Thanks @matt limbert I imagine @Steve Boer may post an update or two on our Zwift Ultra Chat while he patiently awaits to run his 50k. But even better than that they just announced some real time updates (depending on cellphone coverage) so it sounds like they have apps for the timing volunteers at the AS, they will punch in your AS times, if there is cell coverage it will update, if not it will update as soon as they close the AS and move to cell coverage. Here is the link they provided. https://www.tridentresults.com/event/242/participants?
@Tim Cronk & @ Gordon Cherwoniak - Wow! I have followed your progression all year. Cool to see it all in one place and come together. Good skill! I'm excited to follow your race. Will Heather provide the Group Me channel updates? #Timbecomesanultrarunner or something simpler #Tim@VT100 matt limbert said:
Matt - I can do the groupme update, figure i can pop into the zwift chat channel as that seems to be the most popular. parts of the course actually come within 5 miles of HoffHaus, so I plan on being sleep deprived and hanging with Heather all night (along with feeding tim various flavors of oreos) #feedthecronk!
@tim cronk Good Skill to you and good luck! You are crazy prepared for this and you'll have no problem finishing the task at hand!
I've crewed a few ultras and paced one. I'll 2nd some of the advice I heard above, but it sounds like you already figured this out in your 50 milers... Don't get too comfortable in the Aid Stations. As a pacer, I've literally come into an Aid Station with my runner and saw a half a dozen racers sitting around in lawn chairs or on benches when we arrived. ~2 mins later after we had refilled our bottles and downed a cup of soup and ate a few potato chips, we were back off again with the same 5-6 other racers still sitting there on their chairs. Yes, you want to get a tiny recovery for your legs, but if left to your own mindset at that point, 10 mins doesn't seem that bad, why not 30... And I can tell you, 10 mins is almost worse than 2 mins because it's REALLY hard to get moving again after your legs stiffen up after 10 mins being stopped. And just like the "go Bag" concept for T2 in an Ironman, grab your stuff and start moving again. Even if that means you walk for a couple of mins as you leave an aid station, at least that means you're moving in the right direction... And the math is very Powerful. Let's assume the minimum time you will be at the average Aid Station is ~2-3 mins each, that's already almost a full hour of stoppage time (with 20 aid stations). Now let's pretend you dilly-dally for an extra 5-10 mins in the last half of the aid stations... Well you just added an EXTRA 1-2 hours of time you were stopped while the clock was still moving.
@Steve boer It's you're job to keep Tim on track. That means in all of the late Aid Stations, fill his bottles FIRST, and help him figure out his nutrition/needs FIRST. This is Heather's job for the Aid Stations she's allowed to be at, so for those, her job is NOT to take care of you... You take care of you in those. And You take care of Tim in all others. Once his primary needs are met, then QUICKLY refill your bottles and top up your supplies, you also cannot be the one to slow him down from leaving an aid station. Your other job is to be Tim's brain in the last ~30 miles. At this point, it is no longer his job to think, that is your job now... "Pacer" is only part of the job description, "Thinker" is probably a more appropriate title. That means if Tim gets "foggy", or starts tripping on rocks or roots a bit more, he probably needs nutrition, but he won't know it... It is YOUR job to make sure he is regularly eating (say every 20-30 mins at that point). He WILL forget. And if he trips on a rock and falls to the ground (This will DEFINITELY happen late in the race), it is NOT your job to physically help him up. It is your job to laugh, and keep moving, his instinct and deep burning desire to not get dropped will turn on the "Automation" mode and he will follow you, once he does, hand him a gel and keep moving. You will be the lead and there will be an imaginary bungee cord between you. If he falls behind a bit, keep moving forward and he will catch up. Don't be afraid to let him take the lead going up or down the steep hills and don't be afraid to pretend it's hard to keep up when he's blasting up that mile 85 hill at 29 mins per mile pace... You are a psychologist now and your job it to tap into Tim's innate abilities and well trained autonomous mode. Sometimes your job will also be to talk for 60 mins straight and sometimes your job will be to jog along in silence for an entire hour. Your job is to recognize which time it is and to do all of the thinking! My other advice to you @Steve boer is to skip the start of the race... Instead sleep in as long as you can and lounge around for the first couple of hours of the day and eat a nice giant late lunch and tape your feet and be well lubed. Tim will need very little in the aid stations in the first ~30-40 miles and Heather (and Dinhofer if he's around) is more than capable of handling those needs at that point. Your job is to be well hydrated, well fed, and well rested when it's time for the hard sledding later in the race.
Gonna be awesome! And I can't wait to read about the adventure!
@Steve boer -- you could give Tim complex problems to test his acuity as the race progresses. Ones like "two trains leave Chicago at the same time, traveling in opposite directions...". If he fails then it's time for a gel
@Paul Curtin thanks for the phone call and kind words but enough silly ideas for my pacer.
@John Withrow lots of good stuff, except for the part about his job is not to pick me up😀thanks for talking some sense into my pacer, he gonna sleep in, sure hope he shows up later.
Comments
https://www.tridentresults.com/event/242/participants?
I've crewed a few ultras and paced one. I'll 2nd some of the advice I heard above, but it sounds like you already figured this out in your 50 milers... Don't get too comfortable in the Aid Stations. As a pacer, I've literally come into an Aid Station with my runner and saw a half a dozen racers sitting around in lawn chairs or on benches when we arrived. ~2 mins later after we had refilled our bottles and downed a cup of soup and ate a few potato chips, we were back off again with the same 5-6 other racers still sitting there on their chairs. Yes, you want to get a tiny recovery for your legs, but if left to your own mindset at that point, 10 mins doesn't seem that bad, why not 30... And I can tell you, 10 mins is almost worse than 2 mins because it's REALLY hard to get moving again after your legs stiffen up after 10 mins being stopped. And just like the "go Bag" concept for T2 in an Ironman, grab your stuff and start moving again. Even if that means you walk for a couple of mins as you leave an aid station, at least that means you're moving in the right direction... And the math is very Powerful. Let's assume the minimum time you will be at the average Aid Station is ~2-3 mins each, that's already almost a full hour of stoppage time (with 20 aid stations). Now let's pretend you dilly-dally for an extra 5-10 mins in the last half of the aid stations... Well you just added an EXTRA 1-2 hours of time you were stopped while the clock was still moving.
@Steve boer It's you're job to keep Tim on track. That means in all of the late Aid Stations, fill his bottles FIRST, and help him figure out his nutrition/needs FIRST. This is Heather's job for the Aid Stations she's allowed to be at, so for those, her job is NOT to take care of you... You take care of you in those. And You take care of Tim in all others. Once his primary needs are met, then QUICKLY refill your bottles and top up your supplies, you also cannot be the one to slow him down from leaving an aid station. Your other job is to be Tim's brain in the last ~30 miles. At this point, it is no longer his job to think, that is your job now... "Pacer" is only part of the job description, "Thinker" is probably a more appropriate title. That means if Tim gets "foggy", or starts tripping on rocks or roots a bit more, he probably needs nutrition, but he won't know it... It is YOUR job to make sure he is regularly eating (say every 20-30 mins at that point). He WILL forget. And if he trips on a rock and falls to the ground (This will DEFINITELY happen late in the race), it is NOT your job to physically help him up. It is your job to laugh, and keep moving, his instinct and deep burning desire to not get dropped will turn on the "Automation" mode and he will follow you, once he does, hand him a gel and keep moving. You will be the lead and there will be an imaginary bungee cord between you. If he falls behind a bit, keep moving forward and he will catch up. Don't be afraid to let him take the lead going up or down the steep hills and don't be afraid to pretend it's hard to keep up when he's blasting up that mile 85 hill at 29 mins per mile pace... You are a psychologist now and your job it to tap into Tim's innate abilities and well trained autonomous mode. Sometimes your job will also be to talk for 60 mins straight and sometimes your job will be to jog along in silence for an entire hour. Your job is to recognize which time it is and to do all of the thinking! My other advice to you @Steve boer is to skip the start of the race... Instead sleep in as long as you can and lounge around for the first couple of hours of the day and eat a nice giant late lunch and tape your feet and be well lubed. Tim will need very little in the aid stations in the first ~30-40 miles and Heather (and Dinhofer if he's around) is more than capable of handling those needs at that point. Your job is to be well hydrated, well fed, and well rested when it's time for the hard sledding later in the race.
Gonna be awesome! And I can't wait to read about the adventure!
@Steve boer -- you could give Tim complex problems to test his acuity as the race progresses. Ones like "two trains leave Chicago at the same time, traveling in opposite directions...". If he fails then it's time for a gel
@John Withrow lots of good stuff, except for the part about his job is not to pick me up😀thanks for talking some sense into my pacer, he gonna sleep in, sure hope he shows up later.