I was still quite nervous on the days leading up to the race. I began to feel especially stressed and anxious on the week of the race. I slept normally until the night before the race. My pre-race jitters got the best of me, and I ended up only getting 3hrs of sleep. I haven’t felt nervous about a race in a long time.
Eating habits in the days before the race
I didn’t change my eating habits before the race. I maintained a diet of excess carbs and mostly junk food.
Stress levels in your life in the days before the race
The week of the race, I started to feel emotionally stressed and anxious. The last time I felt stress to this degree was when I went to the Army’s Warrant Officer School. It’s a burning sensation in my heart and knot in my stomach. It’s a feeling of dread, uncertainty, and worry. I strive to be fully prepared to reach my goals. I just didn’t have a real basis for comparison for this event. I completed four doubles this year, but still felt like I had nothing that compared to an all-day event. My stress was due to fear of the unknown and uncertainty of my performance.
Preparations for the weather conditions
The weather called for cooler temperatures and light rain. The temperature ended up being in the 30s-40s with light drizzle throughout the race. I packed moisture-wicking undershirts (one short sleeve and one long sleeve), and wore the same light fleece-lined ¼ zip on top. I packed an entire fresh outfit to change into, except for my topmost layer. I put Vaseline on my feet and wore injinji socks. I put Vaseline on my hands and then gloves. During my 30mi pit stop, I changed my undershirt from the short sleeve to the long sleeve. I changed my beanie buff, and replaced it with the headband, another beanie buff and a trucker cap. I considered changing my socks and sports bra too, but it just seemed difficult to get out of all of that. My feet felt fine, and didn’t feel wet, so I didn’t change socks. We didn’t experience much mist during the first half of my race. At the very end of the 3rd loop, it started to drizzle. At the beginning of the 4th lap I went to the car again to grab my poncho (the thin, plastic $1 kind), and also to set my Garmin to charge.
Your warm up and its effectiveness
I did a 2mi run the night before. It seemed to work well to have a run to loosen up.
Thought process on the start line
Neutral, excited.
Motivation level for the race
Excited and ready
Nutrition/Hydration plan and execution
For breakfast, I had the Quaker oatmeal bars that were provided in our swag bag. Halbert gave me a half of a banana from the hotel lobby. That was the entirety of my breakfast. I also took one caffeine pill before the start of the race. I planned to use caffeinated Tailwind as my primary fuel source, water for hydration, and to eat food from the course since the aid stations were known to be well-stocked. I did a good job of drinking plenty of water during the race. I drank 4L of water using my 2L Camelbak during the race. Refilling was easy from the aid station.
I used two scoops of my own caffeinated raspberry Tailwind in each of my two hand-held bottles. I refilled them with the same ratio during my mile 30 pit stop. I refilled my hand-helds on the 4th and 5th laps with about one scoop each of de-caffeinated mandarin orange Tailwind. The volunteers at Woody’s aid station gave me the refills on those two occasions. At first, I thought that I might not want to have the taste of that flavor, since I usually use caffeinated raspberry or naked, but it worked out just fine. I also considered that it might not have enough to sustain my energy level since it was caffeine-free. This also seemed to pose no problem. I remained alert and energetic throughout the rest of the race. I didn’t experience any G.I. issues during the entire race.
Difficulties:
I used up the first two portions of caffeinated Tailwind over the first 30mi. During my first pit stop at 30, I refilled both bottles with my own supply of Tailwind. I think that I had my first on-course food at the start of the second or third lap. I had two squares of peanut butter and jelly. I also had a square of grilled cheese at Woody’s, possibly at the end of my third lap. Somewhere along that time, I also had a packet of Nutter Butters and a dose of 800mg Motrin. When I started the 4th lap, I felt like I was flagging. As I went down the hill toward the school sign and near the cow pasture, I felt a bit wobbly and dizzy. This was the very first time during the race that I felt unsteady and as if my energy level was waning. I felt my legs become shaky, and that’s when I thought that I really might need some solid food. It crossed my mind that I could faint, be carted off the course, and end up with a DNF. I began to walk at this point. I could tell that drinking more Tailwind was not the answer, and that I needed solid food. I thought that my best bet would be to ask the next group of four or more runners if they had any food to spare. I thought that that would be a sufficient number of people to bum some food off of. I saw Halbert soon after, and asked if he had any food. He gave me a packet of the energy bites that we received during the expo. I’m not sure if they really were extra salty, or if my condition made them taste incredibly salty. I ate most of the packet and ended up spitting out the last mouthful because it tasted too salty. I told him how I felt, and asked him if his friend, Andrea, still had her aid station set up. He said that she did, and that thought alone gave me the energy to make it there. It seemed like I got there within a mile or so. From her aid station, I grabbed a small bag of original Lay’s, another pack of Nutter Butters, and a fudge-striped cookie. I might have also had a small cup of ginger ale. I ate on the run, scarfing down the food right away. I felt better in no time. I think that on my fifth lap, I had a slider from Woody’s. Yummy!!
Pacing strategy (what were your splits? What do the splits show about your pacing?)
I need to work on pacing myself throughout the race. I tend to go too fast when I feel good, thus robbing myself of energy later on. This is a silly way to run since I usually end up at the same finish time, but feel noticeably different depending on my approach. When I run at a steady, reasonable clip, like 11-12m/m, I feel like I’m running efficiently and easily. Anything faster than that, and I burn myself out. I didn’t feel like I needed to try to run faster. Most of the time, I needed to rein myself in to conserve energy. I felt GREAT during 90% of the race. I had high-energy, clear thoughts, and a good cadence. I received so many comments from fellow runners saying that I looked strong and fresh out there. I’ve heard that phrase only a few times in all of my running history. During this race I heard it at least five or six times (from fellow runners), and then again post-race. I really felt strong, energized, and fresh throughout the race (with the exception of the dizzy spell). I felt like I could have run a longer distance, if I wanted to. Maintaining a steady pace, one that I can sustain, is the key to my success.
Electronics
Prior to the race, I downloaded several audiobooks to my phone. I usually run without music, as I hate to have anything like earbud cords moving around. This time, the audiobook kept me focused, and I just ran and listened to the narrator. I listened to “The Revenant”, and it was okay. At some point in the story it was a little boring, and I started counting cadence in my head. I took off the headphones and phone and set them to charge on my power brick during my 3rd lap pit stop. Running without music doesn’t bother me. I just sing cadence in my head to keep myself on track. My Garmin died after about 36 miles, I think, so I took it off and put it on my power brick. I switched back to the headphones and audiobook at that point.
A couple of years ago, I started using the Milestone Pod. It’s a device that you attach to your shoe to track metrics such as foot strike, shoe mileage, cadence, stride length, etc. The beauty of it is that you don’t need to charge it, and it starts and stops recording data on its own. Even though my Garmin died, I still have all the data plus more on my Milestone pod. Since this was my first 100k, I really wanted to look at my trends to see where I started to drop off. From the brief look at my Milestone Pod data, I was able to maintain some decent splits throughout the race.
Race decisions made which were very helpful
Looking at the course prior to the race to ease my nerves.
Using a poncho when it started to drizzle, and when it became cold.
Using caffeinated Tailwind & De-caf Tailwind as my primary fuel source.
Listening to an audiobook so that I could just focus on the narration.
Using a Milestone Pod to track my data (more to come after I analyze).
Walking when I felt a bit wobbly instead of powering through.
Race decisions made which were not helpful
Not packing any snacks of my own. This is partly due to inexperience. I usually don’t eat during a run, so I didn’t know what I could tolerate.
What I wish I had
A very lightweight, water-resistant jacket. I don’t own one, so I will be looking for one A.S.A.P. The poncho was large, and it made a swooshing noise with every step. That was annoying to me, so I want a better option.
A second pair of gloves. My gloves felt a little wet after a while. This was partly due to drizzle, and probably sweat. I considered bringing a second pair, but decided against it at the last minute.
Takeaways
This race helped me prove to myself that I’m capable of so much more. I was utterly shocked that I placed 8/27 female and 19/46 overall. They didn’t have an age group for 30-39, but it looks like I would have placed 4th. My goal time was 12-15hrs and I finished with 14:06:41. I know that with my upcoming training plan that I will be able to take on a 100mi with no problem.
