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Badlands: The Wildest Serla Challenge
What is Badlands?
The word BadlandsIt is a word of recent acceptance and arises to describe a type of place characterized by arid land without vegetation and a pronounced erosion.
Through this landscape and many others also runs Badlands, a grave career, in the ultra -duty modality, in which participants must face almost 800kms with 16,000m of positive slope through some of the toughest and most spectacular landscapes in Spain.
What makes Badlands special?
Not for nothing has been baptized as the wildest grave challenge in Europe, and not only the distance and the unevenness are factors that cause the wear of the athlete, the succession of contrasts through the 780 kms implies that the more than 300 runners face multiple scenarios.
From some of the highest ports on the continent spending the 2000msnm, hundreds of kilometers to the seashore, which implies almost winter temperatures in the peaks, up to 50ºC in the deserts of Gorafe and Tabernas.
How to face this type of tests
As we have said, Badlands is an ultra -artish test, in which the runners are expected to pass a total of up to six days above the bike.
Without a doubt, success in this type of test has a multifactorial character. As resources are managed, the career strategy, navigation capacity, mechanics of the bike or nutrition are key pieces to take the route in the shortest possible time.
These are some of the tips we give from 226ers for this type of challenges:
- Try to Test previously both material and nutrition that you will take the day of the test.
- Find the balance between being prepared for any unforeseen and carrying excessive weight.
- The acclimatization It is key to this type of tests, tries replicate most faithfully Conditions in previous training.
- Check the documents and recommendations of the organizers. Checking testimonies from previous edition participants can also be useful.
- Ultradistance is one of the most demanding disciplines at the psychological level, you must be aware of the hardness of the days and moments of uncertainty that you must face.
How to manage the race
Although each time the nutritional recommendations in high performance seem to have a certain consensus based on scientific evidence, the careers that exceed 24h seem to have a different nature.
Remember that it is a self -sufficiency race, can you have to load about 10kg of gels and bars to get 90gr/h during 70 hours?
Different recommendations and strategies have been tested and studied without the expected success, partly due to the difficulty of accessing the samples or taking conclusive data.
During such prolonged efforts our body experiences changes, including the Modulation of different biomechanical, morphological, emotional and personal mechanisms as:
- A greater protein catabolism and muscle degradation.
- Changes in sympathetic autonomous systems, heart rate, blood pressure and respiratory rate are affected during the hours and days.
- Accumulation of muscle damage markers such as creatinine kinase, urea or lactate, sign of catabolism and fatigue.
- High Cortisol levels due to one Ansiógena answer.
- Activation of oxidation of fats and increased Triglyceride consumption as energy substrate.
Where to start
In order to simplify and facilitate the recommendations, we will make some suggestions that we consider key in the fields of the feeding, hydration and supplements:
Feeding. You will need to eat large amounts to alleviate the energy imbalance of the long days on the armchair, vary between textures and flavors will help to saturate us less. It is quite possible that during your adventure you are forced to supply yourself in supermarkets or neighborhood or gas stories, prioritizes complete and nutrient -rich options, although a sweet does not threaten anyone and "less healthy" options and with greater palatability, they can involve an extra motivation in difficult times.
Gels, jelly beans and bars are easy to transport and will help you get energy during the stages. Some examples of essential within the bar can be:
- Gels. With different sources and amounts of carbohydrates by gelThey guarantee a relevant contribution of energy. *An interesting option is the ICE range that you can find in the isotonic gel, the mentol acts as a precursor to the feeling of cold, promoting a better thermal well -being*
- GELES AND BARRITAS WITH GOMOBOLER TEXTURE, the jelly texture, which you can find in the bars and gels, facilitates the consumption of carbohydrates during sports, also the options jumped help to meet the sodium needs.
- Energy bars, there are different options and formats based on natural ingredients. We all have a favorite flavor, but if you don't want me to stop being, try to include variety when you prepare your bags. In our catalog you can find an assortment of flavors, with nuts of nuts (dates and fig) or oats.
- An option protein high It is interesting as dessert, snack or when we have a more relaxed pace. Those with chocolate coverage are delicious, but do not make good crumbs with heat. *Vegan Protein Bar provides a relevant amount of protein, without worrying about its integrity since it has no coverage*
- Protein is usually a macronutriento with forgotten during sports, the succession of days make recovery criticismFor this you can try to include recovery drink monodysis, with a good balance between proteins and hydrates.
Hydration. There is no discussion that it is the most relevant point and it is that in this type of test it is common to see losses of up to 9 liters/day. Hydrating is not only drinking water, eating adequate levels of minerals with special mention to the sodium, will help maintain osmotic balance.
There are no guarantees, but without a doubt, including regularly high drinks in mineral salts and carbohydrates will help you meet your goals. Dupils and monodysis formats are easy to transport while allowing to alternate flavors and products depending on the moment of the test.
- Salts
- Hydrazero. From the moments before the test to the replacement of salts once it is finished, Hydrazero is a hypotonic drink with almost 500mg of sodium per stick and three delicious flavors, tropical, acid strawberry and lemon.
- Sub9 Salts Electrolytes or Chew, with a high sodium content by Toma, are an easy and effective way to have efficient hydration.
- Salts + carbohydrates
- Our already more than testes prepared for sports drinks, fortified with minerals and vitamins: Energy and Isotonic Drink. You can find them in monodysis format with different flavors.
- A low osmolarity preparation will allow us to incorporate a high amount of carbohydrates without compromising gastric emptying. The monodosis of Sub9 Race Day They fulfill this premise with an extra contribution of sodium.
- Sub9 Energy Drink. The combination of carbohydrates and proteins, make it a very interesting option, in addition, it is a light and refreshing drink that differs from the rest of the most aqueous preparations.
- High fructose. The relevance that the implementation of major fructose ratios within sports performance has been acquired. Avoid saturating glucose transporters, SGLT1, can increase performance and more important, facilitate carbohydrate absorption avoiding gastrointestinal problems.
Supplements. For our body to function properly, especially in situations of physical stress, vitamins, minerals and other nutrients are essential for some functions such as muscle contraction, proper functioning of the immune system or protecting ourselves from oxidative stress caused by intense exercise loads.
- Creatine monohydrate. We have already talked about this supplement in different Tickets, everything and that is especially recommended for more explosive efforts, can also be interesting in resistance disciplines due to its pH damping function, glycogen resynthesis or acute recovery, reducing oxidative stress and inflammation.
- Vasodilators and precursors of nitric oxide (no), through the consumption of these supplements, it seeks to influence more or less directly in the amount of no that helps the relaxation of the smooth muscle of the endothelium, thus promoting a greater flow of blood and with it a benefit linked to the highest oxygen consumption, supply of nutrients or replacement of energy in the form of ATP.
- MAGNESIUM, is the most abundant intracellular cation next to the potassium, there are many benefits that athletes can obtain from supplementation with this mineral. However, not everyone is equal and bisglycence is undoubtedly one of the ways with greater bioavailability.
With all this we do not intend to scare you, much less, but to show personalization and the need to value correct nutritional practices if we are going to consider competing in this type of disciplines.
