Unicorns, Rainbows, and Yetis

Race Report-The Yeti 100 Abingdon, VA

§  Where: The race was held on the 33mi portion of the Virginia Creeper Trail in Abingdon, VA

  §   How long: The race began at 7am, just after the sun came up.  This eliminated the need for headlamps at the start.  There was a 30 hr time limit to the 100mi event. There were cutoffs as appropriate for some of the checkpoints.

  §  When: September 29, 2017 

  §  Weather: 54-75 degrees

  §  Course description and evaluation of event logistics: The path was 33mi of crushed gravel, limestone, leftover cinders from the rails to trails conversion, and smooth, hard-packed dirt.  There were softball sized rocks that hid within the fallen leaves.  I managed to stumble upon and kick these rocks many times.  The path itself was very runnable and mostly flat.  To me, there was no real discernable grade change except for the final 1mi approach back to Whitetop.  There were several stretches of exposed path where you could get a really good dose of sunlight. For the majority of the path, there was tree coverage and shade.  The course comprised of a wide path for the duration.  There was no single-track, however, there were a couple of areas where we ran on paths made from tire tracks from a vehicle.  We crossed 44 trestles with each pass of the 33mi path.  The leaves were beginning to turn colors, which provided a peaceful scenery throughout. The path also took us along a river/stream, and alongside some mountains along the Appalachian Trail.  The crew checkpoints and aid stations were easily accessible and easy to find.  The packet pickup was held on the night before the race.  We dropped off our drop bags at the very brief pre-race meeting.  Everything was well-thought out and planned for the race.  The venue for the meeting became a little crowded.  I think that for a first run (the first two years were invite-only) everything went very smoothly. 
§  How you trained for the event: I used the ultraladies.com 100mi training plan to prepare for this event.  I’ll admit that I slacked off in the last month, skipping the last long back to back weekend.  I had some difficulty in the beginning when trying to get used to running during the week.  I was able to stay on track for maybe a month with the mid-week runs, then began to slack off again.  I honestly feel that I can do so much better in my next race if I use the same plan and actually do a better job of doing the workouts.

§  Nutrition: I made some great choices for how to handle my nutrition.  I planned to use one packet of Tailwind per every two hours of running.  The packets contain 200cal each.  I planned to supplement my Tailwind with food from the aid station.  I labeled each Tailwind packet for the timeframe in which I intended to use it.  This was particularly helpful as I have learned with past experiences.  In the past I had trouble remembering which packet I was on, and if I was indeed keeping up with the intake.  I will change a couple of things in the future: eliminate the naked, caffeine-free Tailwind, find an easier way to open the stick packets (maybe open and tape shut again), remind my pacers that you have to pour the Tailwind in first, then water, not drink Coke or ginger ale as a substitute for Tailwind.  Coke or ginger ale can supplement, but not be a substitute for Tailwind.  I ate bananas, potatoes, cookies, and oranges while at the aid stations.  I had a cup of broth once, and it seemed fine.  I didn’t have any G.I. issues for the duration of the race.  There was only one portion where I felt a little hungry.   I slowed down a bit and ate at the next aide station and recovered quickly.

§  Gear: I grouped my Tailwind packets into the time frames in which I would need them.  The put them in larger bags with a label on the outside to indicate when I would need them.  I ended up using two Garmins for this race.  I missed one change in my own instructions which called for me to carry the second Garmin from the beginning. My battery ultimately died, and I lost about 30-40 min of data tracking.  I used the Petzl headlamp that Alicja gave me.  This lasted many hours, and kept me on path and well-illuminated throughout the night. I think if I get a second headlamp, I’ll buy the same kind, as this worked well for me. I used my Milestone Pod to track my metrics.  I was really happy to see that my rate of impact was still very low! It also recorded 80 of my last miles.  It was my fault that it didn’t capture everything.  I only had my backup phone on my, and I couldn’t sync it to this phone. Luckily, I still had 80 miles captured.

This is where I stashed my chocolate chip cookies!!

I can stay here and party, right?

§  Planning: I took the time to map out the A, B, and C plan for pacing.  I had a really good idea of how fast I wanted to run and when I wanted to finish.  I made up pace and timing charts to keep me on track, and to prevent me from doing race math.  I wrote up instructions for my pacers/crew on what would work best for me.  I made some index cards to keep in my pocket.  On the cards, I had details on what I needed to grab from my drop bag, and what gear I needed to exchange, if any.  I prepared the cards ahead of time, put them in a Ziploc, and this really gave me peace of mind that I wouldn’t forget something due to a foggy brain. 

§  Specific experiences (this might include)

§  Thoughts while running:

I had a really positive mindset while running.  I kept myself on pace, and made a good effort to reign in from the very beginning.  I didn’t experience the crash around miles 75-90 that others warned me of.  I felt even and relaxed throughout.  My energy waned late at night, but that was just from being awake for 24s while running.  I didn’t feel the classic “hitting the wall” sensation either.  I never let the thought of “what if I can’t make sub24” enter my mind.  It just wasn’t an option or a part of my plan.  I was

§  Mantras you may have used: my new running mantra that I love: no whining, no complaining, no excuses.  It’s a powerful thing to have a mantra like this.  It truly kept me on track and prevented me from feeling sorry for myself and from getting stuck in a negativity rut.

§  Falls: I fell only once, and this was very close to the end of the race.  It was a flat section, and I was sleepy.  I stumbled many, many times during the race, but this time I tripped on nothing that I know of.  I somehow ended up doing a baseball-like slide.  I ended up with vey mild abrasions on my left hip.  The scars will likely fade away in a couple of weeks.  No bruising, just superficial scratches.

§  Conversations you’ve had with others: I specifically did not want to run at the pace of others to where I would get stuck in conversation.  I think I maybe mentioned the weather once and talked about my hat with a few people.  Other than that, I only talked to my pacers.

§  Conversations you’ve had with yourself: I repeated my mantra, called cadence, and tried not to let my mind wander.

  §  Crew: Hector crewed for me until it was time to pace at mile 42.  He did a great job of getting me out of the aid stations and refilling my Tailwind bottles.  He met me at nearly every station, and when he wouldn’t be there, I knew ahead of time.  It was nice to have help filling up the bottles and to have someone check on you who already knows you. 

  § Pacers: Hector began pacing me at mi 42.  He mostly ran in front of me while pacing.  The difficulty of this, for me, is that I felt like I should be keeping his pace, which was probably around 12-13.  I would speed up, and slow down to a walk as a result.  I switched pacers after around 38mi.  Alicja did a fantastic job pacing.  It was a better method for me.  She ran next to me the whole time. I informed her of the pace that I wanted, and that it would be very helpful to have updates if I was running too fast or too slow.  She did this perfectly!

§  Your finish and associated emotions: Once I began my training plan, I realized that I could seriously achieve a sub 24 on a good course.  It was in my mind that I would have a sub 24.  I was gliding through the race, feeling great, and performing to my expectations.  With the help of my crew and pacers, I achieved my sub 24 goal for my first 100mi. Official time: 23:36:07. When I finished, I received my big bear hug from Jason Green.  He truly is a remarkable guy-a top notch race director.  He had a huge surprise for everyone who finished with a sub 24: a full-color buckle in addition to the regular one.  I was so shocked that I couldn’t think of what to say.  I managed to mumble “but I didn’t call my shot”. You can tell that he really enjoys what he does.  He makes the people in his group a priority.

After the jump-hug, I went over to my crew and boyfriend and just let it all soak in.  I still felt in shock, a weird, empty feeling that you only experience every once in a while.  We took a couple pictures and that’s when I realized that I was crying.  It’s a really bizarre thing to have tears of happiness, shock, amazement, and just being overwhelmed.

§  Your overall evaluation of the event: This was such an incredible event.  My writing definitely doesn’t do it justice.  I know that I was able to accomplish my goals due to the training plan that I used.  I skipped many days of mileage during the week, and especially on the last month. For my next 100, I want to be more disciplined in order to see what is possible for me.  I am truly thankful to have the people in my life that I do. They push me to try harder, do better, and reach for big goals. 

A Smarter Way to Run

One valuable lesson that I learned from my first 100k (see last post), is that I am a much better runner when I pace myself.  Well, duh, you're probably thinking. It's true. I hadn't really committed myself to maintaining a steady pace over the course of my marathons once my schedule really picked up.  I had my Garmin set to alert me if I went faster than 8:30 min/mi, and if I went slower than 11:00 min/mi.  That seemed to work well, until it became annoying.  I cursed at my Garmin silently or aloud, telling it that I already knew that I was being slow.  Eventually, when I started running more than one marathon a month, I turned off that notification altogether.

I think my pride and ego took a hit when my finish times started to increase.  One of the reasons why I run is because I like how it feels when I'm running fast.  When all of my motions are in sync, my arms are swinging beautifully in time with my legs, and I feel like a running machine, I am happy.  I didn't want to lose that magic during my races.  Inevitably, I couldn't keep up with the volume of mileage and the pace at which I wanted to run.  My finish times went from a 4:30 average to a 5:00 average.  Throughout my runs, I would beat myself up for walking or running slower than I wanted to.  I would push myself hard for a half mile, and then pay for it on the second half by walking.  I would end up with an average pace that was a combination of near-sprinting and walking.  It made no sense. I noticed that even though I could enjoy a good, fast pace, I would still end up hurting because of the pressure and impact it was putting on my body.  I would end up with an overall slower time because of all of the intervals I was putting myself through.

When I ran my first double (back to back marathons), I was paced for the first half of the race by Halbert.  He helped me to really keep my pace on target so that I could conserve energy.  I distinctly remember by mile 17 that I felt like I hadn't started running yet.  I felt fresh, warmed up, and as if I could run all day.  At that point, I decided to finish up the race at a much faster pace.  I didn't feel burned out or injured.  I ended up with a negative split and an appreciation for how pacing can save my legs.

That double was in the first month of the year, well before I became tired and started to experience burnout.  As the races stacked up, I turned off the pacing parameter notifications on my watch, and continued to run/walk.  As the year and my races wound down, I began to get nervous about my 100k.  The Hoover Dam marathon was my last race before the 100k, and felt like I was dying.  My body was tired, and again, I was trying to run faster than I should.  I had three weeks to recover and decide upon a plan for my 100k.  I was extremely nervous and anxious due to the performance at my last race.

After voicing my concerns to Halbert and my friends, I decided that I should just run an easy pace, and focus on finishing.  I looked up some predictions for a finish time based on my past performances.  From there, I figured that an 11-12:00 min/mi pace would be best.  Halbert was a lifesaver in helping me to establish a good pace for the first lap.  I always tend to speed up if I'm feeling good.  He knows this, and helped to rein me in.  I was able to maintain an average pace of 12:22 throughout the race.  As I mentioned in my race report, I felt very energetic and strong during the race.  I was utterly shocked at how fresh I felt, even after the finish.

 

My performance made me a little mad at myself for running in such a foolish fashion in the past.  I equated running fast to being strong and having fun.  Now, I see that running at an even, controlled pace leaves me feeling much more energized and happy.  I feel like now I just need to actually train, and focus on improving my stride among other things, in order to really crush my first 100 miler.

Race Report: My First 100k

The Pistol 100k, 12-31-16, Alcoa, TN

I used a template to document my thoughts on the race. Hopefully this will be helpful to someone else. If anything, it serves as a reference point for me.


Travel to the event (did travel affect your performance?)

Traveling to the event was easy and straightforward.  I simply flew into the small, local airport on the Thursday night prior to the Saturday race.  There wasn’t any conflict in getting settled in on the night before.  This extra amount of time afforded me the opportunity to see the race course ahead of time.  I also had the benefit of having Halbert there to show me the course and to explain the layout.  After I saw the course, I began to feel more at ease.

Sleeping patterns in the days before the race

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

1. Looking at the course prior to the race to ease my nerves.
2. Using a poncho when it started to drizzle, and when it became cold.
3. Using caffeinated Tailwind & De-caf Tailwind as my primary fuel source.
4. Listening to an audiobook so that I could just focus on the narration.
5. Using a Milestone Pod to track my data (more to come after I analyze).
6. Walking when I felt a bit wobbly instead of powering through.

Race decisions made which were not helpful

1. 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

1. 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.
2. 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.