Redemption Run

Such a beautiful morning, weather-wise, that I had to try to make up for the long run that I had wanted over the weekend.  The trails were soft but not too clingy so running was good.  I ran steady for the first hour then began to alternate in some hiking.  The prairie loops were great...sunny, soft but dry and not too windy.

I saw several other runners out today, but that's not surprising given the great conditions.  Because I intended to run so long today and wanting to minimize my distractions, I did not have a camera along for photos.  I carried my Ultimate Direction hand-held water bottle instead.  Good thing because I needed plenty of water today.

I was on the trails for the same amount of time as yesterday but covered over twice the distance.  Redemption was mine!

15 miles

And the fishermen return

The recent trend towards moderate weather and the ice out has resulted in a return of some of the regulars to the fishing holes along the trail.  Kinda nice to see, except they are often a source of the trash along the banks.

I diverted from the main trail several times today as I have again begun to search some of the deer paths for winter shed antlers.  I surprised myself last year by actually finding a couple sheds in different locations in the woods.

8 miles  most of it at a fast hike.

The Eagle Has Landed

Interesting how even with the switch back to Daylight Savings Time, our biorhythms remain much the same.  Although the clocks in our house read an hour later than usual, I settled down to run at nearly the same time as past days, according to the sun.

I was encouraged by how the run was going today.  While I cruised out to the Badlands area, I had spotted an American Bald Eagle flying along the river.  By staying close to the bluffs above the river I eventually found it resting in a tree and took time to get a few photos.  Unfortunately for me, I wasn't quick enough with the shutter to get a shot of it as it stretched its wings to again take flight.

My intent was get a longer run in today and concentrate on more running than walking.  The plan was working well except for my tendency to be distracted by trash along the trails, especially recyclable and redeemable containers.  So I took a few breaks to gather trash.  I am disappointed by how much trash can show up in such a short time on trails that I frequent almost every day.  The season lends itself to easy spotting of these cans and bottles.  Other than a few remaining leaves from last fall, there's not much cover for the trash to hide.

Today's haul

Before writing today's blog entry, I looked at the stats page and was totally blown away by a sudden increase in hits.  Most were on yesterday's post about how to make homemade energy gel.  It became apparent that the increase came from a link in George Zack's blog, Hang Nine. George has a very popular blog and generates a lot of traffic. Thanks for the mention GZ!  I have found the gel recipe to very economical and useful when running for long periods of time on trails.

12 miles running today with a two mile recovery walk. I had planned a possible 15 to 18 miles run but settled for the 12 due to the extra time I took for the cans and bottles. So 65 for the week, which surprised me because of the struggle I was encountering midweek with motivation and overall tiredness.  Next week I'll be sure to stretch my long run to my goal distance.

I Useta Could

More thoughts today about what I was able to do for training years ago.  I find myself thinking I should be able to train like I used to....useta coulda... but I just can't maintain the pace without additional recovery!!  It was very pleasant out and the run went well, less mud and more solid trails.

10  easy miles today with a couple miles of recovery walk after but planning for a bit longer and faster tomorrow.

How to make your own energy gel

Originally from ninelittlepiggies in RoadBikeReview Forums, I've made a few extra comments in red.

"You need to get the following ingredients:

Brew Store

Maltodextrin - Comes in many packages or bulk. Ranges from $2-5 a pound. Get this cheap as it is the main ingredient!

Citric Acid

Calcium Carbonate

Grocery Store (QFC) or similar bulk foods store

Fructose - Sold in bulk at QFC, get around 2 lbs, it'll last a long time.

Pectin

Sea Salt - Also found in bulk, you don't need much.

Flavor Extract  and perhaps Gin (optional for those using non-alcohol based flavor extracts) * I have learned a quick and easy way to flavor and color the gu is to simply use a half-teaspoon or so of your choice of powdered Kool-Aid or similar powder drink mix.

To package the GU efficiently, buy Collagen tubes from REI ($2 for a two pack). These seem to be the best way to carry GU into the mountains and in jersey pockets. The following proportions will make one Collagen tube perfectly.  The small polyethylene flasks from Gu, FuelBelt, Ultimate, or Hammer Gel are easy to find and hold close to the equivalent of 5 commercially purchased foil packets.

Supplement Store:

Branched chain amino acids (all three): These are SO important and pretty expensive. Grind them up in a mortar and pestle.          I haven’t tried these yet.

PREPARATION:

200 mL - Maltodextrin
50 mL - Fructose
100 mL - Water

Carefully measure out the above ingredients, and mix them together lightly. Bring the water to steaming hot and slowly whisk in the maltodextrin/fructose mix. Once this is done, mix in a "pinch" of Citric acid, calcium carbonate, sea salt, and pectin. Whisk on med heat until all the lumps are gone.  I've been using the microwave but you need to be sure it gets hot enough to help break up the lumps.  

Now you are ready to add your flavor of choice. Almond extract is a staple flavor, but one can get more creative! I’ve tried a Pina Colada with pineapple and coconut flavorings. Make sure that you add some gin if you are not using an alcohol based extract less your GU have a nasty after taste! (Again remember that Kool-Aid works quite well.)  I then pour into the poly flasks to cool a short while before storing in the fridge for use the next morning.

The proportions I have found to work have been producing "stable" liquidy GU. Even slight variations in the ratio of maltodextrin to water cause major differences in the consistency of the GU. A little too much water and your have a clear sugary liquid, not enough and you'll have GU-chew! Below I have grabbed the ingredients list for authentic GU off their website. I have chosen to leave out some of the harder to find ingredients that they use like amino acids, who knows whether they make a difference. Read the marketing and come to your own conclusion!

I started using this recipe for mountaineering. It works very well on my 24 hour climbing marathons. One other thing that really helps is chocolate covered espresso beans. Caffeine releases fatty acids into your bloodstream with offers 9 kcal of energy/g as compared to 4 kcal from protein and carbs (there is a little more to this story, but I won't bore you with the biochemistry.)

I hope this helps,
Doug (ninelittlepiggies)"


from the Gu website...gel ingredients:

Maltodextrin (Glucose Polymers), Filtered Water, Fructose, GU Amino Acid Blend (Leucine, Valine, Isoleucine, Histidine), Potassium And Sodium Citrate, GU Antioxidant Blend (Natural Vitamin E And Vitamin C), Sea Salt, Citric Acid, Calcium Carbonate, Sodium Benzoate, Potassium Sorbate, GU Herbal Blend [Chamomile, Cola Nut (Has Caffeine), Ginger], Fumaric Acid, Pectin

Gluten-free. Dairy-free. With ~20mg of caffeine.

Still Recharging

Not quite ready to ramp up on trails so took the day off all together.  Instead, my wife and I drove off across the sunny country-side to check out the bulk foods store in Osage.  I was able to restock some fructose for my home-made gel and finally found some crystallized ginger that I've been hearing helps digestion and makes a good snack besides.  There's a wide variety to their selection such as quinoa, all kinds of different flours, dried fruits, spices, salts, etc.

Perhaps I'll find a way to post the gel recipe that I use...it really helps save money over purchasing the individual packets at the stores.  I have plenty of maltodextrin for the mix because I scored a 50# bag at a very good price. In fact, many of the ingredients needed for the gel are available here at the Kountry Kupboard.

Lunch was a real treat as we ventured into Ecky's Old-Fashioned Ice Cream Shoppe for an excellent malt with a Big Bopper maid-rite and Cath had the daily special...chili with cornbread and honey!  Very good lunch.

1 mile recovery walk

Maintenance.

The trails are coming back around although there is still some ice and quite a lot of mud.  A few stretches were normal today and some dry back in the woods.  I didn't get out very early today as I was taking the car in for maintenance.  I had lots of time to think about all that we need to fit into a day and how I thought I'd be loaded with time after I retired...but I think I'll write some of those thoughts in a future blog entry.

Speaking of time.  The car was getting maintenance performed today and I feel that that's about all I'm accomplishing with training this week...maintenance with little or no progress.  I hope that this is temporary and I can build again later.

one reason that mountain bikes are asked to be restricted during certain types of weather

10 miles