Wasatch Back Relay Checklist

Can you really ever describe a relay team experience? That sweet and sour journey of sleepless fun on the run? It only takes once to understand the indescribable experience of trying to survive the all-night and all-day van extravaganza. Since there are so many things to learn and to help your Wasatch Back Relay team run(double meaning implied) more smoothly here are some tips submitted by The 2009 Women’s 2nd place team Sole Sisters-Anna Judd, Caprice Schwarzwalder, Chris Perrins, Danielle Bauer, Marie Hunter, Summer Willlis, Holly DeMille, Jen Dunyon, Sue Turley, Missy Allred, Amy Welling and Angie Baird.  Caution: none of the above individuals will either confirm or deny the validity of do’s or dont’s written in the middle of the night, before or after the 3rd leg, or whilst sleeping at the wheel.

DO’S

• Bring a change of clothes for each leg. Store them in a Ziploc plastic bag along with gel and whatever else you need for that leg.
• Eat right after each run leg. Start with liquid recovery and then eat solids.
• Shake your tamborine…A LOT!
• Jump in the creeks to ice  your legs for recovery between legs.
• Cheer on ALL your teamates.
• Bring extra food and be sure to include salty foods, PB and honey, extra water,  etc.
• Pee whenever, wherever. Porta-potties are a luxury.
• Bring lots of wet wipes and hand sanitizer.
• Bring ear plugs for the group mini-sleep session between van rotations.
• Support other teams and share your goods with the desperate unlearned ones.
• Use anti-chaffing cream (bodyglide, trislide, or chamois butter will all work!)
• Bring rain gear.
• Take random candids of your teammates.
• Keep track of your splits (how fast you ran each leg).
• Let the guys change your flat tire.
• Decorate your van.
• Run fast.

DONT’S

• Bring only 1 CD.
• Get a flat tire coming down Avon pass (but refer to #15 above if you do).
• Be late to your hand off. This does not encourage team unity.
• Eat salad for your recovery meal.
• Forget your toothbrush.
• Take “No, you can’t park here” for an answer.
• Cut the cops off, they WILL give you a ticket.
• Back up into reflector poles.
• Honk your horn in the middle of the night.
• Open your doors at night whilst on the side of the road.
• Give Chris your Zone bars!
• Throw up in the van. That is what roll down windows are for. And this does not build team unity either.

• Keep it simple: only include the essential items that you will need during the race- everything else goes in a bag in the car or leave it with your fan club.
• Essentials make you faster: equipment like Yankz, Trislide, a Race Number Belt, and tri shorts will go a long way in keeping your transition times fast.
• Smile: even though you may be in pain, smiling keeps the attitude positive and positive thinking keeps you fast.

Here is a great little video to help answer more of your Triathlon Transition questions.  Thanks BJ!

Disappointment.  That is one word that most people would rather not feel after finishing their race. Yet, it happens. But, why? What is happening out there on race day to cause some people to feel bad about their race? Now sometimes there are things that happen beyond anyone’s control, like a cancelled swim leg of a triathlon, or a weird mishap that result in twisting an ankle or something. But, beyond the unavoidable, how is disappointment avoidable?  Let’s take a quick look at that as the race season is coming full swing since the negative race experience usually comes due to a shallow, wrongly focused, and /or ill-timed race goal.

Pick a goal with some POP to it

That means to pick a goal that really means something to you and helps get you motivated to not only train, but to actually reach the goal during the race when the going get really tough. My favorite definition of endurance is “to hold firm within oneself”.  So, what are you holding firm to? That is the most important question any athlete of any age or level should know the answer to.  What’s it all for? Do you really care about what you are doing? Does the place, time or event matter enough to you to have that goal propel you through the turbulence times that come predictably and try to loosen your grip? So, the next time you decide on a goal of some kind, then be able to picture yourself  passionately holding firm to that driving force from within. If that is hard to imagine, pick a different goal that POPS out at you, grabs you and that you just can’t shake because it means that much to you.

Bring reality into focus

Be honest with where your current fitness is at or what your current life demands take out of you.  If you want to make a time prediction, then do some workouts before the race that may help you understand where you will actually be.  There are tons of pace charts and workouts that will help you know more about where to set the time goal if that is what matters to you.  And then you have to take into consideration what your life stresses are. It is okay to be at peak race fitness some years and not in others based on your how your life is going outside of exercise.  Be okay with altering your time goals if you just know that you are not ready to emotionally or physically give what you have in the past.  If you can’t handle that adjustment, then stay home.

This is also true about place goals. Reality is that you cannot control anyone but yourself in a race. So to say that you want to be top 10 in your age-group or top whatever can sometimes set you up to fail. This happens most often when people have done small events and then move up to bigger ones with more competition and have no idea what kind of competition is really out there. Now, I am not suggesting that picking a place goal is obsolete, but to really make it stick and not be disappointed, then consider getting to know better those you race against before making judgment. There are a lot of fast fishes in the sea and they may or may not be swimming in your school on race day.  Therefore, as you get to understand who is around, you may be able to broaden your goal to different scenarios like being top 5 in smaller races, but being happy with top 10 in bigger ones.

When the time is right, go for it.

What’s the rush? Too many people trying to go too far or do too much in a race too soon. Slow down!  Don’t speed up progress so fast you end up crashing in bright red flames. The daily exercise grind should be happening the rest of your life so let the bigger, faster, longer races come in their own time, not your time.  I have heard this best described as picking a goal that helps you establish a feeling of flow. Your next goal or race should be something that get you excited, fits in your life, challenges you, but doesn’t overwhelm you. If you keep all your athletic pursuit inside of the flow parameters then you will find that happy medium between pushing yourself without the race(or life) pushing you back.   Getting yourself into the right flow of things well set you up nicely on race day to accomplish the goal that is completely and totally within your realm to reach at that time

Rethink

Now is the time to rethink your race goals. When you do this, ask yourself the following, Does my goal really grab me? Is it realistic? And is it time to do this? If you answer no to any one of these three, then adjust your plan. You need to say yes to all 3 questions in order to put yourself in the best and most gratifying position possible on race day.  And if you answer the first two with a yes, but not the last, you are in good company. Sometimes you know you are passionate, you know you are capable, but you must be patient. Racing isn’t everything. Always a good thing to remember when you get to the starting line anyway.

What to say to yourself during the race–Race self talk article

“In the beginning, it’s hard to understand that the race is not against others but against that little voice in your head that tells you when to quit.” Charles Brenke

After all the preparation in training, the time comes to pin on the race number and herd yourself into the corral that leads to the starting line.  With a lump in the throat and a knot in the stomach, the starting gun finally is fired. And you are off! But, now what? What are you supposed to think while you go all that way? What is your plan when the going gets tough or something goes wrong? And most of all, are you going to really make it to wherever you are going?

The above questions are pretty common ones that run through an athlete’s head. So no, you’re not crazy for thinking them. And yes, there are ways to calm the troubled mind. There are many strategies that one can use to stay in the mental game. One of the most simple is to decide ahead of time what it is you ARE going to think while you are out on the race course.

You can choose what to tell yourself even in the worst of circumstances.  You just have to take some time before the race starts to actually imagine what your weaknesses are, what situations might come up to disrupt your experience and decide what to say to yourself to get through it all.  The key is to pick very simple phrases or sets of words. These predetermined thoughts should always be positive, focused on your process, focused on you operating in the present and helping you make progress. Below are some examples of some phrases or key words that you can use:

“Relax, breathe evenly”

“Make it as fluid and easy as possible”

“Run tall, lean forward, push”

“I will endure the discomfort. Be relaxed, be patient”

“I am not afraid”

“Eat enough, drink enough, do it now”

“I can race in these hard conditions, stay calm, be patient”

“Be a warrior”

“I am always moving forward”

“I can do it, I am tough enough to make it”

“I am here and I am finally free to be everything I have wanted to be.”

Plan ahead, face your fears and pick what mental phrases will work for you. All the emotional effort is worth it because it is like the opening quotation says,  “In the beginning, it’s hard to understand that the race is not against others but against that little voice in your head that tells you when to quit.” And knowing YOU, YOU are not a quitter!

Now is the time to practice your race morning nutrition!  Especially when training for any race that will be over an hour, it is a really good idea to try your race morning breakfast ritual before your long runs. For example, this Saturday – March 13th, is a teaser run (click for more info). We will have to Jordan River Parkway course set up for an 18-20 mile run. So, make the most of this, or any, long run to practice your race day strategies, including what you are going to eat for breakfast. The following article will help you understand what to eat before the “big day”. Let us know what works for you so others can give it a go. Oh, and if you need a review of what to eat during the long workout, check out our last post and our article on what to eat during the race, be it running, biking or triathlon.

After all the training leading up to your big event, the last mistake you want to make race morning is with your pre-race nutrition. There are some athletes who decide that they want to skip all the confusion and try not eating. While this may work

for a morning 5k, it gets more risky with a 10k and down-right nonsense for a half marathon or marathon. Several studies show that repeatedly show substantial increases in performance with proper fueling before an event.

In addition to increa

sing performance and topping of glycogen (energy) stores, a pre-race meal will also help avoid hunger, stabilize blood sugar (especially in those who are sugar sensitive), hydrate the body, leave your stomach empty and help prevent gastrointestinal distress when done correctly. So in other words, you’ll feel and perform better. The key is to customize your eating habit based on your weight, race distance and food sensitivities.

Here are some basic guidelines to follow on race morning:

1. Consume .5 to one gram of carbs per pound of body weight the morning of race. For longer races stick to one gram per pound. At least half of it should be solid food eaten no later than two hours before the race. The rest of the requirement can be taken in the form of a pre-race hydration drink (see below) up to 30 minutes prior to start time. There are some extra sensitive people that can only do liquids the morning and that’s fine (especially for short racing, less than 40 minutes, and high intensity racing). Some people carry a packet of gel to take 10 to 15 minutes before, if they feel they may need more.

2. Choose solid food that is low to moderate in glycemic value. This is a key factor that will help keep your blood sugar stable before and during the race. One reason some people feel hungry right before they start is due to their pre event breakfast being too high in simple sugars (sugar cereal, white breads, candy, etc.), which caused a hypoglycemic reaction. People seem to be more sensitive to this blood sugar drop on race day. With a lower glycemic meal, a steady stream of fuel will be released into the muscle during the first part of the race and allow your body to wait until later to use the other carbs you have stored up in the days before.

3. Avoid high fat and high protein meals. This will slow down the absorption of carbs too much and you’ll end up trying to race on a full stomach. Yuck! That would be a gastrointestinal disaster. Some “lighter” protein is fine in order to reduce the glycemic index of a meal and make it “stick.” Acceptable protein would be eggs or whey protein, which are both easily digestible.

4. Keep the fiber intake low. This would not be good time for a bean burrito. No explanation needed, eh?

5. Drink 12 to 24 ounces of fluid, stopping about 30 minutes before the race start. If you eat mostly solid food, then your fluid choice will be water. But for some athletes, some or all fluids will be in the form of a hydration drink.

What about bars and drinks? Based on the above guidelines, the most acceptable bars seem to be Cliff bars as they are specifically formulated to have a moderate glycemic index. However, some flavors seem to stabilize blood sugar better than others. Also, some people do well with some flavors of PowerBars. If you’re used to the bars with nuts and seeds (Probars), then that may be fine, too (see tip five above).

As far as pre-race hydration drinks, pick one that uses maltodextrin as the carb source. Some drink companies that do this are Endurox, Hammer, and Cytomax. No matter what brand you pick, make sure to add 40 grams of carbs to 16 ounces of water to get the right concentration of carbs that will absorb most effectively!

What about smoothies and meal replacement drinks? When you’re home, smoothies can be a great option. It’s easy to alter these to give you the whey protein and carbs you need and are used to. The thicker the smoothie, the more full you will feel if you’re trying to substitute one for a solid meal. Also, don’t add too many overripe fruits or high glycemic juices. As for products like Ensure, some people like them as long as they’re still meeting all carb needs.

What are some solid meal ideas? Applesauce, French toast, scrambled eggs and whole grain pancakes (not much syrup or butter), old-fashioned long cooking oatmeal served up to your liking (can be cooked the day before and heated in microwave), whole grain cereal with moderate amounts of protein and fiber, a low glycemic waffle/pancake mix from elite performance, and homemade whole grain muffins that have applesauce substituted for most of the oil.

Some of these homemade products can be made one to two days ahead and easily be taken with you when traveling. Keep products cool that have a lot of eggs. Also, IHOP and Denny’s do come in handy. You can even buy a breakfast the night before as long as there is a mini fridge and a microwave (not mandatory). Cold French toast is not that bad, actually.

Plan ahead and good luck! The easiest way to ensure that you will have what you need on race day is to plan ahead and be over prepared. Who cares if your pre-race stash of food is over planned? I’m sure you would rather not finish your food than not finish your race. So plan ahead, be prepared and have a great, energy filled time!

This article is also in our Library section you can view and download it here.

By Rhielle

Now that the marathon and half marathon season is drawing nigh, each of us has to ask ourselves, the inevitable question, “Do I have to take those things that my friends tell me are disgusting versions of vanilla frosting?”  As an employee at SLRC and a runner for 12 years, I can tell you that gels will help you climb the ominous brick wall that we literally run into near the end of the our events.  Luckily, I can also give you a little advice about what you can do to make the experience more pleasant.

What are gels/blocks/beans/etc?

These are little 100 calorie packs of energy that you eat throughout your race.  They replenish the glycogen storage that becomes depleted after your first hour of running.

When/How am I supposed to take them?

You should plan to get at least 50-75g of carbohydrate (energy) into your system each hour.  Depending on your body weight and your speed, you may need up to 100g/hour.  Each packet contains about 20g of carbohydrate so you should take at least 2-3 of them each hour after your first hour of running.  It usually takes about 15-30 min for the energy to hit your system so plan to take it about 20 minutes before you need it.  That means if you want energy to hit you at 60 min, you need to take a gel 40 min into your workout.  After your first one, you should keep eating at least one pack every 20-30 minutes thereafter.  However, for many runners that is not enough.  Some runners find that taking a gel every 15 minutes works best. Again, that depends on your weight and hard you are running. The harder you run, the more you will need.

Taking them water is essential!  Water will not only help get the stickiness out of your mouth (and sometime all over your face and hands) but it will also aid in the digestion of the gels so they don’t make you sick to your stomach and can speed up the process of the gel being absorbed into your system.  Additionally, it helps you stay hydrated.  There’s nothing bad about drinking water with these things, in fact, you really need to in order to feel your best.

What flavors/brands are the best?

Every runner has their own preference so all I can tell you is what I know based on my experience. Below is a list of the brands, their thickness, flavor content, and an extra tidbit about them.

Gu: Medium thickness, medium flavor, 11 flavors, includes Roctane- a new formula designed to make you feel like you have rocket boosters on

Powerbar Gel: Thin thickness, medium flavor, 7 different flavors, includes the tangerine flavor with 2x the caffeine.

Accel Gel: Thick thickness, medium flavor, 5 flavors, each gel includes some protein to aid in recovery while you are running as well as give you protein as an energy alternative.

Clif Shot: Thick thickness, medium flavor, 6 flavors, most popular at local, Utah events.

e-gel: Medium thickness, major flavor, 3 flavors, caffeine free but 50% larger than the regular gels at 150 calories.

Hammer Gel: Medium thickness, mild flavor, 9 flavors, the diabetic friendly gel and the easiest for beginners to start with.

ARE THERE ANY GEL ALTERNATIVES?

Yes, and they are becoming more and more popular.  Because gels can invoke the gag reflex or run right through the GI tract, many brands have come out with a gel alternative.  Be sure you are familiar with the package you are using because many of them have more than 100 calories and are designed to be used for longer events.

Clif Shot Bloks: The original gel alternative comes in 8 flavors and is more popular than its gel counterpart.  Although these are quite sticky and can end up stuck in your teeth, they are quite tasty and picking them out of your teeth may be just the distraction you need to get you to the next mile marker.  One package is 200 calories.  Take one block every 15-20 minutes.

Powerbar Energy Blasts: These tasty treats remind me of the gusher’s candies with a soft chewy outside and a gushing gel inside.  They come in four flavors and do not stick to the teeth.  Each pack is 190 calories so take one blast every 10-15 minutes.

Gu Chomps: These new creations are the brightest in flavor- almost tangy actually- and do not stick in your teeth.  They come in four flavors and 180 calorie packs.  Take one every 10-12 minutes.

Jelly Belly Sport Beans: This little treasure is the most popular gel alternative.  They are 100 calorie packs and since they now come in a re-closeable pouch, you can snack on them throughout your runs.  If you are ok with caffeine, I recommend the watermelon flavor!

Although there is a lot of info here about flavors and gels, the best thing you can do is experiment.  I like to keep my reactions to my gels in my training journal so the next time I go to buy a bunch of gels, I don’t make the same mistake twice.  Keep track of your opinion on the flavor, how it sits in your stomach, and how you felt once the run was over.  Most of all, experiment and enjoy!

Additional articles:

Long run and marathon nutrition

Hydration

Electrolytes

It was a balmy 120 degrees outside and I was getting ready to go for a run, when I received an email from my brother-in-law. I knew that he was big into triathlons, and the thought had crossed my mind, that I would like to do them as well. The only problem was that he was emailing me to convince me to do the new Ironman in St George. Not only was I not willing to commit to something of that scale, I was also half way through a deployment to the Middle East. Needless to say there were no places for me to swim or bike. The only thing that I did have going for me was that I had been a distance runner my whole life. After reading my brother-in-laws email, I decided that I was going to sign up for a triathlon that would take place several months after I returned home. My first race would be an Olympic distance at the Stansburry Triathlon…or so I thought. Six months had passed, and I was on my way home. Luckily, I was able to get my legs in decent cycling shape by finding some spin bikes on our post and I was able to log plenty of miles on the road (or treadmill, when the sandstorms would hit.) Now all I had to do was work on the swim.

As soon as I got home I went to the local pool, bought a membership and recruited a friend, who had been a competitive swimmer, to give me some swim lessons. Everything was coming together perfectly. I remember my first swim lesson like it was yesterday. My swim coaches first set of instructions was to swim an easy 200 yards to warm up. 200 yards? How hard could that be? I run 50 plus miles a week, I can swim 200 yards. With this unfounded confidence, I jumped in the water and set off to swim my “easy” 200 yard warm-up. I made it 50 yards (down and back in a 25 yard pool) before I started to flail in the water and grabbed the side of the pool. My friend laughed at me and said “You have a lot of work to do if you want to swim 1500 meters.” Later that night I emailed the race director and asked if I could change from the Olympic distance to the Sprint. My pride was shot and so was my goal of someday competing in an Ironman with my brother-in-law.

Thanks to the race director, I was able to switch distances and with a little help from my triathlon instructor at the University of Utah, I was feeling more confident in the water.Although I was feeling more confident, I had yet to swim the 750 meter distance without stopping. My coach assured me and told me that I would be just fine. I didn’t believe her.

Race day finally came, I had my wet suit, which I had yet to swim in (just one of many mistakes in my triathlon prep), and I was as ready as I was ever going to be. With all of the male competitors for the Sprint in the water, my nerves were on edge and the only thing I could think about was getting out of this water. The gun went off and it was “do or die” time, and hopefully there would be non of the latter. I was feeling great! For the first 100 meters, after that it all went downhill and a few minutes later I completely stopped swimming looked around for something to grab on to and was ready to call the whole thing off. I had been kicked, slapped and I am fairly certain that I swallowed half of the water in that lake. Nothing was going right, my form went out the window and my breathing pattern was all over the place. In that moment of doubt I saw a fellow competitor swim past me doing the breast stroke with a smile on his face. At that moment, nothing could have infuriated me more, and that was what I needed. I dropped my head back in the water, focused on my form and drug myself to the water exit. With a strong bike and run I actually did a lot better than I anticipated, but I still was not where I wanted to be. I knew that I wanted to compete on the Olympic level and someday the Ironman.

With my first triathlon under my belt I was ready to set a date for my first Olympic distance. I knew where I had gone wrong with my prep (or lack thereof) for the Sprint, and I was not going to let that happen with the Olympic. I focused on my swim, logged some serious rides on my bike and pounded myself into oblivion on the road and track. I had received some great advice from BJ and Guy, and Debbie helped me forge my legs for the run while I was in high school, so in my opinion I was ready to go.

Race day had finally arrived and I was ready this time, really ready. The gun went off and the good swimmers flew by me, but that was okay. I was going to swim my own race. I kept referring to something that I had heard from TJ Tollakson, “99 percent of life boils down to this one principal, DON’T PANIC!” With those wise words, and taking it one stroke at a time I was able to feel comfortable in the water and maintain a pace that I was fairly happy with.Aside from losing sight of the buoys on several occasions in the sun, I was happy with my performance. The bike went amazingly well, I was on schedule with my nutrition and hydration and I was just about to start my favorite event, the run. The heat had continued to climb throughout the day and by the time we got to the run; it was much hotter than I had anticipated. Thankfully, I was feeling fine and taking water as needed. Not wanting to get behind on my water intake, I forced myself to stop, yes stop, at all the water stops to take in water. I don’t care who you are, it is not easy to drink a cup of water while you are running.Even with those water stops, I posted a time in the 10K that I was very happy with. All-in-all, it was a great race. Thanks to proper preparation, advice and a lack of water in my lungs I was able to cross the finish line with a smile on my face.

Even though, I just briefly touched on the fact that I sought advice from experienced triathletes, I cannot stress the positive impact their advice had on my race enough. Simply asking someone what I should expect in the swim would have saved me a lot of strife during my first triathlon.Ask questions about anything and everything. If there is one thing that triathletes like more than the triathlon its self (and that includes their beloved bikes) it is talking about triathlon.Asking questions about what to expect, proper nutrition, hydration, equipment, etc will only help fill in any gaps you may have in your training regiment and not to mention the peace of mind that comes after picking an experienced triathletes brain for a few minutes.

Making the jump from Sprint to Olympic was not easy, it required a lot more time and a lot more focus, but it was totally worth it. Tune in next time to read about either my successful jump from the Olympic distance to the ½ Ironman or my obituary. Either way, it will be good reading.