Race Summary:
Start: 6:36 am, (at dawn)
Finish: 4:40 pm, 10:04:30, 57th of 99
Temps high 30's start, about 60 at the finish, windy and cold all day,
especially on exposed ridges. Slightly humid.
Total climb on my Polar s625x was 7980 feet, and there was probably at least
an additional 500 feet on top of that not accumulated on rolling terrain.
(The s625x only accumulates ascent in 20 foot blocks, and anything less won'
t be counted).
HR average 141 (74% of HR max), HR max in race 161 (85% Max).
Feeling afterward about the race: Satisfied with the effort.
Words of the day: Pain Management.
Course Description:
The course was absolutely stunning, with a great variety of trails. It was
quite a mix: 2 miles tar roads, 15 miles dirt roads, 5 miles jeep roads, 23
miles ATV trails, and 5 miles of single track. In the 1st 1/2, there were
virtually no rocks, roots or obstacles, and most of it was very runable. The
2nd 1/2 was more technical, with more single track, and with some rocky
sections. There seemed to be much more climb in the 1st 1/2 and more
downhills in the 2nd. Almost always it was up or down, with limited flat
sections. There were *many* gradual uphills on the borderline of walk or run
(at least for me).
Some blow-by-blow:
I went to sleep at 7pm at the campground and got up at 3am after tossing all
night. After an early breakfast I sat in pre-race contemplation in the chill
air in the dark. My body felt rested but it had been worn out from training
until the last few days. My mind was ready, gearing up for the challenge of
running all day. The truth would reveal itself as it always does in an
ultra: your true physical and mental self will be tested and laid bare in a
way that little else can come close to.
Nobody I know of warms up for an ultra; normal morning preparations and
walking back and forth to the car is enough to be ready to run. For whatever
reason though, my body wasn't ready to run this day. I started out at my
normal long run training pace of ~70% of Max HR, but it was cold, and that
may have contributed to the tightness I was experiencing. By the first aid
station I realized that I didn't have my running legs. I had stiffness in my
left knee, right hip, left hamstring, and a few other places. Normally
everything loosens up after 15 minutes, though sometimes it takes longer.
Bad legs occupied most of my attention for the two hours as I tried to work
the problem. I knew if I wasn't really careful it would be either a DNF or a
day of excruciating pain. Was I low on food or salts? Not based on my
preparations. Other electrolytes? It was worth a try, so I opened a pouch of
electro mix that has mostly magnesium and potassium and took some. My plan
was to eat and drink as much as possible, so I established the pattern
early, taking a salt tab at one hour and nibbling on a protein/carb bar, and
eating at every aid station.
As the legs got worse I thought 'what have I got to lose' - if my stomach
gets bad because of it so be it - and took some aspirin. Because it was
mainly muscle ache pain, I wasn't worried about injury, so later in the day
I took ibuprofen, tylenol, and more aspirin. I really don't know what was
wrong but my legs were just so bad it was either do that or DNF. The pain
never went away, but the painkillers helped me enough to run smoothly and
then I was able to focus on the race, how hard to go in which places, when
to walk, how much to conserve, how much to eat, to drink - and of course to
enjoy the trails, scenery and good conversation.
While the legs continued to be problematic, after about 2 hours I settled in
and was enjoying the race more. Some of the singe-track of the first 1/2 was
the best I've ever run on: smooth soft dirt with no rocks or roots and
sweeping turns to float on, with long sections slightly downhill as well. I
ran with a slow 50k runner until she turned off, then I found someone else
to run with on the long 8 mile leg to aid station #4. Good conversation
helped me to settle in and enjoy the run more.
After checkpoint 4, there was a very long downhill section of over 2 miles
that began to drain the quads. There was a section of beautiful single-track
trail and a section of dirt road, and it was quite a contrast. The dirt road
was clearly faster, but the single-track was so much nicer to run on. I ran
with a guy I picked up at checkpoint 4 through this entire section and for
the next 12 miles. He had done the VT 100 and the 50 a few times and many
other ultra races and we had a good conversation and paced each other well.
After (or maybe just before) checkpoint 6 at 32 miles, there began a really
long series of ATV and/or single-track switchbacks that were quite funny as
they weaved endlessly back and forth. An unscrupulous runner could have cut
the course in many places, but most people in an ultra are honest I think,
and too focused on the trail to notice such opportunities. It was in these
sections and in later slightly more technical sections where we would
see-saw with a few straggling bikers, although we had seen a dozen or so
bikers earlier, some having mechanical problems, some just slow. (The bikers
all started before the runners).
In the downhills from aid station 6 at mile 32 to aid station 7 at mile 37,
my quads were feeling it, and I began to slow my pace slightly on the
downhills in order to conserve enough strength in my legs to finish the race
still running all flats and downhills. While in this section I had to stop
to take my 2nd [censored] - A good sign I was hydrating well - and who should pass
me but Doug. Being the wily ultra-veteran, Doug had started a bit slower
than me, though I hadn't exactly been burning it up with my bad legs and
all.
I ran with Doug for a while through aid station 7 at 37 miles and through
most of the next leg to aid station 8 at 42 miles. He was watching the clock
and was starting to pick it up in order to break 10 hours, and was rolling
down the hills, whereas I needed to slow down slightly on the hills. Since
he was itchy to break 10 hours, I called to him "go for it" as he pulled
away downhill and added "I've gotta save enough to get up to my car
after!" - which sounded a bit like a joke at the time but I was being
serious as everyone was asked to park up the hill from the finish, and when
you're toast (as I've been on other occasions) it can be a challenge getting
up the hill to the car after the race. I last saw him just leaving aid
station 8 as I was coming in.
The last 8 miles were tough, as much of it was downhill. I was encouraged by
a guy who passed me. He wasn't in the race and said he was running just the
last 18 miles of the course and that I looked better than anyone else he
passed. My form hadn't broken down, I was just slower on the downs than I
would have liked because I knew I had to save something. It was paying off
here in the last 8 miles. I caught and passed at 6-7 more people. I think I
passed about 20-25 people all day, and was passed by about 5 or 6 at various
points.
Just before the final aid station at 47 miles, there were several guys
walking who tried to run as I came up and passed them, but their legs were
toast. The final 3 miles was a climb up the side of the mountain, then a
traverse across the ski slope, then down a ski run to the finish. I passed
one more guy in the woods just before the ski slope, and it was clear his
quads were badly shot. I passed on some advice I was using myself now in
places: run down very steep stuff backwards if your quads are going or are
gone. Doing that a few times in the final mile or so saved just enough for
me to run down the final patch of ski run to the finish area (and to get
back up to my car easily 🙂.
My goal had been to run evenly and within myself throughout the race,
especially in the first 1/2, and to see what that got me. The time wasn't
important, but I was somewhat pleased with a 10:04 considering my problems.
I was able to run all the flats and downhills and almost all of the gradual
uphills, just slowed somewhat on the downhills in the last 1/3 particularly.
I was satisfied with how I measured my pace enough to finish running. I
never got to a point where I had to walk on a flat. It was a rich, full day,
but quite hard. My love of trail running will always be there. I don't love
the challenge of ultras in the same way I love trail running, but I'm glad I
tried another 50 mile and did better than the first time.
Hydration and Eating:
I took succeed salt caps every hour for the first 7 hours, then every 45
minutes. It was a cool day, but I drank a great deal - at least 19 20oz
bottles, and many more cups at aid stations. I also ate something at every
aid station from #3 on, and nibbled a large protein bar in the first 6
hours. Then I switched to sandwiches (PB&J went down very well) and cookies
for the rest of the race. Coke and Mt. Dew tasted good. I drank the Heed
maltodextrin sports drink they offered and it went down well. I carried Heed
in two 20oz bottles I filled at every station. My saving grace was that my
stomach was very good (that and near perfect weather).
Splits:
time HR ascent ~mile
1 0:45 144 440' 4
2 0:50 145 820' 9
3 0:44 146 640' 12
4 1:37 145 1820' 20
5 1:06 141 640' 26
6 1:17 139 1060' 32
7 1:10 136 1060' 37
8 0:37 140 440' 42
9 1:18 137 540' 47
10 0:41 137 520' 50
The distances given are approximate, based on the aid stations as listed on
the course map. Generally, my HR is lower in the 2nd half, owing in part to
running the downhills slower in an effort to (keep running) preserve my
quads to the very end. I had much more aerobic capacity that I couldn't use;
the legs were the limiting factor. I wish I knew the descent in more detail
because it seemed like the 2nd 1/2 of the race was mostly downhill (an
observation rendered unreliable because my quads were hurting).
General Lessons:
Wear more clothes. I wore a singlet and was cold early in the race, and also
later in the race as the wind picked up. It was 50f or less up on the hills
even later in the day, and about 60f at the finish, but it was slightly
humid, so the wind made it a bit raw.
Train more on downhills and don't over-train.
Training Critique:
In retrospect I was at least slightly over-trained, meaning I didn't give my
legs enough recovery time from my last harder sessions, and/or some of my
training sessions were just too hard. My long run of 7 hours 3 weeks before
the race was probably an hour too long. I also did shorter runs 2 weeks and
1 week before that were a bit too fast, even though they were done mostly
below 80% effort. Apparently that was too much on top of the month of 4-5
hour runs I did every week in late August and early September. Also when I'm
doing very long runs, I gain weight, some from extra bulk in my legs, and
some fat from overeating due to increased hunger such sessions bring. In the
2 months between my escarpment race and the Vermont 50, I gained back about
5 pounds to about 168.
Personal Course Critique:
In the last 1/2, there were far too many trails traversing hills with a
right-to-left slope, exacerbated by the final traversing of a 30+% ski slope
right before the finish. This made for some blisters and an extra painful
right hip. Also, the technical sections, while not very rocky, were
difficult in the last 15 miles only. Much of the first 30 miles was on very
smooth curvy but soft runable trail. It really would have been nice to have
that toward the end instead of more technical and an inordinate amount of
right-to-left slope. This being said, overall there were over 10 miles of
the best trails I've ever run on in this course.
-Tony