Everyone has those moments in ultras when they feel like shit. They are inescapable; a part and parcel of the sport. But how do you keep pushing when the low moments drag on? I found my answer at the bottom of a 100mg caffeine gel.
Pre-Race
Promise Land is a 50K staple on the East Coast. With David Horton as the race director, the race has attracted some of the nation’s top talent (including Scott Jurek and Hal Koerner) since the early 2000’s. Coach Will put the race on my radar at the start of the year when I was planning my schedule. After meeting Horton at the mile 16 aid station of the Terrapin Mountain 50K and getting asked “have you signed up for Promise Land?”, I knew I would give it a go.
Looking at the sign up list in the week before the race, it was clear just how competitive this event was going to be. I don’t know that many ultrarunners, but all it took was a simple click on the top names on the ultrasignup page to see that the race was going to be very fast. I was excited to run a race where I’d likely be in a pack of people for many miles and be pushed. Terrapin was a bit lonely, as I was basically in solo 3rd – solo 4th the whole way. So Promise Land would be fun.
This is the first race where I don’t need to overdose on Advil in the hour before the start!
“This is the first race where I don’t need to overdose on Advil in the hour before the start!”, I told my friend as we discussed how I felt on the Friday before the race. My training had gone really well and I had put in two 65-ish mile weeks back to back right before race week. Most importantly, I had no lingering injuries or sicknesses, a first for me. I didn’t even bring the large bottle of Advil sitting on my kitchen counter with me.
Ultrarunning Community
Promise Land is a true community event. Horton encourages all runners to camp out the night before the race (he calls you a “sissy” if you stay in a hotel). Runners trickle in from 4:00 – 8:00pm with their hand-baked desserts and nom on Dominos pizza while chatting with their friends from local running groups or even just from last year’s edition of Promise Land. Horton then delivers his unfiltered version of a pre-race meeting after which runners trickle back to their tents and try to get some hard-to-come-by sleep.
Even after the race, many runners stick around chatting about their many miles, their low moments, and anything else their damaged minds can come up with after a brutal ordeal in the mountains. Many a conversation begins with one or both participants in a hands-on-knees position.
The Beauty of Springtime
The last hour of my drive from Washington DC to Bedford, VA was spectacular. Springtime in Virginia is hard to beat. I had become accustomed to a winter landscape dotted of barren trees, but I was treated to grassy fields, mountains full of budding trees, and green as far as one could see. It was sunny, around 85 degrees with clear skies. It couldn’t have been a more perfect day and I was more excited than ever to spend the following day running through this landscape, up and over and down 7,400ft of elevation in 34 miles.
Race
After a beautiful rendition of the national anthem from a male runner with an angelic voice, Horton sent us off. The race starts at 5:30AM, which is a bit cruel for a 50K because it means you need your headlamp for all of 30 minutes and then have to lug it with you the rest of the way (or donate it to Horton’s students).
I hadn’t planned any splits for the race, but I had ultrasignup-stalked a few runners that I thought I would be similar in pace too, so I knew who I was going to stick with. The race climbs 4,000ft in the first 11 miles (with a bit of descent in the middle of the climb), so a lot of the front pack sticks together for the first few. I found myself in a pack of 20 or so that thinned out as the miles went on. I was lucky enough to enjoy some good conversations and company over those miles with Jacob, Jared, Lee, Michael, and other runners that would I would see throughout the race.
As I got to the Sunset Fields aid station at mile 12 in 12th place, I knew I wasn’t feeling so good. I was in good position, just behind some of the runners I intended to be running with, but I was feeling more tired than I should have, my pace wasn’t what it should have been on some of the easy, runnable sections, and I was having some GI distress.
My nutrition plan for the race was to use two 20oz handheld bottles (my first time using handhelds), one bottle with 2xMaurten 160 and one bottle with water. For food, I planned to fuel with Science in Sport (SIS) gels, one every half hour, with one or two 100cal, 100mg caffeine Precision Nutrition gels mixed in when I felt I needed it. I had nutrition issues at Terrapin and I basically stopped eating after 2.5 hours, so I wanted to change up my strategy for this race.
I could tell that something was off nutritionally though. I was drinking lots of water and trying to drink Maurten, but I felt the water just sitting in my stomach making me very bloated. My stomach felt like it was overflowing from miles 10-12. As time went on, it made it hard for me to get anything down (gels included) and I had to work hard to not vomit when eating and drinking (which I did not!). Looking back, I think the Maurten drink mix doesn’t go too well with my body. Notes for the future…
The Low Moments
The next 8 miles were rough. There is a decently technical but runnable descent for a few miles (which I felt that I was going slower than I should have been) and then a few miles of perfect, light downhill grade gravel road. I easily should have put down low 6 minute miles here but my legs felt heavy and tired, so I managed low 7s. It was at this point that I was at a bit low. I felt like I typically feel at the end of the race – tired, heavy, and sore. I knew I needed a change, so I winced and guzzled down a 100mg caffeine gel.
Right before this, I had also had a conversation with Jacob who, sensing my low moment, offered me positive encouragement to keep pushing. “We are still on sub-5 hour pace”, he said as he blazed past me down the gravel road. Words of encouragement like this make all the difference in an ultra and I really did take extra motivation from our conversation.
Why do I feel so crappy
I rolled in to the mile 19 aid station and, with hands on my knees, said “why do I feel so crappy!”. The fantastic aid station volunteers shoved a Powerade popsicle in my hand, filled my bottles, and offered me a shot of Fireball (which I kindly declined). I just had to keep moving through this low and hopefully it would pass. I thought back to podcasts from other ultrarunners describing their in-race lows and how they eventually go away if you just keep moving. I tried to channel that energy.
Back on Track
It doesn’t always get worse
And eventually, possibly due to the caffeine bomb, possibly due to the words of encouragement from Jacob, possibly due to the Horton adage that “it doesn’t always get worse”, or maybe due to something else entirely, my legs started feeling better and my body was moving again. We got to a part of the course that I loved, nice non-technical, flowy singletrack with rolling hills and a light uphill grade. I ended up passing 4 people here (getting into what I thought was around 10th place) and felt a lot better. I think the caffeine had kicked in.
Coming into the mile 26 aid station at the base of the massive, brutal Apple Orchard Falls climb, I saw a friend Michael a little ahead of me. My goal for this climb was just to stay consistent and not to give up any ground. I was feeling decent, but I wasn’t in a state to really push the steep parts. I accomplished this, falling a little behind Michael who had a really strong climb (I had caught up to him at the beginning of the climb and thought he was hurting but then he put on the jets and stayed well ahead of me, but within eyesight) and staying a similar distance ahead of the next runner Jared. Not to mention, halfway through the climb, the heavens opened up and poured down rain, with thunder, lightning, wind, and cold. I came back up to the Sunset Fields aid station with 5 miles to go, filled up my water and knew I had the legs for a strong descent finish.
After cruising through a technical singletrack decent and bombing the final 3 miles (with two sub-6 miles) of downhill gravel road, I moved up three places and finished in 7th overall (6th male) with a time of 5:14:45! Given the extremely competitive field, the sudden crazy weather at the end, and my very real low moments, I was thrilled. I had also beaten my seed considerably (Horton seeds each runner in the race and I was seeded 28 given my lack of ultrarunning history), which I set out to do at the start of the race. I had hoped to slide into the top 10 and I certainly accomplished that.
It hurt so much at the end for about an hour, but my body recovered. I slurped down a protein shake, had a double-burger and lots of water. After a few hours of chatting with my competitors and friends at the finish, I was able to walk normally, something I haven’t experienced after a race before.
Takeaways
Some things I learned from this race:
- Low moments end. Stay mentally strong and work through them.
- Maurten doesn’t sit well with my stomach. I will try some new sports drink for Western States.
- Competitive races are so fun. It’s awesome to play leapfrog with some of the same people all day and pick each other up when they’re down.
- Caffeine is my legal PED (performance enhancing drug). I always feel great after taking it and need to find optimal ways to get it in my bloodstream during a race.
- Narrow singletrack (technical or not) is my strength. This is where I find myself passing runners.
- I can compete with some fast runners. As I continue to stacks more bricks in training, I’ll continue to get faster. I can’t wait to see my running potential.
Looking forward, I’ve got an 8-9 week block before Western States. The focus is to keep building on my great fitness I have now, keep making those legs bombproof, and stay injury-free! LETS GOOOOOOOO