Now changing gears a bit, first, regarding equipment, I have already made a list of what worked, what didn’t, and what I would change for future races.
Most importantly, concerning food, I would take way more energy gels/chews and bars and I would ditch a good portion of the 3 pounds of 3Fuel I took as a replacement, although I would still consider using the 3Fuel once each morning before running. With respect to food, I need to pack more ramen/noodles as I craved the salt, even for breakfast. Quantity wise, I went through all the food I took, and unlike most people, I really enjoyed my freeze-dried meals all week. I am not sure why this was so different for me: maybe the brands I used (i.e., mountain house and alpine foods instead of the dreaded orange Expedition Foods packages), or maybe just the types of meals I brought (everyone seemed to envy my grilled chicken breast with mashed potatoes and my sheppard’s beef stew with ~4000mg of sodium in the package)? Justin’s nut butters was also essential. Moreover, my electrolyte plan seemed to work well (1 Saltstick every 45 mins and 1 Nuun tab with water every 2 hours). Finally, I note here that I thought the GU Recovery Brew after each day was essential in my recovery plan. I did add about 1000mg of glutamine to each serving, but my experience with GU Recovery Brew has been fantastic in aiding my recovery from day-to-day. I am not sure if I was lucky or what, but I took only 2 motrin, for swelling, all week as far as pain killers go. Everyone around me seemed to be taking painkillers every few hours.
Concerning gear:
First, I loved my shoes: Brook’s Cascadia 7’s with orange Superfeet inserts and lock laces. They held up fantastically and were comfortable on any terrain. Despite the recommendation of 1-2 sizes, I only went up a half size and I experienced very few and only minor blisters; I did pre-tape my feet with Kinseo tape and paper tape each day where I felt hotspots, however. I note that Kinseo tape was essential for me during this event, as I used it for my feet, for added support for my rolled ankle, and on my hips to reduce chaffing from my pack. With that said, I might consider using lighter trail shoes in the next race (maybe the Brook’s Pure Grit). Some people thought gaiters were unnecessary for this race, but I thought they were helpful because there were many pebbles and dust that could wind up in your shoe and result in blisters, particularly when going through brush, stones, etc. I used a pair of Outdoor Research ultra-trail gaiters, which I thought worked great, as they required no under shoe tying or connectors. For socks, I took 2 pairs of Wright Socks Running 2 Socks and 1 Pair of Injinjis. On most days, I simply wore the Wright Socks, with which I only got very minor toe blisters. On the long, 50 mile day, I decided to where the Injinjis under the Wright Socks for added cushion and protection. It might seem like a bit much, but it worked great in preventing any major blisters. Even when completely soaked, the Wright Socks seemed to work really well in preventing major blisters. I was sure that I would have blisters by the end of the day I stepped in a mud pit early on (5 miles into day 3), but surprisingly, I was okay when I took my shoes off at the end of the day. Needless to say, I was extremely happy with my sock selection. I also used a pair of CEP recovery socks for each day after running. These were essential for keeping my foot swelling down and helping me feel fresh each morning, despite rolling my ankle on several occasions, sometimes rather severely. Finally, for footwear each night at camp, I took a pair of Crocs Prepair Slide II, which were extremely comfortable for walking around the rocky terrain, but added minimal weight to my pack.
I also loved my backpack (an Osprey Talon 33). I was originally training with an OMM, but it was a bit uncomfortable. I switched to the Osprey about 2 months before the event, and I am very happy I did. It was durable, comfortable, added minimal weight, and offered a great variety of quick gear access options. I will definitely stick with an Osprey for my next event. I also note that I loved the quick external access to my bladder for adding water at checkpoints. I may consider smaller smaller Osprey pack to reduce weight if I can get my gear into a 25L pack, but I am very pleased with the Osprey line of packs in general. For water bottles I had a Platypus bladder, which conveniently unzipped at the top for quickly adding water at checkpoints. This was very helpful in the early days when I needed the extra water. On my shoulders, I used one raidlight water bottle and one Gel-bot water bottle, both of which I was happy with. In particular, the Gel-bot is an awesome idea as I can eliminate a few grams associated with gel packaging each day and avoid carrying sticky gel packaging during the event.
Clothing-wise, I wore CW-X Pro Compression Tights, 4" Nike Running Shorts, an UnderArmour Long-sleeve Heat Gear Shirt, and an Underarmour running jacket, all of which worked very well and I would surely use again. In particular, the Underamour shirt kept me cool in the hot conditions, and I am very happy with the CW-X line of compression gear, as I used it throughout my training (both shorts and tights). I also used an UnderArmour Cold Black hat, which did a fantastic job of keeping me cool in the desert and preventing sweat from dripping down my face. While others were complaining about their hats, I had nothing to complain about.
For my headphones, I used X-1 Surge Mini Waterproof Sport Headphones. I was pretty impressed by the durability of the headphones during the event. Specifically, in addition to the general abuse to which the headphones were subjected during such an event (e.g., being splashed with water, sweated on profusely, yanked, pulled, twisted, smashed in a bag, etc.), the headphones also held up well on the 5th day of the event, when I went through an awful rain/sleet/snow storm in 32 degree weather at 9500 feet atop a mountain. For my music, I used a cheap usb drive style mp3 player, that worked great. I will say that I used Energizer Ultimate lithium AAA batteries, and I am really impressed by how long they last compared to a regular AAA battery. I only needed about 2.5 AAA batteries for about 33 hours of listening time.
My Marmot Plasma 32 sleeping bag was perfect for the conditions, and the fact that it was water resistant was helpful, as it rained on us almost every night and water dripped through the tent. The sleeping bag did not absorb any water throughout the week. I was also glad to have a Therma-a-rest z-lite sleeping pad, as many of the campsites had rocky terrain.
Finally, I note, that I would ditch or change certain things that resulted in unnecessary weight, and I would also probably get a rain proof jacket.
Regarding training and preparation, I think my training schedule really worked for the most part. My recovery from day to day was phenomenal, as was evident by my improved results each day. The cramping on day 1 sucked, but I am pretty sure that was a result of pre-race dehydration, which can be easily corrected. I also think my over-reliance on 3Fuel was a problem in the first couple of days; as I started to reduce my intake and rely more heavily on gels/chews, my results and how I felt improved drastically. Other than that, my soreness was minimal throughout the week (I do note that after the event my ankles and feet swelled like crazy for about 4 days, but they have since returned to normal). However, for future events, I do think I need to cut back on CrossFit slightly and focus a bit more heavily on running, which I intend to do starting tomorrow. Still, CrossFit will remain a heavy part of my training as work to incorporate a lot of CrossFit Endurance. While others had upper body soreness after day 2 (shoulders, back, etc.), I had NO upper body soreness all week. During this event, I also learned that I really need to increase my hill/mountain work, whether it be doing serious hill repeats on a regular basis or doing some fast-paced hiking in Shenandoah. The climbs were really brutal and some people that trained on similar terrain handled them much better than I did – particularly Day 3, Stage 3, which seemed to straight up for about 2-3km and required scrambling on my knees at times. At the same time, the elevation didn’t really bother me, so the elevation mask must have done something.
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