Treadmills
It has been cold, dark, icy, snowy, and windy the last few weeks in Portland. This has led me to run far too often on the treadmill.
I am lucky enough to live a few blocks away from a Planet Fitness that is open 24 hours. It makes scheduling long runs so much easier, plus no worries about avoiding cars at four in the morning.
"But what about your long runs, Todd?" How did I deal with those 20+ mile runs without running outside? Well I chalked it up to mental training. They definitely were not my most enjoyable runs I've had, but they got done with the help of podcasts and mind games. So what podcasts do I listen to when I'm running 3 or more hours on the treadmill? I'm glad you asked. I listen to "Ultra Runner Podcast" which covers the happenings in the ultra running world, focused on races on the United States. It typically is one interview with someone who just shattered a record or won a big race. It is pretty vanilla as far as content, but still super informative. The other podcast I listen to is "East Coast Trail and Ultra Podcast" which focuses on trail and ultra races East of the Mississippi River. The content seems to be a bit more raw and real with a bit of crude comedy rolled in as well.
Chaffing
One thing I learned from running long on the treadmill, is chaffing sucks. I usually never chafe anywhere when I run outside, so I'm going to put the full blame on running on the dreader. I'm taking a positive approach though and using it as a learning curve. I learned that Nipeaze (yes thats the real name of the product) is amazing! It is a latex-free adhesive cover that is comfortable, discreet, and water and sweat resistant. After a horrible bout of nipple irritation, i know i needed something. Luckily, we had a sample pack of these in the office at the running store. I cannot imagine doing another long treadmill run without these bad boys.
The chafing didn't stop at the nipples, unfortunately. I also ended up with some gnarly chafing along the inside of my thighs and "nether regions." It was my mistake for not wearing any bodyglide before the run. It was also a learning experience. I learned that I would rather prevent chafing than dealing with days of healing. I ended up using Aquaphor for the next few days to relieve the pain and to help moisturize those areas. Never again!
Nutrition
Over the last few weeks I also played with nutrition a bit. I tried just GU on runs. Tried GU and Cliff blocks on runs. I tried just Nuun endurance on runs. I tried just Sword endurance on runs. Nothing felt just right, until I tried just Tailwind! I've heard so many good things about Tailwind, but I didn't buy in. My mind was changed when I did a 4.5 hour treadmill run using only tailwind. I used 4 single serving packs, all different flavors, two with caffeine and two without. That only totals 800 calories over that time period, but I felt great! I wasn't hungry or tired during or after the run.
No stomach bombs either! Many running nutrition items do not sit well with my stomach either because they contain dairy or maltodextrin. Tailwind keeps it simple: Dextrose, Sucrose, Citric acid, Sodium Citrate, Sea salt, organic fruit flavor, Potassium chloride, Magnesium Citrate, Calcium Carbonate, (Anhydrous Caffeine-only present in caffeinated flavors). I know being able to consume liquid calories will come in clutch come race time. During my 50 miler in November my jaw and mouth ended up getting tired from chewing on so many Cliff Bloks throughout the race and my stomach turned on my later in the race and I was depending on Gatorade to get calories and sugar in. We will see how Tailwind and I get along throughout the next few months and I will report back.
Other than that it's been the same old story of working and snowboarding.
Lube Up and Run Wild!
Todd
