The thought occurred to me yesterday that while I have posted my own assessments of my races and trainings as I have captured my thoughts in emails to my coach, I have yet to actually post one of his replies. So, upon completion of Red Rock and the response I received in return, I decided to post his reply. I have a couple topics to talk about with him further such as calorie burn, water loss through sweat, some minor cramping I experienced, but those are really simple mechanics of running.
As you read through his reply you will see corrections on this or that, but overall you should notice that he has discovered the secret of leadership. In all my interactions with him he has treated me with nothing but dignity and respect. Even during my times of utter failure (not Red Rock) he has been able to motivate me to actually WANT to be better.
Contrary to Jared's methodologies we still do see the 'chair throwing' coaches that produce results. But at what cost? Does it really need to be that way? Consider for a moment: Band of Brothers by Stephen Ambrose details the account of Easy Company, 506th PIR, 101st Airborne during WWII. The initial company commander was the latter of what I just described. As notorious a commander he was in all his legalistic brow-beating methods of leadership, he got results. But the question always remains: was it because of him or in spite of him? I think also of a certain college basketball coach who entertains the crowds through his courtside antics, but can you imagine being a member of his team?
At 44 years old my long distance running career has just started. I am 2 years into what I intend to be something I do for the remainder of my short time here on earth. And I want to enjoy it. My body doesn't recover quite as well as it used to and my energy levels have started their "after 40" slippage. So when ti comes to what I do now it matters to me that I actually enjoy what I do, and my coach has a lot to do with the environment in which I run. With his positive attitude and selfless desire to see success in my efforts, he can see where I have achieved when in my own perspective have only seen failure.
This is why I have him as my coach:
"You are an ultra runner if you complete the miles in a race over 26.2 miles...period. Those types of people come in many types. Flat and fast is one type. Challenge hunters is another type. Which type are you? The answer is yours and yours alone.
CONGRATULATIONS on TAKING OFF 15 MINUTES FROM YOUR PREVIOUS ATTEMPTS ON THIS COURSE. That cannot be overlooked. Some of this email may seem negative but I assure that it is not. It points out opportunities to add to your strengths. You are a strong runner. You want perfection and anything short is tough for you. I get it, but please take the time to revel in your 15 MINUTE COURSE PR!
Now, the answer to why you lost energy is complex but understood. You put in the training miles (on most weeks) but you do not live the “lifestyle”. This is not a knock by any means. You have a great life. It is factual that it is not 100% dedicated to running. You have a life outside of the road. Unfortunately, the rest of your life is led in a way that counteracts some of the work that you do on the road. You are changing that so let the changes in and you will be a better distance runner. You need to lose weight to make running hills manageable. These are the simple things.
Now for the complex. . . your heart rate was elevated at the start. After the amount of races that you have completed, this should not happen any more. It took you over your threshold and kept you there for the opening hills. You simply ran out of muscle glycogen and your body shut down. Either your fuel is not getting through your GI tract fast enough or your choice of fuel is not compatible with glycogen production in your body. If it is not getting through your GI tract fast enough then you may be eating foods within 48 hours of your race that are blocking race needed nutrition. High fiber foods, alcohol, proteins, and saturated fats should all be avoided on the later half of race week.
Take off your watch for the half this weekend. Or put tape over the face if you want the feedback. Run by feel and let me know what you think. It will dispel the nerves of trying to run to telemetry.
The other issue could be with potassium and sodium levels. Carrying extra weight up hills will stop your body from being able to keep the efficiency in your muscular system constant and will help put you out of balance in electrolytes. As you run more, you will force your body to sweat more efficiently and you should notice less salt in your sweat. Until that happens, add a lot of powdered electrolytes to your racing regimen. No capsules or flavored liquids. Your liquid should be for water and unflavored electrolytes only until higher efficiency level are achieved.
On this topic, you have nothing to worry about. You are doing fine. This is a long metamorphosis that you are in the middle of. It will change your life and you are at the right point to accept that. You are the type of racer who will endure a challenge. Hills may exist, but you will traverse them even if you have to crawl. That is your persona and will be your persona as an ultra runner. Do not confuse that with being the fastest ultra-runner out there. You are not a flat and fast kind of guy. That would probably bore you. You will be better at beating the hills as your body changes.
Stick with the schedule, fuel on every run, experiment with fueling and how it feels, and think of fueling as a lifestyle not a running issue.
Go out and enjoy. You are doing great. Congratulations again. . .you impressed me with that performance." -Jared Sweet.
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