Ultra Disco Stu's Primal Energy Bar

Fuel for going Primal.....

So if you can't eat gels, GUs, sugary sports drinks, energy bars, highly processed chocolate, flapjacks, jelly beans etc then what can you eat to fuel your long runs (+30 miles). In theory you don't need to eat at all as your body adapts on the Paleo/primal diet to become the ultimate fat burning machine. And certainly you can eat WAY less than someone relying on a carb loading and topping up strategy. However this is no reason not to reward yourself on a run with a little primal treat to keep the fires burning brightly.

And to do this I found a great recipe on the interweb which I've slightly adapted - So I give you Ultra Disco Stu's Primal Energy Bars:

Ingredients:

2 cups raw almonds (skin on)
1/2 cup ground flax seeds
1/2 cup of pumpkin seeds
1/2 cup sultanas
1/4 cup dried blueberries
1/2 cup shredded unsweetened coconut
1/3 cup almond butter
1/2 cup melted coconut oil
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. sea salt
3 tbsp. honey or maple syrup
4 ounces of crushed dark chocolate (go for highest % coco you can get - 85% is perfect!)

Instructions:

Wizz the almonds, seeds, dried fruit, and coconut in the food processor until they are coarsely ground. Add almond butter, salt and mix. In a small saucepan, melt coconut oil over low heat until it becomes liquid. Stir in honey/maple syrup and vanilla extract. Combine the melted coconut oil with the nuts and fruit, and then add the dark chocolate chunks last working with a few pulses in the food processor until it forms a coarse moist mixture.

Spoon the mixture into the 8 x 8 inch baking dish, letting it chill for 1 hour in the refrigerator. Easy!! Cut into bars, then wrap individual bars in greaseproof paper. Store in fridge for weeks! Yields about 16 bars but can easily reduce or increase quanitities to make more or less.

ENJOY!!

WSER Training and Paleo diet

Its been a while since my last post. However this is not because nothing eventful has happened in the last month or so. Quite the opposite is TRUE actually. I haven't stopped and continue to enjoy my most consistent training period ever. From the 31 December i have maintained my weekly average mileage of 50 miles (49 to be exact but I'm rounded up which is what all runners do ;-) However I'm not simply trying to log the miles at the expense of everything else e.g. Quality. Again the opposite is true. I'm mixing up the long steady trail runs with shorter tasters road efforts. The result two weekends ago was a new Half Marathon PB at Milton Keynes. I smashed by previous 1:27 best effort (Royal Parks) and managed a 1:20.23 :-D to say I was happy with this is an understatement. I simply didn't believe i had that kind of speed so early in the season and I'm training for a trail 100 miler not a marathon however the consistency I'm achieving is the key. The race itself was run on a freezing cold day with snow falling however running in compression tights, club vest and arm warmers i didn't feel the cold at all. I ran by 'feel' and didn't look at my Garmin after the second mile. Only looking at it again in the 12th mile to see i was averaging a 6:06 pace :-0  I couldn't believe it especially as 1:25 was my target time. So a breakthrough race for me and I'm now back to upping the weekend long runs in distance.

This past weekend I enjoyed two back to back 17.5 milers on the Ashridge Boundary Trail starting and finishing at Ivinghoe Beacon. A great trail even despite the rain, mud and gale force winds.

But now to the main point of this post - my new diet. If you've been unfortunate enough to see any photos of me then you may be asking why I have to diet. There's not a lot of me! However this 'diet' is not conventional in the sense that I'm not looking to lose weight (although this is an unintentional side-effect!). I was listening to Talk Ultra podcast which is a really good listen and well worth checking out. Anyway the topic of conversation was the Paleo Diet, also refered to as the caveman diet or primal. I was intrigued. The basic message was that the food pyramid which promotes a high carbohydrate diet is a big fat lie and to compound this at the same time as we are encouraged to eat whole grains, with plenty of pasta, wheat, rice and sugary processed foods, told not to eat high fat foods. Going 'primal' turns this completely on its head and says no to any type of grain, bean, processed sugar etc. There is a lot of science behind the reasoning for such a shift in diet but essentially scoffing carbs prevents your body from burning fats which is an essential component of good health. Shifting to a low carb, high(er) fat diet 'promotes' fat burning which your body is designed to do. FATS are good for you and carbs aren't the good energy source that we have be led to believe for so long. But the prove is in the (paleo) pudding and after a month now of following the 'Primal Blue Print' i can categorically say that i have NEVER felt better both generally, and with increased energy levels, improved performance, and most notably of all my recovery time from hard and long efforts has drastically reduced. I did a lunchtime group interval session the day after the MK half with no fatigue in my legs whatsoever.

So if you are even the slightest been intrigued as to what eating 'primal' is all about then check out www.marksdailyapple.com (the same author as the book - The Primal Blue Print) which i can also highly recommend. And for awesome paleo recipes check out www.paleomg.com and www.primalpalate.com
Both these sites have opened my eyes to the amazingly delicious meals you can prepare. And if you are following me on Facebook you will be no doubt aware that i like to post pics of my recent culinary creations :-)

Next up is the Lakeland recce Easter weekend and then the Fellsman at the end of April. Can't wait!!!

Hoka One One Stinson Evo review

> Well its been a few weeks since I took receipt of a pair of Hoka One One Stinson Evos. These rather go against the grain of the minimalist barefoot shoe movement and instead provide the wearer with a good inch of cushioning between foot and trail. The result is a shoe that definitely stands out from the crowd.
>
> Hoka refer to themselves as the 'Ultra running shoe company' and the target market is those who run long. And want extra comfort as they do so. They certainly divide opinion but many with such an opinion have probably never actually run in them. I was curious enough to find out for myself and shell out £100 for the Stinson Evos (£35 off too!) which is their racing trail version. I had a very specific reason for wanting them and that is the small matter of 22000ft of descent at WSER. Some of these are apparently over an hour in length of constant descending and pounding of the quads! :-O Hoka are designed specifically to descend such terrain without the impact and pounding. So let's see shall we...
>
> I have been out in them a good few times now on all types of terrain and different distances. The very first run was the MK Park Run on what was a very cold and icy morning. The race was cancelled because of unrunnable conditions so I was left skidding and sliding around Willen lake. It wouldn't have mattered what was on my feet (bar some cramp-ons). One highlight however was some downhill reps on a grassy hill which was the first taste of what the Hokas can do. It felt effortless even in the snow and slush.
>
> One might think that because of the bulk of these shoes that they are ungainly and heavy to run in. But this simply isn't the case. They actually weigh no more than a conventional shoe and in actual fact probably weigh less than most due to the super light EVA foam construction. They also feel quite nimble too as you float along the trail.
>
> These aren't a road racing shoe though in my opinion. Whilst marketed as hybrid shoe for road and trail a 5 mile run on the road left me feeling that I was putting in more effort that necessary for each foot strike. So responsiveness on the road is somewhat lacking.
>
> My first long run in them was 15 miles on the road (simply due to the fact it was dark and club night). They are supportive and despite the extra height you don't feel any different to being in ordinary shoes. This is probably because they have about an extra 15% footprint so the weight is dissipated across a bigger surface area providing good stability. I wouldn't however do high road mileage in them due to the non-aggressive tread which I wouldn't want to wear out making them less useful and grippy on the trails.
>
> The real test was to hit the trails in them. My first proper trail run was an 18 miler looping around Ivinghoe Beacon which is the start (or end) of the Ridgeway national trail. This is the hilliest area near me and I was determined to put them through their paces. They are simply awesome on the downhills providing a really soft cushioned ride yet at the same time you still feel in contact with the trail which is important. This particular downhill section is grassy and fast. I felt confident and blasted down past oncoming hikers. Not sure what they thought!
>
> The final test was my Monday lunchtime hill reps session which is on a winding rocky trail that is uneven with plenty of potholes. The ultimate test! They 'rocked' were very stable and surprisingly fast. Even going up I felt a certain spring in my step but that could just be the result of 1 month of solid training.
>
> So in summary some of the good and bad points about the Hoka One One Stinson Evo:
>
> GOOD
> * extremely comfortable
> * good support and stable (despite the height)
> * amazing on the downhills
> * light
> * quick lace system a nice touch
>
> BAD
> * don't perform well in thick mud due to non-aggressive tread
> * pricey
> * slightly sluggish on the roads
>
>

Hoka One One Stinson Evo review

January WSER Training summary

I'm struggling to find the time to post a weekly summary of my training in preparation for Western States so I think I will instead post a monthly summary from this point forward and try to pull out the key learning, the highs and the lows, and look ahead to what I need to do in the following month. This is mainly to help me keep track of my progress and remind me of what I need to do.

So January (including the 31st Dec which was the Monday and my first offical day of training AND the day I found out I won the WSER place :-) looks like this:

RUN (31st Dec - 31st Jan)
Distance: 213.8mi    (Distance in training schedule 201mi)  - 47mi average per week
Time: 32hr 02m
Elev Gain: 10,794ft (Target was 10,000ft but needs to be a lot more!)
Runs: 26   (5 runs avg per week)

ELLIPTIGO (31st Dec - 31st Jan)
Distance: 121.4mi    (Planned distance in schedule 
Time:  8hr 48m
Elev Gain: 2,844ft
Rides:  3 (including abandoned ride due to frozen hub!)

The HIGHs!
- A solid first month of training in which I found it easy to keep motivation levels high (despite the weather!) due to the excitement of WSER!!! - and this continues to motivate me to get out and not miss a session.
- I have really enjoyed the challenge of hill repeats on Monday lunchtimes which has definitely become a permanent fixture in my weekly training schedule
- Getting out the door a little eariler on Wednesday's for the club run and tagging on 6-8mi before I join up with the club has worked well and meant that I can get in a mid week long run
- Finding the balance between running and family life!....just ;-)
- Injury-free!

oh...... and new pair of shoes purchased - Hoka One One Stinson EVOs :-) Full review to follow in next few weeks...

The LOWs!
- Less cross-training on the ElliptiGO than planned due to the snowy (read: dangerous!) conditions.


February schedule: (1st Feb - 28th Feb)

RUN
Distance: 186m
Elev Gain: 12,000ft
Runs: 20  

ELLIPTIGO
Distance:  240mi
Rides:  4

What I will do differently this Month:
- More cross-training on ElliptiGO
- Twice weekly leg squat sessions with extra weights
- Up the intensity

WSER Training week 4 summary

WSER Week 4 of training was a recovery week which worked out really well with the tricky conditions under foot. I didn't have to stress about hitting a mileage target but still got in some quality runs including 20 miles on Wednesday (8m hill reps in my lunch break, and 12m with the club in the evening). The treadmill session on Thursday was a cracker too. 5 miles at 15% incline at the local gym. My Calves were screaming out! What's great about the gym is that I've found out I don't need to payment membership. just rock up when you like and pay £7.50 per session. So I made the most of it and also got in a sauna and spa session too! :-) Mileage summary and routes run below (Please not however that I've noticed that the HTML code used for the Strava summaries automatically updates itself every week. So if you are reading this post next week or even next year it will describe below what I have done in that week)

WSER Week 3 training summary

So in summary this is what I got up to in this cold, snowy week. A great week exceeding my running mileage target of 55 miles by 3 miles with 58 miles. However the cold put pay to my commute to work on the ElliptiGO as the extreme temps froze my Shimano hub gear leaving me in 8th gear and impossible to tackle any of the hills on route to work. I had to abandon the ride after just 1 mile. But I replaced that session with 45 minutes on the treadmill at max incline followed by a 30 minute meta-fit class which absolutely destroyed me.

I'm really happy with how the first three weeks of training have gone and looking forward to a recovery week of reduced mileages and efforts before I move into the second 3 week block of training where the long runs will gradually increase in distance (and hopefully elevation if I can find some decent hills).