Subject: Umstead 1999 - Lessons from a rookie Date: Mon, 11 Oct 1999 17:38:18 -0400 From: kevin_polin@peoplesoft.com Hi all, The attached (probably drawn out!) race report is of my first Ultra exprience at Umstead this year. It's a bit late but a 3 month weekly commute from Atlanta to San Francisco gave me a lot of free time to write it recently. It focuses on lessons I learned. Hope it's of some use to ultra newbies. Cheers, Kevin. ----------------------------------------------------- Umstead 1999 ? Lessons from a 50 mile rookie by Kevin Polin On my final lap I encounter several race casualties. One man is sitting on the side of the trail with his head in his hands. Later I pass another man who is limping badly and is literally dragging one of his feet behind him. I pass another man who makes a strange whimpering sound with every step. A woman running in the opposite direction looks at me and asks, "Why are we doing this?" I think about her question very hard and can't answer it, but I do reflect on how I came to be in this race. Running Background My running background was quite limited before my first marathon. I had been jogging short distances for weight control since 1995 and usually ran a couple of 10k's each year. The only long distance I remember doing is when I went out for a 6 miler one night and feeling so good ran 12. But apart from that I had never been interested in the long distances. In 1997 I switched all my efforts to lifting heavy weights, and decided to bulk up in size. I went from my usual 175 pounds (at 6 feet tall) to 225 pounds in one year. This stopped towards the end of 1998 since I was getting married and wanted to lose weight. To help lose this weight I decided to train for and run a marathon. To help achieve my goal, I picked up my old Jeff Gallway running book and setup a plan: regular runs during the week with a slowly increasing weekend long run. It worked great. In October 1998 I ran the Marine Corps marathon in 3 hours 38 minutes and was down to my regular old 175 pounds. But I had a problem: I was so hyped up about completing a marathon and reading of how they have changed peoples lives and of how they were the toughest thing a person had ever done, etc., etc., that I felt very let down after my first one. It wasn't all that hard, I had stiff legs for a few days afterwards but felt I could have run another the following weekend! Four weeks later I ran the Atlanta marathon and was still disappointed and unsatisfied. I started searching the web for other marathons to run and came across info on ultra marathons. "I'm in!" I thought and signed up for the Umstead 50 which was 4 months away. To train for the race I ran the Myrtle Beach Marathon (February), Shamrock Sportsfest Marathon (March), and PowerMan Alabama (10k run, 60 bike, 10 run ? March). I also ran a 32 mile training run which felt incredibly harder than a marathon plus 6 miles. It was during this training run that I realized the 50 mile distance will not be easy. Pre-Race Day Conveniently, my wife and I have friends who live a few blocks from the Umstead course. Curiously, they had never heard of the 50/100 mile race so close to them. We spend the night at their house where I drink 3 cups of hot tea before going to bed, this doesn't make for a good nights sleep. It's at this point I learn my first ultra lesson: don't drink caffeine the night before a race. Race Day The alarm goes off at 4:30pm and after only 2 hours of sleep my first reaction is to turn over and sleep some more. But then I remember why I am here ? the race. My first 50 miler. I get dressed and my wife and I take the 3-minute drive down to Umstead Park. We drive down the long dark winding rocky trail to the race headquarters where we hear a large amount of laughter and talking coming from the meeting house. Inside we find probably 75 (mostly) guys, hanging around talking and joking. What a sight at 5am! After obtaining my number I do my quick pre-race preparation: Vaseline in the appropriate places, consumption of a power bar, lots of water, and stretches. I also try and eat some hammer gel I've recently bought for the first time but have a very hard time sucking it out of its plastic flask and so discard it. I learn my second ultra lesson: only bring foods to a race that you are familiar with. The First 10 miles Umstead is staged in Raleigh, N.C. at Umstead State Park. It is primarily a 100 mile event, however, a 50 mile race option is also available. The race consists of a 10 mile loop with an aid station at the start and halfway point. For the most part, the course consists of continuous rolling hills with 4,000 feet of elevation gain for the 50 and 8,000 for the100. At first sight I feel the hills don't look too difficult. The course is 100% trail and is carpeted with small gravel rocks that, also, at first sight don't seem to pose any problem. My wife and I follow the crowd of around 150 runners heading down to the start that is situated at the bottom of a short but fairly steep hill covered completely with small rocks. As the gun goes off I find myself at the front of the crowd and racing to the top of the hill. I make it up to the top first and am a bit surprised since I don't have a flashlight and have no idea which way to turn, so I slow down and tuck in behind a couple of guys with flashlights. I take off at a fairly good pace and follow these two front runners who are chatting away. I listen in on their conversation concerning some of the 100 mile races they have run including Western States, Leadville, Wasatch, and Hardrock. Hearing the descriptions of these incredible mountainous races leaves me in awe. I join in the conversation and find out one of the guys named Jose Wilkie, who seems to talk at 100 mph, is attempting to run twelve 100 milers in one year! The other guy, Tom Green, seems to have run every major 100 miler in the U.S. Both guys seem to know everyone in the race since most runners we see on the out and back spurs shout "Hi Tom" or "Hi Jose" as they pass. At the 5 mile point I run straight past the aid station crew, who just stare at me, while Tom and Jose stop for a drink. After running down a tiny path for about 2 minutes I hear Jose yelling behind me. I turn around and run back to the station to catch up with the two guys. They tell me the aid station was the turnaround point even though there were no signs. I learn my third ultra lesson: know the course you are running, and don't rely on aid station crews for direction! It's on this first 10 miles that I get the opportunity to talk to many runners since at this point everyone is running relatively close and we are all in good spirits and enjoying the run - trail running is certainly more enjoyable than marathon road racing. It occurs to me that ultra runners are a great bunch of people. The Second 10 miles I keep the pace up well and continue running with Tom and Jose. My legs feel good with no problems whatsoever. Jose is still speaking at 100 mph, and I wonder how in the world he has the energy to run at the same time! On this loop Jose and Tom start to walk up the steeper hills. I'm really surprised by this and think these guys can't be the great runners I initially thought since I know I could easily run up these hills ? little did I know what was in store. We talk with many other runners as we pass them and others pass us. Some run with us for a few miles and from them I hear more stories about such races as Badwater, Marathon des Sables, and the Eco Challenge. These people seem invincible as they tell me of their experiences of surviving hypothermia at altitude, sleeping in deserts and on mountains overnight after losing equipment, and various other near death experiences. It is indeed an honor to run with these guys. As the sun rises we run past many of the beautiful freshly blooming flowers the Umstead course has to offer and with the smell of the early morning dew on the grass and the sound of the river running by, I feel it's going to be a great day. The Third 10 miles I keep up the pace with Tom and Jose but it gets tougher ? my early enthusiasm wears off as reality sets in and I realize this is not going to be easy. As I pass the marathon distance my legs start to tire. During training I had run the 32 mile loop very slowly and I realize I have taken off way too fast by running with these two experienced ultra-runners. It's at this point I realize that most of the runners were saving their legs by walking the steeper hills. I feel I have just crossed a threshold of fatigue I haven't experienced before. Towards the end of this 10 mile loop, Jose moves ahead and Tom and I run together. When we reach the aid station Tom and I split up and I figure he has run ahead of me since I spend about 10 minutes chatting with my wife. At about this time I suddenly feel extremely tired and realize I am moving into new territory in terms of mileage. Psychologically I am strong, however I am concerned about how my body will react to this new distance. I feel like changing my shoes and socks but don't since by now I am so tired I don't feel I have the energy and I also now want to get the run over as soon as possible! At the end of this 30 miles I have learned another lesson: never take off fast in an ultra unless you know what you are doing. The Fourth 10 miles As I head out for my 4th loop I feel glad I'm on my own since I can run my own pace and not have to keep up with the faster runners I have met (and also not slow them down which I probably did). But about 2 miles into the loop Tom runs up from behind me! "I thought you were in front of me Tom!", "No", came the reply, "I spent some time at the aid station". "Oh no", I think, "now I'm gonna have to keep up with him!" We run together a while and I think Tom realizes that I'm tiring since by now I can hardly reply to anything he is saying. Somewhere before 4 miles along the course Tom takes off ahead and I'm on my own again, as much as I liked running with Tom by now I am so tired I cannot even force a word out of my mouth. The original upbeat demeanor of all the runners has at this point disappeared as friendly hellos have been exchanged for, at most, grunts as we pass each other. It's at this point that I wonder that maybe I am on the last lap. This illusion seems to help me get to the main aid station whereupon I realize I still have 10 more miles to go. Stopping at the 40 mile point re-iterated to me one of the best features of the Umstead race which was the main aid station where an extremely attentive woman would immediately ask approaching runners what they needed, and would hand them whatever food or drink they had asked for. I unfortunately never got a chance to thank her. By the end of this loop I am really hurting. The pain in my legs is something I have not ever come close to experiencing. Even walking is painful. My feet feel like red-hot pokers and have by now swollen a great deal, in fact, they feel like they are going to burst through my shoes at any moment. By now I am walking up all of the hills and can only shuffle along slowly on the straights. The only thing that keeps me sane is knowing a downhill will arrive soon. Next ultra lesson: bring an extra, larger, pair of running shoes to each race. The Last 10 miles Leaving the aid station after running 40 miles was one of the hardest thing I have ever done. I am absolutely physically wasted and probably shouldn't have set out again but do - I have to finish. By now my body is in total pain ? every single step is torture. Even the hand held water bottle I have been carrying the whole race feels like a 50lb dumbbell, so I empty it out thinking I can drink the water supplied on the route. My mind starts to wander, I lose focus and start to think crazy thoughts. I wonder to myself if I could actually experience any more pain than I am experiencing at this moment. That is, is there a limit to pain? I try and imagine how painful IronMan would be, or being stuck high on Mount Everest overnight with no oxygen, or even running a 6 day ultra. I even think about asking one of the few mountain bikers passing if I can borrow their bike! As the miles slowly pass all I can think about is my next step and where I should place my foot so as to avoid the small rocks which are now becoming extremely menacing pain inducing obstacles. Part of the rock problem was my fault since I had worn my regular marathon running shoes. It's here I learn another Ultra lesson: wear the correct shoes for the terrain. The miles go slowly by, step by step, and I finally get to the finish line after 10 hours and 57 minutes out on the trail. Strangely, I have enough energy left to make a sprint for the finish and beat another runner up the hill to the line! I give my wife a hug and talk with friends including Tom who looks like he has just been out for a nice easy jog in the park! I sit down and take my shoes and socks off and find several huge blood filled blisters on my feet. This sight teaches me my final ultra lesson of the day: make foot care a top priority during a race, even if you don't feel like it. Afterthoughts Umstead is considered one of the less arduous 50/100 mile courses in the U.S. However, this statement can be misleading since it is a continuously hilly course covered in small rocks which were very bothersome to me and many other runners. Because of this many of the experienced 100 mile starters switched to the 50 mile option. Don't let the Umstead course elevation profile fool you ? it is not easy. This has been by far the hardest mental and physical event I have ever experienced. It was harder than I had ever imagined, much harder than "2 marathons back to back." All I could think about for the next several days was that I was in more pain than I had ever imagined, let alone experienced, and yet there were still guys out there on the course running through the night on their way to a 100 mile finish. I was unable to comprehend how they could do this. For the next several days I swore to my wife I would never run a 100 mile race, but it's a week later now and I am thinking of signing up for the Umstead 100 next year.