V Fuel - No More GI Issues...

I've been on an elusive journey to find the right gel that doesn't give me stomach issues for over a year. I'm glad to report that I have finally found said gel.

My stomach has the uncanny ability to reject anything it doesn't agree with within a minute. Yes, I am not kidding: I'll start cramping immediately and looking for the nearest restroom. 

After reading a FB post from a trusted ultra runner where she raved about this certain gel, I decided to give it a try. It was called V-Fuel. I think I was, pretty much sold on it after 1 long run, but I knew I had to test it out on several long runs.

I've tried this gel on 4 long runs of 22, 20, 17 & 10 miles.

After taking it at hour 1 of my first long run, I was a bit nervous. You know that moment that you know it's going to be good or bad...really bad. I took it and anxiously awaited for the cramping to begin. Nothing. I finished my run (and took 1 more), and still nothing happened.

I've never been a big fan of gels, so I wasn't sure what I'd feel. I'm not too sure if this is how it's supposed to occur, but I felt a little burst of energy each time about 15 minutes after taking it.

The results were the same on all my runs.

The only problem is that I only enjoy the peach cobbler flavor. Yes, peach cobbler. It's really an awesome flavor although some of you might think peach cobbler is not the flavor you'd crave or enjoy during a run. I'm not a fan of vanilla or chocolate but those are the other flavors.

It's a very subtle taste - not overwhelming at all.

Take it from me, you'll enjoy it.

Just wanted to let y'all in on a (not so little, it seems) secret.

Bandera 100K Through My Lenses

A week prior to Bandera, I ran a 17 miler in Lake Georgetown. It was a terrible run. I felt tired and sluggish. Based on this run, I decided to make this my last run before the race. I always taper poorly but decided to take the entire week off. I ended up running 1 other time 4.5 miles, but that was it. I figured a week off would pay dividends.

We arrived in Bandera about 4pm on Friday, picked our packet up and headed out for dinner. I had been eating fairly well the days prior to it. I wanted to be well fed (and rested) before starting because, if I know myself, I was gonna be out there for a while. 

The race began at 7:30am and off we were.

Immediately from the go, I felt sluggish and tired. This was disappointing since I'd agreed to kinda keep up with several of my friends and try to finish in around 15-16 hours. Realizing this was not going to happen, I just kinda fell back and decided I'd see them later...or maybe not.

To keep it short, the 1st 15 miles were a death march. They were slow and ugly. I ended up doing a lot of walking. My good buddy, Brandon, passed me at about mile 13, and said he was probably going to not go any further than the next aid station. I briefly considered doing the same. I even considered it again once I saw him at the crossroads aid station. I knew I could go all the way, but the most important question was: did I want to go on 46 more miles feeling the way I did?

Fortunately, I ran into my sole sistahs (Laura, Mary Ann, Bengi and Judy - coincidentaly, 2 of my former pacers) at Crossroads. After eating some baked potato halves (dipped in salt), I decided to continue. We ran together for the next 16 miles, and I (suddenly) felt great. I made it a point of eating at each aid station. I was eating quesadillas and grilled cheese 'wiches left and right. 

That seemed to have done the trick because I finished the 1st 50k loop feeling well. I finished it in 8:45. A little slower than I wanted, but I was content with it.

I began the 2nd loop :15 minutes later. I still felt really well but knew these next 5 miles would be tough. I started with 2 of my sole sistahs. We took a couple pics at Sky Island along the way. At this point it was them, myself and Bruce Evans (little did I know that I'd end up running with him for the next 25+ miles). 

Each aid station was another opportunity to eat, and I ate...well. It seems I was on a steady diet of mashed potatoes, ramen soup, quesadillas and grilled cheese. It turns out this was a big reason why I ended up running everything after the 15 mile mark feeling so well. 

Looking back, I think I prepared for almost everything - mud, rain, cold - except the heat. I think I may've struggled in the beginning because it was hot. To make matters worse, I didn't even have a cap. Luckily, another friend, Rene, saw me at the 3rd aid station and offered me his visor (No, I didn't take the cap of another runner. He was a spectator). Judging from alot of frunners I ran into, I wasn't the only 1 that was heat struggling.

In the end, I finished in 19:30. An entire hour slower than last year, but I felt better physically than last year. As a matter of fact, I felt great for the last 46ish miles.

The biggest lesson from this weekend's 100k???

I need Sami. For many reasons. 1 of them being that she's always my crew, and a really good crew mistress. I told her not to worry about my drop bags since she had her own race to prepare for. Being in charge of my own gear, I forgot my hydration vest, handheld, spi belt and S caps. Need any more proof that I cannot ultra fend for myself? 

PS - A big shout out to her for finishing her 1st 50k.

Under-estimating A Good Warm Up No More

Lately, I've begun to appreciate a good warm up before a run. Considering I've been running quite a while, I'm surprised it took me this long to learn this, but better late than never.

The simple truth is that I have discovered that I run better when fully warmed up than when not.

A good warm up had never been that important to me. I'd get to where I was going to run and...well, start running. If it was a fartlek run, I'd get off the car and start fartleking. If it was a tempo run, I'd get off the car and start tempo-ing. You get the picture. I'm sure I'd been risking injury all this time by just starting cold, but I guess I'd been really lucky.

No more Mr. Don't Warm Up guy!

When I say warm up, I'm not talking 1/2 mile or a mile. I'm talking a couple miles...maybe even 3. Yes, I've noticed (that for me) the longer the warm up, the better the run. Some of my best runs have been after a nice and easy 3 mile warm up.

When I finally decided to give warming up a try, my thought was that I shouldn't get too fatigued - I still had my workout/run/race to do. I needed to be "fresh" before starting. Nothing could be further from the truth. I've discovered I can warm up at a nice/decent pace and still have plenty in the tank for when it counts.

I'm still trying to incorporate more stretching into my routine as well, but, for now, this'll have to do. Little by little, it'll get done - it's a work in progress.

Running Happy!!!

The last month of 2013 is upon us, and I think I am ending the year on a few positive notes:  my running's really coming along well with few (if any) running aches/pains. Plus, I'm also seeing some significant improvement, and I'm hoping to carry this over to some trail runs in the near future (specifically, Bandera 100k).

I'm also really looking forward to this week for a couple reasons and thought I'd share:

1.  My long Cross Country season finally comes to an end. I love coaching, but I'm looking forward to ending my day at 4:15pm and going home...to run, of course. Yes, I'm being a bit selfish, but it's been quite stressful at work, and sometimes I do wanna make it all about me. I will admit that some days are so stressful that Cross Country practice is my outlet - especially since it usually means I will be running with the team. Nevertheless, it'll be coming to an end, I had quite a few of eager young runners, and they all improved from week 1 'til now.

2.  Later this week I find out if I (and/or some of my buddies) get selected to run Western States 100. The lottery/selection takes place on Saturday, and although we have a 6.4% chance of getting selected, I'm still thinking positive...talk about a loooooong shot.

3.  Tomorrow I start coaching a local group of runners locally a few times a week: Running 101, and I'm really excited. Meeting new people interested in running always excites me. Perhaps, it's their excitement - it's contagious.

4.  Finally, tomorrow I (finally) start running with some friends at 5am...well...I'm a little flexible on this one, but as of right now, I am in!!!

Run happy, y'all.

Cactus Rose 2013

Going into CR, I felt really good. I was rested; I was injury-free, and anxious to run. I'd trained harder than last year and felt more focused.  

We got to Bandera around 5pm, quickly caught a bit of the trail briefing and off we went to set up our drop bags.

After a sleepless night, we were ready to begin.

Loop 1:

I started at a pretty good clip. Looking back, it was kinda humid, so I began to worry a bit. I really was expecting the same temps as last year, but it was not to be.

I felt a bit too comfortable because I could tell I was going much faster than I had planned. I figured I was pushing in an attempt to get catch up to my friends, so I decided to slow down quite a bit. My goal was to average 7 hours per loop, and I was on pace for a 6 hour loop. I decided to walk more this loop…even the flats. I still had a long way to go.

It turned out that 1 of my friends, Ace, was actually behind me. He caught up several miles later.

The 1^st 15 or so miles of the first loop were pretty tame, but I knew the hard part was about to come the last 10 miles. And it did, but I still felt really well when I finished. I ate a pretty ginormous taco and after 10 minutes, was ready to go at it again.

Loop 2:

In retrospect, I ate a little too much, because I felt sluggish right from the get go. I couldn’t explain it: how could I finish loop 1 feeling so well and then start loop 2 so poorly? I hoped that I’d regain my mojo soon, but it only appeared here and there.

After the initial tough 10 miles, I was pretty exhausted but glad I had about 15 ‘easy’ miles before finishing up the 2^nd loop.

I didn’t have a lot of food in my drop bags, but I had a lot of a lot. I’d decided to eat different foods at each station since I tend to get tired of the same ol’ same ol’ and get stomach issues.

With about 10 miles to go to finish up the 2^nd loop, I started feeling a little twinge on the outside of my right knee and the top of my right ankle. Plus, the inside/back of my left knee was bothering me quite a bit. Since I always get aches and pains here and there, I figured it’d go away soon…but it didn’t.

Upon finishing loop 2, one of my friends, David, gave me an ice pack to put on my knee. I also decided to wait around ‘til Ace came in. We’d gotten separated sometime during the last 10 miles or so.

I rested, ate some soup and iced my knee for about 45 minutes.

Loop 3:

I could kinda feel like I was in a bit of trouble. My knee pain was pretty unbearable. Other than that, I felt like I was still good. I asked my trusted partner, Sami, if she would pace me this loop instead of the last. “What about the last loop?” she asked. I told her – I’ll worry about the last loop when it gets here. Right now, I’m just worried about this loop. She quickly got ready and we took off.

From the lodge to equestrian was a death crawl. I couldn’t bend my knee or step onto anything. The 1^st incline coming out of the lodge was extremely painful. I noticed I was stepping oddly just to avoid or compensate for the pain. We tried running several times, but it was pretty ugly.

It took us almost 2 hours to do the 5 miles to equestrian. I knew I’d never do the next 10 miles OR the more difficult sections on time. Forget the time, I didn’t think I could physically do it with my knee acting like it was.

As we approached equestrian, I told Sami that I thought that’s as far as I could go. I felt really disappointed for stopping at mid 50. I’d like to think I have a pretty high pain tolerance level, so I think it was reached.

I decided to call it right then and there. I also said I’d take a long break from trail running and probably was done with attempting another 100 miler.

We went to our cabin and after a painful shower (from the stiffness setting in and the sotol cuts), Sami taped me up with K tape which made a big difference.

We went back in the morning to pick up my drop bags and cheer on some of the other runners who were out there. Unfortunately, we only got to see a couple runners at Nachos which I think was mile 90. Those guys were HARDCORE!!!

It’s been a few days, and I have had time to think about my DNF. I don’t know how I was able to do that last year. I didn’t start hurting ‘til mile 90ish, and this time, it happened much much earlier.

Despite my DNF, I had a really good time.

Oh, and about taking time off from trail running? Well, I’m debating about doing the 50k or 100k for Bandera…so…so much for taking time off.

Preparing My Drop Bags...Like I needed more stress.

Preparing a drop bag can be very stressful...let alone preparing 4.

During last year's Cactus Rose 100, I fully stocked my drop bags.  Over-stocked, I would say. I ended up bringing more than half of my stuff back. As a matter of fact, Halloween was only a few days later, and I ended up giving the trick or treaters nutritiously caffeinated fuel-filled goodies (GUs, stinger waffles, fig newtons, etc...you're welcomed, parents).

Looking through some of the FB posts lately has made me really nervous. Everybody looks so prepared, and I feel so under prepared.

I feel like my 4 (1 less than last year AND smaller) drop bags are enough for me, though. My thinking is that I've got just what I think I'll need - no more. No less.

Plus, the whole I gotta haul it back after the race thing is what I'm not looking forward to. I don't really think I'll be in the mood to carry it back to our car. I wasn't last year, and I needed my friends/pacers to help me.

I hope I don't regret it (but I think I've thought about everything)...besides, my new approach is: less is more.

BUT if you see me crawling on the trail this weekend dehydrated and near starvation, well...it didn't work.

Ultra Spire Spry Hydration Vest

I'm not a big fan of handhelds, so I'm always on the lookout for a super duper hydration vest. One that fits just right.

I think I've come close to it in the ultraspire spry. Truth be told: I had access to this minimalist vest minus the bladder. Recently, I ordered a bladder for it and wah-la!!!

It's a minimalist vest and I liked it's...minimalistness. The fit was really snug and comfortable.

Personally, I don't really care for 1.5 liter bladders. I think they're just a little too much. Its 1 liter bladder works really well. It's the perfect size for those shorter distance runs or when aid stations are spaced pretty close together.

The bladder was really easy to close. Unlike the salomon s lab (my current second favorite), I didn't have to work at making sure there was no air in it. It closed/sealed easily and it was really quiet. There was no sloshing around during the run, and trust me: the sloshing can annoy you or those around you.

The 2 chest pockets came in handy for my headlamp on a recent run - no bounce. A couple of gels/gus or whatever you fuel on fit in the other pocket comfortably. I'm sure I could even fit a water bottle in there.

My only complain is that the hose connecting the hydration bladder is very long. It wasn't a big deal, though, I just creatively maneuvered the hose around a bit, but it did not affect my level of comfort.

As an added bonus, you can take the bladder out and use the vest by itself. It's a win-win.

It runs around 70$, but in my opinion, it's a worthy investment.

I'm even trying it out this weekend as I tackle 100 miles.

If (like me) you aren't a fan of bulky hydration vests or handhelds, this is just for you.