Notes
Start was 76°F, end was 85°F. 75°F dew point average.
12 times around Lake Hollingsworth, ~2.84 miles. I guess according to that, it's 34.08 miles, but I'm going by the GPS this time.
This was on the race calendar since my Hungryland running mate Laura W. convinced me to sign up. After waffling with the idea for a few months, I finally signed up. However, my summer training did not reflect the demands of a 6-hour ultra. After a summer of less than ideal ultra training, I went into the run with absolutely no pressure, calculating with R. that if I did 11 laps, I'd have 50k. So that was the goal.
I'd been feeling run down all week since the tough 20-mile workout my coach gave me. I questioned the logic of doing that kind of workout before an ultra race (imagine what I'd been capable of if I'd tapered!), but she took my request to make the marathon the priority seriously. So this was just a "fun training run to build endurance." Work stress was getting to me too, with me cancelling classes on Friday to avoid wearing myself out teaching and driving, and so I could catch up a bit with grading. If I hadn't been planning on doing that anyway sometime soon, I'd feel bad about prioritizing running over work. But it is what it is. I was invited to spend the night at Laura's to carpool to the race together, and that was very appealing, as otherwise I'd have to leave around 2am Sat. morning, and drive back the same day. Not great for me or the car.
The weather was oppressive, as usual. The forecast had rain starting around 1pm, so hopefully after I'd be done. It was, however, overcast for most of the morning until around 11am, and some kind of breeze, so that part is something to be grateful for.
Laura and I started at the line together, but I quickly realized that her 12-hour pace was going to be a lot slower than my 6-hour pace, and I was feeling pretty good, clocking a little over 9mpm for most of the first half. I told myself to keep my heart rate in the 130s for the first five laps, and I couldn't listen to music until lap 5. That strategy worked pretty well to keep things easy enough, and I got to cheer on many fellow runners, but also the mass amount of people for whom Lake Hollingsworth is a regular run/walk course.
I fueled every other lap (so about every 5.6 miles) and got water and/or Gatorade every lap. I tried some LMNT that they were offering too, but either it didn't sit well at that moment, or it's just not my thing. Pre-race fueling started the week of, with a good amount of good and bad carbs the days leading up, sushi and chocolate the night before, and on the morning of: 3/4s of a date bar, an uncrustable, and a banana before the race. A Gu the first stop, a pancake and Gu the second, a pancake and half of Shot Bloks the third, more Shot Bloks and an uncrustable the fourth, quesadilla the fifth and at the end. Started stuffing ice in my hat partway through, when it started to get hot. Already lost a lot of water the first three laps in, but I quickly counterbalanced that with more significant amounts of Gatorade, UnderArmour, and ginger ale. Started grabbing an ice-cold bottle of water the last four laps, which I'd pour partly over my back and drink, but it would always be warm halfway through the lap, so I'd throw the rest away. Somehow, for water to work for me during a hard race like this, it needs to be cold.
I spent about 12 minutes total at aid stations, which is something I can work on bringing down in the future.
Also a quick note about shoes: packed a pair to change in case, but ran in the tighter shoes I'd done the 20-mile workout in the week before. They got a bit uncomfortable 20-miles in, because they got so wet from sweat. But the Gold Bond I rubbed all over my feet before putting on my socks seemed to have helped, despite some rubbing on the arches from the inserts. I'll have to remember to do that before the marathon, as well. It will prevent any blisters there too, I hope!
I think the primary notes for this race are that it was my first ultra where I ran the whole time, just stopping at aid stations and walking a little after to eat/drink whatever I had in my hand. It was also not a trail ultra (no sand, thank god), so it was paved and flat and that made it easy. I have a new 50K PR, which became a major goal laps 9 and 10. Since I was still feeling pretty good, running when lots of folks were walking, and I was tolerating the full-on sun and heat a little better, I decided to see if I could get 12, or even 13 laps. After coming through lap 12 with only 30 minutes left and having pushed it, I decided not to push myself to the limit through another lap. This is not a goal race, and I'd already exceeded what I came in to do. I also got second place for the women, which is kinda nice. Also got third overall, as I found out later. Woo hoo!
Laura ended up dropping from the 12 to the 6 because of an infection she'd been fighting since the start of the week. I lapped her lap 10, and she didn't seem too good. We were at our personal aid station for about a minute together, and she offered me a pickle, and she talked about dropping. I felt a little bad leaving her behind without checking on her, but I was still hopeful I could get 13 laps in at that point. It's a good reminder to listen to our bodies, though.