Captain Karl’s: Colorado Bend 30K Race Report

I’ve been using the Captain Karl’s series as a testing ground for TransRockies and this race was no different.  Tried new trail shoes with a total of 10 miles on them before the race, new socks, new shorts, and straight out of the Amazon box my new Ultimate Direction AK Race Vest.  With the TransRockies starting in 10 days the goal was to finish injury free and keep the ego in check when people started passing me toward the end.  I'm supposed to be tapering.

The basic strategy was to run as much of the course as I could in the daylight and once it became dark walk anywhere I thought I could trip and fall.  Carrying two water bottles and a two liter CamelBak I planned on skipping every other aid stations to minimize time wasted.  Hopefully finishing near my Pedernales Falls time of around 3 hours.  Like most race plans once you start, the plan goes out the window.  This race would prove to as varied mentally as the terrain of the course.

The car after the drive in

As Joe ushered us off the plan was to take it easy to the first aid station, running at whatever pace felt comfortable.  It seemed much cooler than the previous two Captain Karl's races, yet a mile and a half in and I was seriously considered walking back to the start and calling it a day.  Deep breaths felt like I had a respiratory infection or something.  It hurt to breath deep and I kept checking that the race vest wasn't too tight.  This has happened a few times to me in the last couple months and just mysteriously disappears during the run.  Seeing a tiny baby snake cross the path was the highlight of this section.  The first aid station is roughly three miles in so I didn’t need much.  I grabbed gel and headed back out.

There must be magic in Hammer Gel, because maybe a half mile out of the aid station I’m feeling great and running very well.  The course is pretty technical yet quite runnable in the daylight.  At this point I'm quite annoyed with the course.  There are runnable section but only for what seems like a hundred yards at a time.  The second aid station comes up quicker than I expected.  I hadn't realize how overheated I was until I emptied an entire water bottle over my head coming into the aid station.   At the aid station I refill everything with as much ice as they could hold, and put on my headlamp.  

It is truly amazing how an ice filled CamelBak feels when you are overheating.  Equally amazing is how fast everything melted and was back to “room” temperature.  Luckily the third aid station was less than 3 miles away.  Now that it is totally dark the near falls are happening more frequently and I’m forced to walk many of the rocky uphill and downhill sections.With not much of a moon the stars were amazing.  It was hard to not just stare upwards.  Pulling into the third aid station I’m back on the downward slope mentally.  Physically things are as good as can be expected, it is a race after all so the muscle tiredness is starting.  At this point I’m just really tired of being overheated.  I stick with my plan of skipping every other aid station and simply grab a gel and move on.  In retrospect I should have done more for my heat management.  

Running in the dark is quite interesting.  During the day I always feel the course is over marked.  Then the darkness comes and everything either looks like the right way to go or nowhere looks like the right way to go.  I'm standing at a course marking and can't find the next one.  Everywhere appears to be a dead end.  Luckily a woman comes from behind and points out that the branch just about head level isn't blocking the path like I thought.  We play leap frog for the next several miles and take the skunk crossing our path as a good omen.  Eventually we catch a group of five or so runners running just slightly slower than the pace we wanted to run.  There was not enough room to pass them most of the time and when there was room it was always on a section I didn't feel comfortable running in the dark.  So I waited until the aid station refiling only one of my water bottles and getting out in front of the group.

The last three miles is the reverse of the first three miles.  A few minutes outside the aid station I wipe out. I really didn't want to get behind the group again and I also didn't want to risk injuring myself so close to the TransRockies race.  I made the decision to power walk the rest of the course.  At one point the 5th or 6th placed women in the 60K passed me.  She is walking the technical sections and running where she can.  My power walking pace is just faster than her walking pace and we keep getting close enough to talk then far enough away that I'm back on my own.  We yo yo back and forth like this for a bit when finally the course flattens out enough that I'm confident in my ability to run with her.  We're chatting along when I need to jump over an enormous black snake that comes out of nowhere with a matching expletive.  I turn around and realize either I was hallucinating the snake or it was a shadow of some sort because there's nothing there but dirt trail.  I finish right at 4 hours ( a solid hour longer than Pedernales Falls) good enough for 26th place overall.  According to the big screen at the end of the race I was 15th in my division, looking at the results I'm not sure I believe that. 

Notes:

• One of these days I'll learn to not go out drinking with my coworkers the night before these night races.
• If it wasn’t for the CamelBak filled with ice I’m pretty sure I would have red lined.
• I noticed I didn’t drink as often as I usually do with the CamelBak.
• Skipping aid stations probably didn't save any actual time as I was forced to walk much more of this course than the previous two.
• Another 3+ hour race with no leg cramping issues.  Have I finally moved past them or the fact I walked at least 50% of the last 5 miles prevent them?
• Gear seems to be dialed in for TransRockies.  Now the big race nerves are in full effect.
• While I'm signed up for Reveille Ranch it's the weekend I get back from TransRockies, so I'm not sure if I really am going to run it.  Although I do want to be able to say I completed the Captain Karl's series.
• Freebirds waiting in the car is heaven after the race.

Captain Karl’s: Muleshoe Bend 30K Race Report

When I stepped out of my car just before race time my phone says the temperature is 101.  I was afraid to check out the heat index.  You always read “never try something new on race day”, but who am I to follow conventional wisdom.  For me just about everything was a first time, some potentially a bigger deal than others.  First time running with a hat, new Ultimate Direction handheld running bottle, first real trail run in my New Balance Minimus trail shoes (had done 10ish around Rice in them), new headlamp, and Hammer Gel at every aid station. 

We line up after the 60K crazies come through the out and back at the start.  A couple guys around me are discussing their Pedernales Falls race and their goals for this race.  It seems we’re all shooting for around the same pace.  I do not run trail races with a watch so I make a mental note to stick with them.  Joe yells start and we’re off, or I should say those guys were off.  Holy crap!  Either they went out way faster than the pace they said or I’m going way slower.  I don’t even try to hang with them.  In contrast to Pedernales Falls, this start is wide open so you can easily jockey for position and settle into your pace before the trail narrows.  About half way to the first aid station I start passing 60Kers and a few 30Kers who went out too fast.  With an extra handheld it’s nice to have water to squirt on my head/neck to cool down.  Pulling into the first aid station I empty my bottles over my head, refill, take a Hammer Gel and head out, which sounds quicker than it actually happened.  Just outside the aid station I realize my hat is still next to the Gatorade jugs and have to turn back to get it.  Part way to the next aid station I pass the guys from the beginning of the race.  Other than it being hot I’m feeling great and hitting the trails at a pretty good clip, really opening it up on the dirt sections and powering through the rocky sections.  A bit later I pass a woman who immediately asks me what distance I’m running.  She’s clearly miffed I passed her.  We run somewhat together into the second aid station.  She has great aid station turn around and is out before the lids to my water bottles are even off.  Same routine as the first aid station and out I go to try and catch her.  About a half mile out a big grin sweeps my face for no real reason and I realize this is really fun.  All troubles are left out on the trail to wander the woods forever.  It takes me about a mile to finally catch her.  We pass people pretty often and head into the end of the first loop.  I have to go to my drop bag and get my headlamps.  I make the decision to run with a headlamp and a backup one in my hand.  Also, I had my shoes from the last race just in case the Minumus weren’t cutting it, but opt not to change them out.  Back out on the trail I go for loop 2, once again off to chase down Anne (I think that was her name). 

Again it takes about a mile to catch her and I can tell she’s not happy to see me again. She went off course a bit and had to come back, I doubt I would have caught her if this had not been the case. At this point I’m pretty sure I won’t be able to keep this pace up the entire second loop but figure I’ll see how long I can last.  Halfway to the fist aid station I wipeout hard.  I hit the ground and both handhelds go flying.  The headlamp that was in my hand is in pieces, but oddly still functional.  My right hand hurts like hell.  In the glow of a headlamp I notice 3 cuts in my hand.  One cut is bleeding pretty good, which I think may need stitches.  Turns out it was more like a razor blade cut, not very bad, but a lot of blood for such small scratch. My confidence in running hard on the rocky sections is lost.  I slowly run/walk the rocky parts into the first aid station where I notice a hunk of wood splinter in another cut.  You could whittle a small pipe with the hunk I pulled out.  This is also the point when I start regretting my decision to not switch out shoes.  The lack of any padding and the rocks is starting to take its toll on my feet.  With each misplaced step a new profanity is created, kind of like that scene from A Christmas Story.  This can't be over soon enough.  About halfway to the second aid station I semi-seriously consider cutting the course, jumping the switchbacks, and taking a DNF.  Fortunately I can’t tell if the people on the other track are ahead of me or behind me so I don’t risk taking a DNF and running extra.  About this time I start regaining a bit of my confidence on the rocky sections.  Telling myself they must be just behind me and picking up my pace as to not get caught.   Increasing my pace a little I'm still playing it safe into the second aid station. At the aid station I dump my water bottles over my head when a volunteer tells me he can do better and proceeds to pour an entire pitcher of ice water slowly over my head and back.  It was amazing!  A couple cups of Coke and another Hammer gel and off I go for the final 2.5ish miles.  This section is quite runnable and I gave what little I had left, finishing 25^th overall and 18^th in my division despite being 24 minutes slower than Pedernales.

Muleshoe Bend was the polar opposite of Pedernales in every way.  This race was run pretty much entirely by myself, which in retrospect was exactly what I needed after the proceeding week.  The first loop was all fun and games but the second loop tore me up.  If this was a 10 mile race this report would have been pure bliss.  If it wasn’t for the post race massages I’m not sure I would have been able to make it to the food table or drive back to the hotel.  Thanks again David for putting my legs back together.  After Pedernales I had no soreness, and running the next day gave me great confidence for TransRockies.  Muleshoe Bend is the opposite.  I can’t remember the last time I was this sore.  My confidence is waning.  Guess I’ll have to see how Colorado Bend goes in a couple weeks.

Notes:

• There’s a special place in Hell for whoever designed the Ultimate Direction water bottle drinking nipple.  Great handheld, shitty drinking design.
• In the dark, shadows and logs look like all kind of crazy things that shouldn't be in a Texas forest.  I can only imagine what my mind would come up with during a 100 miler.
• Nice to know I can go 30K in the Minimus without blisters or any foot issues (provided I wear socks).
• I had a gel at every aid station with no stomach issues.  Three miles apart may be a bit too frequently though as the thought of the last one wasn’t very appealing.
• The closeness of the aid stations was nice, probably could have skipped a few.
• Apple Cinnamon Hammer Gel didn’t do it for me.  The smell (and taste) of the cinnamon wasn’t pleasant during a run.  Ironically written as I eat cinnamon apple sauce.
• It was nice to have the extra fluid with two handhelds.  Next time I’ll try a Camelbak and a handheld as I didn’t like not having a free hand.
• Despite how bad the fall felt like at the time after I cleaned everything up it was only a couple minor scrapes and no bruising.  I was really lucky as I was going at full speed trying to keep up.
• Sorry Joe for leaving pieces of my headlamp on the trail.  I really did try to pick up after myself.

Capt'n Karl's : Pedernales Falls 30K Race Report

I pull into Pedernales Falls State Park around 5:30, park in the open field and step out into the furnace that is a Texas summer.  Temperature is 98 degrees with a heat index of 112.  Yet somehow it seems sane to be about to embark on 30K run after a night of drinking, little sleep, and eating a gas station pulled pork sandwich on the drive up.  The goal was only to get the trail miles in and start dialing in gear and nutrition.  At this point all roads lead to the TransRockies race.

The race started promptly at 7:15 and we’re off like a herd of turtles with me in the back of the pack.  I usually run after work so I’m somewhat used to the heat at this time.  I go out at what I think is an easy pace, passing several people early on, usually on the “uphills”.  This course is surprisingly flat and my goal was to run the whole thing.  The Colorado flat sections will more than likely be steeper than the hilly sections of this course.  The first section is very open so you are running in full sun and I’m starting to feel the effects of the heat.  “Fence” aid station is at the 5 mile mark and I already can’t drink water fast enough.  I say hi to Olga King as she fills my water bottle with ice and head back out. 

Coming into the Fence Aid Station

At some point I can hear a couple behind me having a conversation.  They are close enough I can clearly hear what they are saying yet far enough away I can’t really engage in the conversation.  At some point they pass me and a latch on behind them.  We pull into “Windmill” aid station and refill our bottles.  I take a little longer at this aid station and they take off.  Now I have a decision to make, try and catch them, or continue at my easy pace by myself.  It’s starting to get dark and everyone is beginning to turn on their headlamps.  Feeling good I decide to try to catch them.  Plus if I get lost in the woods I’d rather be with a couple other people.  This turned out to be a pretty good decision.  I catch Chet and Hannah, who as luck would have it, live about 2 miles from me and are undergrads at Rice University.  We’re chatting away passing runners at a pretty good clip.  I think we all could have run faster had it been daylight.  Around the same time we all noticed we’ve passed quite a few women.  It’s hard to tell which runners are running the 60K and which are running the 30K.  It’s a pretty good bet Hanna can place.  We pass a woman trying to find the trail and Rene joins our ragtag bunch.  Turns out she is also from Houston and runs with Brian O’Neil’s in Rice Village.  Had the “unmanned” aid station not been manned with two great volunteers we would have gone off course as the wrong way / caution tape was down.  With just about 2.4 miles left we all seem to be doing pretty well and pick up the pace to what the terrain will allow.  At some point we pass another group of 3 or 4 runners and Rene drops back with them.   Since she has another group to run with we don’t feel too guilty for dropping her.  The ending was mentally tricky as you can hear the post race celebration and it feels like you are running away from it.  Definitely makes you wonder if you didn’t get off course somehow.  We round the final bend and finish in 3:18.  Hanna takes 3rd place in the female division and Rene finishes a minute or two behind us taking 4^th place.    I finish in 27^th place in the male division (38th overall). 

The Houston contingency finishing up

I had plenty left in the tank and felt great afterwards.  Although it did take about 45 minutes before any food looked good. 

Lessons Leaned

•  Forget the sunglasses.  Even though they were nice to have the first hour, it was annoying to keep up with them the second two hours.
• Need to carry a second water bottle.  I felt I was rationing my water the entire race. 
• No more going out the night before a race. 
• Hammer Gel seems to be the perfect race gel for me.  I’ll have to buy a couple boxes.
• Don’t think you’re going to run a night race, sleep a couple hours in your car and then head home.  Get a hotel or bring the tent.
• If you ever lose faith in humanity come to trail race or ultra event.  It clearly attracts the nicest people on earth.

Rocky Raccoon 50K Race Report - Pt. 2

In case you missed it part one is here

Loop 2

Back to Aid Station 1

Tenth place?  How can I be in tenth place?  I’ve never been that high in any race unless you count starting at the front of a church 5K.  This is BAD news.  I either ran way too fast on the first loop, she was mistaken on my overall placement, or everyone else in this race is really slow.  I’m pretty confident that  I didn’t take 10 years off from ultras and become a superstar.  I wonder if I can get a top 10 finish. I must be pretty high up in my age group. 

Of course all kinds of crazy nonsense comes over you when you hear things like you’re in tenth place halfway through the race.  So now I’m running all the time scenarios in my head.  Sub six hours, maybe even sub 5:30?  I’m not sure why things like this come over you during a race.  My experience is you get what you get on race day, planning and training be damned. 

With the possibilities running through my head it takes my mind off the fact my legs are done for.  It’s not a matter of IF but of WHEN my legs start cramping.  BAM! Wipeout 4! (Or is it 5, I’ve lost count)  I didn’t know you had muscles on top of your shins, but evidently you do, as these muscles cramp up in my left leg.  I give the “my legs are cramping” scream and I’m pretty sure the guy hot on my heels thought I broke my ankle.  He helps me back to my feet, checks I’m ok, and head off.  It takes a bit of stretching and walking a couple hundred yards before I can resume running.  Hey this must be about where I wiped out the first time. 

I make it to the start of the out and back section to aid station 1 without incident.  I notice as soon as I hit the sandy parts of the trail my legs start to cramp.  Anytime my foot lands less than perfectly my legs twinge in near cramps.  This section is at a slight incline and with the cramping I run/walk it telling myself the aid station is just past where I can’t see.  Where the heck is the aid station?  I don’t remember it being this far.  Then I see a couple people I recognize from earlier heading towards me, and I pass a couple people walking now.  Ah it must be close now.  I see the guy who helped me up.  He comments that my ankle and form look good.  I go to respond and BAM! Wipeout!  Every muscle below my knee in both legs cramp up.  It was a two foot toe curler and not in anything resembling a good way.  If it wasn’t for a couple people helping me up I’m not sure I could have physically pulled myself off the ground.  I’m pretty dejected with all the face planting, but the word that the aid station is just out of eyesight is good news.  I walk it into the aid station.

I spend a fair bit of time in the aid station.   I down a couple Hammer gels.  These aren’t too bad.  The raspberry taste good, but it is pretty gritty.  Maybe it tastes that way because I’m covered head to toe in dirt.  I honestly can’t tell if I'm eating dirt or not, and I really don't care either.  I joke around with the race volunteers for a bit before I head back out. 

Back to Aid Station 2

Heading out of aid station 1 I decide to walk a bit, but I get bored of the slow pace so I start to run.  As before whenever my right foot lands less than ideally I can feel the outside of my ankle cramp.  I push it as far as I feel I can go then walk for a few minutes.  Then I start walking more and running less.   With all the walking I realize all those pseudo goals from being in tenth place are done for.  A couple people pass me, but it appears the heat is taking its toll on everyone.  For some reason the wise words of Victor come back to me and from here on out my motto becomes “Embrace the pain”.   I get passed again. Dang she has nice legs.  At least I know I’m mentally still with it and it is just physical problems I’m dealing with.  I bet I can catch her.  Kind of like a dog chasing a car, I’m not sure what I’d do if I did catch her.  I’m gaining ground, but then I cramp up and am forced to walk a bit more.  Rinse and repeat with several other people and I make it to aid station 2.  This section I mainly power walk with a bit of running.  At this point I’m searching for positives.  The good news is my mind really wants to run, but the cramping is preventing me from running.  When I do run I’m gaining on the people who passed me until I cramp again.  I’m having zero stomach issues now.  Pop a salt tablet from the aid station and head back out.

Back to Aid Station 3

There were a couple of us that left the aid station at about the same time.  All of us start off walking.  I start to realize my legs are feeling much better now that I’ve walked quite a bit.  I run a fair bit and I’m still cramping but it is becoming less frequent.  Now I’m mainly just hot and exhausted.  In retrospect it probably was the heat that was the biggest issue for me during this stage of the race.  On a couple of the flatter, less technical trail sections I’m able to run at what feels like a pretty good pace.  Ah it feels good to stretch my legs out a bit.  When I hit the Boardwalks sections I’m feeling really good.  This section I mainly run with frequent, but short, walking breaks on the more technical parts.  I come into HTREx aid station 3 to the news the Aggies scored on their first two drives and are leading 14-0.  Whoop! 

Knowing there are only 2.8 miles left is invigorating.  I down some bananas and M&M’s.  I’ve avoided the candies up to this point fearing the post sugar rush crash I tend to get.  Now it’s time to celebrate.  Stephanie finds me and tells me she won the female division.  I’m sure from here perspective it didn’t seem I cared, but in actuality I found it pretty exciting.  Like I said trail runners are a different breed.  It’s not often someone seeks a complete stranger out to share their race experience just because you ran with them for few miles.  Cool.

On to the Finish

I continue with my mostly running, walking the technical sections strategy.  I’m ready for this to be over with.  About a mile outside of aid station 3 I realize I probably didn’t give Stephanie the reaction she was looking for when she told me of her win.  I was generally excited for her, but I was exhausted and just wanted this run to be over with.  This is when I know I’m mentally done.  Generally I'll stay in the aid stations way longer than I should simply to keep talking with people.  I figure I’ll see her at the end and give her the props she deserves and chat with the other HTREx people.  Of course it doesn’t occur to me until I'm driving home that they are all at aid station 3 and I won’t see them again today.

I’m able to run it into the finish.  I don’t get passed in the final mile stretch, and I actually pass a few people.  I cross the finish banner with all the usual fanfare of an ultra.  “Your finishers medal is over there, and don’t forget to turn in your chip.”  I finish in 6:20:34, only 7 minutes off my time 10 years ago.  Not bad for a hot day, and not nearly enough training.  I start cramping again.  I walk around a bit, grab a couple of handfuls of various foods, refill my handheld, and tell Paul (the race director) thanks for putting on a great race.  Off to find some shade.  I sit around chatting with various people for about half an hour and head to my car to find the showers.  Turns out Victor parked right next to me.  So I sit down and talk with him and his buddy for a bit.  Time to hit the shower.  When I get out there really isn’t anyone around anymore and the race tables are being packed up.  Time to head to back to Houston.

Final Thoughts

Despite all the face plants, I think running a week in mountains this summer helped with my footing.  I haven’t trained much on trails or in the dark recently.  I’ll need to work on both going forward.  I’m baffled by the stomach issues.  Maybe I was simply that nervous going in.  I don’t recall eating anything out of the ordinary in the week leading up to the race.

I’m glad I didn’t drop out, even though battling cramps is never fun.  Cramping is something I need to figure out.  I seem to cramp in any race taking longer than three and half hours.  It doesn’t seem to matter the distance, the pace, the sport, or the weather conditions.  I’ve tried all the electrolyte supplements in various quantities.  Maybe I simply need more “time on my feet” runs to get my muscles used to it.

First half of the race was 2:37:29 (~10:10 pace), and the second half was 3:43:04 (~14:23 pace).  I’m not too happy about such uneven splits.  However, I don’t think you can ever be disappointed in finishing an ultra.  Sure I didn’t meet my time goals, but realistically with the limited training I put in for this race it doesn’t come as a surprise.  Also, I’ve learned over the years my performance is dramatically affected as the temperature rises.  This was the first race I didn’t run with some sort of timing device.  In some ways it was liberating, but on the flip side it drove the analytical part of me crazy.

Despite the negative tone of this race report I had a great time running this race.  It felt good to challenge myself and plunge into the unknown again. There were a lot of positives.  Mentally I was upbeat most of the race.  “Embrace the pain” seemed to work well for me.  I had no blister or chafing issues.  Even with the cramping when someone passed me, when I could run, I was gaining on them until I cramped again.  Despite all the falls I had little road rash and no true injuries.  This was my first long run with the handheld and it worked out great.   Hammer gel worked out great and it was my first time trying it.  It took a while but my stomach issues completely went away.  Even the cramping somewhat subsided.  That knowledge will help in the tough times in future races.  I was walking around like Frankenstein with Tourette’s on Sunday but the stiffness was mostly gone by Monday. 

I need to make it to some training runs with HTREx. I’m soooo not a morning person.  Running through the woods is so much more enjoyable than anywhere else.  I’m planning on volunteering at the Rocky Raccoon 100 miler and I look forward to the Hogs Hunt 50K in April. Next up.  The Color Run 5K, team "Coloring Outside the Lines"