This seems to be a good strategy for me. I seem to do best when I don’t put any pressure on myself to achieve a certain time or obtain a certain placing in the event. I suspect it allows me to be very calm and relaxed both before and during the race. One thing I did differently that day that may have played a big influence was that I listened to music during my run. I found it really helped me focus and my thoughts remained very positive.

I have done this race 3 times before with my best time being a 1:27:30. The pace and perceived effort felt no different than any of the other times I have done this event. I only checked my watch once, which was at the 10km marker, where my watch read 39 minutes on the dot. That is a pretty decent time for me considering my best 10km was on a track a few years ago and I ran it in 38:37. However, there was still a lot of race to be ran and I didn’t bother doing the math to figure out what I was on pace for.

This race is never easy. Because the course is flat, you are pretty much guaranteed to be in a world of hurt. My legs were getting pretty sore by the last few kilometres but I just tried to push as hard as I knew I could because soon it would all be over! I honestly thought for sure I was going to be slower than my last time at this race but when I rounded the corner just seconds away from the finish line, the timing clock read 1:25:38. I WAS ECSTATIC! I couldn’t believe I had beaten my last time that much considering I have not been doing a whole lot of specific training. The body truly is an amazing thing and I love it when it surprises me like that.

This year my goal and mentality is all about “KEEPING IT FUN”. As you can see from the above result, this is a strategy that works for me and allows me to be at my best- not just physically but mentally as well as emotionally.

If you find that you are struggling to stay motivated or are constantly beating yourself up about your race results or how you compare to others…STOP. It will not serve you or anyone else around you any good. Take a look at what you love about the sport or activity you do. Ask yourself why you do it and what pleasure you get from it. In the end, if it’s not making you happy, try something new!

Nicola Gildersleeve
Athlete Ambassador

http://www.ngildersleeve.blogspot.com

NEW YEARS RESOLUTIONS FOR 2011
Nicola Gildersleeve – Ultramarathon Runner

No matter what, whenever a new year is about to begin, we feel the need to make some resolutions. Wouldn’t it be nice if we actually did everything we told ourselves to do throughout the year and never had any resolutions to make? Unfortunately for most (this includes me), this is not a reality and there are ALWAYS things we can do to make ourselves a little bit happier and healthier.

One of my own resolutions is to cook more at home. I really try hard to cook as much as possible but as athletes, we often find ourselves doing workouts that run late into the day. I am not always as prepared as I would like to be and I want to make an effort to have things premade so by the time we get home, we can be eating within 30 minutes. Of course, this takes a lot of planning and I just need to sit down at the beginning of the week and do it.

If your resolution in 2011 is to eat better, here are a few tips that can go a long way

1. Sit down at the beginning of the week and plan out your meals. By doing this, you can do one big grocery shop at the start of the week and have everything on hand. Then your not rushing to the store last minute (like everyone else), waiting in lines, and not eating dinner until 8-9 pm, or ordering something in.

2. On a weekend day, after you have done all your activities, cook some meals that you can leave in the freezer. Pull them out on weekdays when you know you are going to be tied up late at work or with training after hours.

3. Cook in mass quantities. I used to half all my recipes because there were only 2 of us at the table. I finally smartened up and now I keep all the extras for leftovers. There’s one meal I don’t even have to think about!

4. Make your lunch and snacks the night before. I always find myself rushing in the morning before work. Often, I don’t leave enough time to make my lunch and will grab something out. If it’s ready the night before, all I have to do is grab it out of the fridge and I am good to go. You can also try packing it while you are making dinner. If we have a salad with dinner, I just make it big and throw the rest of it in a container for lunch (with some left over chicken)!

5. Keep extra snacks in your purse, car, desk drawer and anywhere else you find yourself starving in the afternoon. This prevents you from hitting up the vending machine or the corner store for something that will not be as nutritious. Elevate Me bars have saved me on more than a few handfuls of occasions!

Here is to a happy and healthy 2011.

Nicola Gildersleeve

Myth #5. Avoid carbohydrates to lose weight:

As a personal trainer and run coach, this myth kills me every time I hear a client tell me they are trying to eliminate ‘carbs’ from their diet.

The key message that many low-carb diets convey is that carbohydrates promote insulin production (excess sugar), which in turn results in weight gain. Therefore by reducing carbohydrate intake, you can lose weight. Unfortunately, this is just another nutrition myth. (Tseng, 2003)

Many low-carb diets actually do not provide sufficient carbohydrates to your body for daily maintenance. Therefore your body will begin to burn stored carbohydrates (glycogen) for energy. According to Tseng, a registered dietician, when your body starts burning glycogen, water is released. Therefore the drastic initial drop of weight at the beginning of a low-carb diet is mostly the water that you lose as a result of burning glycogen.

The truth is that low-carb diets are also often calorie-restricted! Followers only eat an average of 1000 – 1400 calories daily, compared to an average intake of 1800 – 2200 calories for most people. To lose one pound a week, you only need to eat 500 fewer calories per day in your normal diet. Therefore, it doesn’t matter if you eat a high- or low-carb diet; you will lose weight if you decrease your caloric intake to less than needed to maintain your weight

Myth #4. Avoid nuts as they are fattening:

Nuts are a personal favourite in the snack department but do have to be eaten in small quantities.

It’s a nutrition myth that nuts should be avoided. In fact, nuts are high in monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats (the good fats) as well as plant sterols, all of which have been shown to lower LDL cholesterol.

In 2003, the FDA approved a health claim for seven kinds of nuts stating that “scientific evidence suggests but does not prove that eating 1.5 ounces (45 grams) per day of most nuts as part of a diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol may reduce the risk of heart disease.” Instead of simply adding nuts to your diet, the best approach is to eat them in replacement of foods high in saturated fats (Tseng, 2003)

Myth #3. Eating for 2 is necessary during pregnancy:

If only this one were true! But it’s not.

Energy requirements vary among individuals. Unfortunately, the idea that pregnancy is an ice cream free-for-all is a nutrition myth. It is generally recommended that pregnant women increase their daily intake by 100 kcal in the first trimester and 300 kcal in the second and third trimesters. An extra snack before bedtime consisting of a fruit, a serving of milk or yogurt, and a few biscuits is often enough.

Myth #2. Skipping meals can help you lose weight:

I don’t know why anyone would want to do this! Food is just to delicious. Many people think that by skipping a meal, they will be eating less food and therefore lose weight. As we now know, this is a nutrition myth. People who think skipping meals means weight loss do not understand how our bodies work.

If you skip a meal, your body will think that you are in starvation mode and therefore slow down the metabolism to compensate. You then tend to overeat at the next meal. Often, skipping a meal and then eating too much at the next one means that you have a higher total caloric intake than if you just ate more frequently throughout the day. A better approach is to eat smaller frequent healthy meals and snacks to keep your blood sugar balanced.

AND last but not least Myth #1: Red meat is bad for your health:

This one I have heard quite a lot over the years.

It is true that some studies have linked red meat with increased risk of heart disease, partly due to the saturated fat content. In fact, even chicken can contain as much saturated fat as lean cuts of beef or pork. For instance, a serving of sirloin beef or pork tenderloin has less saturated fats than the same serving size of chicken thigh with skin. It is true that poultry like chicken and turkey is naturally lower in saturated fats. But it is only true IF you do not eat the skin.

It is a nutrition myth, however, that red meat is altogether bad for your health. Instead of excluding red meats, choose leaner cuts of beef and pork. For beef, choose eye of round, top round roast, top sirloin and flank; for pork, choose tenderloin and loin chops.

MYTH TEN: SUGAR CAUSES DIABETES.

The most common nutrition myth is probably that sugar causes diabetes. If you have diabetes, you do need to watch your sugar and carbohydrate intake, with the help of your Registered Dietitian, to properly manage your blood sugar level. However, if you do not have diabetes, sugar intake will not cause you to develop the disease. The main risk factors for Type 2 diabetes are a diet high in calories, being overweight, and an inactive lifestyle.

MYTH NINE: ALL FATS ARE BAD

It’s a long-held nutrition myth that all fats are bad. But the fact is, we all need fat. Fats aid nutrient absorption and nerve transmission, and they help to maintain cell membrane integrity – to name just a few of their useful purposes. However, when consumed in excessive amounts, fats contribute to weight gain, heart disease and certain types of cancers.

Not all fats are created equal. Some fats can actually help promote good health, while others increase the risk for heart disease. The key is to replace bad fats (saturated fats and trans fats) with good fats (monounsaturated fats and polyunsaturated fats). Examples of good fats are nuts (almonds, walnuts, cashews), seeds (pumpkin, sunflower), and avocado’s.

MYTH EIGHT: BROWN SUGAR IS BETTER THAN WHITE SUGAR.

The brown sugar sold at grocery stores is actually white granulated sugar with added molasses. Yes, brown sugar contains minute amounts of minerals. But unless you eat a gigantic portion of brown sugar every day, the mineral content difference between brown sugar and white sugar is absolutely insignificant. The idea that brown and white sugar have big differences is another common nutrition myth

MYTH SEVEN: BROWN EGGS ARE BETTER FOR YOU THEN WHITE EGGS.

Contrary to a widely believed nutrition myth, eggshell color has nothing to do with the quality, flavour, nutritive value, cooking characteristics, or shell thickness of an egg. The eggshell color only depends upon the breed of the hen.

According to the Egg Nutrition Council, “white shelled eggs are produced by hens with white feathers and white ear lobes and brown shelled eggs are produced by hens with red feathers and red ear lobes. There is no difference in taste or nutrition content between white and brown coloured eggs”.

MYTH SIX: AVOID SEAFOOD TO LOWER BLOOD CHOLESTEROL

I still can’t believe it, but I heard this nutrition myth from my own doctor! In fact, the dietary cholesterol found in seafood and other meats has little effect on blood cholesterol in most people. Saturated fats and trans fatty acids are the most important factors that raise blood cholesterol.

Saturated fats are usually found in meat products and packaged foods, and trans fatty acids are found in packaged snack foods, deep-fried foods or firm margarine containing hydrogenated oil.

There you have it, 5 out of the 10 myths- DEBUNKED. I am glad that Elevate me nutrition bars don’t need any debunking. What you see is what you get and there is no guess work. They are 100% delicious and nutritious! Tune in next time to see the top 5.

Let’s consider an article I read by Graham Fishburne (2006). He states that the sensitive time for developing fat cells is right before puberty. The time right before puberty is when most of the child’s food choices are made by their parents. Lastly, children often do not grow to their full potential unless they get the nutrients they require during the developmental years.

Just as important as proper nutrition, is the importance of daily exercise. Exercise is good for all sorts of reasons; one’s I am sure you have never even considered. Yes, it allows us to maintain a healthy weight but it also has a lot more benefits. As children, they need exercise to develop strong healthy bones. As adults, we need exercise to ensure we don’t get osteoporosis and/or muscle wasting.

I really think it is essential to educate yourself and your family on the benefits of healthy living. The choices we make when we’re young can affect us for the rest of our lives.

I give Elevate Me Organic energy bars a big nutritional thumbs up. They offer the perfect balance of carbs/fat/protein in an easy to-go format. Pack them in your backpack, purse, or car for a quick and easy snack.

Here is a link to Health Canada’s website http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/ here you can find all the information you need on proper amounts of exercise and nutrition.

Over the years, I have spent a lot of time in the mountains, however, always running or day hiking. This summer, Peter and I went to Revelstoke to visit friends Todd and Kristen. It was Todd (an assistant Ski Guide) who came up with the brilliant idea to summit Mt. Begbie. This would not be an easy task and it would be an all day adventure. As we began packing the next morning, I was handed an Ice axe and some serious looking Crampons and wondered what I was getting myself into!

The day started out with steep switchback hiking. I don’t think I have ever hiked up switchbacks that were this steep. I started to sweat immediately and honestly could not wait to reach the tree line where the grade lessened. After 3 hours of hiking we finally came into a brilliant rocky meadow. The view was breathtaking.

The next section was the toughest of the day (for me). The 4 of us, all connected by the same rope, worked our way across a rather large glacier. My previous experience with this equals none. The 3 others I was with all donned mountaineering boots, while I, was wearing my low profile trail running shoes. I felt a little unprepared but they assured me I’d be fine. You could see the crevasses throughout the glacier but there were also some you could not see. Todd, in front me, was jabbing his ski pole into the snow to see if it was solid. I remember quite vividly this one time the pole went straight through. Todd put a big ‘x’ in the snow and said to me “Nicola, do not step here or you will fall to your death”. I was a little more than freaked out but managed to jump my way across it!

We finally reached the rocky peak we had to climb up. This peak was unlike anything I had ever been on this high up on a mountain. It was as though someone had stacked flat rocks a thousand feet high. The scramble up was by far my favourite part of the day. It was almost as good as the view from the top. We ate some lunch and relaxed for a while before heading back down.

The last thing that I was nervous about was rappelling back onto the glacier from the rock. Rappelling, I was told, was going to be easier than climbing back down to the glacier. It was actually really fun and because the rock was overhanging, I was just lowering myself in thin air. From there we made our way back across the glacier and hiked all the way back down. Peter and I decided to run back down and I cursed the now steep downhill switchbacks once more. I was happy to have brought my Elevate Me protein bar because I was so hungry on the way down.The entire round trip took 11 hours and it was well worth it. My first dose of mountaineering was a success and I look forward to trying it out more in the future.

My boyfriend has been climbing for almost 17 years and naturally he has taken me out a few times. I have to admit, I have a fear of falling and this used to be a real problem in the beginning. To take this admittance even further, I found myself in a state of panic on the rock a few times. But then I learned a valuable lesson, a lesson that holds true in all facets of life. I learned to trust- the rope that is. I eventually realized through trial and error that when I let go of the rock (or fall), I didn’t go anywhere.

This break from training has allowed me the freedom to spend time climbing and I AM LOVING IT! It’s so different than running and works a completely whole new set of muscles in an entirely different way. I am starting to get pipes! I am feeling stronger than ever because when you run long distances like I do, you lose muscle in the process.

I can remember being a child and my dad would frequently take us camping and hiking in Squamish. Whenever we drove by the Chief, he would always point out the little people climbing on the rock. They looked so small on that giant piece of granite. Now I am one of them. It’s crazy! This summer, climbing has taken me to the Rockies, Revelstoke, Squamish, and even in my own backyard in the Lynn Valley Headwaters.

I will never stop running and I am the first to admit that. However, sometimes it’s nice to break away from the everyday routine of training and try something new. You learn more about yourself doing something new than you do doing the same thing over and over.

On that note, get out there and make it your goal to try something new in the remaining months left we have in 2010.

Note: All of my climbing endeavours have been powered by Elevate Me energy bars! When your climbing, you need to pack light! These high protein bars are as light as they come!

Nicola Gildersleeve
Athlete/Ambassador

1. The Lions: Distance: 15km, Elevation gain: 1280m, Time: 7 hours return. This is what West Coast hiking is all about. The Lions are the twin peaks that are seen from downtown Vancouver. They are also known as the Twin Sisters. The hike begins in Lions Bay. Click here for more info…

2. Black Tusk: Distance: 29km, Elevation gain: 1740m, Time: 11 hours return, Season: July- Oct. The dark, jagged edges of Black Tusk make it one of the most scenic and unique hikes in south western British Columbia. Located in Garibaldi Provincial Park, Black Tusk is the most spectacular mountain in the area. While many hikers do complete this trail in a day, the distance and elevation gain make for a very long day. For this reason, some people prefer to hike to Garibaldi Lake or Taylor Meadows and camp overnight, and then hike to Black Tusk the following day. It is up to you which you prefer, however if you do decide to do this in a day, make sure to leave plenty of time to return to the parking lot during daylight hours. Click here for more info…

3. Hanes Valley: Distance: 16km, Elevation gain: 1130m, Time: 7 hours. I have done this trail usually as a run/hike. I most look forward to the summer weather because I know the snow will have melted enough to depart on this adventure. This trail starts in the Lynn Headwaters in Lynn Valley and finishes at the top of Grouse Mountain. Click here for more info…

4. Golden Ears: Distance 24km, Elevation gain: 1160m, Time: 6 hrs. Golden Ears Provincial Park is located 11km North of Maple Ridge and is one of the largest parks in the province. I have not done this hike myself but I have heard a lot of great things about it. Click here for more info…

5. Coliseum Mountain: Distance: 23km, Time: 8 hours. This hike also starts in the Lynn Valley Headwaters (my backyard). Click here for more info…

There you have it, 5 hikes all within a 45 minute driving distance from one another. Always remember to be prepared, which means bring adequate amounts of food (ELEVATE ME BARS) and water and perhaps more in case you find yourself lost. Let a friend or family member know where you are going, wear proper footwear, bring something warm to wear in case it gets cold, and bring bear spray in case you see on in the wild.

The departure from Vancouver takes place Tuesday morning and with a mere 16 hours of driving later I will arrive at the cozy cabin my boyfriend, Peter, and I rented on Lake Tahoe (he is also doing the run). I always like to get to a destination at least 2 days before the race, which leaves just enough time to shake out the nervous energy and excitement that so naturally occurs before a big event.

I have been training for this race and this race alone since January. The thought of actually running a hundred miles didn’t really hit me until a week ago. And when it hit, it hit hard. All of a sudden I was really giddy and excited. Because I have never run this distance before I have no crazy expectations. Of course I have my own specific goals but I really have no idea what this experience is going to be like. There will be a lot of firsts for me- for example, running through the night with a headlamp, having a pacer (total stranger) run with me for the last 45 miles, running 60 more km than I ever have before, and eating for this length of time!

Of course there are things that I am really worried about. It is going to be hot in the canyons. People can lose a race if they don’t take care of themselves in the heat and if they fail to have properly heat trained. I have spent the last 4 days in the sauna (up to an hour and a half) and will continue to do so until the day I leave. The heat also makes you more prone to blisters because of the moisture and friction. A co-worker of mine had to walk the last 30km of the race last year because his blisters were so bad.

With all this considered it looks as though I have some more planning ahead of me. I have a small crew consisting of my mom (who is flying down) and my younger cousin Caitlin. Both have no prior crewing experience, and I am no help because I have never had a crew before nor have I crewed anyone for this distance. The day before the race however the race directors put on mini talks where the runner’s come to get their bibs etc. They have talks on blister/foot maintenance, how to crew, and nutrition and hydration etc. I am hoping to learn a little bit more there!

I also found a pacer on-line. What exactly is a pacer you ask? It is someone who runs with you and helps motivate you to keep going. In a race of this distance, it is expected that I will go through many highs and lows throughout the course of the day. The pacer helps to keep you focused and makes sure you’re eating and drinking according to plan.

I will post a link in the upcoming days to the website so that you can follow along live and track my progress throughout the race. Alright, time to go pack a lot of high protein elevate me bars for myself and my crew, to keep us all fuelled on the big day!!!

My boyfriend, who is also doing the race, has begun to heat train in a sauna. I have only been twice now. No, we don’t run in the sauna, nor do we even jog on the spot, we simply sit there and count down the minutes until we can get out! Oh ya, and we drink A LOT of water!

I have been a little sceptical in regards to when exactly we needed to start acclimatizing to the heat. It seemed a little odd to be starting 3 months out of competition when from what I have learned in university, it only takes 14 days to acclimatize to factors such as heat and altitude. I came across an article on heat training and running and I thought I would share some of it with you here:

How Heat Affects Running Performance (by Bryon Powell, irunfar.com)
There is little doubt that exercise performance is impaired in hot environments. While the effect of heat on performance varies with the sport (for example, less effect on cycling than running), there is a great deal of empirical data showing a link between ambient temperature and performance. Various authors have suggested performance impairments of between 1.6 and 3% in marathon times for every 10 degrees above 55 degrees Fahrenheit. Below is an interesting table from a paper by Scot Montain and colleagues at the US Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine illustrates the relationship between elite marathoner finishing times and course temperature in the New York City Marathon.

New York City Marathon: Top Times vs Temperature (right)

How We Acclimate to Heat
If it is plasma that is the essential cooling component, is it possible to improve this problem by increasing our total plasma volume? Yes, and that is exactly what happens as we adapt to heat over time. Whether you acclimate naturally to higher temperatures over the course of a season, or in a heat chamber, the most significant change that occurs is an increase in plasma volume. Other things occur as well (such as changes in sweat sodium concentration, resting core temperature and heart rate), but plasma volume expansion is the key. After extensive acclimatization, plasma volume can have expanded by as much as 2 liters!

This may explain why the fittest athletes adapt to heat stress more quickly than the less fit. One of the by-products of endurance training (especially at high intensities) is an increase in plasma volume. So just by training hard, you can derive some amount of heat acclimation. What about specifically training in a hot environment to improve performance in a hot race? There is extensive evidence that it is possible to improve our performance in hot environments by training in similar conditions prior to competition. Several studies have demonstrated performance improvements in terms of maximum work rate, perceived exertion, time to failure at submaximal work rates, and time to complete a specific distance.

In the last few paragraphs we’ve explored a bit about the effect of heat on performance (bad) and the effects of acclimation on this (good). The most meaningful physiological adaptation that occurs is an increase in plasma volume (a lot like adding more radiator fluid to a car). However, there are some other adaptations that occur – changes in sweat rate, changes in sweat sodium concentration and changes in core resting temperature, to name a few. The various adaptations occur with different amounts of acclimatization. Here’s a graphical representation of the times over which an athlete can gain these benefits:

A timeline of various heat acclimation adaptations (right).

Heat Acclimation Methods and Considerations
The work needed to achieve the benefits heat acclimation is reasonable. Most laboratory based heat acclimation protocols have athletes spend about 1 hour a day in a heat chamber for 7-10 days. Importantly, this needs to occur as close to the time of the competition as possible, as the adaptations conferred by acclimation decay rapidly without ongoing exposure. So there’s no point in spending 2 weeks in a heat chamber a month before the race – the effects will decay in 1-3 weeks.

As previously mentioned, the benefits of heat acclimation decay rapidly if you do not maintain heat exposure. Estimates vary, but it’s possible that you could lose half of the benefit in 10 days without ongoing heat exposure. This raises some logistical problems for athletes living in cold environments who are attempting to acclimate for a hot weather event. To benefit maximally from acclimatization, the heat training sessions should occur as close as possible to the event. That seems pretty straight forward. The problem is that acclimation is quite physically demanding, and most athletes attempt to taper in the week(s) prior to a big race. So, if you want to acclimatize optimally, it needs to occur during your taper – which may cause overtraining, or at least minimize the benefits of tapering.

As with all training, the more specific, the better. When it comes to heat acclimatization this means that your training climate should reflect the competition environment as closely as possible – the same temperatures as well as humidity. Why is humidity important? As anyone who has survived an East Coast summer knows, humidity makes it harder to lose heat via sweating. Training in a humid environment does confer some benefit it you are training for a dry, hot race, but not as much as training in a dry, hot chamber. Interestingly, there is better “transfer” of acclimation if you train in a dry, hot climate and then race in a humid, hot race than the other way round. So, as much as possible, match humidity and temperature of your acclimation phase to your race environment.

What about passive acclimation? That is, will sitting in a sauna at the YMCA get us ready for running in Death Valley? Essentially – a bit, but not much. Acclimatization is vastly greater (and more rapid) is you exercise during the heat exposure. Whether this is again the principle of specificity, or whether it is simply that core temperature rises faster with active acclimation (increased core temperature is probably the stimulus for the adaptations that occur) is not clear.

So, in my experience, heat acclimation based on well documented scientific principles can give athletes a significant performance enhancement in hot environments. However, it is important to recognize the effect of acclimation on the tapering period and to plan accordingly.

I was chatting with a friend last weekend as we were adventuring through the mountains in Squamish. She has run one of the hardest footraces on the planet, Badwater, where the temperatures reach somewhere in the 50’s. To acclimatize, she heat trained the 2 weeks leading up to the event. She started with 10 minutes and worked her way up to 2 hours. She didn’t move around in the sauna and she said by the end she was drinking 4L of water. She said the heat wasn’t a problem for her during the race. In the end, if you are doing a race in a hot climate, it is best to prepare yourself accordingly and try and mimic that environment as best you can before getting to the start line.

Nicola Gildersleeve
Athlete Ambassador