The American Heroes Run

The weather report for Saturday, September 9th looked perfect, with a high of 82. I had gone a bit harder than planned two days before the race while ascending Green Mountain in Lakewood due to the classic tapered feeling of pain feeling much better..
On race morning my phone was covered by a pillow and my quiet alarm didn't wake me up (I believe that's the third time that's ever happened to me!). Thankfully my internal clock gave me jolt an hour later. Still, since the idea is to start my races with stable blood sugar and low insulin levels, waking up late means a much smaller breakfast.

Breakfast a little over an hour before the start:
-one spoonful of almond butter
-a few raspberries
-the usual Awake Tea and virgin coconut oil
-Vespa about 10 minutes before start

The American Heroes Run course consists of a 1.05 mile loop around Rogers Grove Park in Longmont, CO. The event was great and there was a distance for anyone, from the 5k up to the Ultra -a fixed-time event where runners compete to cover the 1.05 mile loop as many times as possible in 9 hours and 11 minutes. I signed up for the Ultra, which had a course record of 49.xx miles which I fully intended to break.
Sabrina was also there racing the 9.11 miler, and to crew for me once she finished.  

smiling at the start line, loving the energy of the children at the front

At 8:46, the time the first tower was hit on 9-11, the race started. I came through the first loop in 7:48 which didn't overly concern me since my race plan was to run the entire first 50k at a decent pace then do enough to break the course record before kicking back until time ran out.


one of the early laps

The first 15+ miles where gone before I had time to think. At about the two hour mark I took in my first calories, one pack of plain Generation UCAN, and was really enjoying myself despite the fact that the loop was getting lonely as everyone in the shorter races finished. I continued hydrating with plain water and S!Caps and took a UCAN about every other hour, sometimes mixing a little Hammer mix into it for the protein and electrolytes. By the 4:30:00 mark I was finally starting to feel the miles (which I had heard was a bit under 50k still). Around then I started walking part of the gentle hill by where Sabrina had set up, allowing myself to eat pieces of Stinger waffles with some coconut oil on top. I couldn't figure out why I felt so bad: my energy felt fine, my legs weren't too bad, hydration had been perfect, yet my gut felt off and the heat, which was well above predicted, seemed to effect me more than usual. It wasn't until an hour after the race that I would learn why.



At some point about 6 hours in my lungs started really hurting. I know that I overuse my chest when running, but by the 7:30:00 mark I was forced to breath entirely with my diaphragm. My upper lungs felt like they'd been beaten with a meat tenderizer from the inside out, like they were bruised, and forcing them open made me wince and cough. Even with the pain present I looked at this as a good thing. Running longer is going to require me to fix my breathing and here was my chance.

the start/finish area that I ran past 51 times

Toward the end I was certain I would break the course record by 4-7 miles even if I completely relaxed and I was more than 3 loops ahead of the nearest competitor. So my real race ended around the 8:00:00 mark. And when I ran in what I figured would be my last lap, I saw that I had 20 minutes left -enough time to get two more loops in, but instead I called it a day. 53.55 miles; a new PR for distance covered in a day and a new course record.

In all, I took in more water than ever before, about 300 mg of caffeine, and averaged about 100 calories per hour. My energy was solid throughout and my head was never foggy. The limiting factors were truly my breathing and my desire to race well in the next month. Add that to the post-race realization that I was sick and there was a lot in the way of a perfect race for me.

To summarize the whole experience..
The good: nutrition, hydration, crew (Sabrina), pacing, ...setting a Course Record, winning money for shoes, blister and chaffing prevention/care
The bad: being sick, leaving with 20 minutes left on the clock -pussying out

I should be back next year as a UROC prep race...

I learned a ton and established my ketogenic diet as a solid performance enhancer.
      -thanks David Clark for the pictures

The Ultra Progression/ Thoughts Going Into The American Heroes Run #1

On the Highline Canal back in March, I ran 45 miles over an 8 hour period, but it was hardly a real race...

On September 8th I'll be running for 9 hours and 11 minutes at The American Heroes Run (in Longmont, CO), with the intent of running more than 55 miles and setting a new course record. This will be my first legit race of 50 miles or more and, according to plenty of ultra runners, my first "real ultra." While a 50k is technically an ultra marathon -since it is longer than the 26.2 miles of a standard marathon- it's run essentially like a trail marathon since it's only five miles longer. Running what amounts to over two marathons back to back is certainly a "real" enough.

Over the last year I've finally gotten to the point where my body can handle running hard for 30 miles through streams, hills, and less-than-optimal weather. After the last couple 50ks I've had enough agility left in my legs to look normal walking around in the days following. Presumably that means I need more distance. -If I can walk the next day I obviously didn't go far enough.

My plan is to continue racing at each distance (50k then 50M and 100k, then finally 100M and beyond) until I've almost mastered it, then move up. The idea is to get the speed first and let the endurance come. Over the next year I'd like to do at least three more 50 milers or 100ks, along with shorter races. With the exception of two fixed-time events (Boulder 12-Hour and Across the Years 24-Hour) I won't allow myself to go past 100k.

I don't expect too much competition, but I'm looking to make a statement of sorts on the 8th. I come from a proud military family, and being a complete hippie doesn't stop me from feeling some deep pride for my country. Runners talk about "giving it your all," but for the people on 9-11 and our active duty service members "giving it all" is a very literal thing... With that in mind, I'm going to run as hard as I can.. If I beat all the relay teams I'll be content. If I run 100k I'll be stoked. If I know without a doubt that I had nothing left to give, I'll be truly happy.