Last Saturday (12/7/13) I completed my fourth North Face Endurance Challenge 50k in San Francisco. I was aware of my slower pace as compared to the past four years and switch my goal to finishing under 7 hours. This race was going to be a celebration of my recovery from the complications of adrenal fatigue/health and not a competition… a step in the right direction of my health and hopefully towards a successful 2014 race season.
To add in my fueling as many people ask about my nutrition and how to eat before a race…I started the morning at 530am drinking my “Teechino” herbal coffee mixed with some pasture butter and organic coconut oil. I was not hungry at all so I did not eat any mashed sweet potatoes (SP mixed with coconut oil and pasture butter). I drank my “coffee” on the bus ride to the starting area then I made myself eat the raw almond bar around 6:30am and take my “pre-race pills” (E-Caps).
The race started at 7am… I had to remind myself the goal of the race was to finish and to celebrate my return to endurance sports. The first four miles are mostly uphill and I had to do some self coaching. I had to let go of setting time goals and pace… let go of being passed…let go of the frustration of being passed… let go of my ego. I had to get into the right mindset… do this event for yourself. I wanted to turn around mile 7 then until mile 12 I kept talking myself out of finishing the 50k course. The previous weekend, I had this same conversation with one of my clients I coach as she was trying to set a PR on a challenging half marathon course. I had to practice what I preach…. eliminate the negative chatter in my head and just enjoy the beautiful day. The course is beautiful (one of my favorites) as we run along the Marin Headlands plus the air smells so refreshing. If needed to walk the hills it was okay… if I needed to pull aside to let people pass me on the single track… it was okay. I was here to finish…not break my previous time.
As I told my client… sometimes you need to ask yourself why are you doing these events? If you are not having fun and enjoying yourself then take a break from races. I always tell myself and my clients to smile, support the other participants and thank the volunteers no matter how you feel. After mile 12, I changed my mindset and attitude…I started to talk to people, smile for the camera, support others and enjoy the scenery. After my change in attitude, I enjoyed the event even more and I picked up the past the last four miles as much as possible to get under 7 hours.
And for my fueling… mostly water! I had two bottles of Generation UCAN and two packets of Cocoa Bliss plus water. That is all I needed… plus my E-Caps supplements each hour (aminos).
I waited to watch my amazing husband finish his first 50 miler then our friend Joel Glass. I will announce that I will probably never do a 50 miler running race… and especially not a 100 miler but this course is absolutely beautiful course you should add to your bucket list.
