2022 Pistol Ultra 50K 

Kicking Off the Year

Using the winter to build a better base, I hope to set a good benchmark for the M75 age group. I was amused to see Ultrasignup predict my time as 7:41:42 since I was about 18 minutes faster than that at the 50K split at Crooked Road 24.

Since I wrote the preceding paragraph circumstances have drastically altered my expectations. I seemed to be recovering quickly after having a pacemaker implanted, but then noticed severe swelling in my upper left arm. An ultrasound identified blood clots present and running contraindicated. At best it looks like I'll lose four weeks of training where all I'll be able to do is brisk walking. Factoring in time for a taper, that would give me 6-7 weeks at most for getting back to running. Any thoughts of a decent time at Pistol are gone, and I'm considering scratching the race entirely to save travel expenses and eat the entry fee.

I may be fooling myself, but I'm determined to run Pistol 50K. At the least it will be a good fitness test. It's early January and I've been able to return to run-walk training, though slow and limited in duration and distance so far. Assuming I can finish within a reasonable time, 7:30-7:45, I'll have most of the rest of of my race schedule set through October. If I'm slower than that, I'll need to rethink the entire year for racing.

Training is progressing at an uneven pace, if I may use that term (pun intended). My training pace is back to normal, maybe even a trifle faster than expected, but increasing the distance remains challenging. I've yet to manage even a full two hours on my long runs. Winter weather is also affecting my training as I work around days with low temperatures coupled with wind and the resulting wind chill. I still have nine weeks until race day, so about seven weeks for additional training, maybe eight as this is not a goal race and I can shorten the taper. It's a dynamic situation and progressing unevenly, so it's hard to forecast where I might be by then.

After a 3 1/2 month break I finally put together back to back long runs. It's only 25 days until Pistol 50K, so rather late in the training cycle and almost time to start a taper. Hopefully I'll have one more set of back to back long runs before I start my taper. That doesn't leave much time for a full taper, but I've generally used less of a taper than typical. Interval workouts and tempo runs have gone well, though often require a little more recovery, i.e. I need to keep the pace very easy. I few times I've thought it best to take a full rest day. All this leaves me with a great deal of uncertainty in setting a goal and pace for at least the first two loops.

Final training and taper still leave me uncertain of a reasonable goal. There's no question I have the speed, but maintaining that for almost three times the distance of my longest training run leading up to the race is a major concern. Assuming a significant slowdown on the last of the three loops when I expect to be mostly walking, I think 7:40 is possible. To reduce stress and maximize rest, I'm taking two days for the drive down. The weather looks good with temperatures in the 50s and no rain forecast.

I arrived at the race with plenty of time to spare, even with the long walk from parking to the start on the far side of the park. After meeting a few friends, the 50K started five minutes before the 100K and 100 mile races. I quickly settled into as easy a pace as I could comfortably maintain. Mile splits varied between 13:16 and 14:00 (Garmin splits which may be off by 7-8 seconds per mile) depending on where the walk breaks fell with slightly slower splits when I paused too long at the aid stations. I never did figure out how the snacks were arranged and spent too much time looking for something that appealed to me. I also discovered at the second aid station that the race was cupless, which I had overlooked on the race website. Fortunately I was able to get a cup at the next aid station, which I then carried with me for the remainder of the race. Much to my surprise and my delight I was able to maintain my run 1:00, walk 1:00 schedule through 24 miles before shifting to a brisk walk. I had one very slow mile which I think was the result of an overly long aid station stop, but otherwise I maintained a very brisk walking pace. I had made the shift when I did to avoid falling into a slow shuffle like I did at Crooked Road 24. With my first lap about 2:23:40 and my second about 2:28:00, I was well under 7:30 pace when I started my final lap. I was closely monitoring my time and the approximate distance remaining. When I realized that even with the slower walking pace a sub 7:30 time was possible, I started planning when I'd be able to start running some again to give myself more leeway to make that goal. With about 1.5 miles remaining I restarted my 1:00 runs and pushed that pace as fast I as could and still be able to hold it to the finish. By my rough estimate I closed at a 12:40 pace for the last 1.5 miles to finish comfortably under 7:30 in 7:27:25. Much to my surprise that placed me 78th overall of 141 runners and 3rd of 9 in the 70+ age group.

This had been intended as more a test to see where my fitness was, but it is only a few minutes slower than my 50K split at Crooked Road 24 and still ranks among my better ultra races. I had intended to run a 6-hour race in two weeks as a supported training run to help prepared for 3 Days at the Fair 12-hour in May, but I'm uncertain how long it will take me to recover from this hard of an effort. Hopefully I can postpone that decision until the last minute and still enter the race if it isn't full.