Applying ultra lessons for a sub ultra race

By Henry Howard

In the past few years, I had been focusing my training and races mostly on ultra distances, especially 100-milers as I chase my Western States quest. Since I was able to complete this year’s qualifier, the Kettle Moraine 100 earlier this summer, I’m now pursuing a mix of sub ultras and shorter ultras.

On Aug. 3, I did the Oakadoke 18-mile trail race in Valparaiso, Ind., just a week or two after signing up. It’s a fun race, with a well-marked course and an amazing group of volunteers. The race also offers a 9-mile distance as well a 4-miler.

It was a great experience as I used it for training as I build toward the 45K at Hungerford Trail Races in late September. Hungerford also offers 15-mile and 50-mile options. (Join me at this awesome race and use my discount code RUNSPIRITED20 for $20 off any distance. Sign up here.)

Since I was approaching Oakadoke as prep for another race, I also used some ultra lessons for a sub ultra race. Here are five takeaways from longer races that I used during Oakadoke:

1. Execute a smart pacing plan: On the advice of my coach, I was determined to F--- And Find Out. But that didn’t mean sprinting hard from the start. I was moving at a steady consistent clip, not pushing too hard in the early going and setting myself up to power through the latter stages of the race. It seemed to work as I had the eighth-fastest first loop and the third-best second loop, trailing just the top two finishers in the final two miles. (Also notable is the winner set the course record.) That patience allowed me to move from the eighth to 10th position I held throughout the first 14 miles to pass four runners in the final 4ish miles to come in at fourth overall out of 46.
   

2. Carbs are the secret sauce: There has been a lot of talk recently about endurance athletes improving performance with high dosages of carb intake. While some elites are averaging 100 grams of carbs an hour, most ultra runners can see a performance benefit when the intake is between 60 and 80 grams. I feel like I nailed the strategy and nutrition, taking in 240g of carbs total in the roughly three hours, or 80 grams an hour. I had five 40g SIS gels, one caffeinated 20g SIS gel and one Honey Stinger waffle. That doesn’t include the additional carbs from the Gnarly Nutrition BCAAs and Fuel20, which I had during the race. Liquid carbs are the way to go. (Want to test out some fueling and recovery options? Join my RunSpirited team at The Feed and receive $80 credit.)

3. Power hiking the steep hills: While the course had roughly 1,000 feet of elevation gain, it was seemingly constant rolling hills. It was completely runnable although I power hiked with purpose a steep section at roughly miles 4.2 and 13.2. On the first loop, my power hiking was at a similar pace to two runners ahead of me, who were running and therefore, using more energy without the benefit of saving time.

4. Planning a DYI aid station: Since it was a loop course, I was able to leave a bag near the start-finish area. I took one bottle of water mixed with Gnarly Nutrition’s BCAAs with me on the first loop, then exchanged it for my stashed botte with Gnarly’s Fuel20. At the same time, I collected more gels for the second half. This allowed me to spend about a minute at the aid station and bypass all of the on-course aid stations.

5. Keeping chill with an ice hat: The race began with the temperature around 70 and was in the mid-80s, with around 89% humidity, when I finished. I was starting to feel the heat at the midpoint and thankfully had the presence of mind to have an aid station volunteer fill my hat with ice, which was great for cooling.