31 Hour Fun Run
Each year for the last few years around my birthday I run my age in miles. This year I'm going to… [more]
Petzl MYO PRX
I’ve had the Petzl MYO PRX for about 6 months now as my primary headlamp. It’s a bit pricey but… [more]
Black Diamond Ultra Distance Z-Poles
While running in the McNaughton 200 miler this year I noticed that all the other runners there had trekking… [more]
McNaughton 200 Mile
This race report is proving difficult to write. It’s tough to write about a DNF, especially when so… [more]
200!
Thanks to a short notice for a PT Test with the Army I suddenly have to increase my skill at push ups… [more]
Blog Roll
31 Hour Fun Run
Each year for the last few years around my birthday I run my age in miles. This year I’m going to mix it up and run my age in hours instead of miles. Starting on 27April13 at 6Am I’m going to run Country Loop in Mount Zion. With a Saturday 6AM start time I’ll finish at 1PM on Sunday.
County Loop
This is just shy of 5 and a half miles. I’ll run this over and over again till I run out of time to finish a loop. At that point I’ll finish off the time on the Mount Zion Track. Any and all runners are welcome to join me for as much or as little as they want. Cyclists that are out are welcome to deviate from their normal routes and give me a 30mph “good game”.
I’ll use my Jeep as my aid station, which will be parked in front of the MTZ High School Track. I’ll keep a white board in the front seat so you can see from the windshield my total number of laps and the time I started/finished each lap. This will let you know how I’m donig as well as an appx time I’ll be returning. If you do come out and join me a quad shot of espresso from Coffe Connection would be most welcomed, but not required.
I don’t have any mileage goals, it’s just gonna be a fun long run. Get the legs stretched out and spend some quality time with my running shoes.
Petzl MYO PRX
I’ve had the Petzl MYO PRX for about 6 months now as my primary headlamp. It’s a bit pricey but it’s worth it if you do a lot of night time trail running. This thing throws enough light that when the trail is wide enough to run side by side my running partner (who forgets her headlamp more then not) can see as if she’s wearing the lamp herself and has no troubles tackling technical sections of trails at night.
Specs:
MSRP – $89.95
Power – 3 AAA batteries
Waterproof
Optional over the head third strap
Programmable
Boost mode for temporary extra light
Lens to allow for flood or spot
Water resistant
Regulated power if battery power drops
Battery life on lowest setting 86hs. I run at the highest and get 4-6 so bring extra
13-141 lumens / boost mode of 205 lumens
So far this headlamp has proved to be the best purchase I’ve ever made in the headlamp department. I’ve tried many over the years looking for the perfect one and this is it. It’s comfortable, fairly light weight (175g with batteries) and stays put all night long.
Flood Lens
Other than how bright it is it’s got a great feature with a built in pivoting lens cover. This allows you to easily go from flood to a tight spot light depending on trail conditions. It’s also got a button on the side for boost mode that bumps it from 141 lumens to 205 lumens as long as you hold the button down. If the trail gets extra technical this comes in handy, or when frantically searching through a gear bag at an aide station.
The body of the lens housing has 10 detents to allow you to focus the light where you want it and it stays in place no matter what. Cheaper lights don’t have detents and will
Flood Lens
eventually fall all the way open or shut. You can aim it where you want and forget about it.
I’ve never used the programmable option but what it allows is for you to select the lighting output as you click the main button. Instead of the normal high/medium/ low this light has the options ranging from 1-10 (1 the lowest, 10 the highest) and you can select which order the sequence goes through when clicking the on button. The standard high/medium/low works good enough for me. It still gives you three options plus a strobe as the default fourth, but you can pick what the lighting output is.
I’ve done multiple all night runs with this lamp. Again, the batter life on high only lasts about 4-6 hours so the down side is you need to bring extra batteries with you. It’s never failed me on road, trail, gravel or any surface you can think of. If you’re a casual runner who rarely laces up at night I don’t recommend this light, it’s not worth the money and Energizer makes some for around $20 that will do what you need. However if you are a runner who is serious and spends a lot of hours running in the dark this is a must have. I love this light and consider it part of my essential must have equipment for night runs.
Flood Mode
As a side note I also run with a secondary headlamp. However I loosen it all the way up and wear it around my waist, affectionly (or immaturely) called my crotch light. I use this to throw light directly at my feet so I can use my peripheral vision to see where I’m landing. This is a trick I’ve been doing for years and I find it very helpful to prevent stumbling and misstepping. This is largely due to the fact that a lot of proprioception comes from visual cues that you don’t have at night, the crotch light makes up for this.
Spot Mode
iSport Headphones
I’ve been using the iSport by Monster dubbed “The Athlete’s Headphones” for a few months now. Overall these are solid headphones that stay in place no matter how active I’ve gotten. There are other headphones that claim this, but none have lived up to it. Boxing drills, sprinting, trail running, hiking, walking, cycling, lifting… I’ve yet to have them fall out even when trying to shake them loose.
iSport with case
Specs:
MSRP – $99.95
In ear clip
Waterproof
In line volume control and mute
Pro Sound Isolating Eartips (that sounds cool)
Sensitivity and Frequency response – not published
When I first saw the price I said no way, don’t want to spend that much ever on ear buds. Ear buds are inherently crappy for frequency response (no bass, all high tones). Plus the last pair of ear buds I got that promised to never fall out (Yurbuds) fell out right away and barely stayed in. After a while I eventually justified the cost for myself. If I wear them a few hours every day at work, every time I lift, sometimes when running/walking, around the house… eventually I did that math and realized that with enough hours and they work these things will be worth the cost. In hindsight this is still the right call.
What keeps them in place is a unique in ear clip that no one else has. These tuck into the cymba conchae (yes I had to look that up) part of the ear and stay in place surprisingly well. It comes with a wide variety of sizes to match your specific ear. The website shows three or four sizes
Close up of the ear pieces
(depending on where you look) but mine came with five. They also have different sizes for the ear bud part that slips into your ear where the speakers are. Again the website says three or four but I got five.
It took me a bit to get the size correct, but after playing around with each size and trying different combos I got it right and they stay in place all day long. A proper fit not only ensures they stay in place no matter what you do but it has a ton to do with audio quality.
These ear buds have great bass response if they are in your ear correctly. The Pro Sound Isolating Eartips need to fit very snuggly into your ears. This ensures a passive sound suppression from outside noise as well as letting the thumping bass come through. When these are tight in with a good seal the bass sounds phenomenal. Only problem is they work loose over time and the seal is lost, which means the bass drops out. I just reach up and push ‘em back in and we are back in business with deep bass. That’s the only annoying part, which is far better then putting them back into my ears all together.
If you are an audiophile then ear buds are never the way to go and you already know this. Overall the frequency response and clarity is really good for ear buds. With a good seal the bass is clear and actually thumps a little bit. The mid ranges get a little muddled if you are pushing the volume and the bass slows just a touch. The highs always come through clear. I listen to all genres of music as well as podcasts and NPR, the soundstage is the best I’ve heard from ear buds.
Size options!!!!!
Overall if you use ear buds frequently when working out these are worth the cost. If it’s a rare thing then I wouldn’t bother, I’m sure there is something cheaper that would work pretty good. I did find that once I got these and they work, I’ve been working out even more to music.
If you want an overshare that is loosely related to these headphone, click here.
Overshare
The reason I came across the iSport headphones to begin with is cause of Pauline Nordin, who is Fighter Diet. She’s smokin’ hot, walks around stage ready and is a blast to follow on Facebook and Twitter. She’s sponsored by the iSport headphone. I figured if someone of her caliber likes them, then I probably will too.
I rarely remember my dreams when I sleep, maybe five times my entire life. The other day I dreamed about going on a date with Pauline. The only reason I’m sharing this here is I wanted to tell someone about this dream, but I don’t like to talk. If I were to tell this it would take way too long and go past my comfort zone on words spoken per day. Here goes the dream and my comments in italics.
It starts with me going up to Pauline’s ranch house (not where she lives) for a dinner she’s going to make for me. She won my heart here. Feed me and I’m good to go. The chosen people like to say “Food is Love” and I couldn’t agree more. She lets me in with a nice hug and we head to the kitchen. She prepares a meal for the two of us, Fighter Diet approved, while we banter back and forth. I start to wonder how I got a date with her and my head movie flashes back to me asking her out.
For some reason I meet her at a movie theatre, we both happen to be there. I just walk up, introduce myself and ask for a date. I do this in my normal formula that typically makes this a very awkward moment. I introduce myself and swallow in the wrong spot in that sentence, ask for the date and give her an out then say something that says I’m sexually available but just makes it more awkward. “Hi Pualine I’m Jared. Would you like to maybe go out or *swallow* grab dinner at some point if you aren’t too busy. I’m kinda on board with the Klingon mating ritual.” Smooth. Not only do I make a comment about Star Trek I don’t even use Pon Farr which is much more widely known. I reference TNG/DS9 not the original. Also I’m not on board with the Klingon mating ritual. They don’t have safety words, you get injured. Don’t get me wrong, I’m good with a little freak, but I need to know if I say “shoehorn” that it stops right then and there.
Somehow I got the date cause now the head movie goes back to the current time, which is the date. It flashed forward a few minutes from where I left it and we are sitting at the table eating. I’m viewing the scene from third person. The camera is in the darkened kitchen and looking in on the dining room where Pauline and I enjoy a meal together. It’s going good cuase she’s laughing, I’m laughing, occasional lingering touch of each other’s hands or arms. There’s no sound so I have no clue what’s being said. All indicators show that systems are go. Most my humor derives from making fun of myself (see this entire post for reference) so that’s probably what I was doing with her, cracking jokes at my expense. I’m sure that’s good a little on a first date to show you don’t take yourself too seriously. At this point I’m starting to become aware it’s a dream, a little voice in the back of my head sees the dinner and comments, “Yeah! I know where this dream is going! WOOOHOOO!”
Dinner ends and we start clearing the dishes. I do my usual of you cook I clean and start washing dishes. This is the point at which she says that I’m not right for her. She can’t date a guy that will DNF a 200 mile run. She compliments me, backhandedly, by saying I’m attractive enough cause I’m lifting weights and adding muscle (here’s the backhand) it helps to hide my long girl neck by making my traps bigger. At least there was some compliment in there. I finish washing and stacking the dishes cause I’m a hell of a guy. She sees me to the door, shakes my hand and wishes me well. I walk out to the Jeep and this is when I wake up.
Let me point out in case you missed it. In my dream, where I control everything I don’t get the girl. I open with a weird pick up line that should never work, turn that around but still don’t get the girl. The date was headed in the right direction for a bit, but somewhere took a hard turn towards going home to an empty apartment. When I woke up I laughed and thought “Good for you Pauline, keep your standards high”. I probably shouldn’t share this dream, but that’s what an overshare is. I’m sure a shrink would put their kids through college going deep into everything I just typed. However I’m just going to laugh about it and go out for a run. I have a 200 miler I need to complete!
Black Diamond Ultra Distance Z-Poles
While running in the McNaughton 200 miler this year I noticed that all the other runners there had trekking poles. Those that didn’t start with them ended up using theirs by the end. I talked to a few of them about this cause it was really obvious that I was missing something. In hind sight I wish that I had a pair with me, I’d have used them every step of the way. The most common pole there was the Black Diamond Ultra Distance Z-pole. As soon as I got home I ordered a pair and have been using them the last few months. Over all I love these poles and think they are perfect for trail running. My buddy and stud ultra runner Steve recommended these while at the race, glad I listened to him.
Full and collapsed length
Specs:
$149.95 MSRP
Weight (pair): 9.2oz-9.7oz
Lengths: 100cm, 110cm, 120cm, 130cm
Non-adjustable
Carbon Fiber shafts
Interchangeable tips
Black Diamond designed them with three sections, hence the Z-pole name. When broken down these are very compact and easily fit on a hydration pack out of the way. Deployment is fast and simple. You grab the top shaft and pull the handle up till it locks in place. There is a
Grip and Lock Button
coated inner cable that aligns the sections and tightens it up till the push button locks in place. Takes only a few seconds to deploy both poles.
The largest size (which is what I have) weights only 9.7 oz. Brooks Cascadia 7s trail shoes weigh 12.2oz! These poles weigh less then a lot of running shoes. You barely feel them in your hands and when lashed to a pack you won’t know they are there.
Poles fit nicely on the Altraspire Omega
When broken down these poles fits on both my main hydration packs without noticing they are there. The Z design gives them a very small compact envelope that lends it self to the pack sizes used in ultra running.
It comes with two tips, rubber and carbide. The carbide digs in and grips any surface I’ve tried it on so far; gravel, bedrock, creeks, mud, dirt, grass and pavement. I put this tip on initially and have only swapped out to try the rubber tips. I used the rubber tips for some Nordic Walking on pavement, I wore off about 20% of the material after 3 miles. I haven’t put the rubber tip on since then. I also picked up the trekking pole tip protector and that’s what I use on pavement. It’s large and super grippy, makes it an ideal tip for Nordic Walking on a hardball surface. If you get these poles put on the carbide tips and purchase the pole tip protectors ($4.95).
These poles aren’t adjustable. Uphill a shorter pole is better, down hill a longer pole is better. Many poles out there can be adjusted by sliding the sections in and out of themselves. This pole doesn’t have that feature, I’m good with this. Making it adjustable would add to the weight and complexity of this pole. Black Diamond left that feature off this pole for a reason and I agree with them.
The basket on this is integrated so there is no swapping it out for a larger diameter if you need it. Adding a swappable basket would mean adding weight and complexity to the design. It was engineered to be stripped down and made as simple/light as possible.
Standard tips plus tip protector
I think this pole is perfect for trail running and fast packing. When you want light, reliable (fewest working parts), quick deployment and stashing this is the way to go. I’ve also used this for some real hiking and it does great, but it’s not designed for it. When I put a lot of weight into it the pole flexes enough that I get worried about snapping it. If I was to do any long back packing trips I’d probably get a pole just for that. A pole that is more rigid and adjustable. Again, trail running, fast packing and minimalist hikers are what this is designed for.
This Ultra Distance Z-Poles are great for trail running. It’ll add stability in technical sections, take some strain off the quads going up and relieve the knees when going down. Any technical or mountain runs I do from here on out will be with these poles.
Steve aka NJshore Run with his poles at McNaughton
Music on my iPod I’m embarrassed is on there
This post is about all the crap on my iPod playlist that I turn the volume down if someone is near me just so they don’t overhear what I’m listening to. Why am I doing this? I have to learn to accept me for me. These are all songs that I hoped no one would ever look at my iPod and see on there. I figure since I’m nervous to have people see it I should get over myself and publicly admit to it. I’ve learned long ago that if something scares you, it’s probably what you need to do. I also believe everyone has songs like this, we all have guilty pleasures.
Yes, I have metal, country, rock, jazz and all kinds of stuff, but here’s what I’d rather have people not now about.
Lady Gaga – entire discography. Only complaint is that I don’t need 6 remixes of Bad Romance. The released version is the best, the rest are all crap.
Katy Perry – entire discography. First album is a lot better, more indie-chic-rock, but I like everything. Plus her video with Elmo rocks my world. Her SNL appearance with the Elmo shirt is also really nice.
Spice Girls – 2 Become 1. That’s right, Spice Girls. Once or twice a year for no damn reason this song gets stuck in my head out of the blue. I bought it and I do listen to it. Random Spice Girls story; back in 96 or whenever they were popular I walked in on a buddy masturbating to the video of “Say You’ll Be There”. I still make fun of him for that.
Britney Spears – the single 3 plus the album Circus. I initially just had the song 3. A girl I was courting a while back talked me into getting Circus cause she loved it so much. I do not like her earlier stuff, but lately she’s gone more “industrial pop” (don’t know if that’s a term or not, but it’s how I view it). Her music is no longer all bubble gum, it’s got an edge to it.
Not that it really helps me out but… when I sort my iTunes by play count the first one of these songs/artists to show up is Britney Spears with 3. It’s not till number thirty on that list, it’s way down there.
Notable but not worth commenting on: Alicia Keys, Avril Lavigne, Michelle Branch, The Wreckers, G-Dragon and 2NE1 (the last two are K-pop)
Who wants to step up and comment with their embarrassing songs?
Injured
Memorial Day weekend I was out on an easy trail run and I rolled my ankle. I rolled it bad enough that I fell face first right away. On the way down I had two thoughts; 1.”Huh, I stepped on a stick, snapped it and am now falling” 2. (this is when the pain set in) “Crap, that wasn’t a stick, that was my ankle”. Those both happened before I even hit the ground. I laid there for a bit, eventually got up on both feet and hobbled back. It was only about a mile, nothing too bad.
Several doctor visits, an MRI and some X-Rays later I have a full diagnosis. 3rd degree ankle sprain with a high
Makes my calf look massive
I’m in a cast for a while to fully immobilize the ankle. Once that is removed I’ll be in an air cast and I’ll start the rehab process with the sports physician. Mobility exercises, proprioception drills and strength training for the ankle. Once that is done I’ll start easy running on the roads, then hard runs, then I’ll start hitting the trails. Once I get back on the trails I’ll be in an ankle brace for a while. Cycling and swimming will start back up at this time as well. Guess is 6-8 weeks for all of this, but who knows. It’ll eventually heal and I’ll be back, just need to be patient.
Right now I have no races on the calendar. Once I’m healed I’ll look into what Ultra I can train for next. I want to wait till then so I don’t rush the healing process. I’d rather run the rest of my life comfortably then rush back into it and have chronic ankle issues.
Just cause I’m injured doesn’t mean training stops. I’ve been working with my coaches and developing a new training plan that doesn’t stress the ankle. Weight lifting (sans deadlifts and squats), boxing (heavy and speed bag), core work, flexibility training, airborne running… there is a lot that can be done still. I’m going through my 200 push ups a day training but it’s modified. I can’t do it on my feet so my knees are elevated on a box.
Training doesn’t stop, it just gets modified. I’m injured, but not done. I’ve got a lot of miles to run, ultras to complete and shoes to wear out still.
McNaughton 200 Mile
Some of the runners for the 200
This race report is proving difficult to write. It’s tough to write about a DNF, especially when so much of the race is a blur. This is probably more a collection of incoherent thoughts then anything else. I attempted to complete the McNaughton 200 Mile Trail run and fell short, way short. At mile 100 I dropped knowing I’d be unable to finish. This year the race actually had a 100% DNF rate. 10 of us started, 10 of us did not complete the distance. There was a 72 hour course cut off, when I reached the 100 mile point at 43 hours that left me 29 hours to run the second 100. I’m not capable of running a negative split like that.
I took a crew of 5 with me to help me complete this race; Kristin, Laura, Brandon, Jeff and Ed. Jeff signed up to run 50 miles with me and crew during the day with Laura. Kristin, Brandon and Ed were assigned to crew during the night. All of them did a phenomenal job supporting me and helping me out.
Myself and the other runners took off at 6pm on Thursday night. The plan was to pull off an average pace of 2:45 for all the laps, giving me a 55 hour finish. The first lap was completed in about 2:30, it was tough but I pulled that pace. So did another strong runner who came in a few minutes ahead of me. Me and her traded for first several times during the first 100 miles of this race.
Race Start
We spent the first night running in the rain and the mist. My feet were never dry and the course was a lot of mud and poor traction surfaces. I did a good job of holding that pace till about mile 40 which is when I started hitting the wall. This turned out to be the longest and deepest wall I’ve ever been in. I’ll get more into it shortly but it lasted about 12 hours and really took it’s toll on me, including more little girl crying then I care to admit.
Bridge
The course was different this year than last. Hurricane Irene had come through and wreaked havoc on the area. This caused a new course to be laid out and a new make shift bridge to be put up so we could cross the creek. It was some lumber and I beams laid on their sides. It was sturdier then I thought when I first heard about it.
The uphills seemed tougher on the new course, they were packed tightly together. Once you finished one you were lead right into the next one. There was also about a mile of bushwhacking through the woods where there was no trail. By the end the runners had cut a trail in but it wasn’t there to start with. It’s still a beautiful course but it was agreed by everyone there that it was more difficult than last years. Talking to the race director when he redesigned the 10 mile loop they made it as difficult as they could, while still leaving in a few runnable sections.
After about 40 miles the course started to kick my ass and I hit the wall. Everything hurt, everything was uncomfortable and it was extremely difficult to run. My crew kept pushing me, kept feeding me and motivating me. They really did a great job and all have my respect and appreciation for them doing everything they did for me.
When I came in for mile 60 I had started doing the math in my head on how much time had elapsed and how little time was left. I knew I’d have to start pulling mid 3 hour laps to even finish by the cut off and I wasn’t in the shape to do that at the moment. I got severely overwhelmed at this point. I found a spot out of the way at the start finish, sat down and little girl cried for a bit. I was physically and emotionally drained and for the first time thought I wouldn’t be able to finish this race. It was more than I could take at the moment and it all crashed down on me. The amount of time, training, money, effort and dedication that goes into these races is huge… all that was going to prove to be futile. After I finished my little girl cry I ate the food my crew gave me and I took back off.
I wish I could say what laps Jeff joined me on but he ended up doing 30 miles with me. He’s a strong runner and it was great to have someone with me. I do know that he was there during the wall and was there at hour 12 in the stupid thing when I finally started to pull out of it.
Jeff running with me
I remember just suddenly getting angry. The anger was directed at myself for getting to this situation. I was running poorly, so far off pace that finishing didn’t even look possible I grabbed that emotion (which was better than the depression I had been in) and used it to fuel my running. I started off slow and kept picking up the pace. We were in a runnable section with baby hills and lots of long descends. I just kept running, faster and faster. If I wasn’t going to come out of the wall easily I’d smash my way through that damn thing. I knew it was about to yield, I just had to beat it hard enough.
Jeff knew the bushwhacking section (nonrunnable) was coming up on and so when I took off he just let me. It was a weird place to be. I heard him falling back so I ran harder. I started up with the little girl crying again at this point. Out of all the ultras I’ve done I’ve only cried in two of them; the McNaughton 150 and the McNaughton 200. These races push me beyond anything I’ve found anywhere else. This is why I love them so much.
I was finally over the wall at this point and running the way I needed to be again. At this point so much time had elapsed and the course had taken it’s toll on me. Even though I was running good again I was running too slow.
I told my crew at this point that 200 was impossible. I think I was at mile 80 (could have been 90) at this time. There wasn’t enough time on the clock remaining to get that far. I wanted to get to the 100 mile point and see where we are at. I sat down and had another little girl cry, drank a redbull and had my feet tended to. Nothing hurt but there was one toe that was a bit swollen and looked like it had a blister either forming or already popped.
I know Jeff ran miles 90-100 with me. The whole lap I kept thinking about stopping at 100 or going on and running till the clock runs out. I think this was Jeff’s favorite lap with me since it was when I was running the strongest with him. Anyone that’s reading this that has hit a wall in a marathon knows how hard they are, imagine 12 hours of that. I went back and forth in my own head on what best to do.
I wasn’t going to finish the 200 miles, there was no question about that. I was in 1st place, if I didn’t have time to finish no one was going to. Heartbreaking to know none of us are going to reach our goal.
I could go through my justification process but ultimately I decided to drop at the 100 miles. I crossed the 100 mile point just over 43 hours. I told the crew I was dropping. They wanted me to go on, see what I could do but that didn’t happen, I was done. I was happy with covering 100 miles. It was time to go back to the house, shower, eat and go to sleep.
90 Miles
After I slept I went back out to the course and saw some of the other 200s still going. The furthest any of them made was 150 miles. My hats off to everyone in the 200 for pushing as long as any of them did, you guys are my heroes. It’s an amazing feeling to be running with the caliber of athletes that do these races.
This race didn’t turn out like I wanted it too to say the least. Part of me wants to blame the course but most of me wants to put the blame on the wall. I spent too long in it and lost too much time. I need to learn how to deal with these betters. 12 hours beating my head against a wall, being full of self-doubt and negative self-talk is too long for a race to go well.
I plan on going back next year. A DNF is not sitting well with me and I have to go out and prove to the course that I am stronger then it. I’ll be faster, stronger and better prepared. Many of the other competitors had trekking poles, I don’t own any but my pair is in the mail right now. Those will be going with me. I’ll start reading about how other runners deal with the wall I’ve talked to my coaches a bit about changing the training for next year. 11 months till the 200 starts and I plan on being there much stronger then I was this year.
My coaches at ultrafitnesstraining.com gave me the following format of info to capture post race.
Race : McNaughton Ultra
Pre Race Briefing
Distance : 200 miles
Date : 10May12
Pre-Race Preparation : 2 week taper, nothing for 3 days before the race. Did come in with too little sleep. 4 days out 8 hours, 3 days out 8 hours, 2 days out 3 hours, 1 day out 4 hours.
Pre-Race Thoughts : I have to pee, Let’s get this thing started, I have to pee again, 200 miles is far, I want a nap, it’s raining
Lap Length : 10 miles (ish)
Running Surface : Trail, up the mountain down the mountain. Single track, creek crossings, steep inclines, long descends, rocky sections, rooty sections
Incline / Decline : between 3372ft and 3500ft of change per loop.
Start Time : 1800
Finish Time : DNF on Saturday afternoon 12May12
Weather : Rain and Sun. Highs in the 50s, lows in the 30s
Pre-Race Routine : None, I find these too hard to consistently do. Probably should have listened to some Kenny Loggins though
Shoes : Saucony Peregrine 1 and 2, Brooks Cascadia 7
Socks : Drymax Trail Socks
Fluids taken during the race : 160 oz plain water, 80 oz Cytomax, 80 oz CarboPro1200, 1 sugar free redbull, 12 oz coke, 72 oz chocolate milk
Energy / Calories consumed Prior to the race : Full meals at a local restaurant, no calorie count
Energy / Calories consumed During the race : GUs, Roctane, Waffles, Stinger Gels… appx 2100 calories. Protien/Carb Shakes (with milk) apx 3420 caloires, 1 plate pasta noodles with red sauce, 3 chocolate/peanut butter cookies
Sodium / Electrolytes consumed During the race : only what’s described above
Gear
General Observations : Despite numerous sock changes feet were rarely dry for first 30 hours. Needs more socks or shoes next year, also should look into Hydropel or something similar
Things that worked for this event : Nutrition (food itself) and crew. Crew did awesome.
Things that didn’t work well for this event : Aid station was not at 5.5, nor 4.5 like told right before the race, it was at 2.4 miles. We adjusted some on the nutrition but not enough. Confirm aid station location prior to race.
Psychological Observations : Hit a hell of a wall, but everything seemed okay outside of that
Post-Race Recovery : Nap, ice bath, feet elevated, lots of food, more sleep
Things to Improve for Next Time : Mental training, confirm the course, more shoes if the course will be wet, goal may be to finish next year with no regard to time. Improve overall quality and quantity of sleep during training and prior to race
Laura getting ready for McNaughton 200
Laura posts on her blog about getting ready for the 200 that starts in two days!
Adventure Foot – Ultra running style
Brenda’s I-Challenge Report
Another friend of mine Brenda also ran in the I-Challenge this weekend. Here is her report. She has an epiphany that I believe all athletes should realize for themselves. Good lesson there. I’ve had the pleasure of working out with Brenda before. She has the attitude needed to succeed. She pushes hard, craves going beyond her comfort zone and loves every second of it. Read her “A little about me” for her full story.
