Iron Horse 100 (Mar. 1, 2008)

Orange Park, FL (Jacksonville)
temps 48 to 77 degrees , sunny after 10am, heat index -- feels like 87 degrees

50 miles - 8hrs 46 mins - avg pace 10:32.

I ran an extra marathon (#99 Breast Cancer Marathon at Jacksonville Beach) just so my 100th marathon/ultra would be a 100 miler. Last year I came into this race two weeks after pulling my left achilles at the Rocky Raccoon 100. I had cut notches in my heel tab and was ready to drop if necessary at the end of each 25 mile loop. I stayed in because I moved into 2nd place. I slowed down the least and finished in 1st place. This year I got to wear the bib #1.

I am just about recovered from a right quad atrophy that developed after the 117 mile 24 hour run in San Fran last Oct. I had lost two thirds of my right quad leg strength. A strength imbalance remains between my left and right quads. I have been training about 3 miles a week to regain my fitness. I am now about 35 seconds a mile slower than last October.. Would that matter in a 100 miler?

I was thinking of using a run/walk strategy but at the Breast Cancer marathon, the Galloway pace groups were not able to keep up with their pace leader. I was hoping that the pace groups would be successful in showing that you could finish faster by taking walk breaks. I considered slowing down to a shuffle instead of walking. Another option was to stop at each aid station for 5 minutes to stretch out or whenever my pace fell below a 10 minute mile. I ended up taking 20 seconds every mile to hydrate. My 100 mile goal was a 10:48 pace for 18 hours - it would depend on the weather.

There were familiar faces from last year's Iron Horse, Luna Chicks 50, Tallahassee 50 and Old Dominion 100. I have difficulty remembering names. Chris from Orlando is running his first 100km. A couple of the runners mentioned that when they googled for blogs about this race, my race report came up. Someone I don't know may be reading this!

The first 25 miles felt easy and relaxed at a 9:43 pace. I was going faster than I expected. I think I got my aerobic fitness is back. I was running a leisurely pace -- I didn't want my shin splints to turn into stress fractures. Going into the race, my calfs were really tight; I felt sluggish. I had to be careful since my 4 month old injury originated from running track with tight calfs. I didn't run for a week to give my calfs a rest. I ran the Breast Cancer 2 weeks ago at the same pace for the first 26 miles but this felt a lot easier. If a week off is good, maybe two weeks off would be better. Since Dec. 1st, I've run 12 races, including this one: 3 x 50 milers, 5 x full marathons, 1 x half marathon, 3 x 5k races. That averages about 22 miles in a week in racing on top of 3 miles a week in training. Marathon pace has improved from 12:44 to 8:25; 5k pace has improved from 8:22 to 7:26. I am still trying to figure out the best combination of racing, recovery, training and tapering. I have had very little time to do lower body weight training. I've noticed my quads lose about 30 percent strength on the leg press the day after a marathon. In 4 or 5 days, the strength comes back, but it is too late to do weights because the next race is 2 days away.

The sun came out in full force sooner than was forecasted. I wasn't prepared. I was miserable between miles 32 and 50. Around 42 miles, I was thinking about bailing at 50. Amy Costa was 4 miles ahead of me at the 50 mile turnaround, She finished only 24 seconds ahead of me at Rocky Raccoon 100. But her 50 mile times are fast - 7hrs 21 mins on a warm day. I didn't think I could catch up to her. I may have stayed in had I not googled her race times on my iPod Touch Friday night at the hotel. More importantly, It wasn't much fun running in the heat. I would have to suffer another 3 hours if I had continued. Chris (the RD) and some seasoned 100 milers switched to 50 miles in the Old Dominion 100 when it was 95 degrees out. I continued on at OD for a 100 miles. I had nothing to prove here. Plus - there was a race medal for 50 miles and it would free up plans for Saturday evening.

I decided to switch to Gatorade at the mile 44 aid station. It made me nauseous. I didn't carry enough water for the heat. I guess I expected the hourly weather forecast to be accurate. I didn't super-hydrate the day before. 16 ounces per hour was too much for the first 32 miles but too little thereafter. Something about using a 16 ounce water bottle compared to cups at a marathon -- I didn't think to drink additional fluids while at the aid station. By mile 46 I was out of fluids. I got a couple ounces of water from a 100k runner. (thanks!). I came across a plant nursery and asked for water. I filled up from a spigot. There was a sub-division fountain/pond that was tempting to soak in. Had it been right next to me, I would have jumped in. It's a mind game where heat training would have been beneficial. I don't think I was in danger of heat exhausation but I just couldn't go any faster until I saw the finish line/turnaround - then I sprinted in. Miles 46 to 50 were the toughest.

With a better forecast, I would have banked some time by running the first 50 faster and relaxing for a few hours till the sun when down. Oh well. Hindsight.

Everyone was friendly and relaxed at the finish. Had I stayed in, I don't think it would have been as much fun around midnight - there would be fewer people around. If it looked like cloud cover was coming in, I would have gone back out. Instead I am saving my legs for the 170 miler in 4 weeks.

I finished in 8hrs46minutes, only slightly slower than my best 50 mile time at the 2006 JFK50. I ran that one in 8hrs40min on hilly terrain in cold weather. At Iron Horse, I was told I came in 1st for men. (I think a couple of runners didn't finish the 100k and received medals and placing based on their 50 mile lap time) Sarah Logan finished 1st for women at 7hrs47mins. I was running a leisurely pace for a 100 so I didn't run as hard as I would for a 50. I didn't carry any caffeinated gels that I would normally use to kick in the last 25 miles. My last 50 at Luna Chicks in December was 9 hours 58 mins -- so I improved by 1min25secs per mile.

I wore both calf guards and compression shorts. I think the additional insulation caused slight blisters on my forefoot. I wore the same shoe/sock combination for two other 50 milers without compression tights and did not get blisters. I have been wearing the calf guards in marathons -- they end up caked in salt. I'm still not sure if compression shorts create extra work for the hip flexors. I had plans to change out of the compression shorts at mle 50. My left quads got stiff around 30 miles in. It was my fastest 50 and 100 miler starts. Last year, I pretty much ran even 5 hour, 25 mile splits. My best guess is that I would have finished around 18:45 if I continued. It would have been a PR (from 19:52). Amy Costa did slow down but still finished in 17hrs46mins.

You have to plan for contingencies and visualize the scenarios before the race. Chances are if you improvise, something obvious will be forgotten. Mental acuity probably diminishes with heat. For example, even though I packed an extra pair of different running shoes and blister treatment supplies --- it did not occur to me to change shoes had I decided to stay in the race. Maybe, developing checklists would be a good idea.

I enjoyed a nice runners high on the drive back and it had carried over to the next day. I feltl like those runners who suffer through marathons and decided that 1/2 marathons are more fun. I know I have said that I like 100 milers because 50 milers are tough to compete in warm temps whereas a 100 miler allows me to pass runners after sunset in cooler temps. I think I will start at the 170 miler after sunset on March 27th to avoid running 2 days in full sun. I plan on recovering for a week, training for a week, and do a no running taper in the last 2 weeks.

Monday - My left quads are sore but surprisingly not tight. My shins splints have gone away. As my massage therapist would agree, ultras and marathons are so much easier on the legs than training 3 fast miles a week. Overall, I made some mistakes, learned a few things, and had a great time.

Saturday - I wished I had to stayed in - so I would have had a good chance of making Ultrarunning Magazine's top 100 list of fastest times for 100 milers for 2008. I made it on the 2007 top 25 list of the fastest men - 24 hours.

Later, I heard that Amy ended up in the hospital with an IV. So maybe the 50 mile option was the smart choice.