I did my own version of the Kal-Haven Trail race this weekend. After terrible weather last weekend, I made the decision to push the race a week back. While that meant I wouldn't actually get to take part in the race itself, it was the right decision for me. Because my goal was to break the course record, the cold, rain, snow, sleet, and 20+ mph headwinds would have made that challenging if not impossible. What's more is I would've been miserable for 3.5 hours and I didn't want that experience for my first ultra.
My plan was to start at 7:30a but it took a little longer to get things ready to go so it was a 7:40a start. I did a very short warm up: 5 minutes of jogging and 2 strides. One of the big problems I think I have with my marathon races is that I do too much beforehand so my legs don't have anything left in them at the end. So I wanted to keep the warmup short.
Mom gave me a countdown to the start and I quickly settled into a nice rhythm. I had 3 tiers of goals: 1. To run 3:29 and break the course record set by ultrarunning stud, Galen Burrell 2. Run 3:25 and average 6:00/mile for the 34ish mile run 3. Run under 3:20 and averaged 5:53/mile for the 34ish mile run. I knew these were all doable but having never run further than the 26.2 miles of the marathon, I didn't really know what to expect. Dad started off riding the bike alongside me and it was nice to have some company even though we weren't talking much.
Within the first 5 miles, the arch of my right foot was already bothering me. Grr...I still had a long way to go! Dad told me that it would get better so I kept running and thankfully, it loosened up a few miles later. 8 miles in and I realized I still had a marathon to go. Oh, boy. I mentioned to dad that I remember doing the Grand Rapids Marathon for fun one year and ran 6:00/mile pace. "Let's do it again!" I said haha. After 9ish miles, dad peeled off and switched spots with mom. It took her almost 2 miles to catch up with me but then she rode with me through 18ish miles (I think? Honestly, it's all a little blurry haha).
We had a strange encounter with a few trucks on the (non-motorized) trail. 4 trucks were driving toward us and mom was waving them to move over. Well, they basically stopped and the guy in the first truck got out of his car as we were approaching. I thought, "Uh oh. I'm going to have to get between this guy and mom." Thankfully, he just walked off the trail but I said to one of the guys in a Jeep "What are you guys doing??" That was probably the most eventful part of the run haha.
Around mile 15, my hip flexors and glutes started to get pretty sore. Oh, man. I still had a long way to go. Mom swapped back out with dad somewhere around 18 miles and it took him another mile-ish to catch back up with me. I know it was passed the halfway point when they switched because I remember crossing 17 miles and saying "Halfway done!" At that point, it was nice that I was on the other side of the ladder. Dad and I passed an older couple riding their bikes. They were so sweet telling me what a good job I was doing and how fast I was going. I told them "I figure the faster I run, the faster I'm done!" haha. With a half-marathon to go, I picked up the pace. I started clipping off miles in the 5:40s and was definitely working harder. My HR was elevated and I couldn't chat as much as I had been. But I wanted to get the KOM for the last half-marathon of the course that Galen had set too haha. With about 8 miles to go, it was starting to get really hard. The miles just seemed to keep dragging on even though my pace was staying the same. The last 10k was brutal. I started letting out guttural sounds of agony. It wouldn't be long before my legs were doing the same. My calves were starting to cramp up and waves of pain would shoot through them. You know when you start to cramp and it's just on the verge of cramping but doesn't quite cramp all the way? Yeah, that happened at least a dozen times in the last 6 miles. 6 miles to go...36 minutes. 5 miles to go...30 minutes. 4.5 miles to go...4 miles to go...5k to go. Okay, it's just 5k! But it was REALLY hard by this point. Even running up and over the crown in the road when I crossed through the intersections was excruciating (even though it was only 1-2 feet of elevation gain haha). 2.5 miles...2 miles...1.5 miles, okay just 10 minutes left!
But here the trail kind of split and I wasn't sure which way to go. I wasn't thinking very clearly at this point either but still...I was pretty sure we were going the right way because the other path was blocked off by cones. Dad was giving me such positive words of encouragement and especially in the closing miles, I could hear it in his voice how badly he wanted this for me. 1 mile to go. YES! Less than 6 minutes...just don't fall apart. 0.5 mile to go...and people were cheering for me? One woman said "GO TODD!" I was like "Huh? Thanks?" And then another, and another, and another! Dad said I must be pretty popular but I was just confused. Was I supposed to know these people? Well, it turns out that mom had seen them in the parking lot at the trailhead and told them to cheer for me haha. She's the best. It actually really helped in the closing of the run so that was great. Coming to the finish, there was a HUGE hill. Okay, it probably wasn't that big but after almost 34 miles of running, it felt like Mount Everest. Mom was cheering me on and telling me it was almost over (she promised! haha) and dad was telling me to finish strong. I honestly didn't really hear anything they said at this point because I was in so much pain and breathing so heavily haha. I crested the hill and ran into the parking lot because I wasn't quite sure where the race was actually supposed to end. I stopped my watch and saw 3:19 and change. Wow! I just beat the course record by 10 minutes! I couldn't believe it.
I got a few pictures with mom and dad and then laid in the grass writhing around in pain haha. Mom and dad had to pick me up and essentially carry me. At one point, I had mom set me down in the middle of the parking lot because I just couldn't stand/walk anymore. She said I needed to move and I was like "It's fine. The cars will go around me" lol. It's funny because I had just run almost 34 miles at 10+ mph but after the race it took me an hour to go 100 feet hahaha. I was pretty dehydrated even though I drank almost 1.5 liters of water. My face was caked in salt when I finished so I don't think I consumed enough electrolytes.
I wore a hydration vest and carried everything with me. In total, I drank just shy of 1.5 liters of water and electrolyte mix (3 scoops of BASE Performance Hydro) and ate 8 gels (one 45 minutes before - 130mg sodium, one at 30' - 130mg sodium, 60', 90' - 150mg caffeine, 2 hours - 130mg sodium, 2.5 hours - 75mg caffeine, 2.75 hours - 130mg sodium, and 3 hours...I ate an extra one at the end because I was hurting so bad and trying anything to feel better). I'm also a huge nerd and took my scale to weigh myself before and after the run. Beforehand, I weighed 134.2 pounds with clothes and shoes on. Afterward, I weighed 131.2 pounds. I drank just over 2 pounds of water and there was probably a pound of sweat in my clothes so in total, I probably lost around 6 pounds of sweat which would be right around 1 L/h.
After the run, I drank 2-3 liters of fluid and started to come around a bit. It turns out my right foot had bled through my shoe (and sock, obviously) from my toenail digging into the adjacent toe. I didn't even feel it! Huge shout out to my parents for waking up before 5a on a Saturday, driving me down to Kalamazoo, being my emotional support crew during/after my run, and driving me home. If you saw my Instagram story at all, you heard my mom's commentary. I got a lot of comments from everyone who loved it so we might have to make that a thing at future races ;) But watching the video at the end, I get choked up hearing her say "It's not real far. I promise. I promise!" And I can hear the tears in her voice as she's saying that. Just to hear how proud she was it chokes me up listening to it. Sorry to everyone else out there, but I seriously have the best parents ever. And even though apparently this will count as a supported FKT because they were alongside me for a lot of the race (but did not provide any nutrition, fluid, or physical support), I would gladly have them as part of the experience. Because what's the point of doing something special if you can't experience it with the ones you love?