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September 10, 2007

Race Report: Grand Teton 50 Miler

Pre-Race: What pre-race? There was no time for any pre-race planning! I'm really glad that I was so busy in the weeks and days before this race. Resultingly, I had no time to work myself into a flurry pre-race worry and self-doubt.

Race Morning: Oh, it was such a beautiful day for a race, mild, clear, and calm! I was slightly concerned by how warm it was at the start, and what that meant for the rest of the day. It got warm out there during the day, but never too miserable.

The Course: The 50 mile course consisted of 2x25 mile loops. Each of the 25 mile loops consisted of a 3-leaf cloverleaf. Leaf 1 of the cloverleaf was a 5.6 mile out-and-back from the Grand Targhee Ski Resort base station, to the resort summit, and back to the base station. It's an 1800 foot ascent and descent. Leaf 2 of the cloverleaf if a 14.4 mile lolilop-style loop that begins at the base station, climbs over a ridge, descends to an elevation of about 6,600 down Teton Canyon, climbs 3.3 pavement miles, dives into the woods again, and rejoins the trail for a long climb and quick descent back to the ski area base station. Leaf 3 of the cloverleaf is a 5 mile rolling loop through Rick's Basin, a mountain biking and cross-country skiing area.

Loop 1: I was amazed at how fast people were running from the start. I mean, we were climbing 1800+ feet in 2.3 miles. That's a big climb! I'm thinking, I'm going to take this big hill easy, as there is so much running left to do in the day. These preservation instincts left me, quite literally, in the middle of the pack. Oh well, I thought to myself, as I plodded forward.

At 2.3 miles into the race, I found myself perched at the top of Grand Targhee Ski Resort, at an elevation of almost 10,000 feet. In the early morning hours, the world looked peaceful, still, silent, just waking. For several minutes, as I began the descent, the path was smooth enough that I could cast my eyes around to see the looming Teton Mountains in one direction and what had to be the entire rest of the world in the other direction.

In just a few moments of flying downhill, I was back at the aid station and setting out on the second leaf of the cloverleaf. I spent much of this second loop alone, seeing others only here-and-there. I was convinced that I would see a moose or the black bear that purportedly frequents this area, but I saw nothing but the aspen trees above and the dirt singletrack below. It was hard to hold back, to run slowly, as my body wanted to fairly fly down this awesome grade.

On the pavement climb, I alternated running with powerwalking. Again, I was challenged by holding myself back, by conserving energy. I felt great, and I just wanted to go! Once off the pavement and back into the woods, I decided to just go ahead and run. I ran the gentle uphill grade for a few miles, until it became significantly more steep. And then, finally, it felt good to just hike the steeps.

Shortly thereafter, I was back at the base station, finishing leaf 2 and beginning leaf 3 of the cloverleaf. The Rick's Basin Loop was different than the long climbs and long descents of the rest of the course. Instead, it's an unending series of rollers. It is beautiful back there, running on low ridgelines and diving into stands of aspens. Suddenly, I had completed Loop 1, in 5:02.

Loop 2: My second climb up what's called Fred's Mountain, to the ski area summit, went significantly slower than the first. I'm not sure why, as I felt like I was pushing. I guess I was starting to fatigue, but I still felt good. The summit was just as beautiful as the first time around, but it was such a different place! This time it was bright and sunny, windy, warm, bustling with tourists, and vibrantly alive. The descent back to the base station was arguably as fast as the first ascent.

While out on Leaf 2 of this cloverleaf, my stomach went wonky, and it was all my fault! I reached the bottom of Teton Canyon in almost the same amount of time as my first loop, and I was excited to be maintaining a steady pace. As I climbed the pavement section, I began feeling hot (I later learned that the on-pavement temperature was over 100 degrees F.), and I drank a lot of fluid. During the 3.3 mile climb, I drank a full 20 oz fluid bottle. However, I forgot (until well after the race) that this bottle was a high concentration bottle of Hammer's Sustained Energy (about 400 calories). My orginal intention was to sip gently upon it during the pavement climb, dilute it further with water at the aid station at the top of the pavement, then drink the bottle heartily on the trail climb back towards the ski area base. Once I hit the aid station at the top of the pavement, I hadn't yet realized my error, and I furthered my problems by drinking, not one but two, glasses of Coca Cola. Oh, but it looked so good after that hot climb!

So, there I was, back in the woods, with about 500 liquid calories, some sugar, and some caffeine sloshing in my belly. Whoa doggie, that was painful! All that crap sent my belly into a wild series of flip flops, nausea waves, and cramps. I stopped several times in the woods to -er- look at the flowers, and that helped a bit. I slowed down my pace to allow my stomach to work faster, and that also helped. Several moments of heaving/gagging might have also occurred, but nothing came out, so I'm not sure if that helped my cause much.

Well, time passed (A lot of time passed.) and my condition slowly abated, and I made it back to the ski area base station. I loaded up on ice water only and headed out for my last 5 miles on the Rick's Basin Loop. I never felt great during these last 5 miles, and I stopped to -er- look at the flowers once more, but I was able to run decently.

The End: I finished in 10:58:and change. I knew when I headed out on the last 5 miles that I would be quite close to finishing in 11 hours. I don't know why, but for some reason I convinced myself that I absolutely needed to finish under 11 hours. So, I did.

Nutrition: My nutrition plan was solid. However, I failed to implement it correctly. My nutrition plan was basically to take in 200 calories per hour in Gus, and 100-ish calories per hour of Hammer's Heed or Sustained Energy. I supplemented this with some bottles of calorie-less but electrolyte-full Nuun, 1 e-cap per hour, and a few salty pretzels here and there at the aid stations. Oh yeah, and that last bottle of ice water, which was like heaven on earth.

Post-Race: I felt fatigued after the race, but not truly awful. My stomach was my chief complaint. Because of this, I had a hard time ingesting calories. I managed about 300 calories of Ultragen, half an apple, and some potato chips. I ate nothing else until mid-day the next day when I was suddenly so ravenous that I would eat anything in front of me.

The People: This race was full of really cool people, and it was a joy to meet everyone. From the race directors, to the volunteers, to the other runners, everyone was wonderful. The day after the race, we spent some time just hanging out with everyone there. The vibe was relaxed and cool (Or was that fatigued?) and I really enjoyed it.

Really, Really Post-Race: Notably, my hamstrings were most sore after this race. Usually my glutes, quads, and calves are sore, so this is a different feeling. I've been doing a lot of leg strength work this summer, but perhaps I've neglected my hamstrings? On another note, I need to do a 50 mile race again soon. Very soon. I have unabashedly caught that bug, and there's no stopping me now.

Posted by Meghan at September 10, 2007 6:21 PM

Comments

Posted by: backofpack at September 10, 2007 10:43 PM

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