My return to the Prickly Pear 50k 2008 occurred this last Saturday, March 15, 2008. The last time I participated in this event it was transformed from a 50K trail run to a 5.3 hour adventure race. The clouds came rolling in and we dealt with the entire catalog of rain conditions: rain, hail, low visibility, flooding, MUDDDDDD. That event occurred in 2006 and provided enough experience to fill my needs for 2 years. On Saturday I found myself towing the starting line at 7:00 A.M. with a flashlight in hand as the cover of darkness was still upon us.
My goal for this race was simple: to finish this race strong. My last race, the AT&T (3:36) was riddled with problems due to my lack of fulfilling hydration and energy needs. For this race I chose to take a completely different approach, a whole food approach to my hydration and energy needs. I chose to not take any supplements of any kind, not one. There would be not e-caps, no gels, not even an ounce of Gatorade or anything similar. Bottom line, if it could not be found in nature, I was not going to ingest it during this race. After much research I came to the decision to use Coconut Water to fulfill my hydration needs. There is a lot of research out there on this topic so I won’t go through the pro’s and con’s of it here but I can tell you that Coconut Water is natures Gatorade and will completely fill the hydration needs for any race. For my energy needs, I planned to eat a baked potato after each 10 mile loop provided by the race support.
So as I toed the start line this dark morning the weather was cool but not cold, the humidity was non-existent for Texas standards. Bill Gardner, the race coordinator provided us a quick run-down of the event rules:
- Run 3 10 mile loops
- The course is marked with chalk and orange ribbons in the trees
- Check in at the start/finish to ensure that there is no cheating
- 4 aid stations will be available
- Zero tolerance on littering, offenders will be banned from future events
- Have fun
And that was it. Bill then began the countdown for the race: 5 Seconds, 4, 3 (I love the w key approach to these ultra-events), 2, 1, Go!!!!!!!!! Immediately, everyone falls into the single line that the trails provide, there are places to pass others but others but typically it requires the coordination of the passer and the passie, but for now we all just navigate the course through the cover of darkness. Some of the racers are utilizing headlamps, some like me are just using small flashlight. All in all, the night portion of this race lasted approximately 30 minutes without any significant mishaps. There were a few runners tripping here and there but no one was taken out of the race. As the sun rose, I somehow found myself at the head of my group of runners. I was particularly happy about this because I was very content being in the mix of the group. Now I found myself leading this group and it is my unwritten responsibility to recognize the course markings. Thankfully I was able to keep us on course for this loop.
The trail itself consisted of single track through rocks, hard pan looping in out of the oak trees and grassy fields that make up McAllister park, fairly easy to navigate. Throughout the course there were only on a few spots that were particularly tricky. These spots typically have us taking a very steep but short downhill over hard rock. It was a problem on the first loop but come the third when every step is felt, then these become tricky.
I finished loop one with a time of 1:24 (8:21 Avg pace). As I came into the check-in area I’m told that I am in 7th place with the 6th place person right there in front of me. I noticed that he hadn’t taken in many fluids during the first loop; I’d consumed approximately 40 ml of my Coconut Water. With my Camel Pak empty I quickly made way to the bag drop area for a refill. This part of the race reminded me of the transition area of a triathlon. I was changing any gear but I had to tear down my camel pack, refill, and then expel any air before starting back on the course. I should have timed these stops, perhaps next year. On my way out of the bag drop I stopped by the aid station for some nutrition. I had expected there to be some baked potatoes ready but to my surprise there were none. Lesson learned, never trust the race organizer for your nutritional needs. Even the best will regularly come up empty handed. Regardless they had a wide assortment of foods available. I scanned the offering and chose a banana. As I began peeling it, I set out on my second loop.
On the second loop I found myself running with JT who happened to also be the 6th place runner. He let me know that I was welcome to pass him at any point; actually he had been telling me that for the last 4 miles. Before this loop, I was content with keeping an easy pace. This pace seemed to be working well for me but for this second loop I finally took him up on his offer and immediately jumped into 6ht place. The remainder of this loop went well, I was still feeling strong. My Coconut Water had not failed me and I found that I could take in large amounts and not experience those stomach pains or bloating that I encountered with other hydration products.
As I finished my second loop I knew that I should have been in 5th place, having passed two of the runners but it was difficult to gage because we also shared the course with the 10 mile runners. They had started 1.5 hours after us and made the navigation of the trails a bit tricky. The mix I found myself in were pacing fast compared to my 50 k pace and I regularly found myself having to jettison to the side allowing these runners to quickly pass me. As I entered the check-in point for this loop I quickly made way to my bag. Now I’m feeling like a nascar pit crew. I had to quickly take off the lids to my water bottles and then unpack my Camel Bak, which seemed much more difficult after 20 miles of running. After the refilling I made my way to the aid station, picked up my banana, and then set out for loop 3. On my way out, I found the person checking everyone in. I inquired about my place in the race. Here was the shocker of the day, I’m in 3rd place! How can that be. I felt good but I didn’t recall passing any other 50kers but it was hard to gage with all of the 10 milers on the course. Lap time: 1:24 (8:16 pace).
As I took off for loop three, I began to think about my plan for this final loop. Should I push it and try for 2nd or should I maintain my pace and hope for the best. I chose the latter because there was still 10 miles remaining in the race. Way too much distance to increase my pace over. On my way past one of the aid station I inquired about he distance between me and second place: approx 1.5 minutes. Maybe, If I maintain my pace. He’ll find some difficulty in keeping his pace and I’ll get that opportunity to pass. It was a very conservative approach but probably the best approach. In these longer events, the winner is not always the faster runner but the smarter runner. I hoped I was being the smarter runner at this point, we’ll see at the finish line.
Loop 3 was going well but at about 25 miles I ran out of Coconut water. I’m not sure how this happed but the sun was now upon us and I must have started taking in more fluids. What was interesting was how fast my body started breaking down once my fluids were no longer there. At 26 miles I started to feel fatigue set in, by 27 I was well into a mixture of walking and running. Knowing at this point that there was no way to catch second place, I chose to secure 3rd. I would continue to mix walking and running to conserve my energy. At every opportune moment I would gaze behind me to look for 4th place coming up upon me. If that occurred, I would grind it out but until then I chose to make the final miles as comfortable as possible. At one point I quite a scare, a runner who I thought was in the 50K came up on me. The adrenaline stated pumping and I made my best effort to keep ahead of him. This ridiculous scene kept up for the next half mile and then I dropped back. He must have heard me say a few words to myself because he then tells me that he is not in the race. Woooo Hoooo I’m still in third and now given a second chance I begin the slow approach to the finish.
The final miles of the race were painful. I tried to mix in as much running as I could but I found myself doing a lot of walking. I pushed on the final mile and it took all that I had to finish. Both calves were cramping up and every step was painful but I finished, and in 3rd Place overall, 2nd Male, 1st in my age group: A successful day in my book. My final time was 4:36:50 about 15 minutes behind second.
Looking back, the coconut water was a success. I consume approximately 88 ml over the race. I think if I would have had another 20 I would have been fine at the finish. I also consumed 2 large bananas. From now on I will continue this whole foods approach to fueling.
My prize (Already frosted for my micro-brew):
