“To start, you’ll carry a 20-lb. pack,” Nicholas said last weekend. “It will contain your food for the week, and necessary items like a flare that the race organizers require. You know, things you’ll need should you get in some trouble out there.” My knees precogitated dull aching sensations as I shifted position on the couch. Tossing a look at his wife, Anna, across the table, her empathetic yet serious nod swiftly confirmed the gravity of preparation for such an endeavor.
The talk was of upcoming Racing the Planet: Western Australia 2010; Nicholas, finisher of numerous ultra-marathon or otherwise ultra-race events, continued his preliminary reality check for myself and my boyfriend. “How much are you running right now? I’ve learned to walk up the hills and run down them. What are you using for recovery? You’ll need something in addition to water to help you face each new day. What are your stretching habits?” We mentioned our five out of seven morning stretch routines. “Wow, okay, well, I also learned from some racers during the Marathon des Sables to put my feet up at night, just 20 minutes, but it really makes a difference.”
Discussion shifted to food, otherwise known for such endurance races as caloric intake superbly orchestrated to reflect your body’s various nutritional needs for a week’s worth of daily peak athletic performance. As to one’s mind . . ., “I count my steps,” Nicholas revealed. “You guys talk while you run? Well, I’m not that fun to be with. But really, you’ll have to figure out how to get through each day in your head too.”
Michael and I returned home with another handful of personal tips in tow; setting off on a run, our customarily ‘filled just enough’ water bladders were topped out, and several poached ears of corn from along the cross-country route upped our loads. Two pounds, a start, eh? Could have been three? Time to sketch out a training chart.
Slogging down sloped hayed fields, on the loop homeward, a sparkle of red shimmered in the dewy morning rays. Michael yipped while bee-lining towards the bulky hedges separating field from woods. I followed, having not yet fallen ill from his foraging finds. “Wine berries!” he grinned, seeds already stuck between teeth. I selected several deeply hued orbs and popped them in immediately.
A sweetness at once subtle and brilliant sped past my gullet. My eyes began sorting the berry stalks for that particular blood red opalescence marking really ready fruits. Sun-kissed berries started to differentiate themselves from their fellow kinds not yet hit with the day’s light. I wonder what influence of day, temperature, light and moisture I was naturally selecting?
Absorbed in our sweet glee, thoughts of training nutrition flew out the door in favor of instantaneous bliss. I marveled at our happening upon the berries before the thousands of song birds that must instrinsically map such a mecca. Hop, skipped and jumped home by the natural infusion, breakfast was a fast affair; then it was into pants and long sleeves and into our woods for more berry hunting. Having worked hard this spring and summer to clear away unwanted vines, yet preserve the (apparently non-native) berry vines, I knew a private hillside stash would great my search.
“You train to live,” Nicholas had said. “Not live to train.” I couldn’t agree more. Does Western Australia have any wild fruit?
Related Posts:
The wineberries are considered invasives and are removed in some natural areas. I do, however, also find them delicious. Last month, I was devouring them during local walks. It sure beats paying for raspberries at the store!
Your training sounds challenging. The White Clay Preserve in London Britain offers a lot of nice dirt trails for runners.
Heather
Interesting! I thought wineberries a native vine, until I looked them up on Wikipedia (admittedly not the last word on plants). So what do you think, I’ve been moving slowly through our woods getting rid of japanese honeysuckle and the invasive bittersweet. Get rid of these delicious berried vines as well? Slowly replacing with native hardwoods and shrubs . . .
Lynea,
You could ask a local habitat restorationist, such as Jessie Benjamin with Taproot Native Design. I think it would be recommended to remove them. However, it is always a bit disappointing to see good things like the berries go since they are so delicious. Red berries are my preference for eating and we don’t have any native options for anything like a wineberry, that I am aware of.
Heather