Hyner Challenge 50k and my Muesli Mix

Hyner View

Just a real quick post tonight.  Tomorrow I have the first of my officially "scheduled" 2012 races: The Hyner View Challenge 50k.  I have been debating on just how I want to approach this race post Barkley.  My recovery has been much slower than I would have liked.  I just recently found out that I have the option to drop down to the 25k race as late as check-in tomorrow, so will definitely be heading up there regardless.  My feet have been feeling infinitely better every day...but overall I still feel a bit lethargic.  Running the Barkley Marathons truly is a lot to ask of the human body.  I don't care WHO you are.  With the exception of maybe my first VT100 when I sustained some tendonitis in my foot, this is the longest post-race recovery I've experienced.

So...the short story is that I will head the 45 minutes up to the race tomorrow with my gear and be ready to run something.  Depending on how I feel and the weather (which is supposed to be crappy), I will either go ahead with the 50k or drop down to the 25k.  In all likelihood, I will not be racing very hard.  The course is surprisingly hilly, and has many 1200+ ft climbs over short distances.  I had actually considered doing some hill training on the course for Barkley a few months back, but opted to run the Black Forest Trail instead.  At any rate, wish me luck and I'll post a brief race report assuming I survive.

A map of the course

On a side note, I've had couple people who I hung around with at the Barkley, ask me about the breakfast I was eating every morning.  Ever since I hiked the PCT, I've had my "go-to" homemade muesli mix that I rely on to give me super energy before and during races.  I'm not sure the science behind it, but I know that whenever I eat this, I get a super boost throughout the day.  At Barkley, I ate this every morning for the week leading up to the race, and then several times during the race in between loops.  For milk, I used powdered whole milk that you can buy at Walmart (in the Hispanic food section) called "Nido".  It's great stuff.  Here's the quick and dirty:

Rolled Oats - and lots of 'em

Some raisins

Some shredded coconut

Some sliced almonds

Some milled flax seeds

Some sunflower seeds (I didn't put them in this mix)

Some chia seeds

Some cinnamon and a packet of sweetener

some fresh fruit if I have any

I'm telling you.  Super FUEL!  Try it.

Anyhoo...wish me luck tomorrow.

-j

“What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.” - Emerson