By: Eric Tadt
We had a beautiful day for Rocky Raccoon. A cool morning gave away to a beautiful, sunny day. I had a crew of just one today; Laura was doing it all – moving back and forth between mile 14 and the Start/Finish with all of my gear and nutrition. Quite a bit different than Badwater! Rocky Raccoon 100 consists of four 25 mile laps through Huntsville State Park just north of Houston, TX. Laura and I had a super convenient campsite in the park as our home base.
Lap 1 (4:17:46)
The race started off smoothly. With our campsite being just a 5min walk from the start, we didn’t get there until 15min before the race started. A tight chute to start the race meant the pack was close together for the first 0.5mi, but it wasn’t an issue. I took a quick bathroom break at the first aid station. Coming out of the bathroom, I walked for at least 3 min trying to fix my tube from my hydration pack. It was jammed with Maurten! This happened on my other long runs in January, but I thought I had figured it out this time. Once I finally got moving, I worked my way through the runners to make up a little bit of time. I tripped a few times on the roots, but nothing terrible. I felt like I was moving well and making good progress. The sun felt amazing as I was running out toward the Far Side aid station. I was still figuring out my new watch, so I was a bit concerned when I realized it was 8:20am at mile 14. After leaving in a hurry, I eventually remembered that the slow down built into my race plan was probably overly conservative (15% – 20% slowdown per lap works out to about 2min/mile/lap). I took my first fall coming back into Damnation; wasn’t paying close enough attention to the little roots. Not a big deal though. Over the last 10 or so miles of the first lap, I noticed that my calves were feeling unresponsive, kind of dead feeling. Not sure what this was all about.
Lap 2 (4:45:31)
After sitting down for a minute and putting on my calf sleeves and using The Stick on my upper quads, I left the Start/Finish feeling rejuvenated. However, that did not last very long and I went through a long lull all the way to Far Side. I was running the whole time, just felt as if my legs were heavy and probably mentally defeating myself. Also, as the sun got warmer, my stomach got tighter. I was slowing down on drinking Maurten as it seemed to be making my stomach upset. I tried a gel and it didn’t go down much better. Seeing Laura at mile 39 was a great pick-me-up. I splashed some cold water on my face, which helped cool me down. The high of 65F today is about 60 degrees warmer than any of my long runs…! Laura gave me a ginger chew to help relax my stomach. I was finally able to get out of my head and make pick up the pace for the last 11 miles of the loop. I started eating banana chunks and PB&J sandwiches to help settle my stomach. I probably did not eat nearly enough calories this lap. I came into the Start/Finish aid station at 9:03, which was a pleasant surprise. This was a good sign that I was still moving well despite my struggles.
Lap 3 (5:12:16)
Laura reminded me to be drinking ginger ale to help settle my stomach, so I grabbed my reusable cup and I was quickly reminded why this stuff is liquid gold. Although the carbonation isn’t great, the ginger ale sits well and has lots of calories. Just before the Nature Center aid station, Matt Griffin from Botswana/Brisbane/London caught up to me. We ran well together and kept pushing the pace. We made good time and were feeling strong. We got to Far Side just as the sun was setting. Laura has been dragging around a fresh 2L hydration pack of Maurten for awhile, but I still had 1L left in my pack and I wasn’t drinking much still. We strapped on our headlamps and turned around to start the trek back. Not quite able to get back to Damnation before the sun was fully set, darkness took over the forest quickly. I took another fall in a similar spot, just before Damnation! Tricky, knobby roots here. I continued to eat mainly PB&J quarter sandwiches and 2-3 banana chunks at each aid station. I also took a Maurten gel with caffeine at miles 60 and 70. I think I also ate at least 2 other Hammer gels during this lap. I was doing a good job at keeping up on my water intake. I moved my handheld into my hand rather than my chest pocket which helped keep me drinking.
Lap 4 (6:15:01)
Matt and I decided to run this lap together as well; we ended up running the last 47 miles together! You get to know someone pretty well when you run together for about 10 hours. It was starting to cool back down and my lack of trail time during training showed a bit during this lap. I was moving OK through the roots, just more slowly than desired. I wasn’t able to move my feet very quickly and my ankles were starting to tire. This was the first lap that we started hiking the uphills. I was able to drink a bit more Maurten as more stomach settled in the cooler weather. The 40’s felt cool overnight, even though it is warmer than the high temps in Minneapolis for the past several months. As long as we kept moving, I was fine in a long sleeve shirt. I eventually put on a thin pair of gloves. I liked my headlamp + mini waist light combo; I never fell the last lap. However, there was a new? head/waist light that was insanely bright out on the trails that made the out and backs super challenging. I would literally need to walk a couple steps every time one of those lights got close to us; I was temporarily blinded each time. I’m sure those lights are great for point-to-points, but really hard on out-and-back courses. Even though this lap took awhile, I kept in good spirits. I added a few oranges to my diet as they looked delicious. I definitely ate more solid food this lap, but lagged on my gels. I think I only ate the two caffeinated Maurten gels, no Hammer gels. I was peeing mostly clear the last lap, so water was good. Just like all other 100’s, the last few miles seemingly take forever. But Matt and I pushed into the finish just after 2:30am!
In summary, I felt that I was able to race up to my fitness levels. Since Badwater, I averaged less than 150mi/month from August through December. I had a good 2 week cycle (November after NYC) and 4 week cycle (January) before tapering into Rocky due to injuries. While I have a lot of base fitness, I think longer training cycles in the future will help me maintain a better pace at the end of a race and give me more confidence from the beginning. I am looking forward to a big mileage year with a lot of adventures!
I don’t have a written down nutrition summary, but here is a ballpark estimate from my memory:
2.75L Maurten (measured) = 1,700cal
2.5 PB&J sandwiches = 850cal
5 bananas = 500cal
5 Hammer gels = 420cal
4 Maurten gels = 400cal
24oz ginger ale = 230cal
1 Hammer bar = 200cal
2 oranges = 50 cal
8 Endurolytes
6 Race Cap Supremes
Total Calorie Estimate = 4,350 (210cal/hr)
This isn’t a terrible caloric average, but this was way under my training calories of almost 300cal/hr. However, I never had hunger issues or lightheadedness. My calorie, water, and electrolytes must have been close enough – although a bit different than my typical approach.
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