Ru El’s Running Podcast special guest is a new friend. I met him though the Vinnie Tortorich No Sugars No Grains FB group. We seem to have some things in common, but he’s way cooler. I’ve referred to him as Rawdog and I’m honestly not sure how he feels about that monicker, but we’ll find out. Friends I’m excited to have Chris Rawlins on the podcast.
Chris Facts
Tae Kwon Do instructor.
Survival self-defense training instructor.
Runs a lot.
Ultrarunner.
Tournament Fighting & Injury
Motorcycle track riding, broken collar bone, shoulder blade and ribs.
Direct media link: http://traffic.libsyn.com/ruelsrunning/RER149.mp3
Checkout how RER149 flows into Vinnie’s episode 645.
In this episode you can’t expect to learn anything other than Vinnie is a cool guy to hang out with. Enjoy and thanks for listening.
Check out Vinnie Tortorich and show notes at http://vinnietortorich.com/2016/07/conversation-ru-el/
Back in Dec 2014, I drafted a post “How to overcome the fear of running a distance?” Never released it and it sat in a draft state till recently. I didn’t edit it. Just added these brief intro explaining why I decided to just click the Publish button after all this time. Basically I was asked a similar question and I knew I had thought on a response long ago written, which today I feel still holds true (at least for me). So thanks Jim Smith for the kick in the pants.
@Ru__El My big question: How did you get motivated to run your first ultra? Also any advice on overcoming intimidation of distance?
Do you like running? Are you new to the sport of distance running? 5k, 10k, 13.1m, 26.2m, 50k, 69k and bazillion milers? Like coffee I enjoy running. So I try to do what I can to make sure I really get to enjoy my cup of mileage and time out on the run. If your like me, speed takes a back seat to distance. It’s easy for me to do since I’m slower than a constipated snail.
How to get over worrying about the distance? In my very half marathon event, I remember the thoughts “This is just training for a marathon”. It helped change my mindset by helping me believe I was meant something greater, alleviate any jitters, and boosted my confidence. I remember when I was going to do my first marathon, I remember telling myself “This is just training for a 50k.” You get the picture. It works…to a point and I’m still learning to figure stuff out. Basically you could also worry about another distance or something else to take your mind off of things. A sort of ability to disassociate from a situation to not along the mental demons from wrecking you. This is what needs to be learned through trial and error, which is experience. I realize in life there are times where we should appreciate the moment and live in the present. However, when the present moment is hard as hell, you’d have a hell of a time cherishing it. So it seems blocking certain aspects of a grueling activity to allow an individual to complete a job is a good strategy used to be successful.
“Stay focused and disassociate because it’s not going to last. The deal is, no matter whatever it is, the bad or the good will both pass so you just have to stay the course. It’s only momentary.” ~Errol “The Rocket” Jones
Eating The Elephant
For a different spin on mindset and mind tricks, listen to a conversation with ultrarunner Carlos Dones (@CarlosDones) on podcast episode 75 (iTunes link here and show page here) where Tony described essentially breaking down a stage into marathon distance (26.2) increments. Some days were more miles. But the point was, rather then focussing on the daunting total of 170 miles (see Grand To Grand Ultra), he focused on a “smaller” distance and ate the elephant one bite at a time. Thanks for listening!
Part 1 with Tony Portera was fun. In part 2 the fun continues and we get to learn much more. We learn about Tony’s nutrition, fueling strategy, the wonderful people he’s worked and trained with, and in the end a rapid fire question round. Be sure to listen. Thanks!
Nutrition outside running
Follow NSNG (No Sugars, No Grains) lifestyle.
Eat when hungry.
Typical day:
Wake up, have a coffee with HWC (heavy whipping cream)
Might have BPC (Bulletproof Coffee) if have a 20 mile run.
Had a Fat Shake before the call consisting of kale, spinach, broccoli, cauliflower, celery, chia seeds, and a scoop of coconut oil.
Sometimes an afternoon snack of cheese and salami. Maybe a salad.
Dinner would consist of steak, fish, or chicken and salad. Maybe some berries.
Almonds or sunflower seeds.
During running:
Still a struggle. On a fat-adapted lifestyle and fueling strategy, Tony can run 20 miles without eating anything, so unless 20+ mile training runs are a regular thing, there isn’t a lot of opportunity to practice fueling on the run.
Typically things to fuel with:
Vespa
PocketFuel
Justin’s Nut butters
Salami
Cheese
Pickles
Olives
Coconut oil
In his most recent Jackpot 100 performance, while employing a High Fat, Low Carbohydrate fueling strategy:
For 80 miles:
PocketFuel
Salami
Nuun for electrolytes
No bonk. No rush of sugar.
For miles 80 through 90s infused more carbs into system:
A few gels on limited bases
Pizza later in the race.
Result: It went well and Tony finished 3rd place overall. His personal best for a 100 mile race, and just under 19 hrs (18:58).
“Everybody is different. Experimenting is good.”
Some recommended fuels to try include:
Justins Nut Butters
PocketFuel
Generation UCAN Superstarch
Vespa
BRL Sport Nutrition Trifuel and Invigor8
“Adapting in ultra running is very important. Running an ultramarathon is all about goal adaptation.”
Fear the chair. Fear the van…Don’t get in the f*cken van!
“There’s nothing wrong with not finishing. Some of the greatest runners have DNF’d one point or another. Absolutely nothing wrong.”
Tony’s wrap up and special thanks:
The whole ultra community
Lisa Smith-Batchen
Ray Zahab
Zach Bitter
Vinnie Tortorich
Jamie Donaldson
All the people he trains with regularly including:
The newsletter is under development. The back-end for subscribing for it has improved. It’s a beautiful thing. Tons of content is in the works and can’t wait to get it all polished and ready to share. If you haven’t subscribed to the newsletter yet, you can do that here: http://www.ruelsrunning.com/subscribe/
Run Update:
Not much running lately. Am getting antsy and have missed a few days planned for runs. Time has been spent strength training and on a periodized plan towards a possible 50-mile run in October.
Running News:
Why a 91-year-old veteran is running across America.
Ernie Andrus, a 91-year-old World War II veteran, has been making progress in his mission to become the oldest American to run across America. As Steve Hartman explains, he hopes to bring attention to one of the war’s unsung heroes.
As mentioned in a previous podcast and post, I’ve been working on building strength. So a couple of days a week I’m working some key exercises that interest me at the moment:
Front Squats
Goblet Squats
Jump Rope
Dead Hang starting position
Hollow Pull-Up
The front squats I’m new to and only get to practice this movement on days I get to visit the office gym. Otherwise I practice the goblet squats using a dumb bell at home. The jump rope is my indulgence exercise. I LOVE JUMP ROPE! Lastly, when I’m not sitting around or jumping around, I’m literally hanging around building up time holding the starting position of a pull-up or a dead hang and while in hollow position.
Family & Play:
Ironically while in between building strength, I’m getting hurt. I have a history of back injury. A couple of times in the past week I’ve done improper lifting either of a child or some free weight, which cause some back twinge resulting in 2-3 days of a tight back. It could be worse and has been worse before. Fortunately I’ve been able to function and take care of the family despite the discomfort.
Direct media link: http://traffic.libsyn.com/ruelsrunning/RER149.mp3
Checkout how RER149 flows into Vinnie’s episode 645.
In this episode you can’t expect to learn anything other than Vinnie is a cool guy to hang out with. Enjoy and thanks for listening.
Check out Vinnie Tortorich and show notes at 
