RR100: Final Thoughts
I’m settled into my tent for the night, but I feel far from ready for the race tomorrow. I’ve had an emotionally draining 24 hours, and I’m just not sure I’ve got it in me to power through the mental aspect of the race tomorrow. The way I’m feeling, I put the odds of a dnf at 60%. I hate saying that, but that’s how I’m feeling. Adding to that, my crew/pacer (2 friends) weren’t able to make it due to a family emergency. So I’m completely solo down here. Yes, I know that I have people supporting me from afar, but no one here to look me in the eye and tell me to suck it up and get moving.
Hopefully I wake up feeling better in the morning (although the odds of me feeling good at 4:30 any morning are slim!). The only hope I’m really feeling right now rests in the fact that I’ve covered this distance once before. My friend Bill made me a stone necklace thing when I finished my first 100. I’ll be wearing it tomorrow as a reminder of that successful race.
RR100: Live Blogging During the Race?
Would anyone be interested in reading short updates while I’m running the race this weekend? I plan on carrying my phone with me, and thought about maybe posting a few photos/updates along the way. I make no guarantees as to how coherent, family-friendly, or consistent the posts would be.
(I tried embedding a wordpress poll here, but for some reason it’s not showing up. I’ve done it before, so I’d like to think it’s not me. Regardless, if you don’t see an anonymous poll in this spot, just leave a comment. I won’t be offended if you say “don’t waste your time” because I’d rather not waste my time if no one wants to see how sh*tty I look after 85 miles or no one wants to read a profanity-laced rant about the leprechaun riding a unicorn taunting me with a Jamba Juice smoothie during a midnight hallucination)
I’d like to think I’ll post again before the race, but we’ll see how things go. So for now, I’ll leave you with the kick-ass video my wife made of my first go at the 100-mile distance.
RR100: Ultramarathon Logistics
Some random thoughts as I prepare for the Rocky Raccoon 100, which is just a couple of days away.
The logistics of running an ultramarathon are quite different from running a more traditional distance event like the marathon. The logistics get even more complicated as the distance increases from a 50k to a 50-miler to a 100k to a 100-miler. While far from an inclusive list, here’s a quick primer for those of you who haven’t yet made the transition from road races to longer ultramarathons (which are most often trail races).
Aid Stations:
You won’t find anyone standing with a cup of water in their hand, ready to hand it to you as you fly past them like you would in a road race. In fact, you likely won’t see any cups at all. In most (if not all) ultras, you’re expected to be self-sufficient when it comes to how you drink your fluids. The race will provide water, Gatorade, whatever, but you’re expected to have your own water bottle or hydration pack. Part of this stems from the fact that most ultras are trail races, and littering in the forest is generally shunned. Another reason is that it’s just not feasible for most runners to be able to stay adequately hydrated over 100 miles if they are only drinking when they are at aid stations.
Another unique aspect of ultras is the food that you’ll find at aid stations. Very few runners will consume only gels. At my first 100-miler, they had sandwiches, boiled potatoes, bacon, hamburgers, chips, fruit, and more. At one aid station, they even had a slurpee (slushy) machine. Seriously. It was awesome.
Crew:
My wife, Natasha. Crew leader extraordinaire! There’s no way I would have finished my first 100 without her.
Despite the kick ass aid stations, and the amazing volunteers who will help you with anything you need at aid stations, many racers still like to have their own “crew.” Your crew can help you at aid stations, but generally not anywhere else. Getting food, helping change socks/shoes, quick leg massage, and refilling water bottles are generally the most frequently performed tasks. Probably the most important job of the crew is psychological though. As a runner racks up the miles, their brain generally starts to shut down. Having a crew member who knows the runner well (spouses make excellent crew, assuming they’re willing!) can be a life saver, as they can spot changes in the runner’s coherence and mental state much easier than a random aid station volunteer. The crew also generally knows what the runner has eaten, or if they’ve not been eating, and can encourage (force) the runner to eat before moving on.
Pacers:
My pacer, John, and I after the race. He stepped up to the plate last minute, and it was extremely beneficial for me to have him as my pacer for the last 28 miles of the Lost Soul Ultra.
Ultramarathons are the only athletic events that I can think of where an athlete can have someone participate alongside them for the sole purpose of psychological support. The word “pacer” is somewhat misleading, as unless you are an elite runner, your pacer is probably not going to be doing any pacing at all. They are just going to be running (walking) with you, making sure you’re safe and that you keep moving. A pacer is not allowed to offer any other kind of support to a runner. “Muling, which refers to carrying something for the runner (food, fuel, water, clothing, anything), is strictly forbidden. Many races require that pacers remain behind the runner, thus preventing them from leading the way on the trail. In most cases, you can only have one pacer at a time, but multiple people can pace you over the course of the race. Pacers generally aren’t allowed to start running with you until the last 1/3 to 1/4 of the race.
Hallucinations:
I’ve never heard of a marathon runner having hallucinations mid-race, but it’s a relatively common occurrence in 100 mile races. Seriously, you should do a quick google search on the topic. You’ll find some pretty funny stories. Odd things happen to a sleep-deprived, over-worked body.
Running at night:
Everyone who runs a 100-miler will be running through the darkness at some point in the race. It’s a weird experience at first, and something that should be practiced before race day. Most racers opt for headlamps, as it keeps their hands free and the light is always pointed in the right direction. Others will opt for a handheld flashlight, as having the light source lower to the ground shows shadows and creates a better sense of depth perception on more technical terrain. Some opt for both. Whatever you choose, make sure you have extra batteries. You’ll need them.
Pain:
You will be in pain. Lots of pain. Embrace it, and just keep moving. If you think about it too much, you probably won’t finish. 100-milers are more a test of your mental strength than they are of your physical strength.
“Running is 90% mental. And the other 10%? That’s mental too.”
– Scott Jurek
RR100: Course Preview
Rocky Raccoon is considered to be one of the “easier” 100 mile races in this country. The race is held near Huntsville, TX (home to Texas’ death row), just north of Houston. The course consists of five loops of 20 miles each, and the terrain varies between jeep trails and single track. Evidently the single track is covered with tree roots, and many runners find themselves tripping on them (particularly at night).
The course is relatively flat, at least as far as ultra’s are concerned. I’ve read estimates of about 5500 feet of elevation gain over the 100 miles. Because of this, the race draws a heavy number of 100-mile virgins. It also draws some big name runners, and this year the race is hosting the USA Track & Field (USATF) 100 mile championship.* The current course record holder, Ian Sharman, is scheduled to race again this year. In 2011, he finished in less than 13 hours. Do the math, and his average pace start to finish was about 7:38/mile! Seriously, the guy can’t be human.
Rocky Raccoon has more aid stations than the average 100 miler. On each 20 mile loop, you’ll pass through an aid station five times. One of the aid stations, Damnation, you go through twice on each loop. The longest distance between aid stations is six miles, which really isn’t bad at all (a lot of ultras don’t have any aid stations that close together).
- Dogwood (start/finish area)
- Nature Center – 3.1 miles (3.1 total)
- Damnation – 3.09 miles (6.19 total)
- Damnation – 6.01 miles (12.20 total)
- Park Road – 3.41 miles (15.61 total)
- Dogwood – 4.39 miles (20.00 total)
In the past, they have held a 50 mile and a 100 mile race on the same course at the same time, with the 50 mile racers starting an hour after the 100. Rocky Raccoon is held in a state park, and the park has capped the number of runners at 750 total. Last year, Rocky sold out relatively quickly. New this year, they’ve separated the two races, with the 50 mile race happening the weekend after the 100 mile. This allows 750 100 mile runners, and another 750 50 mile runners, rather than the old combined max of 750. Even though there’s not 750 people signed up for the 100 mile race this year (I think there’s about 600), it will still be the largest trail race I’ve ran. In road racing, the road generally stays the course generally stays the same width throughout the race. On trails, everyone gets funneled down onto the singletrack relatively quickly. As a racer, you’re left to decide if you want to expend more energy at the beginning to jockey for a good position going into the singletrack, or if you’d rather save your energy and risk getting stuck behind much slower runners (keep in mind, it’s much more difficult to pass slower runners when the trail is only wide enough for one or two runners, and not wide like a road).
No finishers medals at this race. Instead, the prize is typical of most 100 mile races – a belt buckle. The course has a 30 hour time cutoff, but there is a special buckle for those who finish under 24 hours. The two buckles are similar, with the 24 hour buckle adding some color and text to note the achievement of “sub 24 hour.”
Quick Follow-Up to My Medical Rant
Just wanted to post a quick follow-up to my sleep-deprived medical rant from earlier this week
Things I love about the US medical system: Being able to get in to see a specialist VERY quickly.
Things I hate about the US medical system: The enormous bill I’m going to get for appointment with above-mentioned specialist (but at least I’ve met my insurance deductible for the year now!)
Short version: There is nothing wrong with me (at least as it relates to my iron/anemia).
Long version: I need to fire my PCP (primary care physician/family doctor). According to the hematologist, my iron levels were never high enough to cause alarm. They were lower when she ran new labs on Wednesday, but looking at the results from the tests my PCP ran, the hematologist said there was no need for any concern to begin with. As for the anemia, the hematologist said: “I don’t know what she (my PCP) was looking at. Your hemoglobin levels were normal on the labs she did. She must have been looking at the wrong line on the report. Your hemoglobin was normal then, and it’s normal again today.”
So, I spent three hours of my life and copious amounts of cash sitting at a cancer clinic listening to a 40 year old guy tell an 70 year old man about his brain tumor, while the 70 year old was talking about his leukemia. Nothing like a little “hope you don’t die” casual conversation to brighten the day.
There goes my “I’m tired because I have anemia” excuse for next weekend. Now all I’m left with is “I’m tired because I’ve ran 40 miles, but I’ve got 60 more to go so I better learn to love the pain or it’s going to be a LONG day.”
RR100: Weather Stalking
One week from today, I’ll be driving down to Huntsville, TX for the Rocky Raccoon 100 mile ultra. Naturally, it’s getting close enough for me to start stalking the weather forecast (Ok, let’s be honest, I started stalking a while ago since accuweather.com has a LONG range forecast).
Here’s the forecast for those who are in America:
And translated into Celsius for the 95% of the world’s population who don’t live in the US, the Bahamas, Belize, or the Cayman Islands:
Temperature? Looks really good, maybe a touch warm. The rain? I can definitely live without that. Nothing like 100 miles of slogging through wet, muddy trails to make a person feel alive. Or make them swear. A lot.
On a different note, I went to a hematologist on Wednesday. Sometime in the near future I’ll post a quick update to my medical rant.
RR100: Casting Doubts (a medical rant)
Warning: it’s 4am, I’ve been awake since 2am, and I’m not necessarily firing on all cylinders right now. I really should be sleeping, but I’m obviously not! Perhaps not the best time to write a blog post, but whatever.
Two months ago, during a routine visit, my doc informed me about a couple of things in my blood that were off, and that she wanted to recheck them. This past Friday I had the follow-up appointment, and unfortunately the numbers were worse. She’s sending me on to a hematologist, which isn’t the first time I’ve been referred to one. At least my current doc is smart enough to let her patients know that the majority of hematologists work out of oncology (cancer) clinics. I didn’t know that’s how it was set up the first time I was sent to a hematologist. There’s a lot of things that can go through your mind when you’re the only patient in the waiting room with a full head of hair.
The last time I went through this medical circus, I ended up with a diagnosis that basically means nothing to me. It doesn’t affect my daily life, it’s just a label that sits there at the back of my mind, reminding me that there’s something wrong with my body but nobody’s really sure what it is. I mean, my official diagnosis included the word “idiopathic,” which in medical speak translates as “we have no f*cking idea why this is happening to you.”
Now, according to my doc (and the lab reports), I’m anemic. I know, super common among runners, particularly females (of which I am not, despite my unisex name). While the majority of cases of anemia are caused by iron deficiency, that’s not the case for me. My iron levels have gone through the roof, and are dangerously high. For whatever reason, my body is hoarding iron, but yet I’m not putting it to good use in hemoglobin (the part of the red blood cells that carry oxygen). The normal course of treatment for high iron is “therapeutic phlebotomy” – aka, donating blood once a week. But, when you have anemia, you can’t donate that much blood and still function.
Until I get in to see the hematologist, I’m left to just sit here and wonder (and google the sh*t out of all possible explanations). The high iron? That’s a long-term issue, and one that doesn’t affect my ability to run the Rocky Raccoon 100 ultramarathon. The anemia though? That one has me worried. I’m worried that my energy level is just going to tank midway through, and I won’t have a choice but to DNF. Or that I’ll end up using it as an excuse to drop – “I’m really tired, and since I’m anemic it’s probably not smart for me to continue.” Hopefully I won’t use it as an excuse, but I can’t be responsible for my thoughts/actions when I’m 68 miles into a race.
One Thing Wednesday: Fuelstrip?
I saw this new product posted on another blog. At first it intrigued me, but the more I thought about it, the more gimmicky it seems.
Fuelstrip: basically it sounds like you take this test strip, swipe it on your sweat when you’re working out, and it changes color. The color it changes to corresponds to the amount of fuel that you need to take in. Conveniently, the colors match up to a specific quantity of their products (yellow = 1 chew, blue = 3 chews, or something like that).
There must be a market for things like this, although I’m pretty sure I’m not part of that market. If the company sent me some for free, I’d try them, but I’m definitely not convinced that it’s something I need to have in my life.
What do you think? Would you use Fuelstrips?
RR100 Training: Half-Marathonpalooza
My quest to spend 12 weeks training for the Rocky Raccoon 100 mile ultramarathon continues.
I think it’s been about a month since I did a weekly training cap, which makes sense since it’s been a month since I did any sort of worthwhile training. This week, I finally got my mileage up. I didn’t do any ‘long’ runs, but I did do four half-marathon distance runs this weekend, the first three of which were all within 24 hours start to finish.
Since my mileage has been so low lately, I worried about getting in truly “long” runs this weekend without getting injured. So, I opted for total quantity instead. I originally planned on making each run 12 miles long, but 13.1 just sounded better. I arbitrarily picked 2 hours as a goal time for each run, knowing that it would force me to slow down for the first few runs, and then push myself on the last few. I did a decent amount of walking in the first two 13.1s, which turned into less walking as my running pace slowed for the third 13.1. The last one, I ran about as fast as I could manage, and wound up a little under 1:49. I was pleased, given how sore my legs were.
My weekly average mileage is finally starting to curve back upwards!
Monday:
Lunch run – 4.0 miles (7:50/mile)
Run with dog – 3.0 miles (8:20/mile) w/dog
Tuesday:
Lunch run – 4.0 miles (7:16/mile)
Wednesday:
Bike commute – 20 miles
Thursday:
Bike commute – 20 miles
Friday:
Run an errand (literally) – 1.15 miles (7:31/mile)
Run 13.1 miles (9:06/mile)
Saturday:
Run 13.1 miles (9:06/mile)
Run 13.1 miles (9:07/mile) – started 90 minutes after finishing the first 13.1 for the day
Sunday:
Run 13.1 miles (8:17/mile)
Run 2.0 miles (9:52/mile) w/dog
Totals:
Run: 66.55
Bike: 40 miles
Some random photos from this weekend’s runs:
The start of a shoe crisis – these were the shoes I was planning on running the 100-miler in, but they gave me blisters after two miles. Not a good sign!
Post-sunset on the trail. I always seem to enjoy running at night. Until I fall. Which I’ve done twice in the last week – in the exact same spot.
Had some random bug fly into my ear, and it wouldn’t leave. I had to go in after it with the end of my sunglasses, the only thing that was available.
Sure sucks to be running when it’s 70F/18C out in the middle of January.
Some Arbitrary 2014 Goals
I don’t really do resolutions, I think I mentioned that in a post last week. Sure, I want to eat better, run faster, and bring about world peace, but I’m not going to “resolve” to do any of those things. If I want them bad enough, I’ll do them. It might be May 22nd when I finally decide that I want to eat better more than I want to eat tortilla chips for breakfast (like I did this morning).
With that being said, I do have some things I’d like to accomplish this year. We’ll go ahead and call them goals.
- Triathlon – stand on the top spot of the age group podium (sprint tri). At my first triathlon back in August, I somehow managed to get third in my age group. Surprised the sh*t out of myself with that performance. Overall, I was 133/262 for the swim, 12/262 for the bike, and 8/262 for the run – clearly making swimming my worst sport! There is enough room for improvement in my swim that I could move myself up to first in my age group without improving on the run or the bike. Of course, it’ll take a lot of work to get my swim up to that shape, but I think it’s manageable if I make it a priority. I plan on signing up for the same race this August. Of course, I have no control over who else shows up on race day, so I won’t go home crying if I have a stellar day and still get my ass handed to me. I might be sad, but I won’t cry. Hopefully.
- Running – run a sub-18 minute 5k. Technically, I’ve already got one of these under my belt. 17:42, I think. But I’m also pretty sure that the course was short (I wasn’t the only one who thought that). Considering I’ve never actually done training specific to a 5k, I think I can make this happen this year.
- Running – run a sub-5 minute mile. I’ve only run a timed mile once, and ended up around 5:20. Twenty seconds is a lot to shave off of a mile, but since I’ve never really done any short-course speedwork (see the above 5k goal), I’m curious to see if I can make this one happen. There’s a local running group that hosts monthly “races.” You just show up, pay $2, and you get a chip-timed mile and/or 5k (the 5k starts pretty much as soon as the last person finishes the mile). So, I’ve got plenty of opportunities to shoot for this goal, after I put in the training.
- Swimming – get better! Swimming is still so new to me that it’s difficult for me to put together a truly quantifiable goal. However, the other day I was running my usual route along the lake, and I stopped to stare at this island off shore. I got to thinking that I would like to swim around that island. It’s not so much the distance of the swim (I mapped it out to be about 2.5km or 1.5miles), but that swimming around the island would represent an overcoming of my fear of water. I might expound on that at a later date, but for now I’ll add it to the list of goals. It may not happen this year for logistical reasons (I don’t think I could safely swim it alone without someone in a kayak, given the potential boat traffic in this area). But I’ll go ahead and put it out there as a goal anyway.
- Cycling – ride under 21 minutes for a 15k time trial. Every year my company participates in a ‘Corporate Challenge’, which is basically an olympic-style set of events pitting local companies against each other. They have a 15k cycling time trial as one of the events. Well, it’s actually a team trial, so you can easily draft off of each other for the race. Regardless of the team time, I’d like to finish under 21 minutes. I’ve ridden the course a few times, and it’s definitely shorter than 15k. In the end, I’d need to average between 25 and 26 miles per hour (or about 43 km/hr) to make that happen. At least it’s a short race!
So that’s it. My 2014 sporting goals. This year will likely be full of change in my personal life, as there’s a good chance that we’ll get matched for adoption in 2014. It will be a huge adjustment to having one (or two or three) older kids suddenly in our house, and I have no idea what kind of toll that will take on my training. All I know is that life will not be the same, and I’m ok with that.
Questionably Texan 