Moving Your Baseline (Old Cascadia 50 Miler)
On 22 June I completed my first official Ultra Marathon trail running race at the Old Cascadia 50 miler. A brutal course consisting of ~12,250ft of climbing and another 12,250ft of descending, this was a great opportunity to try my hand at a new challenge while also fundraising for retired USAF Major Katherine Portillo. Together we raised more than $2600 dollars for her continued medical care. A sincerest thank you to all those that helped raise the funds!
Just after the first climb of the day around Mile 6. Photo credit Kyle Meck.
Perspective
Your biggest accomplishments should always be in your future, never in your past. This was certainly the case with this race. This was the furthest I have ever pushed my body and mind. I learned a ton of lessons about the sport of Ultra-marathoning, and about myself. Before I offer 15 valuable lessons learned below (from what i can remember in my 3-days post race haze), I want to touch on the power of perspective. I have covered the importance of perspective in my life before in NQM014, and it came in handy once again to make this race an overall positive experience. A few examples:
Listening to Jocko’s Podcast 139 on the drive up to the Cascades the day before the race was perfect. He covers James Bollich’s book, “Bataan Death March: A Soldier’s Story". Mr. Bollich endured the over 60 mile march from Bataan to Camp O’Donnell in the Philippines during World War II. During the march they were exposed to the elements, given no food or water, and suffered terribly at the hands of their Japanese captors, resulting in the deaths of thousands of American and allied Filipino troops during the march and thousands more following it. After listening to his story, my 50 mile trail run with fully stocked aid-stations, proper gear, and the promise of comfort at the finish line doesn’t even remotely begin to compare.
2. The fact that I was sharing the course with many 100-miler participants was a huge motivational boost for this first-time 50 miler. I can not stress enough how impressed I was with the fortitude of those that went back out on that second lap when I was hobbling in on my first. Returning to the start/finish area where hot food and warm clothes await you, only to turn around for a second lap (and another 14-16 hours) takes a special kind of toughness.
3. Perhaps my most valuable realization this year has been how fortunate I really am to have a body and mind that can support these types of activities. The fundraising for Maj Katherine Portillo was always in the back of my mind throughout the entire lead-up and the race itself. Maj Portillo was a world-class athlete and military/community leader before an accident left her paralyzed below the shoulders. She fights battles much much larger than my 50-miler on a daily basis.
Pre-race & Strategy
Liz and I flew into Portland on Thursday morning and proceeded to drive down to our first stop, Mount Hood. We had a great time hiking the 6-mile Tamanawas waterfall trail Thursday and the 5 mile Tilly Jane Ski Trail on Friday. It was a great way to explore the beautiful Oregon mountain ranges while still staying fresh for my race.
The Tamanawas falls was certainly worth the hike up!
Tilly Jane Ski trail which leads all the way up to a few glaciers near the Mount Hood summit.
Performance wise, my A-goal was to finish sub-12 hour [roughly 14.25min/mile avg], my B-goal, sub-13 hour [15.25min/mil avg], and my C-goal sub-14 hour [16.25 min/mile avg]. Whenever you do something for the first time, it is always a bit of an experiment. If I wanted to run a sub-12 hour race, the obvious strategy was to at least cover half of the race distance in half the time (25 miles in 6 hours). In addition, I was wearing a heart-rate strap and tried my best to keep my average heart rate below 140 throughout the entire race. Other than that, my basic rule was that if you can not see the top, hike during the climbs and avoid running up them. I carried a small note sheet with me with the following information to help me keep track of where I was and how i was doing.
Pacing strategy and a good way for me to see how I was doing during the race itself.
Race
The final result…
The race started at 0600 local time, and the pace of the main pack was surprisingly quick at first (8-9min/mile). I had to remind myself to slow down after about half a mile of this as we started our first uphill climb. I did not see the top 4 male 100-miler finishers until they passed me on the start of their second lap and the end of my first (and only lap), meaning they were well ahead of me throughout the entire race. The first place 100-mile female finisher and I passed each other a few times on the first lap, and left Aid Station 6 (41 miles) at the same time but she kicked it in impressive gear and did not see her again until she passed me at the start of her second lap as i was finishing my first. Again, super impressed by everyone who crushed the 100 mile distance.
One of the many amazing views along the course. Photo credit Kyle Meck.
I was 30 minutes ahead of a 12-hour pace rolling into Aid Station 3, just over the halfway mark of the race. I felt good ascending and descending the first climb, and was mainly gauging output based on feel and heart-rate, not worrying about the pace that showed on my watch. There were a few rollers for the next 10 miles between Aid Stations 4 and 5. I felt myself slow down during this time, not least of which was due to my big toes starting to hurt after repeatedly jamming into the toe of my shoes on the descends. I raced wearing Asics Venture 6 hybrid road/trail shoe. I have used these shoes for the last 3 years and have grown pretty fond of them, but never tested them for miles of continuous downhill running. I was pretty sure i would lose at least one toe nail due to the repeated impacts with my shoe sole. This thought was pretty discouraging, and I had to change my downhill gait to more of a cross-over foot placement to minimize toe impact. Coupled with general technical descent inexperience, this made me considerably slower running downhill than most racers. Mainly doing my long (20+ mile training runs) in the flat desert terrain of Edwards hasn’t exposed me to this type of inclination training. More run training in the hills is the biggest thing I need to work on going forward.
The view wasn’t too bad rolling into Aid Station 4.
The second biggest butt-kicking of the day came on the second to last major climb between miles 35 and 38. I was not expecting the technical and steep nature of this climb. While the view at the top was certainly worth it, my legs felt pretty destroyed. After a short break I proceeded down the hill with two other runners, who quickly dropped me as I was much slower in the descent than they were.
Another nice view at the top of the second to last climb.
The last major climb of the day (between miles 40-45) went smoother than the previous climb, due to it being an overall more gradual climb broken up by the 6th and final Aid Station. I felt relatively fresh going uphill, but once again paid for my inexperience descending. The last descent was a straight 5-mile shot to the finish line, and by far the biggest butt kicker of the day. Just 1 mile into the 5-mile descent I started slowing significantly, and by 2 miles i was reduced to a walk with the occasional run effort on the flatter sections of the descend. Finally, by the third mile into the descend I couldn’t even run the flatter sections anymore. This was the defining moment of the day.
Overall pacing during the race. Note the steady decrease over the second half and the significant drop during the last 5 miles.
After 12.5 hours on the trail, my mind could not convince my body to run. My body was hurting, but that was not what was stopping me from moving quicker. I wasn’t suffering from muscle cramps, heat exhaustion, or joint/ligament pain. During my half-IronMan triathlon in March my legs were completely shot with muscle cramps coming off the bike and I was still able to run. This was different. This was a deep fatigue that triggered my mind into self-preservation mode. Of-course this is a good thing. The main goal during the race was to have fun and finish injury free. But the biggest goal overall should always be to move your baseline up. To become more capable. This was the first time in my life where my mind could not convince my body to run. I have to look deep down inside myself and ask the question of why. I need to find a way to flip the switch that will allow me to raise my baseline. This will take time, and it will take toil, but I am excited for this journey.
Made it to the finish before dark! And oh a puppy.
A first for everything, first ultra complete!
The last 2 miles were brutal, and I had to walk to the finish line. Just to re-iterate the importance of pacing wisely the entire race, I got passed by 6 runners in the last 2 miles alone. I ultimately crossed the finish line in 39th overall (out of 61 50-miler finishers), clocking in at 13:45:31. I’d call a middle-of-the-pack finish not to bad for my first 50 miler. It is always exciting to take on new challenges, and being brand new to the sport of ultra-running, I certainly learned a ton during this race. Below are the 15 biggest ‘technical’ lessons from the day:
Bananas can explode.
Running 4 miles of straight downhill is hard.
Don’t run 50 miles of mountain trails in shoes without a wide toe.
I need a lot more hill training. A lot more.
As long as you are not allergic, wasp stings are a surprisingly good way to keep you awake and moving.
Don’t carry too many extra layers in your pack, sweat will soak through your pack and water log them making them heavy, rely on drop bags at aid stations if needed. Every ounce saved will make a difference over such a large distance.
Running downhill is hard, I’d rather run uphill both ways.
People running a 2 loop 100-miler are awesome and absolutely nuts. The amount of mental toughness it takes to start a second loop after getting back to the start/finish line (i.e. the chance to get cozy) and getting beat up on the first one is admirable.
Crossing a stream is always a good way to clean yourself up (see #1).
Your whole body can hurt, including the tip of your nose.
Never stop working your in-race nutrition plan. Relying on my IronMan triathlon strategy, while a good baseline, caused me to carry too much water for too many miles. They are different sports requiring different nutrition approaches.
Cheese quesadillas and bacon are worth their weight in gold.
The Ultra community is one of the nicest you’ll come across. Aid-stations were so remote that volunteers camped out for three days/two nights to support the whole 100-miler effort.
Unless you are doing a winter traverse and need to rely on snow for drinking water, avoid carrying hard shelled water bottle to save weight in your pack.
This race has cemented more than before my desire to do a 100-miler.
Post Race
Just like the race itself was new territory, so was the recovery after such an event. After returning to our Airbnb, I soaked in an epsom salt bath for about 20 minutes before having a pizza and a coke. Although I was tired to the bone, I had a hard time falling asleep the evening following the race. Partly because I was still pretty hyped up and because I couldn’t stop thinking about all those warriors still out on the course for the 100 miler. The next day Liz and I went for a 3 mile walk around Suttle Lake, just outside of town from where we stayed. Overall I am happy with how my body responded to the challenge. I had some soreness in my ankles and neck for two days, but avoided soreness in my major leg muscles and had no knee problems whatsoever. I will be looking to get on the bike again about 4 days removed from the race and ease back in with a hike and light jog next weekend.
Not a bad place for a recovery walk.
I am always interested in learning, and in becoming a better version of myself. As I start on this new ultra-endurance sports journey and as I am getting older, I am looking at a more holistic approach to the sport and one of its biggest pieces, nutrition. The whole point of ultra events is not to go fast, but to go long. This changes the perspective on how your body gets its energy for events that are over 12 hours long. Looking at my past diet, I was mainly relying on burning carbohydrates/sugars for energy. The issue is that we only have a limited amount of the fast-burning carbohydrates we can store in our bodies, and you will not get close to replenishing what you burn with in-race nutrition. From past experience, this carbohydrate/sugar rich diet often left me tired and beat up after long training sessions and after races. I started trying out bits and piece of the Phil Maffetone method about a month and a half ago, replacing my steady intake of carbs and sugars (pastas, breads, corn-based products, packaged energy bars, processed meats etc.) with good fats and nutrients (raw and cooked vegetables, tree nuts, fruits and berries, whole milk, eggs, cold water fish, leaner grass fed meats etc). I have felt a big difference both during and after long activities. I am able to burn fat more efficiently during a long run and no longer feel the need to constantly snack while racing. I also feel more energetic and have been recovering faster after long training sessions.
Together with focusing on staying in my aerobic heart rate zone during long training sessions (maximum heart rate: 180-age) which promotes fat burning for energy, I have felt much fresher and recovered much quicker after long 20+ mile training sessions. Heart rate is a direct reflection of the body’s oxygen need, the lower your heart-rate, the less oxygen required to execute a specific task, the better your endurance. I admit I am fairly new to this game so I am easing into this transition, but so far the results have been very promising, and I intend to remain a student of the game so I can build a stronger foundation for future challenges.
