The only experiences I have are 2 nights at Barkley and Hardrock...and at both I could barely stay awake on night #2. This year at Hardrock, I had no problems on night #1, but around 10PM on night #2 I forgot to take a caffeine pill and had trouble staying on my feet. I kept sitting down and falling asleep and would catch myself as I started to fall backwards. I also thought the shadows of the grass was spiders running at my feet that made me jump. This all while climbing up a steep switchback slope on a single track at 12,000 feet. I will say that once I got a couple of caffeine pills in me, I was wide awake and was able to start running again on the downhill side. I finished around 1:30AM after starting at 6AM 43 hours earlier.
I don't know how the 6 day people do it, but i guess they do sleep some every night.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
laz's account of al prawda's 48-hour
been thinking about al prawda's sleep-free 48 hour at pensacola
(where i believe he went over 230miles)
the run was held on an indoor track at the naval base.
about 3am during the second night,
the gym was quiet & mostly dark,
as those who would log good performances
were enclosed in their own private hells,
walking & jogging around the track,
while all the crews, and runners who would not log good performances
were sleeping in tents around the infield.
al, who had been moving like a machine since the start,
called RD gary buffington over as he passed by the lap-count area.
when buff joined him, al nodded at the infield and cautioned;
"someone needs to get those kids off the playground equipment before one of them gets hurt!"
gary looked at the infield to see....
a bunch of tents.
that was the first indication that not every one of al's neurons was in optimum working order.
a few hours later, al came to the end of a straightaway,
failed to notice the track turning,
and kept going straight until he collided with the wall.
after that, the other competitors took turns following al,
to remind him when the track turned,
that he needed to turn as well.
buff would never direct another multi-day,
as he became convinced that such abuse could not possibly be healthy.
laz
(where i believe he went over 230miles)
the run was held on an indoor track at the naval base.
about 3am during the second night,
the gym was quiet & mostly dark,
as those who would log good performances
were enclosed in their own private hells,
walking & jogging around the track,
while all the crews, and runners who would not log good performances
were sleeping in tents around the infield.
al, who had been moving like a machine since the start,
called RD gary buffington over as he passed by the lap-count area.
when buff joined him, al nodded at the infield and cautioned;
"someone needs to get those kids off the playground equipment before one of them gets hurt!"
gary looked at the infield to see....
a bunch of tents.
that was the first indication that not every one of al's neurons was in optimum working order.
a few hours later, al came to the end of a straightaway,
failed to notice the track turning,
and kept going straight until he collided with the wall.
after that, the other competitors took turns following al,
to remind him when the track turned,
that he needed to turn as well.
buff would never direct another multi-day,
as he became convinced that such abuse could not possibly be healthy.
laz
Sunday, October 19, 2008
eating during a 100 by karl king
Lots of good advice so far from people who have experience....
300 calories/hour is great if you can do that and maintain good digestion. Some folks have a hard time with that amount and have to eat less. These are things you can't figure out in a 20 mile training run. There's no way to predict how your stomach will feel at 70 miles. Keep an open mind and be prepared to change your game plan if needed. No battle plan survives contact with the enemy.
Do try to get in some protein/amino acids. If you don't, your brain will get loaded with serotonin and your will to go on will be compromised.
As noted by others, try to get a little fat in now and then to keep the pH of your digestive track stable. If you go with nothing but sugar, your guts will get acid and you won't get your digestion back until hours after you are done with the race ( or the race is done with you ).
Don't be surprised if food/drink you loved at 20 miles turns your stomach at 80 miles. The long miles in a hundred leads to a buildup of adenosine in your blood ( breakdown product of adenosine tri phosphate ). Adenosine will alter your flavor perception.
Be careful not to overdrink during the cool evening hours. I think a lot of folks get stuck in a rut with fluids and don't cut back at night. To keep your calorie intake steady, you might want to mix your sports drink more concentrated at night. Less fluid, same calories.
I've gotten lots of reports from people who had stomach problems late in a 100 where they were able to keep going by just drinking water and taking S! Caps ( and walking for a while ). It sounds ill-advised to restrict calories, but I've heard this story so many times that I feel it should be mentioned.
Expect digestive problems late in the run. Then when it happens it won't be such a confusing surprise. Don't freak out - just keep going, even if you have to slow your pace. People do make remarkable recoveries at times, so have patience. Sometimes I think women do well in 100s because they have more patience and less testosterone than men.
Karl King
300 calories/hour is great if you can do that and maintain good digestion. Some folks have a hard time with that amount and have to eat less. These are things you can't figure out in a 20 mile training run. There's no way to predict how your stomach will feel at 70 miles. Keep an open mind and be prepared to change your game plan if needed. No battle plan survives contact with the enemy.
Do try to get in some protein/amino acids. If you don't, your brain will get loaded with serotonin and your will to go on will be compromised.
As noted by others, try to get a little fat in now and then to keep the pH of your digestive track stable. If you go with nothing but sugar, your guts will get acid and you won't get your digestion back until hours after you are done with the race ( or the race is done with you ).
Don't be surprised if food/drink you loved at 20 miles turns your stomach at 80 miles. The long miles in a hundred leads to a buildup of adenosine in your blood ( breakdown product of adenosine tri phosphate ). Adenosine will alter your flavor perception.
Be careful not to overdrink during the cool evening hours. I think a lot of folks get stuck in a rut with fluids and don't cut back at night. To keep your calorie intake steady, you might want to mix your sports drink more concentrated at night. Less fluid, same calories.
I've gotten lots of reports from people who had stomach problems late in a 100 where they were able to keep going by just drinking water and taking S! Caps ( and walking for a while ). It sounds ill-advised to restrict calories, but I've heard this story so many times that I feel it should be mentioned.
Expect digestive problems late in the run. Then when it happens it won't be such a confusing surprise. Don't freak out - just keep going, even if you have to slow your pace. People do make remarkable recoveries at times, so have patience. Sometimes I think women do well in 100s because they have more patience and less testosterone than men.
Karl King
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
how times change by laz
sometimes our perspective in life is just like our perspective in an ultra.
along the way we encounter many difficulties,
and many chances to become discouraged.
we can become focused on nausea, economic disturbances,
getting off course, blisters, injustices, bad weather, soreness,
fatigue, setbacks, malaise, etc.
all the problems that seem to fill up the immediate now.
it can be so easy to dwell on the bad things
and feel like we are getting nowhere.
but every so often we come to a high point,
and with perfect clarity can see how far we have come,
and how beautiful the place is where we are at.
and then we realize that it is precisely the difficulties that made it all worthwhile.
it is always our own choice, in an ultra or in our life,
to bemoan what is wrong or to revel in what is right.
laz
along the way we encounter many difficulties,
and many chances to become discouraged.
we can become focused on nausea, economic disturbances,
getting off course, blisters, injustices, bad weather, soreness,
fatigue, setbacks, malaise, etc.
all the problems that seem to fill up the immediate now.
it can be so easy to dwell on the bad things
and feel like we are getting nowhere.
but every so often we come to a high point,
and with perfect clarity can see how far we have come,
and how beautiful the place is where we are at.
and then we realize that it is precisely the difficulties that made it all worthwhile.
it is always our own choice, in an ultra or in our life,
to bemoan what is wrong or to revel in what is right.
laz
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