Rice Krispy Power

I often find inspiration in the stories of other athletes.   And,  I  like to create mantras out of what I learn from these heros in order to bolster my own athletic journey.   Some athletes I have found inspiration from – in no particular order – are  Cait Snow, Coach Troy, Andy Schleck, Natasha Badmann and Ignatas Konovalovas.

My current hero is my Trakkers Teammate, GoSonja.  I love to read Sonja’s race reports. Not only are they entertaining, but also full of little tidbits of wisdom.  I remember the first time I found her blog I read her Sky Mesa Pass trail marathon report. She posted a 4:20 in that marathon despite getting lost on the mountain, and still nabbed a 2nd place finish!  In her report, she writes:

I was feeling really good and the downhill was starting to get steep. When it gets steep I like to just let my body go. I am less sore when I don’t hold back. I knew that my body could take it, and since my legs weren’t sore yet, I let it loose.

I have used that mantra “let my body go” many many times this season whenever I run down hills. And, well, I live in Chapel Hill, so, just sayin! I also used this mantra at my Rev3Tri and Bandits races, both of which have a very very hilly run course. It really worked, and I was able to really speed down those hills!

Sonja just did Ironman Canada in under 11 hours.  She was just one slot away from Kona qualifying.    I know she’ll get there, as she is an incredible athlete.     In her Ironman Canada run report, she talks about how she had Rice Krispy treats stowed away in her special needs bag.

They had my special needs bag waiting for me and I grabbed it and never stopped running. I knew exactly what I wanted from it. RICE CRISPY TREATS!!! I tucked one in each side of my sports bra…Those were just great. The crunch, the sugar, oh, they really hit the spot. I ate two of them and saved one for later. Did you know they are 90 calories, just like a gel!

When I read this, I thought “Rice Krispy Treats – that’s just brilliant!” Even during half iron distance race, it gets hard to swallow gels for six+ hours straight. Near the end of the day, I never want to see another gel pouch again. I love this idea of adding Rice Crispy treats to my nutrition strategy, and I plan on using this at my Ironman.

I decided to test the idea today during my brick workout. I did a 2:20 hilly bike ride with the 2nd half at HIM race pace, followed by a 7 mile hilly run, all at HIM race pace. I am doing the Duke 1/2 in two weeks, so this was a race simulation workout.

At the start of today’s brick run, I downed one Gu Roctane. I put a Rice Krispy Treat in one hand, planning to eat it at the half way point.  I started running and was doing 9 minute miles on the gently rolling streets of Chapel Hill.  I liked the way the Rice Krispy Treat felt in my hand. And I really liked the krinkly sound that the wrapper made. For some crazy reason, the mantra “Rice Krispy Power” came into my mind. Well, I just grabbed onto that thought for the whole run and it helped me maintain a great mental focus.

At mile 3, I ate the Rice Krispy Treat. I had to slow my pace a little bit in order to chew and swallow. But it went down easy and did not cause me any stomach issues. Then I tucked the wrapper into the leg of my shorts.   I continued running on gentle rollers at about a 9min/mile pace.  At mile 4, the route got real hilly.   Like the worst hills of Bandit’s Challenge hilly.   My mental focus started to wane.    And I missed that Rice Krispy Treat.  I wanted it back!

So, I took the empty wrapper out of my shorts, and held it in my hand. Every time I felt my pace on those hills slowing, I would squish the wrapper in my hand so I could hear the krinkley sound. Then I would think “Rice Krispy Power”. Haha, it was fun, and it worked! And I did 7 hilly miles at a pace of 9:41 min/mile. That is a total PR for me!   And when I was done I had alot left in the tank and felt I could keep going at that pace for a long time.    If I can do that at Duke 1/2, I might just get that elusive sub 6 hour goal. I might just slay the Duke monster. Who knows!

I don’t think I will actually eat a Rice Krispy treat during my upcoming Duke 1/2. I won’t want to slow down to chew and swallow it while running at a HIM pace. But I plan on carrying one anyway, just for the “Rice Krispy Power”.  And I most definitely will bring some along to B2B and WILL eat them during the marathon.   Thank you Sonja, for that wonderful idea!