Race Report: Lake Waramaug 100K...8th Overall. (Fastest 100K for a 60-Year-Old in North America?)

 

It was great to return to my favorite race...the Jack Bristol Lake Waramaug Ultra Races 100K! I have nothing but good things to say about the race director, the volunteers, the families/crews supporting their runners and my fellow ultra runners who are so kind and friendly. A great place to spin 7.6-mile, slightly hilly/rolling road loops (around a beautiful lake) for most of a day.

Despite the strong winds (20 mph with much higher gusts) that wore me down a bit and the on-and-off drizzle, I finished 100K in 9:48:47. This was good enough for 8th overall and 5th male. My watch says I covered 62.6 miles at 9:24 pace with a moving average of 9:14 (I had about 10 minutes of stopped time).

According the data posted at ultrarunning.com, I'm not only the fastest 60-year-old 100K runner in North America this year, but I'm the fastest since 2018 (which is as far back as the data goes). I realize there are not a lot of 60-year-old ultra runners and not a lot of 100K races (so the denominator is small), but hey...let an old guy have some fun here! While I was lying on the mat trying to rehab my right knee for the better part of 2 years, I dreamed, but didn't really think, this could happen. Again, I am so grateful for the medical and PT care I received that has allowed to do what I love at a very satisfying level. I'm lucky. I'm also lucky that I have such a supporting family. We're all lucky that volunteers make it possible to have events like this that give all of us a chance to test ourselves and have an amazing experience.

The Training. After the Frosty Looper 8-Hour I took 7 days off from running. I ran every other day for the next 9 days and then started training for the 100K. I trained in my usual two weeks "on" followed by a one-week cutback pattern. My peak weekly mileage hit 80 and 82 during my last two-week "on" period. I did 2 quality workouts per week during "on" weeks and just one during cutback weeks. I did long runs only at the end of "on" weeks. I had 5 long runs of at least 30 miles, with a long of 34. During long and medium long runs I tried to run a little faster than 9 minutes/mile, although fatigue from the speed work and volume often slowed my long runs down a bit.

All warmups for speedwork including a lengthy set of 30s "striders" that I gradually worked up to near top speed. I also did a few shorter intervals (1 to 2 minutes) early in training and during the taper to keep my speed "topped off." During weeks in which I did two quality workouts, the repeats in the second workout were either up hills or up a treadmill incline. I did this to add variety to my speedwork, to build some strength and power, and also to prepare for a hilly course. I did my long runs on a course with a very similar vertical profile to the Waramaug loop.

I started my training with a 5-week VO2max phase where I typically ran 3-minute repeats at 6:15 to 6:30/mile pace. I followed that with a 6-week tempo phase. During the tempo phase I ran longer intervals (8+ minutes) at 6:45 to 6:50/mile pace with a total tempo duration that reached about 40 minutes at peak. I concluded my training with a 4-week steady state phase with long, mostly continuous efforts (up to 11 miles total) at around 7:15/mile. I started tapering 3 weeks out from race day.

The Race Strategy. My main goal was to break 10 hours (9:39/mile). I thought it would be really cool if I could go under 9:53 (9:32/mile) so I could have the fastest 100K time for a 60-year-old in many years (according to ultrarunning.com). I felt my fitness going into the race was good enough to run a 9:30-something time, but in the longer races, things rarely go perfect...some time is needed to work around issues as they arise. My plan was to start the race running easily with a low 130s heart rate. I was hoping to find "cruising altitude" there with high 8-minute-and-something splits. I was hoping to keep the effort easy and not use up any willpower during the first half of the race. During the 2nd half of the race I knew I was going to have to dig deep to stay on target to reach my goal.

The Fueling Strategy. Inspired by recent trends in the sport, I was trying for a higher intake of carbs in this race. I planned to take in about 400 calories per 7.6 mile loop (about 350 calories/hour) and about 100 grams of carbs (85 grams/hour). I alternated gels (large high-carb ones and caffeinated Gu gels) and Clif bloks to achieve this. I chose gels that had an adequate sodium level to keep me in the 600-800 mg of sodium per liter of water intake range. This made it easier for my crew...they only had to hand me 2 8-oz bottles of water for each loop. I stuck them in my Naked belt and kept moving.

The Race. I ran relaxed early and was able to find "cruising altitude" at about 8:45/mile with a low Zone 2 heart rate (low 130s). With the exception of a few splits into the wind and one with a bathroom stop, I held this pace halfway through the race.

In the second half of the race I slowed a little bit as it became increasingly difficult to fight against the high winds. I slowed a little more in the final quarter of the race as nausea started to kick in. With 2 more bathroom stops in the 2nd half, I lost much of my margin for breaking 10 hours. However, I was able to focus to the end, even picking up the pace a bit in the last few miles. I crossed the finish line at 9:48:47.

My awesome crew performed flawlessly...kept me moving all day!

Post-Race Analysis. I was right about my fitness...I think under perfect weather conditions and some better eating choices the night before the race, a race in the low 9:30s was possible. The 20 mph winds and hilliness (2,444 ft. of ascending per Strava) wore me down a bit, but I did not crash. I managed my energy well. I had a huge dinner the night before the race which impacted my sleep a bit and perhaps cost me some stopped time during the race (if you know what I mean).

My fueling went well. At the very end of the race I was starting to reject Clif bloks and I was getting tired of gels. If I want to go 100 miles in the fall (see below), I'm going to need to add some more variety back into my fueling routine. Hydration and sodium intake seemed spot on. It is unclear if the nausea that I felt in the last 15 miles or so of the race was due to fueling issues or just due to running for over 9 hours straight.

It doesn't seem that my strategy of taking in a lot more fuel (350+ calories per hour) for this race than I usually do helped much. I feel that I could drop back down to 250-300 calories per hour range and run just fine. The lower level of fueling will likely cause less nausea and food rejection over long distances. If I were running at a higher intensity level, perhaps there would be a benefit to more carbs, but I'm just not needing it in the middle of Zone 2.

I took 2 acetaminophen tablets at about the 32-mile mark. I'm not sure if that helped. I was trying to avoid the big pace crash I had in the Frosty Looper that started at about the 33-mile mark. I didn't have that big crash, but overall my results in the end were similar.

A shout out to my son, who completed his first ultra (50 miles!). He toed the line with a bit of IT-band syndrome that limited his training for the last month. He had the courage to give it a try. His knee locked up during a fueling stop and he had to sit on the sidelines for a while and it looked like his day was done. He got up out of that chair and with a mix of walking and running got moving again. After a while he realized that stopping running for any reason caused his knee to lock up and that he was better if he just kept going...and he did! I was inspired by his resilience. I thought of him while I was feeling nauseous during the latter stages of the race and decided I couldn't back down from the challenge.

The Knee. My surgically refurbished right knee was not at all a factor at any point in this race. It remains stiff with a little dull pain at times...but I didn't think about it once during this race. That's pretty cool! The cartilage repair surgery has held up well to ultra training and I'm back near the top of my age group...where I was before I had surgery.

What's Next. I'm thinking about running a 100 miler in the fall. I was a bit discouraged by how nauseous I felt at the end of this 100K and the thought of having to fuel for another 38 miles is not a pleasant one. But this is only going to get harder if I wait until I am even older. It is time to sharpen up my fueling game and give it a go.