World's Toughest Half, 2006

The Auburn bike course is not one that lends itself to traditional pacing strategies. Not only does the course feature an incredible amount of climbing (according to various GPS files uploaded to MotionBased.com after the race, somewhere around 8,000 ft of it in 56 miles), but the climbs are unbelievably varied. There are short, ultra-steep spikes, longish rollers, and a couple of merciless extended climbs. Not only does the course challenge you to keep your legs from shattering, but the endless variety in terrain dares you to stay on top of your nutrition and hydration. As I said to Brad Kearns, the organizer of the event, after I finished my race, I haven't yet figured out how to go fast on this course, but I've learned how to slow the bleeding somewhat.

My wattage pacing targets pretty much went out the window in the first 6-8 miles of the course, during which you climb nearly 1000 feet from Folsom Lake to Auburn, with many steep pitches. The next 20 miles or so was more manageable, with more gradual grades overall, but still with quite a few rollers that made it impossible to get into a steady rhythm. There were quite a few athletes who powered past me in the first half of the bike. I chatted with some of them, and I tried to warn them not to expend too much energy -- like an Ironman, this race is all about saving it for the run.

The Bear River loop provided an all-too-brief but welcome respite from the climbing, but of course what goes down, must come back up, and the climb out was tough and steep.

After the Bear River loop, I knew that the remaining miles were a net elevation loss, though still with some significant rollers. My goal here was to keep the power up as much as possible, but also to take advantage of free speed (and recovery time) on the downhills. I worked the rollers on the out and back section (from around miles 43.5 to 47.5) and then just tried to get over the "Lemond Walked" climb (the last significant climb of the course). The last 5-6 miles were spent just trying to manage the effort and try to recover as much as possible.

My fueling strategy for the race was one concentrated bottle of Infinit (about 750kcal) plus one gel per hour, with water from the aid stations to supplement (I also started out with a bottle of water in the second cage). As I mentioned before, fueling is tough at Auburn, and while I thought I was on top of things on course (took in all three gels and what I thought was most of the Infinit), I discovered after the race that I'd only consumed a little over half of the Infinit.

The Auburn run course is also quite hilly, with about 1500' of climbing, and quite a bit of single-track, technical trail running. The bulk of the climbing comes in three distinct places, totaling about 4-5 miles of the course. I had at first thought to try to run the entire course, but on the first climb -- the Dam Wall -- I decided I'd try to stick to a 2'x'2 run/walk strategy for the climbs. I was feeling a little weak, and I spent a bit of extra time at the aid stations to try to get some extra hydration and fueling.

The management strategies on the run worked, and I managed to run one of the climbing sections (a more gradual but extended section out of "the Pit"). I felt strong during the last couple of miles on the flatter creekside trail, but I could still feel that I was running on fumes. This meant that, though my muscles were willing and able to push the pace on the flat, the engine couldn't sustain it. Luckily, I'd managed things well enough that I met my finish goals, running a 1:56:06 to complete the race in 5:45:55 -- both well under my previous best efforts at this race.

Regarding the "success" of the run, it's difficult to say how far off this is off my open time given the difficulty of the course. I'm not much of a trail runner, and the continuous effort spikes to get over the rollers and manage the technical portions tend to wear me out. I don't know whether it's a function of inexperience, or whether my body's just not well-suited to that type of running. I do know that the fastest run time on the day was a 1:24:55, from Clas Bjorling, who is easily capable of running under 1:10 for a standalone half-mary. That gives me some comfort.