Was I quicker then Sandy?

I chose Javelina for a variety of reasons. I was familiar with the course from pacing Kelly several years ago, terrain is similar to what I run on in Albuquerque, proximity to ABQ, and while I did not think it was an easy race I thought it to be a decent 1st time 100 attempt.

Here goes:

Start logistically preparing for the race a week and half out, check the weather forecast to be a high of 75 SWEET!, start writing splits and times I think will be to fast down with expect hydration / mixes. As the race week approaches forecast is beginning to change and ultimately ends on a high of 93 / partly sunny. That changed my mental game quite a bit. I went from opportunistically thinking I could come in under 24 hrs to, OK it's going to be hot, lets endure the heat and finish the race in one piece. I started hydrating for this race about 2 weeks out where I would drink between 3-4 liters of water a day along with salt. I wanted to be sure dehydration was not going to be an issue. I live in a desert and know how hard it is to stay hydrated even while sedentary.

Thursday: I took a half day off in order to drive over to Scottsdale to stay with a buddy and be in the PHX area to pick up a good friend who was going to crew / pace me that was coming in from Montana Friday morning. My other crew member / pacer was from ABQ and rode over with me and was lucky enough to get to drive home Sunday afternoon after the race. I was luck to have both folks in my corner.

Friday: Pick up buddy from airport and head over to the Race start finish to claim our tent spot in Tent city. The start finish are of this race is awesome. Tents abound and shade structures line the shoot you run thru every lap. Along with those shade structures come fans of the race partying and having a good time. I was great to run through it every lap. Someone was always there to pass along encouragement as you made your way to check in and out.

Got our tent sit set up and went into town to pick up groceries and I prefer to eat a really big lunch the day before a race in order to let my stomach settle and digest. Ate some lunch then headed over to check in and get my BIB# etc. Stood in line and got everything squared away then headed back to the tent to sit down and relax. Sat around for a couple hours talked over Aid station strategy, listened to the Beer Mile happen, then went and viewed a couple trail running films they were showing before Tent City Quiet time. There was a relaxed chill  vibe in Tent city which was nice.

Saturday: Alarm went off around 4 am, got up made some eggs, drank some coffee, drank water, and let the morning unfold. After eating etc, I laid down and just relaxed and talked with my buddy. Race start was 6 am so we all made our way over to the start finish about 545. I said my good-byes, thanked and told my crew / pacers I appreciated their help in advance and weaved my way into what I thought was the middle of the pack of 575 people.

Lap 1 (clock-wise): Gun goes off and the conga line starts immediately, I walk pretty much all through the start finish shoot until we hit the trail. I slowly start making my way around folks, let strings of folks slow me down, and generally try to find a group or runner to settle in with, talk to, and allow the first couple of miles go by easily and under no pace or anticipated pace what so ever. The first aid station was 3.7 miles away and once I came up to it I ran through it knowing I had plenty of fluids to get me to the next aid station 6.5 miles away. In general I feel good, I am slowly picking folks off and settling into a decent pace. The RD changed to course up a bit and the first lap was 22.3 miles long with the others just shy of 20. Made my way through the second aid station and it was starting to get warm out. I was doing a good job of consuming fluids and was feeling good. Next stop third aid station 5.2 miles away. While running I am making mental notes of the course for future laps because even thought this course is not a tough course, very runnable once you get tired some of the rockier sections could become a problem if you are not careful. Make it to the 3rd and final aid station before hitting the start finish which on this lap is 6.6 miles away and goes through some low Sonoran desert habitat and by this point it's hot. I don't know how hot but its hot. I finish up the lap in about 4:15 right on target and I am feeling good.

Lap 1-2 transition: hand my pack off to Jeff he refills it with 50 oz of Tailwind and a 20 oz bottle of water. I grab solid food, sit for a second and talk to my crew about the first lap. I put a handkerchief to soak in water at each aid station to help keep my cool. I'm up to start the second lap and we dump ice between my back and pack which is a great feeling. Out I go for lap 2. I told Jeff how long I thought it was going to take and headed out.

Lap 2 (counter-clock-wise):  Headed out on loop 2 feeling good and knowing the slight climb up to the first aid station could take a toll I ran / walked it, mainly ran but walked in strategic areas so I didn't waste my legs. As I rolled through the aid station I got ice in my hat, soaked my neck, and ice between my pack and back. This would be the thing I did at every aid station as I rolled through it. This loop was fairly uneventful, I ran by myself for most of it and enjoyed the desert scenery around me. I did have a concerned mother come up to me at the middle aid station and ask if I had on sunscreen. I told her yes I did and she said "It's out of ginger love", now I'm not a pure ginger, more of a day walker but I appreciated the ask. Finished this loop up and prepared for the transitions.

Lap 2-3 transition: I came in really hot, as I handed off my pack and water bottle I told Jeff and Emily that I needed some salt. When I returned to sit down, cool down, and get ready for the 3rd loop they brought my potatoes with salt, pickles, and everything else that was salty. I think I over did it on the salt but more on that later. I felt good and headed out for lap 3.  I told Jeff this one was going to be slower in order to conserve my energy for when the sun went down and things cooled off.

Lap 3 (clock-wise): Headed out feeling good and about a mile into the loop my stomach just went nuts, thinking back on it I ate to much salt and my guess is I had a touch of Hypernatremia where my salt levels were just too high and my body was working through it. It was the heat of the day so I ran walked through the next 2 aid stations allowing my body to work things out. Between aid station 1 and 2 the sun went behind the mountains and provided some shade, it felt cooler in spots but not cool all over just yet. When I got to the second aid station I decided to sit for about 30 minutes to let things settle down. During my wait I drank a cup of broth and noodles and I don't know if it was mental or what but that stuff was like a magic elixar and I felt awesome afterwards. Headlamp on I left and hooked onto a guy who needed a brighter light so we ran together for the rest of the loop. between the 3rd aid station and the start finish I could tell I was getting tired because I started kicking rocks with my toe, left toe specifically and my ankle was getting sore but never got too bad. Finished the loop up and was excited to know I was picking up a pacer and got tended to for a bit.

Transition 3-4: Same old same old, handed off my pack, said asked for broth and noodles and nothing sweet. I wound up changing my shirts as my original could have stood on its own from the crust of salt embedded within it. Rested for a minute and Emily and I headed out on loop 4.

Lap 4 (counter-clock-wise):  Felt re-energized and ran the first 4 miles to the aid station. Don't get me wrong this was a tough loop. Sun was down, it wasn't really cooling off and my legs were a wee bit tired. Emily did her best to keep the momentum going and at times I will admit pushed me to hard due to enthusiasm and having fresh legs. I don't remember much of this loop other then getting really tired by the time we finished up. All I wanted through aid stations were noodle in broth as they sat the best on my stomach. Finished up this loop and started to transition.

Lap 4-5 transition: Swapped out pacers, ate some noodles, talked for a bit and mustered up the strength to start my final loop knowing I was done in several hours. As Jeff and I were leaving the start finish area I snacked on some pretzels.

Lap 5 (clock-wise and FINAL): As we were leaving and barely on the trail some of the chewed up pretzel got stuck in my throat which made me gag and well, I hurled and up came broth, noodle, water, etc. I hit a low and it was a tough low. I was tired, I was fighting my eyes from rolling into the back of my head. I was slugging away fighting off sleep and I began to barter with Jeff about laying down to take a power nap in the desert. He said no there are thorns and rocks everywhere. At one point I told him I would sleep in Teddy Bear Cholla. Jeff was great, told me get to when the sun comes up and you will feel energized and ready to run. I fought my way to the sun rise and sure enough I woke up and we began to shuffle our way to the finish.

Finish: Jeff brought me home in one piece, I shuffle my way to the finish and boy did it feel good. I got to experience all the high's and lows folks talk about during a 100 and am fortunate to have had such a great crew and set of pacers along with me. I finished up found some shade and laid down and took that much needed nap I bartered for while Jeff and Emily broke down camp and we rolled out of Javelina Jeadquarters with smiles on our faces with a successful race behind up.

Thanks for reading.

Nice RR, Dan.  Congratulations.

I have a real problem with dry foods lat in a race (pretzels, chips, etc.).  Done the choking thin but luckily was able to keep stuff from resurfacing.

That's a great time for your first 100.  Congrats on something I have no desire to do. 

Great job on your first 100! Gotta love the salty crusty shirt! Totally agree on the dry food thing late in a race. I have eaten pb&j quarters sandwiches that seemed to sit in my mouth for hours! And then eventually just spitting it out miles later. haha

Congratulations on getting that first 100 done.  Very tough conditions and it sounds like all things considered you managed very well. By the way it's not a real 100 until you barf !!!  Sounds like your plan and pacers were spot-on.

Was I quicker then Sandy?

Thanks for the great RR, really enjoyed it.  Everyone is quicker than me, you know I have a reputation to keep!!!!!!  (Yeah, I'm working on the Grindstone RR, but I guess with work and the relo I have too many distractions lately.)