“If you are going to be dumb, ya gotta be tough”
A handful of times every year I take on 20+ mile runs without fuel and just one liter of water. I go into these fasted for about 24hrs, don’t carb load leading in and invite all the problems to come my way. What I’ve found is the amount of problem solving needed to complete the run increases exponentially along with the lessons learned and knowledge gained along the way. Each of these runs also helps cement into my my mind the importance of staying properly fueled/hydrated along the way during longer efforts. Intentional mistakes through training makes everything come to light and saves me from making the same mistakes “when it really counts”.
i chose to take on this route with that plan in hand. I went into it on a 33 hour-ish fast then broke my fast with approximately 180g of carbs via some homemade granola during the drive to the trail head.
i began the route feeling absolutely phenomenal. However, i knew the tide would turn soon enough. I was averaging a sub 8 min pace the first 11 miles. Until an old friend decided to pay a visit to my calves. They locked up with cramps. I did some quick mobility work and got right back to running.
The following 12 miles cramps continued to show their ugly face throughout my legs. At one point while trying to fix my quads I had to laugh as I noticed my contracted legs looked like they belonged to a body builder and not an ultra runner.
I went from being well ahead of the needed time to beyond cutting it close. With only a half mile to go there I was. Defeated and ready to throw in the towel. I could no longer walk let alone run. To even get close to the record I had to run the last remaining half mile at a 10 minute pace. Light work most days. But I was done. I was embarrassed to be me for the first time in many years. But then a German exchange student I have the privilege of coaching entered my mind. He was dead tired with one last relay to go during our last meet. Walking up to me prior to his relay I could see the defeat in his eyes. He said, “Coach, I don’t think I can run the 4x400 relay. I’m sorry but my quad is starting to hurt a bit and I’m very tired.” We talked through it and then I worked on his quad. He decided it definitely wasn’t perfect but he could run. It was our home meet and one of the athletes on his relay team was a senior. He wanted nothing more than to help his senior buddy earn a medal. They took home gold. If he can I can…
I punched my quads a few times and took off toward the end of the route. Assuming the record was out of my grasp. I just kept running until my watch displayed “route finished” then immediately hit the end activity button, fell to the ground and literally cried out in agony for about 15 minutes with my dad standing over me who had planned to drive me back to my car.
it wasn’t until I saved the activity when I realized I HAD actual ran the route in a better time…by a couple handfuls of seconds.
(if you are an athlete I coach reading this remember…you do as I say, not as I do) ;)
I get dumb sometimes with my own training ideas, but I’m tough so it all works out in the end.
sorry to ramble, however, I figured the slim margins on my finish time required some explanation.
This is a beautiful trail with many fantastic views of Big Creek State Park, Saylorville Lake, the Des Moines River, and downtown Des Moines. Easily my new favorite in central Iowa.
This is also the VERY LAST time I will take on a speed record with no fuel and not enough H20 in my pack. I’ll leave that for easy going base days from now on.
I attached the only photo I have from the run to this submission for pure entertainment. That’s little ol’ me about 10 minutes after finishing with cramps still trying to take my soul.
Type 3 fun is the real fun in life.