Race Report: American River 50

Abstract

            On April 5^th, 2014, I ran the American River 50 mile endurance run and finished my first ultramarathon with a time of 9:48:11.  Around mile 45, my right IT band was causing serious pain, and I would end up slowing down considerably.  Though I had difficulty running and walking, I still managed to finish the final climb of the race and break 10 hours.  Due to a prior knee injury, I only had 8 weeks to train for the race, cutting short my intended season of 15 weeks.

Race Preparation

            Coming into the race, I had a very detailed strategy: Go at a 10:00/mile running pace on the flats in the first half (or about 10:30/mile including walking), run at a 27:3 run:walk ratio (based on minutes), and consume either a gel, shot blok, or mini Clif bar during the walking portion of the 27:3 ratio.  I knew I had the 10:00 pace down, because during my long runs I was able to get this pace, even at the end of back-to-back long runs.  During my training, I used at 42:3 ratio, so by reducing the run time, I knew I would be more conservative in spreading my active recovery throughout the race.  I read various ways to incorporate walking into an ultramarathon race, and a 5:1 ratio seemed to be popular, though I felt 5 minutes of running would be too short to get a good rhythm during the run.  Looking back, 3 minutes was probably too long, and I could've gotten away with 2 minutes.  
            I really did not want to burn myself in the first half, which many describe as a road race, and that seems to be generally true.  This year there was a change in the course, but there is still a lot of running on flat bike trails.  I found myself looking at my Garmin frequently to check my pace during the race.  This unfortunately led to me being very watch-dependent, but my Garmin didn’t seem to let me down much, and whenever I felt I was running a little fast, my Garmin would show a low 9:00 pace.  I figured if I could get through the first half feeling pretty good about myself, I would try my best to maintain my effort on the trails, knowing I’d be going slower.  If I could average a 12:00/pace on the trails, including walking, I’d be in good shape to finish from 9:30 to 10:00.

The American River 50 course, with a new start in 2014.

Course elevation profile.  Note the elevation climb during the last 3 miles.

I experimented with nutrition during my long runs, and found that Clif brand products were favorable and didn’t cause any issues.  I start out with 3 shot bloks before the race, then a gel at 30 minutes, 3 shot bloks 30 minutes later, 1 mini Clif bar 30 minutes later, and then repeat.  This way, I’m still taking in solid food frequently.

            I think race reports are useful for beginners like me, so that others can learn about mistakes encountered in a race.  It seems like an area where a lot of time was wasted was stopping at the aid stations.  I didn’t want to burn time at aid stations, so I kept my nutrition with me.  Like I mentioned, I had a very detailed way of fueling up during the race, and I didn’t want to try any new foods anyway (though I was really looking forward to drinking some Mountain Dew at the later miles of the race).  At the beginning of the race, I carried enough nutrition for about 2.5 hours.  The plan was for Elisha (my girlfriend, and best one-person crew member on the course) to carry my fuel for the race, and she would meet me at most of the aid stations.  That way, I could get a quick restock of items as well as not carry so much cargo with me.  I did have to refill on water at the aid stations, though, but that didn’t take too much time, since the volunteers (who were all very nice at the stations) carry pitchers of water.

            So, my nutrition plan was tested and detailed very finely on race day.  The next thing I had to think about was what I wanted in my drop bag.  During the race, you get two locations – Beal’s Point (mile 24.3) and Rattlesnake Bar (mile 40.9).  Because Elisha was taking care of me during the run, I didn’t have to be so dependent on the drop bags, which was very, very nice.  I learned right away the importance of having a good crew!  I kept the option of changing socks and shoes at Beal’s Point, as well as a new singlet.  I put Kinseio Tape on my knees and lower leg as a precaution, so I also kept some tape in the drop bag in case something happened.

            I picked out what I would wear during the race early on in my training, and used my typical racing attire.  I really like The North Face Better Than Naked line of products, and wore a singlet, jacket, shorts, and hat from that line.   There’s a North Face outlet in Berkeley, so I got a lot of my running attire from them at a really good deal.   I like my orange singlet and blue shorts because it stands out, and gives Elisha a better chance of spotting me out in a crowd.  I shed the jacket after about 30 minutes into the race.  I went with the Nathan 020 HPL vest to carry my fuel and water.  It comes with a 2 liter reservoir, but I usually filled it to about 1 liter during the race.  I wore SmartWool ultra light socks and received no blisters during my race, and didn’t change pairs.  I used the Asics GT-2000 (1^st generation) shoes during the race.  While trail shoes would be useful in some of the technical portions, I’m used to using road shoes on the trails, and was wary of changing shoes at Beal’s Point, mostly because the idea of sitting down and changing shoes made me think I’d have a hard time getting back up.  I had a pair of Asics GT-2000 G-TX (Gore-Tex) (1st generation) waiting in my drop bag in case I wanted them, though.  I used the Garmin Forerunner 220, which is an excellent watch, but comes with a stated battery life of 10 hours, which meant I should try my best to go sub-10!

            Elisha and I stayed at the Hampton Inn, which was one of the race-sponsored hotels.  There was an option to take a shuttle from the hotel to the race course at about 4am, with the park entrance closing at 5:40am.  I felt that was a little too early, so we planned on having Elisha drive me to the starting line.  I had an okay time sleeping.  I was obviously very excited, and when I woke up around 4am, I felt like I was ready to go!  I had my usual Clif bar breakfast, and we left the hotel around 5am. 

Race Day!

            When we arrived at Brown's Ravine Marina, there were already a good number of cars there.  It was pretty cold, though, so we basically stayed in the car until about 6am.  We should’ve brought a blanket, or I should’ve worn pants.  This year, there were two wave starts.  The first wave, at 6am, was for those aiming at a time of 9:30 or faster, and had 493 people.  The second wave, at 6:15am, was for everyone else, including me, and had 382 people.  If I had a choice, I’d probably pick the second wave anyway, just so that I wouldn’t go out too fast.

The Race

Just before the start of the race.

            It was still dark when I started, but it got light within the next half hour.  The race starts down a road and then you get onto a single-track trail.  During the initial trail portion, there are some sections where you get stuck behind a line of people.  I didn’t mind so much since the pace didn’t seem that slow.  After the trail portion, you eventually get onto a road portion.  I wasn’t that fond of this portion, but some things are unavoidable.  It was uneventful for awhile, until I got onto the American River bike trail.  I felt a little better about the run and would soon see Elisha at the Willow Creek aid station (12.8 miles).  I actually didn’t see her until I left the main aid station and I got some fuel from her.  I did notice some pain in my right foot by this point.  I wasn’t sure what it was, and it never came up in my training.  It felt like it was under the ball of my right big toe – after the race I would later find that the top part of my foot near the big toe looked and felt bruised.  I mistakened the pain since the general big toe area hurt everytime I toed off.  Anyway, I sort of blew it off, but I distinctly remember telling Elisha about this.  I’m not sure if the right foot pain would lead to my later right IT band pain, so next time I have to be more cautious if something is flaring up.

            Also when I got to Willow Creek, and afterwards, I wanted to find a restroom to use.  I wouldn’t find one until Beal’s Point – almost 12 miles later!  It wasn’t that big of a deal, but I felt annoyed at myself for something that could be simply resolved.  

Somewhere in the bike trail portion of the run.

            I thought the remainder of the run up until Beal’s Point was fine.  It was a great day for running, with clear skies and a high of about 70 degrees.  I was comfortable wearing a singlet.  I was also making good time and feeling relaxed.  On some of the inclines, I would find myself debating on whether I should walk or run.  I finally decided that if the incline was runnable, I would run it.  I argued that if I started walking at every hill or incline, I’d be walking too much of the race.

Entering Beal's Point

            When I got to Beal’s Point (24.3 miles in 4:12:52, 10:24/mile), I saw Elisha and went to the restroom there.  This is when I made my first stupid mistake.  I waited about 4 minutes to get into the stall.  I felt like this was such a waste of time.  It was even worse, since Elisha mentioned she saw some restrooms on the other side of the park (where you’d be running by, anyway), but I felt I wanted to use the restroom now just to be safe.  I was a little angry with myself after since I figured I should save every minute if I wanted to get that sub-10.  I actually forgot completely about my drop bag, and what was in it, as Elisha had again restocked me and I just asked her to take my bag. 

            For my second stupid mistake of the day, I felt like I should be making up time, leaving to run somewhat frantically out of Beal’s Point.  I would eventually pass the second restroom – which had nobody in line!  I felt I was picking up the pace when I got onto the trails again.  It took awhile to clam down, which I eventually did.  From miles 25ish to 40ish, I noticed I was passing a lot of people.  I definitely felt more comfortable on the trails, so maybe I had an easier time maintaining my effort.  According the ultralive.net, I came into Beal’s Point at 407^th place (with the 15 minute wave offset not accounted for).  I would come into Rattlesnake Bar (40.9 miles) in 262^nd place.  Not sure what happened, but I was feeling comfortable and not too tired.  My Garmin said I passed the marathon (26.2 miles) mark at 4:40:05, but I think this was off by at least 0.2 miles.  I briefly saw Elisha at Granite Bay (29.5 miles).  She apparently got mixed up at some other place since there was a triathlon going on in the same area.  

            I had read that the miles in the 30s were technical.  I would say this is generally true – there were definitely parts that you’d be better off walking, and some downhills that you’d probably want to be careful on.  Again, I encountered some gradual hills that weren’t that steep, and usually would try to run them.  At this point, I was still maintaining my 27:3 run:walk ratio with fueling during the walks, even if I was walking during the running portion.  I felt the cyclic fueling was doing its job.  There were some aid stations (Buzzard’s Cove, Horseshoe Bar) on the way to Rattlesnake Bar, but I only stopped to refill my water, and blew on by.  Again, I didn’t want to stop if I didn’t have to.

            I soon made it to Rattlesnake Bar.  Here’s a note for first-timers – to get to Rattlesnake Bar, you actually have to make a right off the main trail and go downhill to get to the aid station.  You then make a u-turn, come back up, then continue on the main trail.  I didn’t know this, but thankfully there was a man directing me where to go (though he wasn’t there when I got back to the trail).  There were also chalk markings, but if you weren’t paying attention it’d be easily looked over.

            Elisha was waiting for me at Rattlesnake Bar, and again I restocked on fuel and water.  I came in at 7:31:49.  My average pace for the entire run at this point was 11:02/mile, while my average pace between Beal's Point and Rattlesnake Bar (16.6 miles in 3:18:57) was 11:59/mile.  I planned on running about 12:00/mile during the trail portion and was right on track!  I noticed my Garmin was about 0.6 miles off (short on mileage, much better than long on mileage!).  After exiting Rattlensnake, the trail became much more runnable.  I was trying to pick up the pace, and was feeling good about myself, since it wasn’t too hilly. 

Somewhere in the trail portion of the run.

            I forget exactly when, but I noticed my right IT band had some discomfort.  I neglected it at first, but the pain became increasingly noticeable around mile 45.  I had a hard time going downhill.  When I went on my scheduled walk break, it hit me completely.  The pain was really, really bad.  I tried running again, and actually found the pain lessened if I ran slowly.  I did a struggle run until I got to mile 47 – where you are greeted with the beginning of about 1000 feet of elevation climb until the finish. 

            So I had two options: I could drop out at the Last Gasp aid station (47.5 miles), or I could walk the last 3 miles until the finish.  To be honest, if I was fully healthy, I’d be doing a lot of walking anyway due to the steepness of the hills.  But I was too stubborn to quit, so I planned on getting to the finish.  I was in a really bad mood the whole time – I was in pain, and after working so hard to be in a position to run a time in the 9:30’s to 9:40’s, I was suddenly faced with realization of not even breaking 10.  Though, to be honest, breaking 10 wouldn’t mean much if I couldn’t run or even walk properly after the race.  So yes, I was in a bad mood but I tried to push through it.

            It was a long 3 miles to the top.  It wasn’t too tiring - I was just limited in how fast I could go.  I got to near the finish and limped-ran to the finish, which was on flats.  Elisha and some of my friends, Andrew, Garnet, and Jamel, were cheering me on when I saw them.  I probably should’ve enjoyed it more, but I had a hard time getting to that finish line.  I crossed with an official time of 9:48:11 (11:45/mile average over the entire run), and again I probably should’ve been happier when I crossed the line (see the photo below).  Between Rattlesnake Bar and the finish (9.1 miles in 2:16:22), my average pace swelled to 14:59.  But I finished the race on a gimpy leg, and I still broke 10!  I also placed 243rd overall out of 830 finishers, and 194th out of the men.

At the finish line.  I think the face says it all.

            I got that nice Patagonia Nine Trails finisher’s jacket as my reward, along with a nice medal as well.  We hung out at the finish area for a bit before grabbing some food at a burger place nearby.  I saw two other guys wearing the jacket at the burger place, so I felt like I just got accepted into some special club.

            I think my race strategy really worked out for me.  It was unfortunate I got hurt at the end, and maybe I should’ve checked on my foot pain earlier in the run to see if I could’ve resolved that.  I think this is definitely a race that I could see myself doing again in the future.

Elisha and me.

Jamel, Andrew, me, Elisha, and Garnet.

A nice reward for the race.

After the Race

            It took a couple of days for the IT band to stop hurting, but eventually the pain subsided and it seems like everything is fine now (at least, when I’m not running).  I’m going to take the rest of April off, and then I really want to work on my core, strengthening my leg muscles, and work on my stretching more this summer.  I haven’t decided on my next race.  As of now, I’m leaning towards staying with the ultramarathon distances.  I was flirting with the idea of running a fast road marathon, but I do feel more comfortable in the hills.

            Thanks for reading, will update soon!  wn

Pre-Race Report: American River 50

At the beginning of the year, I continued to have runner’s knee pain, and it was already cutting into my 15 week training season for American River 50 (AR50).  I signed up for physical therapy on campus and learned some interesting things about my body.  The PT seemed to work, though it took some time, and my knee was healed after a couple weeks. 

So I was left with a somewhat daunting task: by the time I was ready to start training, I only had eight weeks before the race!  Considering I basically didn’t run for the two months prior, well, I was in a bit of sticky situation.  My plan was to have a 2 week base, and 3 week period with some longer mileage weekends, and then a 3 week taper.  Not exactly ideal, and I also had to be cautious about ramping up the mileage.  My knee pain didn’t come back, but I did develop some pain on the lateral side of my lower left leg.  It seemed to only hurt whenever I ran under 9:00/mile, so I eventually stopped doing all forms of speedwok or tempo runs. 

I used a time-based approach for my training, with the program based on an article that can be found on Runners’ World.  I didn’t follow it exactly, though, but I felt I had some quality long runs.  My longest run was 27.8 miles though Redwood and Chabot parks, which at the time was the longest distance I had ever run in my life.  I had two weekends where I took in about 40 miles in two days of running.

Taking an ice bath after my 27.8 mile long run, the longest of the season.

Once I got into the 3 week taper period, I was feeling pretty good about my chances of finishing the race.  I had done a lot of research about American River, namely the hybrid road-trail nature of the course, and the perils of running too fast in the 1^st half.  Though my primary goal was to finish, if I could go sub-10 hours in my first attempt that would really be nice.

Introduction

2002-2006

I started running in the fall of 2002, my freshman year in high school (Hoover High School, Glendale, California).  I joined the cross country and track teams, and would stay on them during my four years there.  I wasn’t particularly fast, though I did captain the teams for two years.  I felt I was very involved in the sport and found it to be one my defining experiences during my teenage years.  A couple of things usually stand out during my time on the team, namely having 3 different head coaches, a season of track without a distance coach, getting slower between my sophomore and junior years, and advancing out of league as a team in cross country my senior year.

High school senior year 2006.

2006-2011

After moving to attend the University of California, Berkeley, I joined the university’s running club but eventually passed up runs for other things (video games, homework, and engineering clubs).  Like a lot of other people, I gained a certain amount of weight (somewhere in the range of +30 pounds at the worst).  However, I did somehow manage to run my first marathon in the summer of 2008 (I was 20 years old) – the San Francisco Marathon with a time of 3:48:29.  I wish I had kept some records of my training, because looking back I really doubt I did any structured training.  I would neglect running for another 4 years after this race.

2012

I received my Master’s, again from Berkeley, in December 2011.  I moved to Seattle about a month later to start working as an engineer at Boeing.  Because of the early start that the engineers adopted, I would work from 7am to 3:30pm, and even sometimes 6am to 2:30pm.  This meant I had a lot of time to go running in daylight after work!  Though it was hard to get back into things (I can’t remember how many times I told myself I’d “start running again”), I got back into decent running shape and ran the Seattle Rock and Roll Marathon in June of 2012.  I had a pretty poor race in terms of pacing, though, finishing with 4:02:09 – slower than my first marathon attempt!  My training was semi-structured, but again I made a lot of mistakes that only now I understand.  I had some minor injuries and then winter set in, making me go on-and-off with running for the rest of the year.

Elisha and me after the Seattle Rock and Roll Marathon 2012.

Even though I wasn’t running, it was around this time that I began to read more about ultramarathons.  By pure definition, an ultramarathon, or ultra, is a race that is simply longer than a marathon (26.2 miles).  The most common distances are 50K (31 miles) and then 50 miles.  At the time, I thought running 50 miles was impossible for someone like me, and it seemed like some event reserved for the most elite of runners.  Early on, I identified the American River 50 (AR50) mile as a good entry ultramarathon.  AR50 takes place near the Sacramento area in early April.

2013

After a year in Seattle, I returned to Berkeley to join the PhD program for the 2013 spring semester.  Because I got my Master’s in the same department and group (civil and environmental engineering (CE) department, structural engineering-mechanics-materials (SEMM) group), I only had to fill out some paperwork to re-enroll, which allowed me to arrive in the spring.  I had intensions to restart my running program, but going back to school made things a little tricky in the beginning.  I did sign up for the San Francisco Rock and Roll Half Marathon, and ran it in April of 2013 for fun.  AR50 actually takes place during the same weekend, and in the back of my mind I really wanted to run AR50 a year later.

After the San Francisco Rock and Roll Half Marathon 2013.

I signed up for The North Face Endurance Challenge (TNFEC) marathon in the Marin Headlines, to be run in December 2013.  During this weekend of racing, there are races from 5K to 50 mile.  I flirted with the idea of running a 50K, but that race sold out when I finally had the guts to register, and “settled” for the marathon. 

To prepare, I finally adopted a structured training program and started running seriously at the end of the summer.  There a lot of different plans to choose from – I ended up using the Hansons’ marathon method.  It comes as a book if you’re interested in it as well.  What I liked about it was the training methodology of cumulative fatigue.  Instead of focusing solely on a Saturday long run (with perhaps an easy day on Friday and taking Sunday off), you train your legs to run on tired legs to better simulate marathon racing conditions.  Of course, this program isn’t so easy to do (you get up to 10 mile tempo runs on a weekday), but I managed to do most of it.  Though I was training for a marathon, I was actually using this training period as a step-up to American River in the spring.  I figured if I could get through the training, I would have a strong base to transition into ultramarathon training.  Because I decided I would use a back-to-back long run type training for ultramarathons in the future, the Hansons’ method of cumulative fatigue fit very well with the overall strategy behind training.

Also during this time, I began to explore Tilden Park more, which really helped with the long runs.  Tilden is amazing and connects directly to Redwood and Chabot Parks.  You can actually get an out-and-back run of at least 50 miles on trails if you wanted to (not that I did, but just to let you know).

I had a bad stretch near the end of my marathon training due to research experimentations and my PhD preliminary exam.  I ended up running TNFEC (25.5 miles) with a time of 4:25:04.  There were some nice elevations gains during the run (the website says 4519 feet gained), and it was a good introduction to ultramarathoning.  At some points of my marathon race, the 50K and 50 mile racers were on the same path, so I got a little bit of that atmosphere.  I signed up for AR50 almost immediately following the race.

Finishing The North Face Endurance Challenge Marathon 2013.

I took a mandatory two weeks off after the race.  When I came back to start running, I found that I developed runner’s knee on my right side.  Usually when I get injured, I tend to deal with it, but this pain was substantial enough the stop my run.  I decided to take some more time off, which I had to do anyway, since Elisha (my girlfriend, and who will be mentioned often in my upcoming posts) and I went to Maui for vacation for New Year’s.