Training Log Archive: Carbons Offset

Yes! That went well :)

Man, so unbelievably cool to be able to run right to the end and feel pretty good. Here are my reflections on what helped:

1) the long runs with Carbon. Bottom line is that you have to put the hours in so that you are ready. This paid off
2) the strength training with Llew. I was amazed at how the quads held up. This race course is so abusive on the quads, there are so many long downhills, and so many people had no quads left by mile 60. It was sooooo fun to be able to run the downhills late in the race (and pass lots of people :)
Also, the posture was easy to keep the whole time. I thought I would lose form and slouch when I got tired, but when I get tired it just feels natural to stay in the proper posture, for 100 miles.
3) the great support from Ang and Matt. Even though I rarely needed to dip into the bag of spare gear they hauled everywhere for me, it left me stress-free to know that if I needed anything, I would see it at the next aid station. All I had to think about was running and pace. And having Ang join me for the last 40 miles kept the excitement up at a time where I probably would have become sleepy and backed off. Instead, we had a blast cruising at a sweet pace, ripping some great downhills and passing people.
4) starting out quite mellow, not trying to battle against the hot weather, conserving lots of energy for later, and then selectively pushing some speed on sections that were most conducive to going fast.
5) Sugoi cooling sleeves and a zombie runner bandana designed to be filled with ice cubes. These saved me in the heat.
6) the last minute change of plans to run the Skin Pack instead of the S-LAB belt. While I often carried more water and food than I needed, I'm used to a pack, it's easy to drink from the hose and carry food in the food pocket while the other pocket contained two Salomon flasks of water for soaking my sleeves, head, neck and shoulders. I also could then spare water for pouring on myself; the belt would not have provided enough water for this. This was essential in the hottest parts of the day, and I continued all through the night because I was still hot.
7) the Hokas. 100 miles and I never changed socks or shoes. I had 2 more pairs available but things were going pretty well so I figured why mess with it. I could feel a couple of water blisters forming but thought I might just get blisters in new areas from changing and trying to fix the current issues. They were bearable so I just kept going.
8) the rivers. There were about 5 rivers that were deep enough to completely submerge in. I jumped into each on for a few minutes to cool off the body.
9) the Columbia Omni-freeze buff. The sun would blaze and fry the side of your face. I would pull this neck scarf up and over my head such that it covered the sides of my face. It looked silly but I was in my own little sheltered world.
10) Drymax socks. 100 miles, no sock changes, completely soaked about 6 times, still good. I had 4 new pairs but only used 1.
11) knowing that the AP friends were probably seeing the stats about my position moving up, and loving finding more and more runners to pass.

C • Great run 18

Event: Western States 100
 

Western States. 2nd hottest race day in 40 years. Finished 121st out of ?388 starters?

Did the check in with the full medical including my wristband that states my weight, blood pressure etc. Also let them do a 12 lead ECG on me for a big study from the UK. The lead cardiologist figures that the pericarditis I was diagnosed with after RTNX 2011 was always there and is an adaptation that results from endurance training. They know this and account for it in places like Italy, but not in North America.
Also confirmed I have a PAC, which I knew.
More on all of this pre-race action later if I have time, or after the race. In summary, the check in was a big deal and they gave me a cool WS duffle bag which I held open as they threw various good swag in it. This race is definitely a big thing.

Got to chat with Hal Koerner, Rob Krar, Tim Twietmeyer, Andy Jones-Wilkins and more, and got to spot all the other top 10 men and women.
Tim calculates that the hot years make the winners 3.5 hours slower and 10th place 5 hours slower. Yikes, what does that do to me and do I have enough time?

C • Congrats 6

Definitely dropping any hope of a 24 hour possibility, because of the heat. Just try to survive and try to finish under 30 hours, and this feels like it has some pressure.

Plan is to go easy up to mile 60, especially from about 30 to 60 (hot!!). Then at 60 I'll see how I feel but I'll probably not be looking to speed up, just keeping pushing for a finish under 30 hours.

This morning at 9 am it felt hot, up at the ski hill. Ugh.

C • Sounds like you've got a go... 61

'twas the night before Western, and all through the condo
Not a creature was stirring, not even a little fondle.
The toes were all wrapped with Leuko and great care,
In hopes that a buckle soon would be there :)

Merry Western to all, and to all:

Good night.

C • Poet in our Midst :) 1

Following Western States:

I think I may have provided this link already, here's where you can follow Checkpoint times. I'm bib #108. The race starts at 5 am pacific time on Saturday June 29.

http://www.ultralive.net/ws100/webcast.php

If you're interested in other info about the race, their website is www.wser.org

Travel day with flights to Sacramento, then picked up my super cute Fiat 500 and drove to Squaw Valley. The drive was nice, the resort is beautiful.

Got here in time for a talk-through of the course by someone who has done it. Didn't learn much new stuff, which is good (it's a little late to train differently or even change much strategy for tomorrow). Then listened to the Veterans' Panel. They have one each year, with multiple winners / many-time finishers, people you would really want to get advice from, and just love to hear them tell their stories. What a panel they had, they figure it is the best panel ever: Gordy Ansleigh (the guy who started it all and has now finished about 30 times?), Tim Twietmeyer (has finished 25 times and 5 of those were wins), Ellie Greenwood (they were teasing her about whether she could be called a veteran because she has only raced it twice, but she won both of those and I believe she set records both times), and Ann Trason who has *14 wins*!
I was surprised to hear how much water they carry. They were throwing around numbers like 2-2.5 litres! What?! The aid stations are only an hour and a half apart or less, and even less for these fast people. I had been toying with using the S-LAB belt which carries 770 ml; it is so nice to run in, and not wearing a skin pack in this heat would be so much nicer. Based on 500 ml per hour which I usually drink in adventure races even when it is hot, I figured this would get me from station to station and I could also grab a cup or so at each station. Otherwise, the skin pack carries 1.5 litres. Based on what I heard from the panel, and the logic that it is better to look back and say "darn, I carried more water/weight than I needed" than to get behind on hydration and risk having a horrible day (or end your day), I'm going to use the pack. Especially given how this is expected to be one of the hottest race days they've had, it sounds like this is the time to be a Boy Scout and play it conservative, and not try to go fast and light. I got to meet and chat with Ellie after (she is so nice, as you might expect if you've read about her) and told her about the two options. She confirmed my thoughts and strongly recommended the pack. I'm used to running with a pack so this will be fine. I may be warmer (that thing is hot) but I'll have more fluids to supply the sweating. The only slight problem is I've run once with both my cooling short and the pack and found the shirt can be abrasive under the weight of the pack. I will carry a second shirt with me so that I can change whenever I need to, and will also try to tape my back before the race. I'll also carry the flasks that I was going to carry in the belt. These will give me the option of more water if I find I need it, and the option of dumping water on myself, while my pack will have sport drink in it.

At the Veterans' Panel, Tim made some reference to how the finishing times are about 3 hours longer on hot years. Ugh... There's some extra challenge I don't need. Oh well, maybe I'll just use it to keep the pressure down by completely dropping any thoughts of "I wonder if a 24 hour buckle is possible" and instead just adopt a survival attitude of "just get through this thing, finish in under 30". That might actually take come pressure off.

.... But you know I'll still do some 24-hour estimates at a couple of points on the race course, just to see if it is a possibility that I should keep on the radar.