2020 Sugar Badger Virtual 50 Miler Race Report
It's no surprise that Coronavirus turned life as we know it upside down. The pandemic managed to impact every aspect of our lives including our 2020 race plans. As cancellation after cancellation notice popped into our inboxes and across our social media feeds, it was hard not to feel disappointed even though we knew it was for the best and absolutely the right call to make. I think we also felt something else: that overwhelming sense of "now what?". Well...the running community went virtual. Soon, many RD's began offering virtual options for existing events and even created some new, epic challenges that I hope continue after the pandemic is over.
The spike in virtual races was certainly a very positive response to the "now what" question. But it was only part of the solution. I realized rather quickly that the rest was up to the athlete. Not only would we have to remain accountable in training, we'd also have to serve as our own RD, aid station, and crew on race day. Normally, the former is not an issue for me....but it ended up being harder than I thought while adjusting to the "new normal". Despite the fact that social distancing and solitary, long distance running seem to go hand in hand, I think the uncertainty, stress, new obligations, and unexpected events brought on by the pandemic took its toll on my motivation. I am sure I am not the only one whose training suffered a little bit as a result.
I signed up for Sugar Badger Virtual 50 miler shortly after it was announced that my "A" race for the year (the Mauna 2 Mauna Ultra) was officially cancelled. I had already entertained the notion of doing another 100 miler at the end of the summer and with the multi-day stage race out of the picture, I needed to fill the gap with another training race. Even though the fate of summer running events was still up in the air, I went ahead and put my name on The Badger 100 waitlist. I noticed that Ten Junk Miles also had a virtual option for a 50 miler that I could complete anytime between May 30th and June 20th. I was sold. My coach and I settled on a June 13th race day and I got to work...kind of.
Despite having a new goal ahead of me, I remained distracted and lax in training. While I would get the big runs done, my mid-week runs suffered. As race day drew closer, I started to feel anxious because I knew I was cutting some corners when I shouldn't be. On top of that, the Virginia weather was getting hot AF and my last few long runs were slow and disconcerting. All I could think about was my fitness level back in February before the Rocky Raccoon 100. Even though it was under entirely different circumstances, I couldn't help but compare how locked on I was back then to how unprepared I felt now. As I started to plan out race logistics, I steeled myself for the worst. I figured I would be fine for the first 25 miles, but then completely fall apart. I also anticipated that it would take me 12-14 hours to complete (if I was lucky).
The day before the race, I mapped out my route and started to organize my gear and nutrition. Normally, I am very diligent about pre-race prep, but I was preoccupied and ended up not being as thorough as I wanted (or needed) to be. Given that I was already feeling that this 50 miler attempt would be a bit disastrous, I just went with it.
The next morning, my alarm went off at 3:30am. Because I estimated that it would take me forever to finish, I wanted to get started early to try and finish at a reasonable time and avoid night running. But I couldn't get myself out of bed. Something felt off and I eventually told E that I was moving race day to Sunday. I fired off a quick email to my coach to tell her about the last minute change and went back to bed. I felt a twinge of failure in the moment, but it ended up being the right call. I spent the rest of Saturday relaxing and refocusing for the race. E and I reviewed the route, confirmed locations for aid stations, organized my drop bag, portioned out food, and pre-staged things I might need along the way. We decided to stick with the early start and planned for a 6am gun time.
Unfortunately, I didn't get up as early as I wanted to on Sunday. But I felt much better than the day before so that was a plus! I hurried around the house getting ready for the long day ahead...stretching and eating, eating and stretching, hydrating, foot prep, and more stretching. We loaded everything into the car and once I pinned on my race bib, E drove me to my start line at Founder's Park. Amped up and nervous, I took off at 7:15am...50 miles or bust!
The route I planned was simple: I would take the Mount Vernon Trail from Old Town and cut over to the W&OD via Four Mile Run. The majority of my run would be on the W&OD which is ~45 miles of paved rail trail that ends in Purcellville. So while 50 miles of paved trail sounds like torture, I chose this route specifically for two reasons:
Even though the sun was out, the weather remained cool throughout my run which kept my mood elevated. Fueling wise, I decided to kick things off with a high calorie (250) Spring Energy Gel. In the past, I've saved these until the middle to end of a race, but I wanted to experiment with using them earlier. I'd say that it definitely helped keep me on track with maintaining my goal of eating ~300 calories an hour. I fueled every 30 minutes and supplemented a high calorie gel with steady Tailwind or Honey Stinger Plus Chew consumption. On top of that, I popped 2x Hammer Endurolytes every hour and added 2x Hammer Anti-Fatigue caps every hour at the 2 hour mark.
The first ~22 miles to my first aid station in Reston flew by. I told E that I would arrive at some point between the 4 and 5 hours, but was surprised to make it there closer to 4 hour mark. At Reston, I exchanged my bottle of Tailwind and re-filled my water bladder. I also changed my socks and added a fresh coat of Trail Toes on my feet. Before I headed back out on the trail, I drank a bottle to Tailwind Rebuilt, ate some chips, and took a few sips of Coke.
From Reston, I made my way to my next two aid stations at Ashburn (~33 miles) and Leesburg (~39 miles). I wish I had more to write about here, but things were going so smoothly that there is nothing much to report. My legs were moving well and fueling, attitude, and energy levels remained on point. I think the only real change I'd make is adding another aid station before Ashburn. The Reston to Ashburn stretch is a little long without it...while not entirely necessary, it would have been a nice to have.
When I reached Leesburg, I only had 11 miles to go. I started to hit my wall at this point. Logistically, I think I would have added a reserve aid station to this final stretch. Even though there were no more designated trail parking lots until Purcellville, there were some road crossings that could possibly work.
Needless to say, the last 11 miles were a bit rough. I was still moving just fine, but started to integrate more run/walk intervals. At that point, I really just wanted to be done and I was starting to get cranky for a few reasons.
First, the number of runners I encountered this far out on the W&OD thinned out considerably. But there were still a ton of cyclists. It was maddening because I knew they were just crushing the mileage I had left in no time and those that had passed me earlier were passing me again on their return trips towards Leesburg. *sigh*
Second, I was also keenly aware that I was moving at a faster pace than I anticipated and was definitely going to make it well before 12 hours. This guaranteed a PR. The only question was how much ahead of that 12 hours did I want to be. Soon, it became an inner debate over whether or not I wanted to run a sub-11hr 50 miler or not. Of course, the answer is always going to be yes...but it meant that I'd have to push and not let up off the gas until I crossed the finish line. *whine*
Lastly, at some point E called me to tell me that she had scoped out Monks BBQ already and said "If you need any more motivation to finish, this place smells amazing. My mouth is watering. You need to get here ASAP." *ughhhhh I know, I am trying to go as fast as I can*
Once I hit mile 48, the smell of the barn feeling was overwhelming. During my short power walking intervals, I kept checking my map to see how close I was. The visual probably stressed me out more than it helped, but I kept doing it anyway. And then just like that, I could see the parking lot and E waiting for me! I was excited...but also realized that I'd have to do some laps around the small lot to get the last 0.0whatever miles I had left. When my watch finally registered the 50 miles, I let out a "Yes!!" and threw my arms of up in the air. E put the finisher medal around my neck and we went to celebrate my 10 hr 51 min 13 second PR over some brisket and pulled pork.
Reflecting back on this race just shy of a week later, I am honestly shocked at how smooth the run went. Everything leading up to it suggested otherwise. The final outcome was better than I ever could have imagined and I have to say, I don't really know how it happened. I talked to E about it and the only thing that really changed was pinning on that race bib in the morning. Maybe it was like a little super hero cape...or a small act that was just enough to get in the right headspace for the task at hand. Or maybe a close friend of mine is right in saying that I am getting better at flipping the switch in my brain when it matters. Whatever the reason is, I am over the moon and am already looking forward to the next running adventure!
The spike in virtual races was certainly a very positive response to the "now what" question. But it was only part of the solution. I realized rather quickly that the rest was up to the athlete. Not only would we have to remain accountable in training, we'd also have to serve as our own RD, aid station, and crew on race day. Normally, the former is not an issue for me....but it ended up being harder than I thought while adjusting to the "new normal". Despite the fact that social distancing and solitary, long distance running seem to go hand in hand, I think the uncertainty, stress, new obligations, and unexpected events brought on by the pandemic took its toll on my motivation. I am sure I am not the only one whose training suffered a little bit as a result.
I signed up for Sugar Badger Virtual 50 miler shortly after it was announced that my "A" race for the year (the Mauna 2 Mauna Ultra) was officially cancelled. I had already entertained the notion of doing another 100 miler at the end of the summer and with the multi-day stage race out of the picture, I needed to fill the gap with another training race. Even though the fate of summer running events was still up in the air, I went ahead and put my name on The Badger 100 waitlist. I noticed that Ten Junk Miles also had a virtual option for a 50 miler that I could complete anytime between May 30th and June 20th. I was sold. My coach and I settled on a June 13th race day and I got to work...kind of.
Despite having a new goal ahead of me, I remained distracted and lax in training. While I would get the big runs done, my mid-week runs suffered. As race day drew closer, I started to feel anxious because I knew I was cutting some corners when I shouldn't be. On top of that, the Virginia weather was getting hot AF and my last few long runs were slow and disconcerting. All I could think about was my fitness level back in February before the Rocky Raccoon 100. Even though it was under entirely different circumstances, I couldn't help but compare how locked on I was back then to how unprepared I felt now. As I started to plan out race logistics, I steeled myself for the worst. I figured I would be fine for the first 25 miles, but then completely fall apart. I also anticipated that it would take me 12-14 hours to complete (if I was lucky).
The day before the race, I mapped out my route and started to organize my gear and nutrition. Normally, I am very diligent about pre-race prep, but I was preoccupied and ended up not being as thorough as I wanted (or needed) to be. Given that I was already feeling that this 50 miler attempt would be a bit disastrous, I just went with it.
The next morning, my alarm went off at 3:30am. Because I estimated that it would take me forever to finish, I wanted to get started early to try and finish at a reasonable time and avoid night running. But I couldn't get myself out of bed. Something felt off and I eventually told E that I was moving race day to Sunday. I fired off a quick email to my coach to tell her about the last minute change and went back to bed. I felt a twinge of failure in the moment, but it ended up being the right call. I spent the rest of Saturday relaxing and refocusing for the race. E and I reviewed the route, confirmed locations for aid stations, organized my drop bag, portioned out food, and pre-staged things I might need along the way. We decided to stick with the early start and planned for a 6am gun time.
Unfortunately, I didn't get up as early as I wanted to on Sunday. But I felt much better than the day before so that was a plus! I hurried around the house getting ready for the long day ahead...stretching and eating, eating and stretching, hydrating, foot prep, and more stretching. We loaded everything into the car and once I pinned on my race bib, E drove me to my start line at Founder's Park. Amped up and nervous, I took off at 7:15am...50 miles or bust!
 |
| At the Start Line |
- Food: Because I am motivated by food, we planned to check out Monks BBQ for a post-race meal. I had heard rave reviews from friends over the years, but never had a chance to make it out to Purcellville. Until now.
- Simplicity and Accessibility: Aside from road crossings, the route was basically a straight shot to the finish line. There was nothing to second guess and I could focus all my energy on execution. Accessibility was an important factor for crew support and there were several parking areas along the trail where E could meet with her mobile aid station.
Even though the sun was out, the weather remained cool throughout my run which kept my mood elevated. Fueling wise, I decided to kick things off with a high calorie (250) Spring Energy Gel. In the past, I've saved these until the middle to end of a race, but I wanted to experiment with using them earlier. I'd say that it definitely helped keep me on track with maintaining my goal of eating ~300 calories an hour. I fueled every 30 minutes and supplemented a high calorie gel with steady Tailwind or Honey Stinger Plus Chew consumption. On top of that, I popped 2x Hammer Endurolytes every hour and added 2x Hammer Anti-Fatigue caps every hour at the 2 hour mark.
 |
| Mobile Aid Station! |
From Reston, I made my way to my next two aid stations at Ashburn (~33 miles) and Leesburg (~39 miles). I wish I had more to write about here, but things were going so smoothly that there is nothing much to report. My legs were moving well and fueling, attitude, and energy levels remained on point. I think the only real change I'd make is adding another aid station before Ashburn. The Reston to Ashburn stretch is a little long without it...while not entirely necessary, it would have been a nice to have.
 |
| Leesburg Aid Station |
Needless to say, the last 11 miles were a bit rough. I was still moving just fine, but started to integrate more run/walk intervals. At that point, I really just wanted to be done and I was starting to get cranky for a few reasons.
First, the number of runners I encountered this far out on the W&OD thinned out considerably. But there were still a ton of cyclists. It was maddening because I knew they were just crushing the mileage I had left in no time and those that had passed me earlier were passing me again on their return trips towards Leesburg. *sigh*
Second, I was also keenly aware that I was moving at a faster pace than I anticipated and was definitely going to make it well before 12 hours. This guaranteed a PR. The only question was how much ahead of that 12 hours did I want to be. Soon, it became an inner debate over whether or not I wanted to run a sub-11hr 50 miler or not. Of course, the answer is always going to be yes...but it meant that I'd have to push and not let up off the gas until I crossed the finish line. *whine*
Lastly, at some point E called me to tell me that she had scoped out Monks BBQ already and said "If you need any more motivation to finish, this place smells amazing. My mouth is watering. You need to get here ASAP." *ughhhhh I know, I am trying to go as fast as I can*
Once I hit mile 48, the smell of the barn feeling was overwhelming. During my short power walking intervals, I kept checking my map to see how close I was. The visual probably stressed me out more than it helped, but I kept doing it anyway. And then just like that, I could see the parking lot and E waiting for me! I was excited...but also realized that I'd have to do some laps around the small lot to get the last 0.0whatever miles I had left. When my watch finally registered the 50 miles, I let out a "Yes!!" and threw my arms of up in the air. E put the finisher medal around my neck and we went to celebrate my 10 hr 51 min 13 second PR over some brisket and pulled pork.
 |
| Done! |
 |
| Victory Meal! |
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