Type 4 Fun!

After taking on some pretty intense challenges and faring pretty poorly at them, it was time to get back to the basics and do something more in my wheelhouse.

I earned my ultra bones in the flat lands of Michigan where vert isn’t really a consideration. Lately though, my attempts (sub ultra included) have incorporated mountains with double, triple, or more vert than I’d find in my old stomping grounds. I’m hooked on it, and don’t see myself stopping any time soon

After the last 4 marathon or ultras were DNFs, I decided a needed a win. I needed a confidence boost, a reminder that this is something I can do. I needed it fast because Ultra Pirineu is a scant 100 days away. 3 months may seem like a long time, but it’s already been 2 since my Breakneck Point DNF and there not been much accomplished in between.

The point is time flies, and my training by any metric has been sub-par to this point. The timing of a flatter 50k at the end of June felt like the perfect opportunity to try and jump start my training with a much needed motivational and confidence boost.

In several ways, the Edge Hill 50k was a success but it also served as a stern warning. Just over one year ago, I ran Mt. Toby – by the same company as Edge Hill, Beast Coast Trail Running – in 8:39. That race was 33.22 miles (a couple of those were bonus miles) and 6,900 feet of vertical gain. It featured 3 slow climbs up Mt. Toby with aggressive descents, a cave traverse, and lots of mud and snow.

Edge Hill on the other hand, was 34.73 miles (a couple of those were secret miles, too) and 5.100 feet of vert but took me nearly a full hour longer to complete. Why? Perhaps, part of the answer lies in my Ragged Mountain 50k performance 4 months after Mt. Toby.

Ragged Mountain was 35.24 miles with 6,385 feet of vert – the bulk of which contained in the back third of the course. I had a fairly miserable finish to that race which took 10:14. It was a very wet day, rain in the morning and then high temps and humidity in the afternoon. Ultimately, more comparable to Mt. Toby than Edge Hill.

The common denominator between the poor performances is the heat, humidity, and lackadaisical training. See also, Javelina Jundred.

So what went well at Edge Hill?

Well, I finished, for starters.

https://www.strava.com/activities/14874112970

And, I wasn’t last. For all of my DNFs and poor performances I have yet to end up DFL. But, it was close. After encountering sweepers on an out and back portion of the course, I felt pretty sure that I was DFL. I had 3 miles on the sweepers ultimately, so it was conceivable there was someone else lagging in between but I hadn’t seen a soul since the previous aid station so I was fairly convinced.

To my very sincere surprise, with about 8 miles left I caught up to someone hiking near Chapel Brook. I was really hot and the brook seemed like an opportune moment to cool down a little, but being aware of sweepers on course and seeing what could be my lifeline a hundred meters or so away I pushed forward.

If I can catch this guy – who by the way was not among the last people I saw leaving the previous aid station as I was arriving – and if I can put him in between the sweepers and myself, I should be fine. There was just one more manned aid station and I just had to keep the sweepers off of my back until then. I felt avoiding DFL was assured as I approached this other runner. We both were gingerly hiking up the hill, I was moving a little bit faster than him but once he got to the top and just kept hiking, I saw my opportunity. When it turned to downhill and I was able to start jogging again I got the sense that i was going to drop him in short order.

It was a huge boost! Seeing the sweepers did not motivate me to go faster, but just the opposite. I felt I was cooked. I was hot, I was cramping up in both calves, as well as my right hamstring. My left knee was hurting and I had blisters forming on my heels. There wasn’t much reason to keep going. The last thing I thought would happen was that I would catch up to someone. But I did, and as a result, I finished second to last.

The course was incredible, I should say. We started on land that had been restored from a golf course, now in conservancy with the Franklin Land Trust. A lot of the early miles felt like the trails were fairly new or just seldomly used. I won’t go so far as to use the word “bushwhack” but the rough conditions of the trails and some very peculiar and even devious seeming course markings made the whole affair feel akin to my hashing days in Michigan! It all added to the whimsy and helped me keep my spirits up. My only other fake complaint about the course is that there was too much paved road.

When it came to nutrition this time around it was a little bizarre. I went in with a pretty solid plan and was able to stick to it, but I’m not sure it was a very good plan – particularly given the heat. I also didn’t factor in the 2 secret miles between two of the aid stations.

I opted for a belt in lieu of a vest because it appeared that the course had ample aid and I wouldn’t need to carry too much. I wasn’t wrong per se, but I didn’t anticipate how quickly I would start cramping.

I went with a single 500ml handheld of Heed 2.0 and a backup 8oz soft flask of plain water stashed in the belt.

In my belt I carried two servings of Heed 2.0, and 3 UCAN (no throat inflammation this time, thank goodness) gels providing a grand total 540 calories and 141 grams of carbs – 6g of sugar total. Additionally, I had three GU hydration tabs. I also carried 2 LMNTs if plain water wasn’t going to suffice in the heat.

The plan that I executed was to alternate from Heed to GU Hydration in the 500ml bottle, using the backup water bottle if necessary and employing LMNT if things went south, which they did and at around mile 13 or 14, I did consume an LMNT.

The aid stations were fairly minimal, I refilled water at each, with the exception of the 1st aid station at mile 3 which I ran through and took salt tabs at the last three manned aid stations. I took in no solid food because it was mostly candy and sweet things.

I peed 3 times on course. That meant I was either; well hydrated (hahaha, no) or I was hyperglycemic (much more likely)

I tried my best to stay moderate with breakfast, a single whole wheat english muffin more than 2 hours before race start at 6am, and consuming a protein smoothie with 19g of carbs (16 of which are sugar) over the course of an hour while getting ready. It ended up being a bit much with blood sugar over 250 mg/dL at race start.

I’m wishing in hindsight that I didn’t start my water bottle with a Heed serving and instead packed a 3rd Heed in my belt for the end. Initial heavy exertion plus the slow consumption of the Heed catapulted my blood glucose in the early hours. I wouldn’t fall back into range until around 10am. I’m curious if the hyperglycemia contributed to the early cramping…something to pay attention to going forward.

Beast Coast Trail Running is a interesting company, they focus on keeping costs low. That means minimal prizes, minimal aid stations, old school analog timing, and leads to smaller fields of competition but the events have a scrappy accessible feel that I really appreciate. I’m seriously considering their going after their Ultra Trail Running Series in the future.