Bear Chase 100km Race Report
2 weeks ago I attempted to run my first ultramarathon @ the Bear Chase Race Series in Lakewood, Colorado. One of my colleagues, Davis Cutter, had challenged me to run an ultramarathon 4 months earlier. I replied to Davis’s offer in May without hesitation. I told Davis that I was “in,” even though in the previous 12 months I hadn’t run more than a dozen times (and no long distance).
Realizing that I only had 4 months to get in shape, I reached out to my friend Jimmy Beltz and asked for advice. He recommended that I see if Liza Howard could coach me. Within a day, I was on the phone with Liza planning out how I was going to scale up my running from couch potato to 62.5 miles.
From May until the first week of August, my weekly totals gradually increased from 20 miles to ~ 50 miles per week with long runs of 18 miles. I had a couple of minor setbacks with overly tight hamstrings but I really started to feel like I was getting in shape.
And then disaster struck on August 8th. That morning, I woke up and could tell that my heart was beating erratically. After phoning a friend that is a doctor and then getting a second opinion from a friend that is a nurse, I went to urgent care to get an EKG. The doctors confirmed my suspicion and diagnosed me with atrial fibrillation. I was admitted to the hospital overnight and was released nearly 48 hours later after I naturally cardioverted to a normal sinus rhythm (I was on the operating table at the time awaiting an electric shock – plenty more to that story).
After my release, doctors recommended that I significantly scale back on running and consider giving up the ultramarathon dream. Their advice hit me like a ton of bricks and made getting out of bed the next day a mental challenge. Nevertheless, Liza and I figured out a way to re-ramp my running after a two week break and added a heart rate limit (150 bpm) to my training. Within weeks, I was running 18 miles again.
Unfortunately my hospital visit made me hyper sensitive to my Garmin heartrate monitor’s alerts. On two occasions I stopped a long run when I couldn’t control my heart rate. My longest training run was 21 miles, well short of the 31 miles Liza and I had originally planned for. All of this set me up for a very challenging Bear Chase.
On race day, I slept 3.5 hours which I knew could cause some heart issues. Adding the race adrenaline (and fear), I was in a tough spot to start. I ran the first lap (12.5 miles) in 2:02:39. My legs felt great but my average heart rate was well above normal @ 180 bpm. I stopped to grab a couple of chia bars and stroop waffles at the bag drop and to change my socks. My Stance socks were not drying very quickly and were filled with dirt from the river crossings. I changed into Smartwool socks.
The second lap (12.5 miles), my heart rate continued to be elevated and remained between 170 and 180 bpm. My legs still felt good but I did need to walk for a minute at mile 23. I ran the second lap in 2:10:30. After 25 miles, I felt like it was time for a shoe change and removed my Hoka One One Speedgoats. I put on Topa Ultrafly road shoes for the remainder of the race. After a short break, I was back out on the course. My marathon times was 4:34:33 including the breaks.
Midway through the 3rd lap, I hit a wall and began to walk. Additionally, my body no longer wanted the nutrition that I was carrying so I began eating food at the aid stations. I devoured the tortillas and beans, bananas, and pretzels. My heart rate did drop when walking but remained elevated @ 120-150 bpm (levels I normally see when jogging). I finished lap 3 in 2:51:56.
At this point, I wasn’t sure if I’d make it back out. My legs were shot and my heart was telling me that today wasn’t the day. I laid down on the ground at the bag drop for at least 30 minutes. I also ate a stack of pancakes and sausage. After changing my socks for a dry pair and removing some of the dirt from my feet, I went back out on the course with my pacer, Gabriella Quarantiello.
I ran mile 38.5 and then I accepted that I would be walking the rest of the course. At this point I was also extremely nauseous (I did manage to keep everything down). I finished the lap in 3:12:30. Gabby walked in front of me for mile 45-50 and had to remind me that we could make it to mile 50 every 2 minutes. At mile 44, Davis also lapped me en route to his second place finish in the 100k.
At mile 50, it was clear that I had nothing left. Anything more than a slow walk was pushing my heart rate back above 150. My crew at the finish all told me that they thought it would be a good idea if I called it a day @ mile 50 instead of heading back out for another 12.5 miles of walking. I had nothing left to fight with and conceded to their thinking. I notified the race director that I was dropping out. Overall, I finished the 50 miles in 11:01:19. A special thanks to my fiancé, Marina, for putting up with all of my early alarm clocks and everything else she does for me. Love you. And thank you to my parents, Larry and Emmie, for being out on the course all day (among all the other things you help with). Thank you to Liza for getting me this far. And the FH crew for all the onsite cheering!
Looking back the next morning, I regretted my decision to leave the course. At the same time, I knew that it was smart. I wasn’t setting a miraculous PR or course record.
Nevertheless, not meeting my goal was severely disappointing. I put in a good deal of effort to make it that far. As I’ve gotten farther from the race, I am happy that I made it 50 miles. I didn’t get to train nearly as much as planned due to my hospital visit. And I started training with no base.
Not one to accept defeat, I’m looking forward to getting back out on the course and pushing towards my next goal, the Leadville 100. #alwaysrunning