Letter From The Front

Hut 12,
The Penge Salient
South Eastern Front
January 2012

10 Day Log: 49.6 miles - 7 hours 35 mins

Dearest Samantha;
I am sorry that it has taken me so long to write, but we have been enduring the most ghastly winter. It is the cold Sam, an unceasing and insidious cold which has already cost us Crickson and Smart who went Blighty One with terrible frostbite. On top of that we have no pens and so I am writing this to you using Crickson's finger which he gave me before he left. All in all, I must say that the last 9 days have been quite bleak old thing. Yet still they make us run.

Friday, 18th January
Slated to go for a 7 mile tempo run round ▒▒▒▒▒▒e. Set out in to a fresh winter morning at 07:30 but the weather rapidly deteriorated and by the time I had finished, I was running through two inches of snow.
Thought it was actually quite jolly. What a fool I was.

Sunday, 20th January
Snow has gotten worse. Most of our supply lines have been cut off and people are panic buying in Waitrose like they do on Christmas Eve. I looked in the log and saw 17 miles next to my name yet through the despair I could feel my upper lip annealing as I pulled on my shoes - this is how we conquered half the globe Sam. Two times round the b▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒n, and running on icy sand, but I did it; by the grace of Chaka Khan I did it.

Wednesday, 23rd January
I can hardly write today Sam. The reduction in traction has taken its toll. 
I have just got back from 6 miles of 1km intervals and it was simply horrid.
Ice still there, snow still there and Sunday's sly 17 had taken a bigger chunk from me than I thought.
500m in to the first interval I noticed something was awry when I found that I could not make my legs go fast enough. Sure enough, some b▒▒▒▒▒▒ had replaced them with bully beef. 
As I completed the second interval, I realised that my bully beef was slowly turning to Jell-O.
Just as I could not see how I was going to get though another step, let alone two more repeats, my iPhone stopped working like the capricious little s▒▒▒ it is and so I was left on my own in no man's land with no Def Leppard. But I could not fail Sam: I set my face in to a primeval grimace of furious spleen and set off on the third repeat on the ice like Bambi with rabies. As I descended in to a berserk madness, I forged myself onward with the old regiment's marching song 'F▒▒▒ ▒▒▒ you ▒▒▒▒▒▒g ▒▒▒▒' which was spat with venom at trees, lamposts, bus stops and accidentally one slightly aghast woman round a corner. There are always casualties in war Sam.
After completing the last interval on screaming Jell-O sticks, I returned with mission accomplished, but I had paid my dues, been through the wringer and its memory will long be with me.

Friday, 25th January
6 miles, very little snow, still having flashbacks from Wednesday.

Sunday, 27th January
Woke to rain. There was no snow and no ice but there was rain with a brisk and gusting wind.
But then, like a spell breaking, the clouds rolled away to reveal a most beautiful blue, English sky and I knew that it was today that I was going over the top, Sam. 3 miles over the top to be precise.
The first 17 miles were fine, but in mile 18 and after 3 years apart, I once again came face to face with Herr Doktor von Marathon when Mr. Glycogen checked his cupboards and found that he had mistakenly wandered in to Mrs. Hubbard's and she was still panic buying in Waitrose.
My Central Nervous System had run a stock check, found that someone had clumsily left the tap on and that the Carb tank was nearly empty necessitating an enforced shut down of all non-essential activity.
But I pushed on and through, although I felt none too damn clever for the next two days I can tell you.
This is a long race Sam but one we must run so chin chin and remember to pour some sugar on me old thing.
Your faithful &tc.

Iain (ATP Barred)




29thJanuary
\Telegram#from#The#Office#of#Lady#S#Cosgrove#Cosgrove#Hall#Bucks

dear sir STOP no one here has the slightest idea who you are STOP please refrain from writing STOP we have informed the police STOP

Bonus Points For Guessing...

...where I ran to yesterday!

Correct! It's the Cutty Sark. The Cutty Sark is almost exactly 7 miles from our front door along the flattest and most picturesque route I have found so far. The Waterlink Way is one of my regular routes for long runs, going straight out and back and adding extra distance by going further before turning back. I've now done the whole Way twice, the first time accompanied by my good (if not slightly mad) friend Rebecca visiting from Ireland. We chatted the whole way which was quite a revelation for me since I didn't think I could talk and run at the same time and those 2.5 hours flew by. The second completion was yesterday and my longest run so far at 15 miles. I wasn't feeling top notch to start and only really felt good after 6 miles. The 10-mile blister kicked in as usual and the following 5 miles were a struggle, especially the loop I had to add on to make the distance. I guess that's the way it goes sometimes but finish it I did.

Before setting out I made two further Go Go Gu (GGG) formulations to test. The first was the original, heated gently to drive off some water and the second was one mashed banana plus 12g Whole Earth crunchy peanut butter. I also tried an experimental delivery system (sounds flash huh!) consisting of a disposable piping bag with a small hole snipped off the narrow end and sealed with sellotape and folded and clipped at the wide end. My findings if anyone's interested are as follows:

• GGG #1 heated almost fits in one medium GoToob, but not quite - more work needed
• GGG #1 heated requires more chewing though drawing breath whilst eating is easier and less likely to dribble over oneself
• GGG #2 is really tasty! 
• GGG #2 has greater quantity and took nearly a mile to get down
• GGG #2 needs smooth peanut butter. Chewing nuts while going along feels like a choking hazard!
• The piping bag delivery was awesome though didn't feel terribly robust

GGG #2 is really nice and at around 150 calories I think it's a good addition to my 'natural energy gel' arsenal. I may add a smidge more peanut butter and divide the mixture in half to make two 'gel' doses next time. I also realised that I ought to try shop-bought gels for at least one run to remind myself what the comparison is like. Next test: banana and jam.

'Go Go Gu!' - The Natural Energy Gel Substitute

I have been experimenting with taking on carbs during my long runs since I started running over 8 miles at a stretch - the proper science indicates that it enhances performance; Alison science says that it makes sure I can make it to the end.

A popular method of achieving this is by ingesting one or more of the myriad of carb gels available, predominately wrapped in day-glo packets containing all sorts of un-pronounceable chemicals which the fantastic www.energygelcentral.com calls 'marketing fluff'. The more I read, the more confused I became as to which was the best gel and as I generally prefer the natural route to nutrition I've decided to try and make my own carb gel substitute. And it shall be known as 'Go Go Gu'!

There are several resources suggesting recipes to replicate the branded gels based on combining two or more types of carbohydrate e.g. maltodextrin, dextrose and fructose so that the body can process more carbs overall (click here for the science) plus something to make it taste nice, for example: fruit purée, lemon juice or vanilla. 

These recipes are usually an economical endeavour aiming to replicate a shop-bought energy gel which can be over £1 a go (and you need several per long run). I didn't really want to shell out on sacks of sugary chemicals from the off so I narrowed my research with a more natural theme and came across this simple statement:

'Bananas are a naturally efficient and convenient food for runners to use as fuel. Their high carbohydrate content makes them good sources of energy. They're rich in potassium and magnesium, minerals that runners lose as they sweat. They also have chemical properties that help control stomach pain from nerves and reduce the risk of stomach upsets'

And so the humble banana is not only the perfect running fuel but the average shop-bought energy gel has around 100 calories and an average sized banana is roughly 95 calories - uncanny! 

Carrying four bananas in some bespoke ammo belt however, seems impractical and even if I could, I still haven't mastered the run-chew-breathe-at-the-same-time trick. 

To overcome these issues, mushing it up seemed like the best way to make it easily ingestible and gel-like and to add interest, viscosity, a few extra calories and presumably a different carb source (glucose vs. natural fructose in the banana), I added a heaped teaspoon of Creme de Marron (chestnut spread with vanilla) that I found in France. 

It tasted great!

My Go Go Gu (GGG) was initially dispensed from a small plastic container which proved tricky to use mid-run. I subsequently came across a suggestion on a mountain bike forum which advocated silicone tubes - only available in the UK from Lakeland. With them, it is possible to squeeze my GGG (Formula #1) into my mouth whilst running, not have to chew very much and wash it down with a sip of water. 

As it stands, I'm happy with Formula #1 but it takes up too much volume - one small GoToob plus one medium GoToob currently delivers only one banana-dose, and as I might need 4-6 doses for the marathon I am going to experiment with dehydrating the mix by cooking gently and/or substituting some banana for nut butter and honey to increase its energy by volume. 

If only I could find someone extolling the virtues of cake with tea as healthy running fuel... all I'd need would be a blender and my Camelbak :)
Yum!