tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2375743119306394670.post678560409568803059..comments2023-05-30T09:15:26.291+01:00Comments on Trossachs Trail Runner: River Ayr Way Challenge 2013 : Race ReportRobert Osfieldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16960356368117573952noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2375743119306394670.post-35156205908762351192013-11-11T21:16:21.615+00:002013-11-11T21:16:21.615+00:00You are running extremely well. Improved ability...You are running extremely well. Improved ability to utilize fats is almost certainly a major factor. It is intriguing to speculate on the relative contributions to you improvement from the increased fat content of your diet and from training in a fasted state. I certainly believe that a moderately high fat proportion and modest amount of carbohydrate is beneficial for an endurance athlete. While I continue to be concerned about the risk of chronic inflammation as a result of training in a fasted state when training hard, I am inclined to think that if you have only very limited opportunity to train, training in a fasted state might be worthwhile as the potential benefit of increased capacity to utilise fats might outweigh the risk of chronic inflammation in this situation.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2375743119306394670.post-76536930703787859432013-11-04T17:10:39.164+00:002013-11-04T17:10:39.164+00:00My RAW report was rather over due... finished the ...My RAW report was rather over due... finished the write up after finishing the Jedburgh 3 Peaks Ultra (Sunday 27th October)... so definitely a backlog, work and home DIY projects are rather competing for my time.<br /><br />In the last 9 miles of the Jedburgh Ultra I also suffered from a bit of cramp although not half as bad as during the RAW and the Devil. I had been able to fit in more training before the Jedburgh Ultra which certainly helped, but alas didn't cure all my cramp problems. I take electrolytes during races (S-caps) and have been supplementing with magnesium during training but still the cramps come. With experience I have become better at managing cramp during races so have been able to keep moving, albeit losing around minute a mile in pace. <br /><br />Despite the cramp issues I'm still finishing stronger than most competitors around me which can't be done to better training, as for most of this my training had really been compromised through the spring and early summer. I believe a change in diet from quite high carb and modest fat, to moderate in carbs, moderate/high in fat has helped with my ability to keep moving well late on in races. <br /><br />The other big factor is that Pacing by HR monitor has ensured that I'm not starting off too fast and instead have a pace that is far more even throughout the race. I still slow through the race but it's now in the 5 to 10% range rather than the 30%+ range that it used to be. My pacing profile during the Devil was very similar (less than a 1 percentage different) to this year's and previous winners so I believe that racing by HR has lead me to pace like the best of the elites when they have a good day. I don't think this is just co-incidence, to me it suggests that the best of elites when they run well are able to manage a very even effort level throughout the race. There are lots of factors in this - which deserves dedicated blog post on it and I will writing it all up. Work and DIY projects will have to take precedence though, so please be patient :-)<br /><br />And ohh, yes I did have lots of fun, the great weather during the RAW certainly helped! I've really enjoyed all my ultra this year, my diet and pacing strategies looked to help improve my performances significantly, but done the easy way - I don't really start to dig in until the last quarter of the races I've done, the rest of the race is just a warm up while I enjoy the view and steadily move through the field chatting to folk as I go.<br />Robert Osfieldhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16960356368117573952noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2375743119306394670.post-190188833121541262013-11-04T16:39:31.125+00:002013-11-04T16:39:31.125+00:00Not a bad race running purely on the fumes of prev...Not a bad race running purely on the fumes of previous training. I guess the cramps might have been a sign of eroding fitness, but since you are smiling broadly in all the photos I'd wager a guess that you had lots of fun.<br /><br />You still owe us a post outlining all the HR-base racing stuff!Thomashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07802380462713592586noreply@blogger.com