I picked one heck of race for my first 100. It had 20068 ft of elevation gain/loss (much more than WS100 which has 18000 ft ascent but with 22000 descent - I assume these two runs to be comparable except for the altitude and weather). It had 4 loops, 25.1 miles each giving a total of 100.4 miles.
Unfortunately that day, there was a detour just before the Muir Beach station due to construction work, which added 0.5625 miles each way going in and coming out of Muir beach station -- a total of 1.125 miles added per loop ( I measured this using Google maps measurement tool) or 4.5 miles added for the total distance. So the distance was actually 104.9 miles instead of 100.4 miles - the distance of about 4 Full marathons!
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| Muir Beach Detour |
Now I know how it feels to run 100 miles. Given I'm a newbie to this distance, I knew a lot could go wrong - and some things did go wrong. It was very very unpredictable. There were various factors such as fueling, taking care of your feet during the run, your sodium levels, hydration, amount of rest you've had before the race, your pre-race attitude/stress levels, the final training week or two before the race, your discipline, firmness and strength of mind/fortitude, the weather, having pacers.
For these, I was able to maintain my sodium levels and hydration. I didn't do well with fueling, and maintaining my energy levels. My two pacer friends were a great help, they made a big difference for this distance. I found that running at night was slower than running during the day specially in some parts of the coastal trails, where it was windy, foggy, and at times had rocky trails with loose rocks (uphills/downhills) and in single tracks.
Being a newbie that I am, I wanted to share my pre-race planned splits for the race and the actuals for you to see how the actual splits differ drastically especially in the 2nd 50 miles ( Loops 3 and 4).
RACE START: 7:00am Sat
Pre-Race Planned Spits (including breaks):
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Loop1 (Mile 25) : 5:45 / ETA: 11:45am (Sat) / Elapsed: 5:45 hrs
Loop2 (Mile 50) : 6:15 / ETA: 7:00pm (Sat) / Elapsed: 12:00 hrs
Loop3 (Mile 75) : 6:00 to 7:30 / ETA: 1:00am (Sun) to 2:30am (Sun) / Elapsed: 18:00 to 19:30 hrs
Loop4 (Mile 100): 6:00 to 8:30 / ETA: 7:00am (Sun) to 11:00am (Sun) / Elapsed: 24:00 to 28:00
Actual splits below:
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Loop 1 (Mile 25) : 5:17 / Time of Day: 12:17pm (Sat) / Elapsed : 5:17 hrs
Break: 15 min / Time of Day: 12:32pm (Sat) / Elapsed : 5:32 hrs
Loop 2 (Mile 50) : 6:28 / Time of Day: 7:00pm (Sat) / Elapsed : 12:00 hrs
Break: 21 min / Time of Day: 7:21pm (Sat) / Elapsed : 12:21 hrs
Loop 3 (Mile 75) : 8:56 / Time of Day: 4:17am (Sun) / Elapsed : 21:17 hrs
Break: 43 min / Time of Day: 5:00am (Sun) / Elapsed : 22:00 hrs
Loop 4 (Mile 100): 8:41 / Time of Day: 1:41pm (Sun) / Elapsed : 30:41 hrs
As you can see from my pre-race planned splits above, I had the audacity to forecast (though I kept this to myself :-) ) an optimal time of 6 hrs in loops 3 and 4. Clearly I was being overly optimistic. But that's how I am, otherwise I wouldn't have been there this past weekend toeing the line. Regardless of the outcome, the bottom line was I wanted to finish. That was the most important thing that mattered to me.
As a training run three weeks before the race, I ran Headlands 50 miles (in the same area and same course except it's just loop x 2 and no half mile detours). It took me 10:59 to complete (under 11 hours - qualified me for WS100). It was a complete surprise to me in a good way. It was a killer for a 50 miler with 10034 ft of elevation gain/loss. My splits for that one was Loop 1: 4:50, Break 1: 10 min, Loop 2 :5:59. That was what gave me the idea to run the first 50 of Headlands 100 mi in 12 hrs (with 1 hr buffer). And surely I did and actually executed it perfectly as you can see in the splits table above. That worked out well. However, it was all downhill from M50 onwards. Loops 3 and 4 were worse for me emotionally and physically.
I have detailed my run below.
LOOP 1: M ZERO - M 25 (Rodeo Beach, Tennessee Valley, Muir Beach, Tennessee Valley, Golden Gate Vista Point, Rodeo Beach)
I woke up early Saturday with a gratuitous 4.5 hrs of sleep - the longest sleep I've had for any ultra race that I have participated in. Usually I only manage to sleep 2 hours prior to a race. I'd never felt better with the sleep I had but I was nervous I would not make it on time for the 7am start. And indeed, I arrived just 15 minutes before the start. My family dropped me off, they would return the following day to pick me up. I got my BIB, goodie bag, my HL100 shirt, and took my heavy drop bag to the Drop Bag area. The volunteer handing out the Bibs said I arrived at the same time as Mark Tanaka (I thought, "alright...I made it")...but then he said "he's not running though". Now I knew I was really late. Mike Popov (race director) had already started briefing the runners. I joined them, and saw Jeff Collins (DM friend). We had a little chat and took this picture.
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| With Jeff C. |
After a few minutes, we were off! My family waved goodbye as we climbed the first hill that ascended 900 ft in less than 1.5 miles. Had a short conversation with fellow runner David Kung and wished him all the best.
I felt great overall. I tried to pace myself thinking I would do this first loop around 5.5 hrs. 3 weeks ago I did this in 4:50, but I didn't want to affect later miles by running the first loop faster than I should. I knew this 100 mile race was new territory for me and I didn't know what to expect later in the race. I can't think of any memorable things that came to mind during the first loop.. oh except for some tummy discomfort. I finished the first loop in 5:17. At the aid station, I took care of my tummy problems and then asked for soup. Volunteers said soup wasn't available until end of 2nd loop at Rodeo Beach. Since it was lunchtime, and I knew that I had to eat, I opened my own can of chicken noodle soup and ate it cold straight from the can. I probably ate 200 calories of it, just to give myself solid real food.
During this break I saw Jeff C. arrived a few minutes later. He didn't spend a lot of time out there and took off after only about 6 minutes or so.
LOOP 2 : M25 - M50 (Rodeo Beach, GG Vista Point, Tennessee Valley, Muir Beach, Tennessee Valley, Rodeo Beach)
I left the M25 at 12:32 pm just a minute after Jeff C. left the station. I was trying my best to keep Jeff in sight and use him as a "latch" as I continued putting in miles. That worked out well in the first few miles of the 2nd loop. However, as early as Mile 28, I began to struggle. I think I passed Jeff one time but he later caught up with me again. We had a very good time together. There were many times when Jeff could have sped off and left me but he opted to stick with me until Mile 50. We ran together from M37 to M50. Having Jeff as company for the remainder of the 2nd loop thru M50 sure helped me digest the fact that we were less than halfway. I learned that Jeff C didn't have a pacer, and for that fact alone - proved a lot for him. It takes a whole lot of mental toughness to run without a pacer as I would soon realized from running miles 50 to 100 with a pacer.
Just before reaching Tennessee Valley ( probably around M44), we saw the leader going the opposite way on his 3rd loop which meant that at this point, he was already ahead by 10 miles!
Jeff C and I arrived at M50 at exactly 7pm (12 hrs elapsed time) which I think was a very good pace for the first 50. There I saw my pacer/friend Mon Santana already waiting. I spent around 21 minutes this time taking care of another tummy problem, nutritional needs, getting my headlamps and batteries, and changes in clothing in preparation for cold windy foggy weather.
LOOP 3: M50 - M75 (Rodeo Beach, Tennessee Valley, Muir Beach, Tennessee Valley, GG Vista Point, Rodeo Beach)
We left the Rodeo Beach station (M50) at 7:21pm. As soon as we left the station, the struggle had already begun. I was definitely slower.
My pacer Mon originally intended to run only 16 miles with me. Luckily for me, he changed his mind voluntarily and for that I was very grateful. Maybe he realized I was moving so slowly or maybe he thought I needed all the help I can get. :-) But whatever his reason is does not matter; I am indebted to him. Thank you Mon. For the pacing that he did, I think it was his unofficial first marathon (25.1 plus the 1.125 detour miles). Amazing dude! BTW, this was actually when I really understood the value of having a pacer. To have company while you are struggling to run makes a lot of difference. I am really really thankful for having had pacers during the race.
More tummy discomfort only a few miles after leaving Tennessee Valley... I took care of it somewhere between Tennessee Valley and Muir Beach, in porto potty in the dark - but at least I had my headlamps. I knew I had slowed down drastically ...maybe averaging only 3 mph. While taking care of business, I heard two groups of runners/pacers passed me. I was still able to run flats during his loop but very very much slower. One notable memory were the winds atop the ridge at Coastal Trails (around Mile 66/67) close to Golden Gate Vista Point Station. They were really very very strong. Now I know why there are cables there. A light person could possibly be blown off the ridge in the most extreme situation. :-)
We reached M75 at 4:17am (Sunday), in 8:56 (Elapsed -Loop3). 21:56 total elapsed time (loops 1-3). My next pacer/friend Paul Little was already there. I took care of another tummy problem soon after reaching the station. That was my fourth one. It didn't really feel like diarrhea, but just that I had to go again, and again. Had I eaten a lot before the race or perhaps, was it the number of gels I'd eaten? After I had taken care of that business, Paul sat me in a chair and gave me some nice warm soup. I was at my lowest point mentally. After a couple of minutes of sitting, I began to shiver. It was so cold and windy out there at Rodeo Beach, or at least that's how I felt. Mon and Paul put blankets on me but despite the layers, I was still shivering. There I spent my longest break ever - a total of 43 minutes. A number of runners passed me while I sat. I saw the amazing 70 year old ultrarunning woman (Eldrith Gosney) pass by. She was a true inspiration and she was ever smiling!
As I sat, I was wondered whether I could still finish the race or whether the shivering would go away. Mon and Paul suggested I wear another jacket underneath my windbreaker/jacket. One thing was for sure I thought to myself, I would have to keep moving if I wanted to finish the race.
Loop 4: M75 to M100/FINISH (Rodeo Beach, GG Vista Point, Tennessee Valley, Muir Beach, Tennessee Valley, Rodeo Beach)
We left the station at 5:00am. I think the extra layer underneath the top jacket did help, and I felt fine when we started moving.
My next pacer/friend Paul Little had just started running ultras last May 2011, taking on Ohlone 50K as his first, and then San Lorenzo 50K in June. He ran his first 50 miler (Headlands 50mi) in July just 3 weeks ago. All these in 3 months..another amazing dude! :-)
During this 4th loop, all the uphills required greater effort than before. I was definitely exhausted. I knew we had 11 hrs before cutoff in order to finish the remaining miles. That seemed a lot of hours for just 25 miles plus the detour, but for most of this loop, I seemed to be going only around 2.5 miles per hour, which meant I was only a few minutes ahead of the cutoff on an hourly basis. I was terrified of this - I surely wanted to finish.
All the flats were traversed using brisk walking. The only places where I could gain a little bit of edge were on the downhills. After 2 hrs "running" with Paul, dawn broke. Seeing the sunlight come out renewed my spirits - not exactly a second wind, but I was able to run some areas a little bit faster than during my 3rd loop. Paul and I did run the 4th loop faster than the 3rd by 15 minutes. I realized that running at night in a course like Headlands was very different than running it during daytime. The only motivation I was using at this point was the distance information I got from Paul. I thank Paul for bearing with me for my repeated inquiries for distance information, and hearing me complain how tired I was.
Every now and then, I had to ask, "Paul, How far have we covered?". Each .1 mile we gained helped me to continue. Mentally, it helped me measure how long and how much more suffering I had to endure. At every station, I diligently ate/drank a cup of soup. I couldn't take in anything more solid.
I counted the miles down - thanks to Paul. 19 miles to go, 13, 8, and then finally 4 miles to go at Mile 96 (last station - Tennesee Valley). Counting down didn't make me run any faster. I was shot at this point. I could now feel blisters on both my feet and pain on some toenails - I started feeling them sometime during the 4th loop and they now caused pain even on the down hills. At this last station though, I kind of knew that I had this in the bag, barring any accidents. I just needed to finish the remaining 4 miles in a little bit less than 4 hrs. Was it doable? - yes, it was!
I knew that this adventure would be over within 2 hrs so I tried to take it as comfortable as I could. The last 2 major hills were very hard requiring a lot of panting but at least not to the point where I needed to pause to catch my breath. On the last hill, a regular hiker even passed me while climbing the uphills - and he looked like he was taking it easy. Well, no more running for the remainder of the course - I said to myself, not even when I approached the finish line. Amazingly though, when the Rodeo beach finish area/parking lot materialized into view, something changed within me. I got my energy back and was so overjoyed that I cried. In the last quarter mile, brisk walking turned into quick shuffle, then quick shuffle turned into slow jog, then slow job turned into running. All the pains were magically blocked and ignored ... I was truly running again. I thought I would finish the race hobbling but I didn't.
I saw and was greeted by my 2 kids a tenth of a mile away from the finish and they ran the remaining distance with me and Paul. I saw my wife Jet there taking a video of my finish. I thank my wife for this, too, because without her full support, I would not be able to do this and run ultras. I finished the race in 30:41:26. To my surprise, 3rd loop pacer/friend Mon Santana was still there! He probably hadn't slept for more than a day by then.
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| With Mike Popov |
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| Pacer/Friends Mon S. and Paul L. |
I finally got my first buckle, handed to me by Mike Popov.
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| 31st finisher |
Met DM friend Hugh Bosely and fellow Pinoy runner Domingo Deguzman who were there volunteering at the finish. At the tent, I was surprised to see Jeff Collins, apparently he finished just a minute earlier.
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| With Hugh B. |
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| With Domingo G. |
Thank you PCTRAILRUNS for a very memorable event!
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| My Family |
