My husband John spends time on the internet looking for crazier and longer races. He succeeded in finding us a doozy to celebrate Labor Day Weekend: The Pretzel City Sports’ First Annual Labor Pains 12 hour endurance run.
We managed to talk Tracy, my sister-in-law, into the craziness. Tracy’s plan was to use this race as training for the upcoming Atlantic City Marathon, October 17, during which she WILL qualify for Boston 2011 (oh, yeah baby – we will have quite the Boston Posse!).
Our approach to this race was quite relaxed. In fact, I didn’t even commit to doing it until Friday evening. It’s easy to tell what priority John and I put on races by the amount we drink the night before. I had 2 vodka & sprites, while John enjoyed 3 rum and cokes, and Tracy imbibed 3 glasses of wine. In comparison, John and I didn’t even sniff an alcoholic beverage for three weeks prior to Lake Placid.
We awoke at 4:15 a.m. to the sounds of the Rocky Theme. (I haven’t changed the alarm ringer since IMLP – it’s invigorating to wake up to it. Try it :)). We had packed our gear the night before (a HUGE time saver), so all we had to do was get dressed. We picked up Tracy by 4:40 a.m., and off we went.
The sky was dark for the first 45 minutes of our trip. But, as we approached Philadelphia, there was a faint glow of dawn, and mixed with the lights of the skyline, it was actually quite beautiful. It took us a little less than 2 hours to get to Reading, as there was virtually no traffic on the road, a sign that further cements just how nuts we are: Up and traveling 5 a.m. on a Sunday morning of a long weekend. Yup, that’s apparently my lifestyle now. So, I have that going for me.
As soon as we arrived at the race venue, we could tell this was going to be a cool event.The start and finish was at the Leiderkranz Social Club. There was a bar (open at 11 a.m., mind you!), clean indoor bathrooms (yay for no porta-potties!), and a wonderful open area for spectators and chilling.
As we got out of the car, a 77 year old man pulled up next to us in a white van. Turns out, he had done scores of runs- marathons, trail runs, relay races – you name it. He had 13 children, and dozens of grands and greats. He wore a shirt that said, “Crazy Old Man.” You never know who you are going to meet at an ultra, which is why I love the energy. Relaxed, happy, and ready to do what I love most: RUN, RUN, RUN! Don’t get me wrong, I very much enjoy triathlons and marathons, but there is something unique about the uber-long distance runners. It’s a special kind of crazy and I LIKE IT!
Feeling loopy
This race was different from fixed distance races. For a timed endurance run, such as this one, the course is a loop. In this case, a 5-mile loop. Competitors run as many loops as they want in the 12 hour period. It was never our plan to run the entire 12 hours. I wanted to run at least a 50k (31 miles), Tracy was shooting for 20 miles, and John was going to do something between 50k and 50 miles.
I was uncertain about how I would like running a loop course, over and over and over. But, it wasn’t monotonous at all. I think that is partly because it was a technical trail run, with plenty of rocks, roots, twists and turns to keep your attention focused. Even with paying attention, I tripped repeatedly and have very sore toes to prove it. After the race, I commented to Tracy, “The breeze is making my toes hurt.” Yes, that’s the kind of pain we are after, people. Suck it up, sissy!
Tracy and John both fell. And, having witnessed one of Tracy’s falls, I can say she has the most stylish drop, tuck and roll I’ve ever seen. It was a 10! While I didn’t fall, I did manage to do a one-leg hop (airplane format) for about 20 feet to avoid falling down a rocky descent. I imagine there must be some type of style points for that?
The course was very well-marked, with some type of ribbon, paint or arrow in all the right places–and then a few more for good measure. If you got lost, it was your own fault.
The course itself had plenty of scenic interest, with hills (about 4,000 feet during my loops), winding paths in and around the trees, rock “creeks”, technical descents, lakes, and so on.
Each of us had a successful day. John ran 50 miles, with a PR of 9 hours and 27 minutes–that’s a full 90 minutes faster than the Vermont 50 last year! Tracy ran 20 miles in four hours, putting her in excellent position to rock the AC marathon (which is on the flattest terrain that exists). I ran 35 miles in 6 hours and 44 minutes. This is the furthest single-day distance I’ve ever ran, a great confidence booster for the Vermont 50. Additionally, this was a weekly mileage all-time high, with 66 miles!
Fueling tips and tricks
The Labor Pains’ aid stations were great, with one at the 2.5 mile mark, and a second at the 5 mile mark (which was the finish line–whenever you were ready for it). There was ample food, with superb selection. There is nothing quite like an ultra aid station: chicken and rice soup, PB&J, pretzels, gels, twizzlers, jelly beans, gummy bears, tootsie rolls, bagels, peanut butter, oreos, fig newtons, sports drink, crack-a-cola, and more. I mostly stick to pretzels, gels and sports drink–unless my stomach is telling me something different.
In terms of fueling during ultras, I’m teaching my body to burn fat. So, I try to keep my consumption to a minimum. John and I are new to ultra running, so we’ve heeded the advice of others who are considerably more experienced, and the overwhelming consensus seems to be: Teach your body to burn fat by training “empty”, which simply means keeping consumption to a minimum. Yes, you need to consume some calories, plenty of fluid and electrolytes to keep going. However, our bodies have enough fat (even the leanest among us) to fuel us for thousands of miles. But, there’s no magic formula for how much you need. You just have to get a feel for it during training, and learn to listen to your body’s signs.
The best advice we ever got for fueling during an ultra: “Look at the table and let your stomach tell you want it wants. If it doesn’t work, don’t worry: it’ll come back up.” In most cases, if you listen to your body, it will tell accurately you want you need.
All told, I consumed about 600 calories over the course of 6 hours and 44 minutes, which is considerably less than what I eat during triathlon. During a tri, you can digest calories more comfortably on the bike, so I usually eat about 200 calories per hour. Running, however, poses major digestive challenges if I consume over 100 calories an hour. This means that part of the fueling strategy is to consume a good breakfast at least 2 hours before the race, to give my stomach time to digest. My breakfast of choice is 2 scoops of Perpetuum (from Hammer Nutrition) and either half or whole white flour bagel, depending upon the length of the race. I don’t normally eat white flour products, but I find that on race day, these simple sugars are easiest to digest and don’t cause bloating. Wheat and high fiber products can be a real show stopper on race day.
During the race, I keep calories coming at a steady but slow rate. So, I try to sip on my drink about every 15 minutes, which gives me a little shot of calories on a regular basis, and then supplement with gels, pretzels or whatever else as need be. But, again, what works for me is about 100 calories (maybe a little less) per hour. What works for you might be something different – the only way to know is to TRAIN WITH YOUR NUTRITION!
High marks for Pretzel City Sports
This event was well-organized, well-supported, well-marked, and populated by friendly people and a happy vibe. The shwag bag is also awesome: a tech T-shirt, and a vest, which they will be mailing in a few weeks after they custom embroider the distance we did on it.What more could we ask for? I absolutely 100% recommend this event, and will most certainly travel to do it again. I would also happily enter any other race that Pretzel City Sports puts on – they are great people!
Thank goodness for John’s obsessive searching of the internet to find longer and crazier races.
Next up: Vermont 50!
