My Buffalo Run 50-Mile Ultra Race Plan

Gabe Peterson

Race Plan: Antelope Island Buffalo Run 50-Mile Ultra

Goals

Antelope Island is the largest island in the Great Salt Lake.  It has a sizable populate of bison and antelope.  It is covered primarily in grass and rocks with only a handful of trees, the kind of prehistoric looking place you wouldn’t be surprised to find dinosaurs gamboling. 

I did my first ultramarathon there in November 2015 at the Antelope Island 50k, which unbeknownst to me at the time was my gateway drug to ultras.  I followed that up with the 50k version of the Buffalo Run in March 2016.  I fell at around mile 26 and smashed my knee.  I walked and easy jogged the last 6 miles to avoid serious injury to my knee.  Between those two races, I’ve run about 90% of the course for the 50 miler.

I had intended to start my race season last month with the Red Hot 55k in Moab.  Unfortunately, I woke up sick as a dog the Thursday before the race and spent the next couple days in bed.  I couldn’t find another substitute 50k since it was early in the season, making this my season opener by default.

I put this on the race calendar to force myself to build run fitness early in the season on my Road to Leadville.  Ultras have taught me to avoid setting time goals and just enter a flow state.  Otherwise, I spend bunch of energy on the race course doing calculations on when I’ll finish, leading to the mental self-flagellation if I’m behind my goal.  So my goals are simple:

1.     Finish

2.     Have fun

3.     Don’t get injured

Picture from a training run on Antelope Island in 2015

Gear Checklist

Running Gear

·        Hoka Clifton 2 running shoes and socks

·        EN visor and running sunglasses

·        Headlamp

·        Aftershokz headphones

·        Northface BTN running shorts

·        Salomon long-sleeve running jersey if starting temperatures below 40F.  Otherwise, short-sleeve running jersey with arm warmers

·        Race belt with basic first aid, S-tabs, and Advil in pocket

·        Garmin Fenix 3 and HR strap

Running Vest

·        6 Gu Salted Caramels and Gu Chomps in front pockets

·        2 soft flasks with 17oz of Tailwind Nutrition

·        Phone in left zipper pocket with music playlist ready to go

·        Blister pack, skullcap, and running gloves in right zipper pocket

·        Light weight running jacket in back pocket, or wear it at start if cold

 

Drop Bag 1 for Elephant Head Aid Station at mile 14

·        Lube for chafing

·        Blister kit

·        1 soft flasks with 17oz of Tailwind Nutrition

 

Drop Bag 2 for Start/Finish Aid Station at mile 19

·        Extra socks, shorts, shirt, shoes

·        Lube for chafing

·        Blister kit

·        Snacks

·        2 soft flasks with 17oz of Tailwind Nutrition

 

Drop Bag 3 for Frary Aid Station at miles 27 and 38

·        Extra socks, shorts, shirt, shoes

·        Lube for chafing

·        Blister kit

·        Snacks

·        3 soft flasks with 17oz of Tailwind Nutrition

 

Drop Bag 4 for Ranch Aid Station at mile 33

·        Lube for chafing

·        Blister kit

·        1 soft flasks with 17oz of Tailwind Nutrition

 

Race Morning

·        Wake up at 3:30AM

·        Eat + coffee up

·        Apply sunscreen

·        Depart by 4:00AM to get to race start by 5:00AM

·        Drink sports drink on drive, stop drinking an hour before the race

·        Drop off drop bags, confirming with volunteer that they are in the correct piles

·        Huddle in car until 10 minutes before race start at 6:00AM to stay warm

·        Vega pre-workout supplement 15 minutes before start to get pumped up

 

Race

Strategy: A Tale of Two Races

This course is 99% runnable with about 3300ft of vertical.  However, this is a bifurcated course in that most of the elevation and technical, rocky trails roll up in the first 19 miles.  The remaining 31 miles (or 50k) are mostly flat, extremely runnable trails.  They’re rather sandy, making it hard to really open up speed.  The key to this race will be going super easy on the technical first 19 miles so I have a full tank to run nonstop for the closing 50k.

Course profile on Trail Project

The below strategy worked flawlessly for the Dead Horse 50-miler, so I’m not going to try to fix something that isn’t broken.

1.      Go stoopid easy, especially the first 19 miles.  Completely ignore pace – it's just an output in trail running.  Keep my heart rate at or below 140 BPM.  Based on a ton of experimentation, this is the HR that I can pretty much go all day.  Incidentally, this is almost exactly my MAF HR.  I averaged 138 for the Dead Horse 50-miler last year and finished feeling like I could have run another 10 miles.  If I break into the 150s, I start striking matches.  Walk if my HR hits 150 or my RPE-meter is telling me to.

2.      Stay on top of nutrition.  If this means loitering at an aid station for an extra minute or two, then that's fine.  5-10 minutes is nothing in a 9 hour day.  I'll have 7 17oz soft flasks with Tail Wind in drop bags to reload, which by the way is hands down the best nutrition I've found for endurance events.  I'll also take whatever sports drink is available on the course, but expect it will be very diluted, as is common at smaller events.

3.      If something is bothering me, take care of it right away.  For example, if I feel a rock in my shoe, stop and take it out.  This avoids that minor annoyance turning into a debilitating blister later on.

4.      Remember my One Thing.  That last 50k will be monotonous.  Stay in the game and remember my One Thing: There will be a day when I can't do this crazy shit – but that is not this day!

Navigation

This course would be tough to get lost on as there are very few side trails and the sightlines go for miles.  However, I’ll have the course downloaded to my Fenix 3 and memorize the map should it fail.

Nutrition Plan

I'll rely primarily on the nutrition that I'll carry or have placed in drop bags at the aid stations below.  But if something looks good at an aid station, I'll go for it.

Target: Consume about 250 calories per hour.

Nutrition	Frequency	Calories / hour	Total calories
2-3 oz of Tailwind	Every 1 mile	~200	1800
Gu gel with caffeine to stay alert	Every 1-2 hours	50-100	400
Gu Chomps or snacks	As desired	~50	400
S-tab salt pills.  Take one if hands start feeling chalky.	As needed	0	0

Closing Thoughts

This will be my season opener on my Road to Leadville.  Hopefully, I’ll come out of this with a solid run foundation to build on the rest of the year.  Thanks for following along! 

tim cronk

Gabe, nice ,basic , simple plan , that covers your thought process, needs, and contingencies (rain jacket?) ... But then that is what Ultra is all about right?  Laid back, simple, and KMF until you are done! Loving your Ultra journey... I highlighted the notes I liked below! We've seen it and heard it but its easy to say and hard to do and always worth writing again like you did and reading again.... Thank you..

Ultras have taught me to avoid setting time goals and just enter a flow state.
1.      Go stoopid easy, especially the first 19 miles
2.      Stay on top of nutrition.
3.      If something is bothering me, take care of it right away.
4.      Remember my One Thing.

Nothing to add accept trying to envision how all of this will pertain to 100 miles or twice the distance and 10x as difficult?

Few Questions on prep
1. How many miles a week have you been averaging over the last 1-2 months?
2. What did your back to back long days or your single long days look like ?
3. Any additional outside guidance with Leadman looming?
4. Anything special or different in day before nutrition?
 

Gabe Peterson

@tim cronk, I always love your feedback!

I've been trying avoid looking ahead to the Leadville Trail 100 in August and just focus on the next event.  I've gotten mixed feedback from ultra runners who've done a 100 miler.  Some say it is actually easier than a 50 because you're running maybe 50% of the time, while others say just the opposite.  I've been half tempted to do an easier one before Leadville but worry the recovery will punch a hole in my training.  

On your questions:

1. The two metrics I pay attention to are (1) time and (2) vertical.  I've found mileage to be variable for trail running compared to road running.  I have the number in TrainingPeaks but don't make any decisions based on it.  I shoot for hitting my target time and vertical for the week.  For my run focused weeks, I've done between 5-8 hours of running with 4000-6000ft of vertical.  I also make sure to keep the run frequency up with 5-7 runs per week.  Then 2-3 hours of cycling and 2-3 20-30 minute strength sessions on top of that.
2. On the run focused weeks, I'll do back-to-back long runs on Saturday and Sunday.  Since we've had a lot of snow this year, I've had to get creative with some of the runs, like starting on the treadmill until it warms up outside.  It would usually be something like 2.5-3 hours on Saturday and then around 1.5-2 hours on Sunday.  The Sunday run is the money because it gets me used to running on tired legs.
3. I've been active on the Leadman Alumni and Hopefuls group of Facebook.  The three themes that come up there are: (1) don't overtrain; (2) preview the course as much as possible in advance, especially Hope Pass which is described as the hardest part of the entire Leadman; and (3) don't forget to do strength training.
4. I used to be a big carb-loader but I'll just eat a little extra and make sure to hydrate.

tim cronk

Gabe,  Looks like your adhering to your training layout , posted for the road to Leadman , no major changes.  Agree with time on your feet not miles and love your application of vertical.  I would vote absolutely NOT on an "easier" 100 ahead of Leadville (there is just not enough time) and I'm guessing most of those guys on the Alumni and Hopefuls would agree.   
Good Skill this weekend!

Howard Matthews

@Gabe Peterson totally awesome planning and mindset!  Absolutely with TC on NOT doing an "easier" 100 ahead of Leadville.  Not only the lack of time is a problem, but the significant exposure to injury/illness could totally derail your journey to Leadville.  Also agree that time on feet is money and as I didn't see any notes or indication on timing during the days of your back to back long runs, I'd offer to also work in running at the end of long days/middle of the night to condition yourself to running "sleepy."  I've found the 18, 19th, and 20th hour with 4-5 hours to go to be the toughest and a really dark place (figuratively and literally) and you'll definitely need to find focus on "staying in the game."

You got this! Best of Luck this weekend!  

Gabe Peterson

@tim cronk as usual, you're right on the money.  I took another look at my roadmap for Leadman and just couldn't find a way to make a 100-miler work.  It would punch a hole in my training with all the tapering and recovery, in addition to the risk of injury.  I guess my first 100-miler will have to be an epic one at Leadville.

@Howard Matthews good feedback on the timing of long runs.  I was thinking I would do a couple as late night runs.  I actually hate running in the dark and generally consider it not worth the injury risk.  I'll need to get past that.  Maybe I'll do a couple long runs after I put the kids to bed.

One addition to my race plan: Saturday is predicted to hit 80F, which will be the hottest day of the year so far in SLC.  Most of my outdoors training runs have been in the 30-50F range.  Luckily, my pain cave where I do 2-3 runs per week is usually in the low 70s, so I should have a reasonable heat acclimatization considering the time of the year.  The race organizer said there will be ice at the aid stations.  I'll include the EN go-bag (AKA a ziplock bag) in the pocket of my running vest to store ice.  However, Antelope Island is primitive and I won't rely on that, so I'll have instant cold packs in the drop bags at the last three aid stations.