Intro/background

On Feb 5th & 6th, 2005, I tried for my first finish of a 100 mile trail run in Huntsville State Park(HSP). The Rocky Raccoon. Any time I have an epic adventure or experience, I like to document the experience with a trip report. Also, I have gained much by reading the reports of others so I want to contribute to that body of knowledge.

My interest in ultras began right after I finished Ironman Florida, 2003. After a year of training, I felt lost without an event to train for. So four weeks after my Ironman finish, my first time to run on a trail was the Sunmart 50 miler. After this race, I was fairly beat up with injuries because I hadn't trained on the trails. Though trails are supposed to be better for you, they are more hilly and uneven which use different muscles than you develop while running on hard surfaces. But even in this first experience, I gained a glimpse of some of the insights you gain from doing ultras. You definitely don't need to go 50 or 100 miles for your health. There is something deeper being pursued than health. We all have our reasons but I think we are each trying to etch out our character or see just how deep our well is. I began to see that, though my body felt like quitting at mile 24, I still had it in me to finish the entire 50 miles. The knowledge that you are capable of much more than you think is very useful in life. If you learn to tackle the mental and physical challenges of something like this, then the other problems in life seem a lot more..... solvable. This was just the beginning of my journey. But I was hooked.

* Training

I have completed two 50 mile runs, one 50k, one Ironman Triathlon, four Half-Ironman Triathlons, and 8 marathons. I have one DNF at 50 miles in Leadville, CO (my first attempt at 100 miles). The difference in my ultra training is that I do longer, slower runs on the weekends and less training during the week. On Saturdays I would go out and run about 20 miles and then on Sunday do about 8-10 miles. These back-to-back runs are very important. During the week, I would do a couple of runs between 4-8 miles. I do not do loops in training. I am more motivated for the distance if I go out and then am forced to run home.

On long runs, I run with a Camelback (100 oz) full of water to add to the training load. Since during the race I will only carry a water bottle, I'm hoping this will help add strength and endurance.

I supplemented my running with weight training and lots of stretching. No weights the last 3 weeks though.

* Analysis/Plan

What I lack in ability, I try to compensate for in research, analysis, and planning. I had gone to HSP in training and ran the race route. I tried to run a pace that I felt would be a really conservative race pace. I timed myself from aide station to aide station and recorded each time. The time of my total loop was 4 hrs 17 min. What was important, though, was that I memorized the times it took between aide stations and figured out that, for example, if it took me 52 minutes to reach aide station one, then I was on 4:17 pace. If I was 10% slower than that (e.g. 57 minutes), then I cold add 25 minutes to my projected finish time for the loop (4:38). 20% slower between any station and that mean 50 minutes slower than 4:17 pace. That was very helpful during the race.

Knowing my pace wasn't very helpful without knowing the pace of others who had finished the race in the past. I studied past splits to find representative people with a pace that I felt I could match. I had representatives from 24 hours up to 30 hours. This helped because based on where I was, I could make an educated guess on my projected finish time, and also have some feedback during the race. Just because my first loop was to be around 4:17, I had no idea of how much a typical person slows past 50 miles because that was my furthest distance. 50 miles in Leadville took me 14 hours. But beyond that, I could not fathom being out there for up to 30 hours.

Bottom line, information brings me a certain level of comfort so my over-analyzing things helps me cope with the unknown.

* Pre-Race

My taper began 3 weeks from race day. I reduce my mileage by 25% each week and did only 1-2 mile runs during race week to stay loose and did lot's of stretching. During my earlier training runs, I notice that I had a lot of pain in my left IT band and knee if I did not stretch well. I use a foam roller to stretch the IT band and other muscles in the legs.

* The Race

Loop 1

We started at 6:00 am in the dark. I had a good LED hand-held flashlight that I was to leave in my drop bag at mile 10. I have enough experience to know to start out slow, towards the back of the pack. I enjoy listening to the conversations of people around me and just relax and avoid the puddles and roots. Carried a hand-held water bottle with a strap to help hold it on. I was worried about carrying the bottle for so long but it really turned out to be the best way to go. Convenient, always in your hands so you drink more. Aide stations were only 3-5 miles apart. I would grab a bite of something to eat at each station. During the race, you burn upwards towards 10,000 calories. One of the biggest limiters in races is not being able to absorb enough calories. While most of those calories are from your stored glycogen and fat, you must eat as much as you can keep down(200-400 calories per hour) to keep the furnace burning.

I set my watch timer to go off each hour and would take 1 e-cap and 1 thermotab electrolyte tablets. I find it difficult to absorb Gatorade so I stick with water and these tabs. I'll adjust up or down depending on how I feel. I had previously had problems getting swollen on these long runs and I think it was too little sodium because this time I took more and did much better.

Mile 8 I drank my Ensure Plus with protein. Dropped off flash light and extra clothes. The out-and-back of over the next 5 miles presents some problems for people because they say it gets longer and longer each time they do it. I never had a problem with this because I didn't grasp at the idea of getting to the finish. I just focused on running in the moment, paying attention to what I was doing, monitoring my hydration and nutrition, pace, running style, and then was pleasantly surprised when I found the turnaround. That idea can apply to a lot more than just races.

Back at the drop bags at mile 12, I filled my bottle with a can of Arizona Green Tea with Ginseng and Honey. This is a nice break from water and I think the green tea's anti-oxidants might help during long races. Drank one 20 oz can every loop. I really enjoyed running the single-track trails. Especially on the back side of Lake Raven. Cool morning fog, twists and turns. It was very enjoyable. I monitor my pace and even though I'm taking it easy, still finish the loop in 3:55. Well ahead of my guess of 4:00 to 4:30(4 hrs 30 minutes).

Loop 2

Drank another Ensure plus and headed out again without much delay. Drank one every 10 miles. At the half-way mark(mile 30) I could honestly say that I felt as fresh as when I started. I kept filling my head with positive thoughts like that. There were a few hot spots developing on my feet but with the mud, changing socks would not help. I had put hydropel on my feet to make them somewhat water repellant. Started having some discomfort develop on my left knee. Pretty non-eventful to the finish of loop 2. Picked up an elastic band to tie around my knee and this pressure helps some. Where the tight muscles tie in to the ligaments is where the pain appears to be coming from. Finished this loop in 4:25 which again is well beyond my estimated pace. Feeling fairly good and fairly confident at this point. Running most of the time except on up-hill sections. (40 miles down, 60 to go)

Loop 3

Starting Loop 3, my left knee got worse. I frequently shifted the stretch band to try to alleviate the pain. Tried Motrin and Tylenol but neither affected the pain at all. Hot spots on my feet are getting worse but not terrible. I would go through periods of being really tired, then all of the sudden, feel like I could go on forever. That is one of the great lessons of ultras. Never assume that because things are bad, that they can't get better. They frequently do. Never assume things will get progressively worse. You can't think, I'm this tired at 20 miles, I'll be five times worse at 100 miles. This is not usually the way it works. Sometimes I feel better at mile 40 than mile 15. Have conversations with a few people, enjoy listening to people talk. Hear war stories of late-night hallucinations from other races and racers. Excited about the night to come. Finish this loop at about 8:30pm. 60 miles in 14 ½ hours. I was very surprised to see Sheryl and the girls waiting for me at the finish of this loop. I had planned on taking a break after 60 so enjoyed setting down and spending 15 minutes with them and ate/drank some soup. First time to sit down after going 60 miles. Admittedly, I was a bit disoriented and not thinking as clearly as I normally would be. They would probably say I was more than just a little "out of it".

Loop 4

Ashley and Kelly started loop 4 with me. They ran along the trail while Sheryl drove in the car on the road on their way out for the night. As the trail crossed the road, the girls got in and I said goodnight. Off in to the woods alone, feeling surprisingly strong. Checked in at the first aide station. Still making good time. Someone there said "This means you are going to finish!!!" There was no doubt in my mind that I would finish, even though I was really tired. There is no way to describe what its like mentally to be in this place. But it is surreal to say the least. Mile 68, I get some chicken soup "to go" and realize I'm really craving salt. Take a few more tabs and head out. Had a sudden burst of energy and even though I was in pain, I was able to waddle pretty fast along the trail toward the back turnaround. This burst didn't last long and turned out the be the grand finally of the bursts. It was a real struggle to keep going. My left calf would seize and I tried everything to keep that from happening. Finally learned to totally relax the calf while running and that helped. Any tension would cause it to seize again. Dizzy, nauseous, almost like in a dream world. My flashlight picks up a couple of eyes by the trail and a big coon was staring in disbelief that humans can be so crazy. Made it back to the drop bags at mile 72 and decided that a couple of minutes in a chair by the fire might help. Sat down by the time keeper and tried to completely relax for about 3 minutes. Jumped up, grabbed my green tea and some food and headed out, even though everything in me was screaming to stop. I had faith that it would get better. Between the station at mile 72 and mile 77, there is a 5 mile stretch in the most remote section of the course. I didn't get better. I got much worse. Every step was excruciating on my left leg. I finally took off the band because it was not helping. If my left leg felt like the right, I would have been flying. But I could barely hobble. Even to step down 6 inches would sometimes cause me to yell out loud. People would come by and offer encouragement but there was nothing really anyone could do to help. After about mile 75, it was after 3:00am. I knew that since I could not even take a step, that my race was over. Unfortunately, I was in the middle of nowhere. I finally admitted to myself that I needed help(something that is very difficult for me). So I asked other runners to send someone back on a 4-wheeler. I laid down to wait. After about 15 minutes, I realized that I was chilling to the bone and needed to get up. I didn't even know if anyone was coming back. But I couldn't get up. Waited for someone to come along and help me stand up again. If you've never experienced laying on the ground in the dark woods, by yourself, at 3:00am, you should try it sometime. It's actually quite nice given the proper perspective. Someone finally came along and helped me stand and I found a stick and used it for a crutch to hobble on down the trail. Good thing I didn't wait longer because the trail was inaccessible by 4-wheeler. About ¼ mile from the aide station at mile 77, someone came back to walk with me. Once I got to the station, Joyce Prusaitis was very kind and brought me back to the medical tent on the 4-wheeler. Since I made it to that 174 station, I wish they would have recorded my split time anyway. 4:30am. 22 ½ hours since I started the race. Wanted to drive home but they wouldn't let me. Joe, Joyce, and all of the other people were so great at all of the aide stations and in the medical tent. Everyone was so caring and considerate. Kindness received when you are in that position is never forgotten. Had to call Sheryl to come get me. Got to see Gretchen come across the finish line. What a great athlete and all-around great person.

* What I'll do different next time

For my next attempt, I'll do longer training runs(up to 30 miles). Also, I'll train more on trails instead of side-walks and pavement. Finally, since my knee pain is not necessarily related to training, I'll weigh about 10 lbs less so that will be less stress on my knees. Also, not wearing pants with tight elastic at the bottom. Nutrition plan will stay the same.

* After Thoughts

When I got home, I realized that I was beat up worse than any race I'd ever done. I had huge blisters all over my feet. Missing toenails, and my legs/feet were very swollen. My left calf was very swollen either from the elastic band or from the elastic in the pants that I wore. I could hardly walk for a couple of days. It's now two weeks later and I'm back to running 3-4 miles and working out. Almost completely recovered. My podiatrist is a big fan.

I used to wonder how anyone could just quit a race. I'm pretty hard-headed and thought I could persevere through most anything. But then I found out that though your mind can help you do unbelievable things, your body does have certain physical limitations.

I will finish a 100 mile race before I die. If not next time, I will continue until I do. As I was laying in the medical tent, I was already altering my strategy for next time. I know that valuing what I did accomplish and my not letting it defeat me is a success in itself. "I took the road less traveled... and it made all the difference." Just think how philosophical I'll become when I actually finish this thing!!!

Allen Wrinkle