Race report on the Lean Horse Hundred, August 25-26, 2012.
My fourth Lean Horse 100 mile run is in the bag. The original title for this report was going to be, “My last hundred,” although I’ve backed off that statement with the passage of time. I would capsulize the race as “32 good, 32 bad, 20 good, 16 bad.” Within the “16 bad” section there were actually “five good,” although the barfing in the last 16 sorta relegates it to “bad” status.
I’ve blogged about this race the three previous years, along with posting pictures and providing course descriptions….so I’ll dispense with that, other than in the most summary fashion, as follows. The Lean Horse series of ultras is held in Hot Springs, SD on the last full weekend of August. Race distances include 50k, 50 mile and 100 mile. The majority of each race is on the Mickelson Trail, a “rails to trails” conversion providing a very nice crushed limestone surface. The Lean Horse 100 is considered an “easy” 100, although that is very much in the eye of the beholder.
One consistent feature of my previous three visits here: it’s hot! Last year the temps were somewhere in the 100 degree range. I don’t consider myself to be a good hot weather runner, yet I keep showing up, apparently hoping for a respite one year. Watching the forecast, the computer models were showing some relief—a cool front was supposed to work through the area on race day.
The 98 degree temperature at 5:30 Friday afternoon was “same old, same old.”
I did a bit of carbo loading Friday with some Fat Tire Ales at this local watering hole.
The race started at 6 AM at the Minnekahta trailhead 11 miles outside of Hot Springs. A pleasant, cool morning provided an ideal start for a morning runner such as myself. Amazing how all these hundred mile treks start so well. Nice and cool, stomach felt good, legs felt like they could go forever. I’d opted for a relative minimalist approach, with my drop bags containing primarily gear for the later stages of the race. No food, no special drinks, etc. (Not even a camera, explaining the lack of race pics). Just take what the race offered and go on. I did switch from a single handheld bottle to a double bottle waist system at the Pringle aid station (16 miles) but that was about it.
If I was smart (a big ‘if,” and generally disproved by available evidence) I would adopt shorter distances. Hell, I always feel good the first 30 miles or so. Plus, the company in these races is great. Ran with a guy who claimed to have done much of the early research on the benefits of chia seeds as a U of Arizona professor (now runs a site called Azchia.com). Talked with a lady from Saskatchewan nervous about her first 50k. Ran with a 63-year old dude with a shock of white hair (and matching beard) that put my minimalist coiffure to shame. All in all, a nice start to the event. Plus, the weather was holding up with cool, pleasant temps. Ate anything I could the first 32 miles through the Harbach Park aid station.
Last year it was hotter than Hades at this point, and I knew then it would be a struggle. This year temps were much more pleasant and it was…a struggle. Couldn’t have been over 80 degrees and still my stomach went on strike. Everyone talks about the importance of electrolytes and nutrition over long distances and all I could tolerate was ice water with an occasional cup of Coke. Same old thing.
The course profile from the 32-42 mile mark grinds slowly higher then drops as runners approach the turnaround at Hill City. During most of this time, I was feeling like crap and thinking I would never, ever run a warm weather ultra again. I hit the turnaround (approximately 48 miles) and watched everyone else eating all of the fine refreshments at the aid station. Me? Ice water. I was just under 10 hours, and hit what I believe was the halfway point in 10:16. Despite all my woes, I was well under 24 hour pace and had no complaints about my time.
One of the annoying aspects of the race at this point was getting sleepy in the afternoon. Really. Usually, the sleep monster appears later in the evening, but I was wobbling heading back from the turnaround. I stopped at the Oreville aid station at the 52 mile mark for some ice water and stretched out under a tree for 10 minutes or so. I hate burning time like that at an aid station, but I was trying to get myself back together.
Heading out from the aid station was a long uphill. At this point, I’d resigned myself to just walking in the remaining goddam race, that is if I didn’t drop entirely. All I could hope for was the cooler weather (it was now 5 PM or so) and the gentle downhills to save my sorry ass.
The tide started to turn at the Mountain aid station, about mile 58. I was able to choke down some broth to go with the water, and eased down the hill. Miraculously, I started to run a bit, although other runners were passing me like I was standing still. When I hit Harbach Park (mile 64) I was able to take broth and tomato soup. Plus, out of nowhere, someone offered vanilla ice cream. It was fabulous. Tasty, went down easy, cold….man, that should be standard fare in ultra aid stations. Even with the ice cream boost, I was still walking the first mile or so out of Harbach. But soon I started running again, and the next 20 miles were at a pretty good pace (for the later miles of a 100, that is). An added incentive was that I’d developed a pain in my left hip. Strangely, walking bothered it more than running, so I tried to keep a running pace as much as possible. I passed a number of runners in this stretch, some of whom seemed visibly surprised to see me moving so well. It also helped that it had gotten downright cool in the evening, with temps dropping to something around 50 degrees. Best to keep moving briskly!
Of course there’s the old saying that goes something like, “If you’re feeling good in an ultra, just wait—that will change.” For me, things started heading south (again) at the Argyle road turn off at mile 84. I was feeling sort of weak, and my stomach was bothering me again. Sat in the aid station chair, took a sip of Coke followed by some broth and then tomato soup. Barfed up that combination, all without leaving my chair. Jeez. Headed off down Argyle road, initially feeling better. But by the 89 mile aid station I was tired and just worn down. It was 2:15 AM, so despite all my woes a sub-24 effort (finishing by 6 AM) was pretty well in the bag , and sub-23 was (reasonably) in sight.
It would be nice to report that I finished strongly with a great pace for the last 11 miles, but it wasn’t to be. I sorta walked and lumbered in, and hit the finish line in 22:50, good for 21st overall out of 73 finishers and about 100 starters.
A fitting end. My hotel was the Best Western, right across the parking lot from the finish line. Due to capacity issues at the hotel, my Friday and Saturday rooms were on two separate reservations, requiring me to check in again. I stumbled over, tired, sleepy and dirty. And guess what? There was no room for me. As it turns out, I think the desk help at 5 AM in Hot Springs lacked the skills to find my reservation. But nevertheless, I had a backup plan. The Mueller Center actually has a locker room with showers. However, at least on this occasion, there was no hot water! A cold shower at the end of a long race was not exactly what I had in mind. After cleaning up a bit, I went over and started the rental car and turned on the heated seats. Not being able to sleep much, I went for breakfast. Post-food, and with the sun starting to rise, I crawled into the back seat and got an hour or two of sleep before heading to the airport.
Summary and rationalization. In my analysis, 52 of the 100 miles were good, with 48 not so good. So if you throw out the 48 bad miles, the barfing, the cold shower and sleeping in the rental car, it was a pretty good time. Yeah, I think I’ll do another one of these things.
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