Race Report: Frosty Looper 8-Hour 2024...7th Overall (52.5 Miles)

 

Finally...I'm all the way back!

After two sub-par races that had me doubting whether I could run at least somewhat competitive times in ultramarathons, I finally ran one that lived up to my training. The race (the Frosty Looper) is an 8-hour timed race, where you complete as many 3.75-mile loops as you can. Partial loops do not count. I covered 52.5 miles in 7:57:23. 7th overall in a strong field that included 200 finishers (in an ultra? in mid-December?? in New Jersey??? Yes! The team at Endless Endurance has really built something amazing here.).

The Training.  After running a 24-hour race on October 5/6, I took 8 days off before restarting training. That gave me only 2 months to prepare for this race. I went into last year's version of this race (my first ultra after knee surgery) undertrained, but had a relatively good performance. I was able to carry my long run pace (10:something/mile) into the race and hold it for 8 hours. This year, I mostly tried to emulate what I did last year, but with the advantage of the big distance base I built this year I was able run my long and medium runs about 1 minute/mile faster. Having done speed work all year, I just wanted to hold onto my cardiovascular conditioning. Nothing fancy. I did one speed workout per week. I started with 1-minute repeats with 1-minute rest intervals and advanced to 2-minute repeats with 2-minute rest intervals. I didn't completely rest during the rest intervals...I tried to keep up 9:something per mile to allow the lactate to build up a bit during the set of repeats. I think this worked well. It "tickled" both VO2max and lactate systems and helped me to maintain my cardiovascular fitness. I was able to get my long run paces down to around 9:10/mile (and was trending a bit faster during my taper). To summarize...my two months of training for this race, my third ultra of the year, were focused on maintaining earlier fitness gains and adding specificity.

The Race Strategy.  I thought I should be able to run 9:something/mile for the full race. An average of 9:51/mile would allow me to run one more 3.75-mile loop than last year and end up with 48.75 miles. This was my main goal. As my training progressed and I got more and more comfortable spending time around 9:00/mile pace. I thought...if the stars aligned and I had minimal stopped time...I could average the 9:09/mile necessary to cover 52.5 miles. That was my "stretch" goal.

The Fueling Strategy.  My fueling plan was just a streamlined version of last year's plan. I alternated caffeinated gets (100 Cals) and half PowerBars (100 Cals) after each full lap and did a smaller mid-lap fueling alternating pretzels (50-60 Cals) with Clif Bloks (2 at a time; about 54 to 67 calories). This put me approximately in the range of 250-300 calories per hour (depending on how fast I was spinning loops). (Spoiler...this worked well...I proved it by running my fastest splits at the end of the race.)

The Race.  The race started at 8 AM (it was in the mid-20s with a low 20s wind-chill). I was happy to get going. It was freezing standing at the starting line. I felt very comfortable running about 8:50/mile in the early going. A little faster than planned, but my splits had been trending this way in training runs and I was wearing brand new pair of Nike Vaporfly 3's, which made it feel very comfortable. I held this pace through the first 25 miles or so.

At about 25 miles, I stopped at a public porta-potty, to...umm...take care of business. I should have held it in for another mile and gotten back to the race facilities. The potty was a disaster inside. I'll spare you the detailed description. I was carrying TP and cleaned up a bit so I could take care of business, but wasted precious minutes doing so. This was my only stop during the race other than for a few seconds to grab a new supply of fuel to carry. After being well ahead of schedule to reach my "stretch" goal of 52.5 miles, I now had little margin for slowing down.

…And "slowing down" I did. My hamstrings and assorted other muscles and joints started to ache and my pace deteriorated. I thought that any chance I had to reach 52.5 miles was now gone. I bottomed out running 10:something/mile and just tried to stay in rhythm so I could at least make my main goal of 48.75 miles. I took an acetaminophen tablet on one loop. That didn't seem to do anything. I took another on the next loop. I still continued to struggle. 

As I started to approach 45 miles, I realized I had over an hour still to run and would easily be able to do another loop and make my goal...even if I had to slow more or walk a bit. I perked up a bit (maybe the acetaminophen was kicking in) and thought if I could run pretty well during the my last loop to 48.75, I might be able to catch enough people to end up in or at least close to the top 10 overall. I was able to get my pace back down into the 8's and realized that I might make it back to the starting line with over 30 minutes remaining in the race. That would give me an opportunity to try for another lap (and experience immense pain). I called ahead to my crew to let them know I might try for another lap and to make ready a water bottle I could grab. I ate the last 3 Clif bloks I had remaining and my son was waiting for me with water. He told me I needed to average about 8:30/mile to finish another loop.

So...I dialed up the pace a bit more and blasted through the start/finish line with 32+ minutes remaining on the clock, there was some cheering at my apparent strong finish. When I kept going and started to accelerate a woman yelled to me, "are you going out for another?" "Yes," I yelled back. 

The course was nearly empty now (they don't allow you to start a lap if there is less than 30 minutes on the clock and partial loops don't count); and I treated the remaining time as a tempo workout. I tried to keep my heartrate near 160. I was running hard and sucking air. I have my watch set to give me splits every half mile. The good news started rolling in. 5 consecutive splits were under 8:00/mile (as fast as 7:44). I slowed a little into the low 8s running into the wind during the last mile, but I knew if I stayed focused I would get there. I made it across the line (to cheers from the spectators/participants/crews gathered around the track) with 2:37 left on the clock.

My awesome crew was chillin' all day.

Post-Race Analysis.  My fueling went great and obviously I had a lot left in the tank for those last 2 laps. So, why did I slow so dramatically for several loops? I don't know. The brain is hard to figure out. I had never taken acetaminophen (or any pain killer) during a race before. That seemed to help and may have contributed to the late-race rally. I think, however, this is mostly just a mind thing. I'm still re-learning how to get through these long races with all the ups and downs. 

I think my late-race 7.5-mile rejuvenation illustrates why ultramarathoners should do speed work at different intensities. If you are a mono-pace runner who piles up mileage, the muscle fibers that support that intensity will become maximally trained. That's good. However, if you wear out those muscle fibers during a race and start to slow down, you will have nothing left in your legs for you to reach for. Running will become walking (or sitting in an aid station). Training at multiple intensities develops more types of muscle fibers that you can reach for when your endurance fibers are finished. Also, the mental skills developed while running unpleasantly high intensities for long periods of time prepare you for the psychological battle.

The Knee.  Oh yeah. This blog is about running after knee surgery. I'm now 4 years out from mosaicplasty/OATS/partial meniscectomy and 3.5 years out from partial synovectomy/lateral release. My knee still hurts a bit. It does get sore from some of the crazier workouts I do. It's a bit stiff...never got back to 100% of my old range of motion. However, I'm mostly training as often and as fast as I want to. I will still avoid running hard down hills. I will still avoid running on uneven surfaces. This still leaves me with lots of choices of races to run and lots of potential future adventures as long as my grafts hold out. I could experience graft failure tomorrow and this will be over (well...for now...my next blog might be "running after knee replacement"). I'm so grateful that the surgeries have given me a second shot at running ultramarathons. (I've run 4 now after the surgeries.)

What's Next.  I kind of have my eye on a 100K race in late April next year. I need to recover quickly and get training again soon to make that happen (at least at the level that I want it to happen). If I don't bounce back in time for that, I'll find something a little later in the Spring to run. I do want to try some short races again as tune-up races for the ultras and maybe a few just for fun. Garmin thinks I can run a 19-minute(ish) 5K and 40-minute(ish) 10K. Even though I think that is a bit exaggerated, there is no doubt I could be a terror in my age group at local races. (I'll be 60 soon!)