Brief Thoughts Going Into The Devil Mountain 50 Miler

I'm not allowing myself to think into this race too much. Beyond the plan to enjoy a good day in the mountains and run below last year's Course Record (9:51:09), and preferably run sub-9 hours, I really don't have much of a plan.
It's gona be my last real race until December, so I want an honest effort out of myself. But my right foot has been bothering me since the American Heroes Run earlier this month, so I don't want to push the injury past the breaking point and lose winter training miles. However, I have been training as usual through the pain, but at this point it's been fairly constant -a stinging feeling from the base of my big toe up my arch.
No matter what happens it's looking like it should be a great day in the mountains.

And I've already had some great miles checking out the aspens this year:

Rob Cobb, thanks for the pic -I lost my camera cable and can't get my own up

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.

First Two Weeks in Ketosis

I'm taking in less than 50 grams of net carbs (carbs-fiber=net carbs) a day, as well as limiting protein consumption to less than about 150 grams a day, in order to force my body to run entirely on fat. I don't know of any ultra runners who restrict carbs to this extent so its going to be a great experiment.
My only concern is that the lack of cabs could effect my speed since fat requires tons of oxygen to be burned while carb can be burned without oxygen (anaerobically) during hard sessions. As someone who enjoys speedwork and shorter/faster racing, I don't want my diet to limit me.

You can see my recipes page to see what kind of things I've been eating.

Last Monday, on day four of my ketogenic diet I did a 20 mile trail run at Bear Creek Lake Park in Lakewood. The previous day -day three- had been rough, with moodiness, low energy, and a general feeling of fogginess. So going into the 20 miler I wasn't exactly excited, but I was hopeful: since I had been out of blood sugar for a couple days I should already be past "the wall." And it turned out great. There was a definite low point from miles 4 to 6, but it wasn't bad and when it passed I felt strong until I finished.

I'm not sure why, but the next day -day five- I slept until noon and woke up feeling like I hadn't slept in three days. The entire day was spent in a heavy fog, similar to a bad fever. After an easy run my energy was back enough to feel like I could make it through the rest of the day without passing out. Day six was slightly better but I still didn't feel very coherent until after some miles. Day seven brought 24.5 miles over two runs and I felt great for both of them.

On day eight I wrote "no more fog" in my running log and I felt like I was back. Day nine and ten were both above 20 miles each and no crash followed like after day four.

It's now day 13 and I can feel the affects of running 100 miles last week while also forcing my metabolism to undergo a major change. However, my running pace has quickened over the the last three days with no additional effort on my part and I think most of the fatigue I have is mental.

As a side-note, I think my brain operates better on ketones than on glucose: my attention span seems longer and I feel like I could read an entire book in one sitting -and actually retain 100% of it. I'm starting to feel like Bradley Cooper in Limitless. I need to do some research to find out if students anywhere have tried this.

The true test will come next month, when I race a 55'ish mile race, then an 8.6 miler the following weekend, then a 50k two weeks after that.

Back Online

At Tahosa High Adventure Base, our internet was incredibly limited and stopped me from posting about the mountaineering dream that this summer was.

Training has been less than mediocre, but the personal transformation has been huge. Before July, I would have never considered myself a mountaineer -despite having climbed a few of the Indian Peaks. During the first few weeks at camp, during June, I even told someone that "peak-bagging and real mountaineering didn't really do anything for me."
While I still plan to never do the Hardrock 100 -or any races that mountainous or technical, I now identify as a mountaineer. This summer, I climbed or bouldered every chance I got and bagged Longs Peak (the Keyhole route, and the easier class 5 climbing route) and the first Flatiron. I also hit the major peaks visible from Tumblesome Reservoir, including Mount Audubon(13,223) and Sawtooth(12,304).

Before leaving for Tahosa in June I went out with three solid wins: first was the Bluffs 5k, with 1500 feet of elevation change; then came the Mt. Carbon Half Marathon, a competitive and roughly rolling race that I went into having already run more than 80 miles in the five days leading up to it; last was 50s For Yo Momma 50k, where I made Ultrarunner magazine for devastating the previous course record.
 Basically I left while I was on fire. Summer gave me a break from serious running, but also got me even more excited to keep winning, PR'ing, and setting course records(CR's).
The American Heroes Run (9 hours and 11 minutes solo run) has a CR of about 50 miles, but this year will have a much more competitive field coming out -being its third year and since the race will be held on the weekend instead of on the 11th. Either way I'll be well above 50 miles when the day ends, so we'll see who's with me on the 8th.

Check back later this week to see what I've been up to since I've been home to ensure that I win on September 8th...