Quick update 3 - Ghost Train Trail 100

So it finally arrived.  After being 81 on the wait list, I shot up every week and then nearly every day starting in late September and by the time early October arrived, they actually had no more wait list and were letting people sign up as so many people dropped out of the entry list.  My goal for the race was sub-18 hours.  I chose this because when I won the Tesla Hertz 100 in 2014, I ran 100 miles according to my Garmin in a little over 18 hours.  However, the race was about 105 miles so my finishing time of 19:20 stood as my official 100-miler PR.  At the FANS 24-hour race in 2016, I couldn't hit 100 miles until 20 hours so this upcoming race was the chance to run fast if I could.  It is a pretty flat course (only ~3,200 feet of gain) with the only real climb and descent being about a 1 mile stretch or less and that is also the only technical portion. 

I went out at a comfortable pace.  I knew I would slow from this pace but basically wanted to keep the same effort level throughout.  After about 30 miles, the heat started to rise a bit, which caused me to slow down just a little bit but it didn't last long.  Things were going well.  I felt reasonably comfortable.  I got to 50 miles in something like 7:45 and thought I had a chance if things went really well to break 17 hours or in an amazing case, 16 hours.  However, at around 60 miles, my right eye started to get signs of corneal edema.  This time, I was prepared (or so I thought) with some 5% solution drops to help.  Unfortunately, these drops didn't work and my eye got progressively worse.  To make matters worse, my headlamp started to die at mile 80 (and I wouldn't be able to get batteries until mile 90) and that combined with my declining vision in that eye made moving on that course difficult since there were runners coming at me and their headlamps basically blinded my good eye.  The technical section was really tough with only one eye.  Still, I pressed on and when I got the new batteries for the final 10, I was ready to run as best I could.  I pushed and ended up finishing in 17:20, good for 5th place.  I was so happy about this time and I think I could have gone below 17 hours had I not had the eye problem. 

This is not to say the race was easy except for the eye issue.  For many parts of it, once the eye problem began, and even before that, I thought about dropping.  I don't know why.  I think I was scared to hold that pace and thought I would blow up.  I felt my legs starting to get a little heavy around 40 miles and didn't want to have to walk and have a close to 24 hours finish when I was on pace for under 17.  So my mind thought about quitting before that happened.  Instead, I just thought about everything I could to distract myself and keep running.  I did not allow myself to walk this course except for a hundred feet or so out of the aid stations.  I through on my iPod earlier than I wanted to but needed it for the distraction and it worked very well.  This race really showed me that it is a mental game and I need to just get rid of bad thoughts and keep moving forward and running as much as I can or the very least, keep up a certain effort level.  Obviously, if this were a big mountain race and I had some big climbs, I would be hiking those and not running.  But when running is possible, just run.  Worry about falling apart later. 

This race made me very proud of what I can do and I'm going to stick with my Maffetone / Primal Endurance lifestyle of diet and training.  It has worked wonders.  I'll discuss this in a future blog.  Up next (in 4 days) JFK 50-miler. 

Quick update 2 - Dirty Dozen 50K

I took a good deal of time off following Bighorn.  My legs and feet and heel (I was diagnosed with Haglund's Heel post-bighorn) recovered and I signed up with Meghan to run a local trail race in Forest Park.  The Dirty Dozen 50K.  The race is 12 loops on my favorite Orange trail in Forest Park.  It's roughly 2.25 miles per loop and even with the out and back to start the race, I don't think it is a 30 mile race.  Anyway, I wanted to run well and kept up with the lead runners the first 4 loops before I fell back after refilling my bottle with Tailwind.  I caught up but then fell back off when I refilled 2 loops later.  I didn't know exactly how far ahead they were but I wasn't feeling fantastic.  My stomach was a little uneasy and I was getting a cramp.  Still I felt ok overall and ended up finishing in 3rd place only a few minutes behind the first two spots.  I wasn't expecting a prize but the RD gave out prizes to the top 3 male and female runners.  Meghan crushed the race as her preparation for the Atacama Desert stage race had been stellar.  She took 1st place.  So running this race gave me a little more confidence that I was getting back into the swing of things but my Garmin readings for GPS were so messed up in the forest that I couldn't tell how my splits evolved.  I had about 6 weeks before Ghost Train Trail 100 and just had to keep doing what I had been doing and hope for the best. 

Quick update 1 - Bighorn 100

Whoops.  I went a while without updating the blog.  So here goes.

June: Bighorn 100 -
This race is the reason I didn't update my blog.  I was hopeful prior to the race to come in around 26 hours.  The weather gods had other plans.  The race itself felt difficult for me early on and that was not weather related.  Yes, it felt pretty hot as we climbed the thousands of feet to start the race.  My climbing legs seemed to have gone missing though that was expected from Bear Mt. experience and from my lack of hill training.  Still, I was being passed by everyone and don't recall passing anyone on the climbs for these first 10 miles.  I felt better when we got to the descents and though I was feeling pretty foul for the upcoming 18ish mile climb that was coming from mile 30, a runner told me that the climb is nowhere near as bad as the initial 10 miles.  She was right.  However, rain started a little before I got to the climb and continued for I think 12 hours.  The rain turned the course into a mudfest and the mud was shoe sucking and slippery.  Not a good combination when you are climbing forever and even worse when you are descending forever.  It was even snowing at the top of the climb at the turnaround and I was lucky (smart) enough to carry cold weather clothing in my pack to help get me to the turnaround in better shape than most of the people in that tent.  The way back was more treacherous.  There was no moving quickly.  There was lots of flailing and falling.  There was much thanks given for carrying my trekking poles.  I was hopeful once the sun came up and with about 30 miles to go that the mudfest will be gone but things got worse.  The mud became even more inhospitable on the extreme climbs back out and the heat shot up making the work to move up through this mud even harder.  I was going slower than 2 miles per hour for a few miles and was happy to hit 3 mph.  Thankfully, the mudfest ended with about 12 miles to go and at some point (thanks to Jon Brause for catching up to me in his 50K race) was able to run really fast down hill.
The mile or so before the finish we were back on a road but I was so overheated and tired and didn't care about my time that I started walking.  I finished in 30 hours and 2 minutes and was just not happy with the race.  The course was beautiful when it wasn't dark and raining and volunteers were amazing.  It is just a course that I didn't know is usually pretty darn muddy.  I hate mud.

Bear Mt. 50-miler: Nor'Easter but still course PR.

On my last blog update I noted how thus far, my lifestyle change with diet and exercise led to better race results, even with less training and the challenge of a now 10-month old at home.  One thing in the back of my mind though was if the success would continue to a mountain race.  The reason for having some doubt was because my normal training routine of running 8.7 miles 2-3 times a week to work and once or if lucky twice a week running home from work is on road and relatively flat.  Sure, there are a couple inclines here and there but nothing "mountainous".   My weekend runs if lucky would be one day in Forest Park on the easy trails there for about an hour.  My next major test would be my sixth time running the North Face Endurance Challenge 50-miler at Bear Mountain on May 13th.  I was lucky enough to get one day this year to train at Bear Mt. for 3 hours and challenged myself to a brutal course and didn't run it at a low heart rate.  I felt my climbing legs were under trained but my overall fitness was ok.  That was only for a 3-hour run and I covered 13 miles.  This 50-mile race would also be the longest run since the Tesla Hertz 100K in October which is a flat course.  In fact, the only hilly and mountain type of run I had done of more than 13 miles was the Bear Mountain race in May 2016!  I set a PR by 1 minute in that race of 9:39.

I was looking forward to a beautiful day for the race as it had been the last five years but the weather forecast 7 days out remained the same until race day.  Lot of rain, heavy at times.  Some news called it a Nor'Easter the day before.  You can't change the weather, you can only prepare for it.  Luckily, I had done some runs in the rain and was only a little worried about what a muddy and wet day and course would be at Bear Mt. with the rocks and descents.

As opposed to last year, where I stayed in a hotel before the race, I went back to my prior roots of sleeping in my parent's mini-van in the parking lot the night before the race to make it not so comfortable to wake up and get ready and also to spare me from the commute (and cost) of a hotel. Unsurprisingly, my sleep was pretty good or as good if not better than the sleep I get at home with Jake!  It was already raining when I awoke thanks to a volunteer's dog in the parking lot at 3:15AM, 45 minutes earlier than my alarm.  I tried to go back to sleep but never got back and at 3:55 decided to just get up and on with it.  I got dressed and all set up in the van and at 4:25, left the van to walk to the venue and give in my drop bags.  I was wearing my NYC Marathon Poncho (those who have run the race post-2013 know what that is) and didn't really feel much rain but when looking at the floodlights, it looked like a lot of rain was coming down.  It was just a easy, misty rain.

I didn't see anyone I knew as I walked around the start/finish area.  I chatted with some random people, one of which was from California and not sure what to expect with this east coast course.  Another runner chimed in and told us he was pacing a completely blind runner.  I find that incredible given the technical nature of this course.  Before I knew it, there was 5 minutes to the start so I handed in my start/finish bag and went up to the start line.  It's fairly low-key, wave 1 runners (as I was) walk up to the start and listen to Dean Karnazes say some motivational things and then we are off.

As usual, I run out at a fast enough pace but let the real speedsters go.  I slowly jog up the initial climb but start to hike about halfway up.  Then I fly down the rocky and wet descent.  I am the lone guy there with no headlamp.  I know the sun will be up by 5:30 so I just use my small sniper scope (gift from David Snipes 7 years ago which is a small LED flashlight with some bungee cord that goes around my water bottle).  Unfortunately, the batter was low on that so it didn't provide me enough light but everyone else's headlamps did enough for me and before you know it, the sun provides the light I need.  Lots of people pass me as I walk more uphills.  I know I will pass them later on in the race.  Even if I don't, I run my race and am not concerned about keeping up with other people.

This year, as opposed to 2016, I remembered that miles 12-20 were tough miles.  I was mentally ready for it and expected a down moment.  It thankfully never came.  Sure, things got a little tough at some points but I knew they were temporary and just went with them.  In fact for the entire race, I don't recall any real down moments like I've had before where I had to walk a good stretch before feeling better.  I believe there were 2 or 3 reasons for this.

1) Different weather.  Sure, it was colder (50s) and constant rain but that prevented me from overheating.  I was wearing my new investment, the North Face Hyper Air GTX rain jacket and it worked great by keeping the rain from getting me super soaked and allowing excess heat to go through the jacket as opposed to the less breathable jackets that just stifle you.  In prior years, the temperatures would get into the 70s if not warmer and that seemed to sap me at some points.  There is a long road section from mile 23-25 I think and a long up hill road around mile 33 I think that I would always walk parts of because of its sun exposure but this year I ran both of those sections in their entirety.  Of course, the non-stop rain made footing in certain parts, especially once we merged back with the 50K/Marathon race more treacherous.

2) Nutritional - Last year they had Tailwind on the course.  That is my go to nutrition drink.  This year, they never announced what they would have and unfortunately, it wasn't Tailwind.  Still, I fried up and packed bacon in my 2 drop bags and those treats were awesome (even though I "lost" my first bag of it somewhere in my rain jacket - I ended up finding it on Sunday and eating it!).  That, along with banana pieces, a few Honey Stinger gels from the aid stations and Skratch Labs gummy chews was all I needed and I never felt the bonk.  I also attribute that to my Primal lifestyle where I eat mostly fats and less carbs and am able to go a long period of time whether exercising or not without nutrition.

3) Baby motivation - I was surprised to find how motivating it was to think of Jake and his silly happy smiley face and laughs.  That pure joy kept me going and lifted me up when I was on the cusp of feeling down.  Even thinking about how big a jerk he is by not sleeping well at nights made me laugh because I figured it's good training.

I'm not going to go through excruciating details of the race. Instead, I'll mention the memorable moments.

1) Strap on water bottle - The comfy strap around my handheld water bottle was always coming undone by the Velcro on the bottom.  This was so annoying because I didn't have a backup water bottle and it is very annoying "holding" the actual bottle.  But I spent so much time trying to fix it that in the end, it was a big distraction.  Finally, at the mile 45 aid station, I had the volunteer Duct tape the strap to the bottle so it wouldn't fall off.

2) Shorts falling down - I've been wearing the same blue shorts for races for about 5 years now.  The elastic has worn out a bit and I didn't tie the strings well before the race. Around mile 5, my shorts started to feel like they were falling down thanks to a couple things in the pockets and the weight of the wetness from the rain.  Since I was wearing gloves for warmth and rain protection, I couldn't tie the strings so I would just pull my short up and the strings tight and hope that lasts a while.  IT would work as a quick fix but every so often would start falling down again.  At the mile 18 aid station, I asked a volunteer if they could tie it for me and he did.  However, about 7 miles later, it came undone.  At around the 30 mile aid station, I asked another volunteer to tie it and they tied it well.  This leads into memorable moment 3

3) It's around mile 40 and I still haven't taken a bathroom break to pee.  Finally, I get that urge but with my shorts tied and not wanting to deal with untying and retying, I decide to give peeing while running a try.  Yes, peeing my pants while running.  It was a little difficult to start at first but then it was nice and warm.  With the rain and mud and puddles, any hint of it was washed away with in minutes.  I don't think I would do something like that on a warm day; or a cold day for that matter.  A rainy cool day is the perfect time to do that.  

4) The thing that sort of bothers me about this race is the number of likely first time ultra and trail runners but not that it is their first trail race, but the facts that either they haven't trained and had no idea what to expect from this course or are just so uptight that they do everything in their power not to get any dirt on theme at all.  Are you kidding me?!  My race was going well and the course was not a complete mud fest like the 2013 TARC-100.  However, once we merged back onto the course where the 50K and Marathon runners came through earlier it became much more slippery mud and a worn out trail.  The slower 50K runners were still out there on the course.  These are the runners that I'm complaining about.  Now don't get me wrong, this is nitpicking and I'm not trying to sound elitist.  The thing is, these runners, many of whom have resorted to walking a large portion of the course from that point on (roughly 12 miles or so left in both our races) are doing their utmost to avoid getting their feet wet and/or muddy.  There were more giant mud and streams that required crossing than I can count due to the heavy rains.  Yet every time I came from behind on a runner at these sections, they were looking for ways around the mud/stream or very carefully trying to balance on some rocks or trees to cross it, and taking a real risk of slipping on that wet rock or tree.  So as I approached many of these runners I just shouted that I'm coming from behind and then offered the advice to just go through the puddle and mud since you're already wet and dirty.  I get it though.  By that point in the race if you are walking, you are having a bad day.  It doesn't feel any better having to continuously walk through streams and mud.  That's the reality of it though.  Change your mindset and just embrace the suck.  Hopefully these runners will learn from the experience or won't ever bother repeating it (one and done).  But good on them for giving it the effort and not dropping out.  

So the fun thing about this race for me was as I mentioned earlier it was my first mountain type race since the prior year's edition.  I didn't know how my training for this would hold up versus my better road running results.  When the race began, I started my watch and the only time I looked at it was just when it vibrated and I looked down and it said "Mile 10: 10:05" meaning I just finished mile 10 and that mile was run at a 10:05 pace.  From that point on, I didn't look at my watch again.  Mostly because it was under my rain jacket.  I figured I was feeling pretty good most of the race.  I knew I was moving well but unsure of how the wet and muddy course was slowing me down.  When I got to the aid station before Timp pass, roughly mile 45, I looked at my watch to see what my time was and if I was going to have a shot at a PR or sub 10 hour finish.  My watch was no longer in tracking mode, it was back on regular watch mode.  D'oh!  I don't know how the watch stopped and restarted to that screen but that was that.  Later that week I saw that it stopped around mile 21.  Anyway, I looked at the time and it said something like 1:35PM and since we began at 5AM that meant I was 8 hours and 35 minutes into the race and had no more than 5 miles to go.  Sure I had the biggest steep climb and a minor steep climb coming up but that was ok.  I realized I had a solid chance at setting a PR and if lucky, sub 9:30.  So I started hustling but hiking those uphills that still made sense to hike.  After hiking up Timp pass without any issue I ran down the rocky backside portion recklessly but still in control and then opened up my stride on the more runnable sections that followed.  The last 1-2 miles we have the added benefit of having the marathon relay runners on our course.  They run roughly 3 miles out and then back for their relay course.  I find it funny to "compete" with those runners on the course seeing as how the 50-milers are at mile 48+.  I saw two marathon relay runners sort of pushing each other to go and I tailed them.  But when I felt like I could move faster, I passed them on an uphill and then the final downhill section back towards the parking lot before the final 200 meters.  That's when they decide to sprint it in and I'm not dumb enough to hurt myself by sprinting the last 200 meters of a 50-mile race for no reason.  I ran fast but comfortable and slowed down to walk the last 5 feet through the finish line.  My official finish time was 9:27:59.  I managed sub-9:30 in the Nor'Easter condition and was 5th in my age group and 27th overall (25th male).  

So my confidence now is unfortunately quite high heading into this last month before Bighorn.  I plan to take Bighorn like this race.  Just run within my ability and mentally stay focused and smart.  Once again, following the Primal nutrition and exercise program has given me my 5th PR in less than a year since I started it.   Tesla Hertz 100K result was a PR (though I hadn't run an easy 100K before so it would have been a PR regardless - but I took 1st palce). The Knickerbocker 60K was a big PR.  The Caumsett 50K was a PR for my marathon as well as 50K.  And now Bear Mt. 50-miler.  Bighorn will be a course PR regardless, but it's all going to be about having as great day and see how it evolves.  If I can avoid sleepwalking are death marching and have a decent time (let's say sub 26 hours) that will be a great success. 

Caumsett 50K and Primal Endurance Produces Results

As I mentioned in my last blog post, in July (right after Jake was born) I began following the Maffetone and Primal Endurance methods of training and nutrition (or diet, or lifestyle, whatever you prefer to call it).  I had a positive result though a little slower than my goal at the Tesla Hertz 100K in October.  The next month (Nov. 19th), I ran the Knickerbocker 60K going for a goal of sub-5 hours.  This was something I was not certain if I could do as it had eluded me the last time I went for it.  Since my training was also mostly at a much slower pace than 8 minute miles and much shorter distance than 37.2 miles (I think my longest run was 18 miles), I was venturing into the unknown but hopeful I could achieve the goal.  I was lucky enough to have a few running friends come out and do a few of the 9 loops with me and I was holding onto my pace well.  It definitely felt more difficult the last 3-4 loops, especially because the volunteers at the main aid station with our drop bags couldn't find my bag with my Tailwind nutrition for the final two loops but Coca Cola at the aid stations did the trick.  I finished in 4:59:13.  That certainly made me realize that the nutrition and training were indeed working.  But could it continue to work and when will I plateau?

Fast forward to this past weekend (March 5th), and the Caumsett 50K.  I ran the race in 2013 and had an epic blow-up, finishing in 4:18:59 (yay sub:4:19?!).  I was hoping for sub-4 (7:44 pace) but ended at an 8:20 after logging some 10 minute miles I think.  So this time around, I signed up hoping to go sub-4.  But then something else entered my mind.  A couple of years ago, they added a timing mat that coincided with 26.2 miles (marathon distance) which would enable someone to officially qualify for the Boston Marathon as long as they also finished the 50K distance.  While I really prefer to focus on trails and ultras, the Boston Marathon and my marathon PR in 2009 of 3:10:29 (which did qualify me back then and I ran the Boston Marathon in 2010) was something I wanted to go for again, and at some point, I would love a sub-3 hour marathon.  At my age, I need a sub 3:10 to qualify, but a couple minutes faster likely to actually get accepted into the race because the field is limited so the take the fastest qualifying times first.  Mind you, my fastest road marathon time post-2009 was a 3:19 I think.  Reasons for that are plentiful, but the main reason (or excuse) I made for not bettering my road marathon time was that I focused on ultras and trail running.  It's true.  I didn't plan road marathons to get my fastest time.  I ran them as a pacer for friends or a few weeks after running a 50-miler or 100-miler or a day or two after going for a multiple hour trail run.  However, when I look back at that 2009 qualifying run at the NYC Marathon, I was struggling and giving everything I had to hold on and qualify and I barely did it.  Now that this interesting thought crept into my head, I thought to myself that I could see how a pace around 7:15 felt (3:10 marathon pace) and if after a few of the 5K loops I felt like I was struggling, I would slow down and try to maintain a pace needed for a sub-4 hour 50K and scrap a BQ (Boston Qualifying) attempt.  So that was the plan and I was nervous about it because it really sucks to go out hard and blow up early and struggle through an hour or more of running (or shuffling) where everything hurts.

Before I get into the start of the race, I have to give a huge shout-out to the following people:
I'm very thankful that my friend Rebecca Odessey (who's gains as a runner have been incredible and will likely qualify for Boston 2019 if not 2018) came to the race to run the 25K and was very supportive before the race and on the course at the times I saw her while she was running and then she crewed me for my last couple loops after she finished.

Paul Kentor ran with me for 3-1/3 loops and it's always good to have good company running.

Devon Yanko. If you don't know who that is, just check this out  http://ultrasignup.com/results_participant.aspx?fname=Devon&lname=Yanko
This elite woman was testing the waters in her first race in 5 months following an injury.  It was awesome just chatting with her as if she was not one of the greatest runners on the planet the last few years, and a normal human like the rest of us (as opposed to the super-human than she is).  It's what I love about ultra-runners.  The elite athletes are always down to Earth great people and you would never know that they are some of the most incredible athletes in the world by just running and or talking with them.  They are really just like us, just much, much faster when they want to or have to be.

Back to the race.  Well, pre-race to be exact.

The good thing about being a "Primal Aligned" athlete is that I don't worry about carb-loading or nutrition frequently.  The ability to fuel myself even at a marathon pace with mostly my own fat makes the race that much easier because I don't have to worry about carrying this gel or chew along with sports drinks.  I use Tailwind Nutrition but I never feel "starving" for carbs or calories.  My breakfast about 90-120 minutes before the race was 2 bananas and a large coffee with cream.  I did not start to take my Tailwind until the 4th loop (75 minutes into the race) and was mostly sipping on it using it for the hydration, not as much for the nutrition but it is that as well. But I digress.

The race started at about 18 degrees F.  This made me question if I should cancel that BQ goal.  But then I figured, if it's cold out, I should run faster so I get done sooner and not be out in the cold for a long time.  So I kept on with my goal.  The race began and I started running at what I felt was a comfortable pace.  I was not wearing a heart rate monitor.  After maybe 250 meters, I hear Paul behind me talking with someone.  I look back quickly and notice it is Devon Yanko.  I slow down so they catch up and I run and chat with them.  A few times I look at my watch to get an idea of pace and it fluctuates between 6:45 minute mile and 7:10.  Great. . . I'm going out way too fast.  I decided to just go with it since the pace really felt slower and thought maybe my watch wasn't accurate.  We finished the first 5K in a 7:02 minute/mile pace, so the watch was indeed accurate.  I felt good though and decided to maintain the pace and relatively good effort.  No guts, no glory.  The pace stayed surprisingly consistent and I focused on my form a few times and tried to assess how I felt and I kept coming back with surprisingly good but cautious, knowing that at any moment, things could fall apart and fall apart big.  Once I was no longer running with Devon, who passed us on loop 3 after she took a bathroom break and Paul took a bathroom break on loop 4, I had to focus more now since I was on my own (asides from all the other runners on the course who we always exchange "good jobs" with) and not give in to any negative thoughts.  I was scared that I had gone out too quickly and it would come back any minute now and make me slow down.  Each time that happened, I just decide to see what the clock says and timed myself between mile markers (not my watch GPS mile split).  Sometimes I would forget my time and had to start over at the marker.  It gave me something to focus on and also gave me the truth about my pace.  Each time I did it, I was still within my BQ mile split pace.

Laps 5 and 6 were probably the hardest because I knew there were so many more laps to go and so much time for me to implode.  My tricks kept working and once I crossed the start/finish to begin my 8th lap, I had to get to that near half-way mat which would tell me how much time I needed for the final 5K before the marathon finish.  When I got there, I needed something like 25 minutes (give or take a minute now on my memory) to get my BQ.  So now it was just give it almost everything I had for the next 5K.  I say almost everything because I still had to finish the 50K in order to qualify.  And since I was a few minutes ahead of the 3:10 I needed, I held on to my effort and made sure I wasn't going slower than I needed to qualify.  I hit the start of the 9th loop and the clock read 2:58 I think so I knew I had 12 minutes to run 1.4 miles.  I knew I was gong to qualify but it ain't over until it's over.  Also, due to the popularity of the Boston Marathon, even if you run a qualifying time, you may not be accepted because they accept runners based on fastest time first.  For example, in 2016, you had to run 2 minutes and 28 seconds faster than the qualifying standard for your age group in order to be accepted.  For the 2017 race, you had to run 2:09 faster.  This is why I didn't just jog it in.  As I ran down that hill and then up the next towards that marathon finish, I put all my effort there and got it at about 3:06:58, a 3 minute 30 second marathon PR!  At that point, my mind relaxed and my body started to ache.  However, it was now time for my victory lap and I coasted nice and easy (also took a port-o-potty poop break on the final loop) to finish the 50K at 3:52:32.  So I got my 50K PR by 25 minutes and hit my sub-4 goal.  All in all, another successful race.

This brings me back to the title of this blog post.  I am well aware of the "n=1" logic behind training and nutrition (diet) plans.  What works for me will not necessarily work for you.  That said, unless you are an elite sponsored athlete, I really believe going Primal will improve your results especially if you have had some bad races and training periods or think you may have plateaued.  I think it's much easier for someone with a stronger mindset that doesn't have a lot of social pressure on them.  Like me for example.  After Jake was born eight months ago now, my days of going out for a drink, or dinner, or to watch "the game" or to hang out are pretty much over for the time being.  So I have been able to more easily avoid the temptation of the foods that I should not be eating (processed foods, refined sugars, grains, alcohol, etc.).  Once you go 21 days or more without those and you encounter and win the test of will when these no-no foods/drinks are presented to you, it is much easier to forgo them in the future.  That's not to say I was 100% compliant over the last eight months.  My work holiday party, X-Mas/Chanuka, Thanksgiving, and a work trip to Amsterdam were a few of the times I know I ate some foods that would not be on a Primal menu for certain.  But that's ok.  It's bound to happen and just like a bad race or training day, you accept it and move on.  Most days (weeks if not months actually) I would say I am 100% compliant.  I feel much healthier (could be placebo but I think its real), I lost at least 5 lbs and I'm not a big guy to begin with (which definitely helps me run faster), and I definitely notice I'm leaner with more muscle mass (I can now do 13-15 pull ups where when I began, I could only do 3-4) so I lost fat, not muscle. My lab test results from a check-up in the fall show I've improved all of my stats over the last few years and my resting heart rate at one Dr. visit was 45 beats per minute.  Can't wait to see what the results are later this year.  All of this with less training compared to the last 8 years (or 12 years if you go back to my triathlon days).  It takes a little effort though as does most of the important things in life.  It's very easy to just order a sandwich, eat cereal, have that supposed "healthy" protein or other bar that is loaded with things we don't have to have for optimal nutrition.  So you can't be lazy.  If you've read this far, you're probably not lazy or maybe you want a change in your life.

I highly recommend checking out Primal Endurance (https://www.primalblueprint.com/primal-endurance/) or Mark's Daily apple and even asking me for more details about it.  I'm heavily into the science of it and enjoy the subject.

My next race I'm signed up for is Bear Mt. in May.  I may do a race in April but that will be decided on closer to race day.

https://jmsresults.com/results/2017/caumsett17n.pdf
https://jmsresults.com/results/2017/caumsett17m.pdf

The adventures continue.

FYI - Coconut is a top-notch Primal food and apparently, hilarious

Tesla Hertz Run (100K) - Different Distance, Same Result

Jake at almost 2 months old

I want to start off by saying once again that I 100% realize my placing at this race, like in 2014, is only a result of faster people not running this race.  At some point in the future, faster people will run it and demolish all the records and I would have no shot at a podium spot.  

Pre-race goals and thoughts:

Since my last race, the FANS 24-hour event on June 4th in which I missed my goals but was still OK with the result (4th place male, 5th overall with 109 miles), my life and training changed.  We brought Jake into the world on July 6th (well, I didn't really have much to do with this process aside from 38 weeks earlier) and my training was going to be a distant 3rd, 4th, or 5th behind everything else now (family, work, life, etc.).  So with that in mind, I know I had to get smarter with my training.  I recalled in a few Podcasts (Ultra Running Podcast, and Talk Ultra) they mentioned the Maffetone training method and I decided to read up on it.  It's a combination of training and nutrition.  In some ways a total change.  A very good description could more or less be found on the websites of https://philmaffetone.com/  and http://primal-endurance.com/.   A quick summary is you do all of your training for at least the first 3 months if not much longer at a very low heart rate.  For me it was 144 or lower.  Along with this, your diet has to change to reduce carbohydrate intake, nearly all through eliminating grains and rice and white potato products and not consuming refined sugar (honey in very small quantity is OK).  Fruit is fine. It just can’t be a large percent of the calories.  Most of it should come from healthy fats from oils (coconuts, avocado, etc.) and (unless you’re vegetarian) grass-fed/organic meats and wild fish.  The training was tough because I was really moving at a snail’s pace (for me) and was forced to walk every hill, no matter how small.  Slowly I got faster at that heart rate and I had fun with the challenge of the diet.  Amazingly, I lost about 5 pounds while not starving myself and having less time training.  My time spent training decreased by at least 1-2 hours per week if I include walking Jake in his stroller for an hour or so twice a week at least and 3+ hours per week if you exclude that from training.  Again, all that training except for maybe two days was done exclusively at a low heart rate.  I did one hard effort run of 9 miles home from work two weeks before the race and I felt good.  

My goal for the race in hindsight was aggressive.  Knowing my splits for the 100-miler I won in 2014 and knowing I finished the JFK-50 last year in 7:57 and was about 8 hours to the 50-mile mark during the 24-hour event three month ago, I figured I could go sub-10 hours.  To get the suspense out of the way, that goal did not happen.  I believe the lack of speedwork and possibly the overall lack of training and/or longer runs just made it so I couldn't hold the pace I needed to achieve that goal.  But I see a lot of progress in this Maffetone method and new nutritional lifestyle.  

The race:

The good thing about all the experience I've had in ultrarunning over the last 6 years and in doing this course for the 3rd time is that I had absolutely no nervousness going into the race.  I should have at least respected that even a 10 hour day is a somewhat long day because I felt like the race was only going to take 5 hours instead of 10.  It was a weird feeling but I knew I would suffer at some point and would get over it.  My plan was to run at or below a 145 heart rate the first two loops (each loop is 10.4 miles).  I stuck to that plan for the first 7 miles before my heart rate drifted up towards 150.  I decided to just go with it since this is a race and my heart rate should be higher.  I probably should have stuck with the plan.  I ran the first loop with two other runners, Max Frumes and Anthony Vlachos.  Max is a seasoned ultra-runner while this was Anthony's first 50-miler (50-milers start at the same time as the 100K runners).  The first loop was finished in 1:40 and I just ran right through the start finish area as I needed no water or food.  I was on exactly 10 hour pace.  

The next loop was similar except I did start to feel my legs get a little heavy.  My heart rate drifted up towards 155 and stayed around 145-155 until mile 15 when it moved up to 160 or higher.  Loops 2 was finished in 1:40 as well, still 10-hour pace.  Loops 3 I ran the first half with Max but then I had to step into the port-o-potty for 1 minute at the half-way aid station. When I left, I didn't see him so I figured I had to catch up to him.  My legs were starting to feel a little tight now.  Not the best sign when I still had 30+ miles to go and wanting a 10-hour finish I needed to be slightly faster than my first 2 loops pace.  I finished loop 3 in 1:42.  I took off my heart rate monitor because it was of no use to me now.  My heart rate was high and was going to stay that way unless my legs were hurting so much that I couldn't move fast enough.  The 2nd half of loop 3 and most of loop 4 was not a good time for me.  

Doing loop 3 in 1:42 meant my pace had slowed (even with the bathroom break) and I could feel it in my legs as well.  All of a sudden negative thoughts went through my head.  I though that my pace would continue to slow and the rate of decline would increase as well.  I tried to estimate how much it may slow and somehow calculated a 12-hour finish time.  That got me thinking that I brought the Sniper scope (mini flashlight) and not my headlamp and was a little nervous about when it may get dark.  My legs felt much tighter and heavier and I looked at my watch and saw I was really slowing down.  I contemplating dropping out so that I could go home and be with Jake because my goal of 10 hours was not going to happen.  Then I thought about a few things to get me out of this funk by the end of the lap.  First, I wanted to be strong and not quit because even though he'll never know it on this day, I wanted to teach Jake to not give up and to always work hard.  Second, I thought about some of my friends who were running other races that Sunday and wanted to be an example to them and if I quit, that might enter their minds when it gets tough in their races.  Third, I knew I had under 21 miles to go and that my legs will hold up and yes, I won't get sub-10 but sub-11 is still fine.  I'll finish in daylight and still be home at a decent hour.  Fourth, there is a quarter-mile section of the race that is an out-and-back and you can see who is behind (or in front if they have lapped you) in the race.  As I was on the back part, I saw Max on this section which meant I had at least 5 minutes on him and I was in first place.  That's always some motivation.  Loop 4 was finished in 1:52:30.  That was a big slowdown.  I took my hat off since it felt like a weight at that point and headed out on loop 5.  

I forgot to take my iPod with me though and then thought it was fine because I could use that to crush the last loop.  I felt ok on loop 5.  The tricks I mentioned above were working.  My legs were still tight and hurting a little but I pushed the pain aside and moved at a faster pace at times.  When I got to that out and back section, I looked at my watch so I can get an idea of my lead if I saw Max on the way back.  from the out and the back was about 10 minutes and I didn't see him so I figured I had at least that time on him for first place.  The back half of loop 5 was tough at some points so I made some games to help me out with the final loop.  One was trying to figure out how long before certain sections in this course would appear.  The one negative thing I can say about this race is that as nice as these trails are to run on.  After a while, it all appears the same and very monotonous.  I just kept wondering when I would reach a certain landmark and it seemed forever.  So I played this game to just get the mileage correct and not worry about on this loop.  I ended up being able to move well towards the end of this loop and was ready to take on the last 10.4 miles.  Loop 5 took 1:48.  Still slow but 4 minutes faster than loop 4 so an improvement.  

At the aid station, I grabbed some gummy bears (my first real food?) and then looked to my right and I saw some bacon!!!  I squealed with delight and grabbed a bunch and shoved it in my mouth for an immediate boost.  Then I got to my bag and took out some ginger chews and my iPod and started walking while eating and putting on my music.  Unfortunately, the iPod dude in the headphones said "battery low" as soon as I turned it on but hoped it would have enough juice to last me at least an hour.  After finishing the bacon, taking some enduralytes, and putting a ginger chew in my mouth, I started to run again.  Within 5 minutes, I was feeling great. Yes, I could feel my legs but I could say to hell with it and move. I put in a sub-10 minute mile before reality set in a little and some of the smaller hills forced me to slow it down just a bit but in each of these miles, I was able to up the pace for parts of it.  The music was working perfectly. Some amazing motivating songs (for me) came up.  Unbound - by Avenged Sevenfold is the greatest for running ultras and that came on.  Nothing Else Matters by Metallica.  I Stand Alone by Godsmack.  Music sure does work when you need it to and when you don't use it normally during training.  I got to the half-way aid station and filled up my Tailwind drink and grabbed some root beer flavored twizzlers, thanked the RD's father who worked the aid station for being out there and got out there to finish the race off.  This was the final stretch and I killed it!  My watch had me running some parts at sub 8-minute miles and I had two miles in a row of 9:05.  I just wanted the race to be over and the faster I finish the better!  With about 2 miles to go, my iPod died but I had all the music I needed in my head now.  I kept running hard and finished the race in first place in a time of 10:30:56, just four minutes shy of the course record!   

1st Place prize was a cool rock

Summary:

Obviously, I was not over the top thrilled with my finish because I missed my goal time of sub-10.  In fact, I ran a faster 100K split during my win in the 100-mile distance in 2014! However, based on my training, the way my body held up given the pace I was going, not dropping out when I felt like it, and taking home the win, I am satisfied with the results!  Also, I am going to stick with the Maffetone / Primal lifestyle because I do believe it is helping.  I ran the first 20 miles of the race before taking in any nutrition (3 hours 20 minutes into the race).  Did this harm my performance for miles 21-35?  I don't think so.  Once I start to incorporate more strength and speed sessions which will be a part of my limited training (thanks Jake. . . :-)   ), I expect to see positive results.  Finally, Vinny and Nichole (congratulations on your third kid!) of Happily Running always put on a great low-key event here.  I highly recommend this race to someone going for a new mileage goal with an ultra.  Since I missed my goal and the course record, I may come back next year to race depending on my schedule.  Or maybe I'll come out to volunteer/crew if I am not running and a friend wants to make this their first 50M,100K, or 100M.  

I believe this has been my fastest race recap publication ever!  Up next is the lottery for Hardrock.  The plan is to run Hardrock if I am selected.  If not, I will go to Bighorn 100 to get another 2 years of qualifying for the lottery and maybe run this cool Icland Ultra http://marathon.is/ultramarathon and make it a family vacation. 

Quick FANS 24-Hour Recap

My first 24-hour event was a glass half-full / glass half-empty type of result.  Per my last blog post, my goals for the race were: 1) Hit 100 miles in 16-17 hours.  2) A-goal of 140 miles.  B-goal of 130 miles.  C-goal of just surviving after 100 miles.  I can say that I hit my C-goal, but the problem with that is I didn't hit 100 miles until 20 hours into the race. How did the race evolve?  Let's first start with some details of the race itself.

The race starts at 8AM with a 0.78 mile out and back and then turning around again at the start finish to begin a long day of 2.14 mile loops.  The out and back makes it possible to count lap 46 as the 100th mile.  In the final hour, runners have the option to run a short course of 1/8th mile out and 1/8th mile back as many times because if you go out on another 2.14 mile loop and do not finish it before time is up, that last loop won't count.  There is an aid station with fluids at about 1.2 miles into the loop and then the main aid station at the start finish. The course is about 50% asphalt and 50% easy trail with only a few tiny hills.  Most of the course is shaded but when it isn't, the sun and heat can be powerful if it's one of those days.  For the 2016 race, the air was humid and it felt pretty hot in the direct sun.  Part of the course is directly in the path of planes landing at the nearby airport.  It's cool but also deafening when a plane about 200 feet above you flies overhead.  As you cross the start/finish line each loop, there is a large event tent set up with about 8 people sitting in it with binders and they take down the time when you cross each lap.  It's all manual, no chip times so you have to make sure they see you and get you as you cross.  It's not difficult or annoying, in fact, it was quite nice because someone would read off numbers of the runners and the runner can yell over to the specific person responsible for that runner and let them know.  For example, Leslie was responsible for taking down my laps the first 6 hours.  Next was Joe, then Heidi.  After that, I was too delirious to remember now who was taking my laps.  I wore my purple tutu for the race and that was a very big help in making sure they got me because it's impossible to miss me crossing.  All the volunteers were fantastic as is the case in all ultras I've done.

I have to give an incredible huge shout-out and thanks to Mary Harvey who introduced me to her crew of local Minnesotans Willie, Grace and Grace and let me use their amazing tent and helped me with whatever I needed and provided support throughout the race.  Mary was going for 100 miles in under 24 hours and also a little more than 100 just for proving she can.

I wrote the stuff above a week after the race and then proceeded to not write anymore.  It's now late August and I want to finish the recap so I won't provide as much detail.

I ran the first couple of laps with Mary.  The pace we were going was definitely too fast.  9s and mid-8 minute miles.  I was greedy and wanting to bank some time and really blow away my A-goal.   I feel like my nutrition was spot on.  I was drinking water and Tailwind Nutrition.  After roughly 30 laps, I finally looked at the leader board and saw I was in 1st place by 2 laps (lap 28 I think since there was a delay when they post the paper).  I knew at that moment I was screwed because I jinxed myself.  Literally, one lap later, I start to feel pain in my hip.  This forces me to slow down and walk a little.  Unfortunately, it persisted so I took some Tylenol hoping that would help.  It did for a short time but ten my other hip started hurting.  The blow that really killed me was looking at the leader board again and seeing how I was now in 3rd place somehow.  I believe I was on lap 33 and the leader was lap 35 or 36.   This just sunk me.  When was I passed?  And how was I lapped?!  I knew things weren't going to get easier.  My body was falling apart and my mind had let me down.  I tried to pull things together but mentally, I wasn't as strong as I would have been had maybe I still been in the lead or if I wasn't in pain this early or if I just didn't have stupid thoughts.  For example, I hit the 50-mile mark in a little over 8 hours. I should have been happy but I felt like I was too tired at this point and thought about how I ran the JFK 50-miler in 7:57, so I should be feeling great at 8 hours in this flat course.  So knowing some of my goals would likely not be reached, I started to fade and didn't care.  At night, I was really tired.  My lap splits continued to slow.  I was stumbling along the trail at 20-minute miles at some points late at night and did not allow myself any Coke or 5-hour energy because my goals were missed and now I just wanted to get to 100-miles, take a nap and then see how I felt.  I eventually got to 100 miles in about 20 hours.  This was even slower than my Tesla Hertz 104.5 mile race that I finished in 19:20 or something like that.  I was really disappointed in myself.

After I hit the 100-mile mark, I crawled into the tent and tried to nap.  It was f'n freezing though so 30 minutes later, I stumbled over to my car (Mary's crew later told me I looked like death), turned on the heat and passed out there.  I woke up close to the 22 hour mark and felt good.  I decided to see how much I can easily do and maybe support Mary to get her to 100 miles because I heard she was struggling.  I went out and ran and felt damn good!  I was able to rock out some 9-10 minute miles, probably could have gone faster but I stopped and walked a little with Mary or other people occasionally.  In the end, I finished with 109 mile which was good enough for 4th place male and 5th overall.  Yeah, I'm happy with that result but this race was a personal test for myself that I believe I failed.  I failed it because I didn't pace properly.  Lesson learned the hard way.  Mary got her 100 miles and I believe did 101 total.  She also took 4th place female and more importantly, her crew and tent won an award!

I must give a big thanks to Bob Higashi, the photographer at the race.  This guy was walking around the track in the other direction taking photos for about 16 hours out of the 24.  He was amazing and every time I saw him I had to fake it and smile and do something silly.

I did enjoy the atmosphere and everything about this race.  A 24-hour race around a 2ish mile course was something.  I definitely want to give my goals another go and more importantly pace well to accomplish that task.