Bonk

My plan for running the Hashawha Hills 50k was to enjoy a local race with friends from VHTRC and get in a solid early season training run.  As the race unfolded something more- and in some ways less appealing- actually happened.

For starters, the best news: Gaby won the race as first female.  She also came in 5^th overall and lowered the woman’s course record time to 4:45.  Hot damn!  The race course consists of two 15.5 very hilly loops, most of which runs over technical to moderately technical woodland single and double track trails.  Despite the icy conditions on the first loop Gaby managed a steady pace, however by the second loop, when much of the ice turned to mud, she became quite tired (having not officially tapered for the race) yet still managed to run well.  I couldn’t be more proud of her.

My experience on the other hand unfolded a bit differently and left me with questions.  After a brisk first loop running in the lead from the start pretty much in lock step with D.C. area local runner Oliver Leblond I bonked pretty bad right at the beginning of the second loop.  As I made my way up the initial hills during the second loop I momentarily considered DNFing, though in better judgment decided against it, and for the remainder of the race managed damage control to keep myself moving. 

Running the first loop with Oliver was a challenge but we managed to keep each other honest.  I pushed him on the down hills and he kept me in check on the climbs.  I could sense the reserved energy he possessed on the climbs with his graceful hamstring lifting running up the hills.  Each hill I ran up however had me thinking when I would be forced to slow my pace.  Last week’s schedule prior to Saturday’s race day, beginning on Monday, included four purposeful ‘training runs’, five runs altogether, for a total of 50 miles, and thanks to the addition of a lightning fast, 30 hour door-to-door trip from D.C. to Los Angeles and back beginning Tuesday evening I was far from fresh by the time Saturday morning rolled around.  In fact, as Gaby and I pulled away from our D.C. abode at 5:15am en route to Westminster, Maryland, site of the Hashawha Hills 50k, I sipped my coffee and commented how I didn’t feel right in the head- as if I were coming down with something.  Instantly I thought back to my back-to-back germ-infested flights a few days prior; I was paranoid about having caught a bug.

Oliver and I finished the first loop together in 2:01 and after a brief stop at an aid station began the second loop in 2:02.  Moments later he began pulling away and I knew this was the time when my pace was forced to slow.  I felt achy, developed slight a headache and felt slightly nauseous.  Eating and drinking was not a problem but it simply didn’t help me feel better; nor did walking up hills.  I’ve never DNFd a race and I wasn’t about to this time either.  I also figured since a second place finish was all but secure, given the proximity of the closest trailing runner, as long as the wheels didn’t completely fall off then I was content with that.  Oliver went on to finish smartly in a course record setting time of 4:09 and I eventually finished 2^nd in 4:24.  His second loop of 2:07 makes for a decent split ratio though he commented after the race that he likely would have run the first loop slower if it were not for me pushing the pace.

As a result of the race and of feeling sick the night and day after (maybe I came down with something after all?) my question is this: is it wise to train through a race?  I am talking about a long race like a 50k, not a 5k or 10k.  My focus race for the first half of 2011 is the Massanutten Mountain 100 in May.  Everything up until then is centered on having fun and will be designed to prepare me for that race.  Last week my training runs consisted of base building prep work for Massanutten and running the Hashawha Hills 50k was incorporated efficiently as a component of said training.  The 50k distance is certainly no walk in the park and to reach one’s potential in that distance a taper is an obvious must.  I had the opposite of a taper.  The problem with training through a race is that once the race begins, instead of following through with the initial plan of getting in that training run, my thoughts change to actually wanting to give the race a go.  And instead of competing, because I am tired, I end up suffering.  Is it worth it?  Is it worth only showing up to a race if you’re fresh so you can do just that, and race?  There is likely no right or wrong answer to this question and I imagine there are many schools of thought on the topic.  It does have me thinking about future races however and whether or not I would like to go into an event tired or not and therefore not able to compete, or at least reach my potential.  I’ve done so much of that in the past year and it would be nice to actually train and taper properly for a race, give it my all, and not suffer the emotional distress afterwards knowing that I didn’t prepare properly and, as a result, didn’t perform to my potential (much less suffer).

The tail end of this post may seem negative or a bit narcissistic.  That is my intent.  One of the primary things I like about running is that it is a constant journey of self-discovery.  Every run provides a lesson and an experience. One of the fun byproducts of running for me is measuring improvement.  After all, isn’t that part of being human?  Wanting to be a better person?  Running is no different.  My point is that if race results are in some respects a measurement of improvement for a runner then trying to run well and come away with fast times at each race should be considered important.  For the past few years that I’ve trained and participated in endurance sports, more recently in ultra running, the cumulative annual experiences have all been different.  I am proud to proclaim that each year the experiences have gotten better and better but as time has shifted so has my goal line.  If the goals change the training must adapt and so should the race schedule.  I doubt I’ll make any changes to my schedule this year since I’m already ecstatic about the adventures yet to come but I still plan to let the lessons from the Hashawha Hills 50k soak in and, hopefully, eventually, they’ll make me a better person and a better runner.

On to a rosier topic, the race itself is a good time and I recommend it.  Click here to see why.