the hardest way to approach a trail race. We all have our strengths and weaknesses that can play out in a multitude of ways on race day. A safer way to race is to learn how to run on feel in training then focus on the process during the competition. I believe that if I had gone out at the pace that Emma Murray had in 2006 I never could have finished so strongly.
• I believe it was my mind that got me over the line and that my physical body is still catching up. I am excited to continue working on this.
• No matter how good your gear is, always try it before race day
• When you race, never let the words out that you can’t catch. Instead, feed your brain glucose when it starts to have a hissy fit.
• Elites get just as anxious as everyone else. They also hurt just has much and enjoy the finish line too
• If you do your best, that is absolutely all you can ever ask. Doing your best will lead to contentedness. Contentedness will leap to happiness. Therefore, do your best and you will be happy!

​Congratulations to everyone who completed the Six Foot Track in 2015. There were so many amazing results and none more than others. Be proud of what you achieved. Learn from your successes and your weaknesses. And most importantly, be content.

There is so much information out there on how to come back from injury. We have all heard it. Build 5% each week, start with slower training and gradually introduce the faster stuff. However, there are so many other times of transition in our lives and as summer approaches, I believe this is a time for caution. For haven’t we all at some stage said to ourselves, ‘Summer is here! It is time to finish up work for a while, whip out the toys and get fit!’

I know that I used to have it in my head that as soon as university exams were done and dusted I would be able to throw myself head first into heavy training to 'get back to where I want or need to be'. This thought process spells danger and I fell into the trap many times. 

The first problem is that many of us lead a more sedentary lifestyle and our body may have become used to sitting down a lot. Suddenly bouncing up and spending time on your feet, added to a training load can come at the price of injury or illness. 

Secondly, you need to think about how much you have been doing and slowly ease yourself into heavier training. Perhaps give yourself 1-2 weeks of slowly building up the training. If you are unsure how to do this, maybe the first week should just be about slow volume. Go for runs, some long and some short, some with friends and some on your own. Add in some strength and easy cross training, all at a talking pace. Then, in the second week, I would start to add in some gentle intensity in your training. Opt for longer, slightly slower repetitions over shorter & faster ones. Some example sessions that can get you started are:

• 2x10min repetitions at around 10km pace (or what I would call ‘uncomfortably-comfortable pace)
• 8/6/4min effort with 1-2min jog recoveries between each
• 15-30min tempo run at a solid but 'just-can-talk' pace
• Some harder cross training like mountain biking or swimming
• 3-4x5min efforts with 1-2min jog recoveries at 3-5km effort

These sessions are still aerobic sessions and will prep the body. Don't forget to keep up the strength training and focus lots on activating the core and glute (bottom) muscles to support your hips & running form.

For those who feel prone to niggles or injury, one of the best things that I have been recently introduced to by my NZ coach, James Kuegler of Cadence Coaching, is water running, preferably in the ocean or sea water. Here is what I do (at least 3 times per week at the moment as I return from injury):

• Wade into the ocean up to your thighs (harder) or waist (easier). Start running parallel to the beach so you are always at the same depth. 
• As you run, try to think about your feet landing directly under or even behind your center of gravity. Also think about extending each leg out behind you (using your hamstrings) and that the power is coming from your glutes (bum) muscles and not your quads (thigh) muscles.
• I normally do my ocean runs at an easier intensity but you can start to add in great interval sessions too (see above for ideas).
• It may be important to wear shoes and socks in the ocean when you do this as I normally find my feet become burnt by the friction of the sand. You can also wear a wetsuit or thermal top.

In summary, avoid the pitfalls of being too excited about summer. Remember, it is a wonderful season but should not always be viewed as a boot camp. My challenge to you is this: Get yourself fit without taking risks. Learn to train smart and in a way that you can sustain most of the year despite how busy your life can become. If you do, the results will take care of themselves.