I bushwhacked my first 100K last weekend. Well, 50K, I DNF’d after the first 31 mile loop. It was the Bandera 100K, relocated 90 minutes west at Camp Eagle due to hard rain, a church summer camp with a lot of land on the Nueces River. I can’t think of any place on earth closer to hell than South Texas in the summer, but I suppose they make the most of the Nueces River.
That’s Eric’s race face above. What are the odds I’d be standing in a corral with my son-in-law to run a 100K ultra trail race?
I didn’t say “bushwhack” to start out this race report for nothing. There was very little runnable trail at Camp Eagle. There is considerably more runnable trail in Bandera, as I was told by several other runners on the course who’d run Bandera before. I fell once at 3 miles (Windmill A) and again at 8 miles (Windmill B). After breaking my shoulder last year training for this race, falling is sort of a nightmare for me, but these were good falls. The first fall was forward, just like the fall that broke my clavicle. But I performed the perfect roll. I ended up in a plank position with my chest sitting just above a baby cactus. That I could perform that roll was a testament to my strength training regimen. I felt good about it.
My crew was back at the Box Guest House in Bandera. The course relocation created all sorts of logistical problems. Karen, Steve, Susan, and Lucie stayed back in town with Liam and Margot.
Brittany was my official pacer but doubled up as my crew. This photo is a few hours after I finished. She was happy I survived for her formative crew/pacer CV. She was quite good at it.
This is Eric, early into the run still based on his gear, departing the Windmill aid station. The ultra started out below freezing but warmed up nicely into the 50°s. Eric ran super strong, finishing 13th overall. He had a fall too and severely sprained his thumb. We both found our trail legs though once we got going.
Brit wasn’t able to meet us at the first aid station, but the setup was pretty good. I refilled my 500ml bottle with Tailwind instead of my LMNT. And I had enough gels on me.
These guys probably wanted to pass me. I got a lot of that. These official race photos all appear on some actual trail. I can assure you, this course had very little of that. I’m disappointed the course had to be moved, but there was so much that was good about this run.
I executed my fueling and hydration plans perfectly, the best ever for a distance race, and that will help me in my future marathons. I run the Austin Marathon next month. I drank 500ml of LMNT between each aid station, or essentially every hour. LMNT has 1000mg sodium, which is the max a person should consume. I know now that I need the max. It also has 200 mg of potassium and 60mg of magnesium. There is no calcium but I consumed a calcium capsule before the run and at about 15 miles. Magnesium helps the muscles relax and calcium helps them to contract. LMNT kept me on target for all these electrolytes except for calcium. Mortal is the only drink I know of that has calcium and would be my second choice after LMNT, but I’m also going to make it a practice to supplement that nutrient with capsules. I also further supplemented my sodium with a couple of SaltStick Fast Chews every hour. Although my legs were exhausted, I had no cramping issues.
I fueled with Carbs gels. One every hour or between aid stations. It contains 50 carbs, a bit less than SIS Beta Fuel, but 200 calories which is more than SIS. My energy levels felt fine, it was the weakness in my feet, ankles and legs that led me to DNF, even though I felt strong in terms of energy.
I changed into a tank top at the Zip Road aid station and felt so much cooler. I’d waxed my legs and arms and that allowed the sweat to more easily evaporate in the wind. So my gear selections were also a win. I’d even tried acclimating to the humidity by using the steam sauna regularly at the Rec Center. Might have helped, I didn’t feel overly hot but the biggest surprise, other than the nastiness of the course, was that my heart rate was locked into mostly zone 4, followed by zone 5. I expected to run in zone 3 and I felt like I was mostly there. It must have been the effort to hop from rock to rock. I did very little actual running, it was mostly a rock hopping event.
I thought my pace was on target. My watch died after 15 miles but I was averaging a 14 minute pace, which was my goal. I think if there was a flaw in my run, it’s that 14 minutes was probably too fast for me on this course. My overall pace for the 50K I eventually completed was over 15 minutes per mile. But for me to run a 15 or 16 minute pace, I’d need to mix in some walking each mile. Maybe I will next time, although I don’t expect there to be a next time on such a difficult course.
I ran for a ways chatting to Eric’s old college coach, Karl Poetzl, who lives in Houston. It’s such a small world. He ran behind me, allowing me to clear the rocks for him, which I seemed inherently quite good at. My trailing foot would often catch a rock and flip it as my leg moved forward. It never hurt my toe, a credit to my La Sportiva Bushidas, but it was so exhausting for my thighs. I think I ran with the right shoes for this course, but hard to say if the cushion of Hokas wouldn’t have been better. I’ll continue to experiment with shoes. I’ll wear Hokas for the 3 marathons this year as those will be on paved roads. Karl completed the 100K, 8th in his 50 year old division, just under 17 hours which qualified him for the Western States 100M lottery.
Eric had a strong run. Brit and I crewed him through his last 3 aid stations, He finished 2nd in his age division and 13th overall. He didn’t care for the rocks anymore than any of us. It didn’t allow him to stretch out his legs on the downhills which is one of his strengths. If anything, runners had to slow running downhill to avoid certain death.
You’d think I’d be disappointed having to DNF in my first 100K ultra, but I was fine with it. It would have been too risky to run another loop, and really, I would have had to walk most of it and might not have made the 24 hour cutoff. Nailing my nutrition plan and the training itself were both wins. I haven’t been this fit in 9 years. I expected to also be as fast as the last time I weighed 165 pounds, but that’s not the case. I’m a half hour slower in marathons now and that’s just age. But understanding my nutritional needs for long runs is a huge win. And being paced 5 miles by Brit was a lot of fun. I got to see her foot work – she’s a good trail runner. I think I can complete the distance on an easier course and I’ll try again next year.
A Runner's Story 