Woodstock 100 Mile Thoughts

About to start, Ryan Case showing how relaxed he is

My thought process during the race.

First loop

"Wow my heart rate is too high, whatever, I'll just keep going"

"That guys going too fast, I'm going too fast, we're all going too fast!"

"This duct tape feels weird now that my feet are sweating"

"Eat solid food"

"Hugh has sweet vertical runner gear"


Second Loop

"Hoka, Hoka, Hoka"

"I'm hot, I think I'll take off my shirt"

"Just a light rain, no big deal"

"I'm cold, I think I'll grab a shirt"

"Stop thinking and run"

"Why are these roctaines so chunky (gag)"


Third Loop

"Crap I'm cold"

"Eat solid food"

"Woah, Hokas are like ice skates in mud"

"There's my Dad, smile like you're still having fun"

"This jacket will keep me warm"


 Fourth Loop

"This jacket is not keeping me warm"

"Holy crap it's raining so hard my headlamp is almost useless"

"Totally exposed to the storm on this rail trail"

"I think I stepped on a frog"

"These shoes aren't draining at all"

"I'm so cold"

"I'm so cold"

"My feet are melting"

"I don't care if I'm in first, I quit"

"I hope Ryan and Jenny understand, I just can't keep going"

"How the hell do I get this poncho on?"

"Why am I putting this poncho on?"

Time of day per lap.  We started at 4pm (Photo Don Lindley)

Fifth Loop

"How did I end up back out on the trail again?"

 "These speedcrosses are way better"

"Die mud"

"How did I end up on the trail again?"

"Run damnit, no walking"

"Case is coming"

"These saltine crackers are so dry"

"Just keep talking to Jenny (my pacer), time will move faster that way"


Sixth Loop

"Hey there's Mike"

"Hey there's Jason"

"I think Jason just hugged me"

"Run, Damnit"

"Where did my pacer go?"

"Run that hill"

"Vanilla gel taste good?!?!?!"

"Fuel all the way to the finish"

"Case is coming, no walking"

"Its almost over!"

"Its over."

"Chair!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Chair!!!!!! (Photo Don Lindley)

Ok that was some fun "thought vomit" from the race.  Real stuff is down here.  It was a great experience.  Came into the race feeling more mentally and physically prepared than I have for any race.  Some of this excitement died off when I noticed the weather forecast becoming more and more foreboding. 

I decided I was going to fight my cautious nature and go out with the lead pack and just see if I could outlast those guys.  It was a  pleasure to spend the first couple loops in the company of several other tremendous runners, all of whom were on a mission to kick ass and push their own individual limits.  In retrospect, with such a long race, through running with/against one another, we aren't necesarily competing with each other so much as with ourselves, and using the community experience to allow us to reach our limits.

In the end, I think the weather got a lot of people, and it nearly got me.  The start was 80 degrees and humid and then it dropped down to 48 during the night and continued to rain from 8pm till 5-6am.  My crew saved me from a DNF by sitting me in front of a heater for 25 minutes at an aid station and getting dry socks/shoes and a poncho onto me, before literally shoving me back out into the rain and telling me they'd see me again in 8 miles.  While I didn't every fully recover from the butt kicking I took out in the storm, it was relatively smooth sailing from then on.  At some point I became aware that my buddy Ryan Case was giving chase, and I forced quite a bit more running out of my legs than I usually am capable of over the last 25 miles or so.  I guess this is "running scared".

Mohican 100 Report

Spoiler alert - I finished.  Thanks to my awesome crew

Well its over, its done.  Another 100 in the books.  Mohican was everything advertised; challenging and scenic terrain, with a great sense of community.  And lots of beer. 

Following Gnawbone, my preparation for Mohican was going fantastically, logging weeks of 120 miles, 150 miles and 115 miles.  But it was at the end of this cycle, that I believe I made a mistake that put my race in jeopardy.  Coming down with a sinus cold, I raced the dexter-ann arbor half marathon, in the middle of a heavy training week, at about an all out effort.  I had hoped this would be a good speed workout, but in retrospect, it took too much out of my legs.  Maybe it sounds strange to say that, considering I feel like I am recovered from racing 50 miles after 2 weeks, but I guess my body just isn’t adapted to recover from a high intensity effort like a half marathon.  Anyways, every run after the half marathon, my quads would begin to ache after about 40-50 minutes.  To me, this was a classic sign of being overtrained, although maybe not severely.  I figured this would go away after a few runs, but it persisted all the way up to my last run on Wednesday before Mohican. 

Well, two more days rest and I figured I would be good to go, but in the back of my mind, I felt not 100% confident, very dangerous when approaching a 100 mile race. 

My crew and I arrived with plenty of daylight to spare on Friday, packet pick up went smoothly, and I had plenty of time to say hi to everyone I knew before dropping off the drop bags and hitting the hay.  

I woke up at 2:45, well ahead of my 3:30 alarm, but decided to go with it, and ate my two bagels with peanut butter and a banana.  I thought that would give me plenty of time to digest my breakfast as well as focus my brain.  The start came sooner than I expected, and before I knew it, I was saying adios to my crew, and trying to figure out where to stand in the masses. 

We took off into the darkness, headlamps slowly becoming helpful as we headed into the woods.  I chatted with Jason for a while, passed some people on a road section before heading into the tight single track, and settled in for the day.  In my short pockets I was carrying 4 gels, a ziplock baggy of salts, a ziplock with pretzel M&Ms, and I carried two waterbottles, one 26oz and one 20oz.  The 20oz contained my coke/sports drink mixture with about 300 calories while the other bottle contained water.  My crew was going to meet me at aid stations with fresh bottles, one containing water and one with sports drink mix.  

Shortly before the firetower aid, I found a couple guys to chat with and time moved rather quickly.  Past firetower, we began the 1st of our 2 long loops.  This section of trail had some nice descents, as well as a section of two gravel two track that allowed for the field to spread out a little more. 

Thanks Wikipedia

I made sure to keep eating, gels, and M&Ms on the first loop, along with a couple bottles of mix.  With the group I was with, we moved though some of the more interesting sections on the long loop, came into the Covered Bridge aid station, where I was happy to see familiar faces in Jay and Seth.  In and out, quickly onto what I thought was the best section of trail all day.  Lots of uphill, and smooth winding downhills to compliment.  Hickory ridge aid station was next, and I was in and out as quick as possible, and headed towards the start/finish.  On this section I was moving well, but started to notice some tightness or soreness in the vastus medialis of my quadriceps muscles.

At the start/finish aid I complained briefly to anyone around me that my quads were hurting too early, and was reworded with encouragement and a reminder from Farra that there is more to a leg than the quads.  Use the rest of your muscles dummy.  So I ran on, and tried to settle back onto my haunches a little to utilize my glutes and hamstrings more.

It is hard to express the sort of mental state I was in.  I was worried, disappointed, and unhappy that my quads were going so early, somewhat angry with myself for pushing too hard too close to such a big race, and soon thoughts of dropping and saving myself for another day were creeping into my brain.  I mean, at about 30 miles, if you're not feeling good, its easy to get overwhelmed with the thought of 70 more miles of torture.  Here, my crew saved my day.  They never let the thoughts of quitting become more than thoughts, anytime I saw them, they were cheery and genuinely encouraging.  That, and I am a proud S.O.B. who didn't want to let his friends see him quit. 

So I ran, and ran some more.  Then I ate some gels, drank some pop, and ran some more.  As it heated up, I popped S!caps every 45-60 minutes, and drank lots of water.  I caught some 50 mile guys and ran with them for a while.  It helped pass the time.  Soon I was at Covered Bridge again, always gaining some momentum from seeing familiar faces.  Here I grabbed my hydration pack, and dropped the faithful bottles that had served me well so far that day.

By mile 50, I had caught several more people and was told I was 3rd male, with Connie Gardner, David Lister, and someone from the West coast, out in front.  Surprised, as I was being somewhat negative still, I slipped past a couple more 50 mile or marathon runners, and headed for the start/finish aid station.

54  miles down, only a few more to go

I think it was here that my day started to turn around.  I saw a lot of friendly faces.  Ryan Case was there, reporting he had crushed the 50 mile in under 8 hours, which got me a little fired up and motivated to get my own race crushing done.  Hydration pack filled, Mountain Dew in my shoulder bottle, I was out the door, and finally starting to accept that my legs were going to fight me all the way to the finish line.

I power hiked anything remotely technical or steep.  It seemed to be helping me save  my quads for runnable terrain.  I grabbed a turkey sandwich and it somehow lifted my spirits.  This was my que that I needed more real food, and began searching aid stations for ramen, chips, and the occasional sandwich bite.  By the time I came into firetower aid, grabbed pizza and Ensure from Jenny and Ryan, and I was running like a mad man, and went tearing into the woods, finally finding a mental high and determined to ride it for as long as I could.  This next section was a technical series of short ups and downs, with an overall cumulative decent, which finally pushed my quads over the limit.  Soon after Covered Bridge, I tripped and did what I called turtle-ing where I landed on my full hydration pack and was stunned/stuck on my back with my arms and legs sticking out at angles.  Laughing a little bit at myself and glad I didn't sustain any serious injuries, I moved as fast as I could.  I was now 2nd male, and only had Connie Gardner and West Coast ahead of me.

Alas, I was not meant to keep moving up in the standings.  A runner who must have also been struggling early on, came flying by me on a downhill near mile 75, as I gingerly gimped my way down the steep decline.  He looked great, gave me some friendly words and I wished him well.  By this point in the race I was rooting for everyone else, and I hope the feeling was mutual.  

The plan had been, that at mile 76 I would pick up my pacer, Ryan, for a 10 mile stint until I reached firetower.  Most of it was hiking, and I didn't have a lot to say, but Ryan did exactly what a pacer should do;  remain positive, give your runner small goals to run towards, and help motivate them by finding other runners to catch.  Now on my fourth and final loop, I managed to reel in Connie Gardner, with what was destined to be some of my last real running of the day. 

 I also ran into my Mom, who had picked up more pizza for me.  I dunno what it is, but a slice of pizza on the run just works so good for me. Everything else after mile 90 was a shuffle/jog/power hike.  My Fenix headlamp worked great, but because I was not lifting my toes well, I stumbled quite frequently when attempting to jog.  In retrospect, my power hike might have been just as fast as the shuffle/jog.  I was power hiking past many runners on their 3rd loops without having to run.

The last downhills to the finish were brutal.  Painful on the feet, painful on the legs, painful on my brain.  But I knew I was going to be done soon, and was so close to the finish.  And then it was over.  I sank into a folding chair, exhausted, legs so tight I couldn't even manage to pull on my sweat pants.  After a good 6 hours of sleep, we headed back to the race start and cheered in the other runners and sat around making small talk. 

The next morning I hung around, had a beer, 2 quarter pounders with cheese and a large fry.  So good, something that I hadn't eaten since Kettle Moraine, over a year ago.  

Jason looking good after running 100 miles

Now looking back on what was Mohican, I can honestly say I gave my best effort that I was capable of that day.  I still am not sure if I ran the best race I could have, and definitely feel like I made a few mistakes leading up to the race.  Racing the Half was fun, but stupid, so I will learn from that.  Otherwise I was pleased with my race prep.  After Oil Creek going so well and experiencing few lows, I was slightly afraid to run another 100, as Kettle was such a learning experience.  Mohican, similar to Kettle, beat me down hard, but I survived, and maybe learned that just because I have some mental (and physical) lows, I can still perform.

3rd place!

Maybe a little more scouting would have helped.  I underestimated the terrain at Mohican.  It was quite a bit rockier in parts than I expected.  It seemed to have very runnable sections, and then sections that were incredibly steep and/or rocky and/or stupid. 

Things that went right:  stomach only annoyed when I took a couple bites of a krispy kreme pie, hydration was spot on, salt intake adequate, headlamps worked nice, 2toms anti-chaffing worked amazing.

Things that went wrong:  quads went too early, feet weren't prepared for rocky terrain (shoes mostly), had some GI issues early on, mentally was not excited about racing for the first 30-40 miles.

Food:  mostly gels and clif bloks, 2 ensures, 2 slices of pizza, 3 cups of ramen, 1/2 a turkey sandwich, 2 bags of pretzel M&Ms, 15 Scaps, 3-4 bottles of Mtn Dew, 3-4 bottles Gu Brew.

I really like to think I can run under 20 hours on the course, and next year, I am going to find out.

Oil Creek 100 Race Recap

Rolling into town.  Photo by Ryan Hagy

I cant think of any way to start this recap, except to say this race is awesome.   I guess because Oil Creek is only in its 3rd year, somehow I figured it would somehow be plagued with small logistical problems that take several years to iron out.  Boy was I wrong.

I am just going to dive right in.  Friday morning, my crew chief Hagy and I stopped at Whole Foods, grabbed some tastey looking foods and hit the road.  I picked Pad Thai from the hot bar, and along with jelly beans, a couple bagels and muffins, I had a carbolicious day.  As we came closer and closer to Titusville, PA, the roads began to move from gently rolling, to long steady uphills and downhills, something I rarely get to experience in Michigan.  And then we were there, Titusville Pennsylvania, birth place of the oil industry.  The terrain seemed foreign with wide valleys, fast flowing rivers, and roads winding between tall hills.

Hagy and I quickly set up our tent, securing a spot in the middle school parking lot, across from the race headquarters (Titusville Middle school).  We had time to kill before packet pickup started, and decided it would be wise to go check out the route to the Petroleum Center aid station, the only crew access point away from the middle school.   This ended up being a smart move, as it was really the only time I was able to take in the scenery without feeling a sense of urgency.

Old bridge

Hagy looking cool while we were surveying the area

The road to Petroleum Center aid was...  treacherous to say the least, funny thing was this was the only aid station the race director was comfortable having people drive to.  After checking out the sites we stopped by packet pickup, where I noticed my bib # was 117 (17 is my lucky #) and decided this boded well for the future.  Walking around the school I had the chance to talk to Jill Perry, a badass montrail athlete who was very enthusiastic about there new shoes.  I had the chance to get my hands on the Montrail Bajada - a shoe receiving glowing reviews from irunfar.com editor, Bryon Powell.  Expecting the small lugs found on the Rogue Racer, I was pleasantly surprised by the Bajada's heavy lugs.

I had packed my two drop bags during the week before the race.  Included food- a wide variety of gels, a bunch of clif shot bloks, red bull, ensure, and salt and vinegar chips.  I also packed fresh socks and shoes.  Last minute I gave Ryan some stuff to keep with him that could be useful, but really only for emergencies.  I figured everything essential needed to be in my drop bags.


It took a while to fall asleep, Jason stopped by at about 10:00pm, he made it to the race safely, but had to push a deer out of the road with his car.  Im glad he didnt get hurt.  Ryan had little trouble passing out, I was jealous.

I woke up at about 3:00am, ate a bagel and a couple tortillas with nutella.  I felt stuffed.  To stay warm I headed to the middle school where someone who worked at the school had made coffee for several early risers.  Score, I got a nice warm cup of coffee and relaxed for a couple minutes.  At about 4, I headed back out to the tent and put on my clothes, and dropped my drop bags.  It was a 5am start so I kept my headlamp and was ready for action.  I was excited to use my new fenix HP11 to light up the trails, but about 10 minutes before the race start, I noticed it wouldnt turn on!!!  Freaked out, I ran outside and luckily they hadnt taken my drop bag to Petroleum Center aid, and I grabbed my backup lamp.  Shit, this lamp wasnt nearly as bright as my fenix.  Disappointed, I had no choice but to suck it up and proceed.

Cool start photo by Ryan Hagy

I asked Hagy to take a look at the lamp, but figured the review I had read online suggesting it was too fragile was right and that I had accidentally broken it already.  This frenzy killed anytime I had to get nervous before the race start, and before I knew it, Tom Jennings said "go" and we were off.  I settled into a pace that I thought was appropriate and chatted with Jason and another fellow who was running his 42nd 100 miler (I think?)!!!  Keith Straw is awesome, a 2010 Grand Slamer, OC was his 10th 100 of the year, and all around friendly guy, I wanted to run with him and just soak in some knowledge.  The pace everyone was running at was perfect for me as I was watching my heart rate carefully and wanted to run conservatively for the first 50k-50 miles.

Keith Straw leading our conga line

 Running along, we had some nice conversations getting to know everyone in our conga line as we cruised our way to Petroleum Center.  Arrived at PC1 (1st time through) in 2:40 and change.  Knowing this was almost halfway through the 50k I felt like I may have been moving a little too fast (although a lot of people were ahead of me), but wanted to get in and out of the aid station.  Ryan had fresh bottles of water and amino waiting for me, so I grabbed them and then started the long climb up Heisman Hill.  I said, Hi to Kieth, but was power hiking strong (which I was very pleased with) and passed him as I moved up the hill.  The next sections kinda flew by, running alone most of the time I just settled into a rythm, focused on eating, drinking and enjoying the awesome sights and sounds.  There were a few more serious climbs on the backside of the 50k, which was definitely the slower half.  I came into the Titusville Middle School aid feeling great at almost exactly 6 hours.  Again Hagy had fresh bottles waiting for me and I refilled my pockets with gels and shot bloks and hit the trail.

We only had to run this 3x

I dont remember much of the 1st half of this loop.  I was feeling OK, but not as good as I had earlier.  Somewhere along the way I noticed I was heating up pretty fast and sweating more than I was used to.  Nice hot (75-80 degree) fall day.  I took off my shirt, at the risk of looking silly with my nipples duct taped, and occasionally splashed water on myself to keep cool.  I noticed I was getting thirsty more often and not drinking enough, and realized I hadn't peed in over an hour.  I immediately started pushing fluids and chugged a water bottle along with popping an Scap.  I maintained this attitude until PC2 and was feeling much better by the time I arrived.  I tossed my shirt (which I had been carrying in my waist band) into my drop bag, grabbed fresh water and more gels and immediately jumped back onto the trail.  Again, exactly 2:40 for this section.  Feeling much better once I was rehydrated, I maintained an aggressive power hike up the long steep climbs and soon found myself enjoying some smooth shallow descents, perfect for me and my thunder thighs.

Ashley Moyer making it look easy

Soon I ran up behind Ashley Moyer, a youngster (23) attempting her first 100.  She was looking smooth, and I was sick of running alone, so I asked her if she minded some company and chatted with her for a while.  Together we breezed past the 50 mile point and hit Aid#3 (mile 55ish).  I have a feeling Ashley is going to dominate some races in the future.  Alas, at this aid station, I lost my company as all I needed was water, and I quickly started up "Floking Hill" and "Rockefellers Revenge" some of the steeper climbs, while really enjoying the downhills. I did my best Killian Jornet impression, hands on knees, grunting up the steep stuff.

The last mile or so into the flat drake well loop is, in my opinion, one of the toughest sections of trail we ran all day.  Its downhill, but steep and technical, which really takes a toll on your quads and feet.  Then you dump out onto some pavement which added to my groaning foot discomfort.  Energy-wise I had been on top of my game, with little stomach issues, except some slight naseua when I think I over salted with Scaps too frequently.  I had been doing a great job of mixing up my fuel between gels, clif bloks and the occasional potato wedge, snickers, or twix bar.  This fueling strategy is now my go to, as I was averaging 250-350 calories per hour fairly comfortably.

Ok, Titusville Middle School Aid.  100k finished.  Again, this 50k loop clocked in at 6 hours (actually 5:59).   Knowing it would get dark soon, I dropped my bottles for a hydration pack, and even better, Hagy got my Fenix lamp to work!!!!!  This really had me pumped.  Turns out the 10 pack of new batteries I bought at Walmart were all duds - making me think my lamp was toast.  He put in some fresh batteries (awesome thing - they had batteries at the aid stations) and it was working again.  Here I made my only mistake all day. I changed out of shoes that were uncomfortable into my Speedcross 3s that I had added a high volume insole to a few days before and hadnt run in since.

Switching shoes and grabbing tunes before dark

I grabbed a slice of pizza, took a couple bites and stuffed the rest into my pocket for later :)  Armed with my 120 lumen headlamp and fresh socks and shoes I charged out to see if I could run another 6 hour loop.  I was hours ahead of my projected 24 hour goal.  Feeling pretty good for the hiking and running the flats, I quickly noticed that my toes were getting crushed on downhills. Not only that, but my gait changed slightly in these shoes and my quads started to ache on long descents.  Now I am not sure if this was because I was over 70 miles into the race or if it was because of the shoes.

Shoot, I left my sunglasses down there - will you go get them for me?

Doing a little more walking than I should have (I still need to get mentally tougher) I came noticed my pace slowing.  I finished off my pizza as well as a cup of chicken broth while power hiking switchback mtn.  It was dusk as I neared the top.  Then I heard a rustling in the woods, louder than a chipmunk.  I looked up, and there was a black bear standing about 100 feet off the trail, just looking at me.  Probably trying to figure out why I smelled so bad.  Not knowing what to do in this situation, but having read about Ellie Greenwood scaring away a bear at Western States, I raised my arms high, began shouting and carrying on.  The bear retreated, looking back at me, until I began making a racket again.  I proceeded down the trail as darkness set in.  From here on, anytime I heard anything in the woods I expected to see a bear, but thankfully did not. 

I came into PC for the 3rd time, but noticed I was at about 3 hours, 20 minutes slower than the previous loop.  Deciding my shoe choice was a terrible move, I put on a fresh pair of MTE101s I had put at PC just in case this exact scenario occurred.  It was here Hagy told me I was moving along better than many other runners.  That was all I needed to hear, and with a cup of Ramen left the aid station.  My feet were much happier as dusk ended and night set upon us.

Sadly, this sign is right.  At least I got 75 miles in first

The night was kind of uneventful.  I slowed down, partially because my quads blew up somewhere after mile 85, but I managed to get down the long last downhill section and run all the way back to the middle school.  Hagy was waiting - I sat down chugged a red bull, ate a cup of ramen, looked to Ryan, who indicated he was ready for his first pacing duty ever, in jeans and his 13 year old tennis shoes.  No worries, I wasnt moving very fast anyways.  7 mile victory loop here we come.  It was amazing to have company.  I had been running alone for almost 17 hours after separating from Jason and Kieth after about 2:40 into the race, and I think I proceeded to talk Hagy's ear off.

Somewhere on this section is the Boughton Acid Works, an old acid dumping ground, which was devoid of all vegetation and reeked of sulfer.  Kinda eerie to hike through at night.  Then we came to a giant suspension bridge over the major river the race travels around.  It swayed from side to side as we initially charged across.  I had to stop for a moment and take it all in.  Here I was in the middle of the woods, in the middle of the night, on the middle of a swaying bridge, having run over 90 miles and in 4th place.  I asked Hagy to turn off his headlamp for a minute and I did the same.  It only lasted a second, but I was flooded with positive vibes that can only come from doing what you love and conquering immense challenges.

Hill of truth about mile 4

We turned our lamps back on, climbed "The Hill of Truth" which was a long one, but nothing could stop me now.  Quietly I suffered the long downhill back to the road, and finally ran it in.  To aid station #4, which apparently was not the finish line.  After a brief celebration, I turned around and ran back to the actual finish at the back entrance to the middle school.  I found myself a chair and plopped down.  Ryan grabbed some warm clothes for me and I just sat there in a daze.  A PR of 20:52, almost 2 hours faster than Kettle. 

 

Come here foot, I want to take these socks off

All in all OC100 is a fantastic race.  Aid stations were well stocked, volunteers were super friendly and helpful.  Everyone was friendly and helpful for that matter.  The course is spectacular, old structures to look at, wildlife to scare, hills to climb, rocks to slip on, and pizza to eat.  Also we had hot showers available to us after the race (which I almost passed out butt naked in, be careful with hot water when you are exhausted).  I will be back.  Many thanks to Ryan Hagy for the company on the drive, being an excellent crew chief and pacer.  I have never had either of these things before, and I can see why people use them.  Pacers especially.  Ryan better be careful, he may end up being roped into more sleepless adventures.

Sub 22 hour 24k gold plated buckle - now I need a belt