Heartland 50 Mile Ultra
October 14, 2006
Marvin Lee

In November 2005 Craig Jackson and I had just finished our 1st 50K in Houston, TX and were sitting around the finish line licking our wounds and watching the 50 milers head back out for another19 miles.  You can read about those 50 or 100 milers and somehow believe you can relate, but its quite different seeing it unfold before you.  We both just sat there shaking our heads.  I whole heartedly agreed  with his comment, “I just can’t get my mind around that”.  But a seed had been planted.

After a good recovery from that Sunmart 50K and experience from a couple more in early 2006 I went into this summer season with a fall 50 miler on my mind.  Beginning in April I jumped on the bike and started riding and extending the weekend long rides to 5 and 6 hours while blending in some 40 mile run weeks.  By June I was mentally refreshed and feeling fit and decided on the Oct 14th Heartland 50 in Cassody, KS for my first attempt at the 50 mile distance.  I put together an 18 week training plan that centered around getting my weekly running mileage up to about 50 miles and extending my single day long run to 35 miles.  

The advice I took from other ultra runners was that you train up to 70% of the effort.  I went long every other week until I got up to about 25 miles, then I would go long every 3rd week.  This approach allowed me to be stay physically and emotionally injury free and in September I decided to take the plunge and sent my entry form in for the Heartland 50. 

We had a bit of business travel and Autumn’s wedding over the summer but all in all I was able to stay on track with my training.  I reached the two week taper mentally and physically tired.  But during those last 2 weeks I went from being grumpy and exhausted to excited and bouncing off the walls … I about drive Margie crazy around the house. 

I had prepared well and arrived in Cassoday, KS on Friday October 13th feeling pretty cocky.   This went away about 5 minutes into the racers meeting when I found myself sitting with 66 runners from all over the country doing the 100 and 32 others for the 50.  I felt like a puppy among greyhounds.  Being so close to the “100’s”, and knowing most would be running and struggling 24+ hours through the night and well into Sunday, is just … well, it’s humbling.   Out of respect you just sit down and be quiet.

After last minutes kisses and hugs from Margie I lined up at 06:00 AM and off we went into the darkness.  We had a perfect day for running, 39 degrees at the start and warming to the 50’s later in the day.  I’d never run with a headlamp before so that was pretty cool. 

The course was an out and back on gravel roads and equipped with unmanned aide stations about every 4th mile and manned aide stations about every 8th mile.   The unmanned stations consisted of a couple 5 gallon water jugs and miscellaneous cans of Pringles and pretzels.  An odd sight just sitting on the side of a lonely gravel road.   
The manned aide stations were an oasis because of the wonderful volunteers, many of whom are seasons ultra runner’s who know.  And of course family members with cameras cheering you on.  It’s short lived and soon you’re back out on the road by yourself again for another hour and a half.

The terrain for the Heartland is listed as “rolling hills”.  Now if you’re from California and training in the mountains, this translates to a flat course.  For those of us who run on Riverside drive or LaFortune Park in Tulsa, Ok … this means it’s hilly.  It’s like running up and down Turkey mountains all dang day.  Not technical … just up and down, up and down. 

My race plan was to focus on keeping my HR around 130 and stop every 20 minutes to walk for 30 – 60 seconds and eat and drink.  If I could take the hills and keep my HR under 140 bpm then I would run them, other wise I would walk. 

During my build I put a lot of focus on average HR and less on pace, so I knew that I could run for a long time in the 125-130 range.  I also knew that if I did spike it to 150, I could slow down and it would eventually settle back down to 120 – 130 i.e. I could recover from a tuff spot and avoid blowing up.  Then continue on with my race strategy. Knowing all this going in allowed me to be confidently manage my race effort by keeping an eye on 1 thing … my HR.  I was pretty sure I could comfortably go deep into the 50 and minimize my late race struggle. 

To my surprise some of the hills reached 20% grade and so I did a lot more walking early on.  I didn’t know this until looking at the Garmin after the race, but I could feel the bite during the run and from experience was able to effectively throttle my effort. 

I was able to keep this race strategy for the first 6 ½ hours.   I hit the 50K mark around 5 ½ hours and still felt good, which was pleasing and helped my confidence.  I later learned from my Garmin that my Avg HR for those first 35 miles was 133 bpm and Avg Pace 10:51 minutes/mile.  This was consistent with my long run efforts during the 18 week build and so I was delighted about being able to do the same on this day and this course. 

Margie was at each of the manned aide stations cheering me on and encouraging the runners around me.  I will speak to this more later.  At the Lapland aide station I left Margie for the last time and had 16 miles left to the finish.  The tank was starting to get empty as I entered this new territory. 

At about mile 40 I really went into survival mode.  I could manage only to run about ¼ mile, then walk about the same or more.  Any rise in the road and I was walking.  My survival mode “feels” like trying to run or walk while dragging a dump truck.  It’s harder than you think just to keep moving.

The encouraging thing was that even though I was struggling, I could still keep the forward motion … what ultra runners call “perpetual motion”.   It isn’t pretty, but it gets you to the finish.   I could rumble along about 4 miles per hour without cramping. 
I’ve been 5 miles out from a marathon finish line before and had massive cramps.  Its ugly and must be avoided at all cost.  So my early investment in hydration and fuel, as well as its ongoing tuning throughout the day allowed me to continue to the finish without cramps.  I was avoided an all out physical and mental war and finished in 10 hours and 11 minutes. 

For those who like statistics and wonder how this fat boy “got er done” … I’m including a few statistics from the race, most of which were provided by a Garmin 305 GPS Unit, and my hydration/fuel strategy, with hopes that you may benefit from my experience.

Total Miles Run = 50.62
Finish time = 10 hrs 11 Min. 
Overall Avg pace = 12:13 Min/Mile
Overall Avg HR = 127 bpm (Somewhere around 58% of my max effort, using a Max HR of 184, which was recorded a few months ago at a 5K, and a resting HR of about 50, which is a guess but should be pretty close)
Calories burned = 8,200 (Garmin tends to calculate a bit high to cover the general population of athletes, so I think this is a bit high for me … but it was still a lot of calories).
Temperature = Start was 39 degrees, partly cloudy, with slight north wind.  Picked to 5 – 15 mph north wind all day.  Temps ended up in the 50’s.

My Fuel:  I use exclusively e-caps products and in the camp of those who have no breakfast before a race and no solid food (sandwiches, boiled potatoes etc) or sugars (mm’s, candy etc.) during the race. 

I pre-loaded the week before with good solid meals, nothing over sized and a good 8 – 9 hours of sleep each night.
 
The day before the race I had a normal 300-400 calorie breakfast, 6” subway at lunch, and a light dinner of ice tea, chicken breast, potatoes, and green beans.  At about 8:00 PM I ate a Cliff Bar.  I avoided grease, fat, and the bad sugar all week and especially Friday so this stuff wasn’t in my system on race day.

On race morning  I had (1) 8 oz cup of coffee and about 12 oz of water before the start.  I prefer at least 2 large cups of coffee about 1 ½ hours before a race but didn’t have more coffee in hotel room.  And at 03:45 in the morning, I couldn’t find any. 

I also mixed up my fuel bottles (per protocol below) that morning and placed them in my drops bags.  Everything else was already packed in the drop bags and ready to go.  This helped prevent any additional race day stress.

During the race I took in about 225 calories/hr from Perpetum.  With each 225 calorie serving of perpetum I mixed 100 mg of endurolyte powder.   For about the first 3 hours I took the perpetum (mixed with endurolyte powder) and 3 additional endurolyte capsules (40mg sodium each).  All total I took 220 mg sodium per hour for the first 3 hours.   For the next 7 hours it was 6 endurolyte capsules per … so I averaged about 340 mg sodium per hour to keep the twinges from turning into cramps.  I drank close to 30 oz of water every hour.  From the 2nd hour on I took 3 anti-fatigue caps/hr (1 every 20 minutes). 

I was a bit surprised that I had to take in the additional endurolytes.  It was cool weather, but I was dressed warmly and still sweating under my 3 layers  while running slow.  The twinges were likely from the constant rolling hills and me not being used to so much downhill running.  And maybe never having run farther than 35 miles played a part?

If you don’t address the ‘twinges” with more endurolytes then they will turn into full blown cramps … and that be really bad.

I had no stomach distress during the entire event.  Anytime I felt a bit to full from either fuel or fluid I simply cut back on the intake at the next 20 minute cycle and things returned to normal in my stomach.  I found it quite effective to pay attention to your stomach and its ability to drain content and use the feedback to adjust your intake. 

I urinated once an hour for the first 4 hours and then a few times from mile 40 on.  Those last efforts weren’t high volume, but they weren’t painful either, so I knew my 30 oz water/hr worked well.  This is a bit graphic … but it’s really important to avoid messing around with renal failure … that’s an instant IV and trip to the emergency room.   I saw a lot of other runners stopping as well … let us learn from them.  Some don’t stop and still go … trails in the sand.  Now that’s competitive.

Endurolytes and perpetum can’t fix being under-trained or inexperienced i.e. not enough hill work, long run experience etc. but this protocol allowed me to get the most out of what I could do on this day. 

So there you have it.  Hopefully this helps you with your own training plans and reaching your ultra running goals. 

One other thing.  If you believe that “He who is in me is greater than He who is in this world”, then there is more to this race.  So read on.  If not, then that is that.  Good luck and we’ll see you on the road.

 
Sometimes I think its selfish to train so much, especially for an ultra event.  It requires … no, it demands, a lot of time away from Margie and the kids.   You can’t expect to run well all day without practicing running all day. 

So what to do with that seed planted in my heart during the Sunmart 50K in Houston?  I couldn’t ignore the pull.  I felt drawn to the ultra runners … their courage, endurance, commitment.  But to follow that path meant putting more strain on family and professional relationships. 

I didn’t know the answer, but I knew to be obedient and to keep praying for guidance.  

Over the past several years my biggest struggle with God has been trust.  I know a lot about Him in my head, but not so much in my heart.  For me it’s like those who read about ultra’s and those who do ultra’s.  Both are knowledgeable about long distance running, but only one goes the distance.  Sometimes, especially during trials, I don’t trust Him.   
 
This to be a huge stumbling block in my walk with Him.  As much as I’d like to say this isn’t true … it is.  In this world of “me” “me” “me” it’s so much easier to say, hey, I deserve this or that.  So much easier to focus on “me” rather than “Him”. 

I’ve thought long and hard about this obstacle and how it might be related to that seed planted during Sunmart.  I concluded that God would reveal something to me through my running.

I went into Heartland expecting to go to “war’ late in the race.  When that time came, I would call upon God to give me strength, and I would march on to the finish with my faith in hand.   I would be stronger Christian. 

Well, it didn’t turn out like that.

I had prepared well during my build, had a great taper, and nailed my fuel and hydration.  So the big “war” never came during the race.  Nope.  Not what I expected.  The war came the night before the race.

After the racers meeting and dinner we went back to the hotel room.  I went through my drop bags checking and rechecking everything.  I reviewed my fuel mix strategy, played with my Garmin … just busy stuff because I was to excited and couldn’t sleep.   Finally went to bed around 11:00 PM.  Had to get up at 03:45 AM.  Yep, nothing like 3 or 4 hours sleep before the longest run of your life. 

I tossed and turned for several hours, all the while thinking about what was to take place in a couple of hours.  Nothing but me and my thoughts.  And for the first time all year I began to doubt if I could handle the distance.  I got scared.  That wasn’t supposed to happen.

The week before the race Margie bought me a special gift for the race.  It was a silver cross necklace inscribed with the words “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart, and lean not unto thine own understanding.  In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and he shall direct thy paths”.  It was this scripture that I prayed during my moment of war.  And it came to pass. 

At 03:45 AM I hopped up and soon realized we didn’t have enough coffee in the room for my 2 big cups.  So I ran across the parking lot to the front office to get more.  The office was closed … but as I was running, I noticed that I was just floating across the ground.  I smiled and thought to myself, yep, it was going to be a good day.  I was ready for a long run.  God is good.

Over the last several months I’ve been reading a book titled “How People Grow”.  It’s authored by a couple of Christian counselors and talks about how people with self destructive behaviors like eating disorders, depression, and addictions can overcome come their problems.  I’m only about half-way through the book, but I at this point they’re talking about how people usually focus on the wrong things when trying to fix their problems.

They suggest you allow God to work through others to help you.  Only when you feel His grace and love through others can healing begin.  When you’re in small group or in the body of Christ and you feel loved by others, then you will trust them.  And when you trust them, you can open up and express your shortcomings.  Working together, without judgement or criticism,  you can begin working on the core issues. 

Pretty simple and easy to understand in my mind, but hard for me to do.  I’m programmed to focus on the “I”.  I can take care of myself.  I can handle it.  I can fix it.  I am responsible for me.  For me this was another thing to throw in that slow cooking crock pot mind of mine.

So I’m was shuffling down the road all by myself in Cassody, KS trying to drag a danged dump truck to the finish line.  At about mile 39 God decided to execute His race plan. 

He ever so gently placed His hand on my heart and for the briefest moment a warm sensation flowed through me.  It was like getting really close to the sun, and then having to turn away.  God allowed me to feel deep in my heart how much He, and those around me in which he works through, love me.  It was over in an instant because He knew I couldn’t handle any more. 

But His message was clear.  When you fell loved, you will trust. 

He had answered my prayers.  Not in my way.  His way.  I can trust Him. This still overwhelms me. 

I don’t enough space here to fairly acknowledge all the people He choses to work through for me.  But you know who you are … you have prayed for me, stopped by my office, called me, text messaged me, and emailed me.   You know. 

And I can’t express enough how grateful I am for Margie and all she’s done over the years and months leading up to these moments.  You now know.

Those last 11 miles were a physical struggle … just as life will be.  But my mind and heart were at peace.  This is where I strive to always be.

During the last half mile I stopped a few times along the road and put together a small flower bouquet for Margie.  I gave them to her as I crossed the finish line.  And wouldn’t you know it … she handed me a dozen roses.    I will forever love her. 

God is a really good God.  Don’t just ready about it, do the distance. 

A few pictures from the race … Margie helping with fuel.  Notice the empty landscape ... no trees, cows, fences … nothing but road.  Think about the 100 milers …

Margie at the finish congratulating Eric and giving him a pumpkin for a gift.

At the finish line … Margie with her flowers, me with mine.  And my good buddy Eric Grauer looking on (He finished 9:47:00)

Finally get to sit down!