I finally got down to business. I had some anxiety about this 100 miler that I signed up for. I don’t really have anything to forecast performance except to look at racers and to extrapolate based on their results. As I’m learning, a good way to turn doubt and fear into motivation is to create a plan.
Step 1: Develop general plan – communicate it to pacer/crew
(if you are sensitive to offensive language – don’t read this part)
| from: | Byron Guptill | ||
| to: | Greg | ||
| date: | Sat, Aug 30, 2014 at 10:48 PM | ||
| subject: | Haliburton 100 | ||
| Hey Greg –
First off – thank you so very much for agreeing to pace me. Truthfully, I don’t think I would be able to finish without your help. Over the summer, I have asked many folks about the hali 100 and they all have recommended that the first time you SHOULD have a pacer. Also, seeing as this is a first for me, I am grateful for your sacrifice (of time, ears, etc..).
So here is how the weekend will go (more or less)…
The “loop” is as such (in m) and the more I look at this I am convinced (realize) that it is 25 miles out, then 25 miles back:
Start – AS2 2090
AS2 – AS3 3807
AS3 – AS2 5858
AS2 – AS4 4094
AS4 – AS5 7511
AS5 – AS6 6121
AS6 – AS7 9998
AS7 – Dutton Rd 98
Dutton Rd – Turnaround 700
Distance 40277
We can have drop bags at any of the AS# except the Start/Finish, though it seems that we can use at most two aid stations.
I am thinking of having mine at AS2 and AS7.
In my drop bag, I am considering having a pair of shoes and socks just in case.
In my hydration vest:
The ABSOLUTE WORST CASE with nutrition is that I fall back on food from aid stations, of which there appears that there will be plenty!
Time Goal
I am basing my time goal on the results from last year. Steven Parke is a runner that I think I match up to pretty equally at a 50km. I am thinking I will set my target at what he accomplished last year.
21:50:00 – though I think that is long time, fuck.
My avg pace at CDR was 8:27 min/km.
That puts me at 22:40:08. Shit…
That’s a long fucking time.
I’d rather come in around 19 or 20 hours, so a 7:00 to 7:30 min/km avg pace. Seems fast though – ah fuck – race is on!
So I am PLANNING for 22 hrs, though my target 19 hrs.
From historical perspective, Laura Secord was an 8:00 min/km run -> if I kept that pace, I would come in around 21:30 hrs.
Other things to note
You will likely be hungry during the day. If there is anything you will need, I’d certainly like to make sure you have it. Send me a grocery list? I have a cooler to stuff food and beer in.
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Step 2: Actually put together a plan
I found this to be very difficult and time consuming. Second guessing my estimates as part of not having any experience on the course. I settled on a pace a little slower than the pace I had at Limberlost (which was 6:33 min/km).
As part of my research trying and my effort to rationalize my estimates, I found the GPX track of the course on the Facebook page. This is helpful since it helped put elevation in perspective.
- 40 km stretch of Haliburton is a 821 m gain.
- 100km recorded at Larua Secord is 2064 m.
- 85 km recorded at CDR is 3639 m.
Link to spreadsheet plan since formatting for WordPress is gonna take too much time.
Step 3: Let it sink in
Now that I have a plan, I let it sink in. I think about whether I have been too ambitious. Having never run 100 miles, I have no historical evidence to prove or dis-prove how optimistic I am being. Here I am writing the blog, letting it sink in. Editing, then reviewing the empirical data, then ….
Step 4: Get scared again
Ok – I know when Greg will join me on the course. Once I hit Publish, I will start thinking that I have over committed. I won’t back down though, I will use fear of failure motivate me.
Step 5: Big picture
Why am I running this race? Once I finish the Hali 100 I will qualify to pre-register for the Ultra Trail du Mont-Blanc 2015.
Byron Guptill 