But first, let's go back to August 2015. The Trophy Wife was invited to help out a crew for the Angeles Crest 100. The AC 100 is a brutal course set in the dry desert mountains starting in Wrightwood and finishing at Loma Alta Park in Altadena. 21,000 ft of gain. Twenty One Thousand feet of Gain. The race has been around a long time as there is no shortage of crazy people who like to do that sh!t. I tagged along with TW to help out Sue's husband Greg at some of the aid stations stops. I was really intrigued about seeing what people look like when they have to run through the night.
I know it's a long time since August, but I got lazy with my blogging. Work has been all consuming these past 12 months, but I thought I would wait until after I did my first 50M ultra attempt. Well, I did that this past weekend at the Sean O'Brien 50/50. sob5050.com Totally right website Son of a Beeyatch of a course. 50 miles, 11,000 feet of gain. I fell apart at mile 27 and got yanked at mile 30.4 after 7,500 ft of gain. I could barely walk down hill, let alone run. Great learning experience, and now I know I never would want to get to mile 50 and keep going through the night for another 50. I'm a strange person, but I'm not crazy.
So, you don't want me to hog the conversation, so I jotted down some questions for Nicole and Sue, and here's what they said.
Nicole 43rd overall, 8th female, 29hrs 09min 09seconds
Sue 98th overall, 21st female 32hrs 43min 12 sec
Note: Nicole and Sue both did Sean O'Brien 50 miler in prep. Nicole was first female and 12th overall in 9:43:59, and Sue was 10th female and 47th overall at 11:50:08.
I am super impressed with these two, and good luck to Nicole in the Western States this year. An iconic race with a lot of history. I'm going to watch tv that day, all day and maybe try to stay up all night.
Nicole: I first started thinking about it 5 years ago when I paced a friend at the race, thought about it seriously last year when I paced someone else, and then signed up the next day.
Sue: Probably since hearing about it back in 2005/6, having moved to Pasadena and started running with people in the area who told me about the race.
2) This was your first 100 miler, right?
Nicole and Sue: Yes and Yes
3) So, you signed up a year ago. When did training really kick into gear?
Nicole: For me it was November, partly because my work was so busy up until then that I did not have time. At that time I started training for the Sean O'Brien 50-miler in February, took it easy the rest of that month, and then kicked it into gear again in March.
Sue: Training sort of started in October 2014, though was focused on training for Sean O'Brien 50 mile race in February 2015 (needed to qualify to start AC, and also good distance race to build up endurance. I hadn't done anything longer than a marathon for a few years.) After Sean O'Brien, I trained on trails on the weekend (with eye towards AC), tried to work on some speed on roads for Boston Marathon during the week. Training for AC 100 really kicked in as was recovering from Boston Marathon -- late April, early May. That was when tried to run as much as possible in San Gabriels, and tried to cover all the sections of the course at least once.
4) What races did you do in prep for the AC100 over the past year?
Nicole: Sean O'Brien 50-miler was the only other race that I trained for
Sue: Sean O'Brien 50 mile (Feb) , (Boston Marathon - but that was sort of in spite of rather than in prep for AC), Whoo's in El Moro 50 km (May), Mt. Disappointment 50 km (July)
5) Tell me about your coach? Normal? Or Nuts like the people who’ve done 10 in a row?
Nicole: I don't have a coach, but used the book Sue lent me by Byron Powell for a training plan.
Sue: No official coach… bought Hal Koerner's book and used his advice, training plan for AC 100. Did train with the Coyotes, had Jimmy Dean Freeman, Kate Martini Freeman, Nicole Sedmak as coach for Sean O'Brien 50 -- learned a lot from Jimmy and Kate during that training that carried over to Angeles Crest 100 (Jimmy is nuts, Kate & Nicole are more normal but still a little nuts). Jimmy ran the 6 'original' 100 mile races last year, has run AC 4 times, so has a lot of experience and has a way of communicating that is funny, relatable, motivating.
6) As you look back on the race, what was your coach’s most valuable piece of advice?
Nicole: Other people told me to not go out too fast (especially at the beginning going up Acorn and on the highest elevation part of the course at Baden Powell), and to stay on top of hydration and nutrition which can't be caught up on. I followed that advice, and although I may have gone out a bit conservatively, it fits my racing style (normally negative split with shorter distances), and I felt good throughout (except for my feet!).
Sue: From Jimmy - mental training - during an ultra-run, don't think too far ahead or beat yourself up over mistakes made. Focus on what can you do right now, in this moment, to make your race better. (Usually that means remembering to eat or drink…or just not focusing on negative thoughts) That, and Kate's ice bandana. That saved me Saturday and Sunday during the heat.
7) Who was in your support crew?
Nicole: My parents crewed me, and although I trained them ahead of time, I realized that I should have elaborated on a few things (ex. they only took out of the car what I had planned to eat at that point and nothing more - the reality is that I ended up wanting to eat slightly different things than I planned, and they would then have to go back to the car for food, first aid, clothes, etc. Crew normally have a variety of things at the ready).
Sue: Greg, Johnna, You. :-) For pacers, Reg Willson and Margaret Srinivasan.
8) Would you do the race solo, i.e no support, no pacers, so you can sign up an hour earlier than everyone else?
Nicole: No! I cannot imagine doing a race this difficult without some of the comforts that a crew provides, plus the boost of having friends pace me during the second half of the race when I was more tired. I would also want pacers for safety reasons during the night - my pacer and I saw a bear when we were coming down from Newcombs, another person saw a mountain lion, and I read reports of people falling and injuring themselves. The race is very spread out, and even before I picked up my first pacer at mile 52 I was running alone a lot.
Sue: NO!
9) What was your biggest surprise during the race?
Nicole: My biggest surprise was that despite feeling good (except for my feet) and always moving at a steady pace on uphills (and running flats or downhills), I still went slower than I expected. The perceived effort during a 100-miler is very different than what I have had for shorter races.
Sue: That I never felt an overwhelming need to sleep like I thought I would. This was even before using the caffeinated gum, which I was holding out on using since was afraid would re-upset my stomach. Finally used a piece I think around 3:30 or 4 am when was starting to feel a little fuzzy-headed and stomach had been fine for a while. Was fine the rest of the race. Do not know how I did that. That and craving for watermelon, fruit for entire second half of the race. I've never wanted to eat fruit during a race before…it was the only thing that really tasted good.
10) What did you enjoy most about the race?
Nicole:
a. The beauty of the course, especially the first half (which fortunately we see in daylight).
b. The supportive ultrarunner community and the many volunteers.
Sue: The finish. :-)
11) What was the funniest thing you saw or did during the race?
Nicole: I have run in these areas many times (especially over the past year), and this is the first time that I have seen a bear. I also saw a tarantula when coming down from Shortcut.
Sue: Funniest thing I saw - crew shirt that spelled crew 'Cranky Runner Endless Waiting' Funniest thing I did - I don't know but I did think it was funny when was talking to Sam Merrill aid station volunteers (second to last aid station), while trying to eat and realizing it was hot, and I was one of the last runners that would come through, I asked them how long they'd been there. Volunteer said "24 hours". I said something along the lines of "Geez. That's a long time. Thanks for being out here so long." Volunteers says "That's less time than you've been running." And I didn't say anything, probably had 'deer in the headlights' look because it hadn't occurred to me until he said that that I had been running for more than 24 hours… was so focused on getting to the next aid station before the cut-off, there was no time for that kind of math… that still strikes me as funny…
12) What was your biggest surprise?
Nicole: I had no problem going up and over Baden Powell, but then the next climb over Mt. Williamson (at a lower elevation) really got me. Maybe I should have done more elevation training....who knows.
13) Did you get cranky with your crew? Sue was the sweetest I’d ever seen her, didn’t have a care in the world when I saw her :-)
Nicole: I admit that I snapped at my parents at Three Points, although I promptly apologized =). This was when they barely brought anything out from the car, including my chair!
Sue: Yes - you missed it. First aid station - Greg didn't see me right away when I came in so I was looking for him (strike 1), then he wasn't seeing me waving frantically to get his attention while I stood in line for the bathroom (I wanted him to bring me a drink) (strike 2), then gave me 3 V-fuel gels and no PowerGel blasts when I'd told him I wanted to save the gels for later, have more PowerGel Blasts, real food in the early miles (strike 3). I was super cranky. And I was cranky at him in absentia for 3-4 miles on the trail after that… then I came around…realized I was being stupid and petty, and told myself to be MUCH nicer and patient with him at the next aid station…. I'm not a pro athlete for whom minutes matter. And getting worked up over the little stuff was just burning energy stupidly. Greg was spending his entire weekend tending to me during my race, had filled my hydration pack, had remembered to put my number on my pack, and if I'd had my head out of my ass, I would have remembered to blow my nose to clear my sinuses while waiting in line for the bathroom rather than getting mad at Greg. WTF. I needed to calm down…
14) One and done? this race or something else?
Nicole: Right now I say one and done, but might change my mind later. I have never run as much as I did in the past year (50-70 miles per week), and don't think that my body is cut out for that much running in the long-term. I am looking forward to mixing it up with cycling and swimming again. (Note: Nicole punched her ticket for the Western States 100 this year--back to running 80 mile weeks for her!)
Sue: One and done.
15) It’s tuesday post race—have you run or jogged yet?
Nicole: No! I only started walking somewhat normal today, and doubt that I will do any sort of jogging until late next week (after swimming and biking first next week). I don't anticipate doing any sort of physical activity this week until my feet heal more.
Sue: It's Wednesday a week and a half after the race and I haven't run or jogged yet… my feet were really beat up. Still a little achey and prone to swelling at end of the day.
16) What food did you fantasize about during the later parts of the race?
Nicole: Not many actually, because I did not have an appetite for solid food during most of the race - I did mostly liquids and gels, and a treat was Bundaberg ginger beer (I drank three of them during the race).
Sue: Endless supply of watermelon.
17) When the race demon appeared on your shoulder and whispered in your ear, what was your counter move or what did you say?
Nicole: I surprisingly didn't really have this issue, partly because my pacer Amelia was constantly telling me to eat/drink/run/move forward.
Sue: That I wasn't trained/prepared for the course. The stomach problems were my own fault for not training enough at altitude, dialing in my nutrition. That it was okay to DNF… that was really 'what I deserved' since I wasn't fast enough or trained enough and I've always at trouble with altitude. What was I thinking signing up for Angeles Crest? My trail running peers during training runs, training races had included good people who had DNF'ed a couple of times trying to finish. It was okay. Sometime between Mt. Hillyer and Chilao, that voice got shut down by the voice that said, screw this, I've spent so much time and effort getting ready for this race, I'm not throwing in the towel w/out a fight. I don't want to spend the next year or more explaining my DNF. And I don't want to f*cking have to train for this race again just to get a finish. I may not make one of the cut-offs, but I'm not dropping and I'm going to do my best to make each cut-off. From then on, I felt much better attitude-wise. I think I just got tired of feeling sorry for myself. Plus, my stomach felt better, I saw others being positive despite their problems, and the sun was going down - was a beautiful sunset and was having fun again on the trails.
18) What was your finisher treat that evening?
Nicole: Panda Express with my parents - we were too tired to cook, and it was on the way back to my house.
Sue: Blaze pizza and a beer. (that sounds better than Panda, way better)
19) Did you surprise yourself?
Nicole: I was surprised that I wasn't really tired when staying up all night, and I know that caffeine helped with that. I was also fairly happy and smiling in pictures, which was contrary to how my feet were feeling.
Sue: Yes (short answer, still tired probably :-))
20) Did anything unexpected happen during the race?
Nicole: That I went slower than I wanted, although I know that during a 100-miler anything can happen...and often does.
Sue: Probably the biggest 'unexpected' was not having a GPS watch from Chilao to Chantry. When Reg turned his watch on, it said 'Installing update', stalled there, and never worked for tracking mileage. If we hadn't seen the sign that said '2.1 miles to Chantry', we wouldn't have picked up the pace enough to make the Chantry cut-off. We thought we were much closer.
So, Nicole and Sue mentioned some other races they did in prep,
