OR with Trail and Ultra Running

About a month ago I received a Facebook message from Mark Kreuzer, publisher of TrailAndUltraRunning.com (or TAUR) asking if I'd be interested in a Facebook moderator position.  I jumped at the chance!  I love the trail and ultra running community and have learned a lot from the folks who post on the Trail and Ultra Running Facebook group.  The gig pays in the opportunity to test gear, attend OR, and the satisfaction that I'm helping out a great community of fellow trail and ultra runners.

Fast forward to this weekend.  I was able to attend the OR show, a display of all the new outdoor gear that will be sold to retailers in the upcoming year/s.  This was the winter show, so much of the focus was winter sports, however there was still many running related things to see.  I had the pleasure of meeting the fine folks from Nathan Sports and try on some new hydration vests including the Vapor Shadow (which I loved and now really want) and the Zeal, which was also excellent.  They gave us some awesome detergent called Sport Wash that is supposed to eliminate that funk you get in your running clothes.  If you're a runner, you know what I'm talking about.  I'm crossing my fingers it works as well as they said it does!

Then, Mark, Missy (another great ultrarunner I know through my experiences at Speedgoat, Pioneer Day Marathon and Antelope Island) and I headed over to the Altra exhibit because I've been very interested in their shoes and wanted to check them out.  I met with Seth Wold, another local ultrarunner and super nice guy, who was thrilled to let me try on some Lone Peak 1.5s.  They were a dream!  And even dreamier, I was given a pair to test for Altra!  

I was also fortunate enough to have been given two pairs of socks from the very nice people of Balega to test drive.  I received a pair of Blister Resist (wouldn't that be nice!?) and the Enduro (doesn't that just scream endurance?)  Plus, I got a few give-aways including an insulated water bottle, some honey stinger gels (that Missy swears by because they are made of honey, not maltodextrin which bothers my guts) and a cool Altra buff.  Over all it was an outstanding day and I'm thrilled to now be part of the TAUR team!  

Showing off my new gear at the Altra exhibit.  

Aren't these beautiful?!  Stay tuned for a full report on these bad boys tomorrow after my trail run!

Products to review and goodies to try out!  Lucky me!

Race day nutrition

I'm starting to think a lot about fuel on race day. Well, obviously I've been thinking about fuel on all my long runs. I've learned a lot about what works for me during my marathon and 50k training. For breakfast before a long run I start with a banana and a bar (like a Kind or Lara bar.) Then on the run, I start off with my first food intake at around 45 minutes. Then I eat every 30 minutes for the first three hours, and every 20 minutes thereafter.  I really like GU gels until the last couple of hours when I'm wanting real food and also having a hard time with so much sugar. This is when I start preferring almond butter packets, raisins and kind bars. This race will be a whole new realm for me as I will be running longer than five hours for the first time. I'm going to bring plenty of gels, almond butter, raisins, fruit leather, kind bars, plantain chips, and of course, some 5 hr energy for good measure. I also use emergen-c electro mix powder in my water.
I really don't know if there will be anything that I can eat at the aid stations, and cross contamination is always a concern for me (I have celiac disease for those of you who didn't know.) I will assume I cannot eat anything the race provides and bring enough in my pack to fuel my entire race. I love my Nathan pack, by the way!
I'm getting so excited! Only 12 days left until race day!!!!!!