Thursday, June 17, 2010

Hawthorne Half Day RR



This race had been on my radar since the fall, and by all indications I figured it would be the perfect opportunity to go longer than 50k (my goal was 40 miles). I've been wanting to do a loop ultra, but didn't really want to do one on a track (too short, too paved...not that there's anything wrong with a track ultra, I'm just more of a trail guy). It doesn't seem that there are very many loop ultras in America, so when I found this one I knew it was time to jump in.
The Hawthorne Half Day is a 12 hour loop ultra on a 5k trail course at Hawthorne State Park near Terre Haute, IN. Apparently the race originally started as strictly a Relay but expanded to a solo/ultra division about 5 years ago, and 2010 was the first year that they also had a Walking division. The course had a few small but legit hills to keep you honest, a couple of short paved sections, some nice lake views and overall the course was pretty flat with untechnical two-track trails. Everything about the race was perfect...except for the heat & humidity. As we gathered at the start it was about 75 degrees at 7am, and it was so humid I had to use my windshield wipers while driving to the park (even though it wasn't raining). With temps forecast to go into the 90's I knew the day would actually be very little about running and have everything to do with the big three--Hydration, Fueling, Electrolytes.
I started out slow, and then eased back from there. I was drinking early & often. 30 minutes in I was completely drenched with sweat. Took an Endurolyte every hour on the hour (which probably wasn't often enough), ate my sport beans with the electrolytes in them, ate salty foods at the start-finish area every chance I got, drank & drank & drank, and sweated, worked in some gatorade, kept my time at aid stations as short as possible, kept plugging away. A couple/few hours in with temps already into the mid/upper 80's I started to see people dealing with cramps, and as it turned out even the relay runners were struggling; the final mileages of the leading teams were way down compared to past years.
A little over 4 hours in I noticed something interesting--from the waist down I was getting kind of tired/sore/fatigued, but from the waist up I felt great. My eating/drinking strategies appeared to be working. I spaced apart my food intake as best I could so that I was getting 200-300 calories an hour (but not all at once, so that my stomach could process it) and I was probably averaging at least 30 ounces of fluids each hour. Since I heard there might be thunderstorms I left the mp3 player in the car and I'm really glad I did, because I got the chance to strike up conversations with some fantastic people. One of the other things I wanted to do going into this race was to be positive, upbeat and supportive at every opportunity. I was all about Running Happy and not only did it help my cause tremendously, it just made the day as a whole more enjoyable.
Still...spending hours & hours running in the equivalent of hot chicken soup can take it's toll (I heard the heat index reached 110), and a little over 6 hours in (new 50k pr!) I started wondering just how much longer my day would be able to last. Several of the people I spoke with told me they had to dial back their goals from 60 miles to 50 miles, from 50 to 40, or 55 miles to 55k, etc. I still felt like I had 40 miles in the bag, even when I hit what I think was that mysterious "second wall" at 35 miles. I felt like warm, wet crappy crap for several minutes, trudged through it and then got a new wind. 36, 37, 38 miles, I felt like I could keep going another couple hours and even started to seriously ponder whether to push on towards 50 miles...well my left foot must've heard my brain thinking those dreadful thoughts and decided to send a message, at which point I got kind of a sharp tweak on the outside of my foot, felt like a mild sprain, so I knew 50 would have to wait. I finished the 40 miles in 8:34, got my cool medal, can't wait to go next year, and found a whole new appreciation for hydration, fueling & electrolytes.
p.s. I was a bit hyponatremic at the end, which was probably the result of consuming about 250-300 ounces of water in 8 hours. I really felt like I was getting a lot of salt throughout the day, but obviously it still wasn't nearly enough. On a day as hot as this I'm thinking a salt tablet every 1/2 hour instead of every hour would've been better, but, alas, that might've been too much? I'll have to research that. Another thing that I did throughout (probably since I wasn't distracted by my mp3 player) was pay attention to my pace and especially my running form. I think I can get sloppy over long distances, and paying regular attention to my form helped me carry on an hour longer than I ever have before.