Long Mount Tom & Rock Valley M+M Loop

Long run on my day off, from the Oxbow to Rt. 202 and back, for about 22 miles and approx. 4000' of climbing. Unfortunately, the USGS isn't serving up elevations for my new routes, so no exact elevation data. I have to go buy fuel, lame. An ultra-event is officially on my schedule, Pisgah 50K, and I'm going to modify my fueling during training. Instead of this Perpetuem mix I've been using, my fuel will include FOOD! I'm stashing gels and a PB+J on the route today, possibly a banana. Escarpment went well with the perpetuem, but I also used a couple gels and appreciated how easy they were to simply slurp and go. Perpetuem, carried as a dry powder, has to be mixed and drank over a period of time. When I need calories, I want them in my belly immediately.

 

Also, I'm not convinced anymore by the arguments for protein on the run. What is needed by the body is a complete amino acid supply to build protein from. I was recently reminded of this by one of Tim VanOrden's videos, and plan to incorporate more these ideas into my fueling/eating strategies on long runs. He's run all the Mountain races and there are great posts detailing the courses at that youtube link. For about 6 years, I was vegetarian/vegan. The motivations were purely nutritional and based on my needs as a student getting little sleep and working long sedentary hours. These approaches benefit mostly by keeping digestion simple and efficient, a major issue in distance running.

Incidentally, Escarpment was awesome. Toughest terrain I have encountered, no contest. Half way through the 30k, we had a sudden Thunderstorm, complete with 1/4 inch hailstones, high winds, and flash flooding from the torrential downpour. Lighning struck continuously, and near enough to split your eardrums. A tree was struck yards from an aid station, the volunteers were nearly scared to death. I've been saying, it was a blast. The lightning was so close and so frightening, I just started hooting a sort of 'Yee-haw!' each time it struck to counter-act the fear. This got my adrenaline pumping and I passed several people in the last few miles. Managing my fuel well, I had plenty of energy for a darn good race in some of the worst possible circumstances.