Training Run — Sunday, July 4, 2004
Last Quarter, 12 Km
It was so great to be back out on the trail again today. I hadn’t run much since late May due to an injury and decided to test myself with a short out-and-back from Deep Cove. I met with our small group of 20 runners at 7:00 am and found out most of them were planning on doing the Last Quarter as the schedule dictated. I mentioned I was just going to head out on the BP from Panorama Park in Deep Cove and just go as far as I could. Three others decided to join me on a nice casual run. A couple of us made it to the top of the Seymour Grind before turning around and I managed to make it back all the way before being caught by Tracy to give her an update on my condition. All was well I’m glad to say.
The weather
was overcast and mild. I was told that our fire condition moved down to
“moderate” in the last couple of days so we can be very thankful for that. It
looks like we might get some rain
on Tuesday. That would be great to keep things safe for us. You can stay
up-to-date through the Knee Knacker web site at the
Vancouver Weather Forecast.
Before sending the carpools off to Lynn Canyon for the run, I offered some pre-race advice. Most notably, as always, get your rest during the week and do not be concerned at all about your sleep the night before the run. It will be crummy for most people as the excitement becomes understandably unbearable. Remember that adrenalin is a very powerful drug and once you get going in the morning it will carry you through to the finish line with ease (do you believe me?).
I also reminded everyone about eating. I suggest you do eat … all week. That’s a good start. But be sure to eat well and regularly. “Well” means: low fat, lean protein, lots of veggies and fruit, lots of water, cut down on caffeine and alcohol, and chew your food well. Don’t have big meals either and please don’t eat very much differently that you have been before any of your previous long runs. That includes NOT having a large pasta meal before the race unless you are used to doing so. For supplements, stick with whatever you have been taking and if you are not yet supplementing with Omega – 3 essential fatty acids, consider starting. They are good for recovery and joint health. But start slow and work up, as always. If you are used to taking electrolytes for training, be sure to stick with what you normally do on race day. It’s easy to overdo them and then get in lots of trouble with bloating and nausea. Electrolytes are: sodium, potassium, chloride, magnesium, zinc, and other trace metals. We will have salt at some of the aid stations and it usually helps most runners to add a bit of that to their diet on race day to keep muscles relaxed and heads clear. But be careful to not go overboard and be sure to drink a reasonable amount with everything that goes in your mouth.
This year we have several sponsors helping us out with food. You can see them on our Sponsor Page. Along with our long time sponsor, Gatorade, we also now have ZonePerfect, Hammer Gel, Columbia Bottled Water, and Capers. I offered sample of ZonePerfect bars to the runners today and you’ll be seeing the bars cut in pieces at many of the aid stations as well. You can check out the Aid Station Menus to plan your food strategy. I highly recommend that you know pretty much what and when and how much you will eat on race day. It’s very easy to over eat and not likely will you be hungry. My advice is to eat early and often and take sips of water or Gatorade all day. I take just one bottle with me but many people like to have 2 bottles with them for the whole race. If you get to the last aid station with lots of fluid on board, just dump it out to get rid of the extra weight. It won’t make any difference how well you are hydrated by that point.
You may have noticed some new information on the Knee Knacker web site posted by Enzo this week. Most notably is the Estimated Arrival Times at Checkpoints/Aid Stations. It’s good to know your expected times. The experienced runners know that pouring it on up Black Mountain is a big mistake by the way. You will have lots of time to race hard once you get off Black and Hollyburn Mountains and you’ll appreciate not being burned out as you are making your way up Grouse Mountain.
We have lots of volunteers lined up for race day with only a couple spots for marshals and sweepers still open. A reminder for them: there is pay parking in effect at Cypress Bowl and on Mt. Seymour at both aid stations. It is a huge task to assemble and instruct all the volunteers so please be very appreciative of their commitment and be sure to accept their enthusiastic energy as you pass each one. I want to make sure they all know how much we are glad to have them helping and what a big difference it makes to have their energy surrounding us.
Lastly, package pick up is this Thursday and Friday at North Shore Athletics. And all first time entrants must show up to the mandatory meeting at North Shore Athletics for a race briefing on Friday night. This is also a great time to ask questions and to hear from others that have run the Knee Knacker before. And it’s also fun to see the place buzzing with energy as we are all in full taper mode now and recharging our batteries. By Friday night the excitement is at fever pitch.
Our run today ended quietly and with smiles all around. A few of us enjoyed coffee and treats at Honey Doughnuts and I discovered that some of us hadn’t had enough practice at making sure we took our keys with us before leaving Lynn Canyon (Rod and Loger).
This brings to end another great training season for certainly one of the toughest 30 mile (48.6 Km) races you’ll find anywhere. Congratulations to everyone that has made it this far and I hope very much to toe the line with you next Saturday … at 6:00 am!
Craig Moore
trainingruns@kneeknacker.com
