|
Post by Mark B on Sept 24, 2009 6:09:19 GMT -5
Good luck to you all on the run this weekend guys, not sure who is running what but I gather Dave and Rob doing the 100miler any others? is anyone doing the 50? You should get perefect conditions, hope all goes well and fun is had by all. Mark
|
|
|
Post by bernadette on Sept 24, 2009 7:45:40 GMT -5
I'm doing 50! (kms, that is ) Pacing Rob. I've got a fridge full of perogies - Rob and Dave are going to have a lot to eat if they're the only starters! That's really too bad about your legs, Nathan. I hope they'll give you this run, but maybe it's just too soon for them.
|
|
|
Post by Suzy on Sept 24, 2009 18:54:17 GMT -5
Good luck everyone running Dwellingup this weekend. There are some great trails around there for your running pleasure, and the weather gods are smiling - what more could you ask for. Have a great time.
|
|
|
Post by robd2 on Sept 24, 2009 22:52:17 GMT -5
Thanks Suzy and Mark.
|
|
|
Post by trailblazer777 on Sept 27, 2009 5:28:23 GMT -5
|
|
|
Post by Suzy on Sept 27, 2009 21:00:22 GMT -5
Fantastic efforts Dave and Rob. Would love to hear more about it when you've recovered enough to tap the keyboard.
|
|
|
Post by robd2 on Sept 28, 2009 3:00:46 GMT -5
Here’s my race report guys:
Ran the first 35km from Dwellingup to Waroona Dam with Dave at what was for him a very leisurely pace. The first half was pretty uneventful, it was a beautiful day, running along a superb trail. Life was great. All was going pretty well to plan, though the pace was slightly off on what I had hoped for.
At the 80k aid station at Nanga Camp I gave my little pouch of Succeed electrolyte capsules to my wife Sue to refill. About a minute after leaving the aid station I went to grab a capsule, as I was due to take one, and couldn’t find the pouch. I looked back at the aid station, but Sue had gone. The next time I was due to see her was 20km further on, and it would take me about three hours to get there. I take a Succeed cap every hour, so I knew there was likely to be some negative effects from missing taking three of them. Two hours later as the sun was setting I started to feel nauseous, which would ease if I walked rather than ran.
Got into the 100km aid station at Nanga Road and saw Sue there, as well as Bernadette who was going to run as my pacer for the last 50km, but quickly told me she was now doing the last 60km with me. When I told Bernadette what had happened with the electrolytes she quickly gave me a couple of caps to take, I just hoped they would put things back in balance for me.
The next stage was 10km, and I felt a bit better just because I was running with someone to talk to. The nausea side of things wasn’t improving much though.
At the 110km aid station at Willowdale Road I refilled my back pack with food and water to tackle the next 15k stage. Half an hour or so later things were still manageable when Bernadette suggested I have another Gu gel…the effect of taking this was to make the nausea a lot worse, with now no let off during the walking breaks.
I was also getting quite woozy, and had a fall as I tripped on a rock. Things degenerated quite quickly from here, with me having trouble walking in a straight line, let alone run in a straight line.
We walked in the last 12km or so to the 125km aid station, getting extremely cold in the process. Luckily we carried space blankets, and these definitely helped a lot.
At 2am, 21 hours and 125km into my 100 mile run I knew that was as far as I was going to go, and I decided to call it a day.
Bernadette agreed, and I knew if there was any chance of my going any further she would have squeezed it out of me. Not this time, race over.
I’m happy achieving the 125k, 22km further than ever before, however I know I will be back to have another shot at 100 miles some time next year.
The frustrating thing is not being 100% sure of what caused the problems. The electrolytes are a likely suspect, but it could be one of many more things, like not fuelling properly, my preparation not being 100% etc.
I don’t think it was the training though as now a day and a half later the legs feel pretty ok, and I could run if I had to.
Next time.
Congrats Dave on an incredible race. What an awesome effort. I am in awe.
Huge thank you to Bernadette for pacing me and keeping me safe for the last 25km. Also to Sue who crewed throughout, and to Nate, Bel and Kate for the support out there. It was an incredible weekend I will remember for a long time.
|
|
|
Post by rubberchicken on Sept 28, 2009 6:15:42 GMT -5
Great effort Rob. 125km is an awesome achievement ( I would be thrilled to be able to run that far).
I certainly think you did the right thing pulling out when you did. I doubt breaking from your electrolyte / fuelling regime did you any favours and understand that once you are behind in your hydration you are pretty much done.
I have to admit the potential physiological risks do scare me a bit with Ultras. It seems to me one needs a lot of experience to be able to have a good handle on what the body is doing and is in need of. I seem to recall Dean Karnazes stating how important it is to actually race (as opposed to training runs) to learn to read what your body is saying and how to fuel / fix it.
So well done and hope to see you at Six inch track soon
|
|
|
Post by bernadette on Sept 28, 2009 8:33:59 GMT -5
Dave looked great out there when I saw him and ran a bit with him around the 60k mark. He then went on to push Hannah in the pram for 20k as well! It was fantastic to see everything come together for him to get his 20h27m finish. And on top of it, he and Nathan then drove out to check on Rob's progress - at 2.30 in the morning! Rob put forth a stellar effort. He fought with nausea for a good 7 hours, sometimes so bad it stopped him in his tracks entirely. His attitude was fantastic and "keep moving forward" was his mantra. Now, just a bit in my "defense".... I would rather never "suggest" anyone have a yucky, sticky, sweet gel. I'm personally against them, although know lots of people who seem to manage them fine. Rob is one of those who have used gels a lot and they don't ever seem to bug him. My recall at that feeding time was I suggested a gel or a bar. I'm sure I gave two options. I tended to give two options, hoping that one of the two would sound at least slightly appetizing (since tummies get fickle during an ultra). And my own bias would be to offer something other than a gel since I don't personally like them for long distance stuff. Anyway, I sure regretted that gel. But it didn't seem to matter what we eased in after that, it was all bad if he tried to run. We're still working on theories - opposing ones, even. A lack of electrolytes or too much electrolyte/salt (Succeed are really high in sodium I just learned) are the biggest theories right now, I think. Like RC suggests, it seems that once your stomach gets out of control, it's really tricky to rein it in!
|
|
|
Post by rubberchicken on Sept 28, 2009 11:16:39 GMT -5
Now, just a bit in my "defense".... I would rather never "suggest" anyone have a yucky, sticky, sweet gel. I'm personally against them, although know lots of people who seem to manage them fine. Rob is one of those who have used gels a lot and they don't ever seem to bug him. My recall at that feeding time was I suggested a gel or a bar. I'm sure I gave two options. I tended to give two options, hoping that one of the two would sound at least slightly appetizing (since tummies get fickle during an ultra). And my own bias would be to offer something other than a gel since I don't personally like them for long distance stuff. Anyway, I sure regretted that gel. But it didn't seem to matter what we eased in after that, it was all bad if he tried to run. We're still working on theories - opposing ones, even. A lack of electrolytes or too much electrolyte/salt (Succeed are really high in sodium I just learned) are the biggest theories right now, I think. Like RC suggests, it seems that once your stomach gets out of control, it's really tricky to rein it in! The culprit may not be the gel as such. It could very likely have been a dehydration issue causing nausea causing the body to reject whatever was being put into the stomach. I have had a quite a few experiences with dehydration in the past and sometimes it's hard enough keeping fluids down. As for the too little vs too much electrolyte arguement good luck. That always confuses me and I wouldn't know how to get a definitive answer to that. Ginger is awesome for settling the gut by the way. After reading about it on various ultra sites I have used it on several occassions and it works a treat when the stomach is churning. I was using candied ginger but I believe you get ginger chews on various outdoor/ running sites. This is of course hugely helpful info now ;D
|
|
|
Post by trailblazer777 on Sept 28, 2009 16:28:21 GMT -5
my 2 cents; once you are dehydrated severely enough its very hard to reverse...I know this from my own experience once where my body was rejecting water after I got severely dehydrated...at that stage its very hard to go on and not wise to go on...the only good thing to do is to stop and work on the healing process...and slowly rehydrate...a GU may have been the worst thing as it needs the right amount of water for the stomach to absorb it well...and if already dehydrated its the last thing you want... abar is not much good either if severely dehyrated... If you are not getting your electolytes you are significantly travelled towards dehydration already, even if you are getting enough water...add food or gu's and the ratio of food to water is upset even more, and in a long event like this you pay for it big time...there may have been other things eaten also that caused a problem...perhaps consider what was eaten and if any of the things eaten earlier in the race could have caused nausea...
Obviously when you get used to a routine (in this case the succeed electrolytes) if you suddenly break that routine, that can upset very severely the precarious body balance you are trying to maintain in an extreme event such as an ultra, so quite likely that was a ,major factor...
Just some random thoughts that come to mind... not sure how true or relevant they are, but hope you come back wiser and better for your next run! Well done on running further than ever before, and further than moist people in this state have run...
|
|
|
Post by Nathan on Sept 28, 2009 19:21:38 GMT -5
Great run by Dave on the weekend, surprising everyone with his consistency. Starting out slowly definitely helped during the later stages of the race. From a crewing point of view I really enjoyed the weekend - obviously dissappointed not to be out there myself but excited to be able to help dave achieve the goal. The last 30k or so was pretty full on as I was meeting dave every 5k or so and he had a sniff of a good time so was flying. 20:27 is a solid time and a worthy course record however I know Dave can crack 20hrs and I look forward to trying for a 4th time to finish this race next year.
Rob - I know how you feel, learn what you can and take heart in the fact that the body pulled up fairly well.
3 months till 6-Inch
|
|
|
Post by robd2 on Sept 28, 2009 20:57:49 GMT -5
Thanks guys. re the gel...I had a number of these already during the run, and was at the time not looking forward to more solid food, the gel would go down a lot easier. No one could have predicted its effects, though TB's comment re gels needing water is worth considering. Solid food probably would have done the same.
I don't think it was lack of water though, I had drunk consistently through the run.
|
|
|
Post by dave on Sept 28, 2009 22:12:09 GMT -5
2cents I think perhaps dehydration caused by lack of salt, made worse as TB said by ffod in stomach needing water to be processed. Salt plays a key role in hydration I believe. Now for the race report.
|
|
|
Post by dave on Sept 28, 2009 22:34:19 GMT -5
Well I started slowly with Rob until 35K at Waroona Dam as planned. We went through Nanga (16k) in 2.02 and then arrived at the dam in 4.25 where Kate made me a sanga and a had a banana. Picked up the pace for the 15k to Willowdale Rd trying to run it in 1.30 which I did almost to the minute despite this section offering some tough hills including 1 monster I took 13minutes to walk (though heaps faster than the 17 &19min times of 2007). I ran through the 2.7K single track near Willowdale hoping to make enough noise to scare any keen Tiger snakes away. (I'm sure the dugites will still be hybernating) I had a fall on some leaf litter with no damage done I ran through to Kate and Nate for some water a change into a short sleeve shirt and some more food leavin ghere about 6.20. I was now reallly looking forward to running with my daughter Hannah from 60-81k and the approaching AFL GF which I planned to listen to on the radio. This section went smoothly with the lowlight being a full bladder (Nate had given me 1.5L for 8k ) and the highlights meeting Bernadette for a few k and then Hannah bolting out to meet me at the 60K aid station. I sat down at 60K and ate a tin of Spaghetti eventuallly leaving 15 minutes late with Hannah and the pram. Despite having a few puddles to negotiate we made good process and I listened to most of the 1st quartere of footy before being put on story duty. Hannah soon fell asleep so I left the radio off plannning to turn it back on for the 2nd half. A few rough sections necessitated slowing to a walk and I was continually looking for the best line but overall it was great to have the company. However with about 3k to go to Nanga we ran into another 4WD (bout 8 altogether) who informed us we were approaching a mud hole he didn't think we would be able to negoitiate. Well that was all the challenge I needed. We had to sidestep across a mudwall whilst hannah held my hand and I got her across without much trouble but then I had the pram! I was able to "drive"the pram up the 6ft vetical mudwall (this was once an old railway I believe) and the climb it with the help of a tree 1 handed whilst still holding the pram. From here it was fairly straight forward bush bash with pram before "driving"it down the other side of the cliff and continuing our journey. A lot of steep (though short) climbs tested the arms in the last few k before arriving at Nanga in 10.01.
More to follow
|
|