20:43. More later.

OK. So now, having done one 100, I am officially an expert, and can offer the following advice on how to run a successful 100.

* Don't train for it

* Decide to do it two weeks before the race

* Don't have a pacer

* Come up with a realistic, achievable pacing plan, then ignore it and go out too fast

* Run it with new socks and shoes

* Preferably racing flats

* For added bonus, start with a blister

Seriously, though, I did honestly feel up to running a 100, and I think my pacing was the key to finishing feeling good.

Javelina is run on a 15.4-mile loop. You run that six times, switching directions each time -- which is a huge benefit: you're always seeing people, instead of getting more and more isolated as you wear out. You might have noticed that 6 * 15.4 = 92.4. So there is an additional partial loop + cutoff back to the start, 9 miles. Yes, that adds up to 101.4.

Last year, there was a guy who ran 21:15, like a metronome: every loop was about 3:17, plus or minus a couple minutes, speeding up a bit on the last couple. Almost unheard of in this type of race. But it was an existence proof. I took that as my model. 22:00 (my goal) = 13:00 pace, or 3:20 loops. That meant walking all the hills, even on the first loop. Speaking of which, this is not a very hilly course. 4800' total gain -- for the whole race, not per loop. Mostly, it's a rocky ascent in the clockwise direction, followed by a long, very gradual smooth downhill.

In the back of my mind I guess I was hoping to do a bit better than 22:00. I didn't really have a solid basis for that, but hey. So I figured, 3:15 - 3:20 would be OK. I did my level best to walk anything remotely looking like a hill, and run very, very easy on the rest, but the first loop was still something like 2:56. Oops. The second was about the same. Finally, 50K in, the definition of "hill" changed a bit, and I was able to dial it back, slightly. The third loop was about 3:00, I think. The fourth was a bit over -- I was a few seconds under 12:00:00 on the clock. Then it got dark, and I discovered that, surprise, that makes a difference. I was still feeling pretty good, but I immediately lost about a minute / mile, just from trying to run on the rocks in the dark. Loop five was about 3:18. Six was 3:21. Finally, I was at about my goal pace! Holding that on the final 9-miile loop was a challenge, because that's when it started raining. The rain didn't bother me, but the mud did. But once I was through the mud, I ran most of the rest of the way, uphill and down. So the cushion I'd built early on 22:00 pace I was able to basically hold.

So yes, I started faster than planned, but I guess not faster than was actually reasonable. I did lose a little additional time each loop, but very gradually, until it turned dark, and then no more than was required by the dark. I think that adds up to just about optimal pacing. Well, probably I could have gotten by going a bit faster, because I still felt decent at the finish. But your first 100 is not where you want to guess on the aggressive side.

And that's the really amazing thing to me. My legs never really got tired, and nothing ever got sore -- except the soles of my feet. In principle, if you slow down enough to where you can consume calories as fast as you burn them, then you won't ever bonk, right? This is the first time I've done that right, I guess. In my previous races that were 50M+, I have crashed before the finish.

The other thing that helped me quite a bit is that, though I didn't have a pacer, I sort of had a crew. I had some Maniac friends there crewing and pacing other Maniacs, and they were kind enough to be my pseudo crew as well. I felt supported. So a big thanks to Matt Hagen and Mr. srlopez.

Oh, stats: I placed 20th of the 173 finishers. 396 were registered. I don't know how many started, but 339 completed at least one loop. So, as usual, about a 50% finisher rate. Hal Koerner shattered the course record with a 13:47. Elizabeth Howard shattered the women's record even more with a 15:47.

Finally, I have to say that I can't recommend this race enough. The organization and support was nothing short of phenomenal. Add to that running in the desert, under a full moon -- what could be better? If I ever run another 100, I don't see how it can possibly measure up to Javelina.

This week had a few good races.

Races of note:

Congrats to TeaOlive on her first marathon. 

Charlie ran another great race this weekend taking 8OA and first Grand Master knocking 2:20 off of last year's time and setting a new PR for the 10m.

Dallas set a new PR for the 10m as well.

PaulyGram ran an amazing 5k, winning the race and setting a new course record coming in almost a minute faster than his projected goal at 17:35.

Runnerclay was able to knock over 1.5 hours off of his 50k PR this week.

bheam takes the  prize this week with an amazing 101.4 mile run in 20:43, his first at that distance. Congrats bheam! 

Woohoo!!!  Congrats also to TeaOlive, Charlie, Dallas, PaulyGram, and Runnerclay. That's a lot of PRs. And a course record to boot. Damn.

xhristopher -- it helps when you have no real idea what your goal should be.

Great racing everyone. Very cool belt buckle bhearn.

Is the new giver outer going back to the old ways of giving out the to someone just because they ran really far? lame.

(kidding- I know that's fast for 101 miles. Congrats bhearn. Looking forward to seeing how you survive Monkey.)

Not running 101.4 miles comes to mind.

ha ha

Congratulations to you and thanks for the trip down memory lane.  I had to google Fountain Hills.  

I remember seeing the fountain of Fountain Hills when it was just a couple years old.  

It was pretty much the only thing out there at that time.   I think that i was 15

You can see the fountain clearly from the Javelina course on McDowell Mountain, several miles away; that thing is huge.