Heartland 100 - October 2008

I ran the Heartland 100 last week,for the second time. In 2007, it was my first 100 miler and first finish. This time, it was my 4th attempt at 100 miles, and second finish! My report is below. Warning; it's long!

Heartland is a great race. The atmosphere is pretty low-key. The people are very friendly. There is certainly a small town feel to this race, which takes place near Cassoday, Ks (pop. 100). Heartland was my first attempt at 100 miles, in 2007. I completed it in 29:22, after walking in the last 35 miles, due to pain in my knee when running. However, I could walk with no pain. So, I walked. It was a finish. But, I wanted to know how much better I could have done, had I been able to run throughout the race.

My race history for 2008 has been pretty spotty. I had a good run at Rocky Raccoon 50, finishing in 10:20 for a substantial PR at the distance. In March, I ran 65 miles in the 24 Hours of Moab. But, I had quit at 11:00 pm, with about 8 hours to go. I wasn't really sure why. I just wasn't feeling motivated. The next morning, I came down with a really nasty stomach bug. In retrospect, I was very glad I hadn't continued to run all night.

In June, I ran the Kettle Moraine 100. After some of the worst weather I've ever experienced outdoors, I dropped at 62 miles. I found myself very regretful of that decision. The next day, I felt great. I had a lot more left in me. So, after pacing at Badwater in July, I signed up for the Leadville 100.

Now, I knew that Leadville is the race that eats its young. I knew that my chances were probably 50/50 of making the cutoffs and finishing. But, I felt like I had to get a monkey off my back. My race went great through Twin Lakes. I was a bit behind my schedule, but ahead of the cutoffs. Then, Hope Pass reared its ugly head. I was fueled, I was hydrated, I had energy. Then, the wheels just fell off. I slowed to a crawl. I made it to the 50 mile turnaround at Winfield. But, I was 20 miuntes too late. I got pulled for time. But, I did give it all that I could. It felt better to be pulled for time. At least I didn't have to wrestle with my own decision to quit. Thus, my resolve to go to Heartland and finish was sealed.

My family and I spent 2 days driving to Wichita, seeing the sights (and smelling the feedlots) and enjoying being away from some of the recent stresses at home. We arrived at Cassoday on Friday for the pre-race meeting and dinner at 4:00. Dinner was very good. There was bbq beef, chicken, pasta, salad and a few other choices. My favorite: blackberry cobbler! We made an early break to get ready for the race and an early bed time. I slept pretty well. I think I'm starting to realize that worrying and thinking too much before a race just gets me nervous and causes me stomach distress. Staying in the moment seems to really help to alleviate the problem. At 6:00, myself and 99 other runners took off from the old school house, headed for the open prarie. I tried to maintain a good, easy effort pace.

The first 16.8 miles, to Lapland AS went by in 3:22. A good pace for me. I met my wife and daughter, had some chocolate milk (one of my new favorites) and headed out. One of my goals for this race was to spend far less time in aid stations. I figured I had lost 2 hours lat year at various aid stations. Eleven aid stations with your family can really wreak havoc with your overall time. This time, my wife said "I think the only other thing to do is tell you to get outta here". And I was off. I hit the Teterville station at 11:00. 12 min/mile pace, including stops. This was great time for me.

I reached Ridgeline (mile 36.5) at 7:38. I couldn't wait to eat some Prarie Power Pellets. They're sort of like Beanie Weenie, but with 15 kinds of beans. Fantastic! I told the cook I'd be back for more. At Matfield (mile 42.8), they offered me a bratwurst. It sounded so good. But, I decided to eat light and save up for the return, which would be around dinner time. I thought about that brat for 15 miles! My goal was to make the turnaround under 11 hours. I knew that 10-10 1/2 hours would probably be too fast. I wanted to be able to run throughout the entire race. I did NOT want to have to walk in the last miles, like last year. I hit the 50 mile turn at 10:50, right on plan. I spent 5 minutes getting fluids, eating a few oranges and some chicken noodle soup. I really wanted the sloppy joes, but I had a schedule to keep. Here, I ran into Abi, from the UltraList. She looked strong and had arrived before me. I left first, thinking about the next 7.5 miles, and a delicious brat.

I returned to Matfield (mile 57.4) in a total time of 12:43. I spent 17 minutes eating a brat, some oranges and a choco milk. Next stop: Ridgeline and Prarie Pellets. I found that the different foods that were offered really helped my appetite and my overall mood. After a few hours, I just can't look at another M&M, or boiled potato. But, all the varied options were just great. I also found that eating orange slices wherever I could really upped my energy level. My food plan for the race was to eat about 300 calories at every AS (about every 7-10 miles) and snack a little on the run. This race was the best I've ever had, in terms of fueling and consistent energy level. I didn't really hit any kind of wall until around mile 65. Typically, it would start around mile 16-20 and cycle up and down.

I met up with another runner on this section. We would walk/ run together, and leapfrog for most of the rest of the race. Shira was running her first 100. It made me so happy to think back to last year's race, and my first 100 mile experience. I was really happy for her. She was having some trouble with leg pain when she ran. I told her how I had walked in the last 35 miles and finished. We were well ahead of my pace from last year. I assured her that as long as she could walk, she would have no trouble finishing, if she just kept moving forward. We walked/ran into Ridgeline and another serving of Power Pellets at around 14:35. My big goal for this race was to finish under 24 hours. I knew it was a stretch, and I would have been very excited to break 25 hours. On the next stretch, I felt like my goals were slipping away. Technically, I was on pace. But, I knew I would have a slow down during the dark. Sure enough, on this section I was slowing to 17-18 minute miles. I took a NoDoz at 9:00pm, knowing that I had almost sleepwalked this section last year. It really gave me a jump start. But, essentially it just made my walking pace faster. I started to get a bit depressed at my goal slipping away. I did start to mix in more running.

After a stop at Texaco Hill for some soup, I felt better. I knew there was a nice, long downhill ahead and I was going to run it. I picked up some speed and made it to 75 miles at a time of 18:15. Once again, my wife crewed me and got me out of there in good time. 25 miles in under 7 hours seemed almost impossible. On any given day, while sane and wide awake, this would be easy for me. Hell, it's only 16.2 minutes per mile! I could hike up mountains faster than that. But, at this point in the night, I just didn't think I could keep it up. Then, at some point I had a revelation. I simply decided that I had just had a bad stretch. I had a bad 3 1/2 hours. It didn't mean that I had a bad 7 hours to go. It just meant that I had gone through a bad patch. Like many times before, it would turn around. I had felt great for the first 65 miles. I was having a better run than ever before. And, by golly, I was going to finish. I had done it before. I knew that I was capable. I knew that I was better trained than ever before. Simply keep moving forward. The miles would take care of themselves.

I made Lapland (mile 83.1) at 20:45. I was slow, but I was runnig the downhills and some of the flats. I was dissapointed to find that there were no pancakes this year. Last year, they served bacon and pancakes, and it was like heaven! Instead, I ate something (don't even recall), had some oranges and Dew and hit the road. I ran well for the first mile, mostly downhill and settled into a run/walk pattern. I decided I'd better take some more caffeine, as I was really starting to feel tired and was weaving. I pulled out my last NoDoz, and split it in half. The first 200 mg. pill had made me a bit jumpy, so I thought I'd take half. I also had this crazy idea of sleeping after the finish. If I took a buch of caffeine, I wouldn't be able to sleep at the finish. Big mistake. About 30 minutes after taking it, I just started to lose it. I was looking for places to sit down. I was thinking how nice it would be to just lay down for a nap in the road. At one point, I found a rock to sit on. I hunched over and hung my head. I immediately started to feel light-headed. This was not a place to pass out. I got back up and moved on. Shortly after, I stopped on the side of the road to squat and answer nature's call. Another runner caught up just as I was done. We walked together for a few minutes, which helped to keep us both awake.

Scott was another runner doing his first 100 miler. "Aging triathlete, trying to do the ultra thing" he said. "Older, slow guy trying to finish" I said.

By the time I got to the Battle Creek aid station (mile 91.7) at 23:15, I was trashed. I just wanted to sleep. I was trying to talk the AS folks into letting me sleep for 10 minutes. But, they wouldn't have it. "You've only got 8.3 miles to go" they said. It doesn't matter if I fall asleep in the road and get run over, I thought. Alas, my spirits brightened when they mentioned they had pancakes! Yes, I'll take one! Sadly, she ran out of propane as they were cooking. When she handed it to me, it was sort of limp. I took a bite and it tasted raw. It was all I could do to chew it. But, I knew that my stomach was empty and I needed caffeine. Mt Dew was not going to set well on an empty stomach. So, I ate it as best I could.

I sat in that chair for 30 minutes. It took everything I had just to kep my head upright and to stay awake. The aid station folks were great. Not pushy, but insistent that I had to get up and get moving. He told me that he was going to kick me out at 5:45. I agreed. I had 2 cups of Dew and my last half of NoDoz. Just for good measure, I asked them to fill up my 10 oz. bottle with Dew for the road.

The next 3.6 miles went well. I picked up steam, running and walking. I caught Scott, who had left about 10 minutes before me, and kept going. Once the sun rose, at around 7:15, I caught the lift of the second sun rise. I was trying all day and night to finish before the sun. But, now it was just what I needed. And I couldn't wait for it to arrive.

The last few miles of this course seem very long. The final stretch is almost totally flat. At mile 97, I can see the water tower at the finish. It's so hard to gauge how far it is. I see runners far ahead of me, and I watch for them to make the turn for the tower. Finally, I turn and head north toward Cassoday. The sun is up, although it is cloudy. I have energy. I can run. But it's slow and doesn't seem to be worth the extra effort to save few seconds at the finish. I continue and think about how nice this moment is. I'm going to finish! I'm enjoying a fun vacation with my wife and daughter. I can sleep soon. I'm going to get a matching belt buckle to go with my first one. I just ran a freakin' 100 miles!!!

I hit the final turn on the paved road and start to run the last quarter mile.It feels great to be able to run at this point. My wife comes out to run in the last 100 yards with me. We cross at 26:04. I finish 3:18 ahead of last year, for a personal best.

Epilogue:
I think that my training helped a lot with my performance. I upped my speed in the last year. In the several weeks leading up to the race, I was able to do long, difficult training runs at a consistent 12 min/mile pace. My shorter (8-10 mile) runs were done at 10 min. pace. I felt like I did the first half of this race at a much lower perceived effort. My fueling was great. Having 'real food' at aid stations did wonders for me. It kept me eating and enjoying it. I just can't live on gels and energy drink. Oranges are my new faorite aid station food. Never touched an M&M, Oreo, or potato. Laid off the caffeine until night time. Next time, I'll take another 200 mg. of NoDoz earler, rather than wait for the crash and try to bring myself back.

The hardest part of this race was dealing with sleep deprivetion. My wife was not able to pace me during this race. I thought this would be difficult for me during the night. It turned out, it was OK. In fact, it may have even kept me on my own pace a little better at times. Although, I would certainly welcome a pacer any time. Also, our I-pod took a dump before the race. This was something I had always used during the late hours. But, no problem.

Except for the long stay at Battle Creek, I had good AS times. Having a crew is awesome for helping to get in and out of aid stations. But, I tend to spend too much time there chatting. I did a pretty good job of staying on task this time. The Heartland support folks are top notch! There are many experienced runners working this race. They know just what to do when you need it. And to top it all off, it's a bargain at just over $100.