Another Dam 50k

AKA: "You. Are. An. Ultramarathoner!"

I talked Kristen Huener Henney into doing for the Bigfoot 50k (at Salt Fork State Park, near Cambridge) with me last December. Why? Because:
(1) the 31.5-mile race was 3 weeks after the Richmond Marathon, so if I maintained my weekly running schedule and added in a 3-hour run on the hilly trails of Highbanks Metro Park, I'd be prepared;
(2) we had 8-hours in which to finish (= average 15:25/mile pace);
(3) I hadn't done an ultra yet; and
(4) my sister had.

Before, in "not a deer" clothing.

 

K's legs after.

 The course was much more difficult than either of us expected: steep "technical" hills, shoe-soaking creek crossings, and long patches of ankle-deep mud, thanks to the previous four days of rain. Kristen (the Mountain Goat) and I ran the first 10.5-mile loop together, but it was obvious that her legs were adapting to the terrain much better than mine; I sent her on her way shortly into the second loop. Meanwhile, my quads were burning from the hills and I was getting tired of slogging through the mud. When I had to retrieve my double-knotted trail shoe from the middle of 50-foot mud bog, I made my decision: I was done with this foolishness. I finished the second loop and walked back to cheer on KHH and the other finishers. I was a little disappointed at DNF'ing, but I learned a lot from the experience and got a great hoodie as race schwag.


This spring, my ultra-buddy Mikaila Burns (with her eyes on the 100-mile prize this summer) convinced me to register for Another Dam 50k (at Englewood Metro Park, near Dayton). It would be a training run for her and she promised me that I'd like the course better and that I *would* finish.

Before

The race is put on by the Ohio River Road Runners Club (they also do the Xenia Half in April). The laid-back vibe and the price ($15, or $25 if you want a finishers' shirt) can't be beat.

The course: A mix of gravel trail (similar to Blendon or Highbanks), grass/hard mud, asphalt bike trail/road, wooden/composite bridges, and only a few technical hills w/ roots/rocks. It was a figure-eight course, with fluids at the start/finish and a well-stocked aid station with enthusiastic volunteers in the middle; we were never more than 2.6m away from aid. Very nice course for newbies.

The weather: Perfect! 55 at the start, 74 at the finish; mostly sunny with some welcome cloud cover during the mile-long dam crossing, light wind.

Running through the woods

My food/fluids:  I've been derailed by leg cramps and GI issues in previous races, so this year I'm trying Infinit, which is a powder supplement used by some of my Ironman friends. It's a personalized blend of carbs, proteins, electrolytes, and flavor which is intended to be the only source of calories/nutrition used during a long training ride/run or a race (vs. drinking Gatorade at aid stations and eating Gu gels or honey-stinger waffles).

Wore my 50oz/1.5liter Camelbak w/ water (refilled it 4 times) and carried hand-helds w/ concentrated Infinit (used my entire 7hr supply), peed once during the 1st loop. When my calves started tightening near the end of the 1st loop, I worried that there wasn't enough electrolyte in my Infinit to prevent cramps. Added Endurolyte Fizz tablets to Infinit in the rest of the hand-helds (4-5 tabs total)... I'll need to have more electrolytes added to my next order of Infinit, especially for summer biking/running. By the end of the 2nd loop, my mouth and hands were yucky sticky sweet from the Infinit - maybe I can also get the sweetness dialed down in the next blend (if it can be done w/o reducing calories). I snacked on grapes/strawberries/chips, not so much for the nutrition, but to put a new flavor in my mouth (they also had pretzels, PBJ sandwiches, cookies, and more). Overall, I had good energy and felt I drank enough water.


I ran the first 2 loops (and first 2m of the 3rd) w/ Mikaila; she understands how to pace these endurance races and she kept me from going out too fast. Eventually, I just needed to take off and so she sent me on my way. I walked up the hills, but ran nearly all of the last 2 loops. The bottoms of my feet were sore near the end but otherwise no pains and mercifully, no cramps.

My 4-loop course splits: 1:38:10, 1:38:42 (3:16:52 total), 1:41:58 (4:58:50 total), 1:32:17 (6:30:07 finish). I beat my 7:00:00 goal; Mikaila finished in just over 7 hours. We celebrated with delicious frosty-cold diet Cokes.

After!

Today, my legs are only a little bit stiff (no worse than after any other marathon and way better than after 22 Bigfoot miles). I would definitely do this race again! In fact, I'm going to convince my Running Buddies who are doing a Spring 2013 marathon to keep up their post-'thon mileage and do this ultra with me :)