8,101
edits
Changes
From Fellrnr.com, Running tips
no edit summary
* '''My Crew'''. A good crew is essential for Badwater success, and I had a wonderful group. Nathan was my crew chief, and he recruited the people who have crewed him on ultras before. This meant the crew knew each other well and had worked together under similar difficult high pressure situations. Nathan, Alice, Steve, and Ken worked together flawlessly
* '''My Pacer'''. Nathan also doubled as my main pacer for 75 miles of the race. Nathan is a psychology professor and a great conversationalist, so we had lots to talk about. Ken, Alice and Steve all took turns pacing me for a few miles, which they did with aplomb.
* '''Heat Training'''. All the [[Heat Acclimation Training]] paid off nicely and I didn't suffer any heat illness during the race. I probably did far more heat training than I needed to, but I figured too much was better than not enough.
* '''Downhill'''. The [[Downhill Running]] paid huge dividends, protecting my legs and keeping me far stronger.
* '''Altitude Training'''. My [[DIY Altitude Training]] seemed to work well. Without it I do badly at altitude, seemingly worse than most people. The altitude training would have been more effective if I'd been able to increase my iron intake soon enough, but even with iron supplements my iron levels (serum ferritin) was too low.
* '''Hydration'''. My [[DIY Electrolyte Drink]] worked perfectly, keeping me hydrated and my electrolytes in balance.
* '''Fueling'''. My only fuel was ensuring Ensure drinks which I had about every 2-3 miles. Amazingly they were still tasting good at the end of the race, and were even palatable when a little warm. While my [[Fellrnr's Go Juice| Go Juice]] is better, the simplicity of the Ensure makes it a better choice for this type of race. * '''Napping'''. I took a 30 minute and a 10 minute nap during the race, which helped keep the sleep deprivation in check. The 30 minute came at around mile 75, after Cerro Gordo and was a planned nap to keep me going. The 10 minute nap was at about mile 110 and was one I had to take to keep functioning.
* '''Clothing'''. I covered up completely to protect from the sun, wearing tights, long sleeved top, fingerless gloves and a hat with a neck and face cover.
* '''Shoes'''. I wore three different types of shoe for the race. I wore the [[Altra One2|Altra One<sup>2</sup>]] for the first 45 miles, and their light weight was great on the ascent and descent from Horseshoe Meadows. I then swapped to the [[Altra Olympus]] for 45 miles. They worked remarkably well, then but at mile 90 my feet were hurting so much that I figured a change might help. I wore the [[Hoka Bondi]] for the next 32 miles , before reverting to the Olympus for the finish. Changing shoes moved After the stresses my feet a little and seems to help slightlyrace I realized that the heat of Badwater had worn down the Bondi dramatically. I had more wear in 32 miles of Badwater than I'd expect from 300 miles of normal use. The One<sup>2</sup>.had also worn, but not as badly as the Bondi. The Olympus still look new, probably because the Olympus has an outsole over most of its sole.
* '''Watch'''. I used [[Best Running Watch| Suunto Abmit2R]] and with GPS recording set to one minute intervals it was still going strong at the end of 37 hours. Knowing the distance and elevation helped me visualize were I was in the race and my progress. This proved to be far more valuable mentally than I expected.
=What Didn't Work=
