Chuckanut was a bit of a wake up call. I went back to look at my training numbers over the past 2 months to see if that could’ve been the cause of my slowness. In fact, I did miss a week and a half from the flu (forgot about it) and overall I’ve been able to work in 35% less training volume than over Nov-Jan. Not sure why I was running less - it feels like I am running all of the time. I need to find a way to increase my running volume by 35% consistently…
I guess we all have to have ‘the one’ in a life of running. That is, the race that you blow apart and suffer. Well, this was it for me - the worst race to date. (Not so for a few other Victorians - check out Todd Nowak’s (his first Ultra!) time - www.gbrc.net However, I’ve learned a few lessons (I always do):
1. Caffeine - Can’t live without it. I started the race rushed (we made it to the race with 8 minutes to spare) and didn’t have my usual dosage of coffee but thanks to Jarhead, I was able to get a few sips. At one point - around 35k someone passed me, and there were many!, and asked how I was doing. I think I said, “Falling asleep on my feet…”
2. Legs - Today they feel fine. Runnable. To me, that says enough. I have a ton of mileage in the legs and they are in good shape. In January we ran the Capital Peak 34 miler and I was flying up the hills. Chuckanut - I was red-lining the whole time.
3. Michelle’s comment - At the finish line Michelle had said to me that the top 20ish runners looked ‘chunky’, not waifish… for mountain running, maybe this is something to consider?
The Race (first leg): The first leg went relatively well, I was chugging along chatting with Todd Nowak (nice guy and watch out for him in future mountain ultras) but I had a bad feeling when I hit the first major switchback at around 12k and I was red-lining badly. Gary Robbins and Todd took off and I had no response so I had to pull back. Two months ago, I was running up 1000ft without much breathing and my recovery was immediate. I know that you ‘cycle’ in ultras feeling good/bad. Holding on when you feel like shit is key. The last part of the first leg is a long downhill to the 3rd CP and I came in at 30th place.
*Based on how I ran in January, my goal time for this race was sub 4:40.
Second Leg: The second leg of hills was brutal. I really forced myself to run up the long 5km stretch of logging roads but I felt sleepy the whole time. If someone had come by with a car, I think I would have pulled the ’shute and gone to Starbucks. I managed to get to the top and off into the technical section. Tricky but I actually felt not bad. I did manage to see (hear) someone behind me take a wicked tumble. All in all I wasn’t too unhappy with this section. I tried to tuck in behind Tim Weins (he was part of a group of 3) but I couldn’t maintain their pace. The section before ‘chinscraper’ was not bad, slow but not bad. Then came ‘chinscraper’ an almost vertical climb to the top. Upon reaching the top, I emptied my stomach. Not sure why, I’ve never puked before in a race…
Third leg: I found an aid station with Coke and started to drink it like mad. The next part of the 3rd leg is a 6km downhill run. I really hammered this and made it down in 21 minutes. When I reached the last CP, the sign was flashing 4:10:01, 4:10:02, etc. I couldn’t believe it. I thought I was way off so I started to push thinking I could at least salvage the race and come in at 5 hours… I pushed really hard but I couldn’t get enough steam up to move faster than about 6:30/km (The Coke did kick in after about 40 minutes and I was able to speed up slightly)
I am disappointed but really on to the next race - I’ve been running ultras for 3 years and all in all it’s been a learning process…
Our bookclub choice this month is Richard Dawkins’, The God Delusion. (see link to the right)
Of course, as I’m waiting for a ride yesterday, heavily contemplating Dawkins’ argument a women comes by and starts chatting with me. She is intense. Intensely spiritual.
Turns out she was on death’s doorstep last August and made it back and obviously swinging for a home run now, everytime. Anyway, she ends the conversation by saying to me, “I am looking into your eyes…whatever’s heavy in your heart…whoosh (she makes a sweeping motion like “let it go…”)…it’s not worth it”
Are running Chuckanut this Saturday. Check out www.karlmeltzer.com for his predictions - nice to see that he included Canadian Ryne Melcher.
Scott Jurek and Brian Morrison will be running…enough said.
For Chuckanut - here it is:
Pre-race:
1 can Ensure plus (2 hours pre-race) + 1 bowl Optimum Power (the one with DK on the side) *Jokingly I always point to the side of the box and ask my girls “Who’s that on the side?” and they always, much to my ego’s delight, say “Daddy!”
Race:
Hammer gel every 45minutes + Accelerade
Last 15km:
Coke
Simple plan without too much fluid (I plan to hydrate well on Friday)
Right now I am tapering harder than I usual, partly because my legs were shot - it makes me wonder if I peaked early (?) No excuses.
To combat the lack of running, I am going for a massage today and will continue to stretch every 2 days until Friday.
I can tell that my legs need a rest. No real improvement over the past week and I was struggling with 5k at 3:40/km. In any case, I do feel well trained for Chuckanut. The hillwork is done, long runs are done, and I’m down to today and tomorrow for my last two runs. Taper will be 6 days which sounds long but I’m taking the chance that a full week will leave me with ready legs.
I’ve been experimenting with fuel sources for races. Perpetuemis the latest from Hammer Nutrition. I can’t honestly say that I’ve felt any better than when I use hammergels over 4 hours. Not that I feel worse, just that my energy levels are about equal. The deciding factor is the taste. Perpetuem, to me, tastes like the inside of an old tin of canned salmon. I’ll stick with the gels.
One thing for sure, if I eat well pre-training I have a much better session. (Seems simple but how many times have you rushed to a training session under nourished/watered?)
How many ultras can you reasonably run in 12 months? (I’ve planned 6)
I know that the elites focus on 1 or 2 races but that seems like a hell of a lot of training and not much fun racing…
I kept running this week, 8 days straight (about 13 hours in 7 days) I couldn’t stop…at least until Saturday when my legs literally went dead.
I was running 20km at 4:30/km and it felt easy until about 17km - I wear a Garmin to track time/distance. At 17km my speed fell off precipitously and I felt cooked. Maybe too much?
Chuckanut is 2 weeks away and I am really looking forward to it.