Michael: Lessons Learned

The strong summer wind
Snorts and stomps down the mountain
Like an enraged bull.

Wednesday, December 21, 2016

Assessing the rights and wrongs of an event before gearing up for the next challenge is always a good idea. So here goes…

Renting a car and staying both the day before the race and the night of the race instead of trying to rush back home afterwards was a plus. Leaving another day earlier so we would’ve had a day to relax and work out the kinks of a long drive would’ve been better, and we’ll throw that in the next time if it’s an affordable possibility. Always a trade-off between rest and finances. I don’t think it hurt us all that much, but we’ll only find out if we take the extra day off beforehand on one of these destination races.

All the clothing and equipment I chose worked well; not perfectly, but well.

For shoes, I went with Hoka ATR Challenger 2s. They’re not the grippiest shoes in the world so I did slide a bit, but for a race that featured a decent amount of fire road and ended on a long downhill, I wanted the extra cushioning they provide. I did fall one over the mandatory three knockout limit, but I don’t hold the shoes completely responsible. It was a tough course and a lot of people were taking spills with all different kinds of shoes on their feet.

The day following the race I felt fine so the Hoka’s overall worked and I plan on using them again for similar long events, though I wouldn’t mind giving the Speed Instincts a go and I do have the Asics Gel Fujilytes on my Santa List. If the Fujis can work their way through a 50k, I may go with those because they’re both lighter and have what seems to be a better tread for technical trails. All that testing and play is part of the fun of running.

The Ultra Aspire Revolt race vest was ideal for the race. The course had aid stations spaced approximately 5 kilometers apart so the 20 oz. flask was sufficient. It also carried two gel flask and a jacket. I could’ve put my small canister of salt tabs, headlamp, or small first aid kit in the front zip pocket, but chose instead to carry each of those in one of my short pockets.

As far as nutrition goes…the two small flask I carried were loaded with my home brew of chia seeds, honey, peanut butter and a touch of cinnamon. Outside of a small faux Oreo at the top of  Cerro de la Muerte, that saw me through without any stomach issues or lightheadedness.

Since it was cool I only drank about 100 oz. of water total. Slightly under the 20 oz. per hour I’d like to get, but I don’t feel that hurt me. As a precaution, I’ve also started using salt tabs every hour after the first three hours of running. Not sure how much they’re helping, particularly in a cool race, but they’re definitely not hurting. Won’t be until a warm race to see how effective that strategy will be.

One goofy thing about the race that had me worried was my watch. A couple of nights before the Indiglo feature on my Timex Ironman began to fade. That indicates a low battery. I was worried that the alarm and the timer would fail sometime during the trip, but they didn’t. Not sure I’ve seen back up watch battery on anyone’s checklist, but I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to have one handy. Though I’ve done some training runs without my timer going off every 15 minutes to remind me to eat or drink, if I’m going to do that during a race I’d like to make that decision instead of my failing technology thrusting me into going au natural without any forethought.

This race, like the last race in Costa Rica and on my weekend training runs, I’ve become more accepting of walking during certain sections of ultras. I’d still prefer not to, but it no longer completely takes the wind out of my sails, and that should be a big help on my revenge tour of the states when I go back and try to complete races I’ve dropped out of in the past.

Otherwise, all was good and I’m hoping we’ll make it over the border more often to race in Costa Rica.