Serious Running Blog

Here’s how Hawaiian Shirt Ray prepared for the Twin Mountain Trudge Trail Race.

How I Prepared for the Trudge

Food

I knew what I was signing up for when I entered the Trudge again this year.  Beacuse I knew I was in for a long tough day I started out eating a hearty breakfast of:  2 breakfast burritos, a large smoothie, banana bread (see my banana bread recipe), and a few cups of coffee.  For the race I had packed two chicken sandwiches, two chicken and rice burritos, pretzels, and granola bars.  Plus, I planned on eating hot soup at the start/finish aid station before running my second lap.

Hydration

For hydration I carried 80 ounces of energy drink on each lap.  Yes, that is a total of 160 ounces for a 22 mile race.  My plan for the event was to drink the entire 80 ounces each lap.  This event is a Trudge and it takes double if not more effort to run the same distance on dry trails.

What some people do not realize is that when it is is cold outside you still need to drink and eat as much as you would during a warmer day.  For distance runners, dehydration can complicate and accelerate the onset of hypothermia.  Remember, that when the temperature outdoors is lower than your body temperature, you will give up heat to the environment.  Your natural metabolism is usually enough to maintain your core body temperature.  However, when conditions become extreme your body’s metabolism may not be able to protect you from heat lose.  The result is hypothermia.  Staying hydrated helps your natural metabolism to regulate your body’s temperature (see my story Cold Weather Running).

Gear

I came ready for any conditions.  I signed up for two laps and I came prepared to run nothing less than two laps.  Once I was at the start/finish line I assessed what gear I was going to take with me on each loop.

Here is what I took:  a running backpack with a hydration system, arm warmers, neck gaiter, ear warmers, extra wool hat, chapstick, salt tablets, ginger, Tums, Imodium tablets, Acetaminophen (not Ibuprofen), toilet paper, plastic rain poncho, sunglasses, Photo ID, long sleeve wicking shirt, wicking vest, wind jacket, ski poles, Gore-Tex jacket, headlamp with fresh batteries, and a plastic bag to put my clothes in to keep them dry.

Yes, I carried all that gear plus my food and water.

What I Wore

A Hawaiian Shirt; heck it’s an extra layer (fashionable, not too functional), a long sleeve wicking shirt, a long sleeve resistant full frontal zipper jersey, wicking underwear, mittens, running tights, over the tights a waterproof and windproof shell, running shoes, neoprene socks, neoprene shoe covers, hiking gaiters, and micro spikes.

Read more tomorrow to find out why Hawaiian Shirt Ray was glad he had all this gear.

Tags: Twin Mountain Trudge

This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 25th, 2011 at 10:52 am and is filed under Events, gear, trail running, training. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.