Lake to Bay 100K “Relay” Report–Team Me, Vancouver, Washington, July 6th, 2024

This was my first ultramarathon over 50 miles and my first really long run under high heat. It was over 90 by noon and topped out at 99 around 5pm. I had to throw every little trick in my growing book to keep myself moving forward without physically burning out, since my heat training is pretty limited. Most of my training occurs at 4 or 5am on the daily. So, I rolled with what I theoretically knew about completing long distances while staying cool and luckily things worked out. My theoretical knowledge comes from studying what folks do to successfully complete Badwater, which is a 135 mile ultrarun through Death Valley in July. 

 My biggest concern was heat exhaustion. Once the heat was above 90, I was drinking about 120 ounces of liquid every 10 miles while having no perceivable sweat (only a bit of residual salt) and without peeing for ~30 miles. So that was weird. A little surprising. It felt like my kidneys basically went on vacation and said, “Dude, whatever the hell you’re doing, we don’t want anything to do with it. Good luck. We’re out.”   

While I felt good throughout, I walked more than I probably needed to out of an abundance of caution. My primary goal was to finish.

Overview of Pre-Race Training. Coros 100k, but I did about x4 the long weekend splits recommended, meaning five weekends in total with back-to-back 20 miles-to-marathons on Saturday/Sunday or I’d do a 50k on Saturday and a Half-marathon on Sunday. Sometimes, I’d mix it up with long bike rides up to 100 miles. The miles are not as relevant as the time at about 2.5 to 4 hour blocks for building aerobic endurance. I often prefer longer than this to understand what my body needs to keep going, so I’d sometimes be active for a good part of a day with AM/PM splits (say, 15 miles AM/10 miles PM or 10 miles AM and cycle 50 miles PM). My goal was not to just finish 100k but to do so “comfortably.” I enjoy doing these things but I’m very careful these days. (I traumatized myself many years ago by running a 50 mile ultra at close to a 8 mpm marathon pace. I took 4th but suffered severe exhaustion, hallucinations and never wanted to do it again. So now I try to take it easy and enjoy the ride.)    

Strategies While Running 100k

Heart Rate Consistency. Zone 2 running with recovery to Zone 1: For me, this meant staying around 120-135 bpm with recovery to under 110 bpm with intermittent walks after mile 5, approximately 30 seconds every mile or so. The time for the walks ended up scaling to the heat, getting longer as the day got hotter. The timing for walks eventually went out the window and I walked when I felt like it, targeting 15-16 mpm power walks.  

Drinking Constantly. This was mainly Tailwind or Electrolit mixed with Redbull, carrying about 60 ounces and refilling with water or Gatorade at exchanges. Race organizers wisely dropped some out there for me, thankfully, and I ended up needing that.  

Consistently Eating. This was Gu every 30-45 minutes, even if I didn’t want any or felt like it. The trick is to stay way, way ahead of the bonk curve.  

Solid Food. This was at my planned Meet Points with my wife and her dad, starting at the 20 mile mark at the Salmon Creek Trailhead and then every 10th mile thereafter, so at mile 20, 30, 40, 50. This was a bottle of Chocolate milk, a bottle of Ensure Plus (350 calories), a small tortilla filled with peanut butter, bananas, crunched up Reese's pieces and maple syrup, as well as a whole banana and some grapes. The target here was high caloric intake, easy to digest.   

 Staying Cool. I wore white and carried ice water in a cycling bottle and doused my back and chest every few minutes. For my head, I’d squirt some in my baseball cap and put it back on.

Sunscreen. Every Meet Point and lotion on my shoulders and arms every now and then.  

Overall I ended up taking a lot longer than intended, especially with a few wrong turns (my bad), but I felt comfortable throughout and was able to finish. I still feel pretty good the day after. A little stiff. It’s a little hard to walk down the stairs, for instance, but I otherwise feel normal. (For those who are curious, in reference to the below stat, 7,500 calories is about 20 hamburgers or 5 large pizzas, just FYI.)

Yours Truly,

The Ultra Guy Out There – Jason