Born to Run 100K

When was the last time you did something for the first time? On Saturday May 14, 2011 I did my first 100K (62 miles), the Born to Run ultra. Here is my race recap to tell my story about the challenges I experienced and some lessons to remember.

I'm relentless in my pursuit to prove to myself there is nothing I can't do. I embrace the 'I can' attitude. Endurance events are just as much of a mental game as a physical one so choose your mantra and stay driven. My mantra, Relentless Hickey!

Signing up for an event keeps you disciplined and the specifics of eating and exercising will almost automatically follow from taking the event you commit to seriously. Given the date on your calendar to work toward, you know you've got to give 100 percent effort into training and do everything you can to get yourself ready. Its not that you wouldn't like to watch sports, drinking beer on the couch, it's just not important enough to make this trade off if you want to be active and participate in the game yourself. I thrive on setting a goal for an event then looking at every single detail to help get me to the finish line. On race day it's a test of my own assumptions for success.

I've read a lot of advice and there is no cookie cutter recipe for success. Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face. What separates those who succeed from those who DNF is what you do when you get punched in the face. Doing a 100K, it's just a matter of time until you hit the wall or something does not go your way so get ready for when the inevitable occurs because its how you respond in that moment that counts. When you reach that extreme state of fatigue you have to dig deep, reach inside and push through the obstruction.

The ultra experience is more of a primal state. The story may be told similar to how Alice in Wonderland chases the rabbit or Jack Sparrow visits Davy Jones Locker. You dip into a trance and stay there for a long time. At the start of the race on the first mile, I literally fell into my own rabbit hole.

I was running directly behind a group and landed in a hole up to my calf throwing me flat on my side. I picked myself up and recalled what the race director said, take responsibility for yourself. I stood up and decided to stop running behind people so I ran toward the front of the group to sort things out and luckily, came out unscratched. That was the start of my trance where I became acutely self aware. Self aware to make sure I felt ok, self aware of my own pace, self aware of each footstep on the rough trails, self aware of my surrounding environment, etc. The state of Davy Jones Locker has begun and I'd be there for an epic 11 hours 41 min.

After the first lap, I took of my shirt and ditched the ipod. Running through the grass fields you can let your hands down by your side and feel your fingertips brush through the grass as you navigate the
single track. When the wind picks up, you can take a deep breath and enjoy the clean ocean air. Its going to be a long day with the pendulum going between the primal states of thrive and survive so when
you have that runners high its time to milk the experience while it last. For me, it lasted for 55 miles, I could not believe it. For 55 miles I felt like I could run forever. Then on the ridge sometime after mile 55 I ran out of water so the last 7 miles were like hitting the wall trying to deal with catching back up on hydration.

Your body starts with about 2,000 calorie reserves so the first two hours of the endurance event primarily spend the calorie reserve you started with. Between hours two and three, most people hit the wall
you often hear described in the marathon which is when you have burned through these calories. Track kids who don't pay attention to this can rock a 5K, 10K or even a half marathon but blow up on the marathon and beyond. So during an ultra event, you have to execute a nutrition plan to stay ahead of the curve. For me, I don't wait until the 2,000 calories I started with depletes and work toward replenishing my tank with a Gatorade and Gew every 5 miles. If I was able to consume this the entire race I would but at some point you literally get sick of the sugary concentrate. Diluted Gatorade and water taste a lot better toward the end of the race but you'll need to factor in how water flushes out your sodium so salt tablets at each aid station become a must. Real food also settles your stomach down so I had a nice hot grilled cheese sandwich, cantaloupe and a red bull for lunch which kept me going. Crazy but you also need to monitor how often you pee as a sign of keeping hydrated.

A crew can also help you succeed during an ultra by serving as a pacer and monitoring your nutrition. During the miles I'm familiar with, I actually served as the pacer and reminded my friend Scott to fuel because he must have skipped aid earlier in the race and was trying to catch up. After I helped him along the way on his nutrition issue, he returned the favor and helped me re-hydrate and pace last 7 miles when I needed it. We both went through cycles between thrive and survive and partnering up to be each others pace & nutrition crew we achieved more than I would be able to accomplish alone.

The impact this event has on my life is the realization that sometimes we need that punch in the face to overcome the inertia of your normal routine. I can't wait to hit training with my whole new perspective. And yes, the ultra belt buckle 100M 24hrs will be a future endeavor because I'm going to need that buckle to hold my pants up after all this running, ha!