Training in Montana

50K baby! can't wait to read about it. Great run in the cold. I'll take cold over wind any day. I can bundle up, but I can't spit into the wind :)

RAD, I'm with you. Cold with no wind is nothing, plus I'm a major spitter when running. Nothing good comes of spitting when windy...and running.

15 degrees! it's 90 out here today... keep up the good job Russ!

Be careful what you wish for in SA weather :-)

Ah, a spitter - that explains a lot. Not really. But on the spitting front, I was a spitter too but stopped after reading something about the benefits of not spitting.

The only benefit I can recall is that old ladies will stop shouting at you for spitting at them.

Seriously, there are physiological benefits for not spitting. It's hard at first but after a day or two of concentrating, you can stop. I'll see if I can find the article, it might have something to do vasodilation. I think I remember reading about it when I investigated the benefits of Beetroot juice.

Bam, your comment was eggscellent. Running in a rural area nearly all the time means I can spit to my heart's content and only the mule deer know it. I googled physiological benefits or detriments of running and spitting and even with a few changes came up blank. Let me know if you find it. I forgot to try not to spit today. Snot rockets, on the other hand, would be tougher to quit. My nose tends to run when I run, sometimes much faster than me. But that's another story.

Ok, it's very complicated but it has more to do with drinking inorganic beet juice and not using mouthwash after and not spitting.

The reason for this is that the oral bacteria that are necessary for the conversion of nitrate to nitrite are found in and around the tongue. So, when you spit or use mouthwash, you are destroying the bacteria necessary for converting nitrate to nitrite, which has major advantages to endurance events.

If you drink 300-500ml of inorganic beet juice before running (2.5 hrs) you will see decent improvements in running performance. That said, I found no noticeable improvements from taking beet juice before running. I did, however, find that it helps massively in the recovery process. If you quaff beet juice after a workout you defo recover quicker.

I'll have a look through my files, I'm sure I have something about the benefits of not spitting.

What about Chia Seeds ? :-)

I take two table spoons of whole chia seeds each day - I wouldn't say they were performance enhancing per se, but they are very good for you.

Maca powder, on the other hand, is potent and defo does what it says on the packet. I wholeheartedly recommend Maca powder and I promise anybody who takes it that they will notice a difference in a couple of days, especially if you're 40+. It is an adaptogen and a powerful one at that. It's totally legit (a root). Look it up and buy it - it will change your life:)