Western States Takeaways

It's been a week since the big day. I've had a little time to reflect on what went right (not much) and what went wrong (a lot) - so I am ready to write some of this down in the hopes that I can do better on the next one.

WHAT DIDN'T GO RIGHT-

Gear

The Hoka Infinite. These are great road shoes but they are worthless on icy trails.

• Poor choice of shoes. I was in my favorite pair of road shoes, the Hoka Infinite. They had no lugs. From what I had heard, this trail is generally not technical and I went with comfort first. Given the ice that we had to deal with early on, this was a disaster. I had a new pair of Stinson 3's with an aggressive tread but was a little wary of wearing new shoes. Bad choice. The Infinites were TERRIBLE in the high country on the ice and in the mud. No traction at all. Definitely should have rocked the Stinsons.

• Handhelds. I went with 2 handhelds instead of a vest for my bottles. My hands could not grab tree branches or bushes to steady myself on the ice. I also could not balance myself very well. Having my hands free would have been a big help up in the mountains. I should have gone with the vest. Hindsight. No way I could have known that.....
• I did not have my 3rd bottle for dousing until Robinson. I am not sure how I would have done this differently, but after Lyon Ridge it got hot, fast. Having the third bottle for dousing with cold water from the stream crossings would have been a huge help. 

Nutrition

• I expected to be able to eat breakfast at Squaw before the race (as they advertised breakfast for the runners starting at 3:30am). I arrived early to take advantage of this. "Breakfast" was a tray of muffins and coffee. That was all they had. Now that's not their fault, but I guess I have a different definition of breakfast. I had planned on having some protein in the morning - bacon, yogurt, etc, maybe with some oatmeal - but none of that was provided. I should have clarified that - it is my fault for assuming. I did have a clif bar and a banana with some coffee when I woke up back at the hotel so I wasn't completely empty but I started with much less in the tank than I had hoped.
• Mixing hydration and nutrition from the start was a bad idea. My plan was to go with Tailwind while out on the course, then eat well at the first aid station. Well, the trip to the first aid station took a lot longer than planned and I was not staying on top of my Tailwind intake. I had no concept of time up there while I was sliding around all over the damn place. My tank started low and I did a poor job of getting calories in. Meanwhile I was burning a TON of energy on that ice. I should have had some gels on hand as a backup plan.
• The aid station food did not correspond to what I had planned on. Especially the early ones. All they had were clif shot gels, these little clif chewy things, and some chips & cookies. Warm soda. Not at all what I expected or planned on. So I ate what I could, but those clif blocks made me want to barf. I wasn't prepared to go it on my own, and I counted on those aid stations for some protein and solid carbs, which they did not provide. I WILL NOT make that mistake again.
• Did I mention that I simply did not get enough calories in?
• I think the diarrhea/vomiting at Last Chance was a result of running so hard for the previous 10-12 miles. I had just burned myself out trying to make up time. And that was a bad place to be heading into the 1st canyon. I didn't know what I was up against. 

Other

• I had a couple bouts of my exercise-induced asthma (bronchioconstriction) that I think was made worse by the heat and altitude in the high country. The dust in the air was problematic as well. It wasn't so bad when I came down out of the mountains but it was a real problem for me between Red Star Ridge and Robinson. 
• I was cocky and arrogant heading into this race. I NEVER FOR ONE SECOND even considered the possibility that I might be up against cutoffs. Seriously, the thought never entered my mind, and I had no mental plan for what I would do if that happened. When I barely made it through Dusty Corners I was in a very bad place mentally. I did not have a "just finish" plan ready to go in such a case. I was thoroughly and completely humbled. 

I do not know if having changed any 1 or 2 of these things would have altered the outcome, but I do feel certain that taken in conjunction they set me back far enough that I could not recover. 

WHAT WENT RIGHT

Training

• I felt fan-damn-tastic heading into this race. I really nailed the training. I worked my ass off. It didn't work out on race day, but that doesn't tell the whole story. Despite WSER being one of my worst races, from a purely training and nutritional standpoint, I feel that I was in as good a place to start a race as I had ever been.
• Aside from race day, I feel like I nailed the nutrition plan. Clean and lean. I felt great and looked great. I did everything leading up to the race Meredith and I talked about, all the way down to electrolytes and hydration on race week.

Crew

• My family and friends who were there to support me were outstanding. Even though my crew could not get to Duncan Canyon, I was fortunate to have a guardian angel there who patched me up and kept me going. When I saw the rest of the gang at Robinson, they were amazing in skirting me through before cutoff. Can't say enough about them all.

Misc

• Even though a lot of things went terribly awry, I still made it 48 miles and only missed the cutoff at Devils Thumb by 10-15 minutes. I was able to make up a lot of time and, thanks to my amazing crew, stay in the game a lot longer than I probably could have otherwise. So, I am proud of that. And of them.
• Packing the bags of ice into my vest was wonderful. I cut several tiny holes in a gallon ziplock bag that they stuffed into my pack, and it would drip cold water on me. This was AWESOME. I should have done this earlier. Unfortunately this didn't come into play until I met my crew at Robinson (mile 30) and picked up my pack from them.  
• Having that 3rd bottle that I picked up at Robinson to douse myself in cold water from the rushing streams was great as well. Great idea from Meredith. Really loved that. 
• If I could have only made it to Michigan Bluff........

What I plan to do differently at Vermont:

• EAT MORE!!! 
• I think it will be a good idea to put myself on a food timer at Vermont. After 45 min-1 hour, ding, eat something - a gel (Huma Gels are my fave), a sandwich that I may have to carry with me, something. I can't "forget" to take in calories. While I would love to be able to go by feel, the fact is that I seem to have the most success when I have a reminder. I would also love to eat as clean as possible but the fact is I need calories in my tank. I need to be more aware of what they are going to have at aid stations as well so I am not surprised.
• I've read that nausea can be a symptom of hunger. I have to push that off as long as possible. Because I had nausea early and often at WSER.
• I'm going to wear the vest with the bottles from the get-go. I'd like my hands to be free. I will also have the baggies ready to stuff with ice early on. I hear it's warm and humid up there - the conditions are exactly the same here in Texas right now. I should be able to handle it, but I really like that ice pack idea.
• EAT MORE!!!
• I didn't have any problems with sodium intake, and aside from when I got sick at Last Chance, I actually never felt dehydrated at States. I did use the S-caps. Will probably stay with those since I am setting the Tailwind aside for the early miles.

I have read that VT is "100 miles of hill repeats". And, that it IS NOT easy. The good thing is that the terrain seems very similar to what I run on every day around here in North Texas - rolling hills on roads and gravel trails. The weather is very similar to what I run in as well. If I can play it smart and NOT get myself into any deficits early on, keep the HR down and the pace comfortable, then I should be able to finish. My coach Ryan Knapp will be there to crew for me and bring me in over the last 30 miles. I will admit that my confidence is pretty shaky, so really the goal is just to finish this damn thing and move on. 

I resumed running a little bit yesterday and today, just some easy shake out miles. The quads are a little tender but otherwise I feel OK. I have just started looking at the Vermont aid stations and started to get the lay of the land in Windsor.

I can't help but feel a lingering twinge of disappointment that I let down my coaches, crew, and friends. I look forward to a better day at Vermont and a shot at redemption again someday at States. So with that in mind, I will say, see you in Windsor!