Badwater Pre-Barbecue

Thanks to Bernie and Paul for hosting the Badwater pre-barbecue for Rob #64 and I #18. It was a lot of fun! See you in Death Valley.

From left to right: the most amazing runner I know - Monica Scholz http://www.monumentaleffort.com/monica%E2%80%99s-3000-mile-odyssey 8-time Badwater finisher, myself, Tammy (crew member of Rob) and Phil.

Bernie, my crew member in 2009 and crew member again this year

My crew chief John (Badwater finisher 2007)

Rob's crew member Jim and Paul and my husband and crew member Jeff

and the Badwater 2010 runners Rob #64 and I #18

More Badwater Training

Yesterday I had some very good training sessions. In the morning I did my 20 minutes weights, and in the evening I had a great workout on the treadmill. I started with a 3 mile warm-up and continued with 5 minutes intervals switching between running at incline 1 and walking on an incline of 5 up to 12. Since I'm planning to walk all the uphills at Badwater, I thought I'd better get my legs used to walking at a reasonably fast pace. After that I relaxed in the sauna for 30 minutes.

Badwater Sandwich

This morning I did a "Badwater sandwich" which is part of my training for the last 8 weeks before the race. Adrian Belitu (#99) who ran Badwater last year and will be there again this year recommended it to me. Thank you Adrian. The "Badwater sandwich" is run - sauna - run. I believe it's very helpful in my preparation for Badwater. I'm also doing 20 minutes weights almost every day and work on my tan. Besides the physical training there is still lots to do with administration and gear preparation. Let's keep moving!

Three More Weeks Till Badwater

Time is flying. Only three weeks left until the start of the Badwater Ultramarathon. The training has gone well so far. Last Saturday I ran my last race before Badwater – the Niagara Ultra 50k www.ouser.org . Almost 800 runners signed up for all the different distances and nearly 200 were in the 50k. The weather conditions were perfect – hot and humid. The course is an out and back course starting in Niagara-on-the-lake and the turnaround is right next to the Niagara Falls. On the way out I felt quite good and I enjoyed the scenery and the conversation with other ultrarunners. However, on the way back I got some very bad cramps in both of my legs and had to slow down tremendously which was too bad because I still felt strong. I was definitely expecting to run a better time, though at the end I was glad I still finished in less than 5 hours (4:59:38). I’m almost sure the cause for the problem was not taking enough electrolytes – another lesson learned the hard way.

Badwater Nutrition Training

After the big stomach problems I experienced during the Sulphur Springs 100 miler http://www.ouser.org/ I wasn’t sure anymore about my nutrition plan for Badwater. During Massanutten 100 I had some problems for the first 10 hours and figured it most likely was due to the Ensure. However, as I didn’t have any Ensure during Sulphur I wasn’t sure what could have caused the problem and my Badwater nutrition plan was in jeopardy.

So I had to find a solution as soon as possible and decided to give it another try during my long training run last Saturday. I parked my car in one of the parking lots at Sunnybrook Park and set up my private aid station with a big cooler and the different kind of food I wanted to try. I ran back and forward to the “aid station” in 30 minutes intervals to refuel. All together I ran for about 4.5 hours. The temperature wasn’t quite like Badwater but - big surprise - I didn’t have any stomach issues at all. Whoo-ah! During the 5 hours I had Perpetuem, Carbo Pro, Nuun, mashed potatoes, milk in different flavours, V8 jus, hard boiled eggs but no yolk and fruit caps. No gels! Everything worked out great, and I keep my fingers crossed it will work for Badwater too.

Three 100 milers in 5 weeks

This is by far the most running I've done - three 100 milers in 5 weeks:

April 24: Jerseyville Fat Ass 100, the flattest and fastest one (17:52)

May 15: Massanutten Mountain Trail 100, the rockiest and hilliest one (30:14)

May 29: Sulphur Springs 100, the hottest and most challenging one (22:14)

Now it's time to rest up for Badwater with a little heat training thrown in.