Preparing for Pinelands 50 Miler

Tomorrow I will be running Pineland Farms 50 Mile Race in New Gloucester, Maine.  This will be my second 50 mile race and my third time running that distance.  After running 54 miles in Georgia last month and pacing 40 miles at Riverlands 100 two weekends ago, I am confident I can complete the distance.  It will be a test to see if I can beat my previous 50 mile time.  At Farm to Farm 50, I ended up getting lost and taking a 6 mile detour and finishing way behind my goal time.  This time around, I want it to be different.  I am shooting for a sub 9 hour finish.

Below is my race plan that I created to calm down the anxiety.  I took in calorie count, water consumption, expected check point times, and all while attempting to negative split.  I am very lucky to have such an amazing partner to crew me through these events; Shout out to Catalina for being awesome!


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Pre-Race prep

In cooler:
Hard Flask #1 -3 total servings tailwind; 2 servings flavored, 1 serving naked
Hard Flask #2 - 2 total servings tailwind; 1 serving flavored, 1 serving naked
Hard Flask #3 - 3 total servings tailwind; 2 serving flavored, 1 serving naked
Soft Flask - 3 total servings tailwind; 2 servings flavored, 1 serving naked
Buffs
Ice
Cliff Bars
Untapped

In Drop Bag:
Bigger speedgoats
Evo jawz
2 pairs socks
1 tank
1 short sleeve
1 long sleeve
Light jacket
Extra pull caps
Rock tape
CEP sleeves
Ankle brace
Knee brace
Naked tailwind
Caf tailwind
Flavored tailwind
Tailwind recovery
Knife and lighter
R8 roller

6am: Start at the Grove

Soft flask - 3 servings tailwind + untapped
(2 servings flavored, 1 naked; already prepped)
Hard flask #1 - 3 servings tailwind + clif bar
(2 servings flavored, 1 naked; already prepped pre-race)
13.5 miles at a 12min pace = 2hr 40min
*will have to top off water at Valley Farm (12mi )aid station or before
Calories: 850 = 318/hr
Cat’s Responsibility:
Remind me to go slow and keep me updated on weather changes

8:40am: mile 13.5 Final Mile Aid Station
Drop the soft flask, and trade out hard flask
Hard Flask #2 - 2 servings tailwind
(1 serving flavored, 1 naked; already prepped pre-race)
4.5 miles @ 11min pace = 50min
Calories: 200 = 167/hr
Cat’s Responsibilities:
Refill soft flask when I leave with 3 servings tailwind (1 serving caffeinated, 2 servings naked)
Refill Hard Flask #1 when I leave with 2 servings tailwind (1 serving caffeinated and 1 serving naked)

9:30am mile 18 Final Mile Aid Station
Socks? Shoes? Layers? Knee? Ankle?
Chug water
Soft flask - 3 servings tailwind + untapped
(1 serving caffeinated, 2 naked; prepped at last stop (mile 13.5))
Hard flask #3 - 3 servings tailwind + clif bar
(2 serving flavored, 1 naked; prepped pre-race)
11 miles @ 11min pace = 2hr
Calories: 850 = 425/hr
Cat’s Responsibilities:
Ask me about socks, shoes, layers, knee, and ankle
Tell me to chug water! (especially if it’s hotter out)
Refill hard flask #2 when I leave with 2 servings of tailwind caffeinated

11:30am mile 29 Final Mile Aid Station
Quick stop; drop soft flask and trade out hard flask
Hard Flask #1 - 2 servings tailwind
(1 serving caffeinated, 1 serving naked; prepped at mile 13.5)
4.5 miles @ 10min pace = 45min
Calories: 200 = 150/hr
Cat’s Responsibilities:
Refill soft flask when I leave with 1 serving tailwind caffeinated

12:15pm mile 33.5 Final Mile Aid Station
Socks, Shoes, layers, knee, ankle
Eat and Drink!
Hard Flask #2 - 2 servings tailwind + clif + untapped
( 2 servings caffeinated; prepped mile 18)
11 miles @ 10min pace = 1hr 50min
*will need to top off water at Yurt the 3rd pass through (7mi) or sooner
Calories: 450 = 245/hr
Cat’s Responsibilities:
Make sure Soft Flask is prepped and ready, including maple syrup for when I come  back through!
Remind me I will have to top off water after winter field loop

2:05pm mile 44.5 Final Mile Aid Station
Last Chance for sock, shoe, or clothes change!
What do I need? Food? Water? How’s the stomach?
Soft Flask - 1 serving tailwind caffeinated + untapped (prepped at mile 29)
4.5 miles @ 9min pace =40min
Calories: 200 = 300/hr
Cat’s Responsibilities:
Ask me about socks, shoes, or clothes change-remind me its my last chance
Ask me about food, water, and stomach.
Remind me I have just over 5 miles left!!!!

2:45 mile 49 Really is the “Final Mile” Aid Station
Chug water!
Drop handheld and sprint!

3pm mile 50 Eat BBQ and drink beer!



Nutrition: 2750 calories = 305/hr
Tailwind: 19 servings= 1900 cal
Untapped 4 servings= 400 cal
Cliff bar 3 servings= 450 cal

Dairy Farm Love 12 Hour Race Report

Getting There

On Wednesday morning the van was packed and ready to go.  It was a short and uneventful 8 hour drive down to Philly to meet up with my brothers who would be joining me on this venture.  My oldest brother, Kris, would be running the 3 hour event and Ian, my middle brother, was going to be crewing and taking pictures.  Ian had never been to an ultra event, so I was excited for him to experience this part of my life.  Kris and I had a little 2 mile run around Fishtown and everything felt great!

On Thursday morning we left Philly and headed towards Durham, North Carolina.  I researched a nice rail trail (Eagle Spur Trail) that was a couple of miles long and ended up jutting out into Jordan Lake.  It was a beautiful run and I even let the legs fly for a mile or so.  We then met up with my friend Courtney and her fiance who live right outside durham in Apex.  We did some much needed catching up and was a good way to relax before the race.

On Friday we finished the drive and ended up at the Dairy Farm in Savannah.  Boy, was it hot! And buggy!  The last real long runs were both had a reel feel that only got as high as the teens.  I was now in the South with a real feel of 70+!  Things were going to be interesting.  On top of that, I learned I really did not like sand gnats!  They must of heard that there were going to be a few dozen people all within close proximity this weekend, AKA a feast for them, because they were everywhere!

We ended up setting up camp next to two runners, Soleil and Jason (more about them later), and took a preview of the course.  For only being a 2.02 mile loop, there was a ton of variety.  The course starts off in a meadow that turns into a utility road through trees then turning into a sand marsh with plenty of wet marsh in the middle.  It then loops back onto wide trail with a giant sycamore tree back into the meadow.  It then ducks into a single track trail through the woods.  This section was hard to get a rhythm with.  There wasn't much as far as elevation change, but had plenty of tight winding turns, make-shift bridges, and small sand/dirt mounds.  It then opened up into more sand marsh then shortly back into the woods before opening back up into prairie then by a horse barn, back into the meadow.  Right before you past the aid station and finish your lap, there was the nicest outhouse I've ever seen in my life.  The building had 2 restrooms with stone countertops and running water.  This would mean more to me than I would thought as I spent almost an hour in here during the race (more on that later).

We mingled with our campsite friends and learned their stories.  We actually relocated to their campsite since they had tiki torches and spray to keep the bugs away.  I learned the Soleil was a badass and had been running and doing awesome things of the like for awhile.  She brought a whole crew to help her through the 24 hour race.  I also learned about Jason and that he was wanting to reach 100km for the first time during his 24 hour race the next day and that he came without a crew.  After a night of joking and enjoying each others company, we decided it was time to get some shut eye.  We had a big day ahead of us.

The Big Day!
It was wonderful waking up in the van and not being covered by bugs!  For those that don't know, I have a futon in the back of my van and it has been nothing but clutch.  I had all this space to spread out while Kris and Ian shared a small tent.  I wasn't mad about it.

I ran through my nutrition plan with Ian and double checked I had all the things I needed.  Kris had agreed to stay with my pace for the first 3 hours of the race aka his whole race.  I wanted to start at 12ish min pace for the first few hours and then start speeding up.  It was a warm morning, but I knew it would only get warmer.  I started the race with a long sleeve shirt, but as the sun came out, it was quickly ditched.  I decided I was going to run most of the race with a handheld water bottle and just swap them out every lap.  I knew I wanted hydration on me, but knew i definitely didn't need a pack.

The first 2 hours went off without a problem.  Kris and I were pounding out 11:15ish miles.  At this point I was getting frustrated with the painfully slow pace and sped up a bit.  This ended up costing my.  About 2.5-3 hours in I started having stomach issues.  My stomach was knotting up, bad, and I started to spend more and more time in the bathroom.  After a lap or two in pain, I took some pepto and tried to keep chugging along.  It was also at this time I hid the darkest part of the race.  My knee started hurting bad and my head went to a bad spot.  I started thinking about how my goals aren't going to be achieved today.  I had doubts I would even be able to continue and fight through.  I decided to do a full change: shoes, socks, shirt.  I got another couple of laps done and got out of that funk!  My stomach was feeling a bit better.  I threw a compression sleeve on my knee and reminded myself I was out here to have fun and not have a pity party for myself.  I took the time to readjust my goals and come to peace with not meeting my "A" goal of 70 miles and instead be happy with hitting 50 miles.  I kept that positive attitude the rest of the race and so, in a way, I was happy I hit the dark patch early, because it was smooth sailing from then on.

Since my race plan got thrown out the window, I wanted to make sure I didn't take myself to seriously for the rest of the race.  That's when I found out my brother, Kris, won the 3 hour race I knew we needed to celebrate.  So, after I completed my 16th lap (32 miles) I took the opportunity to have a celebratory beer with my brother as I changed shoes and socks again.  It was a nice break to the monotony.  I kept cranking out the laps and at about 9 hours in I was at about 44 miles into the race.  My core was the sorest it's ever been, but my legs felt great!  I did the math in my head and decided to push it again!  That push only lasted one lap before I decided it was not in my best interest to keep pushing since I was starting to have problems regulating my body temp.  The clouds had been hiding the sun now for awhile and I wasn't moving fast enough to keep my heat up.  I jumped in the van for 3 minutes as I blasted the heat and layered up.  I was out on another loop!

It was around this time I really started to think about why I was doing this damn thing.  It wasn't in a negative why, but in a wondering what the root was for this thing?  Why did I want to push my body to these extremes?  The answer was simple: why not?  This body is the only known in this life.  If I go through life not knowing what it is capable, what conditions it can withstand, then what is the point?  I wanted to keep cranking out these loops.

After I hit 50 miles I was in pretty rough shape.  My core was on fire, I felt weak, and I couldn't regulate my temperature.  I took a long break and ate two bowls of chicken pho and got back on the course.  I was struggling, but felt so much better after eating a bunch of food and sitting for a minute.  I walked in miles 50-52 and when I came back through the aid station I was jogging.  I finished the last two miles at a slow jog and could not be convinced to do another loop.

I completed 54.54 miles in less than 12 hours and walked away as the first place finisher, despite nutrition, hydration, and thermal regulation issues.  For my efforts I was awarded a hand painted flower pot and parsley along with a wood carved medal.

The race directors were fantastic and I am so indebted to all the volunteers, other runners, and strangers that helped me through.

All in all, I would definitely run this race again, but maybe do a bit more heat training beforehand.  It was a great race to start the season and I'm ready to take on the next challenge.

Run Wild and Adapt!

The Proverbial Hay is in the Barn

April 19, 2018

Snowboard season is officially over, for me at least.  I am so thankful for being able to get close to 50 days on the board this season, but its time to switch focus and emphasis back to running.  It was a really rough winter and early spring for running with only a handful of days that were pleasant.  Thank goodness for treadmills!

And thank goodness for friends!  Last month I organized a "fun run" around the back cove in Portland, Maine that measures just under 4 miles per loop.  My plan was to run 6 hours around in circles in preparation for the DFL 12 Hour race on april 21st.  I had friends join me from the first loop at 4am all the way until 10am.  I am very blessed!  This was the day after I ran 50k solo around the Portland and South Portland.  These back to back runs were crucial to my training and gave me the confidence that my body was capable of such trying things.

My training Since mid february has been pretty consistent.  There were a few weeks in which I didn't meet my weekly mileage goals, but that was supplemented by days snowboarding.  I had an 80 mile week which is something I've never done before, but I'm sure I will be hitting again as I get closer to Vermont 100!

DFL 12 Hour Race Plan!
So this saturday is the 12 hour timed event down in Savannah.  I drove down to Philadelphia last night from Portland and stayed with my brothers.  We will be taking my van all the way down to Georgia for the event.  My oldest brother, Kris, will be running the 3 hour event while my middle brother, Ian, will be crewing us for the duration of the races.

We plan on stopping outside Raleigh, North Carolina tonight and staying with my childhood friend, Courtney, and her fiance tonight after running some trails.  Then it's off to the loop extravaganza!

The reason I signed up for this race is because I wanted to bridge the difference between the longest distance I have ran (54.56mi) and what I will run (100mi) in July.  I'm looking to hit somewhere between 62 and 72 miles in the 12 hour time limit.  I plan on starting out at a painfully slow 12 min pace for the first hour or two, then slowly speeding up to a 10min pace and maintaining that until I reach the 9 hour mark.  At this point I should be around 50ish miles and this is where I want to push myself.  I would like to run Sub 10min pace for the 10th hour, sub 9min pace for the 11th hour, and let the legs fly and push myself to my limit on the last hour.  If I can successfully execute this plan it will be so beneficial to me in later races.  To be able to start slow and maintain a reasonable pace for 50 miles and have the option to flip on another switch after completing that distance can be the difference between not making a cutoff and finishing.  During my 50 miler last fall I ended up running 8:30 pace for 3 miles trying to catch up to the top finisher after running 50 miles (I took a detour early in the race).  I feel much stronger than I did then.  I just want to find my limits.

As far as nutrition goes, I'll be keeping it pretty simple.  I plan on consuming 300 calories every hour via tailwind along with a random snack every hour, as long as I can stomach it.  I've had great luck with tailwind in my training runs and being able to consume 300-400 calories every hour without a problem, at least for 6 hours.  Let's hope my stomach doesn't rebel against me 8.5 hours in like it did at Farm to Farm.

I also found out my parents and grandma are coming to the race!  It will be the first time they have seen me run!  So, I'm pretty stoked about that!

I'll follow up this blog with a race report.

Stay warm and run wild!

Treadmills and Chafing

Treadmills

It has been cold, dark, icy, snowy, and windy the last few weeks in Portland.  This has led me to run far too often on the treadmill.

I am lucky enough to live a few blocks away from a Planet Fitness that is open 24 hours.  It makes scheduling long runs so much easier, plus no worries about avoiding cars at four in the morning. 

"But what about your long runs, Todd?"  How did I deal with those 20+ mile runs without running outside?  Well I chalked it up to mental training.  They definitely were not my most enjoyable runs I've had, but they got done with the help of podcasts and mind games.  So what podcasts do I listen to when I'm running 3 or more hours on the treadmill?  I'm glad you asked.  I listen to "Ultra Runner Podcast" which covers the happenings in the ultra running world, focused on races on the United States.  It typically is one interview with someone who just shattered a record or won a big race.  It is pretty vanilla as far as content, but still super informative.  The other podcast I listen to is "East Coast Trail and Ultra Podcast" which focuses on trail and ultra races East of the Mississippi River.  The content seems to be a bit more raw and real with a bit of crude comedy rolled in as well.

Chaffing

One thing I learned from running long on the treadmill, is chaffing sucks.  I usually never chafe anywhere when I run outside, so I'm going to put the full blame on running on the dreader.  I'm taking a positive approach though and using it as a learning curve.  I learned that Nipeaze (yes thats the real name of the product) is amazing!  It is a latex-free adhesive cover that is comfortable, discreet, and water and sweat resistant.  After a horrible bout of nipple irritation, i know i needed something.  Luckily, we had a sample pack of these in the office at the running store.  I cannot imagine doing another long treadmill run without these bad boys. 

The chafing didn't stop at the nipples, unfortunately.  I also ended up with some gnarly chafing along the inside of my thighs and "nether regions."  It was my mistake for not wearing any bodyglide before the run.  It was also a learning experience.  I learned that I would rather prevent chafing than dealing with days of healing.  I ended up using Aquaphor for the next few days to relieve the pain and to help moisturize those areas.  Never again!

Nutrition

Over the last few weeks I also played with nutrition a bit.  I tried just GU on runs.  Tried GU and Cliff blocks on runs.  I tried just Nuun endurance on runs.  I tried just Sword endurance on runs.  Nothing felt just right, until I tried just Tailwind!  I've heard so many good things about Tailwind, but I didn't buy in.  My mind was changed when I did a 4.5 hour treadmill run using only tailwind.  I used 4 single serving packs, all different flavors, two with caffeine and two without.  That only totals 800 calories over that time period, but I felt great!  I wasn't hungry or tired during or after the run. 

No stomach bombs either!  Many running nutrition items do not sit well with my stomach either because they contain dairy or maltodextrin.  Tailwind keeps it simple: Dextrose, Sucrose, Citric acid, Sodium Citrate, Sea salt, organic fruit flavor, Potassium chloride, Magnesium Citrate, Calcium Carbonate, (Anhydrous Caffeine-only present in caffeinated flavors).  I know being able to consume liquid calories will come in clutch come race time.  During my 50 miler in November my jaw and mouth ended up getting tired from chewing on so many Cliff Bloks throughout the race and my stomach turned on my later in the race and I was depending on Gatorade to get calories and sugar in.  We will see how Tailwind and I get along throughout the next few months and I will report back.

Other than that it's been the same old story of working and snowboarding.

Lube Up and Run Wild!

Todd

Reflections and Frustrations

Did I enjoy my trip? Yes.
Would I do it again? Absolutely!

However, the way it ended left a bad taste in my mouth.  It started off a little rocky with the whole acquiring a new van thing, but it was all uphill after that!  I had the opportunity to see my grandmother in Texas and run in some beautiful and WARM trails in the Southeast.  No one harassed me while I was sleeping or cooking in parking lots.  I got into Vermont100!  I was prepared for the cold with sleeping bags and generator.  The weather was clear when I was driving and snowing while I was snowboarding.  I was having the time of my life and enjoying every moment of that freedom...

Until I banged up my hip snowboarding.  It was a feeling of defeat.  I wanted to run, but it was so painful since my hip was so swollen.  I could feel this just large mass moving up and down with every step and it was just way too bothersome.  And the four different days I tried to get back on the mountain snowboarding, I was just so hesitant of falling after a couple of times of landing directly on my hip and it causing pain, that it was barely enjoyable.

I knew I was going to have to go back soon, regardless.  However, I wanted it to be on my terms.  I felt a bit cheated, which made coming back home a bit rough.  I've been running and snowboarding constantly for the past few weeks and now I'm at home and can't do either.  I've been driving hours daily and seeing beautiful landscapes and cities.  Now I have to rest and stretch inside my tiny loft.

This definitely got me into a bit of a funk.  I kept going to the gym to try and increase how many minutes I could run before my hip became bothersome again, then rest for two days and try again.  I just got into the biggest race of my life up to this point and I can't even jog for more than 15 minutes without pain.  This was something constantly going through my head.

That funk is now gone!  I have put up a couple hour runs on the treadmill with minimal hip discomfort and going to be slowly ramping it back up.  This was supposed to be a 36 mile week, but its looking like things will wrap up today 30ish.  I'm at peace with that and will be getting right back on track with the training plan-I've got a 22 mile run next week!

Keep your head up and Run Wild

And Heading Home

Wednesday, January 31st

By 5:30am I was on the road.  I had the privilege of seeing the moon phenomenon in my mirrors as I was leaving Summit County.  So Cool!

First stop was the Nissan dealership outside Denver.  I thought I might have possibly been able to make it back to the Muskogee Nissan (where I purchased the vehicle) in Oklahoma before hitting 5,000 miles for free service and maintenance, but I was wrong.  Time for an oil change.

Rest of the drive was pretty uneventful.  Stopped at a planet fitness to run.  Made it to my parent's house in Oklahoma by 10pm or so.  Mom was so happy to see me! 

Thursday, February 1st 

I slept in a familiar bed, woke up, headed to the dealership where I got the vehicle to give it a once over and was back on the road.

Took a two hour pitstop in St. Louis to see some good friends then continued the drive straight through the night and arrived back home in Maine on the evening of the 2nd.  I'm counting that as some sort of endurance training.  Here's the breakdown of the trip from Colorado back to Maine (via Muskogee, OK and STL, MO):
Total time elapsed: 60 hours
Driving time: 37 hours
Sleep: 10 hours

Good to be Home

Packing It Up

Tuesday, January 30th

Today was a day of decisions.  I started off the day by trying to run a mile on the treadmill.  It still hurt.  So here's the current situation: I can't go out and run and I'm afraid that if I fall while snowboarding, I will only make it worse.  Time to head home.  It is a bummer that the trip has to end like this, but I was able to squeeze in 11 days of snowboarding and run in warm, beautiful places this month.

I spent the rest of the day cleaning up the lodge, packing up the van, and giving the van a much needed carwash.

I'm heading home tomorrow.

Run Wild.