I survived my 18th marathon. That’s how I know it’s time to run a 100K ultra. I’ve yet to DNF in a marathon. The outcome in an ultra is a bit less deterministic. I have run two 50K trail ultras but that distance isn’t much further than a marathon. I ran well, hitting my stretch goal of a 9 minute pace. No one’s more surprised than me.

Sunday’s Boulder Marathon was a good training run for January’s Bandera 100K. I kept to my fueling plan really well. I planned to consume well over 300 carbs in 4 hours, mostly from the SIS Beta Fuel gels, and I feel like I did. The good news is my stomach was fine and I felt strong the entire run, pushing myself to run much faster than my typical training pace of 10 minutes per mile. I ran under my stretch goal for the first half, averaging an 8.5 minute pace. I even maintained a strong 9 minute pace for the 3rd 10K. I didn’t really fall off pace until the final two miles when my hamstring cramped a couple of times.

Which suggests I didn’t hydrate well enough. I don’t think I missed my sodium plan by much but it’s apparent I need more than 3,000 mg of sodium per 4 hours. I should plan to double that, which I think is still safe as long as I’m hydrating. I found it difficult to drink as much electrolytes as I did, so I might focus on eating more salt chews. Cramping caused me to lose 5 minutes and subsequently lose 1st for my age by 2 minutes, but more important is to learn from my race experience. That’s one point of races, learning where to adjust the plan.

I’m disappointed to have surrendered my first place position in the final mile, but I’m super happy with my race. I ran to plan and met my stretch goal. And learning from it for Bandera is gold. I’ve also determined I need more strength training. That mitigates cramping too. Exercises like squats, lunges, and deadlifts target the main muscle groups used in running. A strong core supports proper running form, reducing fatigue and cramping. Calves and Hamstrings are prone to cramping, so strengthening them can help. My strength isn’t weak. I target 3 days per week but generally only do strength training once a week. I’ll strive to do better for Bandera. I have 3 months.

Here are some great stats from the race if you’re into that. They show I went from 2nd to 1st for my age in mile 16 and gave it back up in the final mile. The Boulderthon does some really good things, from these superb timing stats to the best aid stations ever.

		Course			Interval			Chip Time Place
	Time	Distance	Time	Pace	Distance	Time	Pace	Overall	Sex	Age
Mile 1*	7:17:07 AM	1	8:32	8:31/mi	1	8:32	8:31/mi	272	221M	2M60-64
Mile 2	7:25:36 AM	2	17:00	8:29/mi	1	8:29	8:28/mi	272	221M	2M60-64
Mile 3*	7:33:54 AM	3	25:18	8:25/mi	1	8:19	8:18/mi	261	216M	2M60-64
Mile 4	7:42:12 AM	4	33:37	8:24/mi	1	8:19	8:18/mi	261	216M	2M60-64
Mile 5	7:51:07 AM	5	42:31	8:30/mi	1	8:55	8:54/mi	257	215M	2M60-64
Mile 6	7:59:07 AM	6	50:31	8:25/mi	1	8:01	8:00/mi	262	217M	2M60-64
Mile 7	8:08:15 AM	7	59:39	8:31/mi	1	9:08	9:07/mi	261	216M	2M60-64
Mile 8	8:16:58 AM	8	1:08:23	8:32/mi	1	8:44	8:43/mi	266	220M	2M60-64
Mile 9	8:26:41 AM	9	1:18:05	8:40/mi	1	9:43	9:42/mi	274	226M	2M60-64
Mile 10	8:34:38 AM	10	1:26:02	8:36/mi	1	7:58	7:57/mi	274	227M	2M60-64
Mile 11	8:44:47 AM	11	1:36:11	8:44/mi	1	10:10	10:09/mi	336	277M	2M60-64
Mile 12	8:53:07 AM	12	1:44:31	8:42/mi	1	8:20	8:19/mi	326	270M	2M60-64
Mile 13	9:01:42 AM	13	1:53:06	8:41/mi	1	8:36	8:35/mi	291	242M	2M60-64
Mile 14	9:09:57 AM	14	2:01:21	8:40/mi	1	8:15	8:15/mi	276	230M	2M60-64
Mile 15	9:18:55 AM	15	2:10:19	8:41/mi	1	8:58	8:57/mi	274	229M	2M60-64
Mile 16	9:29:25 AM	16	2:20:50	8:48/mi	1	10:31	10:30/mi	274	228M	1M60-64
Mile 17	9:37:40 AM	17	2:29:05	8:46/mi	1	8:16	8:15/mi	264	221M	1M60-64
Mile 18	9:46:13 AM	18	2:37:37	8:45/mi	1	8:33	8:32/mi	260	217M	1M60-64
Mile 19	9:55:17 AM	19	2:46:41	8:46/mi	1	9:04	9:03/mi	251	206M	1M60-64
Mile 20	10:04:46 AM	20	2:56:11	8:48/mi	1	9:30	9:29/mi	250	206M	1M60-64
Mile 21	10:15:04 AM	21	3:06:29	8:52/mi	1	10:18	10:17/mi	233	198M	1M60-64
Mile 22	10:25:00 AM	22	3:16:24	8:55/mi	1	9:56	9:55/mi	228	190M	1M60-64
Mile 23	10:34:56 AM	23	3:26:21	8:58/mi	1	9:57	9:56/mi	251	203M	1M60-64
Mile 24	10:44:46 AM	24	3:36:10	9:00/mi	1	9:50	9:49/mi	245	197M	1M60-64
Mile 25	10:56:19 AM	25	3:47:43	9:06/mi	1	11:33	11:32/mi	261	209M	1M60-64
Mile 26*	11:09:32 AM	26	4:00:57	9:16/mi	1	13:14	13:13/mi	291	232M	2M60-64
Mile 26.2	11:12:11 AM	26.2	4:03:36	9:17/mi	0.2	2:39	13:13/mi	291	232M	2M60-64

Quarterly stats below further show I was running under my stretch goal for 3 quarters of the distance.

		Course			Interval			Chip Time Place
	Time	Distance	Time	Pace	Distance	Time	Pace	Overall	Sex	Age
1st Quarter*	8:04:08 AM	6.55	55:33	8:28/mi	6.55	55:33	8:28/mi	261	216M	2M60-64
2nd Quarter*	9:02:31 AM	13.1	1:53:56	8:41/mi	6.55	58:24	8:54/mi	276	230M	2M60-64
3rd Quarter*	10:01:27 AM	19.65	2:52:51	8:47/mi	6.55	58:56	8:59/mi	250	206M	1M60-64
4th Quarter	11:12:11 AM	26.2	4:03:36	9:17/mi	6.55	1:10:45	10:47/mi	291	232M	2M60-64

After gaining a better understanding of my body’s sodium requirements, the next area of learning revolves around my max heart rate and lactate threshold. Understanding this better will facilitate my training for the ultra in January. My average heart rate during the marathon was 153. The age-based max heart rate math suggests 158 is my peak. My peak heart rate Sunday was 181, so clearly my max is somewhere above the average for my age.

I was never winded, although I started breathing heavier in the final 10K. This tells me the 150 range is well below my lactate threshold. What this also tells me is that I should start to maintain my runs in the 150 range. I generally run in the 130 range. So I need to train a bit harder. I don’t have the time to put in many more miles than I’m already running, but I can squeeze in what is called HIIT for High Intensity Interval Training. I need to challenge my lactate threshold. That will improve my endurance and performance in less miles. That’s my second lesson learned and my plan for the rest of the year.

Learning and planning. That’s what makes racing fun.