The McNaughton 500M race was an exciting learning experience for me. I was not too shabby on the negative side. The main mistakes I made were 1) over training (lots of races, over 3,800 miles in 2010 and lots of high mileage in the 1st quarter/2011); and 2) trying to run too many miles in one day - for this particular course in the first few days. I made numerous right decisions and was left with a great feeling of accomplishment and a desire to - maybe - come back next year to finish this race.
Coming into the race less than 100%
About 55 miles into the Dizzy Daze 100K (3/26), my right shin started to hurt. Since I was almost finished, I just sucked it up and continued running. I didn't think much of it until I couldn’t run the following week without severe pain in the shin - it felt like either shin splints or even a stress fracture (I really don't know what that feels like but imagine sometimes that I have one). The first part of April, I tried to change my flight to VT so that I could run the 200M instead but the cost to change was ridiculous.
So, I determined to just go out and do whatever I could do; not worry about the distance (yeah sure); and enjoy myself as much as possible. I did go to the Doctor a couple weeks out and she told me to suck it up. Not really, but she did give me the green light to go to the race. She was not concerned with what she saw.
Highlights - Note: We were given 8 days, 10 hours which provided a partial 9th day - I'll take it.
Day 1: 60M - Saturday (good first day - stopped because I felt very nauseous on the last loop. sunny/mid 60s)
Day 2: 40M - Sunday (started out with remnant nausea - threw up on first loop. The rest of the day was ok. sunny/high 60s)
Day 3: 60M - Monday (great day - had to work to slow myself down. made myself stop at 60. overcast)
Day 4: 30M - Tuesday (tough day - tired from previous day. overcast, light rain)
Day 5: 50M - Wednesday (good outcome of a bad weather day - ran with John Bridges all day. Drank coffee until about 10am. Finished before midnight with Glenn/John. Wet all day; a little cold at the end)
Day 6: 30M - Thursday (tough day - cool weather, light rain)
Day 7: 40M - Friday (good day - rolled my right ankle on first loop. Last loop started feeling sharp pain on my "extensor hallucis brevis [EHB]" - this no doubt is from the down hill braking. Wasn't sure I would be run the next day. Applied R.I.C.E. - cool cloudy day)
Day 8: 30M - Saturday (good day - felt surprisingly good the first 2 loops. able to run the ups. Last loop was a bit rough but tolerable. EHB - the "feels like I tied my shoe too tight" soreness prevailed. Lots of swelling in feet and hands. More R.I.C.E. - partly cloudy day/warm)
Day 9: 30M - Sunday (felt ok last day - I was not able to run much the first 2 loops and had to walk the last loop. Lots of swelling in feet and hands. R.I.C.E. and food frenzy. partly cloudy last day/mid-60s)
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Total: 370M
Some details:
I took a Thursday night flight to Vermont so that I wouldn't feel rushed on Friday, getting into Pittsfield late. My flight left at 10:30PM which is 1:30AM ET. After a short hop from Newark, NJ to Burlington, VT, I arrived somewhat rested at 10:30AM ET. I took a couple buses to get to downtown Burlington where I would have lunch and wait for my arranged ride. Andy Weinberg (RD) had arranged for Jason Jaksetic, a PeakRaces.com employee who lives on the farm, and fellow ultra runner newbie, to pick me up down town.
Mighty crew/pacer/photographer extraordinaire: Glenn pix by Glenn
After signing up in December (a change from my original plan of running the 6-day race in NY), I immediately thought of inviting Glenn Tachiyama - good friend and my previous 'go to guy' for pacing / crewing in my early Cascade Crest 100 years. I thought it would work out well to have him come mid-week to help me to get through the rest of the week.
I reserved a hotel room at the Killington Hotel (about 10 miles from race HQ) so that I could get a shower and decent rest. That turned out to be a perfect plan. I got my first shower since the prior Thursday night, after running 50 miles on Wednesday. It was a late night as washing off the ground in mud, washing my hair, and catching up on FB left me wide awake until 2am. Thursday morning was also a treat as I woke up late enough to go to the free breakfast at the hotel - since breakfast was 7-9am only. This was the only true/big breakfast I had all week and was more than enough. I didn't want to get to comfy with the idea or I might not have returned to the race. Each night I was able to go back to the room for a much needed rinsing off of the mud, both from my body and from my socks.
Equipment:
REI Hiking poles: used only once, the 1st Sunday of the race. I did enjoy using the poles but they slowed me down on the climbs (something I found to be true when I tried them at the Plain 100) and were not as helpful as I'd hoped for on the decents. I think they needed to be longer for them to work on the descents.
Shoes: Montrail Mt Masochist: Montrail has won me back with these trail shoes. I wore them out of the box at the Mt Si 50M 3 weeks prior to this race. They were very comfortable. I also tried the new Montrail Rockridge out of the box the previous week at the Squak Mt 50K. That shoe seemed too big for me (not sure why yet). I ended up running almost exclusively in the Masochists so the Rockridge remained mudless and really untested - jury still out on these.
OTC insoles: Green Superfeet were added, also right out of the box to my shoes on the 3rd day (after 100M) when I started to feel the slightest pain in the balls of my feet. That took care of the issue immediately. No other foot issues to deal with the rest of the week (see socks section below). Side-subject: shoes are made too soft these days. People seem to like the 'soft' feel when they first try on the shoes but don't be fooled by that, the shoes will not properly protect your feet over the long haul. Now I have to add OTC insoles to balance that out. Don't get me started on the fad of ‘so called’ barefoot running and the irresponsible folks who push the 5 toe shoeless-shoe...what? I know right!
Socks: I've given "not-so-"Smart Wool socks their last chance. I wore my $5, at least 5 year old, probably ran a half dozen 100 milers in these, Brooks socks on day 1. On day 2, I switched to the Smart Wool and soon felt hot spots forming on the heels of both my feet. To rule out the shoes/rugged course as the cause, I went back to said Brooks socks and my feet were happy the entire rest of the week. I did eventually get blisters formed on my heels by Tuesday and tried duct tape for the first time ever at that point. ... while I believe in that whole heartedly, I also know that I need to be good with mid-race changes (that's how I am able to survive). The fact that I didn't really have to go more than 10 miles before I could make substantial changes, and the fact that each new day provided me with 'somewhat' of a fresh start, left me to try what I may need to go to later in the week. The duct tape worked well and I left them on the entire day. After that, I went back to using the Hydropel only. That stuff is the bomb! Blisters were a non-issue.
Shorts: I wasn't too fond of the new Patagonia trail shorts (trail nines) for a few reasons 1) too soft and don't wick water well - not suited for rain; 2) they shorted the pockets - with the old style, I could put a lot of things in my pockets - gloves, trash, gels, etc.; 3) they're too long. We're not basketball players - I know my short-shorts days are out but these things go to my knees. It's ridiculous. That said, I wore the trail nines for days at a time - nine days to be exact. I did like that the shorts were soft, felt like I had on PJs while running. Maybe I'll hem up the length about 3" or so. As with all shorts these days, I had to cut out the cinching strings which are just a pain in the abs and provide no practical use to me at all.
Band-Aids: Band-Aids, as usual, worked well as nipple guards. I put them on Friday night before the race and took off the first set on Wednesday only because I wanted to get entirely clean with my first shower. I put on a second set and wore them (with showers) until Sunday, the end of the race.
Shirts: I switched between 2 shirt types (3 shirts). 1) Under Armor cold weather long sleeve; 2) Race Ready short sleeve. I like running hot so the Under Armor provided just what I needed in cold, wet, and even mild conditions. I need to find the name of the Race Ready short sleeve I have (it's about 4 years old). It keeps me warmer than most technical shirts I wear and I always prefer short sleeve over long.
Sleeves: I brought a few pairs of running sleeves but never found the need/desire to wear them.
Gloves/Hats: I brought all my gloves from inserts, to snow gloves. I wasn't going to risk not having them if we had weather like last year. For the most part, I wore a couple different ball caps. I tried beanies a couple times but ended up taking them off and carrying them during the climbs.
Jackets: I switched between my 11 year old Northface Windgopper (cold day mornings only), my Northface light weight jacket (cool days and just in case - tied around my waist usually), and my REI rain jacket, which I wore only a couple times and all day Wednesday, the rainiest day.
Lubes and such: My wife Shawn McTaggart sent me with a new tube of Hydropel for my feet. It turned out to be a life saver for me. I had been using Body Glide even for my feet but nothing compares to Hydropel - buy it, you need it. I used Body Glide for other sensitive spots but found that I didn't need it after the first 2 days - so I didn't use it. Shawn also sent a tube of A&D ointment for 'monkey butt' - if you have to ask, you don't need to know. That worked out fantastically and again, I didn't have to use it after a few days. Shawn also packed some Gold Bond for trench foot prevention. I would likely have benefited some by keeping my feet fresh but didn't take the time to use the Gold Bond.
Hand warmers: I brought tons of hand warmers. Opened and used one pack for a loop or so. Not necessary but glad I brought them.
Gels/Salt: I brought about 100 ACEL gel and a box of Espresso Love GUs. I alternated between vanilla and chocolate ACEL gels, usually 1 per loop, and never opened the GU box. I used more Succeed tablets than normal and those worked well as usual.
Foods: I generally ate peanut butter & jam or ham & cheese sandwiches throughout the day. Andy would bring us dinner which ended up being pizza or a meatball sandwich – yum!
Hydration: I carried one hand held the entire time. As usual, I went with plain water. I did drink Gatorade at the end of most loops. I also drank Mt Dew at times to give me a boost and for flavor.
Running the race (Saturday April 30th – Sunday May 8th): During the first few loops on the course, I found that the course seemed easier than the course from the previous year. Then I realized how bad the down hills were going to be on my body and changed my view of the difficulty. Last year's course was a bit more technical in places but didn't have the pounding affect that this year's course would have on my legs. I determined to run as much of the up hills and flats as possible and walk (which would include braking) the very steep down hills. This proved to be the right choice for me as my knees and quads never suffered. On day 1 we had good weather. The course was pretty wet from snow melt and rain from previous weeks and we navigated as much as possible around the mud and muck. Still, feet remained wet most of each loop. Day 2's weather was beautiful getting close to 70 degrees with clear skies. While this should have been a great day for me, I started out feeling sick and puked by the time I got to the Labyrinth section (about 6 miles in). That out of my system and replenished with a peanut butter and strawberry jam sandwich, I had a much better go on loop 2. While I struggled during the day, I so enjoyed the weather and didn't fret too much about only getting in 4 loops. I had hoped to start feeling stronger during the day but that time never came.
I talked with Shawn after the 2nd day, telling her how bad I felt about my performance. She reminded me that I was ‘on vacation’ and was supposed to be running for enjoyment. I had told her I wasn't going to race but only run when I felt like it. She brought me out of my funk and I was able to jerk myself out of ‘competition mode,’ - in which I mean, ‘500 miles is out of the question so get over it,’ as opposed to racing the other competitors – something I needn’t do. I told her I would try to stick to running at least an utlra a day and would not commit to much more than that. I could still get in 300 miles having run 100 miles the first 2 days, and average 30 miles per day the remaining 6 1/2.
Monday, day 3 provided cool and cloudy weather and fast loop times for me. Fellow racer Steve Burton had awakened early and was leaving at 4am. To my surprise he said that he was leaving for Boston (where he and his wife had recently moved) and NOT out for his first loop of the day. That left only me and John Bridges in the race. To this point, none of us had run laps with each other so the days were filled with solitary running - but I was never lonely. Day 3 felt great to me and I likely ran too much and too hard as I would find out the next day. But the loops just flew by. I was unstoppable on day 3. End of Monday, day 3: 160 miles completed. This is the furthest I've ever run albeit I had slept each night so it seemed easier than the previous two 150 milers.
Tuesday, day 4 provided colder weather, mostly cloudy and some rain. I was low on energy and my legs felt depleted. I stopped after 3 loops, reminding myself ‘ok to stop after an ultra,’ and ‘this is supposed to be fun.’ End of Tuesday, day 4: 190 miles completed.
Wednesday, day 5. After Steve had left on Monday, and John's girlfriend had left to go back to work, John moved into the shelter Andy had provided for us. He and Erin were in a tent over the weekend. Tuesday night provided us with a LOT of rain and surly messed up the trail. Wednesday (day 5), we awoke to down pouring rain and decided sitting around drinking coffee and sharing our life stories was more worthy of the day's wet beginning. By 9:30am, we were getting a bit antsy and thought we might as well hit the trail and see what the rain and mud had to offer. We were surprised that the course really didn't get too much wetter. We finally made it out before 10am. We continued our conversation on the run and decided that we should stay together all day in order to motivate one another. We were wet the entire day but not cold, so that was a plus. After 3 loops, Andy showed up with some pizza. We ate just a bit and he came out on loop 4 with us. We told him we'd run a 5th loop if he'd come out for another - only a small bluff. He agreed but then back peddled when he found out that Glenn would be there and likely run the 5th with us. Glenn did run the loop in the dark, which was tough for him as he had no idea what the course looked like. And it was good that Andy went home to see his kids and family because he wouldn't see much of them from Thursday (when the 200 started) until the end of the race on Sunday. As I mentioned earlier, Wednesday was a late night for me and Thursday was a late yet too early of a start. End of Wednesday, day 5: 240 miles completed.
Thursday, day 6 would be another slow day I was certain. Glenn ran the first loop with John and me. I headed out quickly for the 2nd loop as John was tending to his continuing feet problems. Loop 2 was slower but still ok. I knew this would be a minimum day (3 loops) for me, so Glenn came out for the 3rd loop. As I came in from my 3rd and last loop of the day (close to 6pm) the 200 mile race had just commenced. The racers were excitedly running out on the first part of the course, and the rain clouds and showers followed close behind. End of Thursday, day 6,: 270 miles completed.
Friday, day 7 - I told Glenn not to let me run more than 40 miles on this day. I didn't want to kill myself before the weekend. My goal was still to run until the last day, and ultra (30 mile) minimum if possible, and still have a good time. Glenn agreed and headed out with me on my first loop. I rolled my right ankle on this loop which I tried to ignore for the most part. Usually with me, I can recover from even a bad ankle roll by just continuing to run and not gimping (that is, by keeping my form in tact). The second loop was ok but the ankle was still bothering me and I slowed somewhat. By the third loop, I knew I could go 4 and told Glenn to be ready to run the 4th and final loop of the day with me. That third loop was even slower but not too bad. Thank goodness that Glenn was there for the final loop of the day. That's when my left leg (shin/top of foot) decided to give up on me. My brake pads had burned out on the down hills. We went back to the hotel and I iced and elevated after the requisite shower. I sent Andy a text letting him know that I was hurting pretty badly and was not certain that I'd be able to run the next morning, but that I would be there no matter what. End of Friday, day 7: 310 miles completed.
Saturday, day 8 - I think Andy was surprised when I actually showed up that morning. I was a little skeptical about how I would feel before starting. As we arrived, I could see John there having eats with the other racers (200 & 150 milers) – 100 milers had started their race at 6am. John wasn't quite ready to start when I headed out but I needed to get going. I was pleasantly surprised at the strength I had. It truly was a blessing to start on flats and up hills as that allowed me to warm up before hitting the dreaded downs. I moved along well and was able to run under 2:45 for that loop. The second loop was much the same, strong start and good finish. The last loop hit me and I was back to fretting some about the slowness of my down hill walking. By the end of the day, I knew I would be out for the final day getting in AT LEAST 10 miles to make 350. End of Saturday, day 8: 340 miles completed.
Sunday, day 9 - Another day another ultra distance ‘run.’ There was not much running this day. Glenn headed out with me and I did more walking and slow running than anything else on the first loop. I needed to hold the body in one piece to finish out the day with a somewhat solid performance. On lap 2 I ran with a guy named Matt who had caught up to me at the end of the first lap. He was running the 150, which was amazing considering his furthest run to date was a 50 mile race. I pulled away from Matt towards the end of the climb as I needed to get moving before the long down hill walk began. Glenn was there for me to finish out my race and pretty much walk slowly with me on the final loop. I tried to run a couple times and had to remind myself it was counter-productive and without benefit. I had over 5 hours and couldn't ‘run’ 2 more loops if my life depended on it. So I was determined to walk the whole thing. I did and though it seemed like an eternity, we finished with a couple hours to spare – ‘No Andy, I don't have enough time for another. Thanks for asking!’ End of Sunday, day 9 and final day: 370 miles completed.
Post Race\Future Plans:
1. Flight - the first leg of my flight home was bumpy and I had airsickness coming into Newark. I hadn't experienced that in years but my worn body gave in and my breakfast came up. I was nauseous the entire 5 ½ hour flight back to Seattle after that.
2. Swelling - my feet were swollen most of the week but looked great by Friday. I still have a lot of stretching to do on my shins to keep my EHB from giving me issues.
3. No run zone - I have been enforcing a no run moratorium on myself. I’ll run again when I feel like it – no hurry at this point since we are moving to Anchorage in 2 weeks and packing is priority 1.
4. Buy new shoes - I ordered a couple more pairs of Mt Masochist and a pair for Shawn to try out. I’ve got to go with a shoe that works and this one does.
5. Sign up for 2012 race - I signed up for the 2012 race as soon as I could on Tuesday. I'm not even sure that I can get vacation during that time as I am starting on a new project for work in July of this year. Still I wanted to make my intentions known. Shawn will likely come with me and provide crew support for the first few days of the race and finish the week running the 200 miler herself. Andy has extended the race to 240 hours (10 full days) and I feel that I have a good chance of completing 500 miles if I can keep things together until race day next year.
Coming into the race less than 100%
About 55 miles into the Dizzy Daze 100K (3/26), my right shin started to hurt. Since I was almost finished, I just sucked it up and continued running. I didn't think much of it until I couldn’t run the following week without severe pain in the shin - it felt like either shin splints or even a stress fracture (I really don't know what that feels like but imagine sometimes that I have one). The first part of April, I tried to change my flight to VT so that I could run the 200M instead but the cost to change was ridiculous.
So, I determined to just go out and do whatever I could do; not worry about the distance (yeah sure); and enjoy myself as much as possible. I did go to the Doctor a couple weeks out and she told me to suck it up. Not really, but she did give me the green light to go to the race. She was not concerned with what she saw.
Highlights - Note: We were given 8 days, 10 hours which provided a partial 9th day - I'll take it.
Day 1: 60M - Saturday (good first day - stopped because I felt very nauseous on the last loop. sunny/mid 60s)
Day 2: 40M - Sunday (started out with remnant nausea - threw up on first loop. The rest of the day was ok. sunny/high 60s)
Day 3: 60M - Monday (great day - had to work to slow myself down. made myself stop at 60. overcast)
Day 4: 30M - Tuesday (tough day - tired from previous day. overcast, light rain)
Day 5: 50M - Wednesday (good outcome of a bad weather day - ran with John Bridges all day. Drank coffee until about 10am. Finished before midnight with Glenn/John. Wet all day; a little cold at the end)
Day 6: 30M - Thursday (tough day - cool weather, light rain)
Day 7: 40M - Friday (good day - rolled my right ankle on first loop. Last loop started feeling sharp pain on my "extensor hallucis brevis [EHB]" - this no doubt is from the down hill braking. Wasn't sure I would be run the next day. Applied R.I.C.E. - cool cloudy day)
Day 8: 30M - Saturday (good day - felt surprisingly good the first 2 loops. able to run the ups. Last loop was a bit rough but tolerable. EHB - the "feels like I tied my shoe too tight" soreness prevailed. Lots of swelling in feet and hands. More R.I.C.E. - partly cloudy day/warm)
Day 9: 30M - Sunday (felt ok last day - I was not able to run much the first 2 loops and had to walk the last loop. Lots of swelling in feet and hands. R.I.C.E. and food frenzy. partly cloudy last day/mid-60s)
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Total: 370M
Some details:
I took a Thursday night flight to Vermont so that I wouldn't feel rushed on Friday, getting into Pittsfield late. My flight left at 10:30PM which is 1:30AM ET. After a short hop from Newark, NJ to Burlington, VT, I arrived somewhat rested at 10:30AM ET. I took a couple buses to get to downtown Burlington where I would have lunch and wait for my arranged ride. Andy Weinberg (RD) had arranged for Jason Jaksetic, a PeakRaces.com employee who lives on the farm, and fellow ultra runner newbie, to pick me up down town.
Mighty crew/pacer/photographer extraordinaire: Glenn pix by Glenn
After signing up in December (a change from my original plan of running the 6-day race in NY), I immediately thought of inviting Glenn Tachiyama - good friend and my previous 'go to guy' for pacing / crewing in my early Cascade Crest 100 years. I thought it would work out well to have him come mid-week to help me to get through the rest of the week.
I reserved a hotel room at the Killington Hotel (about 10 miles from race HQ) so that I could get a shower and decent rest. That turned out to be a perfect plan. I got my first shower since the prior Thursday night, after running 50 miles on Wednesday. It was a late night as washing off the ground in mud, washing my hair, and catching up on FB left me wide awake until 2am. Thursday morning was also a treat as I woke up late enough to go to the free breakfast at the hotel - since breakfast was 7-9am only. This was the only true/big breakfast I had all week and was more than enough. I didn't want to get to comfy with the idea or I might not have returned to the race. Each night I was able to go back to the room for a much needed rinsing off of the mud, both from my body and from my socks.
Equipment:
REI Hiking poles: used only once, the 1st Sunday of the race. I did enjoy using the poles but they slowed me down on the climbs (something I found to be true when I tried them at the Plain 100) and were not as helpful as I'd hoped for on the decents. I think they needed to be longer for them to work on the descents.
Shoes: Montrail Mt Masochist: Montrail has won me back with these trail shoes. I wore them out of the box at the Mt Si 50M 3 weeks prior to this race. They were very comfortable. I also tried the new Montrail Rockridge out of the box the previous week at the Squak Mt 50K. That shoe seemed too big for me (not sure why yet). I ended up running almost exclusively in the Masochists so the Rockridge remained mudless and really untested - jury still out on these.
OTC insoles: Green Superfeet were added, also right out of the box to my shoes on the 3rd day (after 100M) when I started to feel the slightest pain in the balls of my feet. That took care of the issue immediately. No other foot issues to deal with the rest of the week (see socks section below). Side-subject: shoes are made too soft these days. People seem to like the 'soft' feel when they first try on the shoes but don't be fooled by that, the shoes will not properly protect your feet over the long haul. Now I have to add OTC insoles to balance that out. Don't get me started on the fad of ‘so called’ barefoot running and the irresponsible folks who push the 5 toe shoeless-shoe...what? I know right!
Socks: I've given "not-so-"Smart Wool socks their last chance. I wore my $5, at least 5 year old, probably ran a half dozen 100 milers in these, Brooks socks on day 1. On day 2, I switched to the Smart Wool and soon felt hot spots forming on the heels of both my feet. To rule out the shoes/rugged course as the cause, I went back to said Brooks socks and my feet were happy the entire rest of the week. I did eventually get blisters formed on my heels by Tuesday and tried duct tape for the first time ever at that point.
Shorts: I wasn't too fond of the new Patagonia trail shorts (trail nines) for a few reasons 1) too soft and don't wick water well - not suited for rain; 2) they shorted the pockets - with the old style, I could put a lot of things in my pockets - gloves, trash, gels, etc.; 3) they're too long. We're not basketball players - I know my short-shorts days are out but these things go to my knees. It's ridiculous. That said, I wore the trail nines for days at a time - nine days to be exact. I did like that the shorts were soft, felt like I had on PJs while running. Maybe I'll hem up the length about 3" or so. As with all shorts these days, I had to cut out the cinching strings which are just a pain in the abs and provide no practical use to me at all.
Band-Aids: Band-Aids, as usual, worked well as nipple guards. I put them on Friday night before the race and took off the first set on Wednesday only because I wanted to get entirely clean with my first shower. I put on a second set and wore them (with showers) until Sunday, the end of the race.
Shirts: I switched between 2 shirt types (3 shirts). 1) Under Armor cold weather long sleeve; 2) Race Ready short sleeve. I like running hot so the Under Armor provided just what I needed in cold, wet, and even mild conditions. I need to find the name of the Race Ready short sleeve I have (it's about 4 years old). It keeps me warmer than most technical shirts I wear and I always prefer short sleeve over long.
Sleeves: I brought a few pairs of running sleeves but never found the need/desire to wear them.
Gloves/Hats: I brought all my gloves from inserts, to snow gloves. I wasn't going to risk not having them if we had weather like last year. For the most part, I wore a couple different ball caps. I tried beanies a couple times but ended up taking them off and carrying them during the climbs.
Jackets: I switched between my 11 year old Northface Windgopper (cold day mornings only), my Northface light weight jacket (cool days and just in case - tied around my waist usually), and my REI rain jacket, which I wore only a couple times and all day Wednesday, the rainiest day.
Lubes and such: My wife Shawn McTaggart sent me with a new tube of Hydropel for my feet. It turned out to be a life saver for me. I had been using Body Glide even for my feet but nothing compares to Hydropel - buy it, you need it. I used Body Glide for other sensitive spots but found that I didn't need it after the first 2 days - so I didn't use it. Shawn also sent a tube of A&D ointment for 'monkey butt' - if you have to ask, you don't need to know. That worked out fantastically and again, I didn't have to use it after a few days. Shawn also packed some Gold Bond for trench foot prevention. I would likely have benefited some by keeping my feet fresh but didn't take the time to use the Gold Bond.
Hand warmers: I brought tons of hand warmers. Opened and used one pack for a loop or so. Not necessary but glad I brought them.
Gels/Salt: I brought about 100 ACEL gel and a box of Espresso Love GUs. I alternated between vanilla and chocolate ACEL gels, usually 1 per loop, and never opened the GU box. I used more Succeed tablets than normal and those worked well as usual.
Foods: I generally ate peanut butter & jam or ham & cheese sandwiches throughout the day. Andy would bring us dinner which ended up being pizza or a meatball sandwich – yum!
Hydration: I carried one hand held the entire time. As usual, I went with plain water. I did drink Gatorade at the end of most loops. I also drank Mt Dew at times to give me a boost and for flavor.
Running the race (Saturday April 30th – Sunday May 8th): During the first few loops on the course, I found that the course seemed easier than the course from the previous year. Then I realized how bad the down hills were going to be on my body and changed my view of the difficulty. Last year's course was a bit more technical in places but didn't have the pounding affect that this year's course would have on my legs. I determined to run as much of the up hills and flats as possible and walk (which would include braking) the very steep down hills. This proved to be the right choice for me as my knees and quads never suffered. On day 1 we had good weather. The course was pretty wet from snow melt and rain from previous weeks and we navigated as much as possible around the mud and muck. Still, feet remained wet most of each loop. Day 2's weather was beautiful getting close to 70 degrees with clear skies. While this should have been a great day for me, I started out feeling sick and puked by the time I got to the Labyrinth section (about 6 miles in). That out of my system and replenished with a peanut butter and strawberry jam sandwich, I had a much better go on loop 2. While I struggled during the day, I so enjoyed the weather and didn't fret too much about only getting in 4 loops. I had hoped to start feeling stronger during the day but that time never came.
I talked with Shawn after the 2nd day, telling her how bad I felt about my performance. She reminded me that I was ‘on vacation’ and was supposed to be running for enjoyment. I had told her I wasn't going to race but only run when I felt like it. She brought me out of my funk and I was able to jerk myself out of ‘competition mode,’ - in which I mean, ‘500 miles is out of the question so get over it,’ as opposed to racing the other competitors – something I needn’t do. I told her I would try to stick to running at least an utlra a day and would not commit to much more than that. I could still get in 300 miles having run 100 miles the first 2 days, and average 30 miles per day the remaining 6 1/2.
Monday, day 3 provided cool and cloudy weather and fast loop times for me. Fellow racer Steve Burton had awakened early and was leaving at 4am. To my surprise he said that he was leaving for Boston (where he and his wife had recently moved) and NOT out for his first loop of the day. That left only me and John Bridges in the race. To this point, none of us had run laps with each other so the days were filled with solitary running - but I was never lonely. Day 3 felt great to me and I likely ran too much and too hard as I would find out the next day. But the loops just flew by. I was unstoppable on day 3. End of Monday, day 3: 160 miles completed. This is the furthest I've ever run albeit I had slept each night so it seemed easier than the previous two 150 milers.
Tuesday, day 4 provided colder weather, mostly cloudy and some rain. I was low on energy and my legs felt depleted. I stopped after 3 loops, reminding myself ‘ok to stop after an ultra,’ and ‘this is supposed to be fun.’ End of Tuesday, day 4: 190 miles completed.
Wednesday, day 5. After Steve had left on Monday, and John's girlfriend had left to go back to work, John moved into the shelter Andy had provided for us. He and Erin were in a tent over the weekend. Tuesday night provided us with a LOT of rain and surly messed up the trail. Wednesday (day 5), we awoke to down pouring rain and decided sitting around drinking coffee and sharing our life stories was more worthy of the day's wet beginning. By 9:30am, we were getting a bit antsy and thought we might as well hit the trail and see what the rain and mud had to offer. We were surprised that the course really didn't get too much wetter. We finally made it out before 10am. We continued our conversation on the run and decided that we should stay together all day in order to motivate one another. We were wet the entire day but not cold, so that was a plus. After 3 loops, Andy showed up with some pizza. We ate just a bit and he came out on loop 4 with us. We told him we'd run a 5th loop if he'd come out for another - only a small bluff. He agreed but then back peddled when he found out that Glenn would be there and likely run the 5th with us. Glenn did run the loop in the dark, which was tough for him as he had no idea what the course looked like. And it was good that Andy went home to see his kids and family because he wouldn't see much of them from Thursday (when the 200 started) until the end of the race on Sunday. As I mentioned earlier, Wednesday was a late night for me and Thursday was a late yet too early of a start. End of Wednesday, day 5: 240 miles completed.
Thursday, day 6 would be another slow day I was certain. Glenn ran the first loop with John and me. I headed out quickly for the 2nd loop as John was tending to his continuing feet problems. Loop 2 was slower but still ok. I knew this would be a minimum day (3 loops) for me, so Glenn came out for the 3rd loop. As I came in from my 3rd and last loop of the day (close to 6pm) the 200 mile race had just commenced. The racers were excitedly running out on the first part of the course, and the rain clouds and showers followed close behind. End of Thursday, day 6,: 270 miles completed.
Friday, day 7 - I told Glenn not to let me run more than 40 miles on this day. I didn't want to kill myself before the weekend. My goal was still to run until the last day, and ultra (30 mile) minimum if possible, and still have a good time. Glenn agreed and headed out with me on my first loop. I rolled my right ankle on this loop which I tried to ignore for the most part. Usually with me, I can recover from even a bad ankle roll by just continuing to run and not gimping (that is, by keeping my form in tact). The second loop was ok but the ankle was still bothering me and I slowed somewhat. By the third loop, I knew I could go 4 and told Glenn to be ready to run the 4th and final loop of the day with me. That third loop was even slower but not too bad. Thank goodness that Glenn was there for the final loop of the day. That's when my left leg (shin/top of foot) decided to give up on me. My brake pads had burned out on the down hills. We went back to the hotel and I iced and elevated after the requisite shower. I sent Andy a text letting him know that I was hurting pretty badly and was not certain that I'd be able to run the next morning, but that I would be there no matter what. End of Friday, day 7: 310 miles completed.
Saturday, day 8 - I think Andy was surprised when I actually showed up that morning. I was a little skeptical about how I would feel before starting. As we arrived, I could see John there having eats with the other racers (200 & 150 milers) – 100 milers had started their race at 6am. John wasn't quite ready to start when I headed out but I needed to get going. I was pleasantly surprised at the strength I had. It truly was a blessing to start on flats and up hills as that allowed me to warm up before hitting the dreaded downs. I moved along well and was able to run under 2:45 for that loop. The second loop was much the same, strong start and good finish. The last loop hit me and I was back to fretting some about the slowness of my down hill walking. By the end of the day, I knew I would be out for the final day getting in AT LEAST 10 miles to make 350. End of Saturday, day 8: 340 miles completed.
Sunday, day 9 - Another day another ultra distance ‘run.’ There was not much running this day. Glenn headed out with me and I did more walking and slow running than anything else on the first loop. I needed to hold the body in one piece to finish out the day with a somewhat solid performance. On lap 2 I ran with a guy named Matt who had caught up to me at the end of the first lap. He was running the 150, which was amazing considering his furthest run to date was a 50 mile race. I pulled away from Matt towards the end of the climb as I needed to get moving before the long down hill walk began. Glenn was there for me to finish out my race and pretty much walk slowly with me on the final loop. I tried to run a couple times and had to remind myself it was counter-productive and without benefit. I had over 5 hours and couldn't ‘run’ 2 more loops if my life depended on it. So I was determined to walk the whole thing. I did and though it seemed like an eternity, we finished with a couple hours to spare – ‘No Andy, I don't have enough time for another. Thanks for asking!’ End of Sunday, day 9 and final day: 370 miles completed.
Post Race\Future Plans:
1. Flight - the first leg of my flight home was bumpy and I had airsickness coming into Newark. I hadn't experienced that in years but my worn body gave in and my breakfast came up. I was nauseous the entire 5 ½ hour flight back to Seattle after that.
2. Swelling - my feet were swollen most of the week but looked great by Friday. I still have a lot of stretching to do on my shins to keep my EHB from giving me issues.
3. No run zone - I have been enforcing a no run moratorium on myself. I’ll run again when I feel like it – no hurry at this point since we are moving to Anchorage in 2 weeks and packing is priority 1.
4. Buy new shoes - I ordered a couple more pairs of Mt Masochist and a pair for Shawn to try out. I’ve got to go with a shoe that works and this one does.
5. Sign up for 2012 race - I signed up for the 2012 race as soon as I could on Tuesday. I'm not even sure that I can get vacation during that time as I am starting on a new project for work in July of this year. Still I wanted to make my intentions known. Shawn will likely come with me and provide crew support for the first few days of the race and finish the week running the 200 miler herself. Andy has extended the race to 240 hours (10 full days) and I feel that I have a good chance of completing 500 miles if I can keep things together until race day next year.
2 comments:
Awesome. :)
Great report Tony! AND seriously great accomplishment! I am on my second pair of Mtn Massochist and LOVE them. Massochist + HYdropel = Awesome!
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