Hometown Heros - Anna Frost

I am lucky enough to be a Dunedin lass, born and raised. So it makes me feel proud and inspired to have an internationally acclaimed trail running athlete hero, self termed warrior princess of the trails, who also came from Dunedin.

Anna Frost
Blog: Frosty's Footsteps

Frosty is a nickname Anna gained from her dad. 

Growing up Frosty's main sport was field hockey. Then at university she became more involved in triathlon and various running event.

"I was always really active...it was always in my blood right from when I was a little girl."

In 2004 Anna Frost qualified for the world mountain running champs in Italy.  "It was there that I fell in love with the sport, the travel, the environment and the people. So in 2005 I set off backpacking around the EU racing in the Grand Prix and World Championship series."

Frosty doesn't like to walk in mountain races, or in ultra marathons: "it's just going to take me longer to get to the top, but that would mean more pain, so I run".

"I love the feeling of getting to the top...I love the feeling, I love the views and the feeling of being on top [of the mountain]."




Anna Frost's Secret To Hill Running:

• Short steps
• Thigh strength - push up with thighs more than using the calf muscles
• Get into a rhythm - don't change pace or breathing, consistent rhythm and pace will get you up the mountain
• Don't exhaust yourself by the time you reach the top
• Shoulders back
• Chest open - so you can fill your lungs with air, and slow muscle fatigue
• Cross training and core strength so you can hold your body up, and keep momentum in your upper body to assist powering your legs
• Good technique is important

Anna Frosts Training Philosophy:

•   Train as and where you can (especially because she travels a lot) - see what your location has to offer (beaches, mountains, flat, steep)
• 6 weeks focus for an important race - 25-30hrs a week running, 10hrs a week cross training (swimming, core strength, yoga, balance), two longer runs a week (4-6hrs each)
• Small amounts of speed work - 4-5min hard, 2min easy and varies terrain
• If she's feeling good on a run she "smashes" every hill to push herself harder
• Rest and take time off to recover and recuperate

Frost swears by Mule Bar as her favourite fuel source, and carries them for every race.  She also says that keeping her diet varied (dairy, gluten etc) so that her stomach can handle what ever she comes across regardless of what continent she is running on.

Frost doesn't carry a huge amount of water, she just doesn't feel as though she needs to drink a huge amount, and prefers carrying small bottles to keep her hydrated.

Frosty on Female Athlete Triad:

• F.A.T. is an imbalance of hormones, weight and training for athletic women, leads to osteoporosis, ceasing menstruation and a whole host of other problems 
• Frost finds her bones take a hammering when her training/rest schedule is too demanding as well as hormone imbalance
• Frosty is promoting awareness of training and running with their menstrual cycle
• Have an easier day on the first day of your menstrual cycle - heart rate and body temp constantly changes with cycle, so training too hard puts extra strain on your body
• For Frosty, a low carb, healthy fats diet (seeds, nuts, sun-dried tomato, salmon) helps to keep her healthy and in balance
• Consider increasing hydration and protein to assist the female body during racing
• Recommends "Rushing Woman's Syndrome" book as a great source of information about F.A.T
• Listen to your body - injury is the body's way of screaming for attention

Check out Frosty's SHOUT IT OUT GIRLS for more information or to ask questions about health, running and injury.

Rickey Gates – Writing for Trail Runner “Though Frost (“Frosty” as she introduces herself) and I have both run for Team Salomon International for the past three years, it wasn’t until the (multi-day, teams-of-two) Gore-tex Trans Rockies in August of 2011 that I got to witness the fierceness of the New Zealand native. Worried that “fierce” wasn’t the word I was looking for, I looked it up and found “powerful and destructive in extent or intensity.”  What I saw in those six days, up close and personal, was a raging bull. By the sixth day, our cumulative lead had increased to an hour over second place.  She was breathing laboriously, sweating, red and visibly suffering and I suggested, maybe, you know, taking it easy for a little bit. Addressing the hill or the trail, Frosty swore something awful, bent to it and carried on. A %95 effort does not mean anything to this person. I saw a powerful and destructive force in extent and intensity.”

Anna Frost's personal philosophy:

As an athlete I aspire to be the very best I can.

As a person I aspire to never stop learning, to never forget that we have one life, that nature is our prime source of energy. Here we are always free. The world is our playground, with just one limit – our own.