Some Thoughts on Capital Reef 100

By Steve

While we wait for Sam's official report on the Capital Reef 100, I wanted to drop my thoughts on it  as something of both a preview as well as an afterthought.  I won't rehash the details of the "brutal" course, as you can get enough details from Sam's coming post as well as a good report from Davy Crockett,

I dropped at mile 66 (actually 64).  Of the 29 people that started the race, only 20 turned around and kept going past the 50.  Of those, only 16 finished.  Of the other 4, I was the only person who dropped out post-50, as the other three didn't make the cuttoff times.

So, why did I drop?  Here are the hurdles I faced and what I feel I need to do go get past them.

1.  Asthma:  This was the biggest issue.  With the cold, dry air, combined with altitude (The Aquarius plateau is the highest in North America and we covered 42 miles up there).  My lungs tightened up and by the time I reached the Pleasant Lake aid station, there was some good wheezing going on.
 
FIX:  I'm making an appointment to see a pulmonary specialist to see if he can help me treat this properly.  A more proactive approach with Doterra Breathe, cough drops, and an inhaler would also have helped me get farther.  A facemask during those cold slow miles at night would have helped keep the cold dry air out as well, which brings me to my next issue:

2.  Temperature:  I tend to have a harder time staying warm than most runners.  I was cold for most of the day, and once night hit, even with my base layer, I couldn't stay warm.  Combined with the difficulty keeping a steady pace due to the rough trail, my body temperature was too low.

FIX:  For all 100 mile races from now on, I need to expect my pace will at many points reach a slow walk.  I need to prepare for cold as if I am planning to stand still, and not as if I'll be running the whole time.  In this case,  during the day, I should have had my baselayer on all day, and at night I should have added my outer lightweight hoodie and facemask.

3.  Aid Station Resting:  While taking a short breather or even a nap at aid stations works wonders for Sam, it actually has a detrimental affect on me.  My body temp drops and my lungs tighten up.  Which does not bode well for problems 1 and 2.

FIX:  Avoid the chair!  Keep my body warm.  What I did was go hungry for the last few miles going into the Pleasant Lake aid station, walk in, crash into the chair, and then waited for the space heater to take me away.  Instead of that, I should have eaten a few more calories coming in, not sit, but eat some good calories and caffeine, and then slowly start marching out of there towards the next aid station at ChokeCherry.  Even at a slow walk, I could have recovered my body and been there prior to Sam reaching it after a 90 minute stop at Pleasant Lake.

So, those are my take-a-ways.  We'll see if I can put this knowledge to good use in 3 months when we run the OTM 100.