TRAINING LEAD-UP
I didn't really do any kind of special training for WTM. It was the end of the racing season, so I had many hard efforts under my belt from the summer and early fall races, going into this. WTM came right after the end of the 3-month Pathfinder Ruck Training program, too, so my focus was more on rucking miles and ruck workouts than running mileage, which I would've focused more on had I not been doing Pathfinder. The heavy race schedule and rucking both kept me in reasonable shape, though, so I wasn't worried about going into WTM unprepared. Maybe I didn't have enough miles under my belt to hit a really high mileage like I would if I came off of marathon training, but I'd have decent endurance for at least suffering through.
The weekend before, I had done the
Columbia, SC City Ruck Tour, which was a pretty stout effort and was getting tough for me towards the end, so it was a good last low-impact, reasonable duration effort.
Wednesday, Nov 7:
My one effort the week of was 3 miles that I squeezed in. Normally, I'd prefer to have a full 3 days of rest leading up to a major event, so Wednesday closer than I'd like, but I didn't get it in on Tuesday. My body felt ok, other than the run mentally lasting a long time. I only did 3 miles, which is lower than my usual weekday runs, but it felt enough. I didn't want to do too much so close to the event, and I had felt a little bit stress fractury in my foot the past few days, maybe from the recent long continuous rucks, or from getting used to the new MAC-V1 boots. I've never had a stress fracture, as far as I'm aware, so I don't really know what it feels like, but I listen to my body and lay off when it starts hinting at issues.
I am looking forward to getting back into running full-time in 2019. I realized that Myrtle Beach Marathon training should've started a week ago. I knew I wouldn't be able to get into the full swing of things for a while, between additional big events that I had planned in November, plus travel in December. Oh well... at least the big events help to get me some base mileage.
Splits> 8:29, 8:27, 8:21. 3.0 in 25:17, 8:25 ave.
WTM 2018
After being held at Las Vegas for 4 years, WTM was moving to Atlanta. I had heard good things about WTM and was contemplating making the trip over to experience it in Vegas, so when I learned that it was coming to the East Coast, not too far from me, it was a no-brainer for me to sign up. "The Pit", where racers would set up a tent city with their support crews ready to help, supposedly had an awesome vibe to it, so I wanted to see what it was like.
Having done
Iceland Ultra Spartan World Championships the previous year, I generally knew what to expect from a 24 hour race. I knew my body could handle the continuous effort (with walking definitely built in) fine, and my nutrition strategies worked out in the past. It would be interesting to see WTM's twist on this style of racing.
I drove down on Friday, and rolled up to Buchart Farms a little after noon, which was the time when the open racers (non-elite, non-contenders who had done well at Toughest Mudder events, and non-Holy Grail holders) could check in and take whatever pit spots remained. They did a good job of evening the playing field with pit spots this year compared to previous years, from what I understand. The course ran right through the pit area, so most racers only had a short walk to their tents. They also had plentiful porta-potties and a few hospitality tents where you could get food and hot drinks. I was very pleased with the setup. No real congestion... all pretty convenient.
There was a little bit of a walk to get down to the pit area, so people in the community recommend getting a wagon. I contemplated spending $40 on a wagon that I'd probably only use that one time, but in the end, I decided to "rough it" with a rolling cooler that I had bought years ago but had never used, and it was fine. I made one half-mile trip on tent setup day, with food and drinks in the cooler, my tent on top of that, and my luggage with all my race clothes on my back. It was heavy, but manageable. Checkin was in a muddy spot after the rain that had come during the week, but there was no line at all, and the volunteer was very enthusiastic and nice. They did run out of size small shirts, which is a bit disappointing, but eh... first world problems. I'm fortunate to be able to do events like this.
There were still many tent spots available when I was there. I found a spot close to the hospitality tent, which I figured might help me... though there really is no bad spot. Everyone would need to use the restroom anyways, and those were towards the back of the pit areas, so everyone would probably end up walking equal amounts anyways. They did their best to make the pit areas less wet, by spreading hay on any spots that had some standing water left from the rain. I set up my 4-man tent, which took up pretty much the whole allocated spot, apart from a couple of feet in front where I could leave my buckets and cooler.
There was a festival area with a gigantic merch tent, plus some vendors with giveaways. I made a trip around. I contemplated doing another out and back to the car to get the rest of my stuff, which would've added another mile of walking, but I figured that I'd have to walk out here the next day for the race anyways, so I could bring the remaining things then. Good call.
Because of the weather, I think they changed up their schedule for the pre-race info sessions, but someone recorded it on Facebook Live, so I was able to learn what I needed from the comfort of my hotel. I had heard good things about the Community Dinner that would organically spring up from racers (not organized by the race itself), but I didn't want to battle Friday Atlanta traffic, or spend too much energy socializing right before the 24 hr race. If it was closer to my hotel, maybe, but I decided it would be better to go straight to the hotel, eat some of the food that I had brought, and use the time to plan and rest, instead.
I mapped out how I wanted to lay out my gear in the tent when I got there the next morning, to easily locate what I needed, when I needed it. I also made my mileage plan, following the format that I had used in Iceland.
The next morning, I had the Holiday Inn Express breakfast... always the same, at all HIEs... with the usual stuff I enjoy... turkey sausage, milk, oatmeal, egg. I ate more than I usually do, almost to the point of getting a little uncomfortable, so that I'd be fueled up to the max. The pit re-opened for loading in early in the morning, and they had another info session available early in the morning, but I chanced it with staying at my hotel as long as possible. It was cold, and I'd rather rest in the warmth of the hotel than shiver in my tent and use up energy and body warmth for a couple of hours right before the big race.
I still had like an hour to get ready, by the time I got there. I suited up in my wetsuit and layed out my gear. I decided to start in my wetsuit, since my plan was to go from the sprint lap (the initial lap where we didn't have to do any obstacles, so that the crowd could be spread out and not cause congestion) straight into the first obstacle lap, to avoid wasting time once the clock had started.
They had a few ceremonies at the beginning. I was pretty far back, since I was an open racer, but eventually, we crossed the starting line, and it was time to begin. 24 hours is a long time to be moving, so I knew not to go crazy from the start.
Even in the pure running lap, there was still a little bit of congestion at one point, where we were in the woods and everyone had to step over a big log. But no point in getting too impatient... we'd have plenty of time to be moving.
As planned, I finished the first lap and kept going on to Lap 2. I had rolled down the top half of my wetsuit during that first lap, and I had a thermal top, plus a visor to keep the sun out of my eyes. I also had a belt with food to help me make it through that first lap.
They call it a Sprint Lap, but you can actually get more than 1 lap in without obstacles. They have different starting times for different obstacles, and I knew I could get past many of the ones in the first half of the second lap, too. The first obstacle that I encountered was Underwater Tunnels, where we got into the cold water and had to get fully submersed a few times. After that, more obstacles involving water.
When we got to Cage Crawl, there was a massive backup. Only 1 of 2 lanes was open, because the other lane was filled too full with water, leaving no room between the cage and the water line for people to breath, especially when peoples' movement would be causing waves and stuff. We might've lost like 5 minutes there... pretty frustrating, when you know you're under time pressure, but what can you do? They pumped out excess water, and the second lane finally opened up.
The major difference between Spartan Ultra WC and WTM so far has been the water obstacles... Spartan took you through a couple of knee-deep stream crossings each lap, but that was the extent of it. WTM had a number of full-submersion obstacles. I started feeling cold and had some second thoughts start to appear. Back at the pit after my second lap, I added a fleece under my wetsuit and put on a windbreaker as the outer layer. People had recommended it in the facebook group, as a way to prevent the wind from sucking away body heat even from the wetsuit. I also drank some bone broth and ate most of a breakfast sandwich. Lap 2 had been 90 minutes of running, with a 20 min pit.
Lap 3 took me 100 minutes, and it's when the first set of obstacles started opening. I was towards the end of that first gauntlet when they were opening, so I was hit with Augustus Gloop onwards, which meant doing that (crawl up a tube using a ladder, while water pours down on you), Black Widow (use slack lines with your arms and legs to get across a pond), Funky Monkey (made it at my Tough Mudder, even when it was placed the end of the course, but didn't manage to do it at all during WTM... too wet, too weak), and Ladder to Hell (not bad).
At the water obstacle gauntlet, I failed the Gauntlet (a mash-up of 4 different obstacles, one after the other), and Leap of Faith (jump and grab onto a cargo net hanging above the water, then climb up and slide down a pole), which meant running penalty loops. They weren't super long, maybe 1/3 mi, but it's miles stacked on top of miles and adds up.
At the pit, I had cherry juice and chocolate, and only took 5 minutes and took the opportunity to restrock my pack, since I planned to eat some food item available for me on the course during each lap. 15 miles covered so far.
Lap 4 took me 140 minutes. Failed Gauntlet, Leap, Funky. At the pit, I had broth, the rest of the sandwich, and decaf coffee. Night had taken over.
Lap 5 was when the electric route opened up as an alternate to the section of obstacles that included the Gauntlet and Leap of Faith. I wanted to at least try it, and based on how cold it was, I figured that if anything, some electricity may help to warm me up, and I didn't want to go through more cold water. It ended up being just fine... you could maneuver around the electrified elements of Electroshock Therapy and Entrapment. I got to try Operation for the first time, where you use a pole to grab a rubber bracelet off of a nail, while not letting the pole touch the edges of a circle that you had to stick the pole through that was positioned between you and the bracelet. I used my shoulder as one stable point, and my hands guided the pole as the tweaking lever.
During this lap, I messed with my headlamp, swapping out a malfunctioning one for a fresh one, for like 10 minutes. I thought it was fresh, but maybe the cold sapped the batteries. It used up a lot of time, but it happens. It was in the middle of a dark trail when it went out. This lap took 255 minutes! It brought me to the 25 mile mark, though, which meant that I earned my first intermediate prize, which was a 25 mile patch. I went in to WTM with a goal of getting a 50 mile Bib. I was so proud just to get that patch, though. It meant enduring a lot of cold.
After 25 miles, you also get a golden carabiner. It allows you to bypass either the water gauntlet or the first gauntlet, at some point during the race. I was going to save it to the end, if I used it at all, so that I could squeeze in a fast mile towards the end in case I was cutting it close on some mileage goal. But if I wasn't at the edge of some goal, I would be fine with not using it, and keeping it as a souvenir, too.
With my patch and biner in hand, I decided that I needed to turn in for the night, to get into some dry clothes, and try to get warm again. I ended up staying in my tent from 9:45pm to 8am. I realized that I hadn't remembered to bring my handwarmers or my blankets... I had left that bag back at home. And, I didn't have a sleeping bag that I kept in my car. Racers aren't allowed to leave the pit and festival area. I guess if I had a pit crew, they could've gone to the car, since they are allowed to go and bring food and stuff. Fortunately, my tent neighbors gave me a thick emergency blanket, and I did have my dryrobe, so I used the dry robe as a sleeping bag, and I used the emergency blanket to give me a bubble of warmth within the tent. I slept on other sets of clothes and my luggage and bags, in lieu of a sleeping pad, for insulation from the cold ground.
It was chilly, but not terrible, thanks to that emergency blanket. I thoroughly enjoyed eating all the things, to my heart's content. It was nice to have a variety of foods... tart, fruity, salty, crunchy, etc, and I wanted them all. I went to the bathroom 3x. I tried to sleep, but it was a little hard, with the temps, and with the emcee talking through the night. I'd hear his commentary as the bravest racers continued running through the night. I couldn't believe that some people were still able to run through that kind of cold and wet. I also heard that some obstacles got closed, because they were too icy. If it was that cold out there, I was not tempted to go out there, too. At this point, my goals had been adjusted, and I just wanted to make it as a 24 hour finisher, which meant that you had to complete a lap some time between 8am and 1:30pm. It didn't matter how much you were in your tent, otherwise. Even that would require mustering up some nerve to go back out, though.
I waited until the sun was back out, in hopes that it would be warmer. When I went out to start to gather my gear again, I discovered that my wet gear had frozen solid overnight, laying outside my tent. All of the tents were covered in frost. I relied mostly on new clothes (I was so glad to have extras!) like a second fleece, a random shirt, a second set of leggings, socks, and even shoes (the original ones were frozen solid and wouldn't be able to open up enough for my feet). I coaxed the wetsuit back on, along with the bib and gloves.
I was lucky because at 8am when I went back out for Lap 6, some of the obstacles that had been closed from the frost were still closed, so it ended up being a pretty speedy lap. It felt reasonably warm, too, so I regretted not starting up earlier that morning, to take advantage of all of that.
The premier obstacle in Las Vegas was a giant cliff jump... maybe 30 feet tall. It psyched people out. Everyone had been wondering what they would do to make Atlanta special. The answer ended up being Stacks. It's even taller, and to get up to the top, you had to climb up (rather than just gradually walk up as part of the trail and terrain, like with the Cliff). I wouldn't feel like I had gotten the WTM experience if I didn't try it at least once, so I was determined to do it. From doing Deep Water Solo, a rock climbing activity at the Whitewater Center where you climb as high as you can, before simply letting go and falling into the water, I knew that the impact of the water could hurt. At least it did with bare skin. At least here, I'd have lots of clothes. This was probably taller, though.
I made my way to the top. Something else I've tried at the Whitewater Center is their Hawk Jump, which is 100 feet in the air. I guess that's comparable to this, then. But I knew I can do that without freaking out, so it would be a similar kind of action here. You just do it, and don't think about it. Just step off. At Hawk Jump, you have a cable that lets you free fall at first, before putting the brakes on for you as you get close to the ground to give a gentle landing. Here, you go into the water and then swim to the other side.
I asked for tips, and the guy said to point your feet, so that your feet don't slam into you, and go down straight. I held my nose, too, and kept my headlamp tucked into my shirt, so that I didn't lose it or get smacked in the face with it. It ended up being not bad at all... didn't hurt or anything. The free fall feels shorter than I expected, and you're in the water, and I wasn't too far from the surface, so there wasn't that kind of drowning panic, either. The swim was nice and short, and felt like a victory lap after overcoming Stacks. It was actually really fun, and I regretted not getting out and experiencing it earlier.
It later dawned on me that this is what my friend who was on her high school diving team does on a regular basis, for fun and as a sport. They're crazy, haha. Suddenly, my one jump straight down didn't seem like such a big deal.
I finished that lap within the time range needed to be a 24 hr finisher, but I still had plenty of time, since that lap went by so quickly with the Ladder to Hell, Underwater Tunnels, and Cage Crawl closed. I wondered if I could squeeze in not only one, but two more. I made a super quick pit stop just long enough to grab a can of Celcius energy drink and run. I drank it on the run, going up the hill to Mudderhorn.
Suprisingly, they hadn't closed Twin Peaks, even though that was a little icy, and part of it involved mist that made the peaks slippery. The water spray actually helped, though, to wash away mud and melt ice, so I picked the lane with the heaviest spray. That was one of my favorite obstacles, since it was just the right amount of challenge. "The Splits" would've been another good name for it. My legs are barely flexible enough for me to bridge the gap.
I didn't like Spread Eagle. My initial strategy was to pull myself across the two slacklines, with my feet as anchors, but that required the effort of doing a bunch of pull-ups. In later laps, I saw people rolling, and that worked much better.
Unfortunately, more obstacles did open back up on this second morning lap of mine, so it took longer, and I got cold and wet again. My thoughts of managing a third morning lap soon went away, and it was all about just enjoying the finish.
I did get to do Stacks again, and I loved it. There were two other girls up there at the time, and when they saw me, the idea was that we'd all go at the same time. On the count of three, though, only I jumped, haha. Both times after my jumps, I'd try to coach the hesitating ones behind me to get them to just make the step, too, but I'd always give up on it and move on after a while before seeing them do it. I heard that most people eventually do do it, though.
So, final finish. I finished a couple of minutes before noon, so I could've gone out again, but I knew that it would be very very hard to finish another lap in less than 90 minutes, and it would even tougher than usual since there would be few racers out on course by that time, and a number of obstacles rely on people helping other people, and people would be sparse.
I was glad to finish up the 24 hours with 35 miles. It's not the 50 that I hoped for, but it's a good amount, given the fact that I also had a 11 hour break of no running at all. It's a good baseline to build on next time.
