Organic Runner Mom

Fresh Five for the Bear Brook Trail Marathon 

What’s in your hydration pack when you run a trail marathon (or any other distance)?

This Fresh Five is a quick list of five things I will be bringing in my bag for the Bear Brook Trail Marathon on Saturday.  I am feeling a wee bit nervous about the race as the temperature on Saturday will be a high of 84 and the humidity has been high lately here in New Hampshire.

The last time I ran a race when the temperature was this hot was this years Boston Marathon. I never got into the full details of the aftermath of Boston 2013 but basically my hydration on race day was a fail. When I stepped across the finish line this year relieved to have finished, overwhelmed with residual anxiety, and fully exhausted the volunteers quickly recognized that I needed to sit down in the medical tent.  I sat for a few minutes and when they checked back in I wasn’t doing well. My hands, arms, face and legs had begun to feel tingly and numb and I felt as though I might pass out. The medical tent volunteers carefully led me to a cot in the tent where I had to spent quality time resting vertically on a cot sipping on large  quantities of  salty bullion and eating bags and bags of chips to get my salt levels back into balance. Basically I had become severely salt depleted causing my blood pressure to drop and obviously not a desired outcome after running 26.2 miles. As I have said before each race is a learning experience!

On Saturday at the Bear Brook Trail Marathon I want to be extra careful that I have enough fuel and hydration supplies in my UltrAspire hydration pack to keep me feeling strong and hydrated as I cruise along the Bear Brook Trails.  I know that I may have to slow my pace a bit and focus on fuel and hydration if the temperature starts heating up. I am also going to work on running a smart race on Saturday keeping an even (as even as possible) pace during the race and hopefully negative splitting at the end.

Now onto my fresh five for the trail marathon!

1. Skratch Labs Hydration Mix
2. Beef Jerky. Yes, you heard me correctly. On my last long trail run (a 17 miler I was feeling depleted and my friend Bridget graciously shared some of her homemade beef jerky with me. The combination of the protein and the salt gave me a lasting boost of energy.
3. Endurolytes (Commonly referred to as Salt Sticks)–I will use these in case of extreme heat
4. H2O (to be refilled as needed at Aid stations)
5. Vermont Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwiches

*I will probably have more than 5 things in my bag but these are definitely the essentials!

Bear Brook Trail Marathon

What are your top 5 essentials in your hydration pack for a trail marathon (or any other distance?)

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