Bouncing Soles Ultrarunning blog on running... Running very very far.

I had deferred my registration to Big Woods last year when it conflicted with Rabid Raccoon 100. I finally got a chance to race with Team EYB Runners. We are a group of guys who meet at the Wissahickon most Saturday mornings. Led by John Sullivan, this group has been taking on Big Woods for several years, and I was excited to join them this past weekend. We had 10 runners registered for the team, but then the race director deleted all the teams. I’m not sure why, but I’m sure the team would have come out on top. Here is my list of three points regarding how this race went: what went right, what went wrong, and how I would do things differently next time.

What went right?

First off, since the start of the year, I have been following my own training plan. I haven’t posted all runs or workouts on Strava, but regardless, I have been heading out there even when I didn’t want to, holding myself accountable to the training and consistency. I cycle three weeks on, one week off, with about two key workouts each week and race-specific training. Recovery might be a 2-to-1 ratio if higher intensity efforts like intervals are involved. As we got close to Big Woods, I ramped up climbing most weeks. I have a route that has the same amount of vert as Big Woods—2K—but in only 9 miles of running. If I go all out, I can do it in an hour and a half. It was more demanding than Big Woods would be, and it helped to mentally prepare me for the amount of climbing that day. The route is saved on Garmin here called Tedy Mothers Meadows Challenge, click here for GPX.

Training:

Legit training and following my own plan. I’m not only the president; I am also a client of UltraRunCoach.com. Consistency was key here. Avoiding injury and sickness is never easy as you come off the transition season that is December/January. I made it through and tried to maintain fitness to the best of my ability.

Gear:

I tried a new “super shoe” that I got for Christmas for this race, and I will say that I do think it made a difference. It was very light and bouncy, which helped a lot with the number of rocks on this course.

Nutrition:

SIS gels were ON POINT. They hit well and kept energy levels high. What’s great about them is their size and speed at which you can consume them. If you have a scoop of Tailwind, that’s an entire bottle you need to down to get the 25 grams of carbs. These things I can fire down my gullet in about 5 seconds. No chewing, just slam it down and go. The difference between bonking and sustained output is nutrition. If intensity is high, so are nutritional demands. You can’t have one without the other because something has to fuel that performance. That’s just what I have found with myself as I do these events. Your mileage may vary.

Mindset and Pace:

My mantra for this season is: “Feet over finish”, and I detailed a post why. I was also thinking, how fortunate I am to have the privilege to worry about race times. This is a luxury of life, and I am aware of that. What I don’t worry about in races is what place I will come in. Someone said to me, “Do you think you can win?” That’s a lethal thought, because that puts an emphasis on the podium versus my feet. I can control my feet and my per mile times, but not who who shows up on race day. Controlling the controllables here.

Target vs Actual Pace – 8:45 was the plan

We had perfect cool weather come race morning. When the race started, I had set a PacePro plan of 8:50 a mile. This was conservative, but I knew I could hit that with relative ease. I was checking my HR during the start, and the mix of cold weather, getting a good night’s sleep, and not being stressed led to a very low HR. I realized I was able to keep a much faster pace and increased the effort after the first few miles. I had great traction with the conditions, so I was able to move fast and keep my cadence high. It was only the “secret forest” section that slowed me down. A lot of that had to do with the inability to see the rocks under fallen leaves. After two rolled ankles I was done. I said, “STOP,” you cannot and should not try to blast through this area. Garmin’s PacePro kept informing me I was 3-4 minutes over pace; which I lost that in the secret forest. Once past the secret forest, I gain back some time with the help of Matt.

The key point here in my training has been recovery weeks. In my recovery weeks, I am doing very light to no running. I am using three secret weapons: cycling and yoga as substitutes for running. What that does is keep me fresh and going hard on the weeks when it’s time to run. I heard it said that relationships in life cycle through three states: harmony, disharmony, repair. That’s kind of what training blocks are. In the beginning, there is harmony; the training starts to create strain, trauma/disharmony; then comes the repair. The recovery weeks also include sauna, either via my gym or the sauna blanket I purchased. High-quality sleep and eating right. This year, I am focusing on the high quality diet than in past years, making sure to hit protein and veggie intakes higher than in years past.

What went wrong?

In the “Secret Woods” section, I went too fast initially. I almost ended my race with a twisted ankle. Being able to quickly realize that going fast in that section would have been a bad idea was critical. I also carried a flask I never needed. This was because of the cold weather, the isotonic gels from SIS provided the small amount of hydration I needed. I had carried the Tailwind with the idea that if things got bad, I would “just add water,” but it never happened. I was cold most of the race, thus lowering hydration needs. I would NEVER do this in an ultra, but a half marathon is the type of race where you can take high-level risks because of the short distance.

On a personal note, I think I played football the day before too hard with my son, and my foot was hurting from some sprinting. Maybe not the best idea before a race, but I can’t say NO to my son/daughter to have a catch. Oh well, I thought it would work itself out on the trail, and it did. That’s pretty dumb logic, to say that, but you would be surprised how often something “works itself out on the trail”.

What would I do differently?

With the goal being sub-2 hours and finishing with a time of 1:52, what would I change? Not much. I executed my plan and controlled my mindset. I was sitting at 4-5 place, with 3rd out of reach. I focused on “feet over finish” and only cared about what I could control: pace and foot placement. I ran MY race, MY plan. Nothing pushed me faster than I wanted to run, well, except Matt Lewars. That dude was on fire, and I followed; he helped keep me on target. Thank you very much, Matt!

The training leading up to this has been great. The EYB Runners have been a fun and amazing group to run with, and I am grateful for meeting them. I look forward to running with them in the months ahead as I prepare for the More Miles – Last Man Standing and Eastern States 100.

I made a short virtual run to document the race, to show my kids, and to remind myself there will be a day I can no longer do this, but today was not that day. Enjoy!

The Cockroach Theory

At a restaurant, a cockroach suddenly flew from somewhere and sat on a lady. She started screaming out of fear. With a panic-stricken face and trembling voice, she started jumping, with both her hands desperately trying to get rid of the cockroach. Her reaction was contagious, as everyone in her group also got panicky. The lady finally managed to push the cockroach away but …it landed on another lady in the group.

Now, it was the turn of the other lady in the group to continue the drama. The waiter rushed forward to their rescue. In the relay of throwing, the cockroach next fell upon the waiter. The waiter stood firm, composed himself and observed the behavior of the cockroach on his shirt. When he was confident enough, he grabbed it with his fingers and threw it out of the restaurant. Sipping my coffee and watching the amusement, the antenna of my mind picked up a few thoughts and started wondering, was the cockroach responsible for their histrionic behavior?

If so, then why was the waiter not disturbed? He handled it near to perfection, without any chaos. It is not the cockroach, but the inability of those people to handle the disturbance caused by the cockroach, that disturbed the ladies. I realized that it is not the shouting of my father or my boss or my wife that disturbs me, but it’s my inability to handle the disturbances caused by their shouting that disturbs me.

It’s not the traffic jams on the road that disturbs me, but my inability to handle the disturbance caused by the traffic jam that disturbs me. More than the problem, it’s my reaction to the problem that creates chaos in my life. Lessons learnt from the story:

I understood I should not react in life.I should always respond. The women reacted, whereas the waiter responded. Reactions are always instinctive whereas responses are always well thought of. A beautiful way to understand LIFE.

The HAPPY person is not because Everything is RIGHT in his Life. He is HAPPY because his attitude towards everything in their life is right!

For some, the idea of running an ultra event is like this story. As soon as you tell them how far you like to run, they have a knee-jerk reaction. “OMG, I don’t like to even drive that far, do you sleep?” For those in the sport, the response is normally followed by several questions. Was it technical, how much vert, was it scenic, hard or easy, etc. They respond versus react because they have been there; they are open to the idea versus that initial shock. Why would you choose to do such a horrible activity? We control how we feel about almost everything we do, and it’s in using tools like curiosity and excitement that we remove that reaction and judgment. It creates a yearning for a deeper understanding.

The nature of many actions we perform have no purpose, but they bring joy to those involved. With the Eagles winning the Super Bowl, my kids are excited about football, and I have been having catches with my son. He tells me tales of Super Bowl games at recess and how much fun they have been having. Did you ever stop to think about the purpose of a catch? Why would one perform any action, like dancing, a football catch, or creative writing? The joy is in small moments as they happen, but when analyzed from an outside perspective, the activity makes no sense. Like those who can’t wrap their heads around running all day for fun, but people can wrap their heads around sitting all day binge-watching TV. Much like that person asking about the ultra. Why would I do that? I am completely comfortable in my chair on the sidelines.

There doesn’t need to be a purpose in everything we do, because why would we do anything? Why would someone put so much time and effort into a run? Why would someone dedicate so much time and effort to move their body? The answer lies in the response of those in the action. It’s those who are in the action that see the action for what it is: a connection to nature, friends, body, mind, and soul that eliminates suffering. Those who put themselves in the act are able to remain calm and cool, unaffected by the trauma of daily life. They respond versus react; they slow down their thought process, and they take in more of what’s happening. They are detached just 2-3 seconds from their own initial responses; that’s what running, and more importantly ultra running, does for myself. It creates a buffer where you think more before you act; you process things slower. You become less reactive and more responsive.

Running creates a connection to the breath, to your lungs, to your arms. The mind becomes sharper, not reacting but responding to the demands of stress. When you stop running, that stress you were dealing with is less, and normal life moves at an almost snail’s pace. Mental or physical stress are the same to the body, and it can’t tell the difference. When you adapt to workout stress, you also adapt to mental stress. It creates a template on how to deal with high stress levels. Your perspective of time passes at almost 2x its speed while running, but once you stop, it’s as if your mind is still racing, but your body is not. This is what creates the buffer; it’s the decreased demand on the body, but heightened awareness of the mind.

“Runner’s High”—it’s the effect that exercise has on you the entire day after you work out. Most people exercise first thing in the morning because that high lasts the entire rest of the day. Your metabolism gets kick-started as well, your body primed to take on more load once given that first dose. This is a known phenomenon of running and exercise. It’s part of the supercompensation process that makes you stronger after a stress response, provided that you take some days off to rest and reap the benefits.

We don’t stop moving because we get old… We get old because we stop moving…

Use exercise to jump-start your mind, body, and metabolism, creating a buffer against the stress the world is guaranteed to throw at you. This is a hard you choose versus a hard you don’t. When challenges arise that you don’t choose, your body is stronger, your mind sharper, and your responses are wiser because you have prepared yourself. You are inoculated against stress because you have encountered it before, and the cockroach of stress is squashed under the bouncing sole of your foot before it has a chance to affect you.

Big Woods Half Marathon Race Report

Ultra Cockroach

Bouncing Soles Posts

Big Woods Half Marathon Race Report

Ultra Cockroach