Badwater 2014

This race report has taken me 2 months to write. For several reasons but the largest is that I needed to spend some time dissecting the events of 21 and 22 July. I made a lot of rookie mistakes and also learned a lot of lessons throughout the race. I failed to achieve every race goal I had besides finishing the race. I honestly feel it was my worst executed ultramarathon to date. With all of that said it was 10 of the best days of my life, traveling to Lone Pine, CA. Every single day I wished I could slam on the brakes and enjoy the moment longer.

On the Friday before the race team converged in Las Vegas. I arranged for a SUV and car rental in Vegas and also picked up all of our supplies like coolers, refreshments, and food. After that we loaded up the cars and headed to Lone Pine (this years starting line for Badwater).

As most know in the Ultra community Badwater this year did not follow the Badwater to Mt. Whitney route due to some permit restrictions from the National Park Service. Due to that we began the race in Lone Pine the town at the base of Mt. Whitney. On our drive however we did make a quick 17 miles detour to Badwater Basin for some photo ops,

After we settled into the Mt. Whitney hostel in Lone Pine which were perfect hosts for the event, we set off to Horseshoe Meadows (the first climb of the race at 10,400') for a little run. It was a funny event having 6 people travel and all of them are itching to run as soon as you arrive to town. It was a nice drive and at the top the entire Owens Valley is visible. We ran a couple easy miles pretty interesting how the altitude effects people, but I was pleased that I was minimally effected by it.

Sunday brought race check-in which was relatively uneventful except for the sweet swag bag provided by the Badwater race staff. It is always interesting to go the a pre-race meeting, you're in a room of people who have accomplished some of the most challenging feats in the world. We went out for pizza that night and slept pretty good.

Race morning came 21 July 2014. The day I've been looking forward to since I received an email in February. I couldn't help but realize that I did not feel super fresh at the start line. I told myself it was nerves but just didn't feel 100%. I think it was due to not tapering correctly. I forgot the most important principal about running: everyone is different and do what works for you. We took a pre-race photo and just like that Badwater started.

The first order of business was to climb 6,000' over the first 22 miles to the top of Horseshoe Meadows. My plan was that if I cracked 6mph I was moving to fast. Of course I moved at about a 9:30 pace. I firmly placed myself in the top 10ish and tried to hang out there. My crew and I choose to meet every 3 miles or about 30 min. The temperature was around 65 at the start line and 60 at the summit for it was nice weather for running. I tried to powerwalk early up the mountain but I was about a half marathon in when I really started to slow down and calm myself down. The second half of the Horshoe Meadow climb was smooth but steep and I made it to the top to see the crew somewhere around 7th place. Suki and Meg gave me a quick tire change and put a little gas in the tank and about 2 min later I headed back down the mountain.

The next 22 miles were solid and easy running. I cruised down the mountain at about a 7:30 pace with a little ipod action. It felt easy coming down but I was a little sick of the downhill about 30 miles in and ready to get flat again. I made it back to Lone Pine (mile 44) with ease and even passed a few people right as I was coming into town. I passed the hotel and took a quick break to choke down some calories, but I was fired up from passing a few people and was itching to knock out some miles. I think mentally I lost my tactical patience at this point in the race and got a little to ambitious. At the turn off for Dolimite loop (50 miles) the sun was baking at around 95 degrees. I was beginning to fry pretty well on the hot interstate and Will and Steve had to sit me down every 1-2 miles and hose me down and give me ice bandanas. My pace slowed drastically to a 9:30-11:00 min/mile pace. At the 60 mile mark we began the second big climb which was Cerro Gordo.

Cerro Gordo is a 7.5 mile climb with 5500 ft of climbing. This translates into a swift kick in the pants and about a 2 hour hike. Will made the treck with me up the mountain. We powerwalked out was to the top passing a few that passed me as I struggled under the heat. We made it to the top just as the sun dissipated. At the top we refilled some water and started our descent. Problem was I couldn't run downhill... My quads were to shot to handle the steep descent. It took me almost 2 hours to come back down and every step hurt.

At the bottom I was super tired, 75 miles into the race. I told the crew I was going to take a nap and then head out to Darwin. I took a 45 min nap in the front seat of our SUV and shot off like a cannon once I woke up. I freaked out the crew, they thought I was going to DNF since I went to sleep, after I woke up I simply walked to the back of the car and asked where my light and pack was and bolted off at a 7:30 pace towards Darwin. I made the 15 mile stretch at well under a 10 min mile pace and handled the rolling hills well.

At Darwin I grabbed Meg for some miles. She ran easily with me for the next 10 miles to the 100 mile mark. We were both pretty well sleep deprived and a little loopy but still a great time. At 100 miles the sun rose and I hit 22 hours in the race. Once the sun came up I felt pretty well recharged but I was having a really hard time keeping calories in. I couldn't stomach anything besides fresh fruit which didn't really have the calorie content I needed. The next 20 mile push to Lone Pine was pretty tough.

As the temps rose to 90 again I needed to recharge ice bandana's every 2 miles and Steve kept hosing me down with the spray bottle when he could. Steve actually ran behind me for 4 miles spraying me at I ran from 118 to 122 (thanks Steve). I threw in the IPOD and tried to grind out the miles. Steve and I spoke a little during that stretch and I told him that I needed to lay down again. What I didn't know was that Suki had arranged for a massage at the hotel. The crew wanted to get me in and out of Lone Pine in a short amount of time and I wanted to lay down for 45 min in the dark cool hotel room before making the 13 mile climb up Mt. Whitney.

This of course ended in sleep deprived runner and crew being upset. I took their advice and kept charging along the course and made it 2 miles before I decided it was nap time. I knew the last 13 miles was going to take 3 hours at best probably 4 hours and just didn't have that much energy without a lot of calories. So there I laid in the front seat of the SUV napping as I was passed by 5-7 runners 10 miles from the finish line. I was just dead tired. I jumped out with much less vigor that the previous nap but determined to finish the race. I made my was up the switchbacks slowly but steadily. Suki and Will kept switching off running with me. Everyone was so tired and excited. Everytime we talked about the finish line I started balling. I would imagine the belt buckle and get all choked up. I remember climbing up the mountain telling my wife how much I loved her balling my eyes out. She was a real trooper, she allowed me to run Badwater on our honeymoon, and ran the last 10 miles or so with me and slept probably less than me over the course of the race. As we got closer to the finish line the temps lowered and we made the last few switchback and together Suki and I walked across the finish line holding hands.

After the race we sat down and had a cold beer at the chalet on top of the mountain and cheered on other runners. A small smile couldn't be removed from my face for the next month. Years of work and dreaming finally came to an end.

I couldn't have finished this race without the crew. My wife Suki was amazing as always as well at Will, Meg, Steve and T.J. It was the greatest days of my life and I feel so blessed to have these amazing people in my life. I know I had a lot of people following me from afar cheering me on and I greatly appreciate all of the support. Finally Cameron ROTC department and Skora Running chipped in with running shoes and financial assistance in getting me to the starting line. Particularly LTC Zaccheus and the staff at Cameron University made it all happen. They saw my dream and were willing to help me achieve it selflessly. I will forever be grateful for them believing in me. I rocked out my Skora Form's and Phase X's during the 135 mile run and they help up well. Good shoes for any race!!!

See you on the other side

It's exciting to think that my next post should be a riveting race report where I blow all the competition out of the water and win Badwater uncontested for the final 13 mile climb to the top of Mount Whitney. But its July 18th and well I think a snowball has a better shot at reaching the podium than I do. The top 4 from last years race are all returning and are all very qualified. Some have posted 150 mile 24 hour results, 17:30 hundos and the list goes on.

I feel good, I feel ready to tackle the challenge. I keep telling myself that I just want to have a good race and be the best version of myself on race day. I tell myself that I'm not as good as the top 10 entrants. I'm to new to the sport and haven't put in the prerequisite miles to stand on the Badwater podium. But I can't stop the highlight real from playing in my head, finishing top 3 or winning the race. This is truly the first ultramarathon I have dedicated a full 4-5 month training program to since I won Prairie Spirit in 2013. That race I knocked back a 16:09 in a blizzard. I feel more prepared than that race, my legs feel fresh ready to pounce. I put in around 52 miles last week and I'm on pace to 32 this week.

The nerves has set in, the anticipation for the reunion with so many friends traveling to California to enjoy the day with me, and of course the test of training and resolve that will come Monday. An article was run in the Army Times about my run, I'm the only Army Soldier running it and 1/2 service members running. It's exciting that their excited.

The only thing that calms the anticipation is knowing that I can no longer do anything to perform better at Badwater but can only do things that will negatively effect me. The plan is to drive to Lone Pine tomorrow and stop at Badwater Basin on the way. I would like to hit a couple miles on the horseshoe meadows climb and the cerro gordo climb not so much to "recon" the course but more to understand what pace to approach the climbs at. Living in the flatland it is hard for me to visualize what 6500 ft in 22 miles looks like or what 5500 ft in 7.5 miles feels like. I keep trying to stack Mt. Scott's on top of each other but the calculations always exceed my quick mental calculator.

So with all that said I have seen myself make to many mistakes this year to let it sabotage my Badwater. When I raced Lake McMurty I allowed myself to be sucked into running the first 15.5 miles to fast, I won the race but I should have run much more consistent. During Jemez I allowed myself to run the first 8 miles with Anton Krupicka and stupidly finished 2.5 hours behind him. Not Badwater. I've learned that I do have the power to close races in the last 1/4 if I stay patient. My goal is to run strong after the 100 mile mark. Not to death march.

We have seen an onslaught of fast races in 2014 but with that come carnage. At Rocky Raccoon I watched 30 runners try to run Ian Sharman's race frankly only 2-3 of them could run his pace and after 2 laps runners were dropping left and right. We saw this again at Western States and Hardrock this year. It seems the strategy is to go out hard and hope like hell you can hold on longer than everyone else. I want to be the one picking up the carnage at mile 80, 90 and 100 looking fresh at Darwin and ready for the Mt. Whitney Climb. Most of all  I want to win Badwater. Deep down that is what I keep telling myself but reality slaps me and tells me I'm not fast enough. Oswaldo is a tough runner, and Badwater is his stomping grounds but I'd be a fool to hide it from myself that I want to win.

Guess monday will play out and the miles will rank all 100 starters 1-100.

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Pre-Badwater thoughts

Today marks 1 week until Badwater begins for me. In my mind Badwater starts the moment I begin movement to the Will Rogers Airport in Oklahoma City. This time of year is very exciting obviously we had Western States 100 June 28th and Hardrock starting today. With that there has been a lot of insightful podcasts, articles, and videos from top ultramarathon runners. Two of them have resonated deeply with my Badwater preparations.

I created a full pace chart for Badwater and based on my estimates I believe I can finish the race in under 24 hours. Either I'm very cocky or the lack of heat will make for some of the fastest Badwater times we've ever seen. Obviously the lack of 125 degree temps will make for a faster course. The added 7000 ish feet of climbing won't likely slow us enough to compensate. Thus we should see some faster times. I estimate moving at 4.5 mph on the 3 major climbs, 6 mph on the flat and 7 mph on the downhills. This seems pretty conservative to me.

This is a hard race to predict times since there is no historical data to reflect on. Frankly there isn't a lot of data on 135 mile races to compare to. The 3 major 135 mile races (Brazil, Arrowhead and Badwater) take place in extreme climates that drastically effect finisher times. With a new 100 mile race course you can look at a race with a similar course profile and ballpark your finish time. My fall back is to look at position. I generally finish in the top 5% of any race I enter but have been creeping into the top 3% recently. Jemez was supposed to be my check on this in a mountain race but they cancelled the race after 20 people so... No help to me there. If the top 5% rule is true then I should finish in the top 5 seeing as there are 100 people. The problem with that assumption is that Badwater requires you to be a grizzly and seasoned ultrarunner. Anyone in the 8am start wave has a chance at top 5 we are all very talented.

This leads me to my first nugget of knowledge that has helped me as I prepare for Badwater. I believe this is from Andy Jones-Wilkins'. He made the comment that we are all just trying to be the best version of ourselves on race day. AJW was preparing to finish his 10th Western States at the time and coming to the realization that he was not going to set a PR or be able to make the top 10 but he could still have a great race for himself despite not competing in the manner he may have 5 years ago. This is how I feel about Badwater. I can't predict my finish time or my place but I can plan on being the very best version of myself that I can be on July 21st.

The 2nd piece of gold I found came from Liza Howard. Liza has been my ultra mentor since she started coaching me 3 years ago. I've been out on my own for two years but she made it very clear that if I have a question pick up the phone and call her. So as I began my taper for Badwater I returned to her taper plan for me for my first 100 in 2012. I use so much of what Liza taught me 2 years later the only problem is the 2012 version of me and the 2014 version of me are two different animals. I had several people question my plan to drop as low as 20 miles the week before the race. My friend Ben detailed some of his experiences with tapering over his 15 years of running experience which never included dropping that low. When asked I didn't know why I just knew I should do what I was told... So I called Liza and asked her, why... Her answer reminded me of the most important thing. Every runner is different and so much goes into how you taper. Liza is a very dedicated mother and is so tired race week that sleep is more important to her. I currently live a life that allows for 8 hours of sleep and a nap if I need it. I am recovering from workouts very quickly and feel great morning to morning so running 7-8 miles clear until 4 days before the race won't effect me. So this week I'm hitting low 50's and next week I'll be in the 40's.

In case you missed the underlying point from Liza, its that every runner is different and you have to learn how to listen to your body. Strava and blogs are great tools to follow other training but what works for one runner doesn't work for another runner. I can run mile for mile like Dominic Grossman but I will likely end up as carnage along the road to my race if I try to run 10 100 mile weeks in a row.

So here I sit 1 week until wheels up and I've already nervously spent $100 on last minute supplies. I bought another 32 Gu's and a Ultimate Direction waste pack for the Cerro Gordo climb. I'm not training as much dropping from around 13-14 hours a week to 7-8 hours which gives me more time to think about Badwater so it's expected. The good news is my wife comes home Tuesday and it will be so great to have her back. The rest of my time has been looking at what comes after Badwater.

Obviously I have the Army 10 Miler in October and I believe the Outer Banks Marathon in November but after that... The CR for the Heartland 100 (my first 100) is 14:26 and hasn't been challenged since 2002 when Eric Clifton ran a 14:30. That's what's on my mind...

New PR's

The taper is finally here. It's time to pull off the mileage blanket and see what lies underneath... This week I ran 58 miles and set 2 new PR's. I wanted to pull my mileage back this week and start a slow taper into Badwater. I had 70 miles in my head but just wanted to feel comfortable and recover well for each run. This week 58 miles is what that amounted to. It's crazy cause it seems like such a low mileage week to me but it's right where the 10 mile team is running and they are approaching peak 1.

The most important thing I can do at this point in time is to toe the starting line in Lone Pine healthy. So mileage isn't very important, I have ballparks, 40 miles next week and 25 miles the week before the race. It's hard to believe that Badwater is two weeks from tomorrow. I've been training/dreaming about this day since February and I still 5 months later get butterflies in my stomach every time I start thinking about the starting line.

This week I also set 2 new PR's. 1 for the 5k which I hit in 17:33 and ran a really strong race good enough for 5th overall at a pretty competitive race. The other PR was for the beer mile which I ran 7:31 (I need to get better at drinking...). Charlie and I both ran the 5k he ran 17:18 good enough for 4th. We ran a little fast for the first mile 5:25 but settled in after that for a good strong race. Again I thought i  had Charlie beat at 2 miles I caught him loosing focus and passed him. At 2.5 miles his kick was to much for me and he put 15 seconds on my in the closing half mile. But again I'm getting closer...Charlie was fairly impressed/excited about my fitness level from last year.

Monday
AM 8.1 miles 7:46 min/mile
PM 4 miles 8:11 min/mile
Tuesday
7 miles 7:36 min/mile
Wednesday
9 miles 7:25 min/mile
Thursday
7.1 miles 7:55 min/mile
Friday
2 mile warm up
5k 17:33
2 mile cool down
7.1 miles total
Saturday
OFF
Sunday
15.3 miles 8:10 min/mile

"That magical workout"

Sharpened is exactly how I feel sitting atop a 350 mile June. This week I didn't hit my mileage goal of 105-110 but hit 96 miles and that is fine with me. I think once upon a time I would have desperately tried to hit that 105 mark and tack on a useless 9 miles just to hit a number but now I see that 96 miles is plenty and I can't make up bad workouts. I think I'm getting smarter.

This week was pretty timid on the workout end. I only had an up tempo run and a long run.

Monday:
13.4 mile 8:15
Tuesday
AM: 7.1 miles 7:26 (up tempo)
PM: 7.4 miles 7:48
Wednesday
AM: 10 miles 7:43
PM: 5.1 miles 8:08
Thursday
AM: 8 miles 7:34
PM: 5.2 miles 8:11
Friday
9 miles more to follow
Saturday
OFF
Sunday
30.5 miles 8:36

This week I found myself in a stare down with *that workout*. That one run that is going to all of a sudden all at once change you from training to racing shape. Everybody has one in a training cycle, for some it is a 20 mile run before a marathon or a track workout that will affirm your 5k pace. For me I had picked a 35 mile run that would be roughly 1/4 scale of Badwater. I was supposed to do the workout Friday morning but I was out until 11 Thursday night so I opted for the sleep Friday morning. Quickly I decided I could borrow my neighbors treadmill and run in my garage for hours on end until I hit that magic 35 miles. I did just that Friday night and recreated the first big climb up Horseshoe Meadows (first 23 miles of Badwater). After 90  minutes I had lost my mind and decided to bonk. I am not a very good treadmill or evening workout kinda guy and I reminded myself that.

With that said I still had a 35 mile run to get to but wanted to take a complete rest day. So Saturday I took off and decided to run long Sunday morning with the 10 mile team and on my own. I woke up early and put in 10 miles before running 13 miles with the team. I for some silly reason did all of this on 1 Gu and 32 oz of water. I was actually pretty surprised how good I felt despite my horrific fueling. After 23 miles we had a quick team meeting and apparently the others saw it in my eyes, I was still on the road running. They saw the look of someone who is completely thrown themselves into a challenge. As we broke up I sucked down 2 Gu's and took off. I made it 3.5 miles and realized how low on water I was so I headed back. I bonked really hard but still ran 10 min miles back to my truck.

It was so refreshing to be in that situation and know exactly how to react. Slow down, conserve your water and wet your mouth, take a quick 30 sec break every 10-15 minutes. The key I knew, lower my heart rate, and reduce my effort level. I hung it up 4.5 miles early recognizing the hole I dug myself into. I didn't do a darn thing for the rest of the day. I stayed home and ate a monstrous breakfast/lunch. I didn't feel like a failure, I felt like a had put in a good effort. I was sad that I didn't have a 35 mile run under my belt but accepted it.

This morning though, I found out that I am 100% prepared to rock Badwater. Hear I was 350 miles into June, 30 miler the day before and I'm running 7:45 min/mile for an easy run this morning. Here I was 17 more miles than the rest of the 10 mile team from the day before and I'm leading them the run wire to wire. To follow it up I had to do about 5 hours of yardwork today (we currently own 2 houses...). Once I got home I changed into shorts and shot out the door for a quick 30 min run and felt good. Who knew a 8 mile run could be "that" workout for me.

I feel fit, refined, strong, and ready to race the Badwater 135. 3 more weeks until the starting gun goes off and I'm stoked.  

Hundo!

Well my first 100 mile week in preparation for Badwater and it went smoothly. I am so paranoid about getting injured at this point in the game I'm being a little proactive in injury prevention. I took 2 ice baths and spent a lot of time stretching and rolling this week. Nothing is hurting and I'm ready to hit the next week even harder, just being careful.

I missed a long run last week trying to spend some quality time with my wife before she took off for LDAC. My first stop after dropping her off at the airport was a hot 20 miler. The run went really well took 2:48 and it felt really easy. I knew I had a workout the next day with the 10 mile team so I didn't wanna burn myself out.

Tuesday morning the 10 mile team ran a hill workout 3x1/2 mile uphill which felt great. The workout was not that challenging but still kept the legs fresh. I went out during the afternoon for a hot easy run.

The rest of the week was pretty similar morning run with the 10 miles team 7-8 miles and afternoon run 5-7 miles in the heat. Friday morning I headed out for my long run 30 miles but the temperature was only 75-80 so pretty moderate. The long run felt great. I ran a 9 mile warm up then spent 2 miles at 8:30, 8:20, 8:10, 8:00, 7:50 and 7:40 then a 9 mile cool down.

I spent the rest of Friday doing homework and ordering supplies for Badwater. It still amazes me how logistically challenging this race is. Since there are no aid stations I spend a lot of asking myself what would I like to have at miles 105?

I realized again how lucky I am to have an amazing wife. She keeps me grounded without her I spend almost all my time running, preparing to run, cooking and reading. I have sat at home every night since she left except 1. Yup full blown running loser. I can't wait for her to get back so we can get Badwater knocked out and start our honeymoon.

Mileage breakdown
Monday: 20 miles 2:48 (8:23)
Tuesday:
AM 7 miles (7:44)
PM 5 miles (8:19)
Wednesday
AM 8.3 (7:42)
PM 6.1 (7:46)
Thursday
AM 8 (7:51)
PM 6.4 (8:02)
Friday 30 miles 4:11 (8:19)
Saturday OFF
Sunday 12 miles (7:40)
Total 103.5 miles 13 hours 56 min

The Doldrums

I am deep in the Doldrums. I had a Battalion Commander a couple years back who would always refer to the Doldrums as a deep and dark place that one would find themselves in. That is how I feel right now. Entering my 3rd week of peek mileage the hurricanes frequently found in the Doldrums.

Last week I hit 72 miles of high quality miles. I did not hit a long run just ran out of time and was not willing to spend my last days before Suki took off for a month of training running 3-5 hours. So without a long run 72 miles isn't to shabby. I did hit a 10x400m workout which I did well at but it became apparent that I will never be a sprinter.

Monday
AM: 7 miles
PM: 6.1 miles
Tuesday
AM: 7 miles
PM: 8.5 miles
Wednesday
7.9 miles
Thursday
AM: 7.2 miles
PM: 5.2 miles
Friday
Off
Saturday
AM: 10x400m 73-75 sec (6.5 miles)
PM: 6.5 miles
Sunday
11 miles

This week is going very well but lacks a very hard workout. Friday will be a big long run and I hit some light hills on Tuesday. I'll hold the course until Friday and hit it really hard. This week looks like 105 miles or so. This will be my biggest mileage week ever. 47 miles on Wednesday is uncharted territory.