Big Horn 100 Mile Trail Run

We’re 2 days out from the race and currently en route from LA through Denver to Sheridan Wyoming.  The day started early with meetings at work and a mad afternoon dash to the airport to catch a 3PM flight to Denver.  Made it to Denver with 20 minutes to spare as they were just beginning to board the connecting Great Lakes Flight to Sheridan.  Late afternoon storms had settled in on the airport as we landed in Denver, which then delayed our outbound flight.

Upon arrival in Denver I met up with Francisco and we used the delay time to catch up and chat about race strategy and plans for the BH100.  On Thursday we have registration and medical check in.  We’ll mostly likely hook up with Scott, Raj and Ray who are all running the 100 miler as well.  It’s nice to run this type of a distance with friends and veteran of this distance.  I’m certain we’ll share race strategies and finish time objectives.  My goal is simple, make the cutoffs and finish on or before the 34-hour mark.

 

Francisco arriving at the tiny airport...my luggage didn't
make the journey from Denver to Sheridan...Grrr!!!!

The weather predictions are looking really really favorable for the race.  Highs in the low 80’s and lows in 50’s, although at altitude and winds will make it a chill factor in the 40’s at night.  The race start for the BH100 is at 11AM, which is kind of unusual.  Most 100-mile distances start early in the morning, say 4 or 5AM or in the case of UTMB at 4PM in the afternoon.  Because of this as well as the positioning of aid stations, drop bag locations, etc. the plan is to race really light from 11AM till the 30Mile marker/aid station.  Mile 30 has a 9:30PM cutoff that is 10.5 hours from the race start.  I’m expecting to average a 12 min mile for the first 30 miles which will put me in at 8PM, which is about 30-45 minutes before sunset, 1.5 hours of a buffer with the cutoff, before taking on the evening and the long climb from mile 30 to the 50 mile turnaround.  I’d love to be able to build more of a buffer and will try to push the pace early on as the plan is to not carry any of my gear and “race light” for the first 30 miles.  This is at least an 8-10lb differential or weight that I wont have to carry for that first 30M.  My strategy if executed should pay late race dividends.

I’ve been struggling lately with my weight and trying to get it down to 183lbs for race day.  It looks as though I may be a pound or two short, but that’s ok, as I’ve raced at 185lbs many times before.  I’ve been getting some decent rest the past couple of days and expect to get in at least 10 hours of sleep the night before the race.

My training hasn’t been quite as disciplined as in other races, however, I have gotten in some good mileage and haven’t really felt beat up too badly.  I’m definitely a subscriber to under training versus over training.    I’ve done a few early season races like the 100k run in Texas, the North Face 50 miler at Bear Mtn in NY as well as long runs in the mid 20 mile range.  Albeit I haven’t trained at altitude, I’ve tried to push my pace and train in the heat to emulate the effects of altitude.  The Big Horn Mountains only get up to 10,000 feet and it looks like the average is around 6,500 -7,500 feet above sea level.  I’m not underestimating, at all, the impact of this altitude, as it will surely have an effect on my overall performance.  I’ve just got to remember to eat and hydrate well.  Keep the hydration, glucose, electrolyte and sodium levels all topped off.

Well, we’re getting ready to land in Sheridan shortly so must power down.  More to follow….bumpy ride today!

Cheers!!

PT

Race Results & Training

Muddy Trails

The trip up to NY to race the NF50 Bear Mtn course was a success.  Despite some faulty mileage and tight cutoffs I was able to run a negative split for the last 6-7 miles finishing in 12:46:06.  The course itself was a muddy sloppy mess, with no less than 20 river/stream crossings.  I started out pretty slow and almost dead last for the first 5 miles.  I had decided to take it easy out of the gate which ended up being a mistake as the next 5 miles were barely runnable due to the conditions.  This left me dangerously close to first cutoff, making it by a mere 15 minutes.  For the rest of the race i was forced to push the pace to insure I was not going to DNF from a missed cutoff, which would've been a first for me.

Lot's of Mud

At about mile 40ish I was bombing a descent and caught a toe and ended up careening off the trail into a tree.  Trees are pretty stubborn and generally speaking unwillingly to move out of your way.  The tree I hit was no exception.  I was able to contort my body at the last moment so as to avoid a direct hit and let my left shoulder and forearm bare the brunt of the force.  Needless to say I ended up on my back/side in a muddy sloppy mess.  Too tired to get up I just laid in about 6 inches of watery muddy sludge.  Several runners stopped and asked me if I was ok or if I needed a hand, I told them "no, I'm just resting and will be just fine...see you at the finish".

Beautiful morning photo from the trail

Despite the fact that most of the course was challenging to run there were some really beautiful vistas that I stopped to snap a few pics.  The volunteers were great as well.  About mid way through the race I ran into a Death Race acquaintance, Olaf, who was limping down the trail.  He had injured his ankle or foot and was simply trying to get to the next aid station to DNF.  Olaf actually has won at least one or perhaps two Death Race's.  He's a hard core tough dude, so I was surprised to see him bow out of the race.  Always a bummer to see good athletes get injured and having to DNF.

Volunteers cheering on the racers

Late in the race I got really focused on making certain that I was going to come in under 13 hours.  The final cutoff was 14 hours, so I had plenty of time that I built up after the first cutoff.  It was interesting seeing that people had crew and pacers for a race with only a 50 mile distance...but they were there.   Having a crew in a 100 mile race is important.  The extra 50 miles makes a big difference and having a crew is a luxury and dramatically improves the likelihood of finishing.

It's all about finishing!!

I'm less than a week out now from the Big Horn 100 in Sheridan Wyoming.  It's a mountain course that I have never seen, in fact I've never been to Wyoming...it's a first.  Francisco and I are going to see if we can tackle an early season 100 miler.   As a build up to this race it's important to build a good base, which was the intent of doing the NF50 at Bear Mountain.  Since that race I have been training heavy, averaging 188-189 pounds.  Today I weighed in at 184 pounds en route to 180 pounds come race day, June 20th at 11AM.  My mileage over the past 6-8 weeks has been consistently around 40 miles per week along with solid core work outs.  Some weeks have reached 50 miles.  This is fairly typical mileage for me entering a 100 miler.  Always and ever anxious as I approach a 100 mile run.  Rest, nutrition, hydration and state of mind will carry the day.


All is good.......Cheers!!