blueollie

FANS: what went wrong

Ultra post: On the drive home, I had lots of time to mull over what went wrong and what went right.

The wrong stuff

1. Stuff I can’t control
a. I got the flu and missed 2 weeks of training and I needed 2 more weeks to get back up to speed.
b. I then got a head cold; 1 more week gone. So, that was 5 weeks total.
c. It was hot; heat is tough for me, and I wasn’t heat trained.

2. Stuff I could have controlled
a. When I felt my stomach go, I should have accepted that I had to walk at easy effort for couple of HOURS prior to being able to take stuff in. I was hydrated enough; problem is that whatever I took in wouldn’t have digested anyway. And I’ve proven that I can go at an easy pace sans food for up to 8 hours.

Instead I tried to eat a couple of slices of watermelon; that made me sick.

b. Attitude: I was whipped when I showed up for the race. I was undertrained and knew it. Still, the undertraining couldn’t be avoided but I needed to have a “I’ll get as many miles as possible attitude”.

c. See part b. My real goal was to “not get sick” and when I did, I was whipped. I could have looked for solutions to my nausea (e. g, waited until I threw up again and then got back out there). But I was defeated when I got sick.

Having a “fight for as many miles as possible” goal would have given me incentive to stick it out. It is never a good idea to have a “warm bed” as an option.

d. I was 10 pounds too heavy; I did my best ultra walking when I weighed 185. I came in at 195.

e. I can’t neglect heat training if I decide to target this race again.

f. I need to do at least 1 high intensity workout a week to get my stomach used to strain.

Stuff I did right

a. I averted the heat crisis with ice bags on the head and some orange at 2 hours into it.
b. Poweraid zero seemed to work well as a replacement drink.
c. Pacing was ok; I was happy with the first 45 miles of the race.

June 10, 2008 - Posted by blueollie | time trial/ race, ultra, walking | | 3 Comments

3 Comments »

  1. You’re a brilliant man in so many ways but the way you torture yourself makes me wonder why. I don’t understand it but I do support your grit and the effort and thought you put into what you do.

    Comment by Rose | June 10, 2008 | Reply

  2. It isn’t torture. It is more like the following: “if you are doing something that you KNOW that you can do, then there is no sense of accomplishment. If you are attempting something that you might not be able to do, then there IS that sense of accomplishment when you succeed.”

    Or, put more efficiently: “nothing ventured, nothing gained”. :)

    Of all of the stuff that I have done, the stuff that I am proudest of (the Ph. D, in mathematics, getting papers published, various minor athletic accomplishments) are those in which the probably of failure was significant.

    Comment by blueollie | June 10, 2008 | Reply

  3. Ollie,

    Your weekend and the lead-up to it sounds a lot like my MMT story from last year. I had been sick, I was undertrained, I was overweight, and I showed up *hoping* things would go well. When you are in the mode of hoping at an ultra, you’re likely in trouble.

    This year, in comparison, things have gone well all around, and I’m going into my main ultra for the year in a very confident mood. I may still fail – all kinds of things can go wrong on race day. But, if I fail, it won’t be because my fitness was suspect and one little event pushed me over the edge.

    It’s still early in the year. You have plenty of time to fix the issues that you brought up and still come back and have a good race this season.

    Damon

    Comment by Damon | June 10, 2008 | Reply


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