Saturday, 12 April 2014

Billy no mates

Tomorrow sees the Sara Killey Memorial Walk and it is used by quite a few walkers as an early test of  their fitness and stamina prior to the big day in June. Starting at Peel fire station, the race more or less exactly follows the Parish Walk route until it finishes at Ramsey fire station exactly 50k (31.07 miles) later. This race gives a good indication of exactly where you are physically and mentally and it gives you a good mark in the sand for the rest of your training. It also allows competitors who intend to perhaps go beyond Peel in the Parish the chance to try out different foods and drinks on a walk which is longer than they would normally do in training. Getting the correct nutrition for your own needs is a vital component in everyone's preparation for any endurance event and one which is unfortunately sometimes overlooked.
In 2010, I was concerned that in the previous three Parish Walks, after around 15 or 17 miles, my legs would begin to feel heavy and it became a struggle to keep the same pace going. After eating more food, I would pick up again and by the time I got to the Round Table crossroads, I'd be fine again. There seemed to be no rhyme or reason that this should happen to me because I had been eating foods with a low glycaemic index such as banana and pasta.
The GI value of a food is an indication of how quickly or slowly the energy from that food is released into the body so it can be used as fuel by the muscles. 
I went to see a nutritionist for some advice because most of what I knew about sports nutrition (which wasn't much) was passed to me through talking to others and everyone's requirements are different.
When I first got into walking, I remember asking Alan Callow what I should eat when doing the Parish Walk expecting him to reveal the name of the secret elixir which powered Robbie Callister year after year. Disappointingly, he said I would have to try different things to see which ones worked for me. Gutted.
From the information I gave to the nutritionist about what I ate when training, she told me that I was eating all the wrong types of food! This came as a complete shock to me as I was eating the same as everyone else. She then went on to say that rather than slow release foods like porridge, crisps and banana, I should be eating the opposite, high GI foods. Her reasoning for this was that because my average pace was high, I needed the energy from the food I ate straight away rather than ½ an hour later. This made total sense to me once it was pointed out and it changed my whole approach when packing the car on Parish eve. Now I have things like watermelon, dates, sugar puffs (yes, really), jam sarnies and figs. Not natural bed fellows usually, but perfectly acceptable for one day in June!

As all the usual training suspects are doing this walk tomorrow and I'm not, I went out on my own this morning. I headed out through Onchan, turned left at the top of Whitebridge and on towards Glen Roy. From Glen Roy, down to Laxey, then back towards Douglas via Groudle Road. Just a bit over 18 miles in total.
On Bhaldoon Road, I spotted this public information feature on someone's verge which made me
laugh.
Fairly self explanatory. There must be an excess of dog eggs in the Laxey area.

In January, I watched all 62 episodes of Breaking Bad via Netflix. What a wonderful invention! I can highly recommend this show and, Game of Thrones notwithstanding, is by far the best thing on tv in a long, long time. There was also some fantastic music on the show some of which I have downloaded and it was this I was listening to this morning whilst I was training.
I don't usually use headphones as I find it more of a distraction than helpful however, I enjoyed myself this morning.
Current favourite tune from the show is Bonfire by Knife Party. Absolute class and needs to be loud.


Check out the Glycaemic Index for ideas for other foods you can try in training. Unfortunately, none of them leap out at you and say 'eat me' however, as far as energy is concerned, they serve a purpose.

Good luck to those taking part in the Sara Killey tomorrow!
 


2 comments:

Phil M said...

Really interested to hear your thoughts about nutrition and what you eat during the Parish. It sounds like you generally eat just the high GI food like sugar, etc. and don't eat much 'proper food'. That seems to be completely against the conventional wisdom for ultra distance walkers and runners and is much closer to what is accepted best practise for shorter, marathon distance events. Clearly it works for you. Your blog has really made me think about what I will eat in June. In my previous 2 finishes, I've tried to eat as much low GI as I can and only resorted to high GI towards the end when I couldn't stomach anything else.

Great blog by the way. I've really enjoyed reading it.

Unknown said...

Re-reading the post, I should have added that, in addition to high GI foodstuffs, I supplemented my food intake with other 'ordinary' foods like chicken noodle soup, jam sandwiches and malt loaf for example. These would be lower GI.
One of the problems with low GI and which is the whole ethos of the 'Fuller for Longer' range of foods available these days, is that you don't feel hungry and subsequently don't feel the need/urge to eat. This is when you can easily run out of fuel and this is what was happening to me in the first 15 or so miles of those early PWs.