Rob Peters' 2019 Riverbank Run (RBR) 25k Race Report w/ some 2017 RBR notes for comparison-GI issues
Wow. After not writing a race report since 08/2018 Steelhead 70.3, I'm very happy to finally go through this process again.
Summary: I ran this 25k, mostly flat race in May 2017 & did very well. At the time, I was hoping to average 7 min pace or just under (GPS was 7:05 pace & chip time was 7:08 pace) as a sign that an eventual BQ was in the realm of possibilities. My avg HR for the 2017 race (mile 2-15.5 when the HRM was reliable) was 150 bpm. That was before I had Training Peaks, and that is high for me for that duration. But I also averaged ~145 bpm for my 2017 Austin marathon (https://www.strava.com/activities/879637641/overview), so that was not unprecedented. The HR comments are relevant for my later comparison between 2017 & 2019 race splits.
2019 RBR: I had the Nike vaporfly 4% “edge” (if you believe the data/hype) and have been running pretty well & consistently for the last 2 years (especially October 2018-now). So I was really hoping to show some improvement relative to 2017. But I also know in winter 2016-2017 I was only running & very focused on running (started swimming & biking again after ~6 year hiatus in March 2017).
2019 bottom line: I screwed up my nutrition, my gut shut down & I stopped to have diarrhea twice and was burping up liquid occasionally in the later half of the race. I tried to replicate the 2017 morning fueling plan, but deviated from it slightly & that clearly pushed my stomach over the edge. I’ve struggled occasionally with a carbohydrate-induced stomach problems for the first time ever in the last ~1.5 years. I think I used sports drinks and gels a lot more sparingly in my athletic life prior to winter 2017. Need to continue to work on this. Age may be a factor. One positive takeaway: I have spent a lot of years running in shoes with mild-to-full stability, because I traditionally have a bit of pronation. So I’ve worried about whether or not I could run a marathon or IM run split in vaporflies. But my feet & lower legs felt great during the race & after, so I think that is a good sign (I did feel a niggle in my foot at one point, but it was just for 1 step).
I wonder if my “race nerves” play a bigger role in slowing digestion than in my younger years and contribute further to risks of stomach issues from eating too much on a race morning.
I still was hoping to find some signs that I am as fit/fast (or hopefully more fit/fast) of a runner than I was in 2017. So I made this table. If those HR numbers are real, I guess this is a silver lining that my running fitness may be better than 2019 and/or the vaporflies do have a major impact (but wind and temps also complicate that comparison).
Race execution plans: Go out ~7:20 pace for 1-2 miles. Then dial in power ~344 W for ~5 miles. Then go for what gets HR up to 150 if it isn’t already. (Critical power of 364, Stryd race power predictor based on a 2019 winter 5k: 336 (speed demon), 344 (balanced runner), 353 (aerobic monster).
*2017 split data created retroactively in training peaks with clicking and dragging (so splits are not exact)
Important consideration the 2019 wind direction helped early on in the race & added challenge later in the race. In 2017, wind was against us in the earlier half of the race. So not sure how much I can take from these comparisons
Weather 2019: ~53-54 deg F start to finish (warmer than forecast the night before), 13-15 mph winds out of the ESE & E (cooler than 2017, but more wind based on my note ). This wind direction helps early on in race & added challenge later in the race.
Weather 2017: 64-68 deg F start to finish. 8-10 mph WSW. Ugh...this complicates the HR/pace 2017 vs. 2019 comparison since wind directions were exact opposite.
https://www.wunderground.com/history/daily/us/mi/grand-rapids/KGRR/date/2017-5-13
Source of HR data:
- 2017 Suunto strap & Suunto Ambit 2 wrist unit (I'm pretty sure it was reliable, because it was way too high for first mile & then leveled out, which was consistent with historical use).
- 2019 Garmin Tri Strap these HR numbers seem pretty low, but based on how smooth the data/graph was, I think it was real. But part of me is skeptical of that HR data given my in some of those early miles...hard to say. But the graph never shows a spike up into the high 140's or 150...and if it was artificially low for a period of time, I would expect that the data would've shown a spike up into a higher HR at some point during the first 8 miles & it never did.
Link to google sheet from above:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1U8rvBbewPB7miAyl5kztirxwHM6mzDw6tVV9AmMbcpI/edit#gid=0
Some relevant Strava files:
05 2019 Sunday before race run pace test (Asics Gel DS trainer,I think): 4 out, 4 ~race pace file
https://www.strava.com/activities/2344955529
05 2019 RBR race:
https://www.strava.com/activities/2359080311/overview
2017 RBR Race Strava file (Asics Gel DS trainer. Surprised! I ran 5.4 miles with 5 strides the Friday morning before RBR 2017):
https://www.strava.com/activities/984739517/overview
05 2017 Sunday before race pace test (vapor flies): 2 easy, 7 at race pace:
https://www.strava.com/activities/976682470
Notes about sleep & body: Left hamstring was very unhappy for last part of race & for a while after finish. It started feeling strained/sore ~ mile 10. A couple times I thought I might have to stop and walk or something to loosen it up, but luckily it never got too bad. I did hold back a little on the “sprint finish” to protect the hamstring. This is a spot that gets sore when I don’t do my periodic (weekly-biweekly) hamstring curls. Sunday note: once I re-hydrated & rested a bit, hamstring was feeling fine. We'll see how it feels on next jog. Quads were surprisingly tired (maybe the kicking in the pool on Wednesday?). I even felt a little fatigue in the quads walking around the race expo. I'm hoping that was because I was up early & my body was still waking up. I did have ~3 nights of poor sleep this week (Sunday, short for work, Monday, woke up prematurely? Thursday went to bed really early, but woke up a few times & didn't sleep as long as I thought I should), but I also took a couple naps during the week & mid-day meditations & rested in bed extra to try and make sure I was well-rested for race week. Wednesday night I slept a ton (~10 hours). I will have to do rehab hamstring curls soon. Stomach was still screwed up 2 hours after finish.
Body highlight: My calves are sometimes shattered after a hard race. And they felt great for this race & the day after. Since I’ve trained some in Altra’s with zero drop, and I raced in vaporflies with a significant drop, that probably helped. Surprisingly my quads feel pretty beat from this race (both felt fatigued during the race & sore the day after).
I fiber fasted a lot on Friday (I don’t think this was something I did in 2017). Mostly bread and cheese/yogurt during the day. I think I did have a can of sardines at lunch. I did have 1 apple at breakfast & 3 blueberries in the evening, but this shouldn't be a dealbreaker with my normal fiber intake being so much higher.
2019 RBR Nutrition & other race day notes (written from memory the day after): got up at 5:30 am attempting to follow the 2017 nutrition plan: ate/drank 1 GTs gingerade kombucha, ~75% of small red bull (finished one can & decided to open another & had ~half of the new can), ~50-75% of caffeinated cliff bar I planned to have half of the cliff bar, but bit off a little more, I think. I wanted the extra caffeine from redbull because I'm pretty sure my caffeine sensitivity in 2017 was a lot higher and I wanted a similar degree of stimulation for race excitement & focus and to aid the clearing of the GI tract. I knew red bull has a lot of sugar, and this was probably part of the carb overdose. I’ve had redbull on mornings of big workouts & races before without issues before. I did have 1 daily vitamin and 1 B-complex. Planned to have more B-complex later as I did in 2017, but decided not to based on how I was feeling. About 60-90 minutes out from race start, I took a bite of a cliff bar (the extra salt kind), but I got the feeling right away that I was pushing the limit on too much sugar, so I spit it out. I had a bite of a cheese stick because this winter I've found that can really calm my stomach sometimes, especially when I've had too much carbs, but it didn't feel great, so I didn't eat anymore (this was a complete departure from 2017, but the 2017 cliff bar at 60-90 minutes out had more protein than the bagel I substituted this year, so I figured it might balance out ok). I was trying to replicate the 2017 nutrition & I've had luck with bagels before workouts, so I started taking bites of a cinnamon raisin bagel. It went down well, I think I had ~half of it before I left the house. I had a few sips of gatorade during the morning, but not much, I know that could cause trouble with too much sugar. I had 2 of the carborocket rocket lytes sodium pills (no calories, 250 mg sodium per tablet & 28 mg of potassium) based on past experience on mornings when I have extra caffeine, my electrolyte balance gets off & the sodium usually make me feel better. One stupid thing was I decided to have a third one shortly after because I thought it would balance me out better (I was feeling a little off). I knew it was a risk at the time, but tried it anyway. I felt even more off after that 3rd sodium pill and I'm sure it is because it was too much electrolytes. So I started drinking tons of water to try to re-balance. By the race start, I think I managed to get there in terms of water/sodium. I had 2 bms at the house & 1 small one at the expo right before the race start.
Left the house at 7:27 am (later than planned, but I knew I could be more focused on getting ready once I got there from my 2017 experience). Knew ahead of time not to try and go to the places everyone else was parking (based on my 2017 experience), so I used free street parking just north of downtown market and ran the 0.8 miles to check in (carried small black camelback with gear). Ran the commute in trainers & carried racing shoes.
I ate a little more of the cinnamon raisin bagel during the drive, but never finished it (ate ~75-90% total).
After getting to race check in, I think I mostly drank water & a little gatorade. I took some water & gatorade to the race start corral to make sure I could be hydrating while waiting to start. I got into the corral only minutes before I needed to. I did take swig of gatorade right before the start because I knew in 2017 I took some gel shortly before the start & I didn't have that gel today (this last minute gatorade probably pushed my stomach further over the edge, but it didn’t feel uncomfortable at the time).
Once race started I made sure to get 2 cups of water & 1 gatorade at each aid station based on 2017 notes that I wish I had hydrated a bit more early in the race. But I also should've considered that it was much cooler in 2019 than 2017. I probably should've skipped the gatorade at those early aid stations.
I started feeling like I would have to use a portapotty early (maybe mile 3). Each time I passed a porta-john, I held it back & felt like I might be able to go a while like that. But finally around mile 7.5-8, I had to slow my running to hold it back and i knew I had to stop and I did. Good news is that my fiber fast worked, I think, which is another area I’ve been working to improve. The bathroom stops were all liquid & gas. In the later half of the race I burped up stuff (mostly liquid) periodically. Another sign my stomach was out of sorts.
Since I knew my stomach was messed up, I was cautious about having my planned gel at ~45 minutes. I think I opened it somewhere around that time & tried a tiny bit. Then carried it till I knew I was stopping to go to the bathroom. I finished it in the bathroom (~mile 7.5). I still got the sensation that a "fog was lifted" when I had some of the gel. I often get this when I'm training or racing and take nutrition.
2nd planned gel (planned for 75 minutes) - since I knew my stomach was off, I opened it and only had a tiny bit to try and see how it felt (late in the race, not sure when). I don't remember how it felt, but I do know I carried the mostly full gel to the finish line and then had it as part of recovery (which probably continued the insult on the disrupted stomach).
ONE THING I should consider if this happens again is to put some sugar in my mouth (gatorade or gel) and spit it out! It should still give the edge and decrease the stomach issues. (A benefit of reflecting on this experience through the race report. Thank you EN and teammates!)
I didn’t eat much for several hours after the race because my stomach was so messed up (still had diarrhea like 75 minutes after the race finish). I was trying to be cautious. This is really strange for me, because I usually love to eat so much recovery food after a big workout. I had a couple bites of bagel in the finish line & those felt good. I had a few sips of chocolate milk at finish line and that felt like too much sugar, so I saved it for later. I probably had a few cheese sticks before graduation, but had to rush off to attend AQ graduation for work (and those felt good). I think I had a little turkey jerky before graduation to make sure I got some recovery protein.
Clothing - my super short blue shorts I got at Chicago marathon and my Run GR singlet. I took a hat & ear warmer into the corral expecting to be cold, but I wasn't, so I left it at the starting line. This is also a win. I routinely over-dress for races & I didn't overdress for this race. Socks: the super thin asics running socks. I used my Tri-sports belt with race number safety pinned to it & 3 Gu Roctane gels (chocolate sea salt) safety pinned. I knew I didn't want more than 2, but carried a 3rd in case I dropped one. I did have my splint on my right hand because I broke it on 4/13/19 & had surgery. I really didn't want to have it on because my hand is feeling good (extra weight & harder to grab cups of water w/ right hand), but I was trying to do the responsible thing.
Garmin HR strap (looks like it was pretty accurate. Sometimes it is not accurate in cooler weather, but my body seemed pretty warm).
Win for the day: At the start I got right in between the 7:30 & 7 min pace groups, which is exactly where I wanted to start. I jumped the corral fence to make sure I could do this better than 2017 (in 2017 I wasn't as well organized, less aware and ran late & started back in the 11 minute pace group. Wanted to improve upon that). I’ve never tried climbing over those fences, and it is good to know that I can.
Vaporfly notes: I didn't put them on till within 10 minutes of the race & I took them off within minutes of crossing the finish line & walked around barefoot to save wear & tear.
2017 RBR Nutrition notes (for comparison): "My own personal race reflection: I woke at 5:30 am for the 8:30 am race start (~5-5.25 hours sleep), had a green GT's kombucha, ~50% of a Cool Mint Chocolate cliff bar (caffeinated), and 1 dark chocolate square with ~2-3 cocoa beans. Significant amounts of Gatorade & water. 2 times at the house. I had 1 * B-complex earlier in the morning getting ready, and then 2 more late (right before leaving the house, I think). I had a ~85% of a chocolate peanut butter (non-caffeinated) cliff bar ~90-75 minutes before race start. I left the house ~7:30 am, I believe. The Monroe street parking structure was closed off at that time (not surprisingly). I drove up North of Boardwalk condos & got a free spot ~0.8 miles from the gear check. 1 more small time just before race start. I had a big squeeze of strawberry banana gu (not rocktane, not caffeinated) ~10-15 min before race start."
Another 2017 vs. 2019 comparison I'm adding for my own records:
2/4/19 5k test in vaporflies was 6 sec/mile faster pace than my 3/18/17 5k race with 3 less bpm avg HR in 2019. Strava says the 2019 5k route had 131 feet of gain (out and back course) and the 2017 race had 58 feet of gain (loop). Both courses in similar neighborhood. Elevation caveat, 2017 was measured with Suunto Ambit 2 and 2019 was measured with garmin 935, so not sure if comparing elevation gain is appropriate. But weather was cold on both days and wind direction shouldn't have been a big factor w/ loops & out/back courses. I'm hoping I'm a faster runner now than 2017, but may also be partly (or entirely) the vaporflies.
02/04/19 https://www.strava.com/activities/2123902903
03/18/17 https://www.strava.com/activities/907882879/overview
Comments
@Larry Peters I applaud your deep dive analysis. Be careful though for paralysis of analysis. While all the variables do matter sometimes its hard to pinpoint when there are so many moving parts. GI distress for any distance is most likely caused by what you put into your body or the intensity applied, yes there are other possible culprits like nerves but most likely its nutrition or effort. Since I know your really fit I do not think that it was the effort. Looks like your a bit all over the road on nutrition , kombucha a live food ?, redbull yes sugar and caffeine but read the label full of b- vitamins etc, cliffbar, cheese, bagel , piece of this piece of that? Try couple pieces of toast, bowl of oatmeal, eat once not too much 2-3hrs pre race, show up for a high effort race a bit hungry that means its digested enough. @Steve West has a gazillion Marathon's and eats a PBJ before everyone. @Al Truscott is an oatmeal guy. For a 2hr race, I woulda had an ezekiel muffin with PB and Dates roughly 400-500 calories with coffee a full 3hrs before the race, then 1 caffeinated gel 15 min before race and then either 1 more at 1hr , drinking whatever is on course. That is a lot for a little guy and not completely necessary but it works for me. I do not think there is a magic formula for nutrition, but I do believe we can sabotage our day with nutrition. Find what works for you, to do that you will need to remove some moving parts so that you can actually figure out what that it is. IMO there seemed to be way to many moving parts and amounts in your nutrition plan .Thanks for the write up , now try to simplify.
@Larry Peters I'm going to focus primarily on nutrition, but first, comparing HR and pace over the two years, I think that's strong evidence for BOTH being fitter and having more efficient shoes.
Now, how to avoid GI issues during a race day. I never have these problems, so sharing what I do may help. The day before, I have a mild lunch, like at a Greek Restaurant - hummus, flaky carbs, maybe a little meat. For diner, all liquid: Jamba Juice Peanut Butter Moo'd is my go to, 1000 calories. In the morning, as Tim noted, I have oatmeal. I worry most about fluid intake, less so about calories for a race this "short". Anything under 3 hours, you can probably get by on your body's own glycogen stores, so no real need for additional calories, maybe just 100 cal get 2 hours in if going longer than that. Water alternated with a very dilute "electrolyte" drink every couple of mile should have been sufficient. In CO, we can talk about IM nutrition, which is a whole different ball game.
First Congratulations! And wow that is some write up. I think you are making things way more complicated than they need to be. Especially for a short race. The simpler you can make things the easier it is to execute. I typically either eat oatmeal and maybe something else small but I don't continue to graze. I do continue to sip Gatorade or even water for a short race. For IM, nutrition can be a killer if you don't get it correct. Again, my advice is to keep it simple as you can. AL camp will let you test some nutrition strategies as well as the ultra. You are faster and in better shape than a few years ago. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks a million for the advice and support @tim cronk , @Al Truscott and @Tim Sullivan !
Tim Cronk - Yes, too many variables, I agree. All of those foods are foods I've had on days of high intensity efforts and races, but I have never had all of them together, I guess, and I went overboard.- I guess my tendency is to eat a lot, so the goal of " show up for a high effort race a bit hungry" sounds like good words to have in mind. Also, I rarely dive that deeply into analyses of races or workouts. But sometimes when I get going on something, I just get deeper and deeper into it. And, I wanted so badly to see a concrete example of improvement relative to 2017 running with a great race result. But I can look for signs in other places too. Thanks for the reminder to avoid "paralysis of analysis." (I've heard Matt Dixon warn of that on his podcast too).
Al - Thanks for endorsing the idea that I'm hopefully fitter and the vaporflies are worth the investment (I believe they hype and have seen some promising data.)
Tim S - Ha, thanks so much! It You are right. I've nailed nutrition for races like this before, I just need to refocus & keep it simple. I also appreciate the endorsement that I am more fit than 2017.