Whispering Grace 100 - extra stuff to share

Going to this race, I was expecting it to be warm if not hot. This got me thinking about what I could do to help offset the heat and hopefully run better. Below, I am sharing my experiences and insights. 

Utilizing internet, I watched a number of Youtube videos from the Western States 100 mile race. For a good portion of this race, the temperatures were well in to the 90s if not touching a100 degrees. Watching these videos helped give me some additional ideas for what I might do. 

First, I switched to a moisture wicking Buff hat. It actually worked rather well at cooling my head, but given that it was moisture wicking, it was dry by the end of my 2 mile lap. I had to wet it down each lap. I guess that I could say it was sort of successful. As long as my segments were relatively short, it would work well. 

Next, I tried one of those cool towel. The moment it touched my skin, it felt good but within minutes, the towel started to dry and then it was more like a blanket that needed to come off. I chalked this up as more of a band aid to quickly pull down my temperature. Unless I could keep it constantly wet, I don't see the benefit. 

I added ice in my CamelBak pouch. Now, this seemed to work well and last longer than the other two options. I didn't overload on the ice so I didn't really notice any extra weight from it. 

One of things that I took from the Western States videos, the crews were spraying their runners down with water. Again, it is temporary but yes, it does help and feels awesome. I think some of the other runners were even jealous of my spray bottle and fan. 

Foodwise, I started the day on Tailwind and Sportsbeans. I migrated over to gels. As the day continued to get warmer, I migrated to drinking more water. Each lap, I was taking 6 to 8 ounces of water in addition to continuing to sip on Tailwind during the lap. 

I also started to dive in to my watermelon stash. The first time that I grabbed a handful and started running I dropped half of it. I quickly realized that it was better to walk and eat. 

Something else that I never thought about. When I put that first piece in my mouth, my first thought was that this needs salt. I wondered if the other times that I picked up watermelon at an aid station, had they salted it. Based on my experience, I am now assuming that they did. But I now know that I need to salt my own watermelon before the race. I definitely made a mental note of this because I was eating watermelon from about 45 miles onward. 

Lastly, let's talk about shoes. For this race, I wore my Hoka Cliftons. As the day warmed up and the miles accumulated, I wished that I had brought at least one other pair of shoes. Between the beating from running and the heat, the cushioning in my Hoka's all but disappeared. Likely, half the race being on asphalt didn't help. My feet seemed to think that every pebble felt like a boulder. In hindsight, I should have changed shoes around 30 miles. This is a change that I plan on using during my 100 miler later this year. Keeping a fresh pair shoes will hopefully extend the life of my legs and feet. 

Hopefully, you will find this useful in your own training and racing. 

Never stop learning,

Cool Down Runner Adventures