I actually finished 8th overall and won my Age Group, which is the best I've done in any race!
Check the
Races List for the results and GPS track.
This was my second time running a 50 mile trail run, and it was a fantastic race. I'll share a few things about this run.
-Mother Nature served up some humble pie! This race starts at 5am, which means 2 hours in the dark
with a headlamp. You would not expect to be overheating at 5am in October, but it was in the upper 60's and saturatingly humid, drizzling rain off and on. You can't sweat, you can't cool down, you just keep running and climbing hills and getting warmer, with heart rate climbing out of control.
-The single track trail is often pretty packed with people at the start, you can spend a good bit of time stuck behind slower runners. And when you get unstuck, you tend to want to make up lost time. But that can lead to exceeding your target heart rate and wearing yourself out prematurely. This is a pretty long haul, really need to pace yourself!
-This was my first time experimenting with "fueling" for a run. As usual I went into the race fasted, having eaten nothing since my steak and sweet potato and salad dinner about 11 hours prior. I ran the first 90 minutes with nothing but some water at the aid station, which is 6 miles into the 10 mile loop. I took a bag of Honeystinger chews (160 cal per bag) and a Honeystinger gel (100 cal) on each loop. I'd stop at my car at the end of each loop to unload trash and grab another pair of stingers for the next loop. So I tried the first gel at 90min into the race, and then alternated chews and gels every 45-90 minutes as I remembered and felt the need. I usually don't ingest anything during the race except water and salts (sodium and potassium salts) to maintain electrolytes. But I was aiming for a decent PR this time. Running fast and powering up steep hills burns your limited muscle glycogen no matter how fat-adapted or ketogenic you are! Once its gone, your heavy muscles start losing power output. So I was looking to intake about 200 calories per hour to offset the glycogen burn throughout the race. I ran the first 90min without, to maximize aerobic burning first, so at the peak of the run I would be burning both fat and sugar simultaneously for maximum output. And it definitely helped versus previous runs without fueling. The first two loops were pretty easy, aside from being stung by a honey bee in the ribs, right below my HR chest strap (which then rubbed on the sting for an hour, agitating it greatly... and I had to ditch the strap at the end of that loop).
-I was seriously overheating and over HR by the time I finished the 3rd loop. I often tell people to make sure to keep a positive attitude and enjoy the run, because this has significant effects on the body and your ability to endure pain for a long period. But in this state, I was NOT enjoying the race at all and could not find anything to be happy about. As I ran the last few miles of loop 3 I was having those negative thoughts you want to avoid... can I even finish 50 miles at this rate? Do I even want to or care anymore? Maybe I should just drop after this loop. Those thoughts aren't fun, especially when you've been looking forward to this race and training for months. But the humidity was unbearable. I finished the loop and ran to my car, I chugged a coconut water and in desperation, I sat in the driver seat and turned the AC on full blast, with all available vents blasting my face, chest, and arms. After about 3-4 minutes my HR lowered and I cooled off enough to start thinking sanely again. (ok... maybe 'insanely again') Either way.... I put another bag of Honeystinger gels and a GU Roctane in my pocket, locked the car and headed down the trail again, slightly renewed and not sure what my plan was.
-Nature had more fun in store. As I ran loop 4 it started drizzling again, cold rain and the intermittent winds of the day stirred up to powerful gusts. This summer has been unusually calm, few storms, and that means lots of limbs, walnuts, and hedge apples ready to drop from the trees. And with the gusts, it literally rained leaves and debris. A walnut to the head doesn't feel very good, a hedge apple might well knock you out... they're hard and heavier than a baseball. The wind even knocked some trees down across the trail so we had to climb over the mess until the race volunteers were able to clear it with chainsaws. And then it started downpouring rain.
-With so little rain this year, the heavy rain accumulated into ponds in very little time. The dry creeks started filling with water and huge stretches of single track were now 2-4" deep. Much of the trail is shared Equestrian trail, with a lot of fresh manure piles throughout. All this ponding water and runners blazing through it turned the trails into a horseshit log flume. I had to turn off the common sense part of my mind that does things like avoiding getting shit splattered on myself and just plow through. My relatively new Altra Superior 3's still stink like pure shit, and I'm not sure they'll ever be the same. Not sure if I should soak them in a bucket of bleach water or put them in the trash :O
-The cold rain saved me. Many runners seemed to be getting cold and wearing more clothes, I remained shirtless. Volunteers and spectators at the aid stations were wearing coats. I was now ~35 miles in and feeling fantastic. I chowed another bag of chews and started speeding up. I noticed other runners slowing down and I started passing people that had long passed me. I was worried my second wind wouldn't last. But I stayed positive and continued blasting thru the puddles, actually enjoying the relative insanity of the situation. Half a dozen downhill areas became dangerously slick and/or goopy. I ran them anyways, a calculated risk that paid off. I managed to catch up and pass several runners that were being more cautious. But I did twist my ankle once, almost face planted twice, and nearly shit myself as I about slid out of control off the trail. Every runner ends up having to make the choice at times... play it safe or commit to earning that PR. I damned the torpedoes and went full speed ahead, and got lucky. That said, I rarely run flat out crazy... I do what I can to minimize risk in all circumstances, but this was slightly on the stupid side.
-Somewhere around loop 4 and 5, the various gels and chews were making me feel a little nauseous after each one. Only lasted a few minutes after each one. Perhaps it wouldn't have been so bad if my stomach weren't otherwise empty, or if I had staggered them and taking them over time instead of devouring them. More experimentation needed, but it was tolerable.... and I think worthwhile when attempting to run difficult terrain and/or high speed. The GU Roctane was interesting, thicker than Honeystingers and almost like cake frosting. But I definitely felt a boost a few minutes after eating that one. Where I had fallen behind from going very slow on loop 3 and taking a long break to cool off in the car, I was catching up quickly on loop 5.
-My baggie of Losalt and Pink salt mix got wet in the downpour, making it very difficult to measure some out at the aid station. I was in such a hurry that I got almost no salt intake for loop 5. And sure enough, my hamstrings and calves starting cramping viciously as I attempted to run 9:00-10:00 pace across the dam and finish strong. A friendly runner (Megan) kindly gave me a salt cap, which I swallowed with no water. And that helped slightly but it was too close to the end to have time to take much effect.
-The finish line seemed too good to be true, and I kept thinking to try and savor the people cheering and clapping for me as I ran thru the last 100ft as fast as I could. I always like to try to hit 5:00 pace or faster as I cross the line, just to show that I still can sprint after 50 miles. But I was delirious, the end was a blur. I got my finisher award and inhaled some water and soda and thanked a few people profusely, then hobbled to my car to get the real award.... the bottle of Dragons Milk Ale that I'd been looking forward to for weeks. I sipped that down, and then a whole bottle of Arrogant Bastard Ale, while chatting with everyone at the finish line, then headed home once that wore off.
-I had a few minor joint pains throughout the race, not atypical. Each time though, I realized my form was decaying. Every time I resumed running with good running form and technique, the pains cease in seconds. Seriously... that is all you need! Proper form and fat-adaption will take you as far as you want to go.
-Three days later and my calves and hamstrings are still a bit sore. My hip flexors hurt up til yesterday. All that mud and sliding and bracing yourself to not fall does some damage that's not typical of a normal street run or dry trail race. I should be back to normal tomorrow... start back in with some 5 mile walks the next 2 days, then back to running as usual. One more race this year, the McNotAgain 30 miler in 2.5 weeks.
-I wanted to take some pics of the course with all the standing water and muck everywhere, but it rained too much to risk taking my expensive phone.... so it got left in the car. Suck.
-Nerd statistics. In total, I consumed:
5 gels @100 cal each = 500
5 chews @160 cal each = 800
2 coconut waters @ 60 cal each = 160
approx 6oz Mountain Dew! = 85
That makes for a total intake of 1545 calories from simple carbs over about 11 hours, with a Garmin estimated calorie burn of 5733 cals, yielding 4188 consumed from my own bodyfat and glycogen. That'd be about 27% from the Honeystingers and GU, 73% from internal stores. I only had 4 higher pace runs as speed work to train up for going faster after some 18 months of mostly MAF heart rate based slow running. I suspect if I make a consistent effort to both maintain my aerobic system and train for high speed running, I can continue to improve my Ultra run times to compete for the top end of the leaderboard.
