Brazos Bend 50K

The Brazos Bend 50 was hosted by the Brazos Bend State Park in Needville, Texas on April 8.  It would be my first 50K since December 2006.  My training was pretty light because my left knee had been really pissy since last May.  I wasn’t able to run Houston as a result.
 
I had an 8 or 9 mile endurance base, but I knew I could finish the race because the time allowed was so long.  For this race, specifically the weather, I did a lot of research on combating heat, issues of the feet, and running the trails at BB, which is 44 miles southwest of Houston.  Seasonal temps would be 78 for a high and a 54 for a low.  Our weather has been up to 88, this year.  But the high was 81 and the low 55, so not too bad, especially the 55 degree low!!!  Sunday’s low was 66 degrees…boo!
 
The bottom line is I ran 10 and walked 21 for a total time of 8:40, a 6 minute PR.  1st half was 3:37 and the second half was 5:03.

The 2006 50K was done in December when the temp at race time was 32 degrees.  That course, 70 miles north of Houston at Huntsville State Park, rolled some and the runner had to constantly watch foot placement for surface tree roots.  At that race, I ran 17 miles and walked 14.
 
I should note that the Park Ranger told us on the Friday pre-race meeting that we shouldn’t see any alligators in the morning, but should see and hear much more in the afternoon because it’s mating season.  He also said that if you have to pass a gator to pass him or her on the tail side and don’t try to hurdle a gator.  Check.
 
So now, I’ll write about the race.
 
For April in southeast Texas, the starting race weather was just wonderful.  The 50 mile bunch started at 6 and we started at 7.  I arrived there about 5:15 and got a parking place a little further down the road than I would have liked.  But at 6:15 I saw a Park Ranger motioning cars wanting to park in the grass between asphalt parking areas.  I asked him if I could move my car to one of those MUCH closer areas, because they don’t like people parking on the grass.  He said for the races (I know there are 2 race dates at BB) and Easter weekend, the park allows parking in the grass, just don’t block a driveway.  I be-bopped to my car and secured a prime, prime spot about 70 feet from the finish line.  I was a happy, happy runner.  Now, my post-race death walk was very short to the car.
 
I got all lubed up, had my sleeves, drape hat plus water bottle and headed to the back of the start line about 2 minutes before the start.  I announced, “I’m the 10 hour pace group leader.  No guarantees that I’ll finish, much less in 10 hours.” The ones that noticed did like my 666 bib number.
 
The race started and I settled into a groove pretty easily.  After about a mile, there was this girl that was doing a 2 minute run/1 minute walk.  We netted about the same overall pace.  Her name was Karen and she ended up being my motivating factor for the whole race because we ran and walked about the same pace.  We didn’t stick together the whole race, but when I was ahead of her in the first 7 miles, I wanted to stay ahead of her, just for the motivation.  When I gave up running at mile 10, she went on ahead and I didn’t see her again until mile 19.  At the end of the first loop at mile 15.6, she was 9 minutes ahead of me (I found this out on the website after the race).  I was in great shape mentally and very good shape after the first loop.  Absolutely no knee troubles and very minimal left heel troubles.
 
A few weeks prior to the race, she had injured something behind her right knee, so she became a walking wounded around mile 18.  She had sat on one of the many benches for 5 or so minutes, she told me.  So from mile 19 to mile 25, we were joined at the hip, talking about anything to keep our minds off our pains.  She was from Beaumont (90 miles east of Houston) and had been running for about 5 years and this was her 2^nd ultra.
 
At each of the aid stations, I replenished the water my 21 ounce bottle, replaced the ice in my ice bandana, giant sponged my sleeves, took some Endurolyte capsules, and maybe grabbed a cookie.  Putting new ice in the bandana took the most time.  I didn’t dawdle and it seemed like each stop took 3-4 minutes.  I didn’t carry any food with me, as per my plan.
 
We spotted our first alligator at mile 20.  It was on the bank of the lake with surface water-type plants on its back and 15 feet away from me.  Karen got one of the tourists to take a photo of her about 6 feet away from the gator.  Evidently, Karen wasn’t the gator’s type for love, nor dinner.  That was the nearest of the three gator sightings.
 
By mile 22, I could tell I had some blisters growing on the ball of both feet, pretty much in the same locations.  The left heel was whining, but compliant.  My knee hurt no worse than my ears.  And my ears were just fine.  However during the 23^rd mile, I was starting to feel a wee bit of nausea coming on.  I knew this wasn’t good, so drank a bit of water and moved on.  By mile 24, the nausea had resolved itself and I turned off the feet pains.
 
At the mile 25 aid station, I took one of the soaked in ice water giant sponges and squeezed it completely on Karen’s head (with her permission).  She screamed with shock on how cold that was on her reddening skin.  That was fun.  I was having some chafing in the fanny area, so I asked for some Vaseline and a tongue depressor.  The volunteer came up with a unique substitute for the tongue depressor, as they had none.  I was handed a plastic, serrated knife.  It worked well, both at ginger application and the last 6 miles. 
 
I told Karen that she didn’t have to wait, as I had to do the ice, the sponge, the replenishment, I drank a shot glass paper cup of Ginger Ale, plus a few potato chips.  I figured the nausea was definitely a heat related event and I drank some water in addition to the bottle.  I never had any further nausea.  The final 6.6 miles and hunting down Karen are now in my sights.
 
Since I hadn’t spotted Karen at the last aid station around mile 29, I just refilled my bottle, wet the sleeves, and grabbed some chips.  No ice for the bandana because it was half full.  That last 6 miles I was walking 17-18 minute miles (I turned my Garmin on for the 2^nd loop), but I never saw Karen. 
 
I saw her at mile 30.  Karen must’ve really been boogying because I caught her at mile 31.3, with 0.3 to go.  I asked her if she was going to run the final 50 feet and she said, “Well, it won’t be running, but I’m not walking.”  So, we both started and she finished 6 seconds ahead of me.  During our run, she had mentioned she ran another race with a friend where her friend had finished 1 second ahead of Karen, so if the same situation in our race presented itself, she was going to finish ahead of me. 
 
Clearly, I wouldn’t have PR’d without her.  I was even walking the tangents in the last mile and a half.  After the race, I found her in a chair, thanked her and we exchanged fist bumps.  We were both tired, but very pleased.
 
I found my chair and bag where I had left it.  It was good to sit and not have to get up anytime soon.  On Thursday, I had made some flour tortillas to possibly eat with some freshly ground up, honey coated peanuts (peanut butter) I had bought earlier last week.  That idea was to spread the peanut butter on the tortilla after the first loop, but I was doing well on nourishment (thanks to LC/HF).  So, I smeared the peanut butter on 3 tortillas after the race and ate them.  It SURE tasted good.
 
I imagined that I had about 8 blisters in total on my feet.  Sure felt like it.  Aside from a justifiably whining left heel, I had no muscle soreness other than what one would expect from walking 21 miles and running 10.
 
But during those last 8 miles, I was considering the wisdom of doing a 100K in late September at Cat Springs, Texas (100 miles from Houston) when it would probably be 73 at the start and 93 at 3 p.m.  Of course, I would be doing some walking during the overnight period and would try to finish before the sun rose on Sunday morning.  And I would certainly change socks and try to baby the tootsies.  Maybe casually walk from noon to 6 p.m., then be a more purposeful 20 minute walker when it’s dark?
 
I would appreciate y’alls input on that, plus how a January marathon training program would follow a September 30 100K.  I’d really like to do the 100K.
 
That’s the race report.  Below I’m going to breakdown some of the equipment I used and how they performed.  Thanks for reading this far.
 
 
Taping the toes---
As mentioned on another post, I used KinesioTex tape to wrap toes 3, 4, and 5 on both feet using the method mentioned in “Fixing Your Feet.”  I wrapped them Friday night, put a sock on for the overnight period.  Two of my blisters were on each pinky toe.  I never noticed them until Monday morning!  With the Peregrine 4 shoes, I thought it best to tape them.  Since I had enough shear force to cause blisters on the ball of my feet, that will be an object of taping for 50K or longer races.
 
I would also have to re-wrap the feet for a 100K race.  Maybe more than just once.
 
Keeping cool and the weather---
I was prepared for 90% of the 81 degree weather. 
The drape hat worked wonderfully.  There was a breeze for at least half the race, which was usually a headwind and welcome.
The Columbia Cool Sleeves did not work as advertised, except for the SPF50 rating.  However, the sleeves DID work very well, when ice cold water was applied.  I wouldn’t run a warm race without them or something similar like tube socks or compression socks with the foot cut off.  I do have some chafing spots on the inside of both upper arms, nothing bad nor something Body Glide can remedy.
The Ice Bandana.  I was 95% satisfied with the Ice Bandana.  The Ultra runner who came up with this stated the ice in the 8” x 6” chamois pocket would last 2 hours in 95+ degree heat was incorrect as I experienced it, but it would last 90 minutes in 80 degree heat.  The cold feeling on the neck was rapturous!  I just tilted my head to a non-leaning position against the ice and, oh, baby, I was feelin’ good.  I filled it with ice the first time at mile 4 because I wanted to try to stay ahead of the heat curve.
https://itsallaboutthevertical.wordpress.com/2016/06/12/how-to-make-an-ice-bandana/
 
The combination of the three saved my bacon.  Parts were sunburned, but surely not as bad as Karen got it.
 
Hydration---
I filled the 21 ounce bottle every time I hit an aid station.  Later in the race, I was drinking from the bottle about 5 ounces and refilling again.  In the first three hours, I wringed out my headband twice.  Within 5 minutes after finishing the race, I took off the hat and my headband.  The headband was dry.  Bone dry.  I was clinically dehydrated with some level of heat exhaustion or heat stroke or something.  I never really felt dehydrated, except for that short bout with nausea.  I consumed a total of 8 Endurolyte capsules at 4 aid stations, then ate potato chips at later stops.  At mid race, I drank water at the stations, then refilled the bottle.  I was well hydrated before the race and peed at mile 4 and mile 17.  Just drink more, Doug.
 
Gaiters---
The gaiters did their job.  I had absolutely ZERO stones, pebbles, or dirt in my shoes.

Food---
I ate nothing for fuel, only 3 Fig Newtons, some watermelon, and 2 Chips Ahoy.  I did eat some potato chips for salt.  Breakfast was 3 scrambled eggs, 3 bacon and milk.
 
 
You made it to the end!  Congratulations!!  Thanks for your time.

Fantastic job, Doug!!!  Loved reading the report and you should contact Karen to make sure you can follow her at your next race.  That was quite the accomplishment and I'm proud of you.

Fun read Doug.  You definitely planned and were prepared for the event.  I'm very impressed with the mental aspect of participating in an Ultra.  Glad you were able to connect with Karen.  Also glad you didn't have to leap over any gators.

Excellent race and excellent report.
Hope recovery is going well.

Michele \"1L" Keane wrote:Fantastic job, Doug!!!  Loved reading the report and you should contact Karen to make sure you can follow her at your next race.  That was quite the accomplishment and I'm proud of you.

Thank you, Miche1e.  After the race, Karen and I had agreed to do the same thing, should we run for another ultra race.  I never dreamed I would run a sub-9 race.  That seemed too far off in space to achieve and my in-race math was figuring a 10 hour +/- 5 minute finish.  I guess my 'faculties' for math were the first thing to go, but that miscalculation really made me push.  That plus miscalculating the first loop split at 4 hours 45, instead of the actual 3 hours 45.

nkrichards wrote:Fun read Doug.  You definitely planned and were prepared for the event.  I'm very impressed with the mental aspect of participating in an Ultra.  Glad you were able to connect with Karen.  Also glad you didn't have to leap over any gators.

Excellent race and excellent report.
Hope recovery is going well.

Thanks, Nancy, I know I can get very wordy, but there was a story to tell.  I know if editor Mark was grading my story, I would flunk just for hitting [space][space] at the end of each sentence.  

The mental aspect is very powerful over minor inconveniences like a few blisters.  You get numb to the blisters after a while.  Some bigger pains takes a while to overcome, I guess.  The muscles and bones' cooperation was much more than I expected, given the chronic nature of the knee and heel injuries.

Karen was such a key part of the race, whether she was behind me, beside me, or in front of me.  Before I stopped running at mile 10, I told her, "At the risk of being sincere, I want to thank you for being behind me for a few miles because it made me want to stay ahead of you until we hit the next aid station."

Recovery is going very well.  The heel is probably inflamed, but it's pain free.  The left knee is still just like my ears.  This morning, my feet, especially my left foot, is retaining fluid but that's expected, too.

Great report, Doug, and congratulations on the PR!

I'm glad you and Karen had each other. I bet it made the day better for both of you.

Not sure about the blister situation, but you did need to drink a bit more out there. That can be tough when you're nauseated, though.

(No worries about the double spacing after periods, by the way. That's what search-and-replace is made for!)

I think you should do the 100K. Go for it!

Mark B wrote:Great report, Doug, and congratulations on the PR!

I'm glad you and Karen had each other. I bet it made the day better for both of you.

Not sure about the blister situation, but you did need to drink a bit more out there. That can be tough when you're nauseated, though.

(No worries about the double spacing after periods, by the way. That's what search-and-replace is made for!)

I think you should do the 100K. Go for it!

Thanks, Mark.  Whew, and THANKS for the bye on the double spacing.  Good to know Ctrl+F is used in journalism to this day.  

I'm sure the blisters were caused by me not training at longer distances as a walker, so the shear forces were new to the tootsies.  If that's the case, then I should do more training as a walker.  It's ludicrous to think I wouldn't be walking at least 50% of a 100K, maybe even 40 miles.  So, I'll be needing to walk, walk, walk a lot as part of the training for a 100K.

I've learned my lesson (or at least the 50K part of the lesson) on water drinking.  Drink a lot AT the station as primary with the bottle to hold you over until you hit the next station, when you drink a lot again.

I'll have to read up on that and other hydration theories.  Thanks.

ounce wrote:

Mark B wrote:Great report, Doug, and congratulations on the PR!

I'm glad you and Karen had each other. I bet it made the day better for both of you.

Not sure about the blister situation, but you did need to drink a bit more out there. That can be tough when you're nauseated, though.

(No worries about the double spacing after periods, by the way. That's what search-and-replace is made for!)

I think you should do the 100K. Go for it!

Thanks, Mark.  Whew, and THANKS for the bye on the double spacing.  Good to know Ctrl+F is used in journalism to this day.  

I'm sure the blisters were caused by me not training at longer distances as a walker, so the shear forces were new to the tootsies.  If that's the case, then I should do more training as a walker.  It's ludicrous to think I wouldn't be walking at least 50% of a 100K, maybe even 40 miles.  So, I'll be needing to walk, walk, walk a lot as part of the training for a 100K.

I've learned my lesson (or at least the 50K part of the lesson) on water drinking.  Drink a lot AT the station as primary with the bottle to hold you over until you hit the next station, when you drink a lot again.

I'll have to read up on that and other hydration theories.  Thanks.

One other thing to consider is the possibility of blisters caused by foot swelling during the event. You'll want to be mindful of that, too. I can't remember, though, if that means you needed more E-Caps (or S-Caps), or fewer. Can't remember at the moment., but taking only 8 for the entire 8+ hours seems a bit on the low side, especially with Endurolytes, which require more caps per hour than S-Caps.

Mark B wrote:

ounce wrote:

Mark B wrote:Great report, Doug, and congratulations on the PR!

I'm glad you and Karen had each other. I bet it made the day better for both of you.

Not sure about the blister situation, but you did need to drink a bit more out there. That can be tough when you're nauseated, though.

(No worries about the double spacing after periods, by the way. That's what search-and-replace is made for!)

I think you should do the 100K. Go for it!

Thanks, Mark.  Whew, and THANKS for the bye on the double spacing.  Good to know Ctrl+F is used in journalism to this day.  

I'm sure the blisters were caused by me not training at longer distances as a walker, so the shear forces were new to the tootsies.  If that's the case, then I should do more training as a walker.  It's ludicrous to think I wouldn't be walking at least 50% of a 100K, maybe even 40 miles.  So, I'll be needing to walk, walk, walk a lot as part of the training for a 100K.

I've learned my lesson (or at least the 50K part of the lesson) on water drinking.  Drink a lot AT the station as primary with the bottle to hold you over until you hit the next station, when you drink a lot again.

I'll have to read up on that and other hydration theories.  Thanks.

One other thing to consider is the possibility of blisters caused by foot swelling during the event. You'll want to be mindful of that, too. I can't remember, though, if that means you needed more E-Caps (or S-Caps), or fewer. Can't remember at the moment., but taking only 8 for the entire 8+ hours seems a bit on the low side, especially with Endurolytes, which require more caps per hour than S-Caps.

Well, that's certainly a possibility, Mark.  I didn't bring any S-Caps because the race was going to have the E-Caps.  They did for the 1st loop, but didn't afterwards, hence the reason for eating the chips.  I know my hands were swelled for the last 10 miles, but I couldn't remember if that was a need salt or too much salt symptom.  It was a fallacy in the planning.

I know my feet never felt too snug in the shoes on race day.  However on a training run at BB in the Peregrines, I did feel the outer two toes rub on the inside of the shoe.  This caused me to wrap the 3 outer toes on each foot.  I learned a lot on the wrapping and why wrapping works.  Thanks, Mark.

Enjoy those carbs Doug!

And yes on the 100K!  You'll get your hydration, electrolytes etc sorted out and be ready to go.

nkrichards wrote:Enjoy those carbs Doug!

And yes on the 100K!  You'll get your hydration, electrolytes etc sorted out and be ready to go.

On a short term basis, carbs to me is like Halloween to a kid.

Somehow, on the 100K, I'm getting the impression that it's more than twice the effort for only twice the distance.  I'll really look forward to bouncing ideas off y'all in the blog.

Did you lube up those feet before the race?  Even before a marathon, I coat my feet in Aquaphor.

Michele \"1L" Keane wrote:Did you lube up those feet before the race?  Even before a marathon, I coat my feet in Aquaphor.

I wonder that, too. Are you a heavy foot sweater? I wonder if there's a better sock solution for you, as well.

Michele \"1L" Keane wrote:Did you lube up those feet before the race?  Even before a marathon, I coat my feet in Aquaphor.

Mark B wrote:

Michele \"1L" Keane wrote:Did you lube up those feet before the race?  Even before a marathon, I coat my feet in Aquaphor.

I wonder that, too. Are you a heavy foot sweater? I wonder if there's a better sock solution for you, as well.

I don't count myself as a foot sweater.  I will only lube my feet with vaseline for a wet running conditions.  I have only had blisters on 1 race and just a handful of training runs since 2004.

I wrapped my toes because on the last 12 mile run before the race in the Peregrines, the few ups and downs caused my 4th and 5th left toes to rub against the shoe.  They didn't blister, but I decided to wrap the toes to preclude blisters.  I didn't want to use any lube because I figured it would loosen the tape.  It did cross my mind to get some Injinji socks under another pair of socks, but I thought wrapping the toes would be the right course.  And it was because my toes didn't blister during the race. 

Now the ball of the feet, well, that was unexpected.  Which was why I asked whether I should get some real walking shoes for the 100K because I'll be walking the majority of that race, too.  Or run a set number of loops, then swap shoes and socks and walk in those shoes.  I plan on going out to the 7IL Ranch a couple of times to walk the course.

I have a lot to learn.  The book "Fix Your Feet" does have instructions and pictures for taping all parts of the feet, too.

I will say that if the 4th and 5th toes problem had happened about 2 months ago, I would've tried to replace the Peregrines because they may have not been wide enough.  The Kinvaras would absolutely not have been the proper shoe for BB because I wouldn't get the grip desired to make tracks.

For 7IL, I've been told road shoes would be fine, but I will verify.  Thanks!

KBFitz wrote:Oh my! This is why I love ultras so much. And why I miss running them so much. The camaraderie, the pain and the shared accomplishment. I'll have images of you hurdling gaters in your gaiters for years to come.

Thanks for stopping by, Mayor.  Those hurdling images are the only known images to exist.

Stopped in here at the ole 365runner board and saw that you had run a 50k.  Loved all of the information in the report and it sounded like you really aren't any worse for the wear.  I'd love to do a 100k as well, just not in Texas heat.

just noticed this, belated congrats Doug!

dot520 wrote:Stopped in here at the ole 365runner board and saw that you had run a 50k.  Loved all of the information in the report and it sounded like you really aren't any worse for the wear.  I'd love to do a 100k as well, just not in Texas heat.

I did!  Thanks for stopping by, Dot.  I've healed up pretty well...knock on head.  I'm too wordy on reports, but I want to paint a clear picture, not an impressionist's version.  (I've always thought that the impressionist style of painting were done by near-sighted artists.)

As far as the Texas heat, my inexperience infers taking heat over inclines and declines.   Subject to change.

fostever wrote:just noticed this, belated congrats Doug!

Muchas gracias!  I hope your cramps don't cramp your running anymore.  Gratz on another Boston!