Race Preparation

One of the keys to a successful ultra is planning and preparation. Often, the stronger runners get passed up later in the race by smarter runners. I am not sure if I fall in to the "Strong" or "Smart" category, but am definitely better prepared for this one.

Having crew helps, as he will greatly minimize the chance of making mistakes. All the best laid plans don't account for the stupidity one displays at an aid station after many hours of running. My ability to do simple math and remember important things dwindles.

So here are some tools I made of for my crew. They are laminated on a clipboard. I will be assembling bags of S-Caps and Shot Bloks in the same quantities. We will swap these at every crew access aid station. This way, he will be able to track exactly how many I have taken (assuming I do not drop any) based on what is left. By the end of the race, I should have a pretty accurate tally of what I consumed during the race.

I could not transfer this as a spreadsheet picture, so here is the first sheet with overall info.

Aid station number Mile Elapsed Distance Station Name Crew Access Toilets Drop Bags Comments
0 0 0 Nordic Y Y #3
1 5.1 5.1 Tamarack N N
2 7.4 3.2 Bluff Y Y 7:10am-7:15am
3 12.3 4.9 Horseriders N Y
4 15.5 3.2 Emma Carlin Y Y #1 8:25am-8:35am
5 18.7 3.2 Antique Lane N N
6 21.4 2.7 Wilton Rd N N
7 23.9 2.5 Hwy 67 Y Y 9:50am-10:10am
8 26.5 2.6 County ZZ Y N
9 31.4 4.9 Scuppernong Y Y #2 11:15am-12pm
10 36.4 5 County ZZ Y N
11 39 2.6 Hwy 67 Y Y 12.30pm-1:15pm
12 41.5 2.5 Wilton Rd N N
13 44.2 2.7 Antique Lane N N
14 47.3 3.1 Emma Carlin Y Y #1 2pm-3pm
15 50.5 3.2 Horseriders N Y
16 55.5 5 Bluff Y Y 3:30-4:30pm
17 57.8 2.3 Tamarack N N
18 62.9 5.1 Nordic Y Y #3 5:30pm-6:30pm
19 67.9 5.1 Tamarack N N
20 70.3 2.3 Bluff Y Y
21 72.8 2.5 Duffin Rd N N
22 77.1 4.3 Hwy 12 Y Y #4
23 81.5 4.4 Rice Lake Y Y
24 85.9 4.4 Hwy 12 Y Y #4
25 90.2 4.3 Duffin Rd N N
26 92.8 2.6 Bluff Y Y
27 95.1 2.3 Tamarack N N
28 100.2 5.1 Nordic Y Y #3

Here is a fueling chart

Aid station number Mile Station Name Crew Access Drop Bags Clip-2 Heed Blox s-caps Gels A/S food
0 0 Nordic Y #3
1 5.1 Tamarack N
2 7.4 Bluff Y
3 12.3 Horseriders N
4 15.5 Emma Carlin Y #1
5 18.7 Antique Lane N
6 21.4 Wilton Rd N
7 23.9 Hwy 67 Y
8 26.5 County ZZ Y
9 31.4 Scuppernong Y #2
10 36.4 County ZZ Y
11 39 Hwy 67 Y
12 41.5 Wilton Rd N
13 44.2 Antique Lane N
14 47.3 Emma Carlin Y #1
15 50.5 Horseriders N
16 55.5 Bluff Y
17 57.8 Tamarack N
18 62.9 Nordic Y #3
19 67.9 Tamarack N
20 70.3 Bluff Y
21 72.8 Duffin Rd N
22 77.1 Hwy 12 Y #4
23 81.5 Rice Lake Y
24 85.9 Hwy 12 Y #4
25 90.2 Duffin Rd N
26 92.8 Bluff Y
27 95.1 Tamarack N
28 100.2 Nordic Y #3

..... and a gear chart

Aid station number Mile Station Name Crew Access Drop Bags Gear changes.
0 0 Nordic Y #3
2 7.4 Bluff Y Swap handheld of clip-2
4 15.5 Emma Carlin Y #1 Swap handheld of C2. Reload blox& S-caps.
7 23.9 Hwy 67 Y Swap handheld of C2. Possible clothing adjustment?
8 26.5 County ZZ Y Possible C2 swap
9 31.4 Scuppernong Y #2 Swap handheld of C2. Add gels if needed
10 36.4 County ZZ Y Possible C2 swap
11 39 Hwy 67 Y Swap handheld of C2. Reload blox, gels & S-caps. Possible clothing adjustment?
14 47.3 Emma Carlin Y #1 Swap handheld of C2. Reload blox, gels, an S-caps.
16 55.5 Bluff Y Swap handheld of C2. Reload blox, gels, an S-caps.
18 62.9 Nordic Y #3 Assess: Shoes, socks, shirt, jacket, hat, add body glide. Determine if light is needed. Reload all fuel. Possible switch to belt or back pack.
20 70.3 Bluff Y Sould have headlamp by now. Reload blox, gels, s-caps.
22 77.1 Hwy 12 Y #4 Reload blox, gels, s-caps
23 81.5 Rice Lake Y Reload blox, gels, s-caps. Assess clothing.
24 85.9 Hwy 12 Y #4 Reload blox, gels, s-caps
26 92.8 Bluff Y Beat me over the head with a baseball bat
28 100.2 Nordic Y #3 Enough said


As for running. I did one 4 mile run on Tuesday. I decided to take the rest of the week off. I am trying to minimize the amount I go up and down the stairs, and I am not doing any heavy lifting.

I slept well last night, and hope to sleep well tonight.

I try to eat the same as I have been eating on a regular basis. I will drink extra water all day today and tomorrow.

Trying to do everything to take my mind of the race.

Potential for a perfect day?

Weather.com forecast for Saturday in Whitewater, WI

High 64
Low 50
30% chance of precipitation.

Now that's change I can believe in!

***********************

And now...... for the LAMEST excuse I have ever heard.

Dr. Nick Riviera was going to pace me from 62 miles on (I told him it was an easy, free way to do the fun run), and he can't do it now because...... he has nobody to watch his dog.

I will have to make up a plaque for his office "You've tried the best. Now, try the rest"

Nic, I am now on Helen's side for Grandma's. :)

***********************

I think I have awesome crew as well. Bill and I have talked through a few things, and it looks like I have all of the bases covered. My only problem I could have at this point is going out too fast.

I have a theory on this - One CAN go out too slow. There is a sweet spot somewhere in there.

I still maintain this will be a breakthrough race for me. Hey, I am 2 for 2 in winning my age class this year! I would have to beat Zach Gingerich to make it 3 for 3, as there are only open and master awards :(.

**********************

One of the purposes of this blog is to maintain a "this is what works for me" attitude, instead of trying to preach.

With that in mind, I will probably do a post before the race of "what I do in preparation".

If anybody finds this useful or interesting, let me know. If not, let me know anyway (except for you, Steve Q).

And by the way Steve.... finding a lake is not a loophole. The RDs sanctioned it.

There is virtue in being prepared.

**********************

Not doing the twitter thing for this race. Instead, I will post a link to the race updates. They are somewhat frequent.

And now....... wait

Forecast for KM100 June 6th

High 71°
Low 55°

Chance of precipitation 60%

Chance of DNF 0%

***************

I emailed the Race Directors this week wondering if it was legal to leave an aid station in a car to go sit in a lake to cool off.

They were fine with that, as long as I came back to the aid station in the proper cut off time.

I don't plan on this, but as a method for covering every base, it helps to know it is an emergency option.

***************

The "Ego Challenge" probably will not be a Twitter event. Too many things one has to do to make it happen.

Adam might have somebody do a couple of updates on his (aharmer), and we might have a some updates on my profile (Matthew Patten) user name is kettlefans. If you twit a lot, don't expect squat from me. If anything I will Tweet on Friday, during the race, and maybe a final post race Tweet. My life is not interesting enough to have what I am doing published to the world. But the race should be a good test.

****************

I have a ton of yard work to do between now and about Tuesday. After then, it is no heavy work. All easy stuff.

I think I have the game plan figured out for the race. It is interesting to see how few people break 20 hours. Most think it is an "easy" 100, but the results just don't show that. 9 people in the last 3 years have broken 20 hours. I think that is an arbitrary number, though, that any 24 hour conditioned runner would love to do. It is tempting, but more than likely not realistic for me. If you go by the 2.6 rule for the 50, that puts me at 22 hours or so.

Anything faster..... gravy. Anything can happen, though.

*****************

I started training for this race in late October. I kind of knew all along I would be back to try and redeem myself. It has been a long road. The hardest was those 70+ mile weeks in the dead of winter on the treadmill. The weekend runs at Afton are fun, and I would do those without a race on the calendar.

I just want the race to get here now.

Good luck to all who are running FANS.

And good luck to the "Gnarly Bandits" at Kettle (I am not one).

The Pieces are almost all put together

As a last decent size workout before Kettle, I joined the guys out at Afton on Saturday. I originally planned to do hill repeats, but really did not want to do that alone for a couple of hours.

Instead, I decided to run with the guys, and run the hills hard.

Keith and I developed a new workout. I will call it "Fartlek hill racing repeats". Basically, you race the other guy(s) up each hill you encounter. Keith let me win a few as his legs were still full from last weeks' Superior 50K.

I could just hear the other 2 (Wilson and Zach) thinking "would those 2 guys just grow up".

I found it was an excellent way to break through the metal walls one hits when "red lining" a hill.

Towards the end of the run, everything was still in place. I wasn't trashed, just worked. My legs were sore, but the right kind.

After the last hill, at the top I told Zach "I am ready for Kettle".

I am not sore today, so I think it was just the right amount. 1 25K loop with some hill sprints. Call it sharpening.

************************

I am becoming less worried about the weather. I have this gut feeling that the weather will be fine.

Also, yesterday was a bit muggy when we were out there, and I was fine with one bottle. I had not supplements.

I believe the 10 extra pounds I was carrying around all last year was body fat which insulated me and made me sweat more. I also ate too much at each race.

It has been a long 8 months of training for this, and it is a great feeling to have these pieces all coming into place

* hydration
* fueling
* base endurance
* hills
* mental monkeys

**********************

It's just maintenance miles now

The "Ego Challenge" is on

You've hear of the Eco Challenge. The adventure race in some 3rd world country cossing 100's of miles on foot, bike, canoe, etc. over many days.

Now there is the Ego Challenge.

Put simply, it is me vs. "Get Primal" Adam.

He is running FANS 24 hour timed race on June 6th, the same day I embark on the Kettle Moraine 100 Mile run.

The Challenge:

Who can be the first to reach 100 miles?

* There is a 2 hour gap between start times, so we are going by race clock. Or, add 2 hours to my clock time, and that is equal to Adam's. (If I finish my 100 by 4am, he needs to hit 100 by 6am.)

If that was not enough, you can follow it on Twitter. We will both be "twitting" from user "aharmer". If anything, this will be more real time than the race webcasts. (assuming the crews don't mind texting updates).

I will work with my crew to give live updates, as Adam will be doing the same.

So, not only can you follow one race, you can see how 2 unfold.

Is this cool, or super geeky? I am not sure. I just hope I don't get my butt kicked by more than 4 hours.

Heat acclimation 2009 - Take 1

The news said it was 90 or so when I set out for an easy 6 miler last night.

The sun was still intense, and was the perfect time to get my but out into real heat.

For those of you who don't know me, heat & humidity are my serious weak points. I still believe its the high dew points which kill me, not the raw heat. Tonight reinforced that theory.

It felt fine. I didn't even sweat that much until I returned home.

I keep telling a few people that I am "a new man" this year, and being able to run a decent race in heat would prove that. But, I don't want heat for the next one.

As for the rest of my heat acclimation training - Spend as much time outside as possible.

Gardening, cutting wood, busting up those ugly tree stumps, mowing the lawn, digging graves, etc.

**************

And... I officially have crew for Kettle! Bill P is going down to make sure I don't wuss out like I did last year. I might have to make up my own waiver/disclaimer. "You have permission to inflict bodily harm on me if I .......... "(you get the picture)

He might also do the Matt vs. Adam race updates. He is also going to make sure there is U2 blasting at each aid station and a cup of Starbucks for Steve Q.

Good Training = Quick Recovery

I have heard this many times, but did not truly believe.

I am now a believer.

I felt pretty good after the race last week, and by Monday was back to my normal pace. I actually felt stronger, and ready to rock.

I put in a 10 miler Monday, 8 on Tuesday, 10 on Thursday, and 14 on Friday. They all felt great. I could have kept going on Friday, but ran out of time.

I ended up being out of town part of this week, so was able to run in the Mirror Lake State Park by the Wisconsin Dells. Very pretty. I did get a little too adventurous and.... let's just say had to use I90/94 to get back to a normal road. OOpps. I was not on the interstate, just paralleled it along the fence line.

My biggest fear at that point was being shot by a drunken cheese-head. But then again, they usually are asleep at that hour.

Took the weekend off due to family stuff in Chicago.

So it's hills and medium runs for the next two weeks then....... Revenge!

**********************