Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Bear Chase 50K

I finally got back on the horse this past weekend and ran my first ultra since last year's Leadville 100 by running the 50K version of the Bear Chase. I just have not had the interest this past year with everything going on in our family's life to do the long races. Anyways a super quick report and some pictures.

I signed up for this race without really putting in any long runs. I was running about 50-60 miles a week for a while just as a stress relieve but my longest run was only 14 miles every weekend doing the Dirty Bizmark loop. About 3 weeks out from the race a I did a 24.5 mile run in the Marshall Mesa/Dowdy Draw area in 3 hours and 45 mins at an easy pace. After that weekend I took the next 2 weekends off due to family coming to visit, needless to say I was a little under trained.

I had 2 goals in mind for this race- A) break my PR at 50K distance which is 4 hours and 31 mins or B) Finish before noon which is 5 hours and 10 mins.

To keep this short I went out at a moderately hard pace but never close to the red line with the exceptions of the small hills on this course. I was able to finish the first 19 miles in about 2 and half hours or so. The third and final lap (12.4 miles) I was doing fine the first 5 miles of the loop then gradually got slower and slower until by mile 29 I was on my hands and knees with the puke fountain turned on in full force. My stomach just shut down again and my body quick absorbing what I was drinking and eating. I was able to walk it in losing about 4-5 places in the standings to finish in 4:50:22 for 14th male and 16th overall. At least I hit my B goal, got an ok time, and got back into ultras again.

What is next? I am pondering doing either the 6 hours or 12 hours of Boulder on Oct 15th. I am leaning towards the 6 hours so that I can go see Braden's hockey game that morning but I am unsure right now. I kind of want to go out for 50 miles which should be very doable on this course in 12 hours. We will see, here are some pictures from the race.

3 comments:

  1. Congrats on getting back into the swing and making your "B" goal. Sorry it took me a bit to get this to you but I wanted it to taste a bit better than the version I used on my time trial. Here is the recipe for my liquid fuel. And this version actually taste pretty good. If it is too sweet adjust the amount of agave or date. Also it does help to have a high speed blender.

    2 cups coconut water (This can be any brand really or you could use Hydra Coco which is a powder of dehydrated coconut water.)

    If you want to use Hydro Coco then 2 cups of water and 2 tablespoons of Hydra Coco for the base.

    1 tablespoon agave nectar
    1/4 teaspoon sea salt (I like Himalayan)
    1/4 cup shredded organic coconut
    1 tablespoon lime juice
    1 teaspoon vanilla extract
    1 tablespoon hemp seed
    1 tablespoon chia seed
    1 tablespoon sesame seed
    1 tablespoon almond butter
    1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
    2 pitted dates
    1 teaspoon spirulina
    1 tablespoon almond butter
    2 scoops of Hammer Perpetuem

    I use Hydra Coco when I travel for convenience and to save $$. If you use Hydra Coco then 1 tablespoon of Hydra Coco per cup of water is the suggested ratio. This recipe usually yields 24oz of liquid food. The Perpetuem adds about 260 calories. The total calories with all the ingredients listed is 900 per 24oz bottle. If you left out Perpetuem that still leaves 640 calories per 24oz bottle.

    Let me know if you need any other info like a breakdown of nutrients.

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  2. Thanks Fred!!

    I will be trying some of this soon. I think I will be either removing the Hammer Perpetuem or replacing it though, it does not sit well with me for some reason. Thanks again for taking the time to share this!

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  3. Actually, I think if you just added another tablespoon of each of the seeds (hemp, chia, and sesame) you would be right back at 900 calories. I may try that as well in my next test. Personally, I'd prefer the whole thing to be as natural as possible. And I was just using Perpetuem to up the calories so I could be less dependent on taking aid on the course or having to use a special needs bag. As it stands the food on its own is very nutrient dense providing an array of trace minerals and vitamins along with protein, fat and carbs. I'm finding I don't have as much stomach upset running off the bike using liquids as fuels so I hope it works for you.

    Also if stomach issues are common in your races you could try using a pinch of fresh ginger which is said to soothe the stomach and aid digestion.

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