Tuesday, July 30, 2013

For my family I'm always a winner even when I don't win... 

Thank you Ayana, Yorik, Manuela and Bruno


Thursday, July 25, 2013

Badwater Ultramarathon 2013

Team Swiss Miss did it again! Badwater belt buckle #4 in the books! It was indeed "the world's toughest foot race" and we had to fight very hard for it but crossing the finish line (36:42) was absolutely amazing again.


Team Swiss Miss at the finish line (missing Monica Scholz)

Thank you from the bottom of my heart to my amazing crew. I could not have done it without you! John, Jeff, Adam and Monica you are the best!

Peronin High Tech Food

Last year while I was training for the Irontrail 201K http://www.irontrail.ch/news-irontrails-1.phtml I did some online research of what kind of sports nutrition food is available in Switzerland since I didn't want to have to take everything with me from Toronto. 

While browsing online I discovered the website of a product called Peronin http://www.peronin.net/en/peronin-high-tech-food/ It sounded very interesting and I contacted the company asking if I could get some samples to try before my race. They were very helpful and offered to mail samples to my sister in Switzerland since they don't ship to Canada.

I arrived in Switzerland a few days before the race and had some time to test the product on shorter runs. Peronin is an all in one food powder with added vitamins and minerals that you simply mix with water. Its taste is very neutral and it is very easy on the stomach which is important for high performance in long endurance events. It comes in three different flavors: orange, vanilla and chocolate. Peronin has been used successfully for years by extreme sportspeople on mountain and desert marathons, Ironman, expeditions and in many other ultra sport and long distance events.

Peronin High-Tech Food

Since last year I have been using Peronin on my long training runs and in long ultra running races, like Sulphur Springs 100 and this year's Badwater Ultramarathon. It works great for me as I prefer to stay on liquid fuel for as long as possible because it is easier to digest and it doesn't stress the stomach at all. I'm very glad I discovered Peronin and I can recommend it to all athletes.

Tuesday, July 2, 2013

Badwater Ultramarathon Charms

I got my first lucky charm for the Badwater Ultramarathon in 2009. Since then I got a lucky charm for every Badwater Ultramarathon. From left to right on the picture below:


Badwater 2009: Dragon - Symbol for Strength
Badwater 2010: The Sword of the Amazon
Badwater 2011: The Wing (I would actually have 2 wings, if the second one did not get lost in the mail from Switzerland)
Badwater 2013: The Hand of Fatima and the "Swiss Heart".

Thank you so much my best friend Susanne and my little sister Annette! You will be in Badwater with me all the way to the finish line.

Niagara 50K, Cramps and a Cold

The last 10 days have been very challenging in my Badwater training. 

The Niagara 50K did not go as well as I had hoped for. My plan was to run a sub 4:30. It was a hot day - the way I like it. I felt great for the first 25k and it felt like I was running effortlessly. My time at the turnaround was 2:18. Perfect, I thought, with a negative split I should be able to run the time I wanted. 

But unfortunately it wasn't my day. Shortly after the turnaround my legs started cramping really badly and I had to slow down a lot. I tried everything to get rid of the cramps, even walked some sections, and took one Aleeve but nothing really helped. I finished in 4:57, the slowest time in the past three years. Very disappointing! I knew I took enough Saltsticks and drank enough water, so that could not have been the problem for the cramps. After some online research I figured it was probably due to muscle fatique. I ran a lot of miles leading up to the race in preparation for Badwater. 

Feeling great on the first half...

It took a few days till the soreness in my calves was finally gone and I was back on track with my training. But just when I thought everything is going great - BOOM another setback - I got a nasty cold last Thursday which knocked me out completely for a couple days. It looks like my body has its very own way to tell me it's time to taper. Only 12 days left till Badwater. I'm doing everything I can to get better and most important - stay positive!