Monday, May 25, 2009

Strike Two at Sulphur Springs

There aren't many 100mile races nearby, and with Sulphur Springs only a little over 3 hours away, even though you have to drive through Toronto, it made sense to give it a go. As much as I was a last minute entry, I had thought about doing this race for a while since the disappointment of Rock and Ice in March. My training had gone quite well, with some good mileage. I didn't have any exceptionally long runs leading up to this, but I felt like the strong day in, day out mileage would get me through just fine. One of the reasons I didn't want to commit to the race earlier is that we organized the 5 Peaks race last weekend, and that always leaves me feeling wiped for a while afterwards.

All was good in the days leading up to the race and I was feeling confident going into the race. My plan was to keep it under control in the early miles, then go from there. I had looked at the lap times of runners from previous years and felt like I had a good idea of what sort of pace I could and should run at.

I felt great for the first 40km and was running relaxed and in control (holding back), however I started having some stomach issues just after 40km and could not keep any food or liquid down. It came on pretty quickly and rather forcefully. I thought it was an electrolyte problem so started increasing my e-caps, but could not keep them down either. I ran from 40-60km with lots of puking, and basically no water, gels, bloks or anything able to stay down. Got to 60km and tried to get some gravol down, but up it came too. Finally decided to pack it in at 61km.

I think the heat was a big issue as I used the exact same fueling plan as I did for Haliburton last year and it worked very well then. We haven't really had many warm days yet this year, so I think it will take a few good hot long runs to get acclimatized to it. A little frustrated, but still ended up being a good day of training and realized that I need to do a little more homework on myself to get this stomach thing under control.

It's always tough looking at the race results after and wondering what could have been if I hadn't had problems. As I said, I felt like I was holding back and running a very comfortable pace, so that was not an issue. I just feel as though I'm not ready to run a long race in the heat yet.

The really good thing is that the 61km's that I did run is great training and puts me in a good place to work towards my next race. My legs feel pretty good today too and after a few easy days will ramp my training back up pretty quickly.

Sara has had a lingering hip injury since before Rock and Ice that was giving her problems early on the rolling course at Sulphur, so wisely decided to pack it in early and try to get things sorted out once and for all.

So, the score for the day was...
Sulphur Springs = 2
Spaffgomery's = 0

We are both ok with this though. Getting the flu and not being able to finish Rock and Ice was very difficult to deal with. Having to drop early at Sulphur due to stomach/electrolyte issues is a little easier to deal with and was still good training and a good learning experience.

It was great seeing many familiar faces out on the course and I'm hoping that local runners Heather, Edd and Martin are able to finish their 100mile races.

It was also exciting seeing the 50mile racers finish as Adam Hill ran a great race and came within a minute of the course record. Keith Iskiw of Kingston ran a very solid race to finish second to Adam. Great job guys!

6 comments:

  1. Too bad D and S!Although I am not running 100 mile races I am feeling the heat also, today I went out at the hotest point of the day to try and get used to it.I was shocked to see you and Sara on the confirmed entry list for Sulpher as I was scrolling through it to see if I knew anybody running it! Looks like you were having a great race until the stomach issues ( you weren't eating pizza flavoured gold fiesh were you??) which bodes well for Haliburton.

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  2. We're actually both okay with it. I felt as though I learned a little bit yesterday too for the next time.

    I feel great today, which is very encouraging.

    Nope...no pizza goldfishes. Maybe that was the problem;)

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  3. That is always tough to drop from a race but I like how you learn from it and move on. I live in the north as well and hear you on running in the heat. If you arent use to it the whole calorie intake is the main obstacle.

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  4. Ah well, we had a fun weekend anyway! Such a puzzle figuring out that fueling. Makes sense about the heat. Next time!

    Great races for Adam, Keith and Jason! It was totally fun to hang out with Heather and Jen watching the races. Thanks for your help with my crewing skills and supplies too J&J!

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  5. Derrick, I'm one of the RunningMania members who was there to crew/pace Kinga. I was keeping a hopeful eye on you while you were at the start finish line & I had my fingers crossed that you would feel better...

    Tough decision to make, but it sounds like it was the right one for certain...

    Take care of yourself and that 100 Miles will always be there, it just wasn't the right time this weekend.

    Tracy

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  6. Thanks Tracy and Evan,
    Funny as 100milers are a crazy beast. My first one went so well at Halburton, that I felt that if I followed the same plan at Sulphur that I'd be fine. Already looking forward to the next one which is a good thing.

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