Miwok 100K
an(viI signed up for the Miwok 100K (62 mile) ultra with several goals.
#1 is that it is a Western States 100 qualifier race (successfully completing the race under the cut off time allows one to enter the WS100 lottery held in early December for the race the following end of June). I have entered the lottery the last two years but haven't had my tickets picked yet but every years my chances increase.
#2 is that I wanted to run an ultra with a better chance of cooler weather and non-desert terrain. My last 3 ultras of 100K or longer had been in Arizona and the temps got into the low 90's each time. I have struggled in the heat with nausea and I have also fallen a few times on rocky trails. The Miwok 100k is held in the Marin Headlands just north of San Francisco and while the course was hilly it would be a nice change of scenery, likely cooler and less rocky. Ok, they had lots of steps and steep switchbacks but the positives outweighed the negatives. :)
#3 goal was to figure out my nutrition better. Some of the nausea was likely due to the hotter temps but decided to try an different approach to my nutrition and hydration this time around to avoid feeling nauseous and still have enough energy.
Knowing the course had an advertised elevation gain of around 12,000 ft, my training consisted of many more hill runs. I put in multiple long runs between 25 and 30 miles in the local mountains to work on my up/down technique and endurance. Overall the training went really well with with an emphasis on recovery and cross training too. Most the weeks were 70 to 85 miles. But I did back off the really long runs that I would have done if it was a 100 miler.
The 3:00am wake up was tough but had a small bowl of oatmeal, coffee, banana and arrived at 4:15 for a 5:00am start. All went well except they had no course drink or even water there! But I found an outdoor water hose to fill up my bottle. I also put my phone down when pinning on my bib and fortunately it was in lost and found when finished. But no 'on course pictures' from me this time (which was probably a good idea since it rained pretty hard.
Over 500 runners at the start so I stayed near the front to avoid too much crowding. It was dark and used a strong small flashlight which I prefer over a headlamp. The first 2.5 miles were very steep uphill.. lots of steps to climb and nearly impossible to pass. So just kept it easy. At the top of the climb there was a bagpipe player to serenade the runners.. still in the dark and somewhat foggy.. it was beautiful and felt like what I would imagine it like running through the Scottish Headlands :) (found a Video here) and another video here
The first 30 miles were perfect weather conditions. Cool, overcast, some fog, light winds and I made good time running almost all the uphills and picking things up nicely on the flats and downhills without overdoing it. Was averaging about 10 min pace through here even with the short aid stations stops and needing to walk some sections.
I had one issue which was a knot in my left calf. It started in the first few miles and caused some concern but I it sort of came and went in intensity and never presented a big issue.
Met one guy, Vishal, a mid 30's guy who lives in Los Angeles and is a strong hill runner. He followed my lead up a long hill that most the other runners were walking and we ended up running about 5 miles together, talking about the course, other ultras and the weather forecast. He ended up moving ahead a bit at an aid station but saw him a few time during the day when there were out/backs.
Around mile 35 it started to rain. Not heavy at first but after 4 or 5 miles it was coming down stronger and the winds picked up. My shoes and socks were soaked.. mainly from running through the tall grass that covered the single track in places. Oh well.. at least I had put a good covering of Trail Toes gel on my feet to protect from blisters and wore wool socks (Pearl Izumi) which are really good in the rain.
Things got a bit dicey around mile 40 as I continued to feel colder, especially my hands. I stopped at one aid station and switched my hat with a polar tec beanie. I also used my l'eau-go bottle holder as a neoprene glove which helped out. The forest sections were slightly more protected from the rain and from about mile 45 on the rains lessened and I warmed up again.
Puddles had formed here and there.. most could be avoided by running to the side but the mud was getting worse and I had to run directly through a couple ankle deep puddles as there was no way around.
My new nutrition plan including waiting to start eating at least 3 hours into the run. I had done this on many of my longer runs without a problem to help train the body to utilize a higher percentage of fat for fuel. I had a Lara bar starting at 3.5 hours and would grab a PB&J quarter sandwich at most aid stations. Also was refilling with the course energy drink, Tailwind, which is my favorite these days. It was mixed very weak.. I could hardly taste it so probably only about 100 calories for every 20 oz bottle.
So about 600 calories from Tailwind, 4 larabars (880 cal) and 4 PB&J quarters (200 cal) for a total of 1680 calories over 11hrs. The rest of the energy was provided by keeping the HR low and burning a higher percentage of fat for fuel.
The energy stayed fairly high the entire race and had no GI issues. It got mentally tough during the final 5 miles because I actually thought I was closer and these miles just stretched out. The toughest part of the race for me was the last couple downhill miles on the dipsea section of the course. The trail was very steep switchbacks through the forest with steps at every turn. The steps were slippery from the mud/rain and my ability to 'fast step' on the technical stuff was not very good. I was able to pick up the pace between the steps but really concerned about slipping on the steps. So I kept it slow and steady. Unfortunately I was a little too slow and steady and was passed by someone in my age group in the last 1/2 mile! Oh well it was a successful day by all other measures as I met all my other goals. Here are some stats:
11:09:23
30th overall (288 finishers)
2nd AG (50-59 age group)
average pace 10:53
average HR 136
#1 is that it is a Western States 100 qualifier race (successfully completing the race under the cut off time allows one to enter the WS100 lottery held in early December for the race the following end of June). I have entered the lottery the last two years but haven't had my tickets picked yet but every years my chances increase.
#2 is that I wanted to run an ultra with a better chance of cooler weather and non-desert terrain. My last 3 ultras of 100K or longer had been in Arizona and the temps got into the low 90's each time. I have struggled in the heat with nausea and I have also fallen a few times on rocky trails. The Miwok 100k is held in the Marin Headlands just north of San Francisco and while the course was hilly it would be a nice change of scenery, likely cooler and less rocky. Ok, they had lots of steps and steep switchbacks but the positives outweighed the negatives. :)
#3 goal was to figure out my nutrition better. Some of the nausea was likely due to the hotter temps but decided to try an different approach to my nutrition and hydration this time around to avoid feeling nauseous and still have enough energy.
Knowing the course had an advertised elevation gain of around 12,000 ft, my training consisted of many more hill runs. I put in multiple long runs between 25 and 30 miles in the local mountains to work on my up/down technique and endurance. Overall the training went really well with with an emphasis on recovery and cross training too. Most the weeks were 70 to 85 miles. But I did back off the really long runs that I would have done if it was a 100 miler.
The 3:00am wake up was tough but had a small bowl of oatmeal, coffee, banana and arrived at 4:15 for a 5:00am start. All went well except they had no course drink or even water there! But I found an outdoor water hose to fill up my bottle. I also put my phone down when pinning on my bib and fortunately it was in lost and found when finished. But no 'on course pictures' from me this time (which was probably a good idea since it rained pretty hard.
Over 500 runners at the start so I stayed near the front to avoid too much crowding. It was dark and used a strong small flashlight which I prefer over a headlamp. The first 2.5 miles were very steep uphill.. lots of steps to climb and nearly impossible to pass. So just kept it easy. At the top of the climb there was a bagpipe player to serenade the runners.. still in the dark and somewhat foggy.. it was beautiful and felt like what I would imagine it like running through the Scottish Headlands :) (found a Video here) and another video here
The first 30 miles were perfect weather conditions. Cool, overcast, some fog, light winds and I made good time running almost all the uphills and picking things up nicely on the flats and downhills without overdoing it. Was averaging about 10 min pace through here even with the short aid stations stops and needing to walk some sections.
I had one issue which was a knot in my left calf. It started in the first few miles and caused some concern but I it sort of came and went in intensity and never presented a big issue.
Met one guy, Vishal, a mid 30's guy who lives in Los Angeles and is a strong hill runner. He followed my lead up a long hill that most the other runners were walking and we ended up running about 5 miles together, talking about the course, other ultras and the weather forecast. He ended up moving ahead a bit at an aid station but saw him a few time during the day when there were out/backs.
Around mile 35 it started to rain. Not heavy at first but after 4 or 5 miles it was coming down stronger and the winds picked up. My shoes and socks were soaked.. mainly from running through the tall grass that covered the single track in places. Oh well.. at least I had put a good covering of Trail Toes gel on my feet to protect from blisters and wore wool socks (Pearl Izumi) which are really good in the rain.
Things got a bit dicey around mile 40 as I continued to feel colder, especially my hands. I stopped at one aid station and switched my hat with a polar tec beanie. I also used my l'eau-go bottle holder as a neoprene glove which helped out. The forest sections were slightly more protected from the rain and from about mile 45 on the rains lessened and I warmed up again.
Puddles had formed here and there.. most could be avoided by running to the side but the mud was getting worse and I had to run directly through a couple ankle deep puddles as there was no way around.
My new nutrition plan including waiting to start eating at least 3 hours into the run. I had done this on many of my longer runs without a problem to help train the body to utilize a higher percentage of fat for fuel. I had a Lara bar starting at 3.5 hours and would grab a PB&J quarter sandwich at most aid stations. Also was refilling with the course energy drink, Tailwind, which is my favorite these days. It was mixed very weak.. I could hardly taste it so probably only about 100 calories for every 20 oz bottle.
So about 600 calories from Tailwind, 4 larabars (880 cal) and 4 PB&J quarters (200 cal) for a total of 1680 calories over 11hrs. The rest of the energy was provided by keeping the HR low and burning a higher percentage of fat for fuel.
The energy stayed fairly high the entire race and had no GI issues. It got mentally tough during the final 5 miles because I actually thought I was closer and these miles just stretched out. The toughest part of the race for me was the last couple downhill miles on the dipsea section of the course. The trail was very steep switchbacks through the forest with steps at every turn. The steps were slippery from the mud/rain and my ability to 'fast step' on the technical stuff was not very good. I was able to pick up the pace between the steps but really concerned about slipping on the steps. So I kept it slow and steady. Unfortunately I was a little too slow and steady and was passed by someone in my age group in the last 1/2 mile! Oh well it was a successful day by all other measures as I met all my other goals. Here are some stats:
11:09:23
30th overall (288 finishers)
2nd AG (50-59 age group)
average pace 10:53
average HR 136