Rio Del Lago 100 Mile Run
by George Miller
 

Here's another of George's race reports - also known as "Gee, That's A Lot to 
Read!"  If you don't make it to the end, I totally understand.  I'll give you a 
very brief look in the first paragraph and you can get the details in the rest 
if you dare: 

I ran the Rio Del Lago 100 mile run last weekend in 29:15.  My legs felt great 
the whole way through but my left Achilles began to act up near the end and is 
still sore today.  I was able to stay on top of hydration throughout the race.  
I got calories from Perpetuem (powdered drink), Boost (in a bottle at aid 
stations), soft tacos, sandwiches, sushi and a minimal amount of gel.  I got a 
bit heavy on the electrolytes early on and gained 5 pounds by mile 44 but backed 
off and had them dialed in for the rest of the race.  There was a mixture of 
running, power walking and, in the end, a death march!  I had a "pacer" (Sarah) 
for the last 54 miles who kept me on track and safe from mountain lions!  The 
weather was incredibly nice: low 60's in the early morning and a high in the 
very low 90's in the afternoon.  No, I did not sleep at all.  I used Pepsi and 
Vivarin to keep the sleepies away.  At no point did I feel like giving up - I 
just felt too good to do that even during the "death march" times.  There were 
68 people registered and 38 finished.  The winner finished in under 17 hours 
(he's NOT in my league!). I hope you can enjoy the photographs located at: 
http://www.dclundell.net/running/photos/2006-09-23_rio_del_lago_100_miler/

Last weekend I finished my first 100 mile run at Rio Del Lago in 29:15.  With 
all of the support and encouragement I received, perhaps I shouldn't be 
surprised that so many things went right and so few went wrong.  I feel like a 
kite and the people who ask me about this run are the wind.  The more they ask, 
the higher I get!

I must preface all of what you're about to read by saying, yes, I had to put one 
foot in front of the other for 100 miles but I recognize that it wouldn't have 
happened if not for so many other people in my life.  My family gave me precious 
training time and encouragement.  The friendliness of my training partners drew 
me out onto the trail at times I would have preferred to not go.  Zombie Runner 
friends, Don and Gillian, fed me sandwiches and soft tacos and kept me moving 
out of aid stations to keep me on target.  My friend and pacer, Sarah 
Dillingham, who came on board 12 hours prior to the start with energy, 
enthusiasm and attentiveness that made it fun while keeping me in touch with 
"race reality".  My friends, Carol, Chuck, Julie, Karen G, Karen H, Ron, Zachi 
and a hundred others who all expressed their sincere belief that I would be 
successful.  The RD's NOrm and Helen Klein and the volunteers who smiled and 
wished me the very best as they filled my bottles and offered food.  You I hope 
that all of these people, some runners and some not, share in my feeling of 
success and I thank them all profusely.  This was YOUR success too!


THE START:

Off we go.  Usually I get a bit amped at the start of a race.  There's that 
feeling in my stomach that something exciting's about to happen.  Not with this 
one though.  With 2 minutes left, RD NOrm Klein announced that all runners 
should move outside to the starting line.  As we shuffled out the door in the 6 
a.m. darkness, my hip pack just didn't feel right.  I stopped, took it off, 
stuffed everything into my Race Ready shorts, grabbed two hand held water 
bottles, filled them and walked out the door as people were leaving.  I wasn't 
worried about pulling up the rear because I had planned on walking the first 10 
minutes in the dark anyway.  I sustained a calf/Achilles injury 3 weeks earlier 
and it was good to take some time to warm up.

After 10 minutes, I broke into a slow jog and took some long, slow breaths as I 
realized that, if all went well and if I ran smart, I would still be running a 
few hours after this time tomorrow!  This was probably the first REAL hint of 
the reality that lay ahead of me.  The morning light broke through and Folsom 
Lake was a good sight to begin my day - I wanted to go for a swim!  I was 
familiar with the first 22 miles up to Auburn Dam Overlook (apologies to Dan 
Baglione but that's how it's named on our sheet) - rolly polly horse trails with 
some roots, some ruts, some dust and just a pleasant place to be running.  My 
first test of the day was to see if I could make these 22 miles without the 
Achilles/calf injury creeping back.  I ran comfortably, kept my HR down and 
listened to my breathing for minutes at a time.  Through Rattlesnake Bar (mile 
12), all went well but as I climbed Cardiac Hill (mile 18), I began to feel a 
tightness return to my left Achilles.  Fortunately, there was no pain and I ran 
gently into Auburn Dam Overlook (mile 22) confident that things were not getting 
any worse.

As I pulled into the aid station well ahead of the cut off, I was greeted by Don 
and Gillian (www.zombierunner.com) who helped me to get what I needed for the 
next 22 miles out of my drop bag:  lip balm, 4 baggies of Perpetuem, a can of 
Boost, sunscreen, gel ...  Don offered me a sandwich and even though I had no 
clue what was inside, I immediately took it and stuffed it in my mouth!  I was 
hungry for FOOD.  He must have noticed my voracious appetite so he gave me one 
for the trail as I left and headed down to No Hands Bridge - bread w/o crust, 
cream cheese, ham and Cheese Whiz NEVER tasted so good!!!

The trail to No Hands was big for me as I began to feel like I truly belonged 
out there.  I knew I was only 1/4 of the way done and there would be lots of 
obstacles ahead but still, I belonged where I was.  I ran strong across the 
bridge that's 50' or so above the American River.  After a brief stop at the aid 
station (mile 26), I continued on to a hill called K2 which rises 1000' in 1.25 
miles.  It's not an extremely steep or long climb but there are 7 false summits 
that NOrm kindly warned us about.  Of course, my mind wasn't able to keep track 
after the first 3 but my training in the hills of Purisima and on Montara 
Mountain paid off big time here as I walked to the top feeling able to run the 
rolly pollies into the Cool Fire Station (mile 30) 1:40 under the cut off.

As before, Don & Gillian took good care of me handing me food, filling my 
bottles and ushering me out onto the 7 mile Olmsted Loop.  People had told me 
that this could be the "boring, monotonous" part of the race and that it's very 
hot and exposed but I figured if it's only 7 miles, I'll handle it just fine.  
Well they were right and I was wrong.  Oh, the rolling, grassy exposed hills 
definitely had their beauty and would have been a fine place to practice tempo 
work or heat training on any other day.  Maybe it was the time of day or the 35 
mile range but something caused me to lose considerable spark out there.  I did 
my best to "dance" with the heat instead of fighting it but for those of you who 
know me, I'm NOT the best dancer!  With the temps in the high 80's, it was good 
to know that if THAT was as bad as it got, I'd still do just fine!  I finished 
the loop, refueled at the fire station and headed out back to No Hands Bridge.

About 10 minutes out, I realized that I was not seeing any ribbons on my trial.  
I kept a good lookout but there was nothing to be found.  Taking Gillian's sage 
advice, I looked on the ground and noticed that there were precious few 
footprints in the soft dirt and nobody was coming up from behind me so I turned 
around and took another trail.  There weren't enough footprints there to 
convince me to go much further so I sucked in a big breath and retraced my steps 
back to the first ribbon I could find.  It was very frustrating but it was the 
ONLY thing I could do. From there, I found the correct trail and off I went.  I 
was upset that I had lost 20 minutes but being well ahead of the cut off's made 
it more palatable and a good lesson for me to remember for the rest of the race 
- especially at night...in mountain lion country....OOOOOOOOOO!

The run down to No Hands Bridge aid station (mile 40) was an absolute HOOT!  I 
felt something kick in that made me want to really RUN!  I opened it up a bit 
and had fun through the rocks and roots (it reminded me of a tame Quad Dipsea 
trail).  The sight of the bridge was exhilarating to me.  It spans perhaps 1/6 
mile over a granite boulder filled canyon with the American River slipping 
through with people playing and carrying on having fun with the water.  I shot 
across feeling good and actually looking forward to the nice climb up to Auburn 
Dam Overlook (mile 44).  On the way, I stopped to dunk my head and soak my 
chamois lined bandana in a pond to help keep me cool for the last time before 
night fall.  Things were going GREAT.  I was having a lot of FUN.  THIS had been 
an absolutely GLORIOUS day!!!

As I came into the aid station, Don welcomed me and told me my pacer, Sarah 
Dillingham, had arrived and was ready to go.  A quick sidelight here...when I 
originally planned to run Rio, I was going to do it alone - no crew or pacer.   
I have a very difficult time asking someone to give up a day in their life for 
ME, ME, ME to go out and run.  It just doesn't feel right.  However, as I was 
driving to the race, I realized that if my injury flared up in the middle of the 
night of if I got lost, I'd like to do it with someone else there with me.  That 
might be "wimpy" for you Barclay people but I though it prudent.  So when I 
arrived at the pre race briefing on Friday evening, I began asking race 
officials if they knew of someone that would want to pace.  After a number of 
attempts, Nancy Warren said she knew of someone that might be interested and 
wondered how fast I wanted to run the course.  I told her that it was my first 
100 and I just wanted to finish feeling good.  She smiled and said, "Let me try 
Sarah."  I said "Sarah?!?!  Sarah Dillingham?"  Nancy's eyes got big and she 
said, "Yea, do you know her?"  I had met Sarah at my first ultra in 2/30 and 
we've run a few since.  The thought of having such enthusiasm, energy and talent 
to pace me was refreshing.

SO, as I arrived at the aid station, Don handed me a soft taco that was OUT OF 
THIS WORLD GOOD!!!  I changed my shirt, hat and socks, checked my feet for 
blisters/hot spots (of which I had ZERO), tossed some more supplies in my 
pockets and was still 1:30 ahead of the cut offs as we left Auburn Dam Overlook 
with 54 miles left to go, heading into the night, 5 pounds overweight.  I was 
advised to stop drinking for awhile.  Enter "The vicious Sodium/Water 
Relationship".  One day I'll understand it better but that night, I backed off 
on the sodium considerably and just sipped at the water for the next 4 miles.  
When thirsty, I drank though.  By mile 50, I was peeing clear and like a race 
horse every hour or so.


HALF WAY:

Within the first mile or so, Sarah and I talked about each of our expectations 
for finishing the race and found we were on the same page:  I would not drop for 
anything except an injury or missed cut off.  She would prod me if I slacked off 
or took too much time at the aid stations.  The trip back down to Cavitt School 
(mile 68) was pleasant.  Some running, some power walking and around mile 50, we 
pulled out our lights.  This run really confirmed my appreciation for the Fenix 
LP2 flashlight.  It has a very nice spot with a diffuse ring that kept me from 
getting the "tunnel vision" I experience from the GERBER.  Unfortunately, the 
lamp burned out!  Fortunately, I had a spare but it looked very dim.  I played 
with it for a moment but the light just didn't seem bright like it should be.  
Then in a stroke of genius, I looked at the lens and noticed it was covered with 
rice that had escaped from my sushi roll!  Once cleaned off, it worked GREAT 
until sunrise (lithium ion batteries ROCK in that thing!!!).  While I knew when 
I had hit "new territory" (after mile 50), it didn't seem that way.  The engine 
was running smoothly, fuel was in the tank and all was well.  Around Rattlesnake 
Bar (mile 56), I told Sarah that I was getting sleepy - not to complain or whine 
but just to advise her of how I was feeling.  At that point, I started taking 
Vivarin (caffeine tablet) every 4 hours.  After about 35 minutes, it had erased 
my sleepiness and I was feeling back on target again rolling through the 
darkness, running some and walking some.

Darkness and running.  To prepare for this unique time of the race, I had done 
on a dozen or so night and early morning runs to get accustomed to pacing, 
lighting, food, etc.  It paid off as I felt comfortable embracing the darkness 
instead of fearing it.  I saw thousands of playful "mice" running towards my 
feet which ended up being shadows from my light hitting the overhanging weeds.  
We ran through cold pockets of air cooled by streams.  Instead of scaring the 
crap out of me, the sounds of critters off the trail interested me.  We saw a 
HUGE fluttering owl and the largest, greenest meteor I've ever seen!  The night 
training had helped me to relax and have fun out there.

Just prior to entering Cavitt School aid station (mile 68) and still well ahead 
of cutoffs, I told Sarah that when we arrived, I wanted to take a 10 minute nap.  
Yes, I was tired but I was thinking that it would help me more to bank the rest 
now instead of trying to catch up later on in the morning.  I changed into some 
road shoes (mistake), re-supplied my pockets, ate, drank another Boost, then 
asked her to wake me in 9 minutes so I'd have a minute to get moving.  After a 
few minutes, I realized that it was futile to try to sleep.  I kept my eyes 
closed for awhile and relaxed taking in the events of the past day and doing my 
best to visualize the events over the final 50k I was about to run (the longest 
50k of my life).  The excitement was too much and I climbed out of the cot a 
short while later and declared that I was "ready to finish this thing."  Hearing 
the hoots and hollers of supporters as we left was invigorating.  An out-and-
back 50k to go!


THE FINAL 50K:

Now it was time for the "demons" to get on stage!  To stay awake, I used an 
occasional aid station Pepsi and Vivarin.  The combination seemed to work well 
as I never felt wired or sleepy.  Unfortunately, I began to feel a bit of a 
"burn" in my stomach that I attributed to the caffeine so I stopped taking it 
and the effect was HUGE!  I became more and more sleepy and unable to run.  I 
did my best to power walk but felt like I was "circling the drain" - never 
wanting to give up but just an incredible drop in pace and a bit of an emotional 
low point.  Next time (yes, there WILL be a next time) I will add dark chocolate 
into the mix to help keep me awake.  Fortunately, my body wasn't screaming at me 
and my stomach was tolerable so we kept pushing on but I was losing time at an 
alarming rate! 

All day and night I had been 90+ minutes ahead of cut offs but all of a sudden, 
I had to push to be 15 minutes ahead at Mt. Lion Knoll aid station (mile 84).  I 
remember seeing Rajeev and his pacer go past in very high spirits.  His 
enthusiasm was contagious and I think it created a bond of camaraderie with the 
runners he came across.  As I kept moving at the best pace I could, I can 
remember every so often hearing Sarah quietly say, "Good...you're moving good."  
I felt the encouragement even though I KNEW I was in a death march, still, I 
tried to do the best power walk that I could muster.  I'm sure my very feeble 
"thank you" was barely audible to her but every 10 minutes or so, she was there 
with that support.  Once in awhile she'd ask if I could "feel the finish."  Yes 
I could but I didn't want to verbalize it and have it get in my way.  I didn't 
want to feel finished before I was done!  Perhaps she understood that my lack of 
energy near the end was countered by the smell of the finish line.

I'm sure Sarah noticed that I was becoming weaker but I don't think she ever 
doubted my resolve to crawl to the finish if I had to.  Somewhere around mile 
97, I took my first and only fall of the race.  I was surprised as I landed in 
some tall dry weeds.  As I got up to shake the dirt off, she asked if I was ok.  
I was never better.  I did my best to contain the excitement but the adrenalin 
rush from the fall was just what I needed.  No, I didn't pick up the pace much 
at all but I DID feel a surge, a reboot, a renewed passion to maintain whatever 
strength I had to keep moving towards the finish.   She tried to tell me what 
was left ahead but I didn't quite understand the course as well as she did.  
When we arrived at a high point, she pointed to the levy we'd cross and then the 
road we'd turn left on and then the hill we'd climb to the finish line.  It all 
seemed so close...yet so far.  I think we were on the top of the levy with a 
mile left when I stopped, turned to her with a big smile on my face, gave her a 
hug and said something like, "Thank you.  Thank you so much for being here and 
helping me through this."  We went back to the task at hand and I tried running 
at one point but decided to save whatever I had left for the finish line.  So 
across the levy, down the road and up the hill we went.  I turned to Sarah with 
tears in my eyes and gave her a final hug and "thank you so much" as she told me 
to run it in.

 
THE FINISH:

The "hill" was nothing to speak of but as I came to the top and skirted the 
cyclone fence along the athletic field at the finish line, I had only a minute 
to think about my family and special friends who gave me so much encouragement 
but couldn't be there... then I began to hear people cheer and holler MY name!  
As I'm writing this, I'm getting watery eyes!  The sounds grew louder as more 
people joined in and I got closer.  Chuck was taking a video, Don was taking 
pictures and others, many of whom I didn't know, were just happy to see another 
runner complete their goal.  As I was 20 yards from the finish, someone pointed 
at the clock as if to say, "HURRY!  HURRY!  If you hurry you can get in under 24 
hours!!!!"  Hey wait a minute, I'm at 29 frickin hours why should I hurry?  But 
I kicked up my knees and did my best "sprint" to the end.  What a nice way to 
spend 29 hours 15 minutes of my life.  Oh yea, my starting and finishing weights 
were identical.

I've been learning how to run ultras for 3.5 years and have looked forward to 
the century mark all along.  After reading so many race reports from people, 
I've come to develop some nasty expectations for the distance but I was very 
fortunate to avoid the VAST majority of them.  I really thought that I'd be 
physically uncomfortable during much of the race but that never happened.  The 
down times were SO short lived and the up times were such a treat.  I found 
myself counting backwards from 30 figuring out how many more hours I had left to 
enjoy this outing - that was an exercise which worked well for me.  Now before I 
give the impression that everything was roses and Sees candy out there, I'll 
tell you it wasn't.  There were times when I was very tired, worn out, and 
anxious for the finish line.  Fortunately, my tiredness was tempered by lack of 
major pain or discomfort and my stomach "rebellion" was minor, short and 
relieved with simple foods.  So all in all, the difficult times were not nearly 
as difficult as I had expected.


Things that went right:

·         Food was a BIG key to finishing.  Perpetuem, soft tacos, sandwiches, 
sushi ... bring it all on!

·         Backed off on the salt when I was over weight (someone PLEASE try the 
easy explanation for this one again).

·         Felt great using hand held bottles instead of fanny pack.

·         Only one 1/4” blister on the top of a toe.

·         Stomach stayed settled.

·         Stayed well hydrated.

·         Perpetuem worked exceptionally well (sometimes I added a touch of 
Amino to it for a taste change).

·         Stayed “in the moment” much of the time.

·         Had an exceptional pacer who kept me on task.

·         Chamois bandana and WS ice hat with face drape helped keep me cool.

·         The 10 or so heat training sessions helped me prepare for warmth.

Things I would change:

·         I would NOT change into road shoes as my feet would have been much 
happier in trail shoes on the last part of the course.

·         I would eat more dark chocolate and less Vivarin to help stay awake in 
the morning hours.

·         Find a way to increase my training miles from 40 mpw to 50 mpw.

·         Shorten some aid station stops.

·         Drink more Boost for liquid calories.

·         Don’t get injured 3 weeks before the race.

·         Pay better attention to course markings (THEY were fine but I just 
missed them).

 
It was truly an incredible experience that I'll remember for some time!

 
 (~: George