Felix Culpa

felix culpa - a happy or fortunate fall

A few days ago I was running at my favorite cathedral of pain, White Ranch, on a section of trail that I’ve run dozens of times before. It’s a steep downhill section with a few roots but mostly buffed out single track through pine trees. It’s one of my favorite sections in the entire park.

Well, maybe it’s not anymore.

I was running just ahead of my friend when I rolled my ankle so hard that I heard the telltale POP that signals an ankle sprain. Just how badly it was injured remained to be seen. I stretched it out until I could walk on it and eventually run on it again, though it was very tight. Since we were 6 miles from the trailhead, we finished the 6 mile loop and it seemed to hold up ok, just tight and painful.

By the time I got home, my right ankle was the size of a baseball. I’m using the RICE technique (rest, ice, compression, elevation) and the swelling has started to die down, but it’s still sore and stiff. My ankle bones are not painful to the touch, so nothing seems to be broken or torn off a bone, but it’s going to take some time.

Unfortunately, there are only two weeks until Wasatch 100. Just guessing here, but I think two healthy ankles would be nice.

And yet, maybe this is a felix culpa. Yesterday, I rode my mountain bike for the first time in months. Cody ran behind me while I rode and she had the biggest smile on her face the whole time. I was pretty happy too.

As it turns out, it’s really fun to ride a bike again! So I went for a second ride that day up in south Boulder on the Flatirons Vista trails, which are relatively flat with only a few rocky technical sections. It was beautiful and there were hardly any other riders out there. I got my heart rate up and my legs got a great workout too.

I started thinking about riding my tri bike and my cyclocross bike again and got excited for the adventures I could plan. I remembered that I’ve been wanting to ride the peak to peak highway this summer, and maybe I’ll actually do it. I liked covering long distances quickly, with my head up to the horizon and eyes not always glued to the trail.

Today we even rode up Lookout Mountain in Golden for the first time, and I got a chance to watch the pro peloton ride up in the last stage of the USA Pro Challenge. It was awesome to see Jens Voigt race for the last time in his career and to see CO rider Tejay Van Garderen win the race. 

So maybe something good will come out of a sprained ankle. Maybe cross training will be fun again, like it was when I was racing triathlon. Maybe I’ll sign up for Leadman next year and do the bike races along with the runs in Leadville.

And maybe I won’t go completely crazy tapering for Wasatch 100 with a bum ankle.

Keys to Finishing a 100 Mile Race

After a successful Bighorn 100 mile mountain run in 22:04 and a top-10 finish, I finally felt like I knew what I was doing at the 100 mile distance. I made some mistakes that could've cost me my race, but I was able to overcome them and that's where long races get really interesting. Hopefully I can share something here that will be helpful to other ultra runners looking to tackle a 100 miler.

There are 2 keys to running a 100 mile race:
1) fueling
2) pacing

Fueling:

"It’s not about fitness. Everybody is fit, but it’s who can eat, drink, fuel, and get from the start to the finish—those are the guys that win.”
-Mike Aish, ultra runner

Calories:

I try to eat 200-300 calories every hour.

I like to drink a combination of Carbo-pro + water in my bottles and to have a variety of gel flavors to eat.

Carbo-pro is a flavorless powder with 100 calories and 25 grams carbs per scoop. Powerbar gels are currently my favorite gels because they have 110-120 calories, 200 mg of sodium, and 27g carbs. They are more liquid-like than GU or Hammer gels, and when they get cold they aren’t as firm to eat. I also like e-Gels, which have 150 calories and 230 mg of sodium.

If I have a crew at the race, I'll have them bring Ensure to each crew access point because liquid calories go down easily and quickly.



I find that both E-gels and Powerbar gels go down quickly during the night time when my stomach tends to revolt. I like a variety of sweet and sour flavored gels like chocolate for sweet and green apple or tangerine for sour. The balance allows me to avoid getting so sick of them.

I try to eat some solid foods early in a race, like granola bars, bananas, salted potatoes and whatever else they have at the aid stations that won't make me puke, but I generally move to a gel and liquid-only diet later on when my stomach is sensitive and I need calories quickly.

Whatever you're consuming, check out the calories and the carbs on the label. A rule of thumb I use when choosing a fuel source that will provide energy quickly is 25g carbs per 100 calories.

Salt:

I like Salt Stick caps with 215 mg sodium and a blend of 4 other electrolytes, or Succeed S! Caps with a massive 341 mg sodium and 21 mg potassium. I'll take one tab every 1-2 hours in the 60-80F degree days, and 2+ tabs if it’s hotter than that. At night, try some chicken broth for salt and warmth -- it's glorious when available.

Below is a pic of my secret weapon: the tiny plastic container. I keep enough salt tabs, gas-x, tums, and tylenol for 30 hours of running in this little gem and it's always on me during a race. No sharp edges to cut/chafe either.



Hydration:

I down 30-40 oz of water every hour if it's 60-80F. A bit less if it's colder and 50 oz or so if hotter. My target when I get 'running brain' aka 'the dumz' is to drink one and a half 22oz handhelds or two 17oz Salomon soft flasks every hour.

Ultimate Direction AK vest with two 17oz soft flasks on Redcloud Peak

We are each an experiment of one. Use your long training runs to experiment with different amounts of water.

Pacing:

"Let 'em all go"
-Me

Patience is key to pacing 100s, and you can ruin your race in the first 25 miles by running too fast.

Nobody wins a 100 in the first 25, but plenty have lost their race there. I've tried going out hard and hanging on, and afterward I vowed never to try that again. Recently, I've started using a HR monitor to keep close tabs on my effort, especially early in the race.

Bighorn 100 start. Currently in 50th place.

It is true that a 100 mile race begins at mile 75. If you can be patient at the start and hold a strong effort during the last 25 miles, then you have nailed the 100 mile distance. Most people will blow up between the 65-80 mile mark. I’ll venture that most runners blow up because of two reasons:

1. Not taking in enough calories and fluids
2. Going out too hard

Good news: these are fixable problems!

Heart Rate Method:

I’ve started wearing a heart rate monitor during races in order to keep myself from going out too fast, firing up the engines too soon, and blowing up. During training, I’ve figured out that I can run all day at 130-138 bpm. If I’m going up short hills then I can hold a 138-145 bpm effort, but if I’m running up any longer hills and I’m hovering in that higher HR zone, then I’m sure to explode at the end of the race.

There is no shame in hiking hills in order to keep your effort/HR low. Make it a fast hike and you can smash your mountain 100.

Matchstick Analogy:

Coach Jorge Martinez (E3 Training Solutions) uses the matchstick analogy regarding pacing, which goes as follows. Your body is a box of matchsticks, and there is a finite number of matchsticks in the box. Every time you spike your effort, you burn a matchstick. And when you run out of matchsticks, you have nothing to light your fire.

When you go too hard uphill or down, you burn a matchstick. When you pass someone too fast, or try to keep their faster pace when it's not your pace, you burn a matchstick. Matchsticks are valuable tools, and they should be saved for when they're most needed, like the last 25 miles of a race.

Bonus: Gear Stuff

Gear I like:

Ultimate Direction AK Race Vest 2.0
17oz Salomon soft flasks
Buff headwear
Garmin Forerunner 310XT w/ heart rate monitor
Nathan Quickdraw Plus
Petzl MYO RXP headlamp

Shoes I like:

Pearl Izumi Trail N2
Adidas Adios Boost
Salomon S-lab Sense 3 Ultra Softground
La Sportiva Helios
La Sportiva Vertical K
Montrail Rogue Fly
Hoka Bondi Speed

Moment of zen:

Why run 100 miles? Because nobody hires you to do it, nobody can fire you from it, nobody can tell you that you don't have the degree to do it, you just go out there and figure out how you can do it.

Trip Report: La Plata

August 3rd, 2014

After completing Shavano and Tabeguache the previous day, we decided on La Plata for our 3rd 14er of the weekend.

Our campsite the night before was a pull off about 1/4 mile past the La Plata trailhead. It was a perfect spot!

We were able to sleep in till 7:00 and hit the trail at 8:00am. Someone (named Ryan) was much happier with this 'sleeping in' business. Up the trail we went, following the happy trail dog through a beautiful forest!

The trail started very flat, with a few sections of downhill. We were able to run for the first 10-15 minutes. The terrain was mostly dirt, with stable rocks scattered about. Then the pitch went up. Although it seemed as steep, or steeper than Shavano, the terrain made it feel a bit easier. There was even a section with stairs that seemed to climb 300 feet in 1/10th of a mile!

As we hit tree line, we got a gorgeous view of this valley.

The view of that valley persisted as we climbed what seemed like 50 switchbacks. Since it was such a pretty view, we stopped a few times to fully appreciate it:

Finally we reached the top of the switchbacks, only to realize we were at 13,000 feet. That meant plenty more climbing!

Looking back on where we had come from

And where we still had to go!

At the top there were 2 sections of class 2 rock scrambling. Nothing too tricky- we never needed to use our hands- just some fun rock-hopping!

Another looking back on where we came up

There were some incredible views of other routes up to the top that looked way harder than our chosen route!

People come up that route!

 We made it to the top in 2:05- a very solid effort (including picture taking stops!) At the top we took our time enjoying both the view, and some pop tarts.

My legs felt a lot better about going downhill today, but I still let Ryan bomb down ahead of me. La Plata was just as steep as Shavano, but the terrain was much less technical, making it a faster/easier descent. The steepness sure does destroy your quads!

Overall this was a great, runnable 14er. Most decent trail shoes would suffice, although there are quite a few tight turns with loose dirt. I was wearing my North Face Hyasa Trails, and they were great for everything but the loosest, steepest dirt. Ryan had his La Sportiva Helios and didn't slip on anything.


After a perfect run on La Plata, we hung out on the paddleboard at Twin Lakes, waiting for the traffic on I-70 to clear.

Another perfect day in paradise!

Trip Report: Shavano and Tabeguache

August 2nd, 2014

Another weekend, another trip to the high country! We wanted to get in some longer miles so we picked Shavano and Tabeguache for Saturday. After work on Friday we drove up to the trailhead, finding a nice flat parking spot for our Element camper, falling asleep under the stars.

We awoke to the sound of other hikers heading out, including a wonderful car alarm going off. Sigh. I guess parking at the trailhead wasn't conducive to sleeping in, so we got out of bed at 6am and hit the trail at 7. The trail started climbing right from the start!

As we were ascending, I noticed that the terrain was very technical- lots of big, loose rocks. The climb out of the forest brought gorgeous morning views.

After treeline we began ascending more technical, steep terrain. In one direction, the sky was perfectly clear:

However looking in the other direction, the clouds were forming right under our feet:

Clouds just continued forming all day

It was a very cool day!

The final pitch to the top got only marginally steeper, since most of this hike was steeper than most anyways. The class 2 scrambling really wasn't bad on the way to the top of Shavano- I don't even think we lost the trail!

into the clouds, literally

The summit of Shavano was very popular, so we took a few photos and continued on to Tabeguache.

Happy 14er pup! Number 21 for Cody!

On top of the world

The trail heading to Tabeguache was a little harder to follow at first, but after a little bit of scrambling we found a few cairns and were OK. However, there was a lot more tricky scrambling on this part of the trail.

The trail from summit to summit was 1 mile long, with 500 feet of loss and 300 feet of gain each way. The trail up to Tabeguache summit was also a slightly trickier scramble. Sometimes there was no trail, we just went up!

The ascent to Tabeguache

There was hardly anyone else on Tabeguache- apparently the prospect of descending and climbing for another mile doesn't sound like fun to everyone :)

Cody's 22nd 14er!

Such a cute nubbins

A perfect Case family portrait

The clouds were still forming/reforming at the top of Shavano on the way back up and over, so the descent was interesting. 

Unfortunately, I (Alaina) slipped ever so slightly on one of the rocks at the top while climbing up, and my leg grazed against the side of another rock. Guess what, rocks aren't soft! I guess I should consider myself lucky that this is the first injury I've ever gotten from the mountains!

It's just a flesh wound!

The scrape on my leg didn't really hurt a ton, but it made downhill running more painful. I also lost some confidence, which was desperately needed for the very technical terrain. I let Ryan run ahead of me with Cody and an incredibly talented 14 year old runner (who happens to run with Dakota Jones), while I hobbled my way down the mountain.

To relax after an amazing day in the mountains, we enjoyed lunch in the town of Salida, then made our way to Turquoise Lake and enjoyed a relaxing paddle with all 3 of us on the board!

Cody disapproves of selfies, with beer, on a paddle board :)

And nothing ends a perfect day like hotdogs and mac 'n cheese cooked by the lake:

Cody carefully monitors the chef

Oh wait- dinner by the lake is pretty amazing, but it's also amazing to camp completely alone at this site. Life is good!

The before sunset photo

Ryan dances in celebration of a perfect camping spot for the Element Camper

Wildflowers and mountains, all to ourselves

Cause I'm happy!

An hour later, the sunset photo

These clouds are making the mountains turn red 

Garmin Data: