My first 50k - Key West 100
I've spent the last few months calling 2019 the "Year of the Run". Meaning I've noticed a trend from watching the forums and le groupme that those who excel in the sport of triathlon have one good think in common I do not have and that is the ability to execute on the final leg of triathlons....the run. Hence that was/is my only goal for this year. To improve on the run. Somehow again through le groupme, I got sucked into this ultra running thing. My coming out party was suppose to be Rattler with all the cool folks, but that was derailed due to re-scheduling of a race and so I searched for something else to tackle, hence the The Keys 100.
Pre-race: I originally planned to drive down Saturday morning (3hr drive) for a 1pm race start but you never know what you can happen day of. I asked my wife on Friday, if she minded if I book us a room for Friday night lol. She was game as long as I drove down (I hate driving) which I didn't mind at all. Luckily I was about to find a room for the evening at the Marriott (Not Motel 6 :-)). I had a room at the Marriott for Saturday night but I had to book at another location for Friday night so I wasn't complaining. We got in around 10:30pm and I had a dinner for champions of McDonalds Artisnal chicken and french fries 🤣 and layed on down for the night.
Race-day: With a race start of 1:10pm, I didn't have to worry about waking up un-naturally(alarm clock) for my race...small wins😀I woke up around 8:30am and had breakfast of waffles and bacon. I don't generally eat breakfast so I had to figure out something, but I wasn't stressing out over it. I layed out all my gear to make sure I had everything I needed for my race and jotted down some notes for my lovely wife since she was my aid station for the duration of the race and we headed off to the start line. The Key West 100 requires you to drive north, so you can run south and finish the race back in key west.
Quick Tidbit not relevant to my race but interesting: The 100 milers began there race at 6am Saturday morning and the 50 milers began around 8am I believe and of course they had to be transported and drove themselves to there respective start lines.
Race-day continued: I got the start line of my race about 11am to do packet pickup and to attach stickers to my car, etc. It wasn't too much info I needed to know for the run since much of the info was online ahead of the time. The only information that was new to me was the requirement of a reflective vest AND light if you were going to be running after 7:30pm. If you did not have these items, they stated you would be pulled from the race. Although there were paths along the rode we'd be on, much of the run was directly off the high-way and for anyone that's familiar with key west, it's mostly two lane highways throughout the keys. I did not know this before hand. Luckily there happened to be a running store 0.1 miles away from the start line with the next nearest store 78 miles away😮. My lovely wife walked over and purchased me a bike light lol that I was just going to have to use in case I was still out there. Crisis averted😎
I packed my orange mud vest with Gatorade endurance, although I had not trained with it in months and loads of ice. I had 3 race saver bags to stuff ice into my Desoto Ice Cooler jersey. I had on some type of socks(the name leaves me) that was recommended to me months ago that are compression like and worked like a charm and the original Hokas. I used desitin cream and lukotape on my toes and feet since blisters would have wrecked my day. I also had my Beats by Dre and my tunes lined up with a backup ear buds if my first pair died (If a race allows me to have music, I'm taking my music 😁). I had the "stuff" I'd need during my stops to re-fill in the back of my pace vehicle that my wife would be driving (Yes, it's a Tesla I'm using lol). Although there were aid stations every 5 miles, so they said, I was soo glad I had my own items because those aid stations left something to be desired. I feel bad for those that relied soley on them.
Race day continued: The gentleman in the car next to me stated this was his first 50k like myself and that we should stick together. I was like "oh ok cool man". I didn't have a real time/pace in mind to finish because I'd never done this distance and it's hot. In the wayyyy back of my mind I figured 7hrs would be solid or around 13:30-14:00 minute miles and keep my heart rate below 145 (I failed at this) which is TRP for me. Figured I'd be power walking quite a bit to keep my heart rate down since that's what I practiced. There were 3 waves: 1:00pm, 1:05pm, 1:10pm with ~75 participants overall. I put myself in the last wave since I have no idea what's ahead of me. The only thing that was in my mind was "Whoever slows down the least" does well. With that in mind, I took off.....
Race 0-5 miles: As what typically happens to me, folks take off running "fast" and I end up drifting towards the back, pulling up the rear. I know it's a long day ahead for me and I don't get sucked into the adrenaline 1st mile record pace. I settled into my comfort pace and immediately began taking in hydration and eating every 30 minutes (salted soft pretzels). I'm moving and checking my watch to stay below my heart rate. I feel good running and even have to slow down at points to stay in my zone. Passing a few folks, but that's not my goal. I'm focused on the long game of staying hydrated and taking on calories for the later miles. I hit the first check-in and I feel good. I re-up my hydration, get my pit-crew hand offs down with my wife so that they next stop can be a tad more fluid 😄 and I take off.
Race 6-11 miles: At this point, im still doing ok. I'm thinking of the miles in terms of aid station stops which were every 5 miles. A slide overcast came through and it even rained a little bit. A guy who was next to me was doing a prayer for rain (he was doing the 50miler) and I figured I'd join in. Guess we aren't good guys because our prayers were not answered for a rain shower. The rain left and IT BECAME EVEN MORE HUMID 😰. Slowly I'm passing folks walking and keeping them the keep it going sign. I took vital words from @tim cronk and focused on not walking while I still had my good energy so I kept it moving. Some miles I was hitting 11:30 and others 12:30 which was faster than I planned to run, but I felt decent so I kept it up. By this time I stopped looking at Heart Rate because i just accepted it would be "high". I ran by RPE. I only looked at my watch when it beeped on the mile. I hit the 2nd aid station, used the porty potty, drank two big cups of pickle juice since I began to feel a little twinge in my left hamstring and hit my pit crew for a re-fill of my bags of ice in my jersey and in my hydration pack.
Race 12-16 miles: I'm still ok up to this point but I can feel the heat. I'm not really seeing people on the road anymore and I'm just in my thoughts. I realize I'm running near marshland so I'm wondering if they have people checking for gators and what would I do if a gator came out the bushes 🤣. I'm just all over the place in my mind. I'm still moving at health clip for me and my heart rate is just what it is at this point. I'm jockeying back and forth with what appears to be a relay team running together. Not sure what was going on but it was 5 dudes doing a run/walk thing. Didn't know if they were supporting one person or running together. Either way I used them as my carrot. They'd pass me when they began running, but I'd pass them when they walked. This kept me entertained for a bit but I guess near mile 16, there running became slower and the walking longer. I never saw my friends again 😢. Finally hit the next aid-station and I feel like I stayed longer than usual since I was getting lonely on the road lol.
Race 17-21 miles: This is when I did not like running anymore. It was above 90 degrees, I had no more "friends" to see on the road. It was just me and my music. I began to develop a cramp in my side that I assumed was from eating. I have no idea what caused it. Maybe I was taking on too many calories. Either way I slacked off and barely ate the rest of my race. I did continue to take on hydration and added coke and mountain dew to the mix. I just needed stuff to keep me going. I did stop to walk once because the cramps were really bad in my side. I said a few curse words and kept it moving after my walking stint. My goal was to get to the my wife at the next "aid station" I'm using this term loosely because at this point, the station consisted of coolers with water, ice and maybe something else. I have no idea. I hit the aid-station and at this point called an audible and asked my wife to meet me in 2 miles instead of the 5 miles. I needed to make sure I could say cool and needed my ice re-filled. I could see the heat rise off the pavement type of thing and again it was getting hotter as the day went on lol.
Race 22-26 miles: By now I had developed a blister on my pinkie toe, so i was doing a lean to the side type of run which im sure looked silly to onlookers but worked for me. I was ready to be finished again. I'm watching fresh relay people with literally nothing on taking off to their next hand-off location and I could only laugh lol. At least they were nice and gave me encouragement😄 . I had blocked everything and everyone out at this point. I had my side cramps and my blistered foot to let me know I wasn't finished yet. I had to ask my wife is she seeing people because I see NOBODY on this road. She stated we all were just so spread out which is why I couldn't see anyone. At this final stop, I had a very small bladder that I filled with coke just to have something different to drink.
Race 27-32 miles: I'm running, not walking, but only looking 3 feet in front of me. I don't know why I was looking at the ground, but it kept me going. I feel like if I looked too far up the road, it would feel like an eternity to get there. Finally see the Key West sign and encounter a weird roundabout intersection with NO SIGNS!!.I know I'm supposed to run left but I don't know what side of the street to run on, I'm waiting on cars to go, which gives me a much needed rest 🤣 and people are looking at me like cuuhrraazy! It's like they are thinking " do you know how hot it is out here and you are running in this heat!"....yes, I'm that dummy😄. At this point, I know the finish line is too far away relatively speaking and I'm willing my body not to cramp or do the myriad of silly things it likes to do. I'm counting down the miles and picking up the pace because I'm just ready to sit down. Around mile 30, I ask a guy on a bike kinda harshly "Yo man did you see a finish line up there!". He was like "yea man its right back there, keep pushing you can't miss it!" I'm also on the phone with my wife asking where is the finish line 🤣 . There was no sign to tell me which way to go and I was pissed! I expected to see a finish line at exactly 31 miles. I don't want extra miles or anything else. I finally come on to the beach slightly peeved, but glad to be finished.
The end:
Finished 15 out of 74.
Thanks for all the advice given by the team and all who took the time to comment on my HR post.
Comments
Moe - very impressive performance, a real exclamation point and demonstration of run stamina.
I've got some thoughts about what you mention in the first paragraph: "...those who excel in the sport of triathlon have one good think in common I do not have and that is the ability to execute on the final leg of triathlons..." My observation over the years, in both myself and others is that, at least in Ironman racing, run performance is dependent not so much on running strength as demonstrated by ability in ultras, but rather superb restraint exercised during the bike, and the first 2 hours or so of the run. Getting pacing right is more important than raw speed or endurance. Second in importance is arriving at the start of the final 15 miles of the run with the fuel and hydration tanks as fully topped up as possible.
Both of these areas can be trained via a singular focus during each and every workout, especially the longer ones, on learning the inner sensations of what various paces feel like, and paying attention to remaining hydrated and fueled during workouts.
Nice!! congrats on a successful race! That is almost the exact same time I had for my first 50K! I do think that ultra running is really good practice for Ironman racing in that it provides you an okay to slow down, and note that conserving now will pay off later, and the importance of fueling. Congrats again...running in that weather is beast mode indeed!!
Congratz! Way to go on the race, especially considering the weather.
@maurice matthews Great race and great race report! Your will and determination came through on the day.
It's been fun following you on on this journey through GroupMe.
The reason you didn't see any "friends" out there was because they were behind you! 15th out of 74 is outstanding, especially for your first and in that heat! Congratulations! You obviously had a great training build and were more acclimated to the heat than you realized.
Question, how and when did you determine your HR zones?
I liked the I stopped looking at HR and ran by RPE part, specially when it was after your first hour. Pace and HR graphs show execution gone perfect. Congratulations.
BTW I get wanting to know the finish line mileage, a mile is a mile and at the end it matters, get used to it , Ultras vary quite a bit from the “advertised” distance. I look up as many past files to try and get a feel if it’s long or short, ask at check in, then I get in the habit of asking every AS how far to next AS, this checks with what’s in my head, helps me prepare at that AS until the next, but more importantly when its the last AS and I get the mileage to the finish, its almost always really close.
Awesome man!! You're def ready for an ironman. Tackling this distance is no small feat.
Great race report @maurice matthews!! I enjoyed reading it and felt the highs and lows of the day. Congratulations on your first 50K!
@Derrek Sanks Thanks! I determined my heart rate zones over the course of the year running and paying closer attention to how I felt while running in specific heart rate zones through my last months of training. I may need to re-calibrate my zones or perceived zones LOL.
@maurice matthews - I would suggest doing the EN run 5K test and plug your average HR (which is your threshold HR) into the EN training calculator in Finale Surge to reset or confirm your HR zones. Do the test at your best effort, outside in the same climate conditions as you train.
@Derrek Sanks That's a good idea. I think it won't be too different from my 5k test when I did it 2 months ago outside. I don't believe HR varies that much in such short time periods, but with that said I'm still going to do it next weekend.
@maurice matthewsUsing HR from a 5K test two months ago is good, but only test if you're fully recovered from your 50K.