ROCKY RACCOON 100 UPDATES TRIAL
I managed to catch up with Stephen Rodgers, who was kilted up for the event, and we reminisced over the 2014 humidity trial (he passed the test, finishing in the freezing rain after the sweltering Saturday). While Nic enjoyed some well-earned peace, I meandered over to packet pickup, enjoyed the race briefing, and caught up with some fellow runners. Nic capturing the evening light on the boardwalk. Raven Lake looking good in the sun on Nic's run We arrived on Friday in Huntsville with me excited and ready to run, and Nic delighted to take a few hours recce-ing the 50 route alone (ie without me yapping incessantly). Eat more than one, though, and you may have to take up ultras to keep the weight off.Īll told, the week leading up to the race was perfect. If you've never been here, you've missed out on some of the most amazing donuts in the land. Sunshine and warmth begets the occasional afternoon libation. It's always important to include recovery and enjoyment into any training schedule, and the fine weather in the week before race day certainly encouraged some relaxing time outdoors. Taking my EVRC club vest out for a spin in 20C temps - High Summer in January!! Great weather for the build-up runs - Lady Bird Lake looking beautiful in the warm sun. Since Nic is doing the 50 (one week after the 100), and had the joy of a winter cold in mid-January, the plan also included a few good runs on local trails in Austin & Round Rock to make sure we were building up to the race well. The plan was to relax and catch up with family while we took an extra couple of days to acclimate to the local weather. Overall, I ran happy - and running happy makes everything else that much easier to put into perspective.
I think a lot of that positivity was helped by calorie-loading early on and maintaining a manageable pace - so I didn't have a major energy dip until quite close to the end. But, because I felt positive throughout, I never really got down about the problems - I just set about finding solutions or carried on regardless. I had some particularly exciting lighting problems, and did a bit of a number on my big toes with a few of the roots along the way. However, something always goes wrong in an ultra - you're out there too long for it not to. With those pieces in place, together with a better training block in the Fall, I started and ran the whole race with no concern about whether I'd finish, and with a lot of confidence that a PB was completely achievable. The final plan that worked out better than 2014 was to use a very light bottle belt instead of a race vest - I'd tested the Ultimate Direction Scott Jurek Endure Belt repeatedly and knew it would do the job and give me the chance to dissipate heat more efficiently than a vest would. I geared my choices early on to things that I would want to eat even when not feeling hungry, because I've found that I feel hungry about 5 minutes before I bonk. The next improvement on last year was to have my own food for the entire race, so the aid stations were top-up and back-up, rather than the mainstay of my nutrition. The goal was to arrive in Huntsville in a positive frame of mind.
So, what went right? The pre-race build up was the first thing I got right. What can I say? That DNF hurt a lot, and I wasn't in the mood to let it happen again. The races I have run have had little to do with this year's attempt, but the many races I chose not to run were almost all about making sure I had the legs to go the distance. Most of my gear reviewing has been based around fixing weaknesses identified last year. To say that this year's event has been a key goal ever since last year's disappointing DNF would be an understatement. The key word there is "enjoy," and in spite of my newly super-sized big toes, I really did enjoy pretty much every minute of my race. At this year's Rocky Raccoon 100, I got to enjoy a lot of my plans going right, and a few going ever so awry. The great thing about running long is that no matter what you plan for, or how well you think you know your body, the course, the weather, or your gear, something unexpected always turns up to make you think.