My TransRockies Challenge Test

A few weeks ago, I was looking to challenge myself with something running related and that is when I decided that it would be really cool to take on the mileage of the 6 stages of the TransRockies Run since I will be running this epic race in 2017.  Even though I live in Florida and would not have the altitude and elevation gain that I will have when I take it on in the mountains of Colorado, I would still be pushed to my limits by the miles itself since I have never run this much in such a short period of time.  I planned to start on the morning of August 20^th and finish on August 25^th.

Day 1: 20.8 miles

This day started off with me getting up at 4am, taking my wife to the airport since she was going away for a work conference and then getting home and starting my run.  It was just like a Saturday for me since that is my day for my long runs.  It was just before 6am when I finally headed on out.  I ran like I normally do with regular intervals and didn’t  push the pace at all since my training is all about endurance, not time.  Plus, I figured there was a lot of miles ahead of me these next 6 days and it was just about completing them.  I carried my handheld that was full of my fuel of choice, Tailwind Nutrition and refilled after the first hour, about 6 miles in.  From that point on I topped off my fuel every 3 to 4 miles.  At about mile 12 I ate a quarter of my pb&j that I had made.  For me, taking in some real food at some point makes me feel that much better in the later miles.  I know I didn’t really need it for today’s run since it was only day 1, but I did anyway.  The pace stayed steady, the fuel was consumed and 4:07 minutes after starting, I was done for the day.  I felt great and was ready to take on Day 2.

Day 2: 13.4 miles

I knew today was going to be a bit of a challenge but for other reasons other than the running.  Today my oldest son was off to college and I had to be on the road by 7am to get to his mother’s to pick him up and bring him to his dorm.  With the everyday things that need to be done at the house before leaving, I was going to have to start my run by 3am.  Fortunately I got to bed the night before at a good time and was able to get up and get out by 3am just like I had planned.  I took it even slower today knowing that tomorrow was probably going to be a hard one.  I cut my intervals down and again fueled like I normally do on a day that I run this distance.  Even though I start with a bottle of Tailwind Nutrition, it is not as strong and the hydration for the remaining miles is only water.  I also do not take in any real food on runs of around this distance.  Again, the pace remained steady and after 2:53 minutes I was done with day 2.  I still felt really good with where I was at physically and now had to prepare for day 3.

Day 3: 24.2 miles

I knew that today was going to be hard, but I never imagined it was going to be as hard as it was.  Like we all know, there are good and bad days of running and today ranked up there with one of the worst I ever had.  Before I even started this challenge, I was reading about another fuel that many people praised.  Why I even started thinking about possibly trying it is beyond me.  As luck would have it, it was sold at a place that I passed on my way home from work and so I purchased some.  I don’t know what possessed me to test this fuel during the biggest running challenge of my life, especially on the day that I knew would probably be the hardest.  I was out the door and off on day 3 by 4am.  Not only did my legs already feel heavy from all the moving and running around I did with my son from the previous day, but I also didn’t get a good night’s sleep.  To add insult to injury, the fuel I was testing was awful.  It tasted like yeast and when it warmed to room temperature, it was even worse.  By mile 6, I could not wait to get some colder fuel into my handheld.  I wasn’t forcing it down, but I was not liking it at all.  Fortunately, it was not causing any gastric or nausea issues and so I just kept on taking it in like it said to do.  By mile 12, when I was taking in my first quarter of my pb&j, I did have to start watering it down and by mile 16, I had to transition back to my Tailwind Nutrition.  The damage to this day had already been done though by this fuel.  I was going very slow and walking quite a bit.  I was even cramping at some points and I haven’t cramped since I started with my Tailwind.  As it so happens, I ended up walking the last 8 miles of today’s distance.  As tired as I was, I knew I could just walk and finish the 24.2 miles that I needed to and that is what I did.  6:37 after starting, I was done for the day.  I was very tired at this point and knew I needed a restful day and a good night’s sleep to take on the mileage of day 4 and so that is what I set out to do. 

Day 4: 14.2 miles

Today was definitely going to be a better day than yesterday.  I filled my handheld with my Tailwind Nutrition, had ice cold water ready for the refills and was out the door and on the road by 5:38am.  I decided that I would get a little bit more sleep this morning and start a bit later after the disastrous day I had yesterday and it was the right move on my part.  I took the run really slow, adjusted the intervals to make more sense for me later in the run and the result was a good one.  Nothing fancy about today.  I fueled like I was supposed to, kept a steady but slow pace and took it throughout the entire run.  3:15 after starting today, I was done with day 4.  I was also feeling pretty good.  I didn’t know what to expect for the next 2 days since each would be over 20 miles and I had already completed the first 72 of the challenge, but I was going to do this without any question.

Day 5: 23.6 miles

With another good night’s sleep under my belt, I was out the door by 4:30 this day.  I prepared like I had done the previous 4 days and was on the road with my plan at hand.  I was going to take today just like I had yesterday because it worked so well.  Without even realizing it, I was just passing 10 miles in with only 13.6 to go and I was not only feeling great, but my legs didn’t feel as heavy as they did the previous 2 days.  Whether it had to do with mental preparation or the fact that my body was adjusting, I was feeling really good.  Even though I was going as slow as I was, the miles were ticking by and before I knew it I was 3 miles away from finishing for the day.  I kept at it, ate my food, drank my fuel and passed mile 23.6 6:04 after starting.  5 days were complete and tomorrow would be the final day of this challenge.  I was so mentally prepared by now that I was ready for the day to come!

Day 6: 22.2 miles

Today I was up by 3am even though I hadn’t planned on getting up until 3:30am.  I guess my mind and body were ready to complete the final miles of this epic challenge.  I was taking my first steps of the run by 3:49 am and again just taking it nice and easy.  The miles were being counted down with every step I took.  I was at 3 miles, then 6 miles, then 10 miles.  The fuel was consumed, the pb&j was eaten and the miles were conquered.  When I finally passed 22.2 miles and was done with the challenge I got a little emotional. 

Taking on this challenge was something I feel I was preparing myself for even though I hadn’t decided to do it until a few weeks ago.  Here I am, a 46 year old father of 5, who only started running 6 years ago with the hopes of completing a marathon, running 120 miles in 6 days.  Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think I would be doing something like this.  It just goes to show you that if you put your mind to something and prepare yourself, you can do anything.  I hope that some of those that followed this 6 day journey of mine were inspired to take on your own challenge.  It doesn’t have to be big or small, it just has to be personal.

Once again I want to thank all of the people that followed me with this epic endeavor.  Your words of encouragement kept me focused and determined to complete what I had set out to do.  I also want to say that the respect I have for all of the endurance athletes was always there, but it has been compounded by what I did since many of them make this look easy and for me it was the hardest thing I have ever done in my life.  To know that I will be doing this in the mountains of Colorado 2 years from now excites me knowing that I can mentally prepare for it.  I do have work to do though since I will be running it at altitude and climbing over 20,000 ft in elevation.

So, once again, Thank you for all the support.

Run Hard, Run Strong and Stay Vertical my friends!!