Who Needs Training?

Howl at the Moon 8-Hour Run is over and I survived. In fact, I did pretty well. I ran 40.98 miles and that was good enough to grab 18th place (tie) out of 256 starters! It was a seriously hot & humid day. Throw in lots of sun and little shade on the course, and you have a recipe for over heating and dehydration. Lots of runners stopped early and several needed medical attention. The last couple hours looked like a death march. People slowly walking, kind of wobbly, with their heads down and very little talking. It was somber. No hooting and hollering...just a few, barely distinguishable, grunts of encouragement spoken as one runner slowly passed another.

This was my 9th Howl and it was my hardest. The weather sucked. I wanted to drop out around the 6 hour mark. My stomach was rebelling and I couldn't eat or drink much. Switched to pure water and salt pills and mostly walking. After about 45 minutes I felt a bit better and started to jog-walk and eat a few pretzels with sips of Gatorade. With an hour left, I picked up the pace and was determined to break 40 miles. During the last 30 minutes, you are forced to run short 1/4 mile out & backs (1/2 mile total) instead of full 3.29 mile regular course loops. I managed to get 3 out & backs (1.5 miles) added to my 12 full loops for a grand total of 40.98 miles. I was pleased.

Leading up to this event, I was injured and under-trained. Over the last 8 weeks, my longest run was 10 miles. My average weekly miles was 23 (that includes walking). That's not good ultra training! And our summer had been fairly cool so there was no chance to acclimate to the weekend heat. Not a good way to start an 8-hour ultra. At least my knee was healed and I was healthy. No summer colds, no nagging injuries, just a healthy, but under-trained guy trying to get in some miles. I had several goals in mind for the 8 hours:

1. Remain injury-free
2. Break 50K
3. Beat Janak Patel (Buffalo friend "Glow Stick")
4. Break 40 miles
5. Break 43 miles (my average for Howl over the last 8 runs)

I achieved 4 of my 5 goals! Of course, several were pretty easy. To remain injury free I could have walked the whole thing and still probably broken 50K. I basically had this first goal in my mind as an excuse in case my knee started hurting again. It didn't, so I kept chugging along.

A mileage goal of 50K (31 miles) is pretty easy. The worst I've done at Howl in the past was 37 miles. Fifty kilometers is a nice achievement and a good long run in the heat. Something to be proud of no matter what the conditions or your current training. It would be a good jump start to my current inadequate marathon training program (trying for the Redwoods Marathon on October 18 with my brother).

Beating Janak would not be a given. He's a tough old dude! Even at the age of 61, he can put in some excellent training runs and he is very precise in his training and racing--monitoring everything with his fancy heart rate monitor. Janak ran 38.19 miles last year at Howl. I wasn't sure I'd be able to get that many miles. I'd try. I hate the heat, but I seem to persevere a bit better than other runners. I think I'm just stubborn. When it got hotter and hotter, I knew everyone was suffering...but I also knew I could hang in there and keep accumulating miles. If my knee held up. Fortunately, the knee was fine and I kept plodding along in the heat. Janak had a good run and managed 34.40 miles this year. BUT I BEAT HIM! Of course, he wasn't racing me. I guess it's not much of an achievement to say you "beat" someone that wasn't even racing you. I'll take it. Even if he is 18 years older. I have no shame.

As the day wore on, I wasn't sure I'd get 40 miles. I knew 43 was out of the equation. Forty miles seemed possible. I started doing the math in my head...can I do 8 more miles in 2 hours? Can I get 2 loops and a couple out & backs? My running was faltering and my walking was really slow. This was going to be close! I told myself not to stop long at the aid stations, don't sit in a chair, don't change shoes, don't eat much. Lot's of "don'ts." What can I do? Crank up the iPod, douse myself with water, and run down all the hills (any small incline counted as a hill). I figured if I ran the downhill sections and walked everything else I could hit 40 miles. I was right. Music helped a lot. So did the water splashed on my head and ice tucked under my hat. Occasionally I'd hit a slower song (Joss Stone doesn't cut it at this point) and I'd just shuffle to the next song (AC/DC hits the spot!). When I had the right combination of rock/metal and a downhill section, I was blazing (seemed like 6:00 pace, but was probably more like 9:00). With 12 minutes to go and 40.48 miles under my belt, I walked the last out & back and finished with 2 minutes to spare (guess that last 1/2 mile was at 20 minute pace). I was done. My average heart rate for the whole 8 hours was 144. I didn't track splits like I intended, but it helped to monitor my HR as the day got hotter. Holding back in the first couple hours helped me keep going as the day got hotter.

One of the best parts of Howl at the Moon is the post-race celebration. They have free food and beer all night. I used the outdoor shower, changed clothes, and called it a day. My stomach was still queasy and I had a heat rash on my legs. I just wanted to go home. So I skipped all the food and alcohol and piled into my car and drove home. It was the right choice. The real shower at home felt great. The left-over vegetarian soup and burritos hit the spot. Lounging in bed watching the LA Galaxy & New England Revolution game (MLS soccer) was a perfect end to the day. And Sunday saw me walking in my five finger shoes and catching a couple more good soccer games--Chelsea beating Manchester United in the FA Community Shield in the morning, then DC United getting slaughtered by Real Madrid in the afternoon. It was a good weekend.

My updated Howl at the Moon statistics:
Total Races: 9
Low: 37.81 miles (2000)
High: 47.06 miles (2006, 2008)
Total Miles: 392.18
Average Miles: 43.58
Best Placing: 12th (2005)
Worst Placing: 44th (2000)

Next year is the 20th anniversary of the Howl at the Moon event. I'll be back. It'll be my 10th. I'll break 400 "lifetime" Howl miles and start my trek toward 500 miles. I still dream of hitting 50 miles in 8 hours. If they'd just move this race to the fall so I could TRAIN in the summer heat and RUN in the cool fall weather...

Training is over rated. Who needs it? I had no long runs and no heat training leading up to this year's Howl. I did just fine. Imagine if I was really trained...I could win this thing! Yeah, right. Hope to see lots of familiar faces at next year's Howl at the Moon. It's a fantastic race.