2019 Endless Summer 6-Hour

More Heat

Six years ago to the day I ran this race, though it was held in Quiet Waters Park that year, with high expectations and a goal to exceed the marathon distance. That goal was so set in my mind that I ignored all warning signs and continued to push to maintain my scheduled pace despite the unexpected small hills and the summer heat and sun. Needless to say, without going into great detail, it didn't take long for my goals to become unreachable and not long after that to be sitting at the aid station with the medical staff checking to be sure I was okay. Instead of it being my first ultra race, I finished with 16.6 miles and severe doubts that I was suited for these longer races.

This year my confidence is high once again based on solid training mileage including a couple 6-Hour races in the heat and a solid 50K performance with an age group best by almost 20 minutes. With the reminder of this race six years ago, I hope to avoid being over confident and making the same mistakes. A last minute announcement, well actually the day before, had me reworking all my pacing numbers and reevaluating my eating and drinking schedule. Instead of a 3.65 mile loop, it would be 4.369 miles certified. I was already at my hotel in Annapolis so I was stuck with only the two bottles for my vest, and two bottles wasn't enough at Loopy Bunny's 4.5 mile loop. There had been no mention of a water stop or aid station on the course, just the one at the start which we would pass after finishing each lap. It wasn't until I took a closer loop at the map that I realized the course looped back past the aid station at 1.1 miles. Fears relieved and issue resolved. Now the only problem was what to do for breakfast. The hotel breakfast started at 6:30 a.m., but I planned to leave for the race at 6:00 a.m.. My fall back plan was to look for a mini-mart where I could buy coffee and a bagel or Danish, but when I went to check out most of the breakfast fixings had already been set out, so I did get my coffee, a Danish, and a muffin there and ate while I drove to the race. Once there it seemed like old home week. I met up with two friends from RWOL days and saw at least four runners I knew from D3 (Dawn to Dusk to Dawn).

The race started a few minutes late, which was fine with me because the porta-potty lines were long and I barely finished in time to get to the start for the national anthem. I opted for a run three minutes, walk one minute pattern assuming the terrain did not dictate otherwise. There were two dips in the trail during the first mile where I felt walking up from the bottom was preferable, but that was only ten seconds or so of walking so for all practical purposes I ignored it. The only times I deviated from the pattern during the first four laps was after stopping at the aid station, then walking until I finished what I was eating, which was mostly PB&J sandwich sections. While individual miles times were erratic depending on when the walk breaks occurred and how long it took me to eat, Lap times were amazingly consistent at 58:21, 59:04, 58:03, and 58:36. When I stopped at the aid station at the end of the fourth lap, I felt a bit unsteady and it was getting very warm by this time. With no cloud cover and the course only partially shaded, I decided to was time to walk. Four laps put me at 17.476 miles, so my 20 mile minimum was well within reach with over two hours left. I was happy with that and was able to enjoy the course more the next lap. The course had been set up in the Greenbury Point Nature Center so there was a lot to see from views of the bay to osprey nests complete with osprey sitting in them, not to mention the butterflies and flowers. I took it easy at somewhere between 17 and 20 minutes per miles. Five laps gave me 21.8+ miles and that first loop of the course was 1.1 miles, so I decided 23 miles sounded like a nice number. Just to be certain, I walked an extra two tenths past the aid station, then called it a day with about 13 minutes of the six hours remaining. I didn't see any sense in continuing until the six hours were up because all that would do would be to put me that much farther from the finish and that much longer to walk back...and my legs were tired. That's why I finished with 23.1485 miles.

Here's the numbers summary: Total miles: 23.1485 73rd overall of 129 runners 55th of 84 men 1st of 3 in the 70+ age group which did not exist formally, the upper age group was 60 and over and I was 4th of 8 Oldest male in the race (there was a 78 year old female).

I'm very pleased with the way this race unfolded. Four solid laps with no appreciable slowdown in pace is very encouraging, especially since that was at a 5:51 marathon pace and once again did not include a taper. Even without the heat it would have been difficult to maintain that pace much longer, but it is still my strongest race in the past year. Next up is Lean Horse 30M in three weeks on a rails to trails course at mild altitude. That should be my final tune up race before North Coast 24 five weeks later.    

 

 

2019 Ethan Allen 6-Hour

Who needs to taper for a race?

I entered this race only two weeks before, almost on the spur of the moment. It fitted nicely in between Loopy Bunny 6-Hour two weeks prior and Endless Summer two weeks after. As another supported training run in the heat, it was perfect for my build up to North Coast 24 in September. In conjunction with that I did not taper for the race, already logging 36 miles for the week up to race day. This limited my expectations since I wouldn't be racing fully recovered on fresh legs. I still hoped for at least 20 miles, anything beyond that would be a nice bonus.

The drive up was uneventful though the worst traffic was not in northern New Jersey or near New York City, but after I exited I-787 at Troy, NY. It must have taken me 15 minutes to drive a mile with traffic lights every two or three blocks and very heavy traffic. The motel where I stayed felt like I had traveled back to the '60s, complete with registration card to fill out and an actual key, not an electronic card, for the room. It was convenient, though, only three minutes from the high school track where the race was being held. After picking up my packet and chatting with the Adam and Eliza, the race directors, Mike and Bill, the timers, and a few other runners who picked up their packets while I was there, I found an Italian restaurant nearby for my pre-race dinner. It didn't take long to organize my gear for the race, so I thought I'd check on-line for updates and messages. Unfortunately internet service was sporadic, so I finally gave up and read until bedtime.

With the 24-hour starting at 9:00 A.M. and the 6-Hour at 10:00 A.M., I had plenty of time for a leisurely breakfast, even with heading over in time for the start of the 24-Hour race. After putting my knapsack down where one of my friends had set up her tent, I managed to remember and take a few pictures before my race started. I ended up taking more photos here than I have at any of my other races, including some from the start of the 12-Hour which began at 9:00 P.M. until the camera battery charge got too low to focus on a moving object. I had hopes that the weather might cooperate and stay overcast. I knew we had no hopes of avoiding temperatures in the mid-80s.

After the pre-race announcements and instructions we lined up as the 24-Hour runners were approaching their first direction change guided by the OWGD (Old White Guys Dancing). Mike and Bill put on a hilarious show for the turnarounds. The first few laps felt slower than they actually were, but it wasn't too long before perceived effort and pace matched, unfortunately on the slower side. I was running about 250m, then walking the remainder of each lap, timing it so I walked past the aid station on the far side of the track. The first few miles were around 14:30 pace. It wasn't until mile four that it dropped under 14:15. I was able to hold that pace through mile 16 before the heat prompted me to stop running and only walk. Running generated too much heat, especially when we lost the cloud cover. With an ice bandanna, cold water poured on my head and back of the neck, and a volunteer who sprayed us with cold water on request, I was able to keep moving at a 16 minute pace. When I slowed even more, I promised myself I would take a break once I reached 20 miles. I wanted to limit my break to about 10 minutes, but it was about 16 minutes before I stepped back on the track and started moving slowly. It took a while to loosed up and move more naturally, but once I did I was moving as fast or faster than I had at any time during the race. With my kick over the last lap and a half, my average lap time for the final 6.5 laps was under 3:10, about a 12:36 pace. My final total with partial lap was 22.6061, a distance I was very pleased to run under the conditions.

Perhaps the most surprising aspect of the race was how I recovered and bounced back after my short break. In hindsight I probably should have taken the break sooner, but I was focused on first getting to 20 miles. Also I lacked the confidence that I would be able to continue in the heat once I sat down. With two more summer races scheduled, Endless Summer 6-Hour at the end of July and Lean Horse 30M/50K in mid-August, I'll have two more opportunities to refine my adaptations to heat, as well as assuring me a couple more extra long runs in preparing for North Coast 24 on September 21st.