2017 Montour 12-Hour

Working on Heat, Eating, and Drinking

This is more a training run in preparation for North Coast 24. Especially in the heat we've been experiencing this seems to be the only way I can push myself to run long. Getting my eating and drinking down seems to be more a hit or miss proposition rather than carefully planned. Going simply by what I feel like eating and drinking does not work. I'm not sure what to expect in detail will be offered at Montour, but I expect it will be typical with chips, M&Ms, oranges, bananas, water, and several types of soda and sports drinks. I'm bringing my own Snickers, Clif Bloks, and chips as well.

Leading up to this race I had a good short interval workout last week followed two days later with a good two hour run, but since then I've been slow and feeling sluggish and tired. Despite assurances that this is nothing to worry about, it is atypical of what I usually experience during a taper. At least from the weather forecast the heat doesn't sound too bad, a high of 81F with cloud cover, but there is also up to a 50% chance of rain and thunderstorms.

After working a 4.5 hour shift in the morning I made the 2.5 hour drive to Danville taking state roads rather than the interstate since is was shorter though about the same in time. It was a little more adventuresome since I made several wrong turns and had to backtrack. After checking in I changed and drove to Hess Field where the race would be held to check out the course. My travel curse continued to plague me as I missed a critical turn on the course, which I realized after I'd run 1.5 miles and was nowhere near the field where it started. fortunately that was not a problem on race day; they simply hadn't finished the course marking yet. I met a couple runners from my club there with one of their friends so we went to dinner together after picking up our bibs.

As usual I was awake before my morning wake up call and was quickly ready and on my way when I realized I'd forgotten a potentially crucial item, Vaseline. I had plenty of time so I turned back to get it. Considering how the day turned out, I was glad I did. It was a day conducive to chafing. Not realizing there would be bagels, coffee, and other breakfast food set out before the race, I stopped at a mini-mart to grab pastries and coffee. I wandered around after getting to the race to see my friends and look for another Running Ahead forum friend who was supposed to be there. He found me and I left my drop bag at his canopy. His DW and DD were going to walk the 6 hour race, so there were two more people I would know out on the course. After that we had to wait, and wait a little longer, because the timer was delayed. The race finally got off at 7:30 a.m. a half hour late. Meanwhile it didn't look like we were going to get the forecast cloud cover and it was still going to be warm, the high now being 85F.

The start of the race mimicked my taper runs, slow and sluggish on a trail once we left the field. We reached the only hill on the course not quite a half mile into the race. The hill itself wasn't too bad being only about 50-60 feet of gain, but at the very bottom was a large "step up" that I had to almost jump rather than run, then grab a small tree to help get me over the top. Some time later someone placed a hay bale there that made it easier. Once at the top we were back on a flat groomed trail and the running was very easy. Eventually we ran down a short hill turned onto a covered bridge, and shortly after than down a short, steep single track trail. That was the turn I had missed the day before. After this short section in the woods we came back onto the field to finish the lap. I was much surprised to see my first lap around 21:30 (14:20 pace) because it felt much slower. I also noted the the trees much be affecting my Garmin readings because it never matched the 1.50 miles measured for the course, sometimes being well under, then later being well over.

Although I slowed a bit on subsequent laps I was holding close to that pace for the first two hours which is when the heat started taking its toll. I was slowing significantly over the next two hours and feeling very overheated even liberally dowsing myself with water frequently. On one of those laps I was so self absorbed that I didn't even notice a two foot long black snake on the trail until a runner passing me at the time tried to jump over it and almost landed on it. That decided me that I needed to take a break, hopefully get some ice and cool off. I ended up at the med station to get an ice pack and within a minute or two after applying it began to feel dizzy. I stayed there for about 20-25 minutes recovering from the dizziness and bringing my core temperature down. On their advice, when I started again I walked the entire lap to see how I would react. I felt okay if not good, so I continued and re-instituted my run-walk pattern. Going was slow though. What I hadn't counted on was how much a sore heel would affect me. Being a mid-foot striker it didn't bother me much at all running, but it caused me to limp and slow down when walking. that slowed my walking pace from a typical 16-17 minute mile to 21-22 minutes. I made up a little of that by being able to continue easy running further into the race than normal. The other thing that slowed me down was longer breaks each lap to refill my water bottles and get something to eat and drink. I still haven't mastered the art of eating on the run, so I walked until I finished eating.

I continued to take it easy lest I overheat again, then about 8 hours into the race it clouded over and tried to rain. At first it was no more than spritzes, but then it became a steady soaking rain that turned portions of the course into quagmires and left puddles, some ankle deep, on the course. It was treacherous trying to avoid them because I would slide sideways right into the puddles if I tried to walk on the edge of the trail. I finally finished 17 laps putting me at 25.5 miles when I hit a mental and motivational crisis. About 3.5 hours remained to run, but I was thoroughly soaked, disappointed because I'd had to continually revise downward my goal and at this point almost talked myself into walking only one more lap to reach 27 miles, technically an ultra marathon, and throw in the towel. It was at that point, sitting at the aid station being miserable, that one of my running club friends came by. Talking with him convinced me that I should get up and finish the 4 laps I needed to reach 50K (plus a little more). The next two laps were difficult for me. I barely ran at all and only because it was less painful than walking and would let me finish quicker. As I was starting my next to last lap I caught up to a woman in her 70s who was in the 24 hour race and struck up a conversation. the next two laps went quickly subjectively even though we walked the entire time. When I finished lap 21 for 31.5 miles I still had almost an hour left, more than enough time for another lap, but I didn't care about another 1.5 miles, so I verified my distance with the timer and turned in my bib, i.e. removed it and put it in my car. The aid station had hot soup, hot sandwiches, and coffee, also hot, so I indulged in refueling. While I was eating the rain started coming down harder than ever, so I was very glad not to be out on the course again. Later after the 12 hour night race began, the creek was so swollen that the temporary bridge we had been running over was washed away and runners had to ford the stream in mid-thigh high waters. I can't imagine what that would be like once it was dark and a headlamp was the only light.

Overall I can't say I was disappointed in my race despite not coming close to my original goal or even my first and second revisions. I got some good advice on cooling down and eating from the med staff. When they took my blood pressure it was only 108 over 68, so they recommended more salt intake. I worked through some very negative thoughts to continue when I was contemplating stopping early. And I persevered through the rain and mud. The numbers bring into question whether my goal of 65.1 miles, or at least 100K, at North Coast is attainable, but I still have two months more to get ready for that, and there's no telling what the weather will be like, and that will be a big factor.

2017  Powderface 21K

Another Foray Into the Hills

Canada is celebrating its 150th anniversary and Powderface is on July 1st, Canada Day. This seemed like a good idea when I signed up, but after another DNF at Laurel Highlands 50K due in large part to still not being prepared for the climbs, this is taking on a more ominous perspective. As I count there are 5 climbs of 100m or more with the additional factor of being at an altitude of 1500-1600m. I tried only one hill workout since Laurel Highlands and my legs were still so tired that I felt like I was still struggling up the last hill there. As a result all my training in the three weeks between have been on flat or gently rolling hills. The paces have been encouraging but the lack of any additional hill work is of concern. At this point there is nothing to be done but to be as well rested as possible given the traveling involved.

Taper week has not been exactly a taper. Monday's run was over two hours at the fastest pace I've run for that length of time since last August. My recovery run the next day was 5.2 miles, a little long for a recovery run, and at close to my normal easy run pace. With some trepidation I ran 4 x 400m intervals on Wednesday, then Thursday was both a rest day and travel day. Friday was my final prep day for Powderface. I purchased the recommended bear spray (two bears were sighted near the course on race day), then jogged over the first 3 km of the course with my friend Greg for a total of 3.6 miles out and back. I was relieved to find the trails a lot easier to run on than the Valley Forge trails.

Saturday I was up early, ate a good breakfast, and drove to the race start without out getting lost, courtesy of Greg having taken me down there the day before when checking out the course. I was actually there in time for the 7:30 am start of the marathon. After the entire field sang Oh Canada, they counted down to the start, then off to the races. I was able to talk with several people, including the race director, who assured me the course was well marked and there would be someone behind me even if it was only the sweep who would be also picking up the flags marking the course. Greg showed up shortly after that with his Go-Pro and we hung out until the start. We also sang Oh Canada and counted down to the start.

I waited for most of the field to cross the starting mat before I jumped in. The first kilometer is pretty flat so I was moving along well. A few more runners passed me, but as well headed into the woods and early rolling hills I knew there were only a few runners behind me. I was moving well, not straining at all up to where Greg and I had turned around. Shortly after that we met the first of the major climbs. Over the next 3/4 of a mile we climbed about 650 ft. I could see a single runner and a group of three ahead of me and at least a couple behind me chatting. Amazingly I was catching up the the runners ahead of me as I walked up the hill. We had a short respite and downhill which did help me recover, then our second climb, this one about 300 ft and we were only about 3.5 miles into the race. Now lost most of the gain and I kept leap frogging the single runner. Patty would play an important role later in the race. We had one more climb of about 300 ft before we descended to the mid-race aid station and the turn around just past it. During this segment the sun was often beating down and taking its toll on me. The one thing I had forgotten to pack was a hat, so the sun was becoming brutal. On the descent there was also one small section where the trail was essentially washed away. I slipped and almost slid downhill trying to get past it and was saved by grabbing onto a root sticking out of the hillside.

Passing back through the aid station and checking to be sure they had my number, one of the women gave me a buff soaked in cold water to help with the sun. The race doctor was there and said I looked stressed and he wanted to check on my at the aid station on the way back. That was a portent of things to come. Now I had that modest climb out of the aid station and had to inch my way past the washed out area again. At this point Patty must have spent more time at the aid station because we weren't leap frogging anymore. I was probably just a little behind pace for my sub-4:00 time when I left the aid station. Considering how I was feeling I let that goal slip and concentrated on keeping as cool as I could, not getting overheated on the climbs, and making steady forward progress. The next climb, only one more after that, was about 400 ft and they were getting harder. The marathon runners were passing me now as well. Even with moderating my effort I was maintaining a reasonable pace for running the trails with climbs, but my condition must have been deteriorating. Patty caught up to me and slowed to walk with me because she was concerned about how I looked. I didn't think I was that bad off but shortly after that I started getting light headed and sat down for a minute. That's when I left it all on the course. Everything I'd drank came up. I probably sat there for 5 minutes or more before feeling able to get up to continue. We knew the next aid station had to be pretty close. Once there she turned me over to their care, waited a few minutes to be sure I was okay, then left to finish her race. Radio and phone reception must have been really poor there. Despite repeated attempts it wasn't clear whether they ever did get through to the doctor. After waiting for 20 minutes of more during which I drank was I could, mainly Pepsi, and picked at food I thought would stay down, I decided I would continue on my own. After taking a DNF in my two previous trail race missing time cutoffs, I was not about to DNF again when I was only 5 km or so from the finish.

The last 5 km went slowly most of the time, besides it included the last 300 ft climb. I did have enough energy to run at a near normal pace but I was more concerned that running might make me nauseous again, so I didn't even attempt to stay with either of the two women who passed me in the last mile or so. I waited until I could hear and see the finish area through the trees before starting to run the final stretch to the finish. There were lots of cheers for each finisher, and people waiting for me to check me over and be sure I was okay. I thought I was fine then all of a sudden thought I might faint and sat down abruptly. After getting water to drink and resting briefly I moved to a chair in the shade. Getting some Pepsi, then food into me revived me considerably. I'm not sure how long I sat there but eventually felt well enough to walk around a little and was able to start grazing at the food table: apple pie, chips, more soda, etc. The race announcer also commented on my determination to finish despite being urged to get a ride back from the last aid station. I was given a mug in honor of the effort. I made sure he and the race director knew how much I appreciated all the help and how much I enjoyed the race despite the stomach issues. I also met Susanne at the finish, the lady who had given me the buff at the turn around. She insisted I keep it as a memento.

Wrapping things up I finished in 4:56:02 having lost over 30 minutes directly dealing with stomach issues, then proceeding much slower than planned to prevent a recurrence. I may not have run the sub-4:00 time I'd hoped for even without the stomach issues, but I handled the trails and hills as well as any race I've run. I barely avoided being DFL, but I wouldn't have been upset if I was. In a way I'm disappointed that I don't have any more scheduled for this year, but my remaining races are all fixed time events and the courses are tame in comparison.