Practice, Running

Practicing Transcendence: Sri Chinmoy Self-Transcendence 7 Hour Race Report

I ran the Sri Chinmoy Self Transcendence 7 Hour Race at Magnuson Park, Seattle on Sunday, September 21. I thought about running it for a couple months, but didn’t actually decide to do so until about 10 days prior. I sent my application in on the 12th.

I got everything I might need together the night before. I had more food than I expected to need, but wanted to have different options just in case. I had an extra pair of shoes, sunscreen, salt caps, water bottles, body glide, gaiters, a button up golf shirt and a few other odds and ends.

My sleep schedule was even further from ideal for race day leading up to it than my last race, the Rattlesnake Ridge 50k. I was able to get nearly a full 8 hours of sleep the night before, however.

I woke up at 5:40 am, got ready and put everything in the car. I headed out just after 6:30 to give myself a little time before the 8 am start. It’s a little over an hour drive to Magnuson, with a few minute delay due to construction on SR522.

I stopped at the gas station across the street from the park to pee and pick up a bag of ice. A few minutes later, I found parking right near the aid station. I checked in and went back to the car to get ready. I had about 17 minutes to start time. I needed a longer restroom stop before the race started, but the park staff hadn’t unlocked the restrooms at the start/finish line. So I drove down near the boat launch. I took my shoes and bib in with me to finish getting ready.

Back to the start line with a few minutes to spare. The pre-race briefing had just started. It was a pretty small crowd, about 20 runners. We had 7 hours to run around a 1.528 mi course as many times as we could. No credit would be given for partial laps.

I decided that I’d carry one handheld bottle and wear my UD Jurek Essential belt to carry food and my car keys. I could have gone without the belt. I had a second bottle that I left at the aid station, so I could swap out. I asked whoever was manning the aid station when I swapped if they could refill the empty bottle and leave it for me to pick up later. It worked pretty well. There were a couple times that I found an empty bottle waiting for me, but I don’t know how well I expressed what I wanted at times later in the race. I also had a cooler that I left by the aid station with fruit and ice.

The race started to the sound of a conch. Four other guys and I took out in the lead, following the race director, Daulot Fountain, on his bike, showing us the route.

I probably went out too fast, but I really wanted to see how far I could go in 7 hours. I still think that I might be able to hit 50 mi on a perfect day. Sunday wasn’t perfect, but I still put in the effort.

After a few laps, I had settled into 2nd place. The temperature was comfortable for the first few hours. I stopped at my car a few times during the race, because I forgot to put the freezer bags of dates that I brought.

I kept a fairly even pace for the first 20-22 miles or so. I was fairly comfortable to nearly 30 mi. By then, I had slowed a bit and stopped at the aid station almost every lap. Earlier, I went 2-4 laps without stopping for aid.

About halfway through, I took off my tank top and went sans shirt for a couple laps. By then it was starting to get rather warm. It hit the mid-80s and most of the course was exposed to the sun.  I then stopped at my car again and grabbed the Nike golf shirt that I brought.

I’m so glad I brought the button up shirt. The first lap wearing it, I left it unbuttoned. It kept the sun off most of my upper body for at least half the lap. Almost every lap after that I either took the shirt off and dunked it in my melting left over bag of ice or squeezed sponges of ice water from the aid station over the shirt to act as sort of a swamp cooler. I also started doing just the top button. This kept the shirt from flapping all over, protected me a little more from the sun and still kept air circulating around my body very well. This was the first time I tried a button up shirt and I will definitely do it again.

The early leader lapped me twice somewhere around the marathon mark. I lost 2nd place somewhere around the same time as well, to the guy who eventually won. He had an impressive day, keeping a pretty even pace throughout.

I kept on trucking along. I had definitely slowed from my early pace, but I tried to maintain at that level.

The course was fairly flat, much flatter than nearly anything I normally run. There was one small hill, about 15 ft gain over 30-40 yards. Around 22-24 mi or so, I started walking the hill. The miles and the pace were catching up with me and I decided it was better to conserve that little energy. It was also good to stretch my legs with a different gait.

Starting to run again from a stop at the aid station was rough later in the race. It took a minute to get back into the rhythm each lap. The paved portions of the course started to get to me as well. About 1/4 or so of the course was paved. I started trying to run on the small grass strips along the sides.

Somewhere north of 34 mi, I unlapped myself from the leader once. The eventual 1st place also lapped me somewhere around there too. I wasn’t really in the mindset of running against other people though. Sure, it would be cool to win, but I was running for me.

I came around for what turned out to me my second to last lap, and my lap counter told me there were 15 minutes left. My current pace was around 16 minutes per lap. I decided to go. I looked for my bottle swap, but it was empty. The aid station volunteer helped me quickly fill it most of the way, and I was off.

I pushed the pace to about the same as my first few miles. My last 1.8 mi were between 8:38/mi and down to 8:16/mi. I saw the women’s winner coming back on the lollipop section as I went out. I was a few hundred yards from the finish line when I heard the crowd of volunteers, other runners, friends and families cheering her on to finish. Looking at my GPS, I thought I had less time than I actually had, so I sped up again.

As I neared the finish, everyone was cheering and the other runners created a tunnel with their raised arms for me. It was an awesome feeling to finish a race to that kind of support. I crossed the finish line with about 1 minute left on the clock, the last runner to come in.

I came in 3rd place, 2nd in my age group. With that last lap, number 28, I finished the same distance as the early leader, though he finished about 10 minutes earlier.

After the race, there was a picnic and awards ceremony down by Lake Washington. I took a dip in the water to cool off. Then a quick shower to rinse off the algae and grime from both the race and the lake.

It was a great event. The volunteers were kind, helpful and very supportive. Three of them also took part in the run as a team. Other volunteers walked around the course cheering runners on as well. The layout of the course was such that you didn’t go very long without seeing other runners. Even if you weren’t passing or being passed by someone, you could see them on the lollipop section. All the runners were supportive of each other as well. All of their compliments definitely helped. And they were a friendly bunch to chat with after the race as well. I look forward to seeing them at races in the future.

I may not have hit my reach-goal of 50 miles, but I’m thrilled with my performance. I ran farther and for a longer time than I had ever run before. I had a little concern, beforehand, that running laps around a course would be too repetitive. I didn’t find that the case at all. I’ve written about reaching a meditative state while running before. I was in it for most of the day. I was so deep in the zone that I nearly ran off the very well marked course a couple times, even though I had already run multiple laps. It was a transcendent run in many ways.

 

Official distance: 42.784 mi

GPS data: 43.77 mi, ~500 ft gain (difference due in part to restroom trips, not taking the most direct line, etc.)

 

Gear:
Altra Superior 1.5 (blue)
Injinji Trail mini crew
UD handheld bottles (fastdraw plus and fastdraw 20)
UD Jurek Essential belt
Under Armor tank
Nike ACG Drifit button up shirt (thrift store purchase)
RGear Stash & Dash 3” split shorts

 

Fuel/Hydration:
Unsure how much water I took in. Started with 20 oz every 3 laps, went to every 2 laps, then every lap for the last hour.
~5-6 bananas
~1 orange
5-6 small slices of watermelon
~5 Pluots
~20 medjool dates
~15 salt caps

Running, Training Log

September 15-21 Practice Running

Monday, September 15, 2014, 4:27 pm

6.45 mi, 262 ft gain, 1:01:26. Road to Wallace Falls State Park TH & back, solo. New Balance MR10v2.

It was around 92 degrees when I started and very little shade on this route. Too hot for a road run with the dogs. My groin loosened up more quickly than the past few days. Settled into a relatively easy tempo.

 

Tuesday, September 16, 2014, 4:16 pm

6.44 mi, 293 ft gain, 1:12:13. Kellogg Lake Tree Farm Gate #1, with dogs. Altra Superior 1.5 Blue.

Took it pretty easy. Was looking to get about 5 mi. More bad running math. For some reason adding 1 mi each way out and back to a 4 mi loop made sense. No harm though. I felt pretty good with the groin better than Monday. The out and back was on the road connecting to the gate #2 road, just to the beginning of the hill. Then a stop at Olney creek. It was warm and I could tell the dogs could use the cool down. Then around the loop and back to the car. Just about no matter how far into a run I am going clockwise around this loop, I always feel good for the last .75 mi or so of the loop. It’s not particularly scenic and the road has a pretty good crown. Whatever it is, I’ll take it.

 

Wednesday, September 17, 2014, 3:26 pm

3.1 mi, ft gain, 29:28. Green belt in town, with dogs. New Balance MR10v2.

No groin issues during the run. Decided to dial back the mileage on my runs leading up to the 7 hour run on Sunday. I’ll keep it pretty flat until then as well. Grabbed a large apple from a tree in the park on the way back home. Finished about half of it by the end of the run. Pretty tasty.

 

Thursday, September 18, 2014, 4:19 pm

3.17 mi, 33 ft gain, 28:52. Road through town, with dogs. New Balance MR10v2.

No problems at all with the groin today. Still a very slight soreness pushing my left leg inward, but almost gone. My legs were a little heavy today. I’m not sure why. It rained earlier, but held off during the run. Finished the last 100m or so reasonably fast to stretch out the legs. Felt good and sort of surprised at the pace I hit briefly given the effort.

 

Friday, September 19, 2014, 3:32 pm

3.16 mi, 35 ft gain, 31:05. Green belt in town, with dogs. New Balance MR10v2.

It was warmer today than expected. About a mile into the run, Vida was already lagging behind a little. She seems to be more sensitive to the heat. They’re both black, so neither does great in the heat in direct sunlight. So I went across the RR tracks to the river side. Trees line the river, so there was plenty of shade. Vida did a little better there. After the turnaround, I took the dogs down to the river for a quick dip. Almost hit a sprint the last 100m, but couldn’t get the dogs to turn up the speed anymore. These short runs through town are getting old. One more before race day.

 

Saturday, September 20, 2014, 3:45 pm
3.19 mi, 33 ft gain, 32:17. Green belt in town, with dogs. Altra Superior 1.5 Red.

Down to the river for the dogs on the way out this time. A little warmer today than yesterday. They held up fine though. Let them off leash for the last little bit so they wouldn’t slow me down for my sprint finish. Kind of cool to outrun the dogs. If it were cooler out, and/or there was some little critter they wanted to catch, I have little chance of beating them.

 

Sunday, September 21, 2014, 8:02 pm

43.77 mi, ~500ft gain, 6:58:23. Sri Chinmoy Self Transcendence 7 Hour Race at Magnuson Park, solo. Altra Superior 1.5 Blue.

Had a great run. Personal best distance and length of time run. Officially 42.784 mi, but GPS said 43.77. Full report to follow.

 

Weekly totals: 69.3 mi, 1190 ft gain.

As well as my single longest run ever, I beat my previous best weekly mileage by a little over 9 mi. Looking forward to getting back to the trails and running up mountains soon.

Goals, Running

Goals VS Expectations: to Strive or to Settle

I never really bothered with goals until the past few years. During my run on Monday, Sep. 15, I was thinking about the upcoming Sri Chinmoy Self Transcendence 7 Hour Race, which I’m running on Sep. 21. I’ve gone back and forth over what goal to set for myself.

One moment I’m thinking about how far I might be able to go on my best possible day. Then a competing thought comes in and tempers my goal with my reasonable expectations.

Based on my 50k times from races earlier this year, my reasonable expectation is breaking 40 miles. If I run the first 50k (about 31 miles) in the same time I ran for my PR in April, I’ll have about 2.5 hours to cover 9 more miles, which I could almost walk.

I’m faster now and can better manage my effort over the distance. If everything goes right, I think I can hit 50 miles. I haven’t run the course, but I know the park and there are a few very small hills. Cumulatively, they might be too much for that kind of effort. I can still try.

Anyway, I kept having these thoughts battling over what my goal should be for the race. Then I realized that if I limit my goals based on reasonable expectations, there’s not much point in setting a goal. I want to strive for my goals, not settle. They should be beyond my currently perceived limits. How far beyond those limits is more a matter of time-frame.

There’s nothing that says you can’t have different levels of goals for the same situation or event either. I’ll have my reach goal of 50 miles. I’ll also have my 40 mile goal for if things aren’t quite going my way.

And I’m OK with failing. I won’t be devastated if I don’t make 50 miles. I know that I will have given my best effort. There’s always next year, or I can go out on my own. And if I do reach 50 miles or even close, that will be awesome. Then I’ll raise the bar next time.

Running, Training Log

September 8-14 Practice Running

Monday, September 8, 2014, 5:00 pm

4.33 mi, ft gain, 59:20. Kellogg Lake Tree Farm Gate #1, with dogs. Altra Lone Peak 1.5.

Some DOMS in my legs, but not too bad. Went out for an easy recovery run. Took a few minutes for my hip flexors to loosen up again. I took a turn that I haven’t taken in months. I forgot how hilly that road was. Not long hills, but kind of steep. I was rewarded with some chanterelles though. Once back to the main road, I headed to Olney Creek for the dogs. Legs feel better than when I started, but still a little DOMS.

 

Tuesday, September 9, 2014, 4:36 pm

8.1 mi, 1079 ft gain, 1:29:38. Kellogg Lake Tree Farm Gate #2, with dogs. Altra Lone Peak 1.5.

Hip flexors still a little tight to start. Fine after getting going. Took it easy again. Went up the little hill to the NW and continued on the blocked off logging road heading uphill until the overgrowth was too much. Then went to Olney creek for the dogs. Then up the bigger hill and most of the way over the other side. Went a little farther than I expected, but I felt good.

 

Wednesday, September 10, 2014, 4:16 pm

9.14 mi, 1402 ft gain, 1:38:25. Kellogg Lake Tree Farm Gate #1 to Wallace Lake, with dogs. Altra Superior 1.5 Red.

Legs still a tad bit sore at first. Loosened up after a little over a mile. Took it fairly easy today. Still longer than my regular weekday runs though. Stopped at Olney creek for the dogs. Stopped at the beach on the north end of the lake for the dogs. They were slowing a little on the way back, so we stopped again at Olney creek. They certainly do better now that it’s getting a little cooler out.

 

Thursday, September 11, 2014, 4:43 pm

7.11 mi, 782 ft gain, 1:05:36. Discovery Park, Seattle, solo. New Altra Superior 1.5 Blue.

I went into Seattle today to pick up some new shoes. Back in July, Seven Hills Running had a contest to guess the finishing times of the Men’s and Women’s winning times for White River 50. I came closest and won a $50 coupon. I finally got around to heading down there today. I got another pair of Altra Superior 1.5, in black/blue/gray this time. That’s just what they grabbed for me, which is fine. I don’t care about the color, but it will make it easy to tell the two pairs apart. My others are red/black/yellow. I also picked up a Nathan Elevation Race Vest. Hoping it’s easier on my collar bones and underarms than my old Deuter pack. It seems to fit well, but I’ll find out on my long run this weekend. I got another handheld bottle as well, an Ultimate Direction Fastdraw 20. I like that the zipper on the pocket opens much more than my other two UD handhelds.

Anyway… Since I was already out there, and the shop is right down the street from Discovery Park, I took the new shoes and bottle out for a test. Ran the loop trail twice, once in each direction, and went down to the beach on the second loop. I switched directions because the trail is canted in one direction most of the way around. I like to try to keep things even. Several years ago I had ITB problems from running the same route in the same direction on the same side of the road when I lived in Seattle. Much like wearing elevated heel shoes can shorten the achilles and calves, continually running on a slanted surface like that can cause imbalances as the body tries to adapt the the stresses.

The weather was great. The trail was nice, with the exception of the stairs down to the beach. Most trail stairs I run are too far apart, these were much to small to run very well. It’s like they were built for people to walk on. The shoes were exactly what I expected. I have almost 290 miles in my other pair, and I think they’ve got at least another 100-200 left in them. I just sent of my registration today for a 7 hour race on September 21. And in what’s becoming a bit of a tradition, I’ll wear my new shoes. Third of four races so far this year in new shoes.

 

Friday, September 12, 2014, 4:36 pm

5.13 mi, 220 ft gain, 53:29. Kellogg Lake Tree Farm Gate #2, with dogs. Altra Lone Peak 1.5.

Took it slow. Left groin is sore. Out to Olney creek for the dogs. Out to the end of the left fork. Added a short out and back on the road to the west nearest the gate. Took a little bit for my groin to loosen up, but felt ok running after a little bit.

 

Saturday, September 13, 2014, 4:45 pm

5 mi, 188 ft gain, 1:04:32. Kellogg Lake Tree Farm Gate #2, with dogs. Altra Lone Peak 1.5.

My left groin is still sore, but a little better. Out to Olney creek. Played fetch with the dogs for a little bit. Went out further and took the right fork instead of the left. Lots of blowdowns, and more overgrowth than the other way. Was a little slow going. Went out the side road to the west nearest the gate on the way back to get the extra distance to hit 5 mi. Had some big buzzing hornet looking insect follow me back to the car. Hurried to get in without it getting in as well. I wasn’t planning to taper for the 7 hour race next weekend, but I’d like to run it without groin pain, so I’ll stick to these slow, easy runs.

Sunday, September 14, 2014, 4:38 pm

5 mi, 125 ft gain, 1:05:35. Kellogg Lake Tree Farm Gate #3, with dogs. Altra Superior 1.5 Red.

I rarely run from this gate. If the other gates have cars parked at them, I usually like to go to the blocked road instead. Never seen anyone else on those roads and there is some single track connecting roads there too. I got to go through the shorter section of single track today. Turned around at the other end. Wandered through the woods a bit too. The only water available for the dogs along this road is pretty swampy. They don’t mind, but I’m not fond of the smell on the drive home. Vida really loves to get in the muck too. I hosed both off when we got home.

I didn’t feel very well earlier in the day. Took a while to get into it while running. Started to feel better after a couple miles. Definitely glad I went for a run.

 

Weekly totals: 43.7 mi, 6h 44m, 4290ft gain

Uncategorized

September 1-7 Practice Running

Monday, September 1, 2014, 3:06 pm

6.31 mi, 265 ft gain, 48:26. To Wallace Falls TH and back, Solo. New Balance MR10V2

Drenched in sweat. If I didn’t already know it, I’d guess I had a great run. Today was going to be an easy day. I felt good, so I kept going and kept the pace up a bit. At least I kept the terrain easy by keeping to sidewalk and roads. Went to the Wallace Falls trail head and back. It’s a good turnaround spot with a water fountain and restroom. Just a water stop today.

I’ve never done a 10k race, but this would count as my fastest. I’ve been thinking more about doing speed work, and I might have the bug. I’m not going to do too much for now. I still have some long run goals for the year. Strava best estimated 10k of 47:19. Maybe I’ll do some shorter races this fall or winter.

 

Tuesday, September 2, 2014, 4:06 pm

4.05 mi, 195 ft gain, 38:48. Kellogg Lake Tree Farm #2, with dogs. Altra Lone Peak 1.5

Took it easy today. About 1.5 miles to loosen up. Rain let up for the run. Wet feet from overgrowth though.

 

Wednesday, September 3, 2014,  4:50 pm

3.3 mi, <20 ft gain, 29:36. Through town, with dogs. New Balance MR10v2

The dogs like to pull on leash for the first little while, which makes me go a little faster to start than I otherwise would. Made a slight detour around the block in town because there was a loose dog and people trying to catch it. I didn’t want to complicate the situation taking my dogs into the mix. Nice easy road run.

Wednesday, September 4, 2014,  6:05 pm

2 mi, unk ft gain, walk. Kellogg Lake Tree Farm #2, solo. New Balance MT1010v2

Just a wander in the woods exploring.

 

Thursday, September 4, 2014, 3:10 pm

7.1 mi, 993 ft gain, 1:10:39. Kellogg Lake Tree Farm #1, with dogs. Altra Lone Peak 1.5

Brief stop at Olney creek for the dogs. Headed up the hill towards Wallace Lake, but turned onto another road that I haven’t been on yet. Went to the top of the clear cut that two lower roads go across.

 

Thursday, September 4, 2014, 6:00 pm

2.1 mi, unk ft gain, walk. Kellogg Lake Tree Farm #2, solo. New Balance MT1010v2

Just another wander in the woods exploring.

 

Friday, September 5, 2014, 1:42 pm

5.2 mi, 623 ft gain, 55:45. Kellogg Lake Tree Farm #2, with dogs. Altra Lone Peak 1.5

A little longer to warm up since I’ve been running everyday. But just fine once I do. Out to Olney creek for the dogs to cool down. It was warmer than the past few days. Then up the connector hill. Right at the top of the climb, the dogs scared up about half a dozen grouse hiding in the brush on the side of the road. About a half mile farther over the hill, the dogs scared up another 10 or so grouse in the brush. I’ve never seen that many together in the tree farm. The heat was starting to wear on the dogs for the last mile or so. Black fur in the sun will do that. I slowed down to accommodate them.

 

Saturday, September 6, 2014,  4:44 pm

20.02 mi, 3081 ft gain, 3:49:26. Wallace Falls, Wallace Lake, Jay Lake, solo. Altra Superior 1.5

I wasn’t sure where or how far I was going to run when I woke up. I had tentatively planned to go long Sunday, but decided to do so today instead.

Stopped at the grocery store on the way running to the trail head. Bought a bag of dates. Wore my hydration pack today. Stopped at the trail head (3.2 mi) to refill to 2 liters. Chatted with a couple guys who had just finished for a couple minutes. One was talking about recently going up Baring Mountain, something I’d like to do.

I took it easy to the upper falls (~5.5 mi). Stopped for a minute or two for a water and food break. Legs were a little heavy once I got up to the DNR rd. They felt better after another mile or so on the relative flat of the road.

Saw two people at the picnic table just over the little bridge by Wallace lake (8 mi). There was a tent by the beach on the other end of the lake, but I continued on.

I made it to Jay Lake (9.5 mi) and saw some more campers. I used the facilities and headed back.

Just a little ways back down the trail I saw a couple chanterelles just on the edge of the trail. I didn’t notice them on the way up. I brought a bag with me for just such occasion. I spent a few more minutes going off trail a ways and found a few more.

I stopped briefly at the beach at Wallace Lake and spoke with the couple camping there. There was a very nice breeze on the beach.

Doing some math in my head, I wanted to get a little more distance to make it an even 20. I decided to turn onto a logging road at one of the forks a little way back around the lake. However, my math was bad. I went out and back .25 mi. I needed closer to .5 mi.

The two people were still at the picnic table. A little farther, there’s a turn off for the camping area. Their tent was setup in one of the spots.

My legs still felt pretty good, so I picked up the pace a little on the DNR rd. All the stops I made ate up the extra time I thought I had before dark.

I made good time on the descent from the top. Farther down I had to slow down to be sure of my footing as it grew darker. I made it back to the trail head (16.6 mi) with some light left still.

I ran out of water a couple minutes before getting back to the trail head. My guess of 2 liters was pretty good. I refilled my hydration bladder with another 1.5 liters, filled out the trail log book, which I forgot to do when I got there, and headed for home.

I stopped under a street light about .5 mi down the road to get my headlamp out of my pack. I didn’t need it to see, but wanted to be seen by passing cars. I settled into a better pace than I expected that far into the run, 8:20-8:35/mi. I kept it up pretty well.

As I got to my driveway, I realized my math mistake. I was going to be about .2 mi short of 20. I turned around and ran back down the road for another lap past the neighbor’s property and then finally came back. It was just the moon lighting my way by the end. Plenty of light for road running.

Legs are a little sore, but it was fun. I had 3.5 dehydrated bananas, about 8 dates, 3.5-4 liters water and 4 salt caps. It was 90 degrees when I started, and much more pleasant by the finish.

Sunday, September 7, 2014, 4:50 pm

10.09 mi, 1096 ft gain, 2:17:51. Kellogg Lake Tree Farm #2, solo. Altra Lone Peak 1.5

Hip flexors were tight starting out. Loosened up after about .5 mi. Felt good after that. Kind of surprised how good I felt after yesterdays run. I still took it easy and stopped to explore a number of times. Ran out to the small hill, through the trail connecting to the next road, followed that road to gate #3 and back. Continued up the bigger hill. Scared up 2 grouse near the top of the first climb. Scared up about 8 more grouse just over the top on the other side. Mile 10 was my fastest.

 

Weekly Totals: 60.1 mi, 9h 40m, 6252 ft gain

Weekly mileage PR. Also most time spent running in a week.

A Wandering & Wondering Life