Training Through Covid Chaos

Training During a Pandemic Lockdown

How I Increased My Solo Runs up 0.5% from 99.5%

The way I saw it there was really only 2 options when we were presented with a suggested lockdown situation in the county I live in here in South Texas. Option 1: continue training. Option 2: accept the situation as a loss and take the opportunity to jump into a recovery cycle. Obviously I chose the first option, which is the point of this blog post in case you haven't guessed or follow my STRAVA activities. I will lay out exactly what I have been doing in the past 6 months now and what I am hoping to gain and build on moving forward.

It was early spring and I had just completed Chattanooga 100 out in Tennessee/Georgia on March 6-7th. I drove home and returned to work knowing of the pandemic breaking out in the North East portion of the country. No one knew what as to come, I was still anticipating a nice build to some big racing this summer. That week I went to my usual Wednesday night group run with the Sugar Land Running Club (Mar 11th). Little did I know that would be the last SLRC group run for a long time. I believe it was that weekend that Texas strongly suggested full voluntary self-isolating lockdown & social distancing. I recall that very vividly as my parents had just finished their cruise and arrived back in Houston. They were supposed to stop by for a couple days before flying out at the end of the weekend. My wife & I made the hard decision to not see them in person for the safety of our kids since they had just from one of the worst possible scenarios....a floating ship of containment for over a week from people all over the world. Happy to say my parents were never sick and nothing came from that particular cruise. None the less it was a hard decision.

I can't recall exactly the sequence of events because it all seems like a blur now, but I remember 14 days being the self-quarantined period then everything would go back to normal. I took my work stuff home and started teleworking. Lucky I have recently transitioned to a new position that falls within the IT function of our company and thus remote working was not a super hard transition in terms of my daily role. I was naïve and thought that it was going to be a simple as this temporary quarantine and then things would transition back to normal. Like everyone else I did not foresee the mass chaos this COVID pandemic would cause in this country and how everything would shift. I still has my sights set on my A-goal July race of California Untamed. Surely this little lockdown period was only a bump in the road....right? How long could this actually persist? Oddly enough I think we are all seeking these answers today. Sad but true.

One of my next races to fall victim to cancellation was a backyard ultra event in April that I was targeting here is Texas. I thought it would be a great opportunity for another 100 mile effort on my part, and hopefully a lot more. So when Dave Proctor and friends put on the Quarantine Backyard Ultra (Apr 4-5th) as a free virtual online event I took the opportunity to hope in and use it for a long effort, as it nearly replaced my race perfectly in terms of timing. It was cool to run among so many elites and 2400+ other runners around the world. Full story on this effort here. It was fun to race and use my garage as my home base so my kids and wife could check up on my every hour, when they felt so inclined to do so.

Pre-race photo all prepped for the Quarantine Backyard Ultra.

Mid March the reality of the situation starting taking affect here in the Texas trail community. TROT had just announced they were going to cancel all these remaining spring schedule which was Mar-Apr-May. Not letting go of my line of sight, I still was training and working on building up for my July A-race. After Quarantine Backyard Ultra,, I devised my own training plan for the upcoming month to run a virtual 50 km ultra each weekend and continue training. I used TROTs virtual races to build my own block of training and providing motivation for myself during this time period. I won't go into all the detail here but I got it done (see prior detail blog post #MyMonthof5s project). I am not much of a planner in terms of my structured training plans so May was a nice step forward for me. I don't think I have ever had a nice long effort consistently like that before. Of course I do long runs, but I often don't stack then in every weekend, like your typical cookie cutter training plans. Honestly  don't even do that many long runs in my training because I race so much that often my races are my long runs. Some call me crazy, but I just like the race setting and chance to get out on the trails. May was a good month for me averaging 75.5 mi per week which is far above my usual 40-60 training mileage.

Throughout the shutdown of the United States STRAVA stepped up and provided some other external motivation for me that has helped. On their app monthly challenges would come up, and the company smarty used the fact everyone was at home to devise and promote some different challenges from their standard ones they had been doing (I am happy that a lot of these have stuck around thus far). STRAVA introduced challenges such as walking, strength training, yoga challenges, and there was even a swimming one. Of course their staple challenges of running and biking remained the core. During the pandemic I have now incorporated some strength training into my workout routine, although not perfectly timed yet I try and get at least 1, if not 2, times a week to a session with weights in my garage. The same thing occurred with yoga. My wife has been bugging me for years for me to join here in her yoga, but it took STRAVA challenge to nudge me into trying it with her. I am happy to say I enjoy it more than I thought and am trying to do these sessions with my wife when I can. I often find myself doing some downward dogs and active hip opening routines while watching YouTube or Netflix even if only for 15-20 minutes.

Photos from my Instagram (@trevormeding). Yoga, biking, and strength work.

Examples of some of the STRAVA monthly badges I used myself for additional motivation.

Related to the cross-training, I have taken a more purposeful approach to my training in an overall sense. I am now remember to keep my easy days super chill and I have been doing more run workouts, and intervals than I ever have before. As a endurance ultra runner we often neglect speed in our runs, so I am ensuring to do at least 1 speed workout each week and more often or not, just add in a few strides near the end of runs. Keep those muscles guessing but ensure hard efforts when doing the workouts! On the opposite end relax and stay slow and steady, even walk as needed during easy days. I don't have a coach so I often research what are some good interval workouts, but my staple is usually something simple like 1-3 min hard intervals (1:1 rest) to gain a total of at least 20 minutes of work. This is just an example. Other times I have been know to do actual distance intervals such as 800m repeats or even 400m to work on that faster turnover. In the end I hope to see pay off in my longer events when i am tired and just need to push for a certain section or am in the middle of trying to catch a fellow racer.

Another opportunity that came about due to the pandemic and the lack of travelling and races was now I could focus solely on my #EverySingleStreet project. I had started this last November and been slowly ticking away progress in my current city of Sugar Land. With the lockdown here I often found myself going to different parts of the city and neighborhood to continue my mapping progression. I would bike commute to the spot I needed to do, run a normal 60-90 minute run, and then hop on my bike to travel back home. My STRAVA log often consisted of my activities labelled "bike-run-bike (part i)". I would label all 3 like this because that is the extent of my activity naming for the most part. The continuation of this project gave me some purpose and another reason to focus on something other than the self-isolating culture we had become. I did enjoy seeing the new portions of the city and getting to know my area. I fully every single street of Sugar Land near the end of July which represented 8 months of persistent progress and work towards this goal. The resulting heatmap is probably the coolest piece of art I have ever created, and I am proud of that.

#EverySingleStreet Sugar Land, TX

By the time June had come around I am pretty sure I had resided myself to the fact that there would not be any racing till the fall at the very earliest.  I was still following the news at this point and searching for races that were saying they were going to be held, but everyone kept saying that then eventually cancelling or postponing. However Silverheels 100 out in Colorado put on by Human Potential Running Series caught my attention. Not only was this a great venue and was on my to do list it appeared to be a contender for actually being held. I was able to sign up right before the race as the RD understood the current environment and knew people were waiting till last minute. Since this was a mountain race in a tiny town out in Colorado I took the chances and thought it was safe to do for me without putting my family at risk. I did travel solo and stuck completely to myself during the mini 4 days trip which included dirt bag sleeping in my car. The race was well done with a lot of extra mitigation procedures in place and as a runner I did not see an issue. Being a full blown introvert the post race party and gatherings usually aren't my thing so I was not too bothered those did not occur. It was just so cool to be able to run and explore some Rocky Mountains in a organized type setting while maintaining my own personally safety. The event was tough due to being at elevation but this might be one of the most rewarding 100s for me since it was able to happen under the circumstances. A more detailed story on my Silverheels 100 adventure is here.

Selfie during Silverheels 100 in Fairplay, CO. What a beautiful course in the Rockies.
This is an event by Human Potential Running Series (HPRS).

I currently run with Team TROT and Trail Racing Over Texas had come up with a great virtual run challenge which appealed to me along with many others. The TransTexas Virtual Run was formed to provide some motivation and incentive for runners, walkers, and everyone in between. The distance of 879 mi across Texas was to be the cumulative goal for this virtual event. This presented itself to me as another opportunity to structure another nice block of 2 month training. With no known races in sight yet I figured I could dedicate large volume miles in July and August and aim to complete the TransTexas Virtual Run in 2 months. That is exactly what I did. In the end it took me a total of 68 days, finishing off just into September, but this resulted in a consistent weekly effort of 8 weeks in a row averaging above 85 mi. This is another great brick in my building up towards my large 2021 race goals.

TransTexas Virtual Run by Trail Racing Over Texas.
Custom medal by Elevation Culture.

My Pandemic Highlights

This has certainly been an interesting 7 months now as we are currently entering October. Looking back I am very grateful for a few things for sure in terms of what has occurred. I could be dwelling on what could of been, but I choose to focus on the good points:

1. My job - Having a role that has allowed me to transition to full time teleworking. This has been a good benefit for my lifestyle and our family. We often get to do family walks or bike rides now in the middle of the day to break up the hours. I am simply thankful to have a job in this interesting time in our economy as I know so many industries, companies, and people have been impacted negatively. My work-life balance has tilted in my favor for sure, and I am grateful for this.
2. May training block - a structed block of consistent training that has lead to some fitness gains. I think this was a good first stepping stone for me this year.
3. EverySingleStreet - completing this project was a unique way to keep me motivated. It also provided some extra focus once the pandemic hit.
4. Beer Mile PR - of all the virtual events I did participate in getting a big PR in my Beer Mile might be the best one of the summer.
5. TransTexas Jul/Aug training block - as mentioned above, this is by far my most dedicated training block to date. I am currently on taper down from the back end of this block and looking forward.
6. Consistency - ever since I started running I have believed in consistent over volume. I still believe this and the fact I run daily reflects this philosophy. As I write this I am a couple days away from 6 full months (180 days) of a #RunStreak of at least 5 km per day.
7. Walking miles - I've added a lot of walking over the past few months. Thanks in part to the STRAVA badges, and also just trying to get out with the family at home to get outside. This adds low aerobic intensity to my training while doing time on feet
8. Family health - truly thankful for me, my wife, and our kids in all being healthy thus far throughout the pandemic. We are facing many changes and challenges with the current environment but we all have our health.

The Medings. Masks made are by rabbit with a portion of each purchased going towards World Central Kitchen.

So what is next?

My local running club, Sugar Land Running Club has just held its first live group run back last week, however, we are still recommending solo runs. This is the only time I did ever really run with people during my training so eventually this should be able to occur as the situation in Texas allows. More exciting is the fact that trail racing is coming back! I am super stoked to have lined up some big events for the Q4 into the end of the year. As I write this I am 6 days away from the next in person race out on a ranch about an hour outside of Houston. Looking forward to getting back on the trails with my trail community, even if it is in a different capacity for now.

My upcoming race schedule for remaining of 2020:
1. The Remix Trail Racing Over Texas - 50 km
2. Cactus Rose 150 Tejas Trails - 150 mi
3. Jalapeno Hundred Trail Racing Over Texas - 100 mi
4. Brazos Bend 100 Trail Racing Over Texas - 100 mi

The last quarter of the year is a purpose heavy load to not only build of my last summer block, but a step forward into 2021. My goals for next year include some big races such as:

• Tour de los Tejas Trail Racing Over Texas - 372 mi (600 km) | Feb - registered 
• Cocodona 250 Aravipa Running - 250 mi (402 km) | May - current pending: I am on the list, just need to accept the entry once it officially opens.
• California Untamed 330 California Untamed Racing - 330 mi (531 km) | Jul - registered (roll over from 2020)

Thank you for following along. let me know how your pandemic training went. Did you let it get you down or use it like me and utilize it as motivation to build up for the future? Hope to see you on the trails soon. Most of all I hope you and your family are safe and healthy during these trying times.

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Silver Lining During a Pandemic

Silverheels 100

Rocky Mountain bliss | my 64th ultramarathon

Pre Race

Sitting at home on the weekend I got a notification from HPRS Facebook that their pre-race meeting was on for tomorrow night (Jul-06). I had somewhat been looking around to see if any races had been on for the last few weeks. Training solo and being alone for all of my pandemic miles I was itching to get back to a race atmosphere. I was ready for another 100 miler. I tuned into that Facebook Live broadcast, and after hearing Race Director John Lacroix go through the new race protocols and the new procedures of the race to help protect runner and volunteers alike I felt like this was a viable opportunity. I had mentioned the idea to my wife and she was encouraging me to go, as long as i was safe. Monday prior to this Facebook live pre-race meeting I had also talked to my work peer and confirmed if I would he would be able to take off an extended weekend. And just like that the conditions were in place for me to get away and run in the mountains. I entered my name on UltraSignup, paid my entry on Tuesday and informed work I would be off over the weekend, confirming my days off and coverage (I'm thankful to have flexibility like this). Just like that my weekend plans were set.

Ready to hit the road. This was taken
Wednesday night as I packed. My
Victory Sportdesign bags carry all
my gear in my travels.

My alarm buzzed nice and super early for 02:00 Thursday. I had packed and prepared my gear the night before. I kissed my wife goodbye and tried not to wake her fully. By 02:30 I had my coffee made and everything into my car and started my solo journey North West. 16.5 hours later and only a few stops for random bathroom breaks, 3 fuel stops, and 1 shakeout run stop in New Mexico, I had arrived in Fairplay, Colorado late into the afternoon. I got some food and then walked around the small town exploring the area on foot. Fairplay is a very small old mining mountain town that is home to the Burro Running National Championships each year. It is also the town famous for being where the cartoon South Park is based off of. Fairplay sits at the base of the mountains and is at just shy of 10,000' elevation.

View of Fairplay, Colorado looking back toward the "South Park" area. Elevation 9,953'

The Day Before Race

After a nice dirtbag style night in my car (trunk/backseat) where i was able to get some decent sleep. I got up with the sunset in the chilly Rocky Mountain air - how I missed these cool temperatures! I relished the fact I was able to wear a hoodie first thing in the morning. I had gone to a local coffee stop and grabbed my essential for the day and then went out to meet up with the HPRS volunteers. They were organizing a hike and trail work day. I joined them for this and used it as a nice little way to enjoy the morning. I spent just over 5 hours helping out clearing, clipping, and brushing a local trail that was going to be used in the race. This event was done well as everyone kept their distance and also wore masks.

HPRS trail work pre-race. This is on a section called "Jungle Hill". 2020-07-10

After my morning I decided to get a little shakeout run in and spend a tiny bit more time on my feet before taking rest before the big race. Looked up some local areas on the map and settled on a short drive to Hoosier Pass, not too far north from Fairplay at all. There was a small little parking lot there on the pass where a trailhead existed. I got out my running shoes and headed out on a short adventure. I've been "run streakin' " for a little bit now and always aim for minimum of 5 km (3.1 mi) per day, and therefore that was my goal. I headed down the trail and then climbed up and up shooting for about 2 mi out before I'd turn around. The beauty of the area and the pure exploration was exciting. I managed to keep my run under 4 miles although I definitely could of gone on for hours exploring. I did manage to sneak up to over 12,000' elevation as well (my 1-day acclimatization plan 😂)

Just splashing in puddles like a little kid that I am at heart.

Taking in the views and enjoying my short shakeout run. Hoosier Pass, near Breckenridge, CO.

After my run I went back to Fairplay to check it for the race in the evening bib pick up, dropped off my 2 drop bags, and then enjoyed a nice filling meal before enjoying the mountain sunset.

Race Day 2020-07-11

Another night dirtbaggin' it in my car I was up long before the sun. The race times were rolling starts in waves of 15 people at a time starting at 03:40. It was dark, it was chilly, but it was great to get up and be excited for a mountain adventure. I was set to start in the first wave, so at 03:40. I stayed in my car prepping the last minute stuff and ensuring i had everything in my NATHAN hydration pack. To maintain my safety and my promise to my family i did not walk over to the start until 1 minute before go time after putting up my bluff wrap mask (this was also one of the requirements of the race at the start and aid stations). I looked down at my watch and saw 03:42 and the RD was counting down. Here we go...

We set off from Fairplay on a flat section out of town for a couple miles down a county road before ducking into the forest and back country. I was running with the lead 3 people for about 0.5 mi then they dropped back. We were not going particularly fast so I just kept my own pace and continued on in front solo. It was also a bonus as I was keeping my social distance bubble by doing so (😂).

Silverheels Mine turn around. We had to obtain a bracelet here
to prove being there: once at 11.4 mi & then again at 91.9 mi.
Elevation here is listed at 12,070'

After passing the Alma water drop station the trail took us up into the mountains. The elevation gain started in a big way with a large climb from here all the way to High Park and then ultimately to the high point on the course of Silverheels mine at 12,070'. By the time I arrived here it was 11.4 mi elapsed and already about 2,000' of gain.

I headed back down the mountain and eventually passed the runners whom started in the first wave. Everyone was in good spirits still and waved as we passed. We all had our bluffs up when we passed each other as was the request and race protocol. Once back down to High Park the course then went down over the other side of the pass of the mountain. I was still running in front. A long descent down into the valley past some old gold prospecting sites following the little creek. I rounded a corner and heard a rustling in the bushes to my left. Since I was alone in my thoughts it startled me a little and then I spotted the moose just hanging out eating some vegetation no more than 30 feet away from me.

Cow moose about 15 mi into the race. I got this picture once I waked away a few yards, hard to see in this picture, but it is there in the middle enjoying a morning snack. I was about 30 feet away initially when i spotted her on the side of the road.

I continued on exploring the course and enjoying the mountains. There was a couple very small creek crossings and mix between singletrack, gravel roads, and some double wide jeep roads. Around mile 24 I was passed for the first time and lost the front running position. Another large section of climbing occurred just before the Jungle Hill aid station. It was a long USA forest jeep road that climbed for what seemed like miles. Once at the top there a tiny bridge then was a 1.5 mi descent of singletrack down into the aid station - this may have been one of my favorite sections (coincidentally this was the area I was doing trail work the day before). A short stop here for some fruit and then I continued on to another out & back section where a water drop and hole punch (for verification) was. On the way back from this check point (Crooked Creek) I passed a bunch more runners who were not that far behind as we were now nearing the 50 km mark into the race. I was still moving fairly strong at this point keeping a nice even pace, not too labored.

After the next aid station down in a little valley I could tell the course was taking us back up in elevation. I peered off in the distance and saw the climb that lay ahead beyond the alpine meadows were we trekking through. Somewhere around here another runner passed me and I dropped back into 3rd position. From the Trout Creek aid station I ascended upwards through these meadows and saw a good size mountain pass that I assumed we would be heading over. You always feel so small in the mountains and I just took in the views as I kept glancing up to my right thinking...."yup, we are going to be climbing up and over that". I think I was even telling myself I wish we would just go straight up and get this over with. Well I should've wished for something different because once at the true base of this small pass the trail went literally straight up for about 0.5 mi but gaining a bunch of elevation topping out at 11,400' or so.

on top of pass between Trout Creek and Tarryall aid. At about 11,400' elevation.

 

Coming down the other side it was much more North American style traditional trails with switchbacks and zig zagging back down into the treeline. Not too far was Tarryall aid which was the main aid and large crew station on the NE portion of the course. Runners hit this aid station a total of 3 times, and thus I elected to have one of my Victory Sportdesign drop bags here. Just before Tarryall the 3rd person caught me and we ran in to the aid together, and left up towards Gold Dust together. Here she dropped me on the climb and thus I dropped back to 4th place. I attempted to catch on the downhill but did not push to much as I was trying not to blow out my quads since the race was still not even 40% complete at this point. A 4th runner passed me pushing me back to 5th before reaching the aid station.

Heading back towards Gold Dust,
about 50 mi completed.

A large section of gravel country roads was the next portion of the course. Looping around from Gold Dust through Halfway Gulch and returning back to Gold Dust, Taryall aid stations. It was a long gradual climb up and around the initial portion of the loop but then it turned directions and was a ridiculously long gradual downhill. Again I tried to pace myself here to save my legs. I managed to pass by one of the runners moving back up into 4th position (he was having stomach issues, just before Halfway Gulch). I kept it steady as I could. The biggest and most annoying part of this section was the dust from all of the vehicle traffic on the road. It was so hot and dry the dust just lingered. But man the views were great from up on this road. The road circled around another peak and headed back up towards Gold Dust aid. I passed the female in front of me here as she was walking towards me (backward on the course). I asked her if everything was good, and she assured me it was but that she was dropping from blowing out her quads. I still not quite sure where she was self extracting since the aid station in front of us was the shortest way of course I thought. So arriving back through Gold Dust and back to Tarryall (second time), I was not back to 2nd place since 2 in front of me had dropped.

The large aid station of Tarryall was a relief site as it was very hot now in the middle of the afternoon and have completed 55.8 mi of the course. Now was a longer out & back section that took us out to Camp Como. It was a great section of trail that had some nice technical rocky terrain mixed in with singletrack winding through the woods. It was a great section of trail, I just wish I had more energy. About 2 miles from the turn around I passed the front runner which means he was about 4 miles in front of me (nearly an hour).

Rockier terrain on the trail to Camp Como turnaround aid station.

All the way back to Tarryall for the third and final time, I sat down here briefly for the first time and enjoyed a bit of food and nutrition before setting out on tackling the large climb back over the pass that brought us into this area of the course. Another runner came into the aid station not far behind me and was also sitting down for a break. I left before him and headed out trying to get to aid and over the pass before needing my headlamp from the impending night darkness that was coming. The grind was slow and long climb back up the pass, and it wasn't long before I was caught again. We worked together for a little bit but I could tell he had slightly more energy so I let him go ahead on the final portions of the pass ascent. At the top of the pass I had to take a bio break and stepped off into the woods. I used some leaves of sort that somehow was not the best choice as later on it caused a little irritating rash that bothered me for the rest of the run (this is the first time this has happened to me during a race). I did manage to keep it under control while running once I got to an aid station and used some of the best anti-friction lube there is: Trail Toes.

After my bio break and then tip toeing down the straight down side of the pass I managed to get running decently again. But at this point there was another runner and his pacer who were "flying" and passed me with ease. Not too far later I actually caught the guy who had passed me about a mile back coming over the pass, but he hung on and so we ended up jut running together for the last half mile or so back down to the Trout Creek aid. We started chatting to keep each other company and distract ourselves as the darkness was nearly engulfing now.

Early morning feelings.

We arrived into Trout Creek and both sat down and got some hot ramen noodles soup here from the great volunteers. It appeared neither of us was trying to run away from each other at this point so now with headlamps on we headed out for the remaining 35 mi leaving together. Myself and Thomas, as I finally discovered his name, worked together for the next couple hours which made the time go by a lot faster than running solo. We got all the way to Jungle Hill climb before he was now moving better than me on the climbs. I told Thomas to continue on and I would try and catch him back on the downhill section. But I never did catch him again. I was back on my solo trek running in 4th place with a marathon or so to go. The hours ticked by slowly and my usual early morning lows were catching up to me. I had the biggest longest climb ahead from Poor Man Gulch up to High Park and all the way to the high point of the Silverheels Mine to obtain my second summit bracelet.

My feet were killing me and drastically slowing me down. My legs felt pretty good considering so really it was my sore tender feet that were my issue at this point. After the looooooong grind back up to the mine negotiating the near sunrise hours I finally started to feel awake again, opposed to the sleep walking pace the last couple hours were. Grabbed my second bracelet and then turned around headed back down the mountain. It was a long half marathon all the way to the finish with 80-90% of it being downhill. It was still slow going as the pain of the constant downhill started to creep into my quads, but still mainly my feet. Near the very final "aid" stop of Alma, which is actually just a water drop, I got confused and was actually going bakwars on a section repeating a portion i just did. Here the leading female and her pacer met me and asked me where i was going. I double checked my gps and realized that I doubled back on a trail i was looping around on. Luckily it was only maybe a 0.25 - 0.5 mi of extra mileage, but who knows how long before i would have noticed if I did not meet them there. I tried to keep up with these ladies as I was now knocked down to 5th overall. I kept up for a good while all the way to the country gravel road section with 4 mi to go. My feet were causing me to shuffle a lot slower than I wanted to go and there was no way for me to keep up. I settled into my own pace and kept pushing forward towards Fairplay.

Finally of what seemed like forever on that last gravel stretch, the town of Fairplay came back into view. Like one does in the end of long endurance runs i was walking for a bit until I turned the corner and the South Park track was within view. I then resumed my ultra shuffle and "ran" onto the track making the 3/4 loop around and under the arch for the finish! 5th overall and done in under 30 hours this was my longest 100 mile finish yet. I had a goal of 24 hours initially, but i did not know if that was possible. I know the altitude had a little to do with it, but honestly for the most part my feet are what did me in. The altitude does not affect me in terms of headaches or altitude sickness that some people seem to experience, I guess I am lucky that way. This was my 64th ultramarathon.

Start/Finish arch with Mt. Silverheels in the background. Thank you HPRS.

I sat down in the field and took off my shoes to reveal large heel blood blisters on both feet. I got my chair and put my feet up for awhile trying to relax and nap a bit as I watched the first few 50 milers whom started to trickle in within the next couple hours. I got in a bunch of fluids and a few snacks. Before some afternoon showers rolled in I packed up my car and started out on my next portion of my endurance weekend: the 16.5 hour return drive back to Texas. There was a lot of stopping for naps and a few walk breaks to try and keep legs loose as possible, while keeping my feet swelling down. I arrived back in Sugar Land, TX later afternoon Monday returning to elevation of 85'. I went straight to a quick testing facility and got my blood drawn to get a COVID-19 test - which turned out negative. I did this for peace of mind returning to my family. I then did get in a recovery run that Monday night keeping my #runstreak alive which is now nearing 100 days. Time to rest up and continue onto the next adventure whenever that maybe.

Course Details

This was a great course. Essentially a long lollipop style course with a couple out & backs thrown in there. HPRS shared the detailed map, aid stations, and eve the .gpx course prior to the event for everyone. The course was very well marked (but not over marked 👍). Silverheels is a very tough challenge for everyone since it is known as the 2nd highest 100 miler within North America, behind only Hardrock 100. Silverheels comes in at an average elevation of 10,813' and let me tell you that it feels that way especially on the second half of the run (of course I am coming from sea level).

Detailed map and elevation profile provided by HPRS. Available on their website.

Nutrition

I stuck with mostly BASE Performance hydration mix and water (1 bottle of each). I supplement this with fit for the most part all the way up until about 70 mi mark. From there I started using GU Roctane gels one every 45 minutes or so to keep my energy up for the last quarter of the race (I think i went through about 6 of them total). I also downed Coca Cola every aid station for that quick sugar and caffeine hit. I think i also sat down and ate ramen noodles 2 separate times for the broth and warm fluids during the night hours.

Results & Data

My full STRAVA activity: https://www.strava.com/activities/3753674350

Mileage: 105.70 mi (170.11 km)

Elevation Gain: 14,914' (4,554 m)

Total Time: 29:47:41

Place: 5th overall (4th male)

Silverheels 100 buckle and (x2) Silverheels mine summit bands

Gear Used

• Gear Bags: Victory Sportdesign
• Drop bags: Victory Sportdesign (x2)  Coyote II  (Tarryall aid station, Poor Mans Gulch aid station)
• Jackets: rabbit elements light jacket
• Shirts: rabbit long sleeve
• Shorts: rabbit 5" FKT
• Shoes: Altra Running TIMP 1.5
• Socks: Drymax Socks 1 pair (Hawks edition)
• Headwear: Trail Racing Over Texas endurance cap
• Sunglasses: goodr (rabbit PR edition)
• Watch: Garmin fēnix® 6X - Pro Solar Edition (started at 88% ended at 40% full GPS mode)
• Headlamp: NathanSports Inc Halo Fire (x2)
• Hydration: Nathan Sports Inc VaporKrar 2.0 12L with 20oz soft flasks, Trail Racing Over Texas collapsible cup
• Other: Nathan Sports Inc gloves
• Anti Friction: Trail Toes - applied once at beginning and only 1 reapply which kept me chaff free all race. Also helped me with my rash issue from my one bio break incident.

Thanks

1. A big shout out to all my supporters and sponsors for this year - check out my Friends page.
2. Human Potential Running Series (John Lacroix) for putting on this event and taking the new race protocols and social distancing seriously to make this event happen. I did feel quite safe out there.
3. The volunteers! As always fellow ultrarunners and non-runners alike that help make these events happen deserve the majority of the credit. Thank you for assisting us runners and aiding us through the night on the mountain.

#staysafe everyone and remember to continue to social distance and follow your local guidelines. I know that some people may think me travelling at this time is not the best idea, and well I may tend to agree I put in all the mitigation measures possible to keep myself and my family safe. In the end I felt like I did everything I could. There is still a lot of people out there not wearing masks. 

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Thank you for following along . 

This was ultramarathon #064 for me, and 16th 100 mile (or longer).  Next up: 

(i) Blazing 7s 100 mi Virtual Run (date: t.b.d. before Aug),

(ii) completing my #EverySingleStreet Sugar Land project

(iii) Trans-Texas Virtual Run 879 mi