Rock On 50 K...

Finally... I run well during an ultra.

I had only run two races in the 12 months prior to Rock On, a 50k last July, and a January 5k.  I thought I may be in better shape than for prior races, but it's difficult to tell with no recent racing history to judge my fitness.  So... I decided to do this race on a whim... though my training was good averaging 65 miles a week for the month prior to the race.

Race morning, Kristin decided to take a pass on the race, which was cool with me, so I drove to the northwest side of Perry Lake by myself, checked in, and sat in my car for an hour.  It gave me just enough time to decide on a shirt.... long sleeve... short sleeve... I was being a bit obsessive but it was probably just nerves.  Long sleeve it was.  Coolish morning in the upper 40s.

By the time the race started I was feeling positive about the race, but not particularly like getting out fast.  When the RD yelled go, I fell into a comfortable pace and by the time we were on single-track, I was trapped behind a slower line of runners.  I thought this might benefit me, in that I have a tendency to go out to fast. 

After about two miles stuck at a slower pace, I passed the runners in front of me and broke into some open trail  running comfortably.  For this race I didn't wear a watch or my Garmin, just wanted to run the pace that felt comfortable. 

After a mile or two and passing several runners, I caught up to Eric Steele from Wichita, and ended up running with him for most of the first lap.  Had a good time talking to Eric about the race he directs Flatrock 50k which I ran a two years ago. 

Most of the course was completely runnable, with a few hills on miles 9-13 which were technical and steep.  I had learned earlier this year that the common ultra-runner strategy of walking hills was actually causing my legs to tighten up.  Instead, during this race, I continued running uphills, just at a lower gear, with super-short strides.

I pulled away from Eric at about 12 miles into the race, and ran alone for the final 18 miles.  By the time I came through the halfway point, the aid station workers said my time was 2:36.  This meant that if I didn't blow up I could easily break 6 hours for 50k.  Also, at this point, I was still feeling really good, no cramps in the legs, not tired at all. 

On the second lap I was entirely alone.  I just kept ticking off miles, never felt this comfortable after running that many miles.  I hit the aid station with 10 miles to go, and they said I was on pace to break 5:30. I laughed a bit, and passed 2 runners at the aid station.  They must have miscalculated.  A 5:30 50k on tough trails was nowhere within my abilities... my previous PR was 7:20.. and two years ago.

The next 8 miles I continued to run strong, though I started fading a bit on hills, and slowed considerably on technical sections.  I fell on rocks a couple of times during this section.. but the idea of a sub-6 kept me moving.

I hit the aid station with 2 miles to go at exactly 5 hours.  So.... maybe that 5:30 pace wasn't off.   I was still running strongly on those final 2 miles, which were relatively flat and easy to run.  Crossed the finish line soon after in 5:21:30, or so.  Very happy.  I think I smiled that entire day.

I tried to track what I did "right" in this race that I failed in prior races, and came up with the following:

1. I didn't go out too fast.
2. I didn't have caffeine-I quit caffeine completely in November. 
3. I didn't overeat-only had 3 gels the entire race and a few S-caps.  Still felt energetic at the end.
4. I ran all the hills slowly and didn't cramp.

That's most of what I came up with for now.  Looking forward to racing again... I think I can break 5:00, with better training and continuing to use what I've learned.