Well, life's been
busy, but I figured I needed to post something, and a race report
seemed like just the trick!
So, one of my
private goals for this year was to do something that I'm not sure
I've ever done: win a race outright. I've never been the fastest
runner, or even what I would consider a fast runner. But, as I
continue down the path of a ketogenic athlete (being in ketosis for
around 18 months now), I find my training going really well, and my
pace and ability is far exceeding anything I've been able to do
before. Could this be the race I achieve my goal?
I started regular
training again back at the beginning of September after quite a while
of running maybe 25 miles a week. My goal for the end of fall and
winter was to keep up a mileage of around 50 mpw, but with a good
amount of hills and tempo. I've been pretty successful in that, and
other than a bout with the flu at the beginning of January, I've felt
incredibly healthy.
Coming into the Rocks and Roots 50k on January 12, I gave myself a couple taper weeks,
with maybe 35 miles 2 weeks out, and 15 miles the week of. I tried to
just cut miles, but keep running at my normal pace. I was feeling
healthy and ready!
For my nutrition
for this race, I decided to simply use Generation UCAN. For those not
in the know, UCAN is an extremely long chain carbohydrate, which
easily passes through the stomach, and then slowly breaks down in the
small intestine. It basically gives your body a slow drip of glucose,
without stimulating an insulin response, which allows your body to
continue burning primarily fat. I don't use it in training, but I've
found that it helps me push harder in races, and delays the onset of
fatigue. I ingested 2 packets of UCAN prior to the race, diluted in
16 ounces of water, and made up another 4 packets, each mixed into an
8 ounce bottle of water. In addition to the UCAN, I also had S-Caps
in my bag at the Start/Finish. The course is a five loop course with
95% on single track, so I would be coming back to my bag every 10km.
I would take a dose of UCAN whenever I felt like I needed it. I also
decided no to carry water, as the farthest we'd go between aid
stations was around 4.5 miles. This ended up working out fine.
So, for the two
days prior to the race, we had an unseasonal warming trend, which basically turned the course into a mud pit (I'd like to talk about
the environmental ramifications of running this race at the end of
this post). So, I had a couple pair of Inov-8's dug out from my
collection, including my Bare Grip 200's. I sort of have a love/hate
relationship with these shoes. The traction is absolutely phenomenal,
and they've definitely given me an advantage on particularly
muddy/snowy courses. However, they literally have no midsole, so
wearing them for more than 10 miles or so is just hell on my feet.
I'm used to wearing more minimalist shoes, but these are crazy,
especially on a technical course!
Because I didn't
want to wear these shoes for the whole time (and I hadn't yet seen
how bad the course was), I started off in my Inov-8 Trailroc 245's. I
was hoping the traction these shoes would provide would be enough. We
all crowded the starting line, and we were off! This race had
finishing distances of 10k, 20k, 30k, 40k, and 50k, so the 30-50k
runners all left at 7:30, while the 10k and 20k runners left a half
hour later.
I didn't want to
go out too fast, but I also didn't want to be stuck behind a bunch of
people when we hit the single track, so I followed a guy and was in
second when we entered the woods. I went through the first mile in
7:45 or so, which I thought was really reasonable, given the fact
that the course was pretty muddy already. I got passed after only a
mile or so, first by a guy who was running pretty quick, and then by
another kid. I had no idea what distance they were running, so I let
them go, and focused on running strong and comfortably.
I basically
followed a guy who looked around my age (32), maybe a little younger.
Bald guy in red shorts with a hydration pack on. I wasn't running on his
heels, but just kept him in my sights. The first lap flew by, but I
could already tell that the course was getting torn up, and we were
at the front of the pack! Our second loop through would be after
about 400 runners had hit that trail, as the 10k and 20k fields were
much larger. At this point, I knew I'd be changing shoes after the
first loop, even though it would cost me a couple minutes.
I got back to the
start line, having run the first loop in just under 54 minutes, which
I was happy with, given the conditions, and the fact that I ran it
pretty easy. I ripped off my 245's, put on my Bare Grips, and off I
went! Luckily there was only about a quarter mile of pavement,
because these shoes are NOT meant for roads.
With the extra
traction I got, I was feeling pretty fast. I know that during my shoe
change, the guy in the red shorts, and another runner (whom I talked
to for a bit, from Youngstown) were out ahead of my, putting me in
5th at most (since I didn't know who was running the 50),
so I put my head down and just ran! The next two laps were probably
my favorite two. I was still feeling nice and fresh, I had good
traction, and while the course was still slow because of the mud, I
was managing it well. During these 2 laps, I managed to climb up into
3rd place. I still had no idea where the 2 folks ahead of
me were, and no one at the Start/Finish was shouting out places!
I was feeling
surprisingly good at the start of the 4th loop, but the
course was a disaster. The footing was getting really bad, and any
runners I came across were just slogging away as best they could.
Most were simply hiking at this point. Quite a few runners asked me
how I could run through this stuff... thanks, Inov-8!
About half-way
through, fatigue started creeping up on me. My shoes at this point
probably weighed over a pound each with all the mud clinging to them,
and lack of firm traction was starting to take its toll on my ankles, hips,
and hamstrings. I pushed through the 4th loop, grabbed
another UCAN, and headed out on the final loop. There's something
very lifting about getting onto the final loop of a multi-loop
course. No matter how far you've gone, knowing that this is your last
time through can make it much more bearable.
That being said,
this loop was tough. It was all I could do to simply keep running. I
still had no idea what place I was in, and so I just kept running
hard. But at this point, running hard entailed about a 10:30 mile
pace. I mean, we're talking about 4-6 inches of mud on about half the
course, and there was really no way around it. In addition, I was a
little worried, as I felt the first twinges of cramping early in the
loop in my right calf, and later in my right hamstring. Luckily, I
had popped a couple of S-Caps right before the last loop, so as these
started kicking in, the cramping subsided. So once again, head down,
and move forward.
When I finally
popped out of the single track, I had about 600 meters of grass left
to run, and I could not have been happier. I was exhausted. All I
wanted to do was stop running. I ran through the arch, and bent over,
hands on knees. 4:54:17. Done.
After standing
like that for a couple of minutes, the race director (Jeff) came over
and asked if I was OK. I told him I was fine, just tired! He asked if
I was done, and I told him I was. I inquired as to my place, and he
told me he wasn't sure. He looked surprised that I had finished the
50k! We walked over to the timing computer, and as he looked at the
results, he said, “Actually, I think you might have won...”. I
tried not to get too excited until it was official, but he confirmed
it a minute later. 1st place! Woot!
I couldn't be
happier with my race, given the conditions. That time is actually a
PR for me, which is crazy considering how tough course conditions
were. My goal for that race (had conditions been better) was 4:30,
and I think that I gave an equivalent effort. It turns out that the
two runners ahead of my had run the 30k, though I'm not sure if they
dropped to that distance, or intended on running 30k from the
beginning. I found out later that I actually almost caught them at
the end of the 3rd loop, finishing 30k less than 2 minutes
behind them.
Overall, this was
a very successful first race of 2014, and hopefully the first of
many. A big thank you to Fleet Feet for putting on the race, and to
all the volunteers who made the race possible. Without you guys none
of us would ever get to do what we love!
Before I sign off
here, I'd like to issue an apology to the Central Ohio MountainBikers Organization. They are the group that maintains the trails at
Alum Creek, and I can say without hesitation that we destroyed that
trail. There was a huge outcry following the race, and rightfully so.
As trail runners, we have an obligation to our environment to
maintain our trails, and to make mature decisions regarding their
use. I have no excuse for being a part of the people responsible for
the destruction of the trail. I should have know better. I am taking
responsibility for my actions, and have already put in some trail
work to fix the trail, and I intend to help out some more. I
encourage everyone who ran the race to consider helping out! You can
find out about trail maintenance days here.
Anyway, next race
up: Run for Regis! See you there!
-Dave
