Sunday, 4/13/08 9:35am-3:30pm

I went to run at Quicksilver County Park on Sunday. It has been a warm week and I thought it would be a perfect time to do a training run for the upcoming Quicksilver 50K to simulate the heat in May.

What I didn’t realize was the temperature got hotter than I expected. Sunday turned out to be the hottest day of the week, reaching close to 90 degrees. I brought four 20-oz bottles of Powerade with me in my backpack and a water bottle, but that was not enough. I ran out of fluid around mile 21.5, 4 hours into the run. My calves and quads were shot and I could hardly walk because of the pain. I also noticed my heart was beating really fast when I was running (jogging) up a hill that I could normally run with an ease. I had trouble breathing because my lungs hurt badly when I try to take a deep breathe. To make things worse, I was at the opposite side of the park from where I started.

I had 10 more miles to complete the 50K course, but I was in no shape to complete the run. I felt defeated, but continuing the run any further without proper hydration was suicidal. Just then, I received a call from my girlfriend. It has been 4 and a half hours since I left her a text message that I will be gone for a run at the park and she was worried. I told her I’m (barely) walking and I’m going to take a short cut and go home. The shortest route was the 3.7 mile single track I ran in the first hour. It was a fun, undulating trail with a lot of shade, but going back was the longest 3.7 miles ever! I came across a couple of hikers, but surprisingly, not many of them had water. Finally, I met an older Asian couple and they were kind enough to share some water with me (1/3 of the bottle). It wasn’t very much, but it was enough for me to walk a little faster, and even jog a bit. I also found a stream where I was able to splash some water on me and cool off. After an hour and half, I got back to the parking lot where I parked my bike. I was able to drink water from the fountain and felt alive. All that gunk on my lips and salt crystals on my face, shoulder, and legs were pretty gross. I called my girlfriend and told her I’m okay and hopped on my bike and rode back home. 5:45 run/walk was a bit longer than I had planned, but good lesson learned!

Summary

The idea was not bad. It was a good simulation of the actual race. There are going to be 6 aid stations for the 50K race at miles 6.4, 9.7, 14.5, 19.0, 23.7 and 27.0. I was going to take a short break at each station and fill up my water bottle and eat some snacks. Then, I realized I might not have enough fluid for the whole run and started drink less fluid, but I had underestimated the amount of fluids I was losing and bonked around mile 20. I will try the course again next week. This time, I will start earlier in the day (around 6am), bring more water (if I can carry more) and perhaps electrolyte capsules or Ensure (since I was hardly eating any solids and I would have probably thrown up gels).

Here is the link to Quicksilver 50K. Hope to see you there!

What I brought:

1 x 20oz. water bottle (filled with Gatorade)

4 x 20oz. Powerade

3 x energy bars (chopped up in little pieces for easy consumption -- which then melted into one big piece during the run)

2 bags of trail mix and M&Ms (which also melted)

6 chocolate chip cookies

What I consumed:

1 x 20oz. water bottle filled with Gatorade

4 x 20oz. Powerade

1 x energy bar

A couple handfuls of trail mix and M&Ms