My First 100 Miler: Lessons Learned

 Hey hey hey!  Here we are, two weeks post Ultra, and I finally have my shit together (well, relatively) to talk a little bit about lessons learned from Candlelight.  This post is a little different, hopefully helpful for those debating anything beyond 26.2.

When I signed up to race this 24 hour event, 6 weeks pre race (OMG) I had a few things going for me - coming out of Boston, I had a solid base from marathon training (roughly 60 miles per week), and had some experience with ultras (Mind the Ducks 12 hour in 2014, 2016, 2018).  However, it had been a hot minute since I had run anything beyond 26.2 (ish) and even though Ironman is a 11-14 hour event, it doesn't really compare.  So I needed to work on a few key things - my run distance fitness, my nutrition, my outfit/gear selection, and mental headspace.

Run Fitness:  I did pretty well with this one overall, and I honestly am not sure if I got lucky or the prep was sound.   To find a plan, I fired up the ole googler and found a plan that seemed to fit my life, then I trashed it and made my own plan based on what I knew of my body and what seemed reasonable.  For those trying out an ultra for the first time, I'm not sure I recommend the former, but I knew I needed three things - a decent weekly mileage, back to back longish runs, and a few "key days".  With the six weeks I had, I opted to do a two week build, recovery, build two more weeks, then taper down.  I added a bunch of back to back to back 12 milers, and two long runs of 22 and 40.  With hindsight, I probably would have done the first long run a bit slower, but the 40 miler gave me confidence for nutrition and time on feet - the run portion took 6.5 hours and just over 7 hours accounting for stops for food and bathroom. 

I flexed the plan a lot, and shook out with 6 days of running a week.  I added speed one day (mile repeats) and the rest was all sexy (slow) pace.  One thing I did not do well - I rarely ran goal pace (13-14 minute miles) and that might have helped me find my rhythm on race day - but honestly - with the weather the day of the race, I don't know that it would have mattered.  I was grateful to bank the miles early at the race and when my body shut down due to nutrition, I believe it was mostly due to the heat.  I also swam 3 days a week on this plan, which was clutch - it gave some good recovery and allowed me to work some other muscles.  I parked my bike in a corner for a month and this was also wise - I did not need to add more leg stress (though I'm not sure what to do with it now that I'm doing two tris in August LOL)

Nutrition - This, along with clothing, is a piece I need to work on.  I experimented a lot on my 22 and 40 miler, and felt good about my nutrition.  It included roughly 300 calories an hour, in the form of skratch superfuel, gels, clif minis, and then the "real food" - dried cherries, beef jerky, peanut butter sandwiches, and even a burger delivery plan for 7pm.  

I ditched most of that race day - with the heat as it was, the only thing I could stomach was gu and gu sports drink, and after 13 hours of that, my stomach rebelled.  I tried the burger and the pizza that was offered, and some ramen at 1am, but honestly, the last 11 hours of my race were all fueled by ginger ale and coke.  I threw up four times, and that's why I knew  by 1am my "running" was over.  

If I did this again, I would experiment more in race conditions to what my stomach could handle, and experiment more with two or three a day runs on this fuel.  

Clothing/shoes - This was a stumper.  What the hell do you wear for this long and for weather flux?  Darned if I knew.  My biggest problem was my best run shorts were just casual Coeur shorts - great for a marathon but probably chafe city for more.  My best tights fixed that, but who wears capris when its 90 degrees?  Top?  Sports bra, but what about the sun??  And shoes - I train and race in Saucony - Rides and pros.  They work for four hours but are not designed for trails OR ultras. And about those socks...

So, you go with what you know.  I wore a sports bra and shorts, which worked well for about 8 hours, then the amount of ice I dumped in my bra got so ridiculous no amount of friction defense would fix my crotch (sorry for the TMI, but it was straight up painful to pee, and no one on the course that was a male would lend me a...well, you know #girlprobs).  I changed into my capris at 9pm and that saved me, though it was HOT!  I did well with sunscreen and did not burn, and ended up wearing my old endorphin pro 3s that had way too many miles on them but a nice big toe box and were comfy - though they are shot now and I found a big rock in them post race that I ran in for who knows how many miles!!  And for the zillion dollar question - no, I did not race in socks.  I fixed a hot spot once, and ended the day with two blisters on my big toes, which was hella impressive in my book with how wet my feet got from ice!

Mental outlook - This is, hands down, in my opinion, the defining piece of my race and the one I am most proud of.  I'll say it until I am blue in the face - the longer the race, the more you need to deeply believe in your "why".  Even though I only had 6 weeks to prep and I admittedly signed up due to the

bad influence of another running friend, (are we shocked) 100 miles is something that I've always wanted to do, and in a year of who TF knows what I want, I figured why the hell not. 

 Throughout the whole race, I never wavered on what I wanted.  And that's the key.  Because the longer the race is, it becomes not a matter of "if" anything is gonna go wrong - its "when".  And plenty went wrong.  My stomach.  My crotch.  The heat. I got tired.  But I KNEW I had to get my hundred, and at 2am when my miles slowed to 18 minutes I just....kept moving.  Toward the goal that I would not let myself fail at unless my body gave out.  And I got lucky - it did not.  But the most important muscle I own - my brain - would not let it.

It's also the stupidest muscle I own, hence my continued bad decisions.  LOL.  But I dont regret this one - it was a lot of fun, I learned so much, and got to meet some amazing people!  Hopefully this post helped a few of you that are debating an ultra - I am always here if you have questions :)

So what's next?  A few local tris with the best people, and maybe a few more fuck it races for 2024. But my big goals are now set on 2025.  Stay tuned :)

Candlelight 24 Hour: You've Got me Running in Circles

Holy. Effing. Crazy. Batman!

If you know me outside of this venue, you at least know I am still alive.  For the rest of you, hey - its me - I didn't die at the 24 hour last week! (well- mostly LOL).

What an experience.  What a completely crazy day.  And since I want to run the fine line between sharing ALL the things (No, I will not re write Moby Dick) and sharing enough that's entertaining and helpful - we will break this in to two parts - 1.  The story - the race report, the thrills, the gross, and the fun. 2. The lessons learned - and there were a ton of them - if you are ever debating this insanity, I have some stuff to share of what to do and what for the love of god NOT to do.

But now, its time for the story!  When we last left off, I gave you the scoop - all the fuckery that led to this choice to see if I could run 100 miles in 24 hours.  Oof.  Race week was predictable - tired, caffeine deprived, watching the temp prediction rise up to the upper 80s for race day.  What could possibly go wrong??  Early o dark thirty, my friend Dave (another bad decision encourager named Dave - yay) and I loaded up his RV and headed out to Rush to set up shop.  We found a clutch spot at Tent city for our own personal aid station and lined up pretty much everything but the kitchen sink.  It was hot as balls out already and I knew I was gonna be in for a decent amount of outfit changes to stay dry.  I selected my first "I am serious runner" outfit (cupcake bra, watermelon shorts, tiara I promised to run one loop in - who TF is this woman??) and we headed to the start line! Amidst jokes about not getting lost and going nowhere fast, the RD announced GO! and Dave and I led the pack, kidding around that we at least were winning for two minutes.

The first hour was pretty uneventful - Since my overall goal pace was a 14:00ish to hit 100 miles, I knew I had to front load it slightly but not kill myself.  The problem is - in the beginning of a race, you feel fantastic!  It was already warm out and muggy as shit, so I made the decision to run steady as long as I could without blowing my load (that's what she said).  For the first ten miles or so, I ran in a group of 4 - Dave, myself, and two new friends - Mike and Jason.  It was all of our first 24 hour races and the goals varied - Mike, Dave and I all wanted 100 plus and Jason was going for 100k.  We clocked 9:30s for the first ten miles - fast, but also doable, with no walk breaks.  Two miles in, Dave spotted a potato on the course, which led to a ridiculous amount of jokes #iykiyk.  As irony goes, each loop, the potato got a little more smashed and 20 miles in, it was completely obliterated (#itwasntme).  

Aside from mashed potatoes, the first 3 hours were pretty uneventful - I had some awesome cheer squad people show up - Bill, who brought fireball (YAS) and Craig, who brought popsicles and kiddos.  I hit the marathon at 4:22, which, again, was fast, but with the heat already in the mid 80s, I knew I was doing alright.  I pit stopped for an outfit change (ice made everything soggy) and my friend Amanda showed up to cheer AND crew, and saved our butts for the next few hours with popsicles, gel, and even an icee, She is my angel.

  The RD started snapping pics at this point and I flashed him a thumbs up and he goes - you're in second!  I thought that was pretty cool, even though I'd never seen first woman and he informed me I was....second overall.  Woah.  what??  Still - a lot of race left!

About 6 hours in I changed shoes - no blisters yet (#teamnosocks) and hit up another sports bra.  I had been doing GU and skratch to this point, and my stomach was getting a little messy with the heat.  We had a pretty steady stream of awesome support - Brittany, Gary, Carolyn, Matt, Amanda, Billy, Kelly - you guys all rock!  I was still feeling good and dancing around as I always do - running at times with Mike and Jason, and now getting lapped by Dave (expected).  

As the afternoon carried into early evening, I checked my halfway split - 62 miles in 12 hours.  Holy nuts!  I made a joke with Gil, the RD, about expecting my lunchbox cooler - a prize awarded at Mind the Ducks for hitting 100k in 12 hours.  I had tried to hit that mark 3 times and failed, with my PR in the 12 hours being 56 miles.  This was either very good or very bad.  At this point, the kids showed up and gave me the high fives I needed, as my stomach was starting to get a little weird and food was a struggle.  I switched to a power walk and connected with my friend Clem, who has done two 100 milers and very diplomatically advised me I was going way TF too fast and to slow it down.  At this point I was in 3rd place overall and still first woman, with #2 being 9 laps behind me.  Good advice, but I was also aware that if I stopped - I would not start again.  So we power walked for an hour and drank ginger ale (THANK YOU DIANE!) while I tried to get my GI issues under control).

15 hours in, I was at 75 miles and knew an outfit change was needed.  I was so chafed from all the ice and sweating, and my legs and um, delicate region, was so destroyed it wasn't even funny (yes I used friction defense a LOT.  No, it wasn't enough).  It hurt to go to the bathroom, which was a BIG issue.  I switched to my safety tights (bright orange capris) and back to my green shoes (Endorphin pros) which had a bigger toe box, as I had one hot spot I taped up.  This helped a TON and I was able to rattle off a bunch of 11 to 12 minute miles with my fresh duds and the sun finally down.

Nighttime got really eerie.  I had heard about this during an ultra and had no idea what to expect.  It was pitch black and stull humid as hell, but the headlamps and quiet on the course were soothing and aside from watching football on the trail section of the course, it was pretty cool to be part of.  Around midnight I hooked up with Mike again, and we had good conversation about the um...weather...and other things that shall remain unsaid (what happens in an Ultra, stays in an ultra - but damn, you get to know a person fast!)  He had some hot spots so I advised a shoe change with all the savvy of a newbie, which he took me up on and he felt a lot better!  Salty fries arrived at 1am and I tried gamely to get them down, then promptly threw up 3 times.  Hell.  At this point, my legs felt ok but my stomach was so off again - Mike was a lap behind me but game to do my power walk, so we pressed on, averaging 15-16 minute miles.  Ill take it.  I started to do some mental math and knew my 100 mile goal was in the bag if I kept moving, with a stretch goal of 105 - 4 marathons (I cannot fathom).  I was in 4th place overall, still 1st female. Oddly enough, I never got tired and did not nap - which I know a lot of people asked.  

Clem showed up again and cooked me ramen, bless him.  some of the broth stayed down but we were now just into coke and ginger ale.  Fine.  I stopped to sit for 3 minutes, as advised and knew immediately that could not happen again.  I added a new shirt and got back up - some people can rest during an Ultra, but I knew if I did it again, my body would not allow me to get back up.

Pre dawn, my miles averaged 18-20 and we were just at - forward progress.  I had already snagged the women's record of 80 miles hours ago (Thank you Kelly for your support!) and knew that forward progress would net my 100 miler.  No ego.  Mike and I connected again at mile 98 - he was feeling a LOT better than me with the new shoe change but he stayed with me and we hit our 100 mile goal together hand in hand at 22:39. Holy crap.  So, what now?

Well, we had another hour to work with! So while Mike zoomed ahead, I kept on with my miles and ticked off 1, 2 3 more for a finish of 103.3 miles in 23:42, 13:05 pace moving time, 49 minutes total non moving (bathroom and outfit changes)!

No, I did not have one more mile in me.  I tried.  No, I could not have hit 4 marathons (105 miles).  LOL  Now that that's out of the way, I crossed the finish and immediately found a seat and began sobbing as the RD handed me my coveted belt buckle.  One, for the pure emotion of all of it.  Two, because my body gave all it had and I was 100% done.  Mike and Dave crossed not long after me - Dave with 116 miles and Mike with 104 - and we finished first, second and third respectively, with me taking the woman's win by 16 miles and beating the women's course record by a crazy 23 miles!

The award ceremony took place shortly after, complete with me retching behind a sign and standing only long enough to get my cool candlestick and sweet winners perk of a race refund fee.  I'll take it! 

Post race....well, we dont talk about that.  LOL.  

I'll leave that for the reflections post, but the short of it is - I was a ridiculous "need to be carried to the bathroom" mess for all of Sunday, rallied Monday to be a human being, and finally was able to eat Tuesday.  We are a week out and I'm swimming, biking and have done one short run.  All in all, after the first 24 hours it was perfect.  And I regret absolutely none of it.

What's next?  Well, stay tuned.....I'll drop some "What to consider and what TF NOT to do during an ultra" that I learned during this process - but overall, I am elated with the result and so incredibly happy with this race!  Gil put on a fine event, and despite my um...hesitation on the course, I enjoyed it all and will NOT be back for more, but that's just because I have some other goals to chase :)  Cheers!!

Bad Decisions - The Quest for a 100 miler

Alright, time to fess up.  In the latest "WTF idiot thing is Rae doing now?" I've been a little negligent at the updates.  Some of you know through the grapevine, but I've held off on a post for a few reasons - 

1.  It's probably the dumbest thing I've done

2. I wasn't sure I had the nerve to do it

3.  See reason #1.

But now that it's race week (what) it's about time to lay out the next adventure - the what, the where, the who, the why (LOL).  And this one's a doozy.

Post Boston, I was at a bit of loose ends for what I wanted out of the 2024 race season.  I'd spent 2022 and 2023 honing on some very specific goals, and 2024 eluded me a bit.  I already Boston Qualified (for 2025 if I want as well), and Kona 2024 isn't a thing unless I get a sex change (sorry, that's not the big news).  A sub 5 70.3 was up for debate, but I was lacking in the actual wanting to ride my bike (not new news) and I've only been swimming for the gossip and scenery (again, not new news).  That left running.  Which I like.  A lot.  But what to do with it?

As the universe usually does, it sends me some dumb new influence with really bad ideas when I need it most.  In 2019, it was a sub 6 quest. 2021, it was a bomb cyclone at World's.  This time, we upped the ante - I met a runner during Boston that made my bad choices look like amateur hour, and through the past few months, we've egged each other on to increasingly bad calls.  It's a red flag friendship that is a realllly bad idea because we don't have the ability to say "no".  Back in May, I crewed him at Mind the Ducks, the 12 hour looped one mile race I've done a few times - but this guy did it with a 50 pound pack, an somehow did 56 miles in 12 hours, which is my....non pack record.  WTF.  How could we do dumber than that?

Hold my beer (err....Kraken on the rocks).  Because whats dumber than a 12 hour looped race?  A 24 hour one.  Yep.  I didn't stutter.  The same guy that RD's Mind the Ducks also runs a race called "Candlelight 24 hour ultra" which is a one mile loop you run - as many times in 24 hours - as you can.

It's ridiculous.  It's stupid.  And eight weeks ago, I decided to do it.  So for the last two months, I've done a steady build, with many mid run back to back runs, one 100 mile week, and a long run of 40 miles. I pulled my prep plan off the internet and out of my butt.  Will it work?  I have no idea.  But why not test it out an see what happens?  (SMH).

The goal for race day?  If the weather cooperates, I want 100 miles.  The course sucks (sorry Gil).  It's almost half trail, more uphill than down, and not flat at all.  I hated it when I ran it at preview, so 100 laps sounds like a great idea, am I right??

As I sit here 5 days out, I have no clue what to expect.  I'm asking myself the dumbest questions like - what shorts to wear?  I run in coeur shorts, but what doesn't chafe at 40 miles, who TF knows at 100?  Same with socks....I don't run in socks.  Ever.  But hot damn that sounds dumb as hell (this is gonna be a game day decision, and yes, I will take feet pics (I can sell those on the internet, right? )) What do you eat for 24 hours???  My packing list ranges from snickers bars and coke to fireball, and the magnitude of this race is just unfathomable.

So like I always do, I'll head into it with my eyes up, a deep breath, and plan to have the best time of my life!  Will I get 100?  I'm gonna try my best.  And if I fall flat on my face, I'll shake it off and laugh and then get back up and try again.

Here's the big ask - if you've got an hour to spare this weekend, I would LOVE any cheers, jeers, or just throw fireball at me for an hour and tell me I'm an idiot :)  I will have a tent and camp chairs and a super enticing buffet table full of gu, coke, and aquaphor - what could be better than that?  (Don't answer that, Barry :-P)

The details:

Where: Rochester Rotary Sunshine Camp, 809 Five Points Rd, Rush, NY 14543

When: Saturday July 13 at 7am - Sunday July 14 at 7am

The why: To laugh at Rae (more than we normally do)

And if you can't make it - stay tuned for this hella crazy race recap, if I'm alive to write it! :)