* I'm a little late on completing my race report, but here
it is.
Pre-Race Report
I finished the California International Marathon in the
beginning of December and decided that I was not going to run a road race in
2018. My love for trails and running
ultras has taken over and I started to work on my race plan for 2018. I took on the Way Too Cool 50k in the
beginning of March and was ready to take on my first official 50-mile run.
Ever since last year (2017) when I did a 12-hour race, I
knew that I would try for a 100-mile race.
The Rio Del Lago 100 Mile Endurance Run is not too far from me so I knew
that would be the race. I just had to
figure out what other races I would do in preparation for RDL100. I tried to get into the Miwok 100k, but did
not get picked through the lottery.
I then signed up for the lottery for the Way Too Cool 50k,
which is one of my bucket-list races. I
actually got in. I decided that I was
going to do the American River 50 Mile Endurance Run as well since the Way Too
Cool and American River 50 courses combine to make the Rio Del Lago
course. I saw it as doing recon for the
big race. My goal wasn’t to kill myself
on these first two races, but enjoy them and really study the course while I was
out there.
I was building off my marathon and 50k training. Almost
all my runs were at 65-70% of my max heart rate. Basically I was building my aerobic
endurance. Everything was going really
well. I was doing back-to-back weekend
runs and following Hal Koerner’s plan from his book “Hal
Koerner’s Field Guide to Ultrarunning.” It is a great book and I strongly recommend
it.
The month before Way Too Cool 50k, I hurt my ankle. I tried to train smarter since that
injury. In weeks leading up to WTC50k, I
had had some very good, pain free runs.
I had a few runs where my ankle hurt as well (even stopping a run 1.5
miles in and walking back to the start).
Honestly, I was worried about it with the race quickly approaching. I decided to take the 3 days before the race
off to let it recover a little more. I completed
the WTC50k in a decent time considering my ankle injury and ongoing Plantar
Fasciitis pain.
After the race, I spent a week of cycling and swimming to
give my feet a chance to recover. I
quickly got back into my training since I only had about 3 weeks until the
American River 50 Miler. I decided that
I needed to get in one more long trail run, so I got up at the butt-crack of
dawn (actually way before dawn) and headed up to Auburn. I was doing the second half of the WTC
course, starting about 90-mintues before sunrise. It was cold, foggy, and wet out. I have never had anxiety before when it comes
to running, but that morning was different.
It was completely dark with no moon.
I parked my car and was heading out for my first solo night-ish run. I finally set out on my way, knowing that my
Garmin’s navigation would help me stay on track.
I had my high-powered headlamp on and was only able to see
about 25 feet in front of me. There were
creek crossings (one of which was really sketchy), but I was ready to get wet
and muddy. I was a little worried about
mountain lions and bears since they are known to be in this area. There was a ledge about 10-15 feet above me
which would be a perfect place for a mountain lion to stalk me. By the time the sun came up, I felt more at
ease, as I stumble upon a fresh bear cub print.
Fortunately, I made it back safe and sound and my final long run was
complete. It was taper time.
Race Morning/Pre Race
I woke up at about 2:30 and got dressed. I grabbed a Pro-Bar Meal Replacement Bar and
headed out to the car. I had to be at
the finish line at 4:00 to pick up the bus to the race start. I met up with my friend Abdulah who I also
ran part of Wat Too Cool with. We were
going to run together for as long as he was willing to stick with me, since he
is a faster runner. Also, I knew that I
was going to run my own race and not try to stick with Abdulah if it was going
to be too fast. It was going to be a
long day and I knew I needed to save something for the second half of the
race.
It was pouring out with some 15+ mph winds. We got on the bus and made our way down to
the start. They said that we would be
able to stay on the bus until the start, but ended up kicking us out 45 minutes
early. I grabbed my huge duffle bag with
my drop bags for 25 miles and 41 miles and headed out into the storm. I picked up my bib the day before, so I threw
my bags into the back of a pick-up, hoping that they stayed dry until I reached
them. Then I hit the line for the
port-o-potties.
The worst thing was that
people were hiding out in there just to stay dry, so the line took
forever.
Once I got out I met up with
Abdulah who had to pick up his bib. We
couldn’t find any room under the eazy-ups that that had, so we just stood there
in the rain. Let’s just say that there
wasn’t a dry piece of fabric on either of us by the time the race started.
The temperature was in the 50’s so I went with shorts and a
short sleeve shirt, both from Patagonia.
I was wearing my Ultimate Direction Ultra Jacket and Drymax socks along
with my Hoka Speedgoat 2’s. For my pack,
I had the Salomon Ultra 8-set, which is amazing.
The first few miles were a little slow since the trail was
soggy and narrow. We eventually made it
to the levee where it widened out and we were able to pick up the pace. We were on pavement for the next 23 miles or
so.
The rain let up after about an hour, so my jacket came
off. Abdulah wanted to pick up the pace
just after that so we wished each other luck and he headed on his way. Abdulah went on to have an awesome race.
After a few miles, I ran across a few runners that I
recognized from the 12-hour race I did (Michael and Yoly). We talked a little during that race and ended
up running for about 30 minutes together at AR50. It is funny how you run into people you that
you have met before, then you end up talking for a while like you have been
friends for years. I love the
ultra-community and how we can relate to each other. We all strive to push ourselves and it is why
trail running has taken over such a huge spot in my heart.
Fast forward for a little, we follow the American River Bike
Trail for a while until we cross a bridge at Nimbus Dam and head up the
bluffs. I ended up seeing a Bald Eagle
Nesting Area and sure enough, it was just perched in the tree. I felt like it was a sign that good things
were going to happen that day.
A few miles later I ran into a few friends who were cheering
and volunteering.
I was approaching Beal’s Point in a few miles and I started
to develop some pain in my outer metatarsal from my shoes compressing my left
foot too much. It slowed me down quite a
bit and eventually I had to walk for a few minutes at a time until the pain
lessened. I also was getting a blister on
my right small toe from debris and moisture.
I was really concerned that I was going to not make cutoffs because I
was slowing down so much. I just plugged
along though, knowing that my dad and step-mom were at the mile 25 aid station
with my drop bag (Beal’s Point).
I decided to chug an Ensure, drink some Coke and eat a
little. I also swapped out my shoes and
socks. I stuck with Drymax Socks, but
switched to my Altra Lone Peak 3.5’s. I
hit the real bathrooms in the park and headed on my way. I am so grateful for my parents heading out
to cheer me on. They told my wife that I
looked pretty beat up (which I didn’t find out about until I got home that
night). Even though I knew I would be
chasing cutoffs if things didn’t change, I wanted my damn jacket and was going
to give it my all.
I headed out and instantly I noticed that the compression
issues were gone and that pain went away.
About a mile later, I could feel the blister again. I had about 4.5 miles until the next aid
station, which is where I was picking up my pacer, Tim. I sent him a test and asked him to find some
moleskin if he could.
I got to the Granite Bay Aid Station, where Tim was
waiting. He wasn’t able to find
moleskin, but we did get some medical tape and wrapped my toe. Then we went on our way. It was great to just have someone to talk to
and push me when I wanted to slow down.
Tim is great because he pushes me, but in a kind way, “Hey buddy, we
need to pick it up a little.”
The miles started flying by.
We made it to the Rattlesnake Bar Aid Station at mile 41. Where I refueled and headed out. I was keeping with my plan of getting in and
out of aid stations quickly (less than 2 minutes).
The next ten miles or so started to get interesting. We had been in wet conditions all day, but
the single track narrowed and were filled with water. We were basically running up a creek, and
yes, without a paddle.
I kept doing math in my head to make sure I was going to
make my cutoffs. I don’t know why, but
doing pace calculations tends to keep my mind busy. It is similar to repeating mantras. We
plugged on and finally made it on to the Last Gasp Aid Station.
We started plugging up the last 3-mile road (yes, paved). I was so ready to just finish that I would
run as much as possible, and by run, I mean very slowly jog. I knew it wasn’t efficient and power walking
would have been better, but I just wanted to finish and knew I could push a
little.
We made it to the finish line at 13:28:15. The cutoff was 14
hours so we did have a little time to spare.
While I knew I could have run a lot faster, the injuries were
significant and I was thrilled with my finish.
I was handed my medallion and jacket.
We picked up my drop bags, but I forgot my headlamp. At least someone is getting to enjoy it now
(so sad).
Gear
Shoes: Hoka
One One Speedgoat 2 and Altra
Lone Peak 3.5
Gaiters: Outdoor
Research Stamina Gaiters
Socks: Drymax
Max Pro Trail ¼ Socks
Shorts: Patagonia
Strider Pro Shorts
Hydration
Pack: Salomon
S/Lab Sense Ultra 8 Set
Jacket: Ultimate Direction
Ultra Jacket
Video: GoPro Hero6
Black with Shineda
Telescopic Selfie Stick
Electrolyte/Fuel:
Glukos
Gummies and Tailwind Nutrition
Anti-Chafe: Squirrel’s Nut Butter
Other Items
in my pack: Ginger Runner BUFF, Baby Wipes, Extra GoPro Battery, Ensure
Lessons Learned
I try to take a few things from every race or long run that
I do. I had another great race of making
sure my nutrition and fuel were on point.
I found out that Redbull was great for a pick-me-up, one is my
limit. Coke as usual kept me happy and
tasted so good (which I usually don’t like).
Running in the mud is really fun if you have some good shoes
and socks. My Drymax socks kept my feet
feeling good in past races and training runs because they pull the water away
from your feet so quickly. With the
blister issues, I will be switching to Injinji socks for my future long-distance
training and RDL100. I think it will
really help prevent blisters since there is no skin-on-skin contact. I also had a huger blister under my big
toe-nail, but luckily I won’t lose the nail.
While the Hoka Speedgoat 2 has tons of cushion, is
responsive, and have great traction. I
will need to do my future trail runs in shoes with a wider toe box to prevent compression
of my feet. I will be going back to
Altra shoes, which I spend a great deal of time running in already. I can’t wait for the new Lone Peaks to come
out and hopefully a new Olympus.
I am a mid-packer, plain and simple. I have no issues with this at all. I am not super-fast (I know that fast is all
relative) but my training has helped me gain the ability to just grind away,
one foot in front of the other, for hour after hour. I know where I should be in a race and have
no problem when people pass me. I check
my ego at the door and run my race. That
is a huge change from road running, at least for me. Even after 13.5 hours of running/hiking, I
still had more left in the tank. I can’t
wait to get healthy and take on my next challenge.
What’s Next
The reality is that I had been running for the past year
with Plantar Fasciitis. I never gave it
a break because I was doing one training block or race after the next. At AR50, from mile 10 to the finish, it felt
like I was running on bruised feet.
While I could run up hill, running on flats and downhill was extremely
painful. I knew that I would take the next
two months off running to let it heal. I
was going to get cortisone shots and try Shockwave Therapy, which my doctor was
suggesting. Time to finally let my feet
get better so I could have a legitimate shot at completing the Rio Del Lago 100
Mile Endurance Run in November.
Update: It has been 1.5 months since the race and I have not
run more than ½ mile, which is how far the gym is away from my work. There is still some pain, but I am working on
getting better and can’t wait to start training again. I have been cycling, swimming, and hitting
the gym. I am getting stronger in preparation
for the hardest training of my life. I
have done Active Release Technique and had my cortisone shots. I have my Shockwave Therapy in a few
weeks. Bring on Rio Del Lago 100 and let’s
see what happens. Even if I get timed
out because of my Plantar Fasciitis, I will give it everything I have. That is what being an ultra-runner is to
me.
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