In the last 18 years, I’ve done a good number of 50Ks, 50 milers, and 100 milers. Until this spring, I had never done a 100K. Now I’d like to help YOU do one yourself. Here’s my series, in four parts, on running a 100K, whether you are a seasoned ultra-veteran or just cracking into the beyond-50K distances.
Part Four: Ready To Race
In Part One of this training guide I upsold you on the idea of building a nice big base of mileage. In Part Two you learned to tackle the kinds of environments and terrain you will face in your event. And then, Part Three tried to give some guidance about health, along with caveats about what could go wrong in your body.
Now, in PART FOUR (4), we will tackle the actual event of you out there on the trails. Sometimes literally. Strategy, eating, pacing, all in a teeny-tiny nutshell of a package. This is going to be a whirlwind of info in a summarized form, so, in the words of my favorite Fizzler, let’s get into it.
Weeks Before Your Race: Sleep, Rest, Chill
The week or two leading into your race are pretty darn important when it comes to your success on the day of. You’ll be tapering off on both mileage and intensity, leading to some frustrating side effects: boredom, restlessness, fatigue, and crankiness. It’s Pre-ultraMarathon Syndrome, big time. For anyone in your life already frustrated with how much time you devote to your sport, they will get NO relief now with you moping around the house or whining about feeling fat or complaining that some muscle is feeling twinge-y. This might come as unfortunate or as a relief, but all of those things might happen and THEY ARE ALL NORMAL. I cannot tell you how often I feel like an injury is starting up in the middle of a taper, only to fade away by the time the race gun goes off.
Let’s say your taper takes you from 70 miles per week to 50 three weeks out, 40 two weeks out, and 20 the week before (not counting the race, of course, so you’ll actually be getting 70!). You will have more free time. USE IT TO SLEEP. Remember that sleep is your injury-prevention super supplement. Luxuriate in an extra hour or more each day. Next, eat well but don’t go crazy. Your appetite might be diminished, or it might not. Real food is key and should keep any perception of “fatness” to a minimum. Finally, chill the fuck out. Spend a little of that extra time reading a book, hanging out with family, or just going for a walk. Meditate if you do that. Mellow yo’self.
Race Week: Checklists and Gear
Gear is a pretty big topic in itself, and many many posts could be spent on gear alone. Here’s the gist for race week: don’t fall victim to the common yet very tempting practice of “panic gear acquisition”. This is the kind of purchasing that occurs in the final days before an event, when your brain is convinced that, YES, you DO need just one more pair of gloves, or a new headlamp, or a case of some new flavor of gel. You don’t need it, trust me. I have actually purchased new shoes and a set of crampons (yes, really) right before a mountain race and never used them.
Fine, go ahead and buy some gels if it will make you feel better. That’s OK. Just don’t buy new shoes and jackets and do-dads, thinking they are some kind of magical sauce for the race.
YOUR GEAR IS GOOD, and good is good enough.
Make a few checklists to keep your head in order: one for the “must take” on your trip, and one for “stuff in dropbags”. The “must take” list will have things that will comfort you during the trip. My lists look like this:
- special pillow
- earplugs/eyemask if helpful
- favorite hot tea and coffee brewing supplies
- slippers and/or really comfy lounging shoes
- cozy, warm and schleppy clothes
- larabars (snacks you prefer not to live without)
Then, do your laundry to make sure your favorite running clothes are ready. Get your drop bag(s) prepared with the things you will love and want throughout the course. Here’s an example of a drop bag checklist:
- drop bag supplies: the bags themselves, duct tape, pins, ziploc bags, TP, sharpie marker
- special foods you want: gels, powdered beverages, bars, treats – all non-perishable!
- lights and batteries
- clothes: hats, gloves, layers, warm stuff, rain stuff (use your discretion)
- other gear: bottles, sunscreen, lube, breath mints? (don’t laugh)
Other than that, use “normal” drop bag strategy: put items earlier than you hope to need them (especially true with warm stuff and lights), give yourself treats, and always pack extra ziplocs with TP.
The Day Before
Try to stay on your mellow path. Eat lightly but well, hydrate as much as is normal/comfortable, and enjoy the day. It’s easy to burn a lot of energy running around socializing, buying last minute stuff (didn’t I warn you?), and getting a little stressed before the race. Try to just be aware of when you want to be asleep and work backwards from that. If you really truly want to be ZZZZZZ at 9pm, don’t go out for dinner at 7 with your drop bags “almost done”. Bad idea that will put you in bed at about 11 at the earliest.
Pack some chamomile tea, a good alarm clock, and ideally a buddy who will wake you up if you are beginning to oversleep. You probably won’t, because the night-before stress tends to wake us all up about 12 times throughout the night, including every 8 minutes for an hour before the alarm.
Race Day! Woot!
Ok, you’re up, you’re dressed, you’re fed/caffeinated, you’re at the start. Now what? How are you actually going to finish this thing without staggering in for the last handful of miles?
Note: I am here pontificating at you from the baseline assumption that you have run at least one 50 mile race. Let’s just get that out of the way. If you’ve not, this advice is still relevant but might not have the same mental traction.
First, take it a little bit easy at the beginning. This is always relative. Relative to the course, to your natural speed, to the weather, to whether or not you pooped successfully, to a lot of things. That said, remember that you are going to tack on a big chunk of time and distance to a standard 50-miler. If you have a great day, it might actually feel like you’re just tacking on a “mere” 12 miles to a 50 miler. If you have a spectacular blow-up it will feel like you are tacking on 50K to your 50 miler. Choose wisely.
The transition in distance and time (possibly from 10-12 hours to a total time of 13-16 hours) should be managed well with some foresight.
Tips To Make Your Day Awesome
Calories. Stay on top of your food intake. As a person who tends to undereat at nearly every running excursion, this is critical in a race if you are spending any time at all beyond a light jog. Why? Because a very easy jog or walk or hike will burn predominantly from your fat stores, making calorie intake unnecessary (and this is actually more true in women – it’s just how we’re built). BUT. Bring your speed up to a run for a while, get overheated in the sun while jogging, or do a strenuous uphill hike and you will be tapping into glycogen stores and those WILL run out.
Have a plan for how often you’ll take in your nourishment, whether through real food or gels or sports drink or a combination. Be familiar with how foods react in your body. For example, drinking a calorie loaded beverage to wash down your gel might slow down absorption of BOTH. Gels need water to be diluted enough to digest. Solid foods should be eaten as they appeal to you, and in deference to what’s just ahead. About to slog up a long climb? Feel free to chow down because you’ll have some time to digest. Middle of the day and you have a hot hour of running ahead? Keep your stomach contents fairly simple and your electrolytes in balance. I do a combination of gels + electrolyte tabs + water OR a calorie/electrolyte drink in those situations.
Hopefully your feet survive this. Photo by Geoff Cordner.
Your Feet. This is simple. Keep your shoes free of rocks, address hot spots before they turn into blisters, wear socks that you LOVE, and consider putting alternate socks and shoes in one or more drop bags. Sometimes just having another pair of the exact same shoe that isn’t sweaty and dirty and grungy can be a nice swap at mile 40.
Your Skin. Protect from the sun as needed, and protect from chafing as you already know how. This is something that takes practice, unfortunately. I know folks who bathe in lube to go for a 5 mile run and I know some who have never used lube in their life.
Your Head. Here’s the nitty gritty, the whole enchilada, the gist of what’s going to happen out there. Remember that admonition to not buy lots of last minute gear, hoping for some kind of magical sauce.
Guess what?
Image courtesy of Rosally.
THE MAGICAL SAUCE IS INSIDE YOU
Have fun out there, and tell me how your race went!