She’s on the trails: how to keep your body happy and healthy (hint: it involves snacks)

Posted on 3 February, 2023

Have you laced up this week—and hit the trails?

There’s something special about saying I’m off for a trail run”; compared to “I’m off for a run”. It’s hard to describe. It’s something adventurous, bold, and intoxicating—and I know I’ll be thinking about the trail under my foot, rather than the chores and responsibilities at home. It takes you away, for a moment in time. Kind of like a big night out with the girls…but without the four-day hangover.

Did you read part one and two of She’s on the trails?

Here’s a snapshot of the hacks:

Part one: Consistency, scheduling recovery days/low load days, sleep, cross training/Hydrotherapy Hydrolates (Aquatic Pilates); strength bands PDF workout, trigger point balls, foam rolls and toe spacers, and enjoy the view!

Part two: Be consistent with your progressive overload, coffee/brunch date post run, hip mobility conditioning, hip and leg strength and footwear.

In part three of She’s on the trails we are chatting to a soft tissue therapist Jess from Myogen (a sports therapy clinic in Mitchell) about self-massage techniques and catching up with  the wonderful Kate Freeman from The Healthy Eating Clinic on hydration tips and appropriate trail snacks to keep the energy constant, and gut happy.

If you are running for long periods of time, do you have a nutrition and hydration plan when you hit the trails? Before we pick the recovery experts brains, I wanted to stress the importance of consistency and “how” to start trail running.

It’s super simple:

• Lace up your shoes.
• Find a local trail.
• Start moving.
• Find an event that suits your fitness (to keep you motivated).

You don’t have to start with a run straight away—you can walk. Remember, PROGRESS, NOT PERFECTION.

You just need to start. Keep in simple with a  30 second walk and a 30 second jog times six.

If you want to find a local trail, the Trailforks app is used globally, or Strava is very popular. To use Trailforks properly, it is necessary to download the data corresponding to your favourite region. This will allow you to use the app anywhere, anytime, whether you have cellular network or not. Very cool.

If you need event motivation, I recommend that you enter the Stromlo Running Festival 5km trail run in November. It’s the first time they’ve run the 5km event—and the best part is there’s no time cut off (AKA the perfect way to start your trail running journey). If you’re a pure beginner, entering a 5km will motivate you to choose the trails—and not the Toblerone.

Now, let’s have a chit-chat to the trail running recovery experts.

I see Jess from Myogen regularly for prehab. Prevention is always better than treatment. Jess believes, self-massage can be a great tool to help with tissue recovery and to address soft tissue pain that can come up as you start a new activity or are dusting the runners off after a period of hibernation. Do you have a regular self-massage schedule?

The name of the game is staying injury free, so you can be consistently improving with your training. There’s that “C” word again! Running trails means your tissues are dealing with a variety loads (surfaces, hills, time on your feet) and injuries can be a frustrating set-back, so keeping on top of your recovery is essential.

Grab a foam roller and a trigger ball and try some of these self-massage techniques for happy hips.

Kate Freeman from the Healthy Eating Hub also has some great tips and tricks for us:

 1. Your favourite easy snack to eat during the first 30 mins of a long trail running event.

For endurance exercise that goes beyond 90-120 minutes, it’s recommended to consume at least 30g of carbohydrate per hour to help fuel the exercise and decrease fatigue.

Research also shows that the earlier you start to consume carbohydrates during your exercise the more effective it is in fuelling your run. So, don’t leave the carbs to the last minute—it’s too late by then. See if you can eat at least 15 g of carbs in your first 30 minutes of exercise. Kate recommends:

• One banana
• One pouch pureed fruit
• Half of a sports drink. Make sure it has sugar in it, not a sugar free one—the point is consuming carbs (sugar).
• Half of a honey or jam sandwich.

2. How much water should I drink during an event?

Your body’s hydration levels are so complex that it is almost impossible to predict how much water an individual should drink. Your fitness levels, the outside temperature, the type of activity you’re doing, the humidity levels, your age, gender, body size… they all have an effect on your hydration status.

However, in endurance sports we tend to recommend that you replace the water that you lost plus consume an additional 50%. So, if you lost 600ml (sweat and breathing) over an hour of exercise, then you should consume 900ml for every hour of exercise you do to avoid excessive water loss. You can find out your sweat rate through measuring your weight immediately before and after exercise (don’t drink anything or change clothes)—the weight lost over the hour is your sweat rate! Do this a couple of times in different scenarios and you get an average that you can use to plan your fluid requirements for a long run.

Too complicated to find out your sweat rate? A good rule of thumb is to consume one liter of water for every hour of exercise. You may need more in hotter conditions. If exercise goes for two or more hours you will also need to consider an electrolyte drink or supplement to replace these as well.

Do you have a nutrition plan for your long runs?

Do you drink enough water?

When will you find time for your self-massage session? Evening? Or what about pre/post run?

In part four of She’s on the trails we are chatting to a podiatrist, Kyle from the Canberra Foot and Ankle clinic about importance ankle strength as a trail runner, as well as talking trail running backpacks and finding your tribe.

Love, Kirra