My favourite piece of gear this season is Salomon’s Advanced Skin S-Lab Belt Set. It’s a lightweight, flexible and form-fitting belt that can comfortably carry gels, flasks and any other small items needed during a trail run or race.

Each year, Salomon releases new shoes, clothing and gear that have been crafted by their designers in consultation with their top athletes. Prior to public release, the S-Lab products are rigorously tested in training and race situations by top Salomon athletes. If the products don’t perform at the highest level, they don’t make it to the market.

The Advanced Skin S-Lab Belt is one of the newest S-Lab products. The belt features two halves (front and back) that connect together with quick-release fasteners located on the both sides. The sizing of the belt can be easily adjusted on either side to fit your waist.

At the back, the belt has two large pockets, each of which can hold an 8oz soft flask (note: the belt comes with one 8oz flask included). There is a stretchy band at the top of each of these pockets that can help secure the flasks or other items. Alternatively, you can use the rear pockets to store gels or other larger items.

At the front, the belt features two large zippered pockets that can hold items such as gels, phone, iPod, keys, etc., without them easily falling out. On top of each zippered pocket is another smaller pocket that can hold gels or other small items.

As the belt is soft and flexible, you can rotate it around your waist whenever you want to easily access the pockets. This is helpful in longer races when you are adding new items to the rear pockets and you want to ensure you pack them efficiently. As well, the mesh material keeps the belt lightweight, breathable and fast drying.

The design of the belt offers many options for use. If you’re going to be running for a short period of time, you can carry one or two 8oz flasks of water in the rear pockets and store your keys, phone and a couple of gels in the front pockets. If you want to carry a bit more water, then you can combine this option with the Salomon Sense Hydro S-Lab Set and carry an additional 8oz flask or two easily in your hands. This will enable you to carry 24-32oz of water in flasks that can be flattened and stored in the belt when empty. If you are running or racing for a longer period of time, you can use the rear pockets to store gels and other food items that you will need and rely on larger handheld bottles or a hydration pack for water.

Contest
If you’re a Canadian resident, you could win a free Advanced Skin S-Lab Belt. Details at the Salomon Canada website here.

I ran Pick Your Poison 50K just over a week ago and chose to drink the hemlock. Yep, I quit. Surrendered. DNF’d.

Located at Horseshoe Valley, the race featured four 12.5K loops with some nice climbs around the ski hills and surrounding trails. With the recent cold weather, there was still some mud and snow on the trails, so it made for an interesting course.

Unfortunately, I had some difficulty early in the second loop and things just continued to get worse, so shortly after I started the final loop, I decided to stop with about 7K left to go. Although I could have still finished with a decent time, my body was feeling quite beat up and I needed to ensure that I could keep training through the following week in preparation for the Sulphur Springs 100 Miler, which is my focus race for the spring.

Basically, I made the idiot move of trying out some new things on race day. Please don’t do this. It’s a stupid move. You don’t want to be that guy (or girl). And if you have a blog where you talk about your races, then you have to let people know how stupid you are.

When it comes to racing, just do what you know. Keep it simple. Even if you’re a race addict, nearly all of your yearly runs will be regular training sessions, so there’s absolutely no reason to try out new things in a race environment. Experiment in training, not on race days.

Anyway, I took a couple of easy running days on the Monday and Tuesday after the race and then had a solid tempo run on Wednesday. Although I took Friday off completely, I still managed to get in nearly 14 hours of running for the week.

This week is going well, and should be my heaviest training week for the year so far. If I survive past Sunday, then I will cut back on my volume and taper for the final two weeks before the Sulphur Springs 100 Miler. Although it’s early in the season and we’ve just escaped winter, I’ve managed to run over 2,200 kms since January. While my volume isn’t as high as I would have liked, I’m hitting my speed workouts faster than I ever have, so the PYP debacle aside, I’m expecting to run well this year.

While on my birthday run a few weeks ago, I slipped on some ice and fell hard to the ground. I twisted my ankle, banged my knee, bruised my hip, cut my elbow and ripped my new Salomon jacket. I may have bruised my ego a bit as well. Not my best birthday for sure.

While hobbling home, I began obsessing about my training. My spring races are coming up fast… This is a bad time to get injured… I’m still building my mileage… I’m just a bit bruised, I can still run through this… Despite the fact that every step I took with my right leg sent shivers of pain through my body, I seemed to be in complete denial about the situation.

Although I took the next day off, I persisted in going for a two-hour run the following day, which included a 60-minute tempo in the middle. I needed my iPod for that run. And then the next day I limped through a 42-km long run. The good news is that my body only hurt when I used my right leg, so I basically ran 21 km pain free. Unfortunately, I managed to irritate my IT band by overcompensating for my bruised hip, so that gave me an extra injury to enjoy. So, the next week was almost a complete write-off and then the next one was fairly minimal as well.

So yes, I’m an idiot. Thankfully I’m on the mend (with big thanks to super physio Greg Lehman), so I’m back on track as far as training is concerned. Although I lost a few weeks of higher mileage, I don’t seem to have lost much speed or fitness. The key now is building my endurance back up to handle the longer runs efficiently.

Last week was my first full week of training since the fall. Although I only ran six days (now that I’m old I take a day off each week), I managed to run 154 km, which included a quality day with intervals, a day with hill repeats and a steady 45-km long run. All of this was pain free, so I think I’m ready to increase the intensity again. I certainly have a greater appreciation for healthy, pain-free running.

With Pick Your Poison 50K coming up in less than three weeks, I’m into a heavy week of training followed by a moderate week and then an easy week. Not sure how my body will hold up for the 50K race given my recent injuries, but I’ll just show up and do my best.

The warmer spring weather has melted the ice from my local trails, so hopefully I can make it through the rest of the year relatively unscathed.

With snow storms, sick children (including a scary ambulance ride and day at the hospital) and a nasty fall that took me out of commission for a few days, February wasn’t a great month of training for me. While my monthly total was a few minutes longer than last February, I certainly didn’t manage as many quality runs as I would have liked (mostly due to weather). Thankfully I had some decent training in December and January, so for this three-month block, I’m about 33 hours ahead of last year’s efforts. As long as I take a long-term perspective on my training, there’s really no need to panic about a low-volume month (particularly in the shortest month of the year).

Anyway, I’m now on week two of an eight-week block of focused training to get me back in shape for my spring races. I’m calling this my Race Rehab. As long as I remain consistent, I should be ready in time.

Mild panic attacks aside, I think that an occasional month of reduced volume is good for runners. It not only gives our bodies some time to recover, but our minds benefit from the break as well. If you’re training hard month after month after month—particularly in nasty weather—it’s quite possible to end up overtrained or burnt-out before the race season even gets started. A reduced volume month (or week) also gives us the opportunity to spend more time with family or friends. Some of us get so focused on our running hobby that we neglect essential aspects of our lives without even realizing it.

For the past two weeks I’ve been running in the Salomon S-LAB Sense Ultra. A more robust version of the Salomon S-LAB Sense (which I’ve been wearing since October), the Ultra offers a bit more traction, protection and durability than the original Sense. Although I’ve been able to get nearly 1,000 kms on my pairs of the Sense, I am looking forward to the increased durability of the Ultra. And just like the Sense, it’s lightweight (about 7.5 oz) and features a low-profile and comfortable fit. Except in extremely muddy conditions, I’ll be wearing the Ultra for my training and racing this year.

Now that I’m transitioning back into race mode, I’ve also started to think about my long run/racing nutrition. Last year I had great success using Clif Shot gels in my races. Although I didn’t always race as well as I would have liked, I never had a problem with nutrition or stomach issues. So, I will continue to use Clif Shot gels (vanilla is my favourite) this year. I’ve also been using Clif Shot Bloks as a variation on the gels. Since I get up quite early on Sunday mornings for my long runs, I’ve been eating a Clif Bar while getting dressed in lieu of breakfast. It’s a nutritious snack that doesn’t feel too heavy prior to a run. And then after any hard efforts, I’ve been eating a Clif Builder’s Bar, which offers some quick protein and carbs for refueling.

On the broader nutrition front, I’ve cut down on the amount of chocolate and ice cream I eat. While I have no plans to stop eating either, I did see the need to reduce the quantity I was consuming. It wasn’t an issue of calories, but more the excessive amount of sugar in my system. It was hard for the first couple of days, but I’m feeling much better now (and sleeping better as well).

I’ve also started a diet (again not about the calories or weight) called VB6, which stands for Vegan Before Six. It’s based on a book about becoming a “less-meatatarian” by Mark Bittman of the New York Times that will be released soon. Essentially, I eat a lot of meat and dairy products, which limits the amount of fruits, vegetables, seeds and nuts I eat, so by waiting until 6 p.m. to eat meat and dairy, I can easily limit my consumption. I’m also not eating meat every day anymore. Feels good so far.

OK. That’s enough rambling for now. Oh wait, I almost forgot that I was interviewed by Distance Obsessed for their podcast series. Here’s the link if you’re interested: http://distanceobsessed.com/episodes/2013/2/21/episode-4-john-mcalister. I take rambling to an art form in that interview.

The Dion Red Barn Snowshoe Race was my second competition of the year. It wasn’t pretty. I went out like a madman at the start (rookie move) and then really wanted to quit after the first few minutes (it’s never a good sign when you want to quit while still in the lead). Most of the race was a suffer fest for me, as I had no power or strength and just slogged my way to the finish. I’m not sure what happened as I felt great the day before, but just very weak during the race.

Joe Turner ran strong for the win, followed by Brian Northan and Keith Iskiw. Keith and I ran together at the end, and while we crossed the finish line together, this was only because he slowed down to wait for me (we’re buddies). So, I will use this 4th-place finish for motivation as I get into some focused training for my trail races this spring.

As with all his events, Derrick Spafford (and team) did a fantastic job at organizing the race. Held at his parent’s farm, the 7 km course featured some nice trails and hilly climbs. More info here.

Update: I’ve been battling a nasty head cold since Sunday, so that probably explains why I was feeling weak and lightheaded during the race. Doesn’t excuse me sprinting like an idiot at the start though.