Relentless Forward Progress_ A Guide to Running Ultramarathons - Bryon Powell [67]
Maintain an Even Effort
Next to starting conservatively, maintaining an even effort might be the most important race day ultra advice. In chapter 9, you learned that as you ramp up intensity, you increase the proportion of carbohydrates you burn in comparison with fat. Conserving your sugar supplies so that they are available throughout the race is vital. Should you run out of sugar to burn, you will bonk and be reduced to running or walking at an effort where you are tapping only your fat stores. This is both slow and unpleasant. Avoiding spikes in your heart rate goes a long way toward setting yourself up for success late in an ultra.
In most trail ultras, this means coming to terms with idea of walking at any point after the gun goes off. When you come to an incline or hill, decide if you should walk it. Practice making this determination during hilly, long training runs. This practice helps you roughly determine on what degree incline you can continue running with an even heart rate and which should be walked. Do not run up a hill until you are panting or can’t run before deciding to walk. Walking while running trails is more fully discussed in chapter 7.
Mental Approaches to Race Day
Standing at the starting line, the thought of running an ultra can be overwhelming. There’s no getting around the fact that 30 miles or more is long way to run. The best way to deal with this is not to think about the whole distance. Instead, break the run up into smaller sections. The most common way to do this is to run from aid station to aid station. As motivation later in the race, consider setting goals of running to the next tree or the boulder 100 yards down the trail.
On race day be prepared for a roller coaster of energy and emotions. While you’ll hopefully avoid bonking completely, it’s natural for energy to ebb and flow during an ultra. If it’s ebbing, make sure that you’re taking in enough calories. It’s quite possible that you are and, if that’s the case, you’ll just need to ride it out. Try not to get frustrated with the situation. It’s just something that happens in ultras.
Even if your energy levels remain high, your emotional state can plummet without warning. Such emotional downfalls can seemingly be triggered by minor or inconsequential events like stumbling, having difficulty opening or putting away an item, or frustration with the availability of items at an aid stations. They also come out of nowhere. If you find yourself unreasonably frustrated or down, you might not be able to reverse your mood quickly. However, knowing and reminding yourself that such dark spells are common parts of ultramarathons keeps you moving forward while you weather the storm.
Negative emotions aren’t the only emotions amplified during ultras. Euphoric states aren’t a given in any single ultra, but you’re likely to experience them if you run enough of them. I fondly remember one while running along the American River (roughly miles 65 through 75) during the 2005 Western States 100. I was jubilant and amazed at what the human body is capable of. While I ran a great split during that section, I caution you to take advantage of such good times, but not to get so carried away that you pay the price later when the euphoric state passes.
Know, too, that it’s common to be emotional. Crying for little or no reason as well as other strong upwelling of feeling happen late in ultras. Don’t become overly concerned about these. They are part of the ultramarathon journey.
Race Day Problem Solving
Expect the unexpected on race day, as it will happen. Be willing to deviate