Autumn 100 thoughts

Just a few thoughts on things that could be improved for future races. These things are all a learning experience and everyone I bring new ideas to the next. 

- Pace, pace, pace. Go out easy dammit!

Yep. I knew better. I knew I was going out too fast, even at the 8-9 minute mile pace I was at. The guy who got third started easy and finished further up just as expected. He was top 30, not top 10 the first 25 miles. The race starts at mile 70. This was my main fault in this race. I may have been over confident because training had gone well and decided to push it. The reality, if you start slow you can always go faster at the end rather than be reduced to a crawl.

- Feeding, potato chips and trail mix-

I've never really considered a plan for eating, or what I really prefer. For A100 I tried to eat a gel at about 30 minutes out from an aid station, I'd usually be at the next station within 30-45 minutes. This worked even though I don't care for gels. My sugars and energy felt fairly consistent throughout the race. I ate quite a bit of real food at aid stations, especially when there was more substantial options like pasta and cake, however sitting around eating and not moving likely added to my time. I don't care for the British "nibbles," sausage rolls, cheap "cakes," candy, and other bland British snacks. I was really drawn to the potato chips and trail mix, surprisingly even more so than fruit. I'd guess this is a good thing as the latter is far more calorie dense. Peanut butter sandwiches seem like a great option but I end up gagging on the dry bread. Soup broth was exceedingly good but is usually too hot to chug and I end up wasting time. Also since many races are going cup less, and requiring you to carry a cup, I'd need a new cup. The collapsible cup I have isn't insulated and doesn't stand on its own which is no good for hot drinks and only for quick drinking. 

- Consider a light watered down energy drink. Drink more and early.

As always, despite trying, I didn't drink enough early on. I suffered from cramping on the second leg after mile 25. Then peed coke until probably mile 55. I need to figure out my sweat rate which is easily done and form a plan. Then stick to it. 

I think I may have accidentally drank some energy drink known as Tailwind that everyone raves about. I "think" because it was so mild it was hardly noticeable. I like that. Not loaded with sweetness or flavor. It's a good way to get more calories and keep hydrated so possibly a consideration to experiment with.

- Rain jacket was crap.

My jacket, although super lightweight, worked about as well as a tissue. I was cold and wet. If the race had been longer things could've been jeopardized. After I finished I looked at the seam tape and it was peeling off in parts. Very disappointed in the Montane Minimus. I understand lightweight isn't durable but this thing sucked. Maybe it is old? I don't know. But next time I'll sacrifice a little weight for more quality.  

- Knees!? What the hell?

No idea what caused the knee pain, something I've never dealt with. The only things I could consider would be more 20 mile plus long runs and more strength training. Both are areas of training I neglected due to whatever reason. The long runs are very difficult to get in as they cut in to family time unless I get up at 3am or take time off work. I'm proud to say I broke into family time only a few times and usually it was a boring Sunday afternoon, the wife had a chance to sleep all morning, so I'd duck out for 5 miles. Someone commented on Facebook congrats to my wife for allowing the training, the reality is I made time around my family and most of my running was out of sight of anyone. Some mornings my wife had no idea I'd even ran and I'd been out for 10-15 miles! 

- No blisters no chafing! 2Toms Sportshield wipe, I believe around mile 55, could've saved me.

I meant to reapply BodyGlide whether I needed it or not at miles 50 and 75 (Goring). I remembered after I'd left and had a 2Toms wipe in my race vest. I got it out and hit the possible chafe zones: crotch, thighs, arm pits. The only tiny bit of chafing was around mile 97 after becoming thoroughly soaked by the rain my inner thighs began to get it a little. Unsure if this would've been prevented with reapplication at mile 75 but I had gotten that far with no issues and was happy. I need a small checklist at my drop bag to remember the key things like this.

No blisters at all. Not even a hint of a hot spot! I changed shoes and socks, with a thorough feet cleaning at mile 75 at Goring. Obviously shoe fit and socks make a huge difference however other things like foot strike come into play as well at reducing shearing. Either way very happy I don't have to worry too much about this issue that plagues some people.   

- Aid station time? Moving time?

The question is how much time did I actually spend at the aid stations? I wonder if there's a way to figure it out? If time allows I may have to dig a bit into the Suunto and Strava data and see if I can figure it out. I know for a fact as the race goes on I do spend more time eating, stretching, changing shoes, etc. but how much? According to Strava I was not moving nearly 3 hours 15 minutes! "Not moving" is just that. So aid stations, pee breaks, stopping to dig out a headlamp, etc.. Obviously the main thing is aid stations. I tend to talk to the volunteers and likely waste a lot of time doing so. Cleaning feet and a shoe/sock change, eating real food, waiting for hot drinks to cool off, are a few obvious ways aid stations take longer. It's hard to be mindful of these time killers when you're out of your mind though, this is a key job for pacers and crew. 

I initially had estimated an average of 5 minutes at 15 aid stations. So, 75 minutes of aid station time overall. I think that's attainable if I'm mindful of it, intermediary stops should be a fluid fill up and food grab. Not a stop, eat, talk. Maybe bringing a bag and to fill with food to eat and run with would work? Then at drop bag stops a slightly longer stop for fluids, eat, socks, shoes, BodyGlide. Once again thinking of eat and run. A bag full of pasta is edible on the move so why not? Seems like a good idea. 

Autumn 100 Race Report

Finisher's shirt. Zoom in to see the route.

My taper had been less than I had hoped leading up to the Autumn 100. I'd not been doing anything really besides running in my jeans back and forth between work and where I park my car, just shy of 3 miles round trip. I just didn't feel like it. I knew nothing long would help, it was time to rest.

That all changed a few days before the race. I was itching to run, excited for the race, even a bit nervous. The taper had worked. I poured over pacing charts trying to decide on a plan. Finalized my race vest and mandatory gear. My drop bag was loaded with spare clothing since you never know what the autumn British weather will throw at you. Running is a simple sport, ultrarunning to me seems to make it over complicated. I'll run how I feel, throw any pace plan out the window, and thrive or suffer. I'll deal with any problems as they occur. Just keep moving and finish, the number one goal.

Friday I had the kids all day, they didn't have school due to a teacher training day. I had a hotel room booked in Swindon, about a hour's drive away. I'd likely leave after bedtime for the kids. Everything was ready to go. 

I woke at 630, after the best night's sleep I've had in months, ate some breakfast, organized my race stuff, and was on my way. It would be around a hour to the race start in Goring. I stopped for coffee and cobbled together some race food. I'd neglected to bring any for some reason. Energy gels are just too sweet, I have trouble choking them down. I'll adapt as needed and eat to move, whatever I need to.  As I enjoyed that sweet black nectar I checked the weather. No rain forecast until 6am the following morning. Excellent to see! However I didn't notice today's humidity.

Goring and Streatley are two small villages, each on one side of the River Thames. They are a ways upstream from London so the river is relatively small. As I crossed the bridge from Streatley to Goring there were all sorts of locks, weirs, boats, and activity going on. A beautiful little place. The race headquarters was at the Goring Village Hall, this would be the start, finish, and also a major aid station after the first three out and back sections of the course. I was initially going to park at the train station for convenience and due to the fact a friend from Minnesota was going to meet up on Sunday as he was in London on business. I opted for a side street just a short few minute walk from the town hall. I thanked myself for this decision after the race! 

I ambled up to the town hall with my drop bag and race vest. It was warm out and cloudy, maybe in the low 60's, upper 50's. As soon as I walked in I was shown the "kit check" station. A volunteer made sure I had all the required gear for the race, then gave me a poker chip to confirm with race registration I was clear. At registration I received my race number, some pins, was asked if I have any pacers (no), and was shown where to put my drop bag. A guy grabbed my bag and put it in numerical order on a stage behind the registration tables. 

My drop bag was unusually large. I'm normally a pretty low key person when it comes to this stuff but with the weather being unpredictable I had multiple changes of socks, long sleeve shirts, short sleeve shirt, hats, gloves, tights, even a spare rain jacket! The usual was in there: spare Altra Lone Peak shoes, BodyGlide, blister kit, headlamp, food. But this time I also was using a new set of bottles, so I had spares. I normally had used cycling bottles but I gave in and had been trying out some soft flasks. Essentially a bottle sized camelbak that is soft (duh!) and collapses as you drink from it reducing space, sloshing fluids, and having a rigid plastic bottle against your chest in your race vest. I wanted a back up in case these failed so I had spare soft flasks and a set of cycling bottles. 

Now we wait. I had gotten there early and had time to kill. So I basically stared at the wall for an hour and a half. I spotted a handful of the race favorites, including the guy I beat at Snowdonia 50. I was tempted to talk to him but my initial impression of him before was that he was kind of a dick and I really toyed with him in that race. I guess I shouldn't judge. These races seem to draw a large population of people from London and they all seem to know each other. It's a cool community just like what I assume it's like in the US. People of all abilities supporting each other with positive vibes, pretty cool. I see these communities and always have wanted to be a part of them. I was jealous and just wanted to rap with someone I'd met in a race in the past but no luck. I guess I had my opportunity just didn't take it. I checked my watch. 

Soon was the pre-race briefing. I missed the most important part because they started early. The weather. All I got was no rain until 6am. Just what I wanted to hear! I was planning to be done before 6am, that'd be awesome to walk across the finish and have it start raining! Shortly after we were all walking down the street to the start. We crossed the bridge into Streatley and gathered on a section of the Thames Path. The Thames Path is a national trail that follows the River Thames. Centurion Running put on another ultra in May that is a point to point 100 that follows it, I'm registered for the Thames Path 100 next May. Following along the river, you guessed it, it basically flat. 

The race course was four out and back segments from Goring. This first one went out the Thames Path. The race began in the mellow fashion as these seem to do. I settled in ahead of the crowds comfortably in the top fifteen. I talked with a few people here and there but mainly kept to myself. The pace was faster then I wanted but damn is it hard to run slow! I'd guess we were around 830-900 minute miles. I wanted 10 minute miles but just couldn't bring myself to do it. I'd pay for this later. At Western States last year I went out insanely slow, but it was easier since it was all uphill, and I learned the benefit of slow being able to run the last 40 miles effectively. This year, I knew better, but just didn't do it. I don't know why, maybe I felt comfortable where I was, maybe I felt like this is where I should be. Either way I motored on. 

PC: Stuart March Photography

It was hot and humid. Probably more humid than hot, the sweat dripped off of me, and soon I realized the importance of drinking. Once again looking back I should've drank more. I felt fine, was taking salt tablets and eating, just should've drank more. The first two aid stations flew by. The food selection was minimal so I settled for gels, which I hate (too sweet), but they serve a purpose and work well. I was focusing on aid station to aid station. I never once looked at cumulative time or miles. It's much easier to digest 4, 6, or 8 more miles at a time versus 76. Besides every station was a mini break, a talk with positive people, food, water, things that are always welcome when you feel like shit. Mini goals seem to break it down and it worked extremely well.

PC: Stuart March Photography

I was running fine in 10-12th place. Feeling great and just motoring along. The Thames Path followed single track along the river, went through little villages, marinas, and in from of huge boathouses full of row boats. Some of the homes were insanely big. Huge grass gardens flowed up to the river keeping the main houses safe from flooding.  The boat houses appeared to be extremely high end facilities likely tied into a private school. They looked like factories that create Olympians. My boss later confirmed this! Also you could see remnants of World War 2, concrete pill boxes with gun ports scattered alongside the river hidden in the trees, obviously built to welcome German boats coming up river. This history fascinates me, I wish I had more time to read about it, it's everywhere and scarily recent.

Soon we arrived at race HQ, Goring. In and out in less than a few minutes, not much was needed other then food and water. Section 2, I went this time following the Ridgeway National Trail. The humid temps were taking their toll and cramps fluctuated around my legs. I soon was deciding this would be my last 100, mentally I was crashing, why would I do this for the rare weekend away from family when I could use this time to do something way more fun? These things are so unbelievably uncomfortable! I felt like shit. My vision seemed to become tunneled and I had a searing pain under my feet much much like they were on hot coals. The Ridgeway was nice single track once we were outside of town but it seemed to be one long uphill, despite the scenery I was given no mental uplift. Easy to run but when you feel horrible easy to walk. 

I became very emotional, thinking of my daughter who has daily physical challenges with mild ataxic cerebral palsy, and I'm complaining about pain I put myself through voluntarily. I unfortunately had missed her tae kwon do grading to do this race and I felt bad. She had worked so hard and I couldn't be there. It happens I guess, besides I had signed up a year ago. I just wish I could see her during one of these races at the finish preferably. It would mean so much to me. I like to think she sees what I do, how hard I work to fit it all in, and gains some inspiration from it. 

The discomfort continued. The eventual third place finisher ran with me for a bit, a very positive guy, I think that's the key to these things. I hit the far aid station and took a few minutes to stretch and eat. I talked with the very friendly volunteers before they encouraged me onward. My accent aroused curiosity and I mentioned Minnesota, of course everyone in the ultra world knows Scott Jurek. I told them I ski raced against him briefly and that his younger brother was a much stronger athlete, not sure if anyone knows that but it's the truth. The conversation was a much needed positive boost and distraction. I headed downhill and I was on fire. Any pain and cramping I had was gone. I was running like I was fresh and pushed it the entire way back to Goring! The mind is primary. Control it, don't let it control you. It will always try to shut you down. 

PC: Stuart March Photography

PC: Stuart March Photography

At Goring I grabbed my wind jacket from my drop bag, made sure my headlamp was accessible and on I went. Darkness was falling and soon we'd be running via headlamp. Out the Ridgeway the other direction. I was feeling good but got a little confused as to were to go. After a 200 meter out and back, a few shouts and pointing from the aid station and I was heading in the right direction. Supposedly it was a two mile climb then fairly mellow rolling terrain. My hydration was normalizing finally and I chugged my way up the road. I spotted a guy ahead of me, he was sitting facing downhill. He said he'd been puking and was done, ready to walk back to Goring and drop out. I encouraged him to start walking, eat, drink and soon he'll feel better. Much better than tomorrow when he'll regret dropping out! I never saw him again. 

I made an emotional video and sent it to my wife wishing the kids good night. It took a while to send which was annoying. I think it freaked my wife out as she never showed the kids. Unless you've ran an ultra or been around them a while you have no idea how crazy emotional people can get. It's the oddest thing and it comes out of no where. I don't think my wife will ever understand that.

Soon I was in no mans land. I couldn't see any head lamps in front or behind me. I chose to keep mine off as long as possible. The trail was a gravelly double track through farmland. Easy footing. Soon I had snuck up on a guy in front of me. He never knew I was there with my light off! I think he thought I was weird. We bounced back and forth. I was starting to fade again and I could see lights behind me slowly gaining ground. Fortunately I was at the far aid station of this leg. I was oblivious to the fact that I had ran nearly 65 miles, I'd done a great job of focusing on the immediate goal and distance to the next aid station. The station at Chain Hill was littered with Christmas lights and had dance music going. They had a decent spread of food, I'd been mainly eating chips, fruit, trail mix, and GU, but here they had vegan chocolate cake and I believe vegan ginger cake. It was super good and besides being vegan a nice change of pace from the usual British food options. Speaking of vegan I did my best to stick to my plant based diet however likely broke it eating some form of gelatin in gummy products, whatever, it's a race! 

I headed out and tied in with a guy and girl focusing on a pretty solid run walk plan. We made pretty good progress working together, 6 miles to the next aid station, in, out, and seemingly in no time we were near Goring and running the final two mile descent into town.

Goring had pasta and sauce which was glorious. I filled my belly, chugged some really shitty dehydrated coffee, with rain on my mind and 25 or so miles to go, on to the final section. Down stream following the Thames Path to Reading. Quitting never crossed my mind. 

The initial path was actually mildly hilly, winding up the steep river bank I can only assume. It was only 4 miles until the first aid station, likely scenic in the trees but running via headlamp there's not much to focus on. I left the path and onto village streets and sidewalks. The aid station was a short maybe quarter mile up a hill (out and back) in possibly a town hall or community center. In and out, back the way I came downhill and back on the Thames Path. I recall winding through suburban looking neighborhoods and then onto a single track path through seemingly endless pastures. I was moving along ok but was pretty beat up. That's when my knees began to act up. Out of no where both knees were in an odd pain. The left one reducing me to a limp. I'm not dropping out now, no fucking way! It worried me as it wasn't just muscular pain, it was the joints, and it could possibly cause injury. 

I hobbled on and realized it went away when I ran. If I stopped to pee or walk slow it returned. So on I went power walking, running, and leaving a squiggly line of urine on the ground, refusing to stop to pee! It all worked. I wasn't going fast, but I was going. Soon I was on a paved path and was able to focus on swapping running and walking between lamp posts, park benches, and garbage cans. Reading must be near as I was going through business parks, marinas, civilization. My watch read 7 miles and the aid station and turnaround was at 8.5. 

Soon my watch read 9.5 miles and my mind is flailing, where the hell is the aid station! Finally around 10-10.5 miles (according to my watch) I get there! Of course it's upstairs in some building. Stairs!? Thanks! Anyway, chips, trail mix, really shitty coffee. I'm out, well probably a little slower than that implies. I likely talked to the aid station people a bit as I always do and then finally motivated. The social contact with people talking about ultrarunning is always awesome, something I rarely get to do. 

Somewhere between 13-15 miles to go! No rain. The guy I'd been bouncing back and forth with left a little ahead of me. He said he couldn't run anymore so I was assuming I'd catch him with the pace I was doing. I trudged onward knowing there wasn't much left and it wasn't raining, thank god. Most people I saw were in the same place my mind was on the way out, wondering where the hell the aid station was! I was feeling ok other than my knees, but was curious why I hadn't caught the other guy. 

I was at the annoyingly endless meadows when I caught him. He had an insanely fast hiking pace which is why he'd held me off. I was glad I caught him as this is just what I needed. We joined forces, as you to, with the main goal of finishing. When you feel this bad you could care less about your place or time, you just want to be done! We motored through the suburban looking neighborhood and were at the final aid station. We ate quick and, yes, put on our rain jackets! With only 4 miles to go it started. 

The end was so close and the rain came down hard and cold. I was immediately chilled and uncomfortable, borderline shivering. I even had put my rain jacket over my wind jacket in hopes of retaining some heat. The trail seemed to immediately turn to ankle deep puddles and slippery, silty, river sediment. We attempted to avoid the puddles for some reason and the other guy nearly fell a few times, his Hoka shoes providing very little traction. I was good to go in my Altra Lone Peaks. Monotonously one foot in front of the other we power hiked doing 4 plus miles per hour. Not bad all pain and sleep deprivation considered. 

The rest of the field of runners was on their way out towards Reading. I felt bad for them but inspired as well. They still had nearly 22 miles to go, they persisted in the rain, and I'm assuming they all got to the end. Sometimes it's the slowest people who are the ones to look up to, not the fastest. 

We were off the trails and on the tarmac running along the paved paths parallel to the river and nest town. Soon we could see the bridge over the river from Streatley to Goring. We had done it. We crossed the final tracking mat and into the village hall at Goring. Some guy handed me my belt buckle and asked me my shirt size. Next I was ushered in front of a black curtain where the photographer we'd seen all day was taking finisher photos. This guy was still having the best time of his life! 

PC: Stuart March Photography

PC: Stuart March Photography

And that was that. No fanfare or cheering. Only a tired high five. Random people sat staring at the floor in exhaustion. I got my drop bag and a volunteer gave me some pasta, then some more, and yeah, one more. I stripped my soaked clothing off as best I could in the cramped bathroom and put on dry running gear. My street clothes were in the car. 

I wandered out into the dark and rain and made my way to the car. I had pre-placed my sleeping bag and pad, folded the seat down, and placed anything I'd need within reach, mainly my pee bottle. I climbed in and lie there too wired to sleep. I maybe got 30 minutes until my friend Aaron got in touch. He was in London for work (after traveling from Singapore and the US!) and would arrive via train to Goring within an hour or so! Not that I was going to sleep anyway!

Unofficial results

Official finishing time was 20 hours 47 minutes. 23rd place overall. According to my watch my moving time was 17:36 so by doing the math I wasted a fair amount of time standing around! I sure don't recall that much aid station time but it can add up considering there were 15 stops. I'll need to look into that as that's an average time of 12 minutes at each stop! Unlikely but I could've had a few longer stops particularly at Goring and the far turn turnarounds (7 total). Anyway, discussion for another post! Click HERE for a link to the Strava post if you want to see a decent map or dork out on numbers:

PC: Stuart March Photography

PC: Stuart March Photography

Almost done with an Autumn 100 race report. Been slowly chipping away and trying to recall what I experienced. Been back running and trying to get into the groove of it again. Going to be tougher as the wife has finally decided to start going to the gym. She leaves at 530am so I'll likely get up earlier. I don't mind, I'm really happy she's doing something other than work. When I first moved here she went all the time and really enjoyed it. Work stresses her out to no end which usually falls on me. I hope her hitting the rower, her favorite, helps. 

Well I survived. An Autumn 100 finish adds another belt buckle to the collection, and another ticket in the Western States lottery! Every time I do one of these I think “what a stupid idea, what a waste of a weekend away.” Then when it’s over I’m ready for more. It’s unreal how bad you feel at times. Anyway, I’ll do a race report hopefully sooner than later, likely later.

Autumn 100 is this Saturday. 10am UK time start. Google the race name and you’ll find all the details on the Centurion Running website, tracking info will be there too.  I’d assume they  (Centurion Running) will have possible front of the race updates via Facebook and Twitter too.

I’m spending the night in a hotel in Swindon Friday then driving down 45 minutes Saturday to the start in Goring and Streatley.

I’ve done what I can do training-wise to the best of my ability. Surrounded by kids who demand attention and no real support network I had one of the best streaks of consistent higher mileage weeks ever. I’d liked to have ran 2-3 more 20 milers but feel the higher mileage weeks will hopefully make up for it. My Minnesota visit really tired me out and put a wrench in the routine but was worth it.

I’m struggling with the idea of starting slow. An 11:30 minute mile average pace will likely be a top 15 finish time under 19 hours (added in to that is dead time at aid stations). Last year top 25 was all under 20 hours. That’s too slow to me, but fast in a 100 miler. I figure 15 aid stations with an aversge of 5 minutes at each (some more some less) will tack on 75 minutes to the finish time. So moving time keeping pace of under 10:30 minute miles as a really rough average could be a reasonable target. Well, at least for the first 70 miles. Then I’ll hopefully fully be able to go a little faster.

The thing to keep in mind is this is a relatively flat race compared to others I’ve done so walk breaks for big climbs won’t really happen. Consistent pacing seems to be crucial.

I’ve got my watch set up to monitor my current and overall average pace which will hopefully keep me in check for the first 3/4, at least that’s the plan. Then I just need to be sure I eat and drink.

I’ve always thought I could do well at these races once I figured out the strategies of all the nuances of the ultramarathon. I’ve experienced the sleep deprivation, vertical, heat, cold, my equipment is dialed, at Western States I learned to start slow, but I do feel I need to fine tune my feeding, I don’t eat enough. Maybe this will be the race it all comes together?

Whatever happens it should be fun and I’ll do my best. As usual in the UK I’ll be alone, no crews are allowed anyway, but it’s always awesome having family there. I understand it’s a long boring race to follow and running is an enormously selfish act, but I like to think my kids look up to me and the things I do. I’m always jealous of the people who get to cross the finish line at races like Western States, UTMB, and Tor des Geants with their kids. That will always be a dream of mine.

So this will likely be my last post until after the race. Stress reigns high here as always. I take the brunt of it. I hope I can conjure some PMA to keep the evil away. Negativity is a poison. Stress is a poison. I do my best to let positive thoughts triumph.

I just deleted my entire post, not that it was much, just a short what's going on.  Life's been crazy ass busy and the first thing to take a back seat is the Internet. Anyway, a little motivation:

"If you are always comparing yourself to mediocre people, that's exactly what you will be mediocre.

A lot of people think that they are at the top of their game in life because they are the best among a group of people who don't even give a fuck. 

Mediocrity feels so fucking good. If you wake up and don't want to workout, all you have to say is “fuck it, I don't give a shit!” And if you're mediocre, you are probably hanging around other mediocre people, so they are happy that you don't add pressure to their life! One big happy soft ass family!

People don't like hanging around that dude who makes them feel uncomfortable or like an underachiever on a regular basis. People stay away from the fucking savage who wakes up at 0330 regardless the weather, if they got a good night’s sleep, if their life sucks and times are hard. People stay clear of them. Those kind of people make you question yourself. They also let you know where your life ends and their life begins.

Don't hang around with people who say “it's ok, you deserve a day off.” Hang around people who make you uncomfortable because they are on a quest to find more. 

Comfort is a fucking drug and once you get used to it, it becomes fucking addictive.

Don't be an addict and live your fucking life the way it should be lived."

--- David Goggins