Tim Cronk Ghost Train 100 "Naked and Afraid"
I apologize for not publishing a race plan. Specially after I just criticized @Coach Patrick for NOT providing us one for his KONA race. I started on one but only got about half way done before time ran out.
My Plan was to run/walk , eat/drink, and kiss Heather every time I passed her.
The course is a 7.5miles one way, a 15 mile out and back, mostly flat, rail trail, with 1 hill that goes up and down 80' in a 1/3 of a mile, one tunnel under a highway, and one set of stairs. Aid Station at either end and one almost in the middle, was a good set up to travel lightly and eat on a schedule. This race is very inexpensive, well run, and I highly recommend it. Just do as many laps as you want in the 30 hrs allowed. Everybody brings something for the aid stations, the RD and Crew had rows of Jack-o-lanterns lighting sections of the course, full size skeletons showing us the way at turns, they even lit up the tunnel with colored lights, many runners and crew in costumes.
I was running "Afraid" because I did the Vermont 100 this summer and I knew what I was in for this time around. Yes the Ghost Train is "easy" compared to most but you just can't fake the distance.
I was running "Naked" with NO power, HR, pace, GPS, and even my watch couldn't even tell me the correct time.
Wednesday - dropped off the dogs at Gram and Gramp fall hunting camp in Vermont.
Thursday - packed
Friday - drove down to the race, checked into a RV Park 1 mile away, headed over to the venue and set up our "Pup Tent" home base. Ran into Deb and Greg Livernois. Back to the RV for the night.
Saturday- up at 6am, ate and drank coffee, headed to the race around 7:30am , got good parking spot, set up our dropbag stuff outside the pup tent, went to packet pickup. Ran into and hung out a bit with the Ross's Steve-Sherpa/Pacer , Brenda -2laps 50k , and Druce- 2 laps50k , Michelle Swanson- 3 laps 45miles , and Deb Livernois - 2 laps 50k and Greg Livernois -Sherpa/Crew. Heather was in for 3 laps 45 miles. BTW everyone finished as planned !
9AM- The Start and Fumble- Few minutes before the start I turn my watch on run mode and it wont pick up my Stryd. I had tested everything 2 days ago , charged Stryd/Watch and changed HR strap battery. This was a bummer as I really wanted the full boat on Data FILE being my first race with Stryd. No biggie I'll just go old school with pace/GPS. Run starts- I hit the start button and NOTHING. It would not start. So while running I take it off my wrist, restart, try swim and bike modes, and nothing. I tried some hard resets but apparently was not holding the button for the full 15 seconds required. Again no biggie I'll go really old school and just use the watch. The plan was to walk 30-60 seconds per mile, so with the watch the plan was to walk 30-60 seconds per every 10 minutes. After the first couple walk breaks it seemed like the timing was off. I finally noticed the clock kept sticking. It would freeze for several minutes and then flip to the current time. So I proceed to run the next 60 miles with a watch that was always off by several minutes until it would get caught up again. Never knew pace, HR, distance except at the turnaround or finish of each lap. Here is the table of my pacing from the timer.
And so it begins, run approximately 10min , slow to a walk for 30 seconds, drink and repeat. I aimed to eat about 100 calories at the AS in the middle and again 100 calories at the AS at the turn around. I would hit the AS for fluid refill at the Start but right after that was my tent/Dropbag and I would pick up a 200-300 calorie pre-made sand which each lap. I did that 7 times :-) .... I never missed a feeding and definitely exceeded the 100 cal at the middle AS and turnaround AS quite often. As you can see the pace drops slowly as the day goes on, much of this is from fatigue, but much of it is changing clothes , bathroom breaks etc.... But pace was dropping... After 1 lap I shed one layer of clothes. After 3 laps I added back that layer of clothes, gloves, hat, and 2 lights , since I only had about an hour of sunlight left. Sure enough the sun sets as I approach the turnaround on lap 4, on goes the light, on my way back I approach a lone runner in the darkness with NO light, I catch her and say need a light? , no I will ask for some batteries at the AS to get me to my stuff at the start , she is holding a small flashlight but it is dead, I grab my small Black Diamond back up head lamp and turn it on, hand it to her and say here ya go, you could just hear the joy a little light can bring in the darkness, thank you so much I gotta make sure I get this back to you, don't even worry about it, consider it trail magic and pay if forward when given the chance. I got her bib # and off I went. BTW she finished the 100 in 27:xx :-) At the end of lap 4 I stopped for a complete change (I think right around 15 minutes) Heather was done her 45 and was now helping me even though she shouda been sleeping in the tent. I changed out of shorts to underwear and tights, 2x more layers on top, new socks ,new shoes, new gloves with hand warmers in them, and new beanie hat, took off the headlamp , put on waist belt lamp with extra batteries, grabbed a coke and sand which and off I went on lap 5. Lap 5 - 60-75 was my biggest struggle, the insides of my knees were starting to hurt really bad and was forcing me to walk more than I wanted to, I had taken 2 tylenol beginning of lap 4 - 45-60 miles but they were absolutely useless, I had intended on taking 2 advil when I did the full change but forgot. A guy on a MTB who was sweeping the course came by and was chatting with me, told him I was hurting , forgot the advil and would check with AS, he said they gave me a first aid kit lemme check, YES , 2 advil and that did the trick, I could now shuffle with no pain. I really hate to use advil and I was forced to at Vt100 and again here. But a little bit goes a long way. The other issue I had was after the sunset and it got cold, I was drinking more coke and was peeing way too much. I was able to pee while walking to save time but this was getting old. Lap 5 done, feeling better back out for lap 6 - 75-90 almost feeling like the home stretch but its still a marathon. On my way out I am talking with a lady and asked how she is doing? I'm disappointed. Why? I'm not gonna make the cut off. I'm gonna guess this was around midnight only half way at 15hrs and she was looking at another 15hrs. I'm slower and its colder than I thought. I said no DNF's here just keep going until time runs out or you cant go anymore. She was in good spirits just really wanted that full 100. Held a steady pace on lap 6 thanks to a mountain dew, although I actually stopped drinking anything for an hour to stop peeing . Lap 7 about 2 more hours to go. Heather had been watching the weather for me and giving me updates each lap, the forecast had held and there was a high probability of rain for my last 2 hrs. She hooked me up with my rain coat and off I went with another mountain dew. Actually picked up the pace a bit, funny how its all relative. There were two guys with me that were on the last 10 miles and I figured I could at least race them in the last 5 miles. Almost to the turn around and we were still together although they had just drifted out in front of me, then I tripped and took a nice roll, ended up on my back with my waist belt light shining directly into the trees above me, my knit glove were coated with all the broken leaves/twigs from the trail, I lay there for a good 30 seconds laughing at the situation, rolled over got up , began walking, by now those two guys had flipped it and were on their way back, shortly after I hit the turn around it begins to rain, so I take my vest off, stick it in my mouth while walking, try to put my rain jacket on, the vest covers my light and I almost walk into a water filled ditch cause I cant see where I am going and too stupid to stop. I stopped and got put back together. About 4 miles left , its raining, the 2 advil are wearing off , my targets are long gone, back to just shuffle/walk/finish. Done in 21:42 Ultrasignup had me estimated at 21:45 based off all my Ultra times. 3rd in AG 50-59 , 11th male, 15th OA.... Couldn't be happier... Not only did 2 guys in my AG beat me but a 61 year old did as well... My hats off to those 3 guys.... During the race I saw 4 guys ahead of me of which I thought would be my comp, I was only able to pass one of them, the other 3 were untouchable by me.
Heather ran her 3 laps - 45 miles in 10:26, finished 1st in her AG, then she stayed up the next 11hrs taking care of and crewing for me. I set a record 16 kisses during the race, 1 at the start , 1 each leg of each lap, and 1 at the finish.
Lights- I dont like lights on my head, they make me dizzy and feel too tight. I tried hand helds in Vt, I dont like them as I like my hands free. The belt light works and one battery last a full 8hrs, but I kept blocking out the light at AS, putting gloves on and off, peeing etc, just not in a good spot. It also got in the way of my race belt. ON your head there is always light where you are looking. Bottomline I dont like any of them LOL.. Tough call.
Nutrition- drank skratch , tailwind, veggie broth, coke, and mountain dew , ate pancake sand which with cookie butter, banana bread with PB, uncrustables, pretzel rolls with vegemite and avocado, AS were potato, sweet potato, bananas, dates, pretzels, candy, cookies, ginger
I got my railroad spike and the 100 mile Ghost Train Buckle is coming. Since this is a bare bones race, they pre-order and buy the buckles separately. Thats just bad juju ahead of time so I waited and am picking up one from someone who ordered and then did not finish the 100.
The aftermath- Heather had picked up the pup tent and loaded it into the truck before I even finished. It was raining so after a few minutes with the RD at the finishline we headed back to our camper. 6hrs of sleeps, got up ate, walked around, picked up and headed home for another 11hrs of sleep. After Vt100 my left shin was quite painful and red for a couple weeks, normal swelling and soreness. I was concerned about this for GT and had been taping achilles and shin on long training runs. The issue this go around was the right achilles and when the swelling occurred it was much worse on the right foot. Both inner knees were painful after 45 miles which has never happened, this could have been from my high drop shoes I had chosed to run in while trying to avoid the zero drop Altra issue for my achilles. I also had issues with both baby toes, I have never had problems before but they fold under the toe next to them and go flat, so I had taped them in training with success but I think the tape may have been the cause at this distance. One of them is still sore, but no blisters and no blackening toenails as of yet.. Again they worked fine in training 20-26 miles but going50+ there are just new things that come out. So I ran the first 60 miles in Brooks Ghost 12mm drop and the last 40 miles in Altra Duo Zero drop LOL talk about contrast? The first 2 nights were really rough, I could hardly move my legs at all, I would have said I was worse than after Vt100, but after those two nights the recovery came quick and I'd say am doing better than after Vt100. I'm driving out to AZ and the swelling is going down pretty quick. I did 2 days of epsom salt foot soaks and followed with 2 days using the air relax prior to starting the trip west.
Next- will continue a bit more time off, then build back really slow, plan to do some bike work this winter then ramp up for an A race at Rattler.
Fantastic race venue. Highly recommend this race or any that are set up similarly.
Questions comments welcome ???
Comments
Great race report @tim cronk ! Thanks for posting. I was going to ask if you wore the shoes in training, but you answered. Such a great accomplishment. Your 2018 has been amazing.
Always fun to read your reports @tim cronk . Running naked is like a Forest Gump run :)
Dude ... you never fail to amaze. Congratulations to you and Heather!
Congrats @tim cronk to you and Heather. Your epic ultra adventures continue to inspire!
Congratulations to you and Heather. Too bad the pups couldn't join you at the pup tent. Your ultra adventures amaze and inspire me.
Congratulations @tim cronk and Heather. Very inspirational report. I still struggle running a marathon but your reports and races are planting deep inside a seed for ultra.
Much respect to you Tim! There are no easy 100 mile races. I enjoyed reading your race report. Any injuries/issues post race like you experienced at VT100?
Again, Congratulations to you and Heather!
Hi le @tim cronk few questions for you :
1 - how did you approach this race after vt100 training wise, I mean you could carry some basic fitness but I dont think you required a whole build. My question is to be able to understand how to manage a multiple race season. My 2 races seasons was separated by a 8 days notice - which is obviously not the best thing :)
2- As you, I did a race with watch and one without, I felt I perform better without as I had no idea what was happening and could only rely on the RPE. I always stop using HRM since a year and I've seen my pace getting so much faster (all my IM and HIM were PR this year and no HRM limiter). Could you see a difference between racing with or without in a sense that by using a watch we let some on the table.
That seems a fun race and love the medal! that one will be on my to-race list as its not far. Thanks for sharing the knowledge!
Congrats again to the power couple aka Heather and Tim !
Please give my congratulations to Heather!! 1st in AG!! Great pictures in this report!
So, in your opinion, should I but the Altras for Rattler?
You amazed me when racing every IM, then amazed me when you crossed the Ultraman finish line and now, pulling off 100 miles on foot over trails! My head hurts! I can't get my head wrapped around that one honestly.
Unspeakable grit and tenacity.
Big hug!
Rest.
SS
@tim cronk congrats to you and Heather on yet another badass accomplishment! Love the spike!
My hat is off to you running a loop course -- that takes serious mental toughness! Did you listen to music or something to keep your mind occupied?
One thing that I discovered this season is Rock Tape (get the waterproof kind). After Speedgoat, I had nagging pain in my right knee that made it tough to get through even a 4 mile run. I went to my sports PT guy, and he said I had some tendentious in my knee. He taped it up with Rock Tape. I thought it was BS but was willing to try anything. The next day I did a 25 mile run pain free. I had him show me how to tape for different scenarios, like IT band. Then I had Rock Tape in all my drop bags in case a niggle came up, although I didn't end up needing it. I went to him the day before Wasatch to have his expert touch taping my knee. Might be worth checking out since you've had recurring niggles this season.
Great race and report! congrats to heather& you! starting to watch with jealousy and looking forward to joining you on some of these in the next year or so as the kids age up!
Nice work. Sounded like fun.
Like the route. Not fun to be route finding in a delirium.
i have always liked 10 mm drop running shoes. Not everyone should be forced by brands into zero drop. So you prefer the drop or no?
best to heather.
@Brian Hagan thanks.... amazing maybe, but nothing for us Ultramen !
@Sheila Leard minus the beard.
@Dave Tallo @Jeff Horn @Mark Maurer @Jorge Duque thank you so much for the kind words to Heather and I
@Derrek Sanks Thanks... injury- Vt100 was left ankle, achilles, and major shin, I had to take 3 full weeks off running to repair that one... GT was right achilles and inside both knees, feet, ankles, achilles swelled up huge which is normal for some of my Ultra's but the right side was much worse. 10 days off and I am running 2miles a day for 3 days in a row... So the injury or set back was mush less on this 100... Also of note is the terrain - Vt100 15k elevation trashed my quads vs. GT100 2k elevation didnt even feel my quads was all lower legs.
@Francis Picard - training between VT and GT - VT required 3 weeks of due to shin, ZERO running for 3 full weeks, then I eased back into running while building my swim/bike for 5 weeks and the SOS Triathlon, during this time frame my biggest week was 36 miles and that was race week , after SOS I started to build my Ultra Run back for GT, I had 4 weeks to build and had not yet decided on my distance, ended up with 3 weeks over 50miles average and had focussed on building the back to back days on the weekends 15/15 , 18/18, 19/21, 25/13 , along with 2 short easy days per week, 1 interval day per week, and 2 days OFF per week.... So I definitely went into GT with a lot less mileage than VT and believe I was a bit undertrained. While ultrasignup said I would go 21:45 and I ended up with 21:42 on paper and in my mind I really thought I could go sub 20hrs .... As far as no watch - RPE rules no doubt specially on a beast like BFC , you cant pace that thing, but a flat GT course pacing/HR/power would work... In the end we both know its RPE and I think running something like BFC without will always make you much smarter!
@Shaughn Simmons Thanks ... I really cant answer the Altra Q. I am insearch of the perfect shoe, to me that is a wide toebox like Altra , 4-8mm drop. Topo makes a nice line of shoes that fit this description, I ran in a pair and found the toebox extremely comfortable , I ended up with an issue with the heel though and they dont make my size in all the models which is a major problem I have had with Altra as well. I just ordered 3 pairs of shoes I have been wanting to try after researching. Vasque Trailbender , Innovate Trailtalon and the Parkclaw... From what I have heard and read about Rattler as long as its not MUD like last year its non technical enough to wear road shoes if you like , this whole trail vs road is pretty overdone IMO unless its extreme terrain anyway. Heck I used a Saucony Kinvera on Sea to Summit which runs up Mt. Washington :-)
@Gabe Peterson YES rocktape is awesome, I did have rocktape on both achilles/ankles for this race. Problem with taping and Fixing your Feet is its hard to know what you need ahead of time and to prepare for it, while I do carry alcohol wipes and tape for emergency it did not get that bad I wanted to stop to tap the knees (pretty close though). I have never had knee issues , so its either the big drop shoe or long distance flat that did it.... I have had the full monty of minor injuries from each Ultra this year, starting with calf, hip , quads, ankle/shin/achilles, knees .... I feel that each time we work through one of these as long as there is no major injury the body builds back stronger.
@scott dinhofer come on in the water is fine !
@robin sarner yes I liked the route and never thought about quitting but that is a concern on loop courses. As mentioned to SS above I am looking for 4-8mm drop. I do have a lot of Zero drop miles and like them but cant explain my achilles/ankle/shin issue this year, and the 10-12mm just feel like too much.... When I first started this game my Perfect shoe was Newton , train in 4mm race in 2mm never had issues.... then they changed the shoe, I hated the trail runner. But man I am almost tempted to give them another shot.