Tackling Ultramarathon #2!

Hello readers! As I’m sure most of you do, you like hearing how other runners did at their races and hearing what their experience was like. You like hearing what went right, what went wrong, and everything in between. Well that’s basically what this post is: a summary of my latest race.

On Saturday I ran my second ultra marathon, completing the Trails for Tails Ultra Run and Relay. If you want to read more about the course itself you can find here in my race report. In my writing about my first ultra marathon I wrote the race report along with my experience of the event all in one report. I experimented with two separate posts this time and would appreciate any feedback or thoughts on which is better. As I stated before, this blog is a work in progress, and I would like to know what works better for readers.

This was my first time running this race. It was another local race that I’ve known about for years and kept my eye on. For my first few ultras I wanted to do something close so I wouldn’t have the stress of travel to deal with. The timing of the event also fit nicely into my training as I also just completed my first ultra 3 weeks prior and I would obviously be in shape and still have the fitness to complete this event. Coupled with the fact it was in September, I figured temperature would be much better for another ultra than one later or one early during summer months where it would be very hot.

For whatever reason, I felt very relaxed going into this race. Obviously with only one ultra I wasn’t a veteran but I guess since this race was short and had less elevation gain/loss I just wasn’t as concerned about this as much as my first ultra 3 weeks ago. And now having completed this event I’m not sure if the lack of concern on elevation gain/loss was a help or a hindrance.

I say this because this event kicked my butt pretty good! My first ultra was a 12 hour event with more elevation change and one where in my head I always was striving to get in 50 miles—which I did—and I didn’t even need the full 12 hours. This event was shorter (40 miles), and obviously would not take me as long to complete. Having been on the most of trails which the Trails for Tails event is held on, I knew there was nothing too great regarding elevation change. I guess those two factors lulled me into a false sense of security.

The course seemed to be tough for many factors. The first was likely pace. I had met another runner that I somewhat knew and in running with him was likely a little too fast too early for what I would have done otherwise. The pace seemed OK at the time but looking back was too quick with my level of experience for a distance this long. I had several mile splits below 10:00 miles—just too fast!

Secondly, I was not used to running on the shoreline section of the course. This part was soft, sloped, and somewhat rocky. That combination seemed to really fatigue my ankles quickly and bothered me throughout the rest of race any time I ran for an extended period. On later laps I learned to find slightly flatter sections on the shoreline as well as speedwalk more of it but it still bothered my ankle to a mild degree. I was not a fan of that shoreline section.

There also was some road running too which I think lulled me into a faster pace compared to if I was running on trails. It was this combination of factors that lead me to begin too quickly but at the same time challenge me that lead me to feel somewhat tired early on in the race. I could feel some tiredness and soreness already around mile 14 and it was then when I did the math in my head and realized that I still have a marathon distance ahead of me to get in the 40 miles I wanted to. That thought was slightly depressing. But it was a wake up call to truly slow down and start making changes.

I began consciously slowing down and walking any of steeper or longer inclines. I also started following my intended walk/run ratio that I should have started earlier. Following these I slowed down but I didn’t care. I didn’t even establish a time goal for this race (on purpose) so it was no use attempting to keep up the same pace I was at for the first one and half laps.

It was more than just my ankles that started to feel sore and tired though. I could feel some of that in my quads but additionally more so in my hamstrings. What bothered me the most was the back of left knee. Basically the more I kept running the more soreness I experienced. I resorted to more walking which wasn’t an issue but I could definitely feel it getting worse. This was a contrast from my first ultra where I seemed to have highs and lows but have periods of recovery. This race, physical issues just seemed to get progressively worse—period! To some degree I wonder if I was fully recovered from my other ultra 3 weeks ago. In my running in between these two races though I felt good and did not experience any issues. I had felt like recovery from that ultra went better than expected but perhaps I wasn’t recovered. The only other thing I can think of is I ran a 5K race hard six days prior to Trails For Tails, so in all likelihood I think that played a role in my recovery—having been OK up to that point but regressed after the hard 5K effort.

So as each of miles ticked by I just managed how I felt and what was ahead of me on the course. I ran downhills to take advantage of gravity and walked the vast majority of uphills—especially any of significance. And if I was feeling tired I likely extended my duration of walking before returning to running. I made sure to stop at the aid station and the start/finish line for food and liquid each time I arrived at each to make sure I didn’t get too hungry or thirsty. Thirst was my bigger issue as I found myself wanting to drink more on each lap. The aid station had a good variety of items which I also talk about in my race report. I think I grabbed something to eat every time I stopped at it which was necessary as my Garmin watch showed I burned almost 4500 calories.

Speaking of my Garmin, once again I had problems with it. At least it turned on for me for this ultra unlike my first. I thought it was fully charged (it showed it was) but just into my 4th lap the low battery warning came on. The watch still had some battery life in it and did last until mile 37 before it finally died on me. At least it got me through the vast majority of the race! Luckily just before starting that 4th lap I had stopped at my truck to grab my phone to eventually take pictures so I started the Mapmyhike app I have on it and was still able to have a sense of my pace.

With not a lot of runners in this event I ran a good bit of this race alone. I ran with other runners when I could but one thing I learned with distance running is you’ve got to run your own race. As I said about my earlier miles I had ran with someone who was mostly too fast for me and I couldn’t make that mistake again. Around lap 3, I was with some other runners off and on but they eventually passed me. It would have been stupid of me to keep up with them no matter how much it would have been nice to run with others.

I had every intention of finishing all 40 miles of this race. The soreness in the back of my knee definitely made this a challenge. I slowed down in my first ultra so all of me wouldn’t wear out. This time was different in that I had one part of me that was of more concern. Had I pushed too hard I feel like I could have possible done some damage, but the slowing down and walking more is what got me through to the end—because more so than my first ultra, when my knee was hurting I really was wishing in my head a few times for this just to be over. Now finishing this post nearly two days later I don’t believe I did any damage to my knee as I can walk, hike, go stairs, etc., but I will have to manage my return to running more closely. In the long run, having this issue was probably a good learning experience for me in knowing how to deal with a situation when it goes wrong.

The weather was very runner friendly this year for this race, cool in the morning with a high of 70 degrees and a light breeze blowing. It was cloudy all morning and then the sun came out in the afternoon which did warm it up. I was on my 5th and final lap at this point and the warmer it got the more I needed to drink.

In trying to wrap up thoughts on this race, I feel I learned a good bit from doing this event. I had to manage running 2 ultras within 3 weeks after never run one before. I was a delicate balance of running just the right amount to stay fresh but not too much that would make me tired. I think I got it mostly right with the exception of the fast 5K six days prior to this race. Going back to my knee, I learned how to manage what felt like something that if I’m not careful could really set me back. Again the slowing down really helped to ease the stress I was feeling in my knee. Most of all I learned not to think that any race of this length would be “simple.” I really feel like this experience put me in my place. It’s not that didn’t take this race serious but I think I had too much confidence in myself after my first ultra achieving or really surpassing my highest expectations.

I was happy with my finish for the race though. My official time for the 40 miles was 7 hrs 55 mins, which was good for 7th place overall. My final pace was 11:52 per mile, which was a full minute per mile faster than my first ultra. Considering the differences in elevation change when comparing the two, this pace sounds about right and one I’m content with considering my knee issue during the race.

Both my ultras so far I consider a success. I don’t know what will be next. Whatever it is, it will be another year. Whenever I complete another you will read about it here though! Stay tuned!