Race report: Day of the Dead, Day Four

Today was the fourth day of the Day of the Dead Series.  This is a seven day series, but I’m only doing the first four, so for me, this was the last day of a quadzilla.  Accordingly, I wore a Seattle Quadzilla T-shirt.

I had trouble getting going this morning.  Maybe it was too many days of getting up early.  Maybe it was too many consecutive days running marathons.  Maybe it was both.  I felt sluggish and had trouble shaking it off.   (Where’s Taylor Swift when you need her?)

Today’s weather was a few degrees warmer than yesterday.  It was in the upper 40s at the start and climbed into the mid-70s during the race.  I repeated yesterday’s strategy of wearing wind pants over my shorts and taking them off after I got warmed up.  Today, I remembered to wear a hat!

After yesterday’s race, I was concerned about my right leg.  I considered wrapping my right leg with an elastic bandage, but that used to cause problems with my left leg.  I decided to go with KT tape, but I kept a compression wrap in my gear bag.

Everyone has their own ideas about how to best prevent blisters.  What works for me is to wear double layer socks.  The brand I wear works great the first time I wear them, but it seems they’re not as good after being worn and washed.  They’re fine for training runs, but for a marathon, I prefer to wear a new pair.  As I packed for this trip, I only had three new pairs left.  Deb ordered more, but they didn’t arrive in time.  For the first three races, I wore new pairs.  Today, I raced in a pair of socks that I wore once before.

As I started running, I felt surprisingly stiff.  Usually, I can overcome that.  Today I couldn’t.  Perhaps with enough effort, I could push hard enough to break through the stiffness.  I was afraid to push too hard, for fear of making my right leg worse.  I could also tell I was much slower today.

By the end of my first lap, I was resigned to the fact that I would be stiff and slow for the entire race.  My first lap took 26:30.  That’s roughly four minutes slower than yesterday.

My goal was to break six hours.  To do that, I needed to average 30 minutes per lap.  I assumed I’d be walking later in the race, as it got hot.  At the pace I started, I’d have to run eight or nine full laps before I could walk.

After my first lap, I started taking a one minute walking break at each turnaround.  I wasn’t doing it to manage my effort.  I did it so I could look forward to something.  Each walking break was my reward for running another half lap.

By the end of my second lap, I was experiencing pain in my right leg.  I tried adjusting my stride, but nothing seemed to help.  I needed to try something different.  At the end of that lap, I stopped to put on my compression wrap.  At first, it didn’t seem to help.  Then I adjusted it.  After snugging it up a little, I was able to run more comfortably.

The compression wrap is made of neoprene, which is basically foam rubber.  It covers more than half of my thigh.  Between the wrap and my wind pants, my leg was getting hot and sweaty.  I stopped after my third lap to take off the wind pants.  By then, I had already removed my gloves and jacket.

As I started my fourth lap, I stopped taking walking breaks.  I was as comfortable as I was going to be.  My leg didn’t hurt, and I was neither too hot nor too cold.  I needed to do as much running as I could before it got too hot.

I finished my sixth lap in 2:54 and change.  On Sunday, it took me roughly the same time to run seven laps.  Clearly, I would need to run much farther before I would be in a position to walk the remaining laps.

About halfway through my seventh lap, my leg started to hurt again.  The wrap wasn’t helping enough.  I walked the second half of that lap.  I fully expected to walk the rest of the race, knowing that I wouldn’t be able to break six hours.  The wrap made it difficult to walk fast.  Knowing I wouldn’t break six, I stopped trying to push the pace.  I was basically giving up.

My time after eight laps was 4:03 and change.  I was appalled at how slow that lap was.  At my current pace, I was in danger of eclipsing the 6:23 I ran at the Pike’s Peak Marathon in 2001.

I was on my way to a personal worst unless I added some running back into the mix.  I decided to give running a try.  Maybe after a lap and a half of walking, my legs would be well-rested.  Maybe now I could run without pain, at least for a while.

I was able to run without pain.  I got the sense that I was running faster than before.  When I reached the turnaround, I was on pace for a 26 minute lap.  The second half was tougher.  It was getting hot now.  I could feel sweat running down my leg.  Then my right leg started to hurt again.  My leg was so sweaty, the wrap started to slip down my leg.  I stopped to move it back in position.  I also snugged it up.

I did my best to push the pace for the rest of that lap.  Despite stopping to adjust my compression wrap, I ran a 26 minute lap.  That was huge!  It was faster than any of my previous laps.  With three laps to go, I only needed to average 30 minutes per lap to break six hours.

Yesterday, I was able to run 30 minute laps with a mixture of running and walking.  I wasn’t confident I could do that today.  Earlier in the race, my running laps were taking 29 minutes.

I noticed a slight breeze on the way out.  It wasn’t strong, but it was enough to keep me from overheating.  The second half of each lap, by contrast was ghastly hot.  I decided to run to the turnaround, while I had the benefit of the breeze.  If I took walking breaks, they would be on the way back.

The first half of that lap was faster than my previous lap.  That gave me the incentive I needed to keep running on the way back.

Coming back, the heat was getting to me.  I regretted wearing a short sleeve tech shirt.  It was awfully hot.  Since I started the race with a jacket, there’s no reason I couldn’t have worn a singlet.  I felt sweat dripping from underneath the compression wrap.  I wasn’t sure if it was slipping, but it seemed it could be a little higher on my thigh.  I stopped to adjust it again.  My pace deteriorated in the second half of that lap, but overall, I still managed another 26 minute lap.

With two laps to go, I needed to average 32 minutes per lap.  I was pretty sure I could do that with a mixture of running and walking.  Because I was starting with the breeze, I once again ran all the way to the turnaround.  My pace for the first half of that lap was slightly disappointing until I realized I had over 51 minutes left to do a lap and a half.  In my previous three races, walking a lap took 34 minutes.  At that pace, I could walk the last lap and a half.  Unfortunately, I couldn’t do that pace today.  The wrap made it difficult to walk fast.

I knew if I ran the rest of this lap, I could walk the last lap.  That was enough incentive to fight through the oppressive heat.  Then I realized what an idiot I had been.  Every time I paused at the aid station to drink a glass of Gatorade, they asked me if I needed anything else.  I always said, “No.”  They had ice at the aid station.  I could have been managing the heat by filling my hat with ice.  I thought of that a little too late.

As I finished my 11th lap, I stopped one last time to snug up my wrap.  I wanted to be absolutely sure it wouldn’t come loose again.  With the wrap tighter, running took more effort, but I had less discomfort.  I think I was experiencing pain earlier in the race because the wrap was too loose.

I checked my watch.  I had 37 minutes left to do my remaining lap.  I was pretty sure I could walk a lap in 37 minutes, but it wasn’t quite the slam dunk I was hoping for.  It would be safer if I kept some running in the mix.

I walked the first quarter mile of that lap.  Then I ran a quarter mile. After another quarter of walking, I ran to the turnaround.  Now it was clear.  I had plenty of time to walk the rest of the way.  I didn’t need to push the pace, but I did.  Every quarter mile, I checked my progress.  It became more and more clear I would break six with time to spare.

I finished in 5:55:06.  Four laps earlier, I didn’t think I had any chance of breaking six. Of course I never would have imagined I could run three laps non-stop in the late morning heat, while maintaining a faster pace than I was running at the beginning of the race.

After finishing, I picked out another medal to complete my collection.

Why was it so important to break six hours?  I viewed this as a test.  At the end of the month, I’ll be doing the Seattle Quadzilla.  The last two races of the Seattle Quadzilla have time limits of six hours.  I needed to prove to myself I could break six hours, even on the fourth day of a quadzilla.

I learned after the race that Clint plans to shorten this series to two days beginning next year.  That means it will no longer be possible to run a quadzilla in New Mexico.  When I scheduled these races, I had aspirations of running quadzillas in as many states as possible.  I don’t know if I’m still going to follow through on that.  Still, I’m glad I ran a New Mexico quadzilla while I had the chance.

A few months ago, my race schedule seemed daunting.  It was possible, but it took a healthy dose of optimism.  Now it actually seems like I’m going to do it.  With these four races, my lifetime marathon/ultra total stands at 297.  I just have three more races to reach 300.  Each one will be challenging in its own way, but I really believe I’m going to do it.  After that, I still have the Seattle Quadzilla, but one goal at a time.

Race report: Day of the Dead, Day Three

Today, I ran the third marathon in the Day of the Dead Series.  It was the first time since early July that I ran marathons on three straight days.  On that occasion, I walked 10 of the last 11 miles of the third race and barely broke six hours.  Today, I would have been happy to do something similar.

After yesterday’s race, I had discomfort in my right leg getting into the car.  It didn’t bother me getting in and out of bed, but I was noticing similar discomfort in my left leg.  I got to bed early and got eight hours sleep.  When I woke up, I was stiff, but after a hot bath and some stretching, I felt OK.  Neither leg felt perfect, but I felt better than I thought I would after running marathons the previous two days.

The first two races of this series were on the weekend, so they had higher attendance.  Knowing today’s race would be smaller, I didn’t arrive as early.  I knew the parking lot wouldn’t get full.  After I arrived, I realized I forgot to bring a running hat.  I might have had time to drive back to the hotel and get one, but it seemed like I’d be cutting it too close.  I decided to run without a hat.  I had sunglasses, so I didn’t need the hat to keep the sun out of my eyes.  Mostly, I wanted it to keep sweat from my forehead from dripping into my eyes.

I also forgot sunblock.  They had some at the first aid table, so I was able to apply some just before the race.  I applied extra sunblock to the back of my neck, where I was feeling the sun yesterday.

When I was ready for my final bathroom stop, I noticed the port-o-potties were missing.  Apparently someone stole them during the night.  Who steals port-o-potties?  Clint was able to get another one delivered, but anyone who needed to go before the race had to find a bush.

Today’s weather was a little bit warmer than yesterday’s.  It was in the 40s at the start and warmed into the 70s by noon.  Instead of wearing tights, I wore shorts, but I started the race wearing the wind pants that I normally use for warm-ups.  Unlike tights, I could easily remove the wind pants to run in shorts once it got warm enough.  Also, instead of wearing arm warmers, I started the race with a Tyvek jacket.

I didn’t notice it until yesterday, but there was an area to leave drop bags.  Today, I brought a bag, so I wouldn’t have to return to the car when I removed my jacket and wind pants.

At this time of year, the time of sunrise changes noticeably from day to day.  We’ve been starting each race at 6:00, which has been just after dawn.  Today, it was still dark as Clint was doing his pre-race announcements.  About a minute before the start, suddenly there was light.  I’ve never noticed how abruptly dawn arrives.  Tomorrow, we may be starting in the dark, but not for long.

As I started running, I expected my legs to be stiff, like they were yesterday.  They weren’t.  My stride was smooth from the beginning.  That was a pleasant surprise.  I had another surprise.  I found myself in the lead.  In the first two races, at least 10 people started ahead of me.  Apparently the field for today’s race was not only smaller, but slower.

I wondered if I was starting fast.  At the end of my first lap, I checked my watch.  I started at the same pace as yesterday.  I felt surprisingly good in the early laps.  I continued to hold the lead.  Runners going the other direction all commented how much better my stride looked today.  Unfortunately, that didn’t last.  As early as my third lap, I started to notice soreness in my right leg.

Without a hat, I felt colder in the early laps, but I warmed up quickly.  I took off my gloves after three laps.  After my fourth lap, I took off my jacket and tied it around my waist.

By my fifth lap, the discomfort in my right leg was forcing me to slow down.  For four laps, the lead woman, Jacquie, was always right behind me.  As I slowed down, Jacquie passed me.  Before long, she was out of my sight.

During that lap, I noticed my legs were getting hot.  I discovered wind pants are warmer than tights.  I was tempted to take them off, but I knew my legs would be cold without them.  I waited until the halfway point.

I drank Gatorade after every lap, but I wasn’t paying attention to any of the solid food.  Then I smelled something cooking.  Norm was making red chili chicken burritos.  They smelled really good.  When I finished my fifth lap, I asked Norm for a burrito.  He wrapped it in wax paper, but said he wasn’t responsible for leakage.  I wasn’t too worried.  I was wearing a bright orange T-shirt that wouldn’t show stains.  I had to take a short walking break while I ate the burrito.  Then I resumed running.

My time at the halfway mark was just nine seconds slower than yesterday.  I attribute that to the time spent eating a burrito.  I stopped to take off my wind pants.  That was a big deal, because I had to sit down to get the pant legs off over my shoes.  Then I stuffed the wind pants and my jacket into my gear bag and started the second half of the race.

After stopping, my legs were stiff.  At first, I couldn’t run very fast.  I worked hard to pick up my pace.  I was able to loosen up, but I don’t know if I ever resumed my previous pace.

Yesterday, I ran seven laps and walked the last five.  After seven laps, I tried to switch to walking.  I couldn’t get into the same smooth stride I had yesterday.  I also couldn’t generate enough heat walking to keep my legs warm.  I needed to mix running with walking.  I ran enough to keep my legs warm.  When my right leg started to hurt, I took a walking break.  It was an imperfect solution, but it allowed me to keep moving.  Psychologically, a run/walk mixture was much easier than either running or walking alone.

By the time I finished my ninth lap, I was warm enough that I could have switched to walking for the rest of the race.  I was motivated to continue mixing running and walking for two reasons.  First, I was on pace to break 5:30.  In two weeks, I’m doing a race with a time limit of 5:30.  Breaking 5:30 today would help boost my confidence.  I also wanted to compete.  Jacquie was well ahead of me, but I was still in second place overall.  More importantly, I was still ahead of all the men.  If I kept up my pace, I would be first place male.

The path we were using is also sometimes used by the army for PT tests.  They have a two mile out-and-back course, with every quarter mile marked.  I paid attention to those markers.  I got into the habit of running a half mile and then walking a quarter mile.  I found I could run a half mile without pain by altering my stride.  I took short rapid steps.  In the past, I’ve found this same adjustment helpful for coping with a pulled hamstring.

As I neared the finish of my tenth lap, I shouted ahead to Norm.  I asked him if he could make me another burrito.  He said it would take a minute.  While I waited, I drank two cups of Gatorade.  Then I started walking while eating the burrito.  When I was done eating, I walked to the next marker and then continued running.

As I started my last lap, I checked my watch.  To break 5:30, I needed to run that lap in 33 minutes.  If I walked the whole thing, it would take me at least 34.  Mixing running with walking, I had been consistently running 30 minute laps. I knew I could do one more.

On the way out, I did more running than usual.  As I was a half mile into the lap, I saw Jacquie coming in.  I told her she was a half mile from a first place finish.  I don’t know if she’s ever won a race before, so I wanted to cheer her in.  I reached the turnaround in just over 14 minutes.  That gave me almost 19 minutes to come back.  I knew I could do that walking, but I didn’t take any chances.  On the way back, I did roughly equal amounts of running and walking.

I finished in 5:26:26.  I immediately told Norm that was a PR.  It’s the fastest I’ve run a marathon while eating two burritos.  I was also the first place male.  This is the second time I’ve been the male winner in a race where the overall winner was female.  This race doesn’t have awards for the top finishers, but races that do generally have separate awards for men and women.  Bearing that in mind, I consider this a win.  With that caveat, I now have wins in seven different states.

Just like on day one, I had my choice of finisher medals.  They had a wide assortment of medals with different Day of the Dead artwork.  Today, I chose this one.

During the race, the burritos were my only solid food.  Now that the race was over, I checked to see what else they had at the food table.  In addition to some chocolate milk, I had to try one of these candy corn cupcakes.

I’m concerned about my right leg, but I have no regrets about pushing for a sub 5:30 finish.  It’s a big confidence boost to know I can still break 5:30 on a day when I’m hurting and have the cumulative fatigue of marathons on three consecutive days.  I worry about tomorrow, but I’m sure I’ll manage.

I do have one other small concern.  When I got back to the hotel and looked in the mirror, I noticed sunburn on forehead.  When I wear a hat, I don’t need sunblock there.  I took care of my ears, nose and cheeks, but not my forehead.

Race report: 2015 El Maraton del Rio Grande

This morning, I ran El Maraton del Rio Grande.  This was the second race of the Day of the Dead Series.  As the name suggests, we were running alongside the Rio Grande.  Right now, the entire river bed is dry, so it’s not that “Grande.”  The growing season is over, so they’re keeping a dam upstream closed to conserve water for next year.

We set the clocks back today, but the start time of today’s race was also set back an hour.  Instead of starting at 7:00 MDT, we started at 6:00 MST, which is essentially the same.

I slept better, getting about six and a half hours sleep.  In particular, I didn’t wake up as often as I usually do.  I still felt pretty tired when I got up, though.

Today’s weather was similar to yesterday, but there was a wider temperature swing.  It was 39 degrees at the start, and it was close to 70 by the time I finished.  I again dressed for the cooler temperatures at the start.  Like yesterday, I wore tights and arm warmers.  Unlike yesterday, I didn’t wear a warm hat.

As I started running, my legs felt stiff.  That’s normal when you run on consecutive days.  I put some effort into working through the stiffness.  Within a minute or two, I was running smoothly.  Because of that extra effort, I started a little bit faster than yesterday.  My early laps reflected an average pace between 10 and 11 minutes per mile.

There was a light breeze.  Going out, it was at our backs.  Coming back, it was a headwind.  It wasn’t a strong enough wind to be tiring, but I definitely felt colder in the second half of each lap.

After three laps, I took off my gloves.  I considered taking off my arm warmers after four laps, but my arms still felt cold when I was running into the wind.  That persuaded me to wait one more lap.  It also persuaded me not to begin taking walking breaks.

Yesterday, I had bathroom stops, photo stops, and short walking breaks.  While they helped keep me fresh, they also kept me from getting into a consistent rhythm.  Today, I was running smoothly for the first four laps, and decided to keep that going.  I made the tentative decision to run until I got too hot and then walk the rest of the way.

After my fifth lap, I finally took off my arm warmers.  I continued running nonstop for a sixth lap.  I reached the halfway point in 2:27:31.  At that point, it seemed possible that I could walk the rest of the way and still break six hours.  I would need to maintain the same walking pace as my last three laps yesterday.  I also wouldn’t have time for a bathroom stop.  I still felt good, so I continued running for a seventh lap.

It was in my seventh lap that I started to get hot.  It was also in that lap that I felt soreness in my right leg for the first time.  It was time to switch to walking.

With five laps to go, I needed to average 37 minutes per lap to break six hours.  I was pretty confident I could do that.  Yesterday, I averaged 34 minutes per lap after I started walking.

Five laps sounded like a manageable distance until I reminded myself that I would be walking for roughly three hours.  That still wouldn’t sound bad if I was walking at a casual pace.  I intended to walk at the fastest pace I could maintain.

I got off to a good start.  My first walking lap took 33 minutes, including the time it took to eat a PBJ.  With four laps to go, I only needed to average 38 minutes per lap.  My next lap also took 33 minutes.  Now I just needed to average 39 minutes per lap.

In my 10th lap, I started getting hot.  The temperature was in the 60s by now, but it was a bright sunny day, which made it feel hotter.  Because I was wearing tights, even walking felt too hot.  Walking was slower and easier on my legs than running, but I was still putting quite a bit of effort into pushing the pace.

I could afford to back off on my pace, and I was tempted to do so.  I had three reasons to keep pushing the pace.

1. This was good training for other races where I might need to walk a significant portion of the race.
2. I wanted to put a little extra time in the bank for a bathroom stop.
3. I had a good chance of beating yesterday’s time, and that became my new goal.

I kept pushing the pace.  At the turnaround, I could see I slowed down a little.  Once I had the cooling effect of the breeze, I was able to pick up the pace again.

After my 10th lap, I made a bathroom stop.  As I resumed walking, my legs were stiff.  It took some extra effort, but I got back into the same rhythm.  I knew by now I would beat yesterday’s time.  I could afford to back off, but I didn’t.

Toward the end of my 11th lap, I felt the hot sun on the back of my neck.  I regretted not packing a desert-style hat, which would cover my neck.  Now that I’m running at a slower pace, I’m spending more hours in the sun.

Before beginning my last lap, I ate another PBJ.  It was my fourth or fifth of the race.  I could see I would easily beat yesterday’s time.  In the first half of that lap, I slowed down a little.  After making the turn, I picked up the pace again.

I finished in 5:47:30.  That’s about four minutes faster than yesterday, despite doing about 30 additional minutes of walking.  I was happy with that.

The finisher medals for today’s race had a different design than the other races in this series.  It’s a pretty cool design.

In general, I felt better today than I did yesterday.  I had more energy, and I didn’t have as much discomfort in my right leg.  That changed when I got to the car.  As I moved my legs to climb into the driver’s seat, I had discomfort in my adductors.  Basically they were telling me they couldn’t do that motion without pain.  It’s similar to what I used to feel in my left leg when I would climb into bed the night after a race.  It was a similar feeling, but in my right leg.

Yesterday, I skipped taking an ice bath.  Today I didn’t have that luxury.  I couldn’t shortchange my recovery in any way.  I started with a 20 minute ice bath.  Then I did everything I did yesterday.

It’ll be interesting to see how I feel when I try to sleep tonight.  It’ll also be interesting to see how I feel in the morning.  That will affect my decision of whether to continue using KT tape or go back to wrapping my right leg.  It will also affect my goals and strategy for tomorrow’s race.  I may not know for sure how I’m going to feel until I start running.

I’m pleased with how the first two races went, but I still have two races to go in this series.  I haven’t attempted a quadzilla since the initial injury.  I still don’t know how this is going to go, so I’m still nervous.