2017 Race Schedule Year in Review

2017 was another big year.  One of the main goals was to keep my Western States 100 (WS100) and Hardrock 100 (HR100) qualifications current by running the Bighorn 100.  This is also the 2nd year we've been on a Low Carb High Fat diet.  I've been working on a few different race fueling strategies.

2/11/17 - Holiday Lake 50k - 20th Place Overall -  4:26:15

This was my 8th time running at HL.  I was focused on a sub 4:30 race.  Ran the first half fairly easy and then tried to hold on, picking it up in the last 4 miles.  I think I ran at a 155 HR.  I had a handheld with water and did one nut butter along the way.

3/18/17 - Terrapin Mtn Half Marathon - 1st Place Overall - 1:59:57

I headed back to this race to defend my win from 2016.  The conditions of the course were much different due to rain/snow/ice fall occurring during the night.  Much of Terrapin mountain was covered in a sheet of ice which made footing questionable for those mtn miles.  Here I set my HR at 162.  Had bulletproof coffee on the way to the race and race without any water of fuel.

4/01/17 - Dam 5k - 1st Place Overall - 31:49

This was a new race set up to showcase the "Death Climb" in the 50k.  The course went straight up, turned around and went straight back down the mountain.  The course gained 1234ft of elevation.  No fueling for this race.

4/22/17 - Blue Ridge Marathon - 8th Place Overall - 3:27:03

The goal this year was to get in to the top 10 again.  The plan and training had me wanting to best my 3:18 time from last year.  The early morning weather was muggy and a high % chance of rain.  I started out too fast, with my HR monitor beeping at me from the very beginning.  At around the 16 mile point I knew things weren't looking good and my pace started to slow from there to the finish.  The result ended up good, but not where it should have been.  Lesson:  make the plan and follow the plan.  I set my HR at 162.  I drank water at 2 water stops and had a baggie mixed with banana and almond butter.

6/16/17 - Bighorn 100 - 19th Overall - 26:40:27

You can't always train for the conditions of a race.  I put in a solid block of 70+ mile weeks and long back to back days following my recovery of the Blue Ridge Marathon.  My training and fitness were right on.  At mile 42 of the race it started to rain and what was a hardpacked surface turned into shoe sucking mud.  At the turnaround the wind was blowing the rain sideways, there was some sleet and it got cold.  Many people dropped from the race (most at the turnaround but a 50% drop rate overall).  It was my goal to slog it in, in whatever time I could to finish and not get hurt.  Most of the miles from 42 to 88 were walking and hiking due to the slippery footing.  I was happy with the finish but this race took a toll on me and it took long time to recover from physically and mentally.  It took almost 2 months for my aerobic system to come back to normal.  Set my HR alarm at 155 for the early miles/climbs.  I had some Boggs Nut Butter packs and made some balls (oats, almond butter, salt, choc chips, coconut and cranberries).  Once I started hiking and time wasn't a concern I had a Egg McMuffin at mile 70 and some Ramen at mile 80.  Yeah, I got a little less selective, which never happens.

We have to come back.  At some point Gina needs to come back and see this course and conquer the event where she broke her fibula.   

7/23/17 - Laugavegur Ultra Marathon 55k - 41st Place Overall - 6:01:05

The destination race for 2017 was in Iceland.  I had first heard of this from Dr. Wortley years ago and it sounded great.  Then over the years we've heard so many things about Iceland I thought it was time for a trip.  The race runs along Iceland's most popular hiking trail.  The terrain and scenery are indescribable.  It was amazing.  Everything other than the stiff headwind was great.  Maybe someday we'll be back for Gina to run the race.  Race with a pack with water and Boggs Nut Butters.  

9/02/17 - Iron Mtn 30 Miler - 4th Place Overall - 4:45:41

This is one of my favorites and makes for great fast event.  I went into it with a number of runs here of 4:30-4:45 and thought I could do the same.  Since I still felt like I was in recovery mode from Bighorn, the plan was to run at HR and see where I could end up.  I felt good until around mile 8 when I started to get a twinge/pull in my hip flexor.  Not sure where that came from, either clipping a rock with my toe or a stumble.  This kept things reserved.  The race ended up going well and I was able to run strong and match a one of my previous times here.  I still think a low, or below, 4:30 race is in the cards.  We will see.  I set my HR at 152.  Race with a handheld with water and a couple Boggs Nut Butters. 

9/24/17 - Not a race, but added the 7 Summits Challenge to the mix.  To read about this go to the following link https://mountainjunkies.blogspot.com/