The semester is already underway, but there is still time for you to begin developing a strong working alliance with your instructors! Whether by email or face-to-face, communication is the first step to establishing a relationship between student and teacher. This blog discusses four key components to establishing rapport and effectively communicating with your instructors.

READ THE SYLLABUS

The syllabus is the only semi-legal contract you have with your teacher. Key information about the course, including deadlines, contact information, course reading and assignment schedules, grading policies, and more, are all included in this document. Although the content may not appear interesting, it is critical to your success in the class and your instructor has likely spent a significant amount of time constructing the syllabus for your benefit. Therefore, take the time to read it before asking your instructor questions about the course structure, deadlines, or other similar topics. We would rather have a student email asking for clarification about what is in the syllabus than ask us for an answer we have already provided. This demonstrates respect for your instructor’s time and communicates that you are accepting responsibility for your learning.

INTRODUCE YOURSELF

Reach out to your instructor by email to tell them a little bit about yourself, your interests in the course (if any), and your career goals; this is important in all types of classes and especially if you are in a course that is delivered 100% online. It is much easier to work with, connect with, and empathize with people we know, and you are only a name on a course roster until you take the steps to build a relationship. Most instructors will sincerely appreciate the effort and will be more eager to provide additional support in the future, should you need it during the course.

STRUCTURING YOUR COMMUNICATION

Use every email, discussion, assignment, and conversation as an opportunity to practice effective communication, which includes proper punctuation, spelling, and grammar. Your writing and speaking style is one of the ways that others will evaluate your professionalism and credibility throughout your career. Ask yourself if you would be comfortable sending your email or assignment to a client or supervisor before sending it to your instructor. By doing this, your instructor will be also able to speak to your professionalism and communication skills if you request a letter of recommendation in the future.

1. Use your instructor’s proper title, if you can find it. Examples of proper titles include Dr. Leibovitz or Professor Allen. If you are a first-time student in one of our classes or contacting us for the first time, it would be disrespectful and unprofessional to begin an email with the salutation, “Hey Jeff,” or even, “Hi Doc.” This would be the same as addressing your commanding officer by their first name. If your instructor prefers to be addressed in a less formal manner, such as “Dr. L,” they will tell you in their reply or, sometimes, in the syllabus.
2. Tell the instructor who you are and your preferred name. If you go by Bob, rather than Robert, let the instructor know. Our course rosters often list legal birth names instead of common names, so we will not be aware of your preference unless you tell us. Include your name and preferred contact details in the signature line of your email, too!
3. State your course number and section. Instructors will often have 450 emails coming from 150 students from four different classes, and it can get confusing! Letting us know what class you’re taking will provide additional context to your question(s) and will help us reply with the information you need more quickly.
4. State what you have already done. Begin your message with, “I read/watched/studied/looked/perused/investigated __________ and cannot find a clear answer.” Communicating in this way conveys that you are a serious student who has exhausted all means for finding an answer on your own. As instructors, we are willing to help you understand the material, but our job is not to spoon-feed you information. Part of your role as a student is to be an active participant in your own learning, so please consult the syllabus, textbook, ancillary materials, Google, Alexa, and/or Siri before emailing your instructor with a question!
5. Clearly list your questions. It is difficult to pull questions out of a 1000 word email when they are hidden amongst a series of complaints, stories, and explanations. Sometimes, it can be very valuable and helpful to provide context to your questions, but taking the extra few moments to organize your email (use bullet points or numbered lists) so that your questions are easy to find can make it much easier for your instructor to provide the answers or guidance you are seeking.
6. Use courteous language; “please” and “thank you” go a long way. No matter how terrible your day has been or how frustrated you are with the class or instructor, please use courteous language. Consider your email communication as “open to the public” and that you cannot control who will see a particular email.

The following are two emails recently received:

BAD/UNHELPFUL: 

“good evening

I do not get it

I am not writing in the group me a lot but I have worked on the project, I am the one who finds where we will be doing the marathon”

GOOD/HELPFUL:

“Dear Sir,

I’m [name snip]. I’m writing this email to resolve my doubts regarding peer review and grading. First, As you mentioned in your comments saying the peer review is harsh. So, can I resubmit my assignment, by making changes mentioned in the peer review?. Second, Is peer review influence our grades? if so, how can we mitigate?

Thanks & regards,

[name snip]

Master’s student in Information Science

PARTICIPATE IN THE CLASS (COMMUNICATION)

If on campus for class, participate in conversations. If you are completing an online course, contribute to discussion threads and virtual (Zoom) class meetings. Add new content and ideas, and ask relevant questions. Even if your classmates do not engage, your instructor will!

FINAL THOUGHTS

Communication in the classroom isn’t any different from communication in the workforce. We must make an effort to have the other person understand, and it can be even more challenging to do this online when we can’t see facial expressions of confusion, hope, cheer, or frustration. Clear and effective communication is essential to getting your needs met as a student!

*This blog was co-authored by Dr. Amanda Leibovitz and Dr. Jeff Allen.

Tagged: communication, education, covid, online learning, undergraduate, graduate, professionalism, teachers, professors, students, learning, writing skills

Brazos Bend State Park; Needville, Texas
December 7, 2020

This race was my “A” race for the year and preparation started in January 2019 after my 2nd Ironman race (IM Florida). I signed up for the race on the first day of signups and it was real.

I started this race report exactly 6 months after the race – it’s a tough one to put into words and a tough one to sort out the facts from feelings. Yes, It’s taken about 2 weeks to complete the race report.

First, the question that always comes up: Why?

There are a couple of reasons why, but the first is that as a triathlete, my weakest of the three events is running. There is only one way to get better at running – run. Second, after completing my second Ironman I wanted a challenge that was on the edge of inconceivable. Running 100 miles definitely hit both of these points.

The second question that comes up, after the race, is would you do it again?
No. Not at this time – I chose the right course for me and I left everything that I had on the course. More on this later.

Race Conditions:

Temperature started at 40 and rose to ~80 degrees during the day and went back into the upper 40s overnight. No rain, trails were dry. Overall, I could not have planned in my mind a better weather circumstance for the 100 miler. I foresaw every other weather variation, but not the temperature on race day. Overnight, we have a dense fog move into the race venue from 1a – 5a that made some interesting racing. Texas weather gave us a hot mid day as the December sun warmed us up a little too much. Nightfall was welcome for cooler temperatures.

Goal: 1) Finish the race. This was the only goal.

Training for the Race:

I spent a massive time prepping for this race. Seriously, 2020 was dedicated to one race with milestone races starting early in the year to build toward this 100 miler. An early start meant spending the Spring building from an Ironman base and getting in mileage. Brazos Bend 100K was an April race, so that became the first milestone race. In January: I’m not a runner. Getting miles and learning to trust my running ability came first. It’s not that I couldn’t run, but I was a weak runner with imbalances, bad habits, neglected glutes, and 25 years of doing harm to my body with combat sports. Plus, I had never conceived of that kind of distance…it seemed a much more lofty goal that an Ironman ever seemed (for me) due to RUNNING. Coach Ben Drezek and I set up milestone races and started slowly molding me into a better runner. As a 50 years old athlete, this meant a delicate balance between mileage increases and recovery. In my mind, our greatest accomplishment was no major injuries during training.

The training meant long, slow, miles that were built during the year and meant long hours on the blacktop and trails to get the mileage or time needed each week. As a triathlete, this run training was supplemented with cycling and swimming time (recovery). This did a lot to keep me sane.

Not only did it meantime on feet, but experimenting with food, race belts, vest, shoes, hats, shirts, socks, foot care, and hydration. It was good to start early and train as I would race. I volunteer at BB100 (2018) so I glimpsed what to expect 365 days later.
Coaching: How many miles did you run? What did your training consist of? It realllllly doesn’t matter. Coach put together an excellent program and I was 99% compliant. That’s what made it work. I knew on race day that we had done everything possible to create a success story at the end of the race. That’s what really matters during the race.
Pacer: I started working with my pacer about 3 months before the race. This was a tremendous sacrifice of his time, but it gave us a chance to run together for about 25 hours at my long-run pace. We talked about the race; fears, goals, reasons for not quitting, and circumstances where quitting was the only decision.

Organization for Race:

We set up our transition tent in a prime location by the starting gates (directly across for the start/finish aid station – perfect. This meant coming in early and selecting the site.

The organization for race day gear was very important to me. At some point, you cannot think. My pacer, Devin Longsdon, and I decided to color code to loop bags so that we could quickly get in and out of our personal aid station. This worked great. The pictures below show the crates and a taste of the contents. In addition, I set up a personal pelican case for medical.

The 100 miler is not for the faint of heart or the ill-prepared.

Morning of the Race

I camped in the park so the morning of the race was boring. The gear was ready, I had a great night of sleep, my breakfast was light. Nothing was special about food or hydration. Quick gear check, final setup, and head to the starting line. I started the race with two teammates: Paul and Doyle Beaty. Smiles and fear wrapped up in a single picture.

The Race

This is a six loop 16.74-mile flat trail course through Brazos Bend Park with the Start/Finish line set up where the course is a figure 8 with a couple of out-and-backs.

Loop 1 (0 – 16.74 m)

The race started at 6:00a in the dark. Again, my small Petzl headlamp was plenty for the start of the course with only about 90 minutes until the crack of sunrise. My pace started my long run pace – very controlled and metronome. About 20 paces front the start line I realized that I was running beside the great Gordy Ainsleigh – that has to be the best way to start your 100-mile attempt. The first lap was fabulous and felt as if you were just getting warmed up. It was in the first lap that I hit my first milestone – go until the sun came up. This seems a small goal (about 90 minutes of the first loop), but setting small goals and succeeding build on small wins. I hit my optimal pace goal for the loop (in the green).

Transition: Food, new socks and shirt, foot powder (Tom-Tom) and got out of transition quickly. All fast and good in transition.

Loop 2 (16.67 – 33.34)

The timing of this loop was from about 9:30a – 1:30p. Loop 2 was all daylight. This loop blew by – nothing to note in the lap – easy sailing and all systems doing fine – hit my pace goal again. Still in the green and surprised with no blisters, an appetite remaining, hydrated, and mood still good. No dark places and a 50k under my belt.

Transition: Food, new socks and shirt, foot powder (Tom-Tom) and got out of transition quickly. My pacer was in the transition tent so everything was very organized. All fast and good in transition.

Loop 3 (33.34 – 50.01m)

The timing of this loop was from about 1:30 – 6:00p. The temperature rose during the day and there was only a light breeze to ease the heat. In no way was it summer Texas heat, but enough to make you slow down slightly, take notice and to hydrate. Hydration for this loop became a priority and I moved between a bottle of BASE hydration, and a bottle of water. Yes, it was suggested that I wear sunscreen – no I did not – this was a choice, not the smartest choice, but you make them as you go. This loop was greeted with lots of support from family and friends on the course and via text message. I ended this loop a little scared, and 50 miles tired. At the same time, no dark places, just putting down miles going between and trot and a mile eating walk pace.

Still, no blisters – my year of training had toughened my feet and I had made the switch from oil-based lubricant on my feet to dry (Tom-Tom) on Coach’s suggestion – this made all the difference. This was a dry course, not too hot, and a dry lubricant was perfect for the conditions.

Thought at the end of the third loop: Wow, half the miles done but not nearly to the start of the race. Nothing was wrong yet…no dark places, no significant injuries, and still moving. I finished the loop “in the green” and ready for my pacer to help me through the night (sunset was 5:45p).

Loop 4 (50.01 – 66.68)

The timing of this loop was from about 6:00p – 11:30p. I started this loop knowing that I met a second milestone – make it through the day. It was a boost to my system to have Devin (my pacer) join me. He was able to experience the course with me, but at a slower pace than the first three. I came out of transition tired. The first 50 miles and the sun had taken the pep out of my step and left me to his hands for the pace. At around mile 60, Devin noted that my right shoulder was dropped down way below my left shoulder. This was interesting because I hadn’t noticed it. Hmmm…yes, this was a problem, I just hadn’t realized it yet. We finished this loop with little problem, but we knew by the end of the loop that I was favoring my right side — and more importantly that we needed to take care of the issue. I can’t overemphasize the importance at that time of having both a coach and pacer that I TRUSTED with every fiber. I came in from loop 4 “in the red”. I didn’t know it…

Nutrition: Sometime during loop 4 my appetite stopped – to be honest, I didn’t notice. Nothing on the trail racing buffet table was of any interest, but I knew in transition that I needed to eat whether I wanted to or not. I had put myself into a calorie deficit that might be too deep to overcome.

Transition: Food, new socks and shirt, foot powder (Tom-Tom) and got out of transition slower. Feet were hot – I still had the same shoes I started with…6 more in the box waiting to be used – I still didn’t change. I picked up my walking sticks and headed out for Loop 5 – The race had started. I was starting to hurt and I began to drift to the right when I wasn’t paying attention. Ben and Devin were talking to each other….heading into loop 5 I looked haggard and my pace had really dropped off. They said nothing to me, but they were worried. Longest transition.

Loop 5 (66.68 – 83.35)

The timing of this loop was from about 11:00p – 5:30a. We are told that a 100-mile race just starts at mile 60. Bingo!

This loop found me stumbling, walking, and eating a diet of ramen and bananas. This diet would remain through the remainder of the race. Hallucinations were vivid and started at about 1:00a and lasted through sunrise. The need to sleep was overwhelming – yes, I wanted to stop and take a nap. Devin, wisely, told me to keep moving – I wisely listened, but still whined about it. About 2:30a, a heavy, thick, and wet fog settled in a moved out visibility down to a dozen feet. Everything slowed down. My pacer was everything, but we were both suffering – me from exhaustion and him from keeping my strange pace.

We both fell into a marching pace and I began to develop a blister in the middle of both feet. Nothing terrible, but none the less worrisome at mile 75.
The best thing to happen all night was the end of loop 5. We made it through, but my pace was getting dangerously into the red, and something needed to happen differently if I was to finish the race.

Transition: Food, new socks and shirt, foot powder (Tom-Tom), and new shoes. The first change of shoes during the race – good call.

Loop 6 (83.35 – finish)

This loop started at about 5:30a. Up to this point, my pace had slowed each of the five loops. Death warmed over would be an apt description of me finishing loop 5 – not much hope and a DNF waiting to happen. A slowing of pace is a natural and expected progression, but loop 5 had scared everyone.
Devin needed a little bit more time in transition, but I was ready to go. Coach sent me out telling me that Devin would catch up. I got up and started going – no problem, I personally felt fresh coming out of transition. Well, HUGE well-marked turn signs were not enough to get through to a race fogged brain…and I missed the first turn. This meant my pacer passed me and they spent a panicked 45 minutes trying to find me on the trail…luckily the sun was starting to crack the sky by the time we connected again.
Fresh shoes and a coming sunrise seemed (after the fact) to put on a new outlook for the race. I’m always excited by the last loop of any race. For this race it seemed to do the trick. I had started clicking of “last time I see this part of the trail”. Plus, I hit my final milestone – I made it to dawn. Just the finish line to go.

At ~90, we changed pacer. Gabby Segal came in to give Devin a well-deserved pacing break and help bring me across the finish line. While 10 miles seems so little after finishing 90 – it’s still a LONG way to go. Luckily, my pace was fantastic (comparatively) since starting the loop and I was climbing out of the red. These miles seemed to take forever but were about 3 min a mile faster than loop 5.

At mile 99.6, we saw the finish line. It was almost overwhelming.

Sidebar: My secondary goal (if everything went perfect) was to finish at 28:00:00 hours. Loop 5 killed that dream. However, we were still in the 28th hour.

At 99.6 Gabby and I realized that we were still in the 28th hour and there was a possibility of finishing the race within the 28th hour. But, I was more tired than I could imagine. Finishing in the 28th hour meant a push. We increased the pace once and realized that it wasn’t going to be enough at 99.8 and moved faster. Gabby let me know that it wasn’t going to be enough, and I started “sprinting. I knew, with this effort it would either finish or end my race….make it to the finish line, or drag myself across (literally). Yes, sprinting is a relative word – but it was an all-out effort.

I finished at 28:59:41.

Finisher!

After the race (medical):

Due to the right side lean, my right knee became swollen to the point that my kneecap couldn’t be distinguished. This meant hobbling for the next two weeks. It sounds strange, but my knee nor back ever hurt me during the race – they were just problems.

I developed pre-Rhabdo (Rhabdomyolysis). Luckily, the symptoms were cured with rest, hydration with no kidney damage. Rabdo is a breakdown of muscle tissue that releases a damaging protein into the blood.

A silver dollar blister on the middle of each forefoot. Easy stuff – but hurt from mile 70 to the finish.

These things happen…

Motivation

Each of these items meant something to me. I put them in a list and reviewed it from time to time. I’ll explain each:

1. Transforming: I looked for this race to push me to dark and ugly places that I had not been before. There’s nothing that a race, or anything, will make you be that you weren’t before – but it nonetheless changes you.

2. Have to immediately train to complete at rocky: This was my first 100 mile attempt and I was 100% sure that I would continue to attempt the distance until completed – Rocky was the next race that I would immediately train for if I DNFed Brazos Bend.

3. Good: Jocko Willink has a youtube video called Good. Watch it and you’ll have an understanding of this point: “https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IdTMDpizis8”

4. I’m not willing to stop for anything but a mechanical injury. I’m willing to go to the hospital: Devin was the only person, including me, allowed to stop my race. We talked about this point at length and determined under what circumstance I was willing to stop my 1st attempt. Not only was he my pacer, but the final call. I was willing to risk a lot to finish this race.

5. Count on Nothing (Devin is nothing): Ben Drezek, during race week, made this comment about the race. “Count on nothing during the race…” to mean that conditions and circumstances are ever changing. I turned to Devin and stated “Your now Nothing”. So, I would count on Nothing. A good call.

There’s so much more to write, so much more to say, but you buy the coffee and I’ll tell the rest of the story.

Many thanks to Coach Ben Drezek, my many teammates, friends, and family. I would not have finished without you.

Colorado Bend State Park; Bend, Texas
August 3-4, 2019

I write these for my future examination and my coach (Ben Drezek). I hope you enjoy – please ignore the errors…it’s a train of thought rather than a monograph.

This was race date was situated at a good time during the summer to get me more time on my feet overnight and avoid the summer heat in Texas. It started at 7p with a 7a cutoff (12 hours).

Leading up to the race you have alway have expectations and guess: Hot since it’s August in Texas and….well, no other ideas. I’ve never run this race and had nothing in the way of a race warnings – should have done more research.

Race Conditions: Temperature, according to my race watch started at 91 degrees and progressed down to about 84 degrees. It felt a few degrees cooler to me, but we had little to no wind for the entire night. The little breeze that there was would only hit you on the ridge tops and seldom seen clearings.

Goals: 1) To finish the race – always the first goal. 2) Work the first lap (18.6m) and see what I had left in the tank on loop two. 3) Work on my nutrition between aid station to supplement calories.

Note: #2 is an iffy strategy, and not discussed with coach, but going into the race I felt strong and wanted to test my fitness….and I did.

Before the Race: I hate not starting a race first thing in the morning. It throws off all my race day preparations. But, I picked the race. For this race I chose to treat race day as a normal day with a normal wake-up time and did a few things throughout the day….why?…to keep myself up during the day and race during the night to help simulate a longer race that takes 24 hours. I did take a 30 minute nap out of boredom right before the race – oops. Food was normal fare with nothing added to the menu – higher than normal calories, but nothing special.

It should be mentioned: A fellow racer stated that he had race the 60k two times and did not finish either….he was now running the 30k! This made me pay attention…

The Race Course: This a two loop course (2x 30k, 2x 18.4m) with aid stations every three to five miles – well covered by volunteers. This lollipop style course had a 3 mile stem (start/finish to Lemon Ridge Aid Station) and then traveled west on a long loop back to the Lemon Ridge, into the start-finish and back out for the second loop.

Loop 1 (1 – 18.6; 7:00p – 12:03a): The race started at 7:00p sharp with short 1/2 mile flat that turned to about 5 miles of climbing. This course was rough with boulders, large rock and spikes. This required that you pay attention, find your footing and move at a good pace when available. Not terribly technical, but stubbed toes and turned ankles were par for the loop. I moved well for the first 13 miles and then started the long climb back to Lemon Ridge. I hit my goal of working the first loop but lost track of my nutrition….and thus burying my self with low energy. This could be blamed on the heat and the copious amounts of water that were need to keep me moving, but it was simply racing more than managing the engine. The course surface was much tougher than I bargained for…even with my Altra Superiors and rock plates. My feet were beaten up and sore, my ankles rolled multiple times and I was tired. By the time I got back to the start/finish (to start the second loop) my engine light was on danger and I need to make some changes.

I’m happy with loop one work, but I paid a price for the work.

Transition (12:03a; 10 minutes): Because of where I was at mentally and physically I didn’t want to spend much time in transition between loop 1 and loop 2. However, I wanted to to the right things. I changed socks, changed shoes (Altra Lone Peak) and changed my sock. I WANTED to change my shorts, but there was simply no easy option – I have to think about this one for later. Everything was soaked with sweat and salt. I quick got up and walked away…then walked back to resupply my nutrition also. In hindsight, transition went well, but there are improvements to be made (more later). I didn’t take my trekking poles out on loop one, but pulled them out on loop two.

Loop 2 (12:13a – 6:06a; 18.6 – 37.2): My mind changed when I started back out on loop two. There’s a lot to be said for “last lap” and no excuses. Embrace the suck and keep moving forward. As one sign on the course stated: It’s ok to want to quit as long as you don’t quit. I reminded myself often this sign.

My nutrition from aid station had been minimum the first lap and I did not take in as much supplemental nutrition as I planned to during the first lap. In addition, electrolyte imbalances had me on @basesalt and water fighting off stomach cramps and cramps high in my thighs. This could easily be my undoing for the course. Lap two also had me worrying (for the first time racing) about cutoff times. I left start/finish about 47 minutes ahead of the cutoff and I had ended the last lap slow. I had to make some changes to be sure that I didn’t get caught.

Two things saved me: Trekking poles, and nutrition. By the time I got back to Lemon ridge, I finally got my water and electrolytes handled and the stomach was settling, but it took almost an hour to make three miles. This meant that I was still only about 45 minutes ahead of the cutoff. If anything went wrong, I was toast.

For the first half of loop two, I was trying to get back into the race. I burnt too much energy on the first loop (on purpose) and was struggling to get back to racing well. Nutrition was now every 45 minutes plus aid station food and it started to make a difference – my body had the things that it need to run to engine.

The second half of loop two went better and I caught and dropped a number of racers – that’s the way it’s suppose to happen. I started to again enjoy the race. The pace was not quick, but I started getting a little distance on that imaginary cutoff line. Best was that I was doing water and nutrition like clockwork and it keep me where I needed to be – a tough lesson on a tough course.

By the time I got to the last aid station, Lemon Ridge. A volunteer that I knew exclaimed that I “looked strong….much better than when going out.” I took the comment as it was meant and I felt the same. I took the last 3 miles of the race to finish stronger than I finished the first – I’ll take that as a win.

Finish (11 hours 6 min.): The soles of my feet were literally numb from running across the tops of boulder, rocks, and pyramids of pain (rugged trails). My ankles were rolled more than I can count and my trekking poles save me from a trip to the doctor. Even with all this said – I felt strong!

OTHER NOTES:

Mentally: This was a challenging race for many reasons. But, I was physically and mentally strong going into the race and overcame a number of situation that could have been excuses for stopping.

Done right: The grind! Simply, I’ve been doing the everyday work to get prepared included night running. Feet were done right….taped them up and changed socks and shoes.

Improve: Pay attention to the damn nutrition plan stupid! This is something that I control, for the most part, and can put me in a hole that I cannot remove myself from if everything doesn’t fall right.

Differently: Nothing for this race. Little bit of reorganization of transition gear.

Lessons: Nutrition and stomach have to be cared for from the beginning. Run on carbs and not on what you can do….long races require constant fueling.

Back to Training: Same as last race: Time on feet matters. Need to spend time both at a run and power-walk for long time periods. Correction, I need to develop a better coyote travel trot rather than a power hike. It worked well, when possible, on this course.

Brazos Bend State Park; Needville, Texas
April 6, 2019

This race is a precursor to the Brazos Bend 100 in December 2019 (100 miles) and was a much anticipated test race to helptweak my training.

I’ve run three 50k and one 50 miler prior to this race – so this race was a step-up in distance. Additionally, It’s April in Texas and you simply have no idea what the weather will bring you as you start race day.

Race Conditions:  Temperature started at ~75 degree and ranged to the mid 80s during the middle of the day. Texas weather gave us a a hot and humid day with a light breeze over 1/2 the course – this lack of wind truly increase the suffering during mid day with a sun that broke through the morning clouds. From noon to 6p was simply miserable.

Goals: 1) Finish the race; and 2) See if I could maintain a 14:24 pace for the race.

On race morning, goal #1 was certainly achievable but goal #2 looking a long-shot with the South Texas humidity and temperature combination.

Before the Race: I was well prepared, physically, for the race and my gear was as good as I could possibly plan. Both coach and I knew that April was a little early for this 100k race, but this race is on the same course as my “A” race in December so it was well worth the work to get ready.

Morning of the Race: Nothing of note.

The Race: This is a four loop 15.8 mile flat trail course through Brazos Bend Park with the Start/Finish line setup where the course is a figure 8 with a couple of out-and backs.

Loop 1 (1-15m): The race started at 5:30a in the dark. My headlamp was plenty for this course and I started off at a controlled pace and immediately fell to the last 10% of the 100k group – no worries this was expected and I knew it was going to be a long day. With a 75 degree temperature and no sun, we were all still sweating by the first aid station due to the humidity.

A little over an hour into the race, I remembered the sage advice of Coach Ben – “If you are running for an hour, you should already be walking.” With this advice in mind, I started a walk for 20 minutes and continued a 40/20 run/walk rotation. T Loop one finished 3:27:35 (~13:27 pace. 8:30a) with no problems. Soaked with sweat from my head to foot, but was healthy and happy. Thought at the end of the first lap: All systems go, don’t screw this up.

Transition: Food, new socks, cold power-aid and got out of transition quickly.

Loop 2 (Start – ~30m): This loop started smoothly and through the first half of loop two I maintained a 40/20 run walk pace. At mile 22, I had to again reflect on race strategy ‘to run while I WANTED to run and walk until I was ready to run again.” Loop 2 is a good blur with the aid stations going by and the miles clicking away. The temperature began to rise as the sun rose behind the cloud cover. This lap completed a 50k distance. Half done. Loop two finished 3:28:26 (~14:28pace. noon). Text from teammates came in during this lap – great lift for me. Thought at the end of the second lap: All systems doing fine, but trouble is in the air with the temperature (and hot spots on the ball of each foot).

Transition: Food, new sock, new shirt and shorts, and a bio break. I examined my feet in transition and chose NOT to treat the hot spots. THE FIRST DOMINO: I had plenty of help in the transition with Paul Beaty and Max Atkinson, but I didn’t pretreat the hot spots/small blisters. This is an ultra-runner beginner mistake and I should have known better. The less than dime size place just didn’t seem like enough to extent an already 12 minute transition. Even with good help, I couldn’t settle myself enough to truly think about the distance, humidity, and sweat to come in lap three…..here comes the sun….uh oh.

Loop 3 (30 – 45m): This loop started out with me a little frantic and wanting out of transition and back to the trail. As I moved out of transition I physically felt the sting of my feet in my new socks and old shoes reminding me of the hot spots/small blisters that were on my feet. Stubbornly, I moved out with the assurance that I had a blister/first aid kit in my pack in case I needed it. Other bad news: the cloud were started to break up and there was a promise of full-sun coming. Mentally, I was in a good place, but I knew that the suffering was going to begin on this lap. It’s not that I hadn’t been at the distance before, but I was experience enough to know what was coming. I started the first half of this lap a little faster because it was more open and there was a slight breeze in place – the second half of the loop had trees and had already proven stifling in the heat and humidity.

At Mile 36 my brains stopped me and I stopped at a bench and cared for my feet –at least I tried. I pulled out my small, but well-equipped box and tried to put both large bandaids, and KT-type tape on my feet. Uh oh! My vaseline/anti-friction goo that I had reapplied to my feet before the race and in each transition kept the tape/bandaids from sticking to my feet. This was the Oh shit moment when I realize that I didn’t have a single piece of equipment/clothing that wasn’t soaked with sweat and there was no way to dry my feet enough to apply the foot first aid. I still had about 9 miles on this loop and realized that I was going to do a lot of damage before mile 45 (next transition). At this point, I had a marathon left to do on a set of worsening feet. Goal now: Finish. After working on my feet, I stayed at a good power hike pace for the remainder of the lap at finished it up Loop three a little slower at 3:54:49 (~15:42 pace. 4:20p). Thought at the end of the third lap: I’m not in a good spot, mistakes were made and the last lap is going to be done on grit and pain. Embrace the Suck!

Transition: This was a disaster. I wasted 10 minutes with little to show for it. SECOND DOMINO: I had no more race socks and put on my pre-race technical socks. THIRD DOMINO: No more brain to think. This was a solo transition and I had few brain cells. I was hurting and needing to bring this race to the house. I did changed shoes (fresh pair of Altra Torrins). I checked my blisters – yuk, but didn’t do anything about them – my brain was well into the pain and I saw that both blister were broken – and bigger than a silver dollar. THE FINAL DOMINO: I did nothing about the blister other than putting on dry socks and shoes. To be honest, at the time, I was willing to accept what happened to my feet in trade for finishing the race. A bad bargain when you still have 15+ miles to travel on a pair of bad treads. Oh, I also forgot my sunglasses and hat, but luckily packed my headlamp for the much anticipated sunset in about three hours.

Loop 4 (45 – finish): I’ve already admitted my transgressions in transition. They all found me on the fourth lap. Mentally, I started this lap in a great place – the suck had already been embrace and I was in a good place to deal with the pain. Oh yeah, full sun until sunset.

The pain grew worse on this lap and I felt the blisters grow as the miles grew. I was waiting forever to pass the 50 mile marker and begin gaining longest run miles. The 5+ miles that it took to get there seemed to take forever. After 50 miles, I felt that I could finish – I could tick off aid stations and turn around seeing these trails for the last time.

I did picked up pace to finished the fourth loop faster than third loop, but with a lot more pain. Why? Purely in the head.

Loop 4 was largely uneventful until the last 3/4 of a mile when I moved from one trail to another (in the dark) and side-stepped off a 6″ ledge to the next downward trail stumbling to keep my feet. It was a pure white-lightening pain as I slid sideways on the large blisters that had enveloped both ball of my feet. I’m still uncertain how I kept my feet, but I had the finish line in earshot and a 100k race to finish. Loop four 3:45:37 (~15:14 pace. 8:10p).

• 

FINISH: 15:08:20

OTHER NOTES

Mentally: I was prepared for this race. Physically, coached prepared me.

Done Right: Pace – I was controlled throughout the race and raced it to the best of my mental and physical ability. Scary to think 100 miles at the end of the year. This one was at the edge of possible under the conditions. Body from the ankles up was well-equipped to race. Stay with my race plan for the most part. Clothing and equipment were an A+.

Improvement:  Continue to build the miles on the feet, keep experimenting from the ankle down. Continue to strengthen the body – get stronger and leaner.

Differently: Don’t let little things become big things – FEET.

Lessons: The feet must be cared for.

Back to Training: Time on feet matters. Need to spend time both at a run and power-walk for long time periods.