Clark's 2018 Laurel Ultra Race Report
2018 Laurel Ultra 70.5 Mile Race Report
Once again, doing things that my younger self thought was impossible.
Training for this event went mostly as planned with a couple of minor exceptions. I’m happy to share more detail if anyone is interested.
Thanks for the views and the feedback on my race plan and thanks to Tim for reaching out a couple of times during race week to make sure I was on track.Race week (and race day) logistics all went as expected and were pretty low stress.
Random Collection of My Thoughts and Experiences
The first 30 miles were WAY harder than I expected. I’ve run the first 30 miles of the trail several times during the 50k version of this race. I know they’re tough, but I thought that they would be easier this year since 1) I’m in better shape and 2) I was purposely going slower. I was wrong, they were just as hard and just as painful. I was trying to stick to a heart rate cap during this section of the day, but my HR was bouncing around like crazy. I ended up ignoring HR and running to RPE, which was fine but it was a mental drain. The bonus of running to RPE is that you get to randomly talk to yourself or count, OUT LOUD, just to be sure you’re in the right zone.
It was fun seeing the 31 mile marker for the first time ever in a race!
Miles 32 - 46
I felt pretty good when I got to the mile 32 aid station. I refilled my pack with gatorade, grabbed some food and then moved on. My volunteer thought I looked pale, but I assured her that was just the sunscreen. The miles from 32 - 39 went by pretty well and I was in a good spot mentally. There were some slow miles in this section but they didn’t really bother me or get under my skin.
I was really spent when I got to the mile 39 aid station. I sat down in a chair for quite a while, trying to get my head into the right space and trying to give my feet a break. Other than sitting down, my aid station routine was the same, refill with gatorade and ice, have some coke and some food and move on. Miles 39 - 46 were harder and at some point I shifted into “one more step” mode - I just needed to hang on long enough to get to the aid station at mile 46. I thought alot about stopping, but when I ran into the aid station there was never any doubt that I would keep running.
I sat in a chair at 46 for quite a while also. It probably took a full cup of coke and maybe two before I could sort out what I needed from the volunteer and from my drop bag. I changed my shirt, hooked my Garmin up to a battery and dug out my lights all while I was sitting there. One of the super nice volunteers filled my pack with water and ice and I added premeasured SDM from my drop bag. As I was getting ready to leave, a couple of volunteers walked into the aid station and remarked that it smelled like the elephant enclosure at the zoo. They were spot on.
Miles 46 - 57 SUCKED
The mile markers can be both a blessing and a curse. For these miles they were a curse as they were NOT coming up fast enough. This was a long, slow, slog. The GPS data show that many of these miles include long stretches of uphill. Not the steep, have to walk kind of uphill, but the slight, run if you were fresh, but walk today type of uphill. I had many 20 minute miles in this section and that was mentally challenging. As the slow miles ticked by it was looking more and more like my 20 hour goal was not going to happen and that was bringing me down.
57 - 62 Rebirth
It was dark by the time I got to the aid station at 57. I was still feeling down, but getting to 57 was a big boost. I was well under the cutoff for the aid station and there was no doubt that I could walk the rest of the way in and still be under 22 hour cutoff. My goal of finishing under the 20 hour qualifying time for Western States, however, was looking like a long shot. I left the aid station at 16:15 elapsed time, which gave me 3:45 to hit my goal. I pushed on and tried as best I could to pick up the pace.
I knew if I could run more 15 minute miles than 20 minute miles, I would be really close. My first mile out of the aid station was 14:xx and success begets success. My second mile was also 14:xx and with each passing mile, getting in under 20 hours seemed more and more doable.
62 - 70 Git on it
I stopped at the aid station at 62 only long enough to get a cup of coke. I wanted some broth too, but I didn’t want to wait to get it. I was still doing the mental math and 20 hours was there for the taking, I just needed more 15’s than 20’s. In the end, my final eight miles were all well under 20 and I crossed the finish line at 19:44:xx!
https://www.strava.com/activities/1628618214/overview
More Random Bits
It was hot all day - high of 80 - and it was humid.
The weather took a toll on the field as there were only 85 finishers out of 131 starters.
I carried a 70 oz bladder and I drank it empty more often than not.
I was and still am significantly dehydrated.
I peed at one point and it was like yellow gel. I also managed to dribble into my shorts and the lining immediately wicked that to my chaffed legs - oh the burn, ouch.
I think I was under nourished across the day as well, but I’m just not as sure about that.
I stepped on the scale on Monday morning and was down 3.5 pounds vs. Friday morning. All I did on sunday was eat and drink, so I’m guessing I was down maybe 8-10 pounds at the finish, which would be ~4.5 - 5.6% of my body weight. This seems reasonable.
In general I came through unscathed - no blisters, no lost toenails, I’m not limping. I worked a full day on Monday (all non-billable hours thankfully). I have the typical aches and pains, but nothing that seems like it will be significant or long lasting.
The elephant in the room now is Western States and more immediately, do I really want to do a 100? For whatever reason, this build was really tough on my SAU situation, much more so than previous IM type events. I’m really not sure why that was as my overall training hours were pretty low compared to a typical IM type event. I think the biggest issue this time was the number of long Saturday runs, and especially those that were on the trail. Those runs left my wife at home, alone. Regardless, there’s no chance of a 100 in 2018, so I’ve got some time to think.
Now i’m switching things up to the bike and maybe a flat September marathon to try and BQ.
Thanks for reading and, as always, your feedback is appreciated.
Comments
Keep striving, and find the balance.
@Francis Picard - Thanks! You're going to crush your ultra after IMLP.
@Trish Marshall - Yes, the spoiling has already begun. Also, like the pain of a race, the memory of those long training runs fades fast, for the athlete and the spouse as well.
@Al Truscott - A man's reach exceeding his grasp is quite fitting for this group. Thanks for the kind words.
Clark