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| Messing around at Hangman Ultra |
I don't often run more than 20 miles unless it's in a race but today decided I needed to do something that vaguely mimics race conditions. It gave me a chance to test kit as well as my legs. They all survived although a few issues with both!
Preparations
Last night I filled bottles with electrolytes and water and placed them, along with a variety of my usual running snacks, by the front door. The plan was to run three 8.7 mile loops using the chest of drawers by the front door as a mini CP. The loops would be mentally challenging and I would alternate direction to make it bit more like the out and back nature of A100. Although I really need to reacquaint myself with running in the dark I didn't set an alarm. I've been having dreadful issues with insomnia recently and wanted to give myself the chance of sleeping in if by some miracle I wasn't awake at 2am. Luckily although it was a broken night's sleep it was way better than I've slept in a while so in the end I didn't head out on my run until after 8am.
I should also mention that although 25 miles is really not far I still ate all the food last night.
Kit
It's been a right pain trying to find a race vest or pack that's right for me and to be honest I'm still not completely happy. I tired the UD Race Vesta 4.0 which is mostly great but mine developed a tear in the 'burrito pocket' within a mile of its first use and also the plastic strips where the waist and chest straps attach finish right under the collar bone and REALLY rub and dig in. I absolutely love the cinch technology as you can get the vest to fit really nicely (ideal for me as I'm short in the torso) but the issues mentioned meant I had to send it back.
I love my Decathlon race vest-pack thing (no idea what it's called) but it has no zipped pockets and it's quite easy to lose things out of the rear storage pocket when the pack is really full. I still might use that for A100 though as so far it's got the hydration option that works the best for me- soft flasks with straws.
I do have one of those fancy Salomon S Lab Sense Ultra vests now. It's very comfortable, very light, I can just about get all my kit stashed in it without worrying about stuff falling out BUT as I have a rather shorter than average torso the vest sits quite low on me which means it's hard to drink from the soft flasks as they don't have straws. I've tried using my Aonijie soft flasks and they do fit but it's extremely hard to get them in and out and that's not a load of faffing I want to be dealing with.
Anyway, today I went with the Salomon option as I wanted to try a different way of stashing my sticks. I can actually shove them across my back in between the vest and me and that's quite comfortable, secure and leaves them both easy to get to and easy to put away again.
Clothes
I'm really not fussy when it comes to what I wear for running. I have a few items from an American company called InkNBurn and I just love them. Beautiful designs, very comfortable, hard wearing, and the skirts have 2 large-ish pockets. But today I went with a Decathlon skirt as it has FOUR pockets so a really good option with the rather minimalist Salomon vest. Injinji socks all the way though! They don't stop my getting mashed up toes (nothing does!) but they are very comfortable.
Underwear- seamfree knickers are a great invention; I have no chest endowments of any significance so a crop top does fine.
Shoes
Foot wear has been a nightmare similar to the race vest situation. Inov8 have tinkered with their width fittings so designs that once were perfect now really don't work for me. I can't wear the new Roclites as they come up quite narrow which is a huge shame as they are great trail shoes and can handle most terrain. I've ended up with the Trail Talons which are comfortable but I'm not convinced how well they'll to handle more than a smidge of soft mud.
The Run
Not a huge deal to report. I didn't stick strictly to a 10/5 run-walk strategy but I did endeavour to ensure I had regular walk breaks to give muscles a break and to allow for eating. In fact I ate far more than I would normally on a training run- probably took in around 500-600 calories- but didn't have any stomach issues and felt good on it.
Snacks comprised: Mini Cheddars, a small Wild Trail bar, a Cadbury's Brunch bar (that one was a bad idea), couple of ginger oatcakes, 1 Marmite and PNB roll, half a cheese roll.
Usually I turn to little tubes of nut butter on a long run but just didn't fancy that today.
Not sure I drank enough although I did have two wee stops, but I liked having one flask of electrolytes and one of water because sometimes you just want plain water.
Physically and mentally the first loop was strangely hard going. I got home and got sorted and out the door again within 5 minutes feeling a bit better. Five miles into loop 2 I really didn't know how I was going to get round, but even on a relatively short run like this there were lows then highs just like in an ultra. Getting through each low and then feeling a bit better again does give you a boost. My legs got a bit tight by loop 3 and I now have a very small niggle in one knee and a slightly gribbly hamstring. Nothing to fret about, I think it's just tight quads making themselves known and also a reminder to pick up my heels more.
To sum up: I have a kit solution that more or less works. I can run 25 miles in 5 hours and feel like I could probably go straight back out and do another 25 without too much misery. I can eat more than I thought on a run and that seems to help energy levels. I can be efficient at an aid station. I can deal with feeling physically and mentally a bit crap in the beginning stages of a run and get through it. My walking has improved hugely.
All in all it's been a productive day: lots learned and a bit of reassurance gained.
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| 'Rutherford Steps' or a stairway to heaven at mile 25 of today's run |
PS. Yes, I know 3 x 8.7 is actually 26.1 miles. And that's what I ran in total, it's just that each leg of A100 is 25 miles.
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