Training Log Archive: iansmith

Event: BFLO - The Ellicottville Adventure Run and Hike(mini-Rogaine)
 

Buffalo Ellicottville Adventure Run, 6 hr class. I managed to clear the course, but finished ~25 minutes behind Joe in a disappointing physical and technical effort. Different tactics are needed for an adventure race with often vague mapping (especially with respect to vegetation) compared to a high quality technical orienteering map.

I somehow managed to oversleep my alarm by 30 minutes when I left it on silent, and woke up on my own at 7 AM. I had cleaned out my platypus drinking pak the night before with bleach, and getting everything ready took a bit longer than planned. I hit the road at 8 AM, and arrived at the meet site at about 10:45. Registration and last-minute packing of my bag left me with only a few minutes to study the map before the race. I carried 2.2 L of 30% gatorade/70% water mix, a clif bar, a few GUs, and a candy proxy for shot blox.

My route was pretty good, but traded off too much distance for climb. Joe's route, which had less climb but a bit more distance, was faster. My first mistake was underestimating part of the technical challenge; while the map was good for an AR, it was still far from a complete description of the at times diffuse terrain. I lost at least 12 minutes on controls 20 and 9, only 35 minutes into the race. The rock city part was corn maze-esque and delightful. The climbing was arduous, with four climbs of 140-200m.

I tried to pace myself to a sustainable rate, but I started to fade about three hours in. Mistakes from 2:40-3:00 into the race were frustrating. I ran low on water at 3:45, so I stopped at my car to add another liter. Both legs viciously cramped up - for the first time that I can recall - on the climb into control 14, at 3:53. I stopped for about 60s to stretch, which seemed to alleviate the cramping. The rest of the course was a steady slog, though I had another big mistake at 4:50.

It was a great fun event, and I could have had a great day. Unfortunately, I felt fat, slow, and stupid, and I deservedly lost to Joe. I must tackle some more of these 6-hr races in the future. Six hours is just long enough that a few liters of electrolyte fluid and some munchies are adequate fuel, but a steady effort can be maintained. Next time, I think a higher concentration of electrolytes is warranted - say 1:1 with water. Also, I like the idea of having a small reserve bottle, like 250 or 500 ml, so I can drink liberally from my bladder without concern. My 18L backpack is excellent for these races, but I wish it had a small front pouch on the straps where I could store snacks. I had a great social time, bumping into Joe, Jeremy, Lina, GlenT, and my Canuck peeps Ralph, Raymond, and Frank.

I was repeatedly rekt by incidental comments at the finish:
Joe: "I thought you would be done in 4 hours."
Jeremy: "You were only ten minutes ahead of me?"
Lina: "Wow, you lost to a senior citizen."
Joe: (in his log) "had multiple moments of wtf and expected to be beaten by an hour"

I almost stopped at the hospital after those burns.

C • distance 10

C • I read your race report. Th... 9