July 5, 2016

Hotter Than Hell Marathon


Marathon #39 is in the books! And here's how it looked.

About the Event
I'm using the word "event" instead of "race" b/c there was not an official winner. This was a fundraiser for Muscular Dystrophy. Participants could complete the marathon any way they wanted- bike, run, skate, etc. The only rule was that you had to complete the 26.2 to get the finisher's medal and event shirt. It was held at Audubon Park in New Orleans, around the 2.01X loop. After each lap, you went to the pavilion where they had huge dry erase boards with everyone's name. After each loop, you would return to the pavilion to put a tally mark by your name. Volunteers were there to oversee everything. They had water and gatorade coolers, but other than that, you brought your own things. Goals for this event:
1) NOT to race, but to run slowly, but evenly paced, without bonking
2) Practice hydration and nutrition for 50 miler
3) Get in my long run for the week
Dry erase boards used to tally laps

Pre-Event
We drove to New Orleans Saturday afternoon. After checking into the hotel, I took S to play in the pool while hubby picked us up some dinner from across the street. I ate a grilled chicken salad with light ranch, about 5 hours prior to race start. (Race started at 12:15 a.m.) Around 8, I ate some gummy bears. We finally got S to sleep around 9 p.m, and I was able to get a 1.5 hour nap. At 11 p.m, I got dressed and packed my things for the race. You could start whenever you liked, but had to be finished before 9 a.m. I really wanted to find a group to run with; so I decided to start at 12:15. However, I got lost on the way; so I ended up starting closer to 12:40. I drank 12 ounces (one serving) of Cinnamon Delite Generation UCAN at 11:30 p.m.

Gear
Clothing- Brooks Greenlight Short TightsBrooks Ghost RacerbackBrooks Launch 3
3 handheld bottles, Nuun tablets, Huma chia gelsEndurolytes Extreme
iPod, pepper spray

The Run
The weather was "feels like 91 degrees;" so we had that working against us, as I knew we would. That's the way it is here this time of year. You just have to make adjustments and do it. I wore my Timex, and didn't look at it much, except when deciding if it was time for nutrition. Thankfully, I met up with a group of 3 runners that were about my feels slow, but good, pace. After 1 loop in, I could tell the girl in the group was a legit ultra runner. I spent the first 6 laps basically question and answering her about various nutrition strategies. I sipped water throughout. Some parts of the paved path were very dark. A few people nearby had headlamps or lights on their bikes. That helped. We also changed directions after each lap. At 68 minutes I took an Endurolyte. At 1:40 (12 miles), I took my first Huma gel. At 2:06,  I took another Endurolyte, and at 2:30ISH, another gel. I ran with the group the entire way. Occasionally, different people would join in for a lap. It was really fun, in a dark and hot kind of masochist way. Once I entered the last hour-ish of the run, I experimented with drinking some Pepsi. IT WAS WONDERFUL!
My New Friends

My final time was 3:45:16. However, I stopped my watch at the aid station/tally table; so this is completely unofficial. (And it doesn't really matter much, as there are no official results anyway!)


Post Race
I'm really, really pleased with how this run went. I met all my goals, and I didn't feel too sore or beat up afterwards. And that helps b/c this will be another week of 80+ miles. The only negative is that I am really in the hole with my sleep. I finished the run around 5 a.m, ate watermelon for an hour, and then headed back to the hotel. Once I showered and sat down for 30 minutes, S was up and we went to the aquarium for a large chunk of the day. I've gotten very little sleep since then! I will cut back next week when we go to XC camp.
Relaxing after the run
What's up next?
I have another full week of training- same grind as the past few weeks. I'm getting there!!!!!

4 comments:

  1. Hooray for the first "official" race recap after the blogging hiatus. I'm glad that you tested your nutrition and found something that worked well. That's huge!

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  2. I like how to wrote this recap. Wow, I cannot imagine heading out to the aquarium with no sleep. Great job on the race though. I am glad you found a group to run with and had a great run. I clicked on the link of the shorts you wore, how did you like them? Also, I noticed you took Generation Ucan before the race, did it help? I am still experimenting with it so I have been asking lots of questions.

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    Replies
    1. I LOVE the shorts. I wish they came in a 5" inseam, though. 7 is just a tad too long, but 3 is too short. They are perfect for how much I sweat. They don't start flapping with wetness like many of my others do.

      I use UCAN before all my long runs now. It's a super starch; so there is no sugar, just carbs (and sodium and potassium). It is one of the only things that doesn't upset my stomach on long runs. I drink one serving 30 minutes prior to running. As my runs get longer, I'm going to experiment with a double serving or trying to drink it during the run. I might try that when I get to 30+ miles in training.

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