Oh my, getting on 3.5 years since I fissured a hamstring tendon and damaged the attach on the pelvis, just because I slipped about one inch on a wet crosswalk during a 10K, it has been so long... While my sport doctor in France had mentioned it would be long, I'd definitely go with a PRP injection if I had known it was going to be that long... He was just worried about the risk of infection that deep behind the glutes.
At least, after a few months of improvement--sitting at my desk still brings some discomfort if any pressure on that particular spot-- I believe I'm seeing the end of that tunnel, phew! I'm still not ready to get back to the track for hard speed work but I can hold miles under 7 min/mile again occasionally. Of course, it doesn't help I aged by 3 years in the meantime not to mention the loss of muscle strength plus the breathing issues with what might have been a COVID-19 episode in February 2020 before it was even a thing (I experienced breathing issues for 5 months after that).
All this time I didn't even know if I would be back to some good form and running eventually. Between this negative uncertainty and stress at work, it feels really good to get back to some reasonable running, enough to take part of our local MUT (Mountain, Ultra, Trail) Grand Prix on one hand, and USATF National Championships on the other. Like in the good old days...
Looking at my running log and blog, I was surprised this was only my 4th participation at MadCity: barely breaking 8 hours in 2015, one week after American River 50-mile and one week before Ruth Anderson 50-mile, yet taking home the super nice crystal vase for winning the Masters division; 2015 is also the edition where we started hearing about Camille in the ultra world, with her setting a course record outright (the first of her results in UltraSignup); 2017 was weird because I walked so much, I finished in an embarrassing time of 11 hrs 28 minutes yet got a second vase; and that was one week before clocking 2:44 at Boston and also getting my 2nd podium and vase there, I was back on fire! As for 2019, injured, I actually dropped after 8 laps (80K). Again, it felt so good to be back then.
In the heart of Wisconsin and April, the weather can vary a lot at this event. This year the forecast had high temperatures through the day and a wind advisory in the afternoon. But no rain at least! The early morning was quite foggy above the lake. Just coming from a week in French Polynesia (like in 2019), I didn't think of these conditions being humid at all, but it might have impacted performances that day as others complained about the moisture.
The field was really small for a Championship, I think a total of 33 USATF registrants (and maybe another dozen non USATF runners, plus the 50K individual and relay runners later in the day). It was such a thin field that I was the only one in my age group for a change. At least that took some pressure off and, with that, in addition to finishing, this time, to get that 17th title and patch, I had an eye on our age group record set by Ultra Running Hall of Famer and friend, Roy Pirrung, in 2007 in the Netherlands at 8:39:35. That time corresponding to an 8:20 min/mile pace, a goal which felt very attainable a few years ago.
Timo (Tim Yanacheck), the Race Director, has been hosting these 100K Nationals for 15 years so felt really relaxed while setting up and through the day. For one thing, there are only two aid stations to setup and manage (start/finish and at mile 4), that helps. As well as having a distinct Race Director for the 50K relay (Emily McCluhan) and a team of efficient and knowledgeable volunteers.
As I wrote in on of my posts about this trip to French Polynesia, my Garmin 230 died while snorkeling so I was back to using my proven 310XT. Only issue is that I had taken then wrong charging cable, that created some additional stress while trying to get to sleep, Friday evening. I had planned on changing the units and screens but didn't want to use up any battery left for that. I ended doing some basic maths all day, juggling with kilometers and miles, not too rocket science! ;-)
With the goal I described above I basically had to run each lap not faster than 50 minutes and not slower than 52. Let's see how the race unfolded.
- Lap 1. Well, despite all the efforts to let the leaders go at their blazing fast pace, I still ran the first lap in 47:30, almost 30 seconds per mile too fast. Between not having the actual pace on my watch, and the rolling course, plus running on my own given the small field, it was hard to gauge the exact pace.
- Lap 2. Carrying two Ultimate Direction bottles (one with water, one with GU Energy Brew), I wasn't stopping at the aid station. Passing through the one at mile 10 I thought to myself: "cool, I don't feel my hamstring tendon." Oh well, a mile later, I could feel it actually, that did remind me I had to slow down. 49:01 for the lap as a result (7:53 pace), that was more reasonable.
- Lap 3. We started seeing 50K runners on the course, either being passed by the fastest relay teams or passing the slower ultra runners. That did help break the monotony of running in circles. Clocked a 49:07, good consistency!
- Lap 4. I remember having a lot of pleasure and great feelings about that lap, including the excitement of covering the first marathon. By the end of that lap I was actually feeling proud of my stride and form when... I got lapped by the four lead runners! Wow, 3:13-3:17 for 50K, some young guys were taking it seriously and had big and speedy goals today! As for me, I covered that lap in 49:45, right on 8 min/mile.
- Lap 5. For what it is worth, and that means nothing in a 100K race plus there was not official time taken, I passed the marathon mark around 3:26, well below the Boston Qualifying time of 3:35 for my age group. All that felt rather easy except for some headwind along the golf course already (wind was expected around 3 pm and it was only 10 am). But nothing serious. I still completed that lap under 50 minutes (49:52 or 8:02 min/mile). That added up to 4:05 for the first 50K, clearly on the aggressive side as that's what I ran in February at Jed Smith.
- Lap 6. At the end of the 5th lap, I made a stop of a few minutes to ask Shea Aquilano's crew if they could help refill my GU Brew bottles. That stop plus some growing fatigue got me to lose 4 minutes overall (54:01). Nothing dramatic but that 8:42 min/mile for that lap started to erode my confidence and morale.
- Lap 7. That's when the wheels started to fall off and I started walking. While the average pace was decreasing, technically I was still under the 8:20 min/mile goal by the end of that lap, at 70 kilometers, by mere 53 seconds... But the mind wasn't in the game anymore. As a matter of facts, I wanted to slow down to get off the pace and goal pressure anymore and, gee, how good I am at slowing down when I lost stamina!
- Lap 8. Once I dropped the record from my goals, I felt slightly better to alternate jogging and walking. I started to looking behind me, expecting Meghan to catch up at any time. I think that's the lap I got passed by a M40-45 bib and I said: "finally!" Indeed, I thought that must have been Sam Skeels who was given as the favorite for the coveted crystal vase this year in Lin's race preview. At the beginning of that 8th lap, I took my last GU2O bottle (Shea had just dropped and her crew was naturally focusing on her). I walked so much on that lap that I clocked an embarrassing 1:18:40 (12:40 pace), ouch!
- Lap 9. That's a special lap as we quickly get to the 50-mile mark where records can be set (e.g. Gary Gellin's goal in 2017). Timo and Lin where there, ready to manually capture Meghan's time. I passed that mark in 7:23, clearly not my best 50-miler... Now, Lin told me that I was the first Masters, that reignited some fire in me, making me run more in that lap. Result: a 1:07 lap.
- Lap 10. By the end of lap 9, I stopped to ask Lin if she confirmed my leading of the Masters division and she replied she was mistaken, I was 2nd. Darn, now that she had made me run more in lap 9, and it was the ultimate lap, I ran some of it as well for a 1:08 lap.
By the end of lap 10, the wind had picked up significantly. In front, it was a slaughter with many dropping as early as 60K. While I clocked 9:37:17, given who was still on the course, that was good enough for 7th overall, 5th in the men, 2nd Masters and 1st M50 or M55-59 for that matter.
Behind, Meghan had managed to set a new Age Group World Record for 50 mile but, after that, and the wind bursts, she walked most of lap 10 (she had to officially finish the 100K race for the 50-mile split to count as a record).
If this lap enumeration didn't bore you yet, you may check that Relive.cc flyover. At the fast visualization pace, that looks a bit like some Nascar or Formula 1 racing! ;-) (Click on the image below or that link.)
14 finishers overall in the 100K, 17 DNFs, the results aren't pretty this year. Even our very own Pacific Association favorite, Raj (Rajpaul Pannu) had a disappointing race, walking in his 8th lap already and finishing in 8:11 and 4th Men.
Shortly after finishing I started shivering and cramping, from legs to... my obliques, quite a brand new experience for me. Leg cramps I know how to manage but, the upper body ones, ouch! The volunteers got me to drink 2 cups of chicken broth, and, yikes, 2 cups of pickle juice. My care takers at the finish:
My top was covered with salt again although I had drank 4 bottles of GU2O plus taken 11 S!Caps, 4 Vespa Power pouches so I'm not sure what else I should or could have done. Good news is that 30 minutes of rest in the car did the recovery job and I was able to jog after that, before my 1-hour drive to my next hotel stop in Elkhorn, WI, on my way to business meetings in Chicago, Monday through Wednesday.
I'm very grateful to Timo for still hosting these 100K Nationals despite such a small field. Between the prize money, the sanctioning, the course certification, the hosting of USATF officials, there is so much money involved, it's really a heavy burden for Race Directors, it takes a lot of personal commitment to make these USATF events happen. Thank you Timo and your great crew of volunteers (I ended up stopping and enjoying the ice at the mile 4 aid station in the 3 last laps). Besides, when the weather cooperate, this is an excellent setup for a 100K:
- 10K loops making keeping track of distance and time easy;
- 2 convenient aid stations ideal for crewed and screwed runners (runners without a crew) alike;
- Rolling course engaging different sets of muscles;
- Variety of views: lake shore, marina, forest, golf and some urban traffic;
- Additional distraction when the 50K runners are on the course;
- Low car and bike traffic through the forest;
- Fully stocked aid stations with cheering and knowledgable volunteers;
- USATF-certified course and sanctioned event;
- Finisher medal, t-shirt, overall and age group awards (vases, plaques).
In conclusion, I had 6 good laps at least and still managed to finish after that so definitely on the recovery road. By the time I managed to finally write this report, 3 weeks later, I actually race at Lake Folsom and even did some hill training in preparation to next week's Quicksilver 100K. Another beast I'm excited to be back to play with although I still feel way under trained. Let me not get too hungry too fast... Anyway, see many of our Bay Area ultra running community at this Club event on Saturday then!
PS: on my way back, and having lived for a couple of years on the Lac Léman in Geneva, I stopped by Lake Geneva. With the wind, it looked like being at the ocean!
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