CAP'N KARLS "THE SHOE 60K" RACE REPORT

8-25-11

            Once again im writing this first paragraph a couple days prior to the race to see how my goals/expectations compare to the actual outcome.  This summer training has been going good.  The biggest difference in the summer compared to last is that on my long runs, im hardly slowing down at all toward the end, if not speeding up.  Last year I would start fading big time as I started approaching the 30 mile mark.  This year I’ve stayed pretty solid throughout the entire run.  Plus I’ve got nutrition down much better then last year.  So as far as Saturday is concerned, I usually have two time goals going into a race.  A goal I think I should make and a goal that if I have a good race is in grasp.  For this race a 6:15 is what I think im capable of, but a sub 6 is my true goal.  The race is (4) 9.1 mile loops with a .8 mile out n’ back on park road to start.  I plan on my splits all being within ten minutes of each other.  That means my fastest loop around a 1:25 and my slowest loop no slower then a 1:35. predictions: 1:28 (counting the out n’ back), 1:25, 1:30, 1:35 for a 5:58.  where does that put me?  My guess is third.  Neal Lucas will probably run closer to a 5:15 and steven at around a 5:30.  There are some good runners going to be there so I have no idea if there will be somebody that will hang the entire race.  I bet there will be a handful guys that go out fast and are ahead of me the first loop at least.  After every race you either have excuses, question yourself if you could have gone faster, or lie there knowing you gave it your all.  I’ve been guilty of the first, but I’ve found myself with the second one every other time.  There hasn’t really been a race when I’ve truly had no regrets.  Will Saturday be different?  Only time will tell…

                                     Loop 1              loop 2                loop 3                loop 4

Prediction	1:28	1:25	1:30	1:35
Actual	1:29	1:24	1:28	1:33

• 20 sec after loop1, 1 min after loop 2, and 2 min after loop 3 to eat, drink, and refill bottles

8-29-11

            This is one of the first races where I really don’t have any huge regrets.  After every race this year and last year, there was something major that I was disappointed with and knew I could have done better.  Why was this one different?  I went into with confidence because I knew that distance was something that I could run hard the whole time and I am very used to the heat.  Also, I was in the chase to maintain 2^nd and to possibly chase down neal lucas and give him his first loss. 

            Nothing ever goes as planned during an ultra.  The longer the distance, the more you’re stepping into the unknown.  That’s why they say “ you run long enough something is bound to happen”.  It couldn’t have been 5 miles into the race when I realized a big mistake.  I put so much thought into how I was going to get all my bottles/food ready for the most efficient drop bag possible.  At that moment I realized I forgot to add my electrolyte formula to my bottles, and that they were just straight water.  It demoralized me big time. For about a mile I was thinking of things to do, but in my mind I had just blown my race.  That’s why when you’re an ultra runner you make adjustments and you stick to it and you make the best of it.  I upped my s cap intake from 45 minutes to 30 minutes and added one more gu per loop to make up for the lost calories.  Then I figured it would be a good experiment to see how I did.  After that I told myself to forget about it and just focus on running.

            Loop 1 – the start is a .84 mile out n’ back on park road to get the distance right.  This gives you a chance to get ahead before it cuts to single track and the passing is tough.  Going into the race the spotlight was on Steven Moore and Neal Lucas.  They’ve come in 1 & 2 at all the other races and Neal is 5 for 5 in his short ultra career.  They busted out in front as expected with some guy that obviously started too quick.  I came in from the out n’ back with two others all tied at 5^th, 6^th, and 7^th.  We ran that at about a 7:15 pace which felt comfortable to me.  To me the out n' back was perfect, it gave all the runners a chance to basically start the race exactly where they wanted. I stayed with those two guys for about the first mile once we got on the actual course. Then I decided to run my own race and take the lead.  At this point there was a gap between us and the front runners.  So I stayed in that gap for a while.  At mile 6 I caught the guy that started out too fast and finished loop with him tied for 4^th and 5^th.  Loop one went as expected and I was right on schedule.  I just focused on eating/ drinking at the right time and running as fast/efficiently/comfortable at the same time.

            Loop 2 – I ditched the camelback and picked up my handhelds out of my ice chest and was off.  That was my 2^nd problem.  I left out the eating part. About 1 minute down the road I thought shit! I forgot to eat.  How could I be so damn dumb?  Before the race I put two emergency gus in my shorts so I had to tap into those for loop 2.  that was the only smart thing that I did.  I had two gus in my bottles but I didn’t feel like it was sufficient calories for a loop.  Most people that would be plenty, but I require lots of calories and lots of fluids in order to keep firing for 6 straight hours.  Loop 2 was uneventful with just making sure I ran solid and stayed on top of calories, fluids, and salt. 

            Loop 3 – the race begins.  I made damn sure I ate this time (a pack of cola flavored powerbar gummies), some red bull and some mountain dew.  I took in a lot more caffine then usual during this race but it seemed to help, but that’s not for everyone.  I grabbed my other spare bottles and was off right on schedule again.  Two hours fifty four minutes and nineteen miles into a race and I was still within a minute of my schedule.  I was feeling fine and on schedule so I was pumped.  The first two loops I planned on running my own race regardless of place, but on loops 3 and 4 I would let my pace be a little more influenced by others.  The first section of the loop was still the same.  But at mile 23 I saw some blue shorts up ahead moving quickly.  At this point I was lapping tons of people that were obviously moving pretty slow.  So to see somebody moving quickly I knew it had to be steven.  I honestly didn’t expect to catch him.  I thought about catching them every night leading up to the race how awesome that would be, but never really expected it to happen.  I caught him and just planned on staying behind him for a while because I didn’t want him being the hunter.  We chatted for a minute but then just settled into a silent grove for the next 4 miles.   I started noticing that on the up hills I was damn near stepping on his shoes.  He then stepped aside and said why don’t you take the lead.  I wasn't sure if he planned on sticking with me or not, but I told him to stick behind me and that we would hunt down neal together.  I got no response and never saw him again.  I knew he was having a bad day because according to his other races he was capable of a much faster time.  Being the type of guy he is, after the race I never heard one excuse from him though. I was pumped and it was just the adrenalin I needed at that point because I was started to feel a little tired before I caught steven.  Knowing I was in 2^nd, I didn’t let up.  I finished loop 3 once again right on schedule and nobody really said anything to me because i popped in and out pretty low key.

            Loop 4 – I refilled my bottles ate the same stuff and drank the same stuff.  I stuffed an extra gu in my bottle knowing that my legs were running close to empty and I needed those immediate calories to keep the intensity needed.  I started loop 4 in a little bit of pain but nothing at all more then you would expect after running 28 miles.  At this point I knew I was faced with the decision.  It’s the same decision that every runner faces in every race.  The decision to relax the pace and be happy with finishing in a still impressive time or to search deep within and preserve til the end.  For the first time really, I chose number two.  I wanted that third option at the finish to lie there knowing I gave it my all.  I decided to stick the pace and gut It out.  Also, in the back of my mind I kept thinking what if neal isn’t that far ahead? I could give him his first loss, or if he finished two minutes ahead of me I would be so mad at myself for not pushing.  I kept hammering down the miles, and it never got too painful.  Not nearly painful enough to slow or walk.  I also kept reminding myself that I was at a tough part of the race mentally.  Because I still had quite a few miles so I couldn’t see the light just yet.  I just told myself that pain doesn’t last forever and at some point it can’t get any worse.  I kept saying that this is the lowest point of the night.  And guess what? It was.  I owe that to my experience I’ve gained over the past year.  I always finish strong and feel way too good afterwards.  I hit the last aid with 2.6 miles to go at 5:32. I knew that a sub 6 was going to happen as long as I didn’t slow down.  I decided to speed up instead.  I took the pace up at least a minute a mile and it felt great.  Halfway through the section I took it up another notch and was flying at about an eight minute pace.  For running trails at night that’s about as high as I wanted to go.  I kept looking out for neal but I knew he was probably done running and munching on his burger already.  I sprinted it in and kind of took them by surprise when I finished.  They were not expecting me to come in 2^nd and that was half my motivation this whole race.  They asked in a kind of puzzled voice "are you finished? yes. 60k? yes" "joe weve got a finisher"

            Post race thoughts:  liquid calories – red bull, mountain dew, and 1 bottle of gu brew from the ice chest.  Straight water on the course.  Food calories: 1 package of chomp blocks, 2 packages of cola power bar gummies, and about 10 gus, and about 10 gin gin boost (20 cal each). For a total of about 2,000 during the race im guessing.  After every race Im always too quick to leave and always miss out on the post race festivities.  This race I grabbed my chair my negra and a burger and relaxed.  A group of about 15 stayed for a while and had a great time.  I was planning on napping for a couple hours before hitting the road but i kind of ran out of time and had to leave with out sleep.  In this sport there really aren’t any winners or losers.  Nobody really talked about what place they got or what their pace was besides the people coming up to steven and neal a lot to get the outcome of the series.  Not a single person came up to me and asked what place I got.  That was fine with me because I was proud of myself, and i don't really care what people think or want attention.  I feel that once you’ve run several ultras especially a 100, you stop caring what anybody thinks at all, and you do it all for yourself.  This was just the confidence booster i needed going into the race that i've been thinking about every night since November...Cactus baby!