2015 Naked Bavarian 40 Mile Race Report

Today was a big day.  It was my second ultra in as many weeks, the Naked Bavarian 40 miler (after the HAT 50K last week).  This race was supposed to take place in early March, but got postponed due to too much snow on the course.  The field was smaller, as some people changed their plans and opted to run it next year.  There was a 20 miler, marathon and 40 miler.  Of course I had to do the biggest distance.

Ryan, Kobey and I headed to Blue Marsh early for the race.  We setup a canopy for people, specifically the Trail WhippAss group to set up their stuff.  We met one guy, Rudy but there weren't a lot of people doing the 40 miler.  They could drop their bags later.  It was also too cold to hangout much anyway.  We caught up with a few other friends who were running various distances.  It was a good prerace gathering, even if it was small.

The temperature made things interesting.  It was starting in the low 20s and going into the mid 40s.  I wore a lightweight long sleeve shirt with my jacket over it.  I had on shorts too.  At times, the jacket got a little hot, but there always seemed to be a chilly breeze off of the lake, so I never took it off.

I started off nice and easy.  Ryan ran with me for a bit, but then dropped back.  I passed these guys downhill because they were being too cautious on a technical section.  I then cruised along.

The course starts with some up and down singletrack.  Most of it is runnable and with people all around, I ran more than I likely would've on my own.  It was easy and I tried to just take it slow.

I often complain that even the early miles don't go by fast enough.  However, they were quite fast today.  The pace was pretty good.  The big key for me was taking in nutrition.  I had plenty of Tailwind with me.

I continued to run as the course flattened out after the first aid station.  I was running well.  Before long, it was on to the second aid station, around 6.5 miles.  I had no idea where I actually was because my watch lost signal early and then proceeded to add several miles for some reason.

I lost several positions after this aid station.  I put my Tailwind in Ziplock bags and it was hard to put that into my water bottles on the go.  That slowed me down, but really I was in no hurry.

I was very concerned in this early going.  Hot spots were developing on my feet.  I wore my Lone Peak 2.0s for just the second time in a race.  Last week, I tied them too tight.  This week, I guess they were too loose.  Eventually, I tightened them.  I think the frozen, crunchy snow was causing problems too.

The part after this 2nd aid station was tough.  There are some good climbs, including one nicknamed the "ski slope."  There was ice at the bottom of one of the hills, near a bridge.  I tried to be careful and I walked on it, but took a nasty fall anyway.  My arm hurt and was cut up quite bad, but I went on.  Some guys checked on me.

Around mile 10 was the 3rd aid station.  After this, it was about 4 miles of flat running along the lake.  I really did enjoy that part and I cruised along.  I was back to the end of this loop and refilling my Tailwind again at the aid station.  I saw my friend Miriam there.  She was running a different race.

There were a couple more miles of flat running.  I chatted with a guy for a few minutes, before pulling ahead.  I wanted to run all the stuff that was still runnable.  I was amazed around mile 15, because I still felt good.  That isn't often the case.  I usually start hurting by that point.

I ran so much going back to the start/finish area.  I was doing so well and on such a high.  I actually got choked up after 20 miles.  I had some issues going on in my head too and I wasn't sure how well I'd run today.  Even if I crashed, I was thrilled with 20 good miles.  That much good running rarely happens.

I had run with Rudy for a bit before this loop was over.  We chatted briefly at the start/finish and I was out on my way.  I made sure to keep using the Tailwind.  So far, it was working great.  I had finished the loop around 3 hours and 35 minutes.  That was solid.

I saw a friend Bob early on in this next loop.  I told him I had 20 good miles, so I was thrilled no matter how the rest of the day went.  Of course, it was still a long way to go.  I was surprised that Ryan wasn't closer to me, but he was running solid and smart.

I tried to hike a little more during the early part of this loop.  I felt good though, so I still ran a lot.  Seeing runners from other races coming back was a big plus too.  They were encouraging.

As I closed in on the marathon point, I started to lose it.  The energy levels were still up, but my quads were getting sore again.  They are clearly my weakness on trails.  I just had to keep moving though.  I continued to run a lot.

I felt pretty bad as I began the loop.  I couldn't believe that I still had about a half marathon left in the race.  I wasn't completely falling apart, but I wasn't strong either.  I took it easy through this tough part.  I just wanted to get to mile 30.

It was great to get to that aid station, even though my legs were kind of dead.  I took a Hammer Capsule from the aid station.  I was sweating a lot.  I knew this next section was runnable.

Of course, runnable after 30 miles is always a big question.  I was thrilled to see that I could run very well on the flat.  I took some short walk breaks every now and then, but for the most part, I ran when I could run.

The strangest thing happened as I got to mile 33-35.  My quads no longer hurt and I actually felt better.  I continued to run a lot, since it was flat and I plugged away.  I couldn't believe how good I felt this late in the race.

At the second to last aid station, I ran into Sophia from the Trail WhippAss group.  It was good to meet her and chat for a bit.  She ran a 50K last weekend and was doing the marathon.  She was struggling a bit though, so I ran past her eventually.

I was so happy to get to the final aid station.  A guy, Jeff, who I ran with in January was there.  I talked to him briefly about where we ran together and thanked him for the support.

I continued to run.  To me, the most amazing thing wasn't that I was running the flats.  More amazing, I was running the uphills too.  I ran basically the entire open field section.  This guy behind me seemed to gain ground and then fall back.

I was still good to run, but there were some wicked climbs in the last two miles.  I had to hike them and that slowed me down.  Finally, after one of them, I just let the guy pass me.  I wanted to get done, but I was hurting a bit and in no rush to finish.

The funny thing was he asked me if I need S-Caps.  Of course right after I declined and he ran off, my quads began to cramp, basically out of nowhere.  Talk about frustrating, there was less than a mile left.  I was forced to hike most of that.

I ran a slightly downhill not too far from the finish, but nearly cramped again.  I tried to stretch, but other muscles nearly cramped.  I managed to run very slowly on the road into the finishing area.  At least I could run through the finish.

I hungout with Kobey, Rudy and Sophia at the finish, as we waited for Ryan.  It was good to chat.  Ryan came in about 45 minutes after me.  It was cold, but I didn't want to take anything off, since I was nearly cramping.

I've struggled so much in ultras.  This was my second farthest distance ever and I handled it so well.  I fell off a bit in the second loop of course, but I didn't crash.  I was beyond thrilled.  If only I didn't cramped down the stretch, I would've perhaps broke 8 hours, which is what I was hoping coming into the race.

I'm very sore, so not sure when I'll run again.  I do usually bounce back quickly.  Sometime this week, I would like to try to get 5 or 6 loops around Mt. Tammany, in preparation for Hyner.  Maybe I can do that over the weekend.  That will also depend on the Mt. Tammany trail conditions.  I'm sure they are improving, but could still be crap.

Officially 40 miles - 8:03:48 (12:06 pace) 5423 feet of elevation gain (Watch added distance)
24th of 47 finishers