Fast Bunny, Dead Bunny, Happy Bunny

My Wild Hare 50K Trail Race, November 19, 2011

WARNING: Some times, the sport of ultra trail running defies all logic. Be happy.

2011 Wild Hare 50K start in front of
the barn. I'm the one with the bunny ears.
(all pics courtesy of Susannah Jacobson)

I look forward to the Wild Hare trail race, exquisitely hosted by Tejas Trails, every year. Mainly because it is Susannah's and my anniversary weekend; our excuse to rent a room at the Las Brisas Farm B&B in Fayettville TX, let the grand parents watch over our daughters, Susannah run one our few trail races together, and pig-out at Royers in Round Top for post-race dinner. And, I'm convinced, spending an awesome day with running friends adds years to your life.

But, this race course has taught me an incredibly painful lesson. I should respect it more.

Quick Race Summary

I'm going to make this quick so I can get to my completely speculative reason-for-performance analysis. Disclaimer: Please don't let my critical analysis of my own performance rain on anyone else's achievement. Anyone out there running / hiking / walking at whatever pace is a superhero to someone, some where. I mainly go through these mental exercises as part of an endless battle with "Devil David," who rattles around in my head trying to make me do stuff I regret later, like quitting a run before I should, etc.

• First Loop: Felt awesome! Great morning! I'm going to wear the bunny ears this whole race, damnit! Went out too fast, but, who cares.
• Second Loop: Um, is that my right quad tightening up?
• Third Loop: Holy Crap! My legs have become one entire cramp. I've gone from running to hobbling. What's happening to me?!
• Fourth Loop: F.U. "Devil David," I am not dropping (even though Joe would have graciously given me a 25K medal). I'm going to salvage this disaster into some kind of lesson... I just don't know what yet.
• Finish: That was the most painful run I've done to date. WTF?! It was supposed to be an easy, flat, romp through the woods for you Mr. 50 miler?! Cramps?! Seriously?! You're supposed to know how to handle that crap by now. ...what... happened... ??? Please hand me a burger and a beer and I will pretend not to sulk.

By the way, did I mention I set my 50K PR. :-)

I can hear it now; running friends telling me "well, you wouldn't be able to tell that you PR'd with all your bitching moaning." Allow me to explain. Even though I've run five 50K's and a couple of 50 mile races, I don't really compare my current self to that past; I've since lost quite a bit of weight, am a different kind of runner, I have set new expectations for myself, etc. Please don't misunderstand me, my philosophy is still healthy, there's no such thing as a bad run, any day running is a good day, etc. I completely admit that my disappointment in my performance is a greed thing. Yes, I finished in ~ 7 hrs, but, I'm capable of finishing in 6 hrs, or maybe even 5 something. Hell, my 50K during the Cactus Rose 50 Mile three weeks ago was faster than my 50K here, and on much more technical terrain! (BTW, this sentence is the key to the mystery, IMHP) Yes, it's greed... but, greed for life! If I ever break 6 hrs in a 50K, or 4 hrs in a road marathon, or whatever, it will partially be because of a small portion of a healthy kind of greed.

Allow Me To Shoot Down Your Cramp Theories

Electrolyte shortage?: Nope. Most experienced runners would tell you that most leg cramping issues during a run are due to an electrolyte shortage from excess loss of body fluids (i.e.: sweating), of which ample supplemental fluids and salts should resolve. And most of the time I would completely agree. But, this was not my case on this run. I started out with two S-Caps, was draining a 24 oz bottle between each aid station, swallowed practically four additional Endurolytes at every aid station. I've heard the debate about Endurolytes having much less sodium than S-Caps, but, come on! ...when I was done with my run, my arms were caked with salt. Besides, I've felt heat-related cramps slowly subside when I got back on top my salts. There was nothing "slowly subsiding" about these type of cramps. I personally did not think it was a very warm day; there was a nice breeze, it even sprinkled a little bit ...sure, I was sweating. No, something a little more significant was going on here. (UPDATE to this topic below)

Going out too fast?: Nah (well, not a reason by itself, but, possibly related to the ultimate answer). I've gone out running 8 and 9 min miles before and have practically always recovered into my nice, slow, rest-of-the-long-run pace. It never really bothers me. I have this little, fictitious, dream that one day, I just won't slow down. :-)

Diet?: Well, even though I have been on a low-carb diet, and I've read somewhere that it could cause cramps, I don't think that is my case. Besides, I had plenty of carbs pre-race, day before, etc. Nope.

Your screwed-up shoulder?: Well, it is true that I slammed my left shoulder pretty hard while falling during a recent night trail run. I had an MRI; nothing torn, a slight, non-displaced fracture on the clavicle. But it doesn't really bother me at all running and, no, I don't think it affects my gait. It might have if there had been more climbing and descending (i.e.: if this were Bandera).

Conditioning and training?: Ahh, now we're on to something. But what exactly? The course is the key. Allow me to explain by way of comparing my Wild Hare run profile to another recent race:

Cactus Rose Partial Run Profile

• run, climb, run, run, skip-skidaddle, descend, skid, walk, run, piss, jump, duck, run, run, climb, walk, run, run, walk...

Wild Hare Run Profile

• run, run, run, run, run, run, run, run, run, run, run, run, run, run, run, EXPLODE!

Um, yeah, 4th loop, c'mon legs...
Yes, I had a few people ask
what the bunny ears were for.

See the subtle difference there? Yes, Wild Hare has a couple of nice climbs, but, even though that first section winds through the trees (forever), and most of the 2nd half is flat except for some fun rollers; it's all runnable, all of it, running all the time, no stopping for anything, nothing on the course to make you stop running really... I think I'm a little rusty at that. :-) Coming off of Cactus Rose training, I had been almost exclusively been putting all of my miles on hills, over rocks, through dry creek beds, etc. Joe did have us do one flat training run before Wild Hare, but, that probably didn't cut it for me. I now regret that I had stopped doing my once a week, 7 mile road run since some time before Cactus. It would have really helped me at Wild Hare. Trail runners are typically paranoid about training for hills and rocky terrain, but, it seems like some of us forget about flats. They are challenging in their own way. I have no idea how someone like my friend Mike Wilen can sustain a consistent pace over such a long distance. I will allow this pain to teach me not to make that mistake again.

UPDATE (11/23/2011): I'm going to rename this race "Cramp Fest" after reading so many race reports where fellow runners struggled with cramping. Race director Joe Prusaitis had a great explanation (as he always does), including Larry King in the comments section below. FYI, Joe said he usually has more runners drop from races during "nice" days than bad weather days. I'll do my best to para-phrase him: During bad weather, most people expect it. During a "nice" weather day, a change in the weather always takes a bunch of runners by surprise. What happened on Saturday was a nice, cool, sprinkling shower came through the area. BUT, it was short. Only the 10K to 25K'ers finished before the shower stopped. What happens when it STOPS raining? ...the humidity shoots through the roof! This caught all of the 50K'ers and 50 milers. It definitely corresponds to when my cramps came on. So, it was a tri-fecta: Conditioning for a different type of run, surprise humidity, probable lack of hydration / electrolytes right when the rain stopped (start of the 3rd loop). I gotta be better prepared for weather changes on long runs and races.

GPS track.

Why I Will Always Return To This Race

My explanation on why I will probably always return to run Wild Hare every year (assuming Susannah agrees) is best explained in photographs. It has become a tradition. Susannah had an awesome 10K, I am so proud of her having started trail running this year. Yes, these events always seem to have a roller-coaster of emotions attached to them for me, but, that's what makes them so exciting, alive. Thank you to Joe and Joyce Prusaitis of Tejas Trails for putting together such a special race, and to all the volunteers (who, BTW, are mostly personal running friends sacrificing an awesome day that they'd love to be running just so I can have a great day running, and who I need to payback soon by volunteering... I need to).

More Bunny Pics by Susannah...

Well, now on to training for Bandera 100K. Even though it's back to rocks and hills, it does add the HCSNA flats and field back in (removed from the Cactus course). I think I'll add that back to my training.

Susannah and David Wild Bunnies

Justin and Tania; volunteers,
100 milers, friends.

Joyce and Joe Prusaitis

Las Brisas Farm B&B

In case you were worried our
daughters weren't having a good time
while mom and dad were running...

Fresh pomegranates make
a good recovery food.