#9 - Sulphur Springs 50M

So the idea of the race was to get a good round of trail running and not get hurt before the 100M in July. I also wanted to try out different things during the race to see how my body would react: 1) Boost shakes every 20k - at start/end; 2) Gels every 20k - midway during each loop; 3) Chia every 20k - at start/end; 3) Run with one bottle of Gatorade only; and 4) No run/walk shuffle - I usually walk 2min every 15 or 20min (I would only walk hills on loops 1 & 2 - later meaning loop 3 & 4 anything that had an incline). I have never tried boost during a race, I have always taken gels very 1hr or ~10k, Chia I've done in the past and I has been great for me, and lastly I have always run with two bottles (1 water and 1 Gatorade). Plan was to split the race in 2: 1st 40k in 4hr or less and 2nd 40k in 5hr or less.

Race started very well and felt pretty good however since this time around the race is more like a long training run I did not taper and I was unsure how I would hold up. First two loops were excellent and everything went as planned (food, liquid, pace) and really enjoyed myself. I was a bit ahead of pace since I finish the first 40k in ~3:40, and I also knew that at some point during loop 3 I was going to start feeling tired/down. I changed shoes/shirt and even though I didn't really needed to it was a nice refreshing change that lasted for about 10min! Mud was everywhere and getting worse as over 500(?) runners had done considerable damage (back to the race no more mud related issues as Seaton takes the cake in that regard). Since I was planning for a low point during loop 3 when it came just before half way, maybe km 47, I just slowed a bit had an early gel/some pretzels and kept going not putting too much pressure and roughly 5km after it hit I started to feel somewhat better. I wonder how many of these low points I will encounter during a 100M (I guess Burning River will answer that soon enough). At this point in the race Geoff passed me and we would trade spots for the remainder several times. It was nice to have him around for a bit, he looked strong and happy so it was refreshing.

By far loop 3 was the toughest. On loop 4 just by knowing you only have one more to go, you feel stronger...at least mentally. So I decided at the start of loop 4, to put on a waist pack with 2 bottles (1 water and 1 Gatorade) since I was starting to feel very thirsty. I was a bit scared since I wasn't sure I had done enough salt tablets and maybe my electrolytes were low. Many times in the past I start dehydrating around the 5hr mark and start drinking too much water and then I get cramps and its almost an impossible task to run without pain (my last 50 miler was a painful reminder for the last 15km; during my last trail race I puked all the water out about 2km from the finish....and so on). I also could not manage another sip of Boost for the last loop, so I made a promise to eat something at the aid stations. I ran slower than loop 3 but I ran most of it except hills (by this point I called any type of incline a big hill). I saw Ken, or I guess I saw his back as he passed me very quickly. He looked fresh, and at that time I thought he would have a chance to win the 100M and just this morning I found out he did at around ~17:40.

This race by far was the best of the season in terms of accomplishing what I set out to do and sticking to a plan (kinda, but sometimes you have to improvise depending on how you feel). Results on new things I tried: 1) Boost - I will keep at it, couldn't really manage too much of it but maybe it was the damn hill at the beginning 2) Gels - need more, will try every 45min but I just can't do too many of them 3) Chia - perfect the more the merrier 4) No shuffle - did not put too much stress in my body however I have some ankle soreness 5) Gatorade only bottle - good but I would change flavours during the race and dilute accordingly.

So loop 3 & 4 were done at 4:35 and I finished around the 8:15 mark (about an hour less than my PB) feeling pretty good physically and mentally. I was able to go to Christie's Antique Show that afternoon with my wife/kids and even though I'm hurting a bit today I'm sure I'll be able to start training tomorrow. I’m looking forward to the rest of the season and the Burning River 100M. Hope everyone else had a good day at Sulphur.

Next up is the Mount Tremblant 58k, and yes Mount means mountains not hills or inclines! Stairmaster for the next 2 weeks will help I hope. Before that I'll be driving down to Cleveland for a 20M practice run on the BR100.