Michael: Ultras

The rasping screech came
From a young yellow headed
Caracara bird.

Tuesday, August 11, 2015

One of my biggest pleasures in racing ultra marathons is creating a plan then discovering how bright or dim I was in believing that plan would work.

You can work off guidelines like drinking every 15 minutes and taking a gel every 45 minutes but that‘s just the start of it. The conditions can vary greatly between different ultras, and therefore each one requires a different plan. Heck, the conditions within an ultra race can vary greatly and even sections of the same race may require a different approach.

Take how I’m going to apply the guidelines for hydration and nutrition for the upcoming Los Pinos 50k. I do plan on following the 15/45 rule pretty much, but the first decision is how much of my own water and sugar do I bring? What if anything is in the water? And what type of gel do I use or do I rely on what’s at the aid stations?

After looking at the Los Pinos race website, I plan on carrying just one 25 oz. bottle of water along with Nuun electrolytes, salt tablets and a 4 oz flask of Huma gel along with two additional packets of GU. I’ll also have an empty half liter Platypus collapsible bottle with me.

I’m hoping the gels will carry me through the entire race, but if I run out I’ll take in whatever they have at the last few aid stations. The website description doesn’t talk about having gels, only water, electrolytes and fruit.

I train on a home brew of liquid sugar, honey and molasses, but I’m going to treat myself on this stateside visit with gels. I’m choosing Huma because they appear to be very natural and use chia seeds, which I’ve never tried before. I’m hoping they’re at least good for a placebo boost. Of course, I’ll have some training runs with them first to see how we get along. I also have been munching on Snickers and some local corn flake and honey cookies, just so my stomach won’t freak out if I run out of gas and have to switch fuel supplies or want to take in something solid toward the end of the race.

Nuun is expensive and hard to come by here so that’ll also be a back home treat. For electrolytes I’ve been mixing in salt tabs I brought from the states in my gel mix. On my training runs I usually just take plain water and on my rides I throw a little coffee in the bottles for taste. I’ll start with Nuun in my bottle for the race but will only carry enough for the first hour and a half. After that I’ll rely on what they have at the aid stations along with 6 salt tabs I’ll carry with me.

Now comes the intriguing part. There are 5 aid stops that are not evenly spaced apart. The first comes after a pretty gentle 12 miles. The next only has water and is half way up an 8 mile 3,000 ft. climb. The next one after that is at the top of the climb at mile 20.6. The next stop is 5 ½ miles away and comes after a 2 ½ mile dip down, then a steep 2 ½ mile climb. The last station is 3 miles after that on what appears to be pretty level terrain and the finish is on a downhill run within 3 miles of the last aid station. 

To further complicate matters, this race is in inland Southern California during the summer, so even though it starts at 6 a.m. at some point it’s going to get hot. Where I am at that point is going to make a big difference in my needs for the race. Ideally, I’d like to push it enough early so I get to the top of the climb at the 20.5 mile mark by 8:30 and beat most of the heat. That way I suffer less and can possibly hope to run the Horse thief Trail - that 2 ½ mile uphill section that ends at an aid station at mile 26. If I can do that I should be in good shape and headed for an under 6 hour finish. If I screw up, I’m headed for a long slow slog in the miserable inland heat of summer in SoCal.

My plan is one stop for a bottle refill at every aid station except between mile 20.5 and the 26 mile mark. I know at least the last half of that section - the Horse thief. On a hot day it’s a miserable exposed single track switch backing trail that winds its way up to the main divide fire road. For that section I’ll also take an additional half liter Platypus of water and use it as a handheld then roll it up and put it in a pocket, hopefully not to be used again.

And of course, I’ll drink a small cup of water at each aid station while they’re filling my bottle trying to make as much use of non-forward moving time as possible.

That’s another great thing about ultras, I can actually stop and thank the volunteers and even chat briefly about the course, strategy, and whether I sound coherent enough to continue.

If all goes according to plan I might even have a smile left over for Kimme at the finish after I roll around and grimace in pain then drink my traditional end of the race Sprite. I know it’s not as elegant as dropping down on all fours and kissing the ground, but it just seems to come a lot more naturally and is a more fitting way to end an ultra.