ummm … holy crap.
Since waking up on Monday AM, it is as if part of my brain has been in a haze and hyperdrive at the same time. It probably didn’t help that I woke up on Monday slightly hungover on top of having done that ridiculous stunt (I like that term, “stunt” – got it from Lucho’s recent podcast) the day before. It is not like questions and thoughts about it all were bubbling up, they were geysering up like an unmanned firehose… chaotic, unordered … splattering every where.
So this falls into the arena of Zack Attacks. Meaningless posts of blah blah blah. I guess I think that maybe someday I will read these someday and laugh and think, “ah silly man. It was so easy. Why couldn’t you just see this and that?” But if history thus far in this vessel has taught me anything … probably not. So, not really recommended reading. Then again, people have asked me about the 100 this week a couple of times and I have typically slipped in there, “yeah, not recommended.”
Small sample …
Crap. I am never doing that again. That shit hurt a lot. And frankly counting on all those people to take care of you all night was plain ridiculously selfish. And come on, your wife was taking care of you like you were just hit by a car.
I want to eat something. Like corn chowder … with a lot of corn chips crushed on top. Mmmm. This is good. I can eat whatever the hell I want and nobody can tell me otherwise. Booyah!
Did I go out too fast? I mean, I only started at 8:30 pace and that was super easy comfortable. But I slowed to 20 minute a mile pace, particularly past mile 70. Or was I going to slow down to 20 minute a mile pace anyway … I mean, I went out at 8:30 per mile pace … would I have slowed down as much had I gone out at 10 minute a mile pace?
I want to drink something. Hey, there is still that keg in the garage. Yeah, let’s have some of that. It is so awesome that you had those guys out there. You really should do something to thank them, and recognize how much there being there meant to you. Get them a set of cuff links of something.
Cuff links? ! What the **** are you talking about? It is as if my brain was turned off for 2 days there. I was present in the moment, but I sort of had no idea what I was doing. I mean – I was out there when the sun was up, when it went down, and then as it was coming up again. I watched Orion traverse the sky all night. I knew I was cooked at 40 miles but I gave it little to no thought that I was going to have to run another 40. And then another 20 on top of that. How the hell did I do that?
You didn’t think about it. You can’t think about it. I mean, you did the math but you did not think about the insanity of what was going on or what was left while were you in it. But you sort of did. But you sort of didn’t. If that makes any sense. Leadville?
Leadville is the same weekend as Pikes. I have a free entry to Pikes and I think I can do some crazy shit there as a master. And Leadville costs like 400 bucks or something. And it would be a major pain in the *** to get a croo, pacer, etc. There are like 800 people there. And if this kicked you in the patooey, that thing really would.
What if I trained for it? And what if not Leadville … what if I did this next year? I bet I could get this right … under 20 for sure. Under 18 even.
Please tell me you are just kidding yourself and considering this because people told you that you would. Do you recall how much you melted down from miles 70 on? And why in the name of all that is holy would you go back to that course?
…. Did I really dream about Dakota Jones last night and that he was a rapper that my 13 year old daughter thought was awesome? That was weird. I need to get a grip. Should I run today? Maybe I should. I feel okay.
You did run today moron. 4 miles. How the hell did Clarkie do two of these in two weeks? Or that crazy run of them that Footfeathers is doing? Sheesh. Didn’t Clark drop a six minute mile at the end of WS?
You realize you are now committed to sit at the back of someone’s car on a Saturday night freezing your tush off, drinking beer so that you can walk with them. Right? You realize that – right?
The GPS actually lasted 68 something miles or 13 hours. Pretty cool. And you can see the slow down. And crap dude … in the first 68 miles you registered 38 minutes of NOT moving. What the hell is that all about? And why didn’t you really use the IPod?
Maybe I should really pursue that music project of 100 songs I have been thinking about. Shit, did I just sign up for Ignite? Maybe I will get rejected.
Did you really friend three more people on Facebook this week that you never met?
Well I sort of met them. I never talked to them. I just passed by them at least 28 times back and forth out there at the res. I probably need to look up that Jerry guy as he lives here in Broomfield. Son of bitch kicked my ass in the last loop and that shit ain’t gonna happen again.
You know the real question right? Why? Why did you do that?
I did it … I did it to see if I could do it? I mean, I guess I knew I could do it all the time, but it is not enough to just say that. You have to really know it. And I guess while I say I knew it, there were a lot of doubts along the way. I’d be lying if I did not say that.
So why are you even considering doing it again?
I don’t know. I guess to see if I can do it again? Or to see if I can do it better? Or to see if I learned anything from any of that? Or maybe because I feel I don’t think I did what I could there? Or because Brandon said it was only 99.96 miles? But maybe I don’t need to do that. I don’t know.
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Cool stuff by the minions captured by JV.
Interesting stuff on Jager, her condition and the entire medications in masters as performance enhancers.
You succeed when you fail.
You drank the rest of that keg didn't you...
ReplyDeleteI told you...you are hooked! I had no doubts you would be.
ReplyDeleteI think cuff links are only for over 30 miles. lol
ReplyDeleteThis is pretty funny and is probably the type of conversation Gollum would have with himself if he were an ultra runner.
>Leadville
Oh, man... if you start talking about other ultras, then you may as well just start packing the car.
Zack Attacks are pretty cool!
ReplyDeleteThis is great stuff GZ - is your brain tired yet?? Just remember, people show up because they dig what you're trying to do, not because you are selfish.
ReplyDeleteHa, great read.
ReplyDeleteAfter my first 50M in Sept I walked around in a daze for a few days marveling to myself and anyone who would listen: 'What a seriously F*&#'d up sport.' And that was just a 50! Can't wait to do it again, better, and some day a 100. It's a disease.
I don't know anything (haven't done a 100! ;) ), but I think your split at the half was right on.
I think Brandon's last sentence hit it...your world was rocked and now you are hooked.
ReplyDeleteAnd just think, you're stuck now with a reputation to keep, as you've never DNFd or finished worse than 2nd place at a 100 mile race.
Even Carpenter took a couple of years off from Pikes to try Leadville. You're going to have to do it sooner or later. It's inexorable.
ReplyDeleteWhile you are a far better and more experienced runner than I, and I have no personal 100-mile experience on which to base this, I will still venture to say that I think you should have gone slower at the outset. No matter the distance or the pedigree, if you don't think you can sustain a pace for the full distance, you should slow down at the start. If that means walking, sitting, whatever. Do it. The cumulative data in distance racing shows that one performs better by running even splits or negative splits, no matter the distance. And that those who don't, end up running significantly slower in the second half than they could have otherwise.
I ran a sub-3 marathon last month, but my intention is to start out at between 10:30 and 11-minute miles early on in my first 100 attempt in a couple of weeks, with consistent walking breaks. That's around four minutes per mile slower than my marathon pace, plus breaks. Why so slow? Because sub-20 would be my dream time, and 22-24 hours is probably more likely. There's no point in starting out any faster than that pace.
By running 8:30 miles at the start (assuming you're somewhere in the neighborhood of 2:50 marathon shape), you were running a pace that only a handful of runners can maintain. I think it takes someone with an otherworldly aerobic capacity and aerobic base to sustain only two minutes per mile slower than marathon pace for 100 (though it's not impossible, as folks such as Ian Sharman and Krupicka have shown).
Of course, I don't know this to be the ideal strategy in a 100. If you look at Carpenter's chart of sub-20 Leadville times, you'll notice that not a single person on that chart negative split. Not one! Part of me is nervous that running at that pace will only make the onset of leg exhaustion happen at an earlier distance than it would have otherwise and I'll never get my HR above 140 the whole day, and I'll still end up eating a crapburger in the second half like everyone else. But a bigger part of me thinks you always need to try to for even splits, even if it's 100 miles.
Anyway, I don't mean this as advice. It's just my though process going into my first 100.
Still, I wish I had the resources to scientifically test these pacing theories with a significant sample size (say, hundreds of runners of comparable abilities on the same course with instructions to run at three different paces in the first half of a 100), but I don't have the resources to make that happen. Perhaps someday.
Great job at Boulder GZ! You're funny...nice post. I posted a bloggy on the 100: http://jerryarmstrong.blogspot.com/2011/10/boulder-100.html
ReplyDeleteHope you're recovering well...see you soon, jerry
Kieran:
ReplyDeleteGreat comment.
You said "Part of me is nervous that running at that pace will only make the onset of leg exhaustion happen at an earlier distance than it would have otherwise and I'll never get my HR above 140 the whole day, and I'll still end up eating a crapburger in the second half like everyone else."
I would say don't stress. When walk, you will be using different muscles and eliminating impact on your body for all those periods. I'm no expert, but I would absolutely disagree that going slower (as long as its a natural stride) and taking walking breaks would make exhaustion happen earlier. I think your strategy for your race looks great.
A 24 hour 100 is just a hair under 15 minute mile pace. Its all about how well you can move the last 30 miles (if at all!). Anything you can do to save your muscles and reduce impact along the way is only going to increase your chances of success if you ask me.
Thanks Gz. A broomfield ultra buddy would be great. I'll see if I can find you on facebook. have a great weekend! jerry (for some reason, I can't leave a comment on my own damn blog...settings or something)
ReplyDeleteAll - thanks.
ReplyDeleteBrandon - that might be the best comment ever.
regarding pacing ... at current, I am thinking (but this thinking can change) my meltdown in the second half was the function of a couple of things. Aerobically, I think was very fine. I had no issues with my HR or my breathing for any of the first 70 miles. I can't say my nutrition was "spot on" but it was adequate. I was forcing food for a bunch of the early laps. This slowed in later laps - in the heat of the afternoon I was a little pukey but not too bad. Having aid stations every 3 miles helped. I was able to get stuff in again once it got dark (and keep it down). The croo helped with that a lot (as you can tell with the vid). I never felt bonky.
However, muscularly, I became so fatigued in the legs my ability to run was seriously compromised. This is the "I was woefully underprepared" part that I saw coming early on, and that I was warned about by several going into this event. My weekly mileage might appear to be okay coming to this sort of event, but it is more about how I got those miles. 70 miles a week with runs of 7 and 3 ain't setting me (you) up for a good 100. I have a handful of runs over 20 miles this year. Hardly adequate.
So all that said, I think I got what I trained for.
In other words, I am less than convinced that high 8 pace or 9 minute pace for me was too fast. And I am also thinking that if I went out at 10, I would have still bit it at mile 70 anyway - simply because I was not atuned to longer running.
Topics for me to be told I am wrong I am sure.
Jerry - georgezack at the gmail thingie. I am over off Kohl street north of Miramonte.
This is the best post I have every read. Ever! I truly regret not changing my plans to get a pair of cuff links now, dang!
ReplyDeleteI am forever in awe of your accomplishment. Whatever you decide, Pikes or Leadville, you will do great!
Jill - slightly insane post as I look at it. Thinking a bill fold might be better than cuff links. Maybe a tie clasp.
ReplyDelete;)