Using things as other things

I'm nothing if not resourceful, and particularly like to get my money's worth from things. I'm stingy to a fault so will use things until they break, and have to rely on my wife to tell me when the holes in my shorts are getting a little too indecent. I'm especially happy when I can squeeze out extra use from some of the bits and pieces that I have hanging around in my box of random running crap, particularly when it's far and away from the initial usage intended by the manufacturer. So here are 5 things that I find incredibly useful when I run, but whose use was never the intended purpose:

1: Golf balls are great for injuries

This one isn't a particularly novel one, and I'm sure that we all do this regularly. Golf balls are handy little buggers for getting into those hard to reach areas for a bit of self-massage (ooh er missus). In particular, they work well at getting stuck into the hard-to-reach plantar fascia inside your arch when it's tight, but can also serve as a surprisingly brutal alternative to foam rolling tough to reach tissue like your IT band. I haven't played golf in a while, but you can usually still find a couple of balls hanging around our house (although that might just mean that my shorts need replacing...).

2: Compeed makes a great nipple guard

If you're a runner, you've probably used Compeed before. It's like a puncture repair kit for runners, and can be slapped onto a hot spot or blister to offer a bit of protection when you've still got miles left to go. They're pretty darn sticky, and I've ended up with the damn things stuck to my foot for weeks after an event before (if you've stuck it over a popped blister, I recommended getting it off as soon as you're done, otherwise the smell when you finally do take it off can be a little pungent). I don't often get blisters these days (see number 3), but still keep them on standby for emergencies. Plus I have found an alternative use for them.

Their incredible stickiness lends themselves perfectly to covering my nipples on long runs. I've never had bleeding nipples from running (although I have come close before), but it certainly doesn't look like a barrel of laughs. The problem that I have is that under my running gear I am basically a slightly less groomed version of Chewbacca. Hairy nipples (if ever there was an argument against intelligent design, it was nipple hair...) do not lend themselves particularly well to the bonding of moderately adhesive things like plasters. However, the iron-like grip of Compeed can deal with even the most bouffant of chest wigs, and will easily last me over a 100 mile race. And the following week or so. I get funny looks at the swimming pool.

It's GU to TORQ

Nutrition is a pretty important part of ultra-running. Whilst you can get used to running without eating too much by becoming a more efficient fat burner, for races and for optimum performance you really need to stoke the fire as you go. In my training I tend to rely on fat-burning, largely because gels are frigging expensive, and I'm too cheap to buy them if I can help it. So I very rarely eat anything on my runs, even on my long (25-30ish miles) ones.

But even the most efficient fat-burner still needs carbs to function - "fat burns in a carbohydrate fire" I believe is the cliché that is bandied around. For this reason, I tend to use gels when I race, and will often make my way through a 100 miler predominantly on these, with the odd bit of fruit thrown in at the aid stations. I don't go too nuts; for instance I probably had 5 gels in 8 hours at the recent SDW50 - so about 1 every hour and a half. This works out fine for me, and gives me the energy I need to keep going, without causing major stomach-related issues or borderline diabetes.

Below is a little review of the two main brand of gels that I use - TORQ and GU. I don't really know the ins and outs of physiology and metabolism (I believe that the head-bone is connected to the arm-bone?), so I won't go too much into the "sciencey" side of things. The main thing that I care about is how they taste and how easy they are to eat while running. It's simply a way of getting energy into my face at the end of the day. Beyond that, I don't notice a huge difference between them; I know what I like and what works for me after a few years of trying various things out and failing miserably every now and then. I'll pretty much eat anything I'm given, but these are the ones that I will go for if given the choice.

Keep it stupid, simple

I can't help but think sometimes that we have a habit of over-complicating things. Take for instance this natty little device - the SmartFork. For the low, low price of $100 (plus shipping, plus a $10 yearly protection plan), you can get hold of the latest innovation in food-mouth-interface devices. Have you ever looked at your fork and thought, "well, it does poke food and let me cram it into my gaping maw - but it doesn't have bluetooth"? Well then this is the device for you! Okay, so the idea is that it is used to aid in weight loss, and allows you to track what you eat and how fast you eat it. In particular, it encourages you to slow down to allow your body's natural "I'm full" message to actually reach your brain, before you pile in another pie.

I'm sure that conceptually it is a useful product. I just can't help but think that it's massively over-complicating a relatively simple (although obviously very important) issue. For $99 less you could just buy a smaller plate so that you don't overdo the serving sizes. Or just, y'know, slow down when you eat. Do you need a glowing fork to do that?

But this got me thinking about how we, as a species, like to over-complicate things. "There's an app for that" - there's a worrying verisimilitude to that statement these days. Despite what old people might tell you, kids these days probably aren't dumber than in the good 'ol days. A well-supported phenomenon known as the Flynn Effect (after it's main proponent James Flynn) suggests that our overall intelligence is actually increasing by about 3 points a decade. When people from different generations take older version of IQ tests (as well as tests in semantics, cognition, memory, etc), they always do better than previous generations. The most plausible reason for this effect is the increase in complexity in our lives since the dawn of the industrial age - kidz [sic] today need to be aware of much more stuff (even useless stuff like Twitter) than people from past generations. There's a good TED talk on the subject from James Flynn last year here.

How to Build a Tyre Pull

If like me you live in a flat area of the country, you might find it difficult to train for running in the hills. Whilst I get out to hiller terrain as often as I can, it is useful to have a method for building up climbing muscles on a day to day basis. One possibility that was suggested to me was to use a tyre pull; running while pulling a tyre along the ground behind you to increase the resistance as you run. I thought it might be useful to anybody else looking to do this if I put up step by step instructions for how I put mine together. I hope these are useful to somebody! I used Marshall Ulrich's blog post as a starting point, but simplified things a little. But check out his post for a good run down of other reasons why running with a tyre is a great way to build up your training (despite looking a bit strange to passers by). 

What you will need:

1. 1x Tyre: You should be able to get one from a local garage for free. They have to pay to get rid of them so shouldn't mind you taking one away. I got two; a big one and a smaller one. That way I can switch between the two depending on how much resistance I want.
2. 1x Weightlifting Belt: I got a cheap one from Sports Direct for less than a tenner. Make sure you get a strong one with some padding, and make sure it is quite wide to provide adequate lumbar support.
3. Thin Bungee Cord (about 4 ft): Available from any hardware stores. This should be quite stiff, but provides some give for when the tyre catches on things as you run.
4. Nylon Rope (about 8 ft): Available from any hardware store. I just got the widest that I could find.
5. 1x Carabiner: Available from any hardware store.  

A) Any old tyre will do. The bigger and heavier it is, the more resistance it will give you. B) Everything is connected together with a carabiner, with a length of rope going to the tyre and a length of flexible bungee rope going to the weight belt. C) A wide weight lifting belt is best to provide adequate lumbar support.

Adding GPS Routes to Your Garmin

While many trail races are marked to some degree, it is all too easy to get lost which can throw your race plans completely out of the window. When racing for a position, I don't really want to have to be checking a map every 5 minutes. Ideally, recceing the route is the best way to be sure of avoiding any geographical incongruities, but this isn't always possible.

An alternative that I have found to work is to plot the route out on Google Earth, and add it onto my Garmin watch so that I have it available for a quick look while running. This post is just a quick "How To" in case you want to try something similar. Here I focus on Garmins, so if you use anything else you will need to work out how to get the file onto your device on your own I'm afraid!

Step 1: Create the route on Google Earth

Google Earth is a pretty great tool and allows you to view the terrain overhead from Google's secret military satellites. It's fantastic for making out paths and things, especially when used in conjunction with OS Maps and things like that. Once you've used it a few times, you get used to working out where the field boundaries are and which routes are tracks that you can run across. Working out which is the path you are looking for is half the fun!

This is Google Earth. They are watching you...

Stuff you need to run an ultra

I'm pretty new to this whole ultra running malarchy, but one thing that I seem to have done quite well with in my short time running is my kit. More so than with shorter distances, choosing the right kit for you is incredibly important if you want to complete your run in the most comfortable and safe way possible. If you've ever had a blister, you know how annoying and painful it can be. Now imagine running 90 miles on it (yep, I've done that). But blisters don't have to happen if you find the right combination of footwear. Ever been caught up a mountain in shorts and a t-shirt and it starts snowing (yep, I've done that too)? Should probably have prepared for the weather turning. 

I often see the same questions being asked by people looking to get into the sport; "Which shoes/socks/bag/jacket/etc. should I use?". In my opinion, the answer to all of these questions is very simple; "Whatever works for you". Everybody is different and what works for one person may not work for another. I have bought several items on the recommendation of people telling me they were perfect for what I needed, only to find that they really did not work for me. But it's no biggy - I just tried something else. Eventually you will find something that does exactly what you need.

Personally, I am generally something of a frugal (read "stingy") runner, so I try and find cheap equipment that does the job where possible. Also, once I find something that works I pretty much stick to it; "If it ain't broke..." and all that. I thought that I would do this post to go through some of the kit that I use, but concentrate more on my reasons for choosing the kit that I use (which hopefully will help if you are trying to decide what you are looking for), rather than what I actually use. 

Lessons learned

Well, I think that now seems to be as good a time as any for this retrospective of my first season as an ultrarunner. With my final race of the year out of the way, I can look back over my achievements this year and take stock. And cor blimey, what a year it was!

Now I say "year", but really I have only been involved in this ultrarunning malarkey for about 7 months, so I'm not even sure I can legitimately call this a season, but no matter. Just to recap, my descent into the world of ultrarunning began in April, when I ran the Virgin London Marathon, but decided to make it a bit more interesting by tacking on a 90 mile warm-down run at the end. I was attempting to raise more funds for the Epilepsy Society (who helped my Mum when I was first diagnosed with epilepsy myself) and figured something this crazy would get me some additional exposure. Little did I know quite how much exposure it would give me! This was great for the charity, as epilepsy remains somewhat of a taboo subject for some people. It was incredibly odd for me though...

I thought I was being crazy doing something like this, but it turned out that there was a whole sub-culture of athletes out there doing things like this on a regular basis. And I wanted in! I ran my first ultra in June at the Shires and Spires 35 mile ultra in Northamptonshire. Well I say 35 miles. I think I actually ran about 42 miles! It turns out that navigation is not my strong suit... But the true ultras are those of 100 miles or more, and I was interested to see how quickly I could run the distance. It took me 29 hours to cover ~120 miles in April, but that was not done as a race. I wondered if I could do better. At the last minute, I entered the South Downs Way 100 mile Ultra in July, which passes close to my parents' house in Portsmouth (my Dad even came out in the middle of the night to pace me for a section towards to the end). I completed it in 22:04, coming in 5th overall. Not bad, even despite my Dad's best efforts to take me the wrong way - I guess bad navigation is in the genes!