Changes

* Badwater justifies its reputation as one of the toughest foot races, and it requires preparation, organization and a smart strategy. Thus the challenge and attraction of the race goes beyond the direct physical exertion. * Running on a prosthetic leg is harder than you'd expect, even when you expect it to be hard. There are issues I would never have considered, and my admiration for Chris is enormous. I know that I will remember him every time I find the going tough in a race. His refusal to quit and his ability to pick up the pace when exhausted and in pain is breathtaking. * [[Running in the Heat]] of Death Valley is different to the heat I've experienced in other places. ** If the air temperature is significantly above core body temperature, any air movement over dry skin heats you up rather than cools you down. At 125f/52c, the air is 27f/15c warmer than your body and you can feel a wind burning your ears. ** While it's hard to feel the difference between 115f/46c and 125f/52c, it makes quite an impact. If you consider the difference between body temperature and air temperature, 125f/52c is nearly twice the difference compared with 115f/46c.

** The sun is vicious, and the perceived temperature continues to rise through the day until just before sunset. ** The night time is still hot, but the difference between night and day is far greater than in other races. * Like other hot races, Badwater is unforgiving of even slight mistakes or errors. ** If you are slightly too fast and overheat, it takes a long time to recover you core body temperature. ** If you don't drink quite enough, dehydration comes on fast. It's easy to underestimate your fluid needs as you can be sweating at your maximum sweat rate and feel dry because of the rapid evaporation. ** Because of the high fluid intakes, getting the right amount of salt is critical and [[Hyponatremia]] as a more common problem. * A sleep deprived cameraman who was filming the race said 'Death Valley is the coldest place on earth', and I think he's right. The temperature may be hot, but emotionally it's a cold and inhospitable place. However, I rekindled my love of the desert, with its austere and harsh beauty. There are two sayings; 'God made the desert so men could find their souls' and 'going for a run clears my head, but running 100 miles distils my soul'. Running so far in the desert can a uniquely purifying experience. * A good crew is important in many ultras, and none more than Badwater. Having a good crew will make a huge difference at Badwater.

* During the day there is far less you can do about the heat at the Keys 100. The high humidity at the Keys 100 means that being wet does not help much, and you're probably soaking wet regardless of what you do. Ice will help a little at the Keys 100, but not much. * At night, the heat in the keys is far worse than the heat at Badwater. * Chaffing is far, far worse at the Keys 100 than Badwater because you are continually wet. In fact, chaffing is a source of drop outs at the Keys 100. * Badwater is 135 miles, which is a lot longer than the Keys 100. How much longer? Saying '35 miles does not convey the impact of the difference. Consider how you felt at the 65 mile mark of your last 100 miler and then imagine feeling that way at the 100 mile mark. * The hills at Badwater are long and steep, where the Keys 100 is flat. * In both races there are places where you can see how far you have to go, but psychologically it's far worse at Badwater, where there are places you can see some 40 miles ahead to the finish.

* '''[[Heat Acclimation Training]]'''. While it's almost impossible to replicate the heat, low humidity and high sun energy of Death Valley, I believe that my [[Heat Acclimation Training]] worked well. It provided some physical adaptations, such as sweating more and higher blood volume, but it also provided the even more critical physiological adaptation of knowing the signs of overheating. * '''[[Altitude Training]]'''. The altitude of Mount Whitney is only about 8,360 feet (2,548 m), but that's high enough to feel the difference normally, and typically I'm susceptible to altitude problems. At that height each lung full of air only contains about 75% of the O2 you'd get at sea level. However, having used my [[DIY Altitude Training]] system, I had no problems at all.

** The clothing holds water for evaporative cooling, and there are some advantages to slightly thicker materials that will hold more water. This is radically different to what you normally want.

** Not only is the sun vicious in Death Valley, you also have strong winds and sandstorms, so clothing can prevent the sand hurting your skin. * '''Stay wet'''. Being wet makes a huge difference at Badwater. I wore a white shirt over a compression top and soaked the shirt in cold water, which kept me much cooler. * '''Modified hat'''. I modified a Halo [[Running Hats|Running Hat]] so that it covered my neck and face, exposing just my eyes. I was deeply grateful for this on many occasions. * '''Ketogenic Low carb diet'''. I've been experimenting with a [[Ketogenic Diet|ketogenic diet]], and while pacing Badwater I ate peanuts, sunflower seeds, one Reece cup, and a double cheeseburger (no bun). I found this worked remarkably well and I had no issues with digestion or energy levels. * '''[[DIY Electrolyte Drink]]'''. I found that adding salt to my drink kept my well hydrated and provided the salt I needed.

* '''Avoid all exposed skin'''. I had a slight gap between my running tights and my socks, which was enough to get a little sunburn and a little sand chaffing. I also had fingerless gloves and next time I think I will go for the full finger type. I could feel the wind and the sun burning my fingers, and if you touch something metal it's easy to get a burn. * '''Lack of preparation'''. I run the marathon distance on a regular basis, but I don't do any walking in my training as generally I don't walk much on my races. I wasn't expecting to do more than a handful of miles as a pacer, so I didn't think that would be a problem, but I ended up covering over 75 miles. Walking is different from running, using different [[Muscle|muscles]] and putting different stress on your feet. At the end of the first day my feet were sore and they were painful all of the second day. The pain is similar to [[Plantar Fasciitis]], so I wonder if it would help to strengthen underside of foot. * '''Sandstorms'''. I was not prepared for the sandstorms, which were not massive, but none the less they make life remarkably unpleasant. I think I need some close fitting glasses or even skiing goggles. * '''Lack of sunglasses'''. My [[Sunglasses]] are pretty good, but at Badwater I wanted something much darker during the day, and I needed clear sunglasses to deal with the sand at night.