Vulture Bait 50K

After doing 44K on the Bruce Trail Tuesday I did the Vulture Bait 50K Ultra today. This was my best Ultra performance of the year just a few minutes short of a PB. I wasn't really planning on doing two long runs this week and I am sure that it had a small impact on my results but irregardless I was pleased with my time and the way that I ran the race.


Race day start was very routine, I could do a cut paste from just about any other race report. The weather was rather spectacular Sunny morning with a cool 4C temp but almost no breeze. They were calling for a 15C high so I was confident that I would be comfortable in a Tech T and Shorts. Prior to the race start I found a comfortable quiet spot away from the crowds.


Race start was a bit slow with all 300 of us heading off. I never get hung up about that sort of thing because there was lots of Ks ahead to make adjustments. It only took a few Ks before things spread out and I was running my own pace. First 5K had lots of roads and tractor trails. On the roads I was running upright and relaxed at around my 5:00 Marathon Pace , on the trails I would hunch down into the defensive position dropping to a 6:00 pace. My goal was to get through the first 25K loop in 2hrs30min. I tried to leave lots of distance between when ever I was tailing someone. If the gap closed I quickly passed. I find that if I am following someone that I watch their feet more then the trail which was not a good idea with lots of leaves covering the roots and rocks. I didn't have quite enough Gels or Eload to get through the day and held off until 17K before I did a Gel , at 20K it was 3 eload caps and 500mg of table salt! At the last aide station , 22K in I found out that they had Gels available so every aide station for the last 28K I did a Gel , Cup of Water and a Coke. Finished the first loop in 2hrs32min and avg 6:01 pace ...close enough to my target but I was starting to fade a bit and knew it wasn't going to be a Sub 5 hour day. Heading out my goal was to break 5hrs15min , doing the math it worked out to a 2hr13min loop. Heading back out reset the Garmins Lap Counter , it was now a 25K run with a new goal! The first road section it became apparent that I would be slowing it down 30sec/K ... playing the fade! The numbers didn't quite work out to a 5:15 but with 23K to go I knew I should be close as long as I didn't blow up. When I was running my legs felt pretty good but at the 5K aide station I walked up a long hill while gelling and drinking and the legs were really burning. When I started running again the pain would subside. I also felt like I had to urinate but I decided that the discomfort was a motivating pain that kept me moving along. I also didn't want to tale the time to stop , things just don't work normally and "going" takes too much time! I kept moving along pretty good on through the final 20K. Crunch time came at the last aide station. With 3K remaining I quickly downed a Coke and Water and skipped the Gel. I figured I still had a shot at a Sub 5:15 and really tried to pick it up. Last 3Ks were done at a 5:30 pace , crossed the line with the clock ticking past 5:16. Garmin time of the second loop was 2hrs43min , 11mins slower then the first loop for an average pace of 6:28/K.

This was the best 50K Trail Ultra result of 2010. In spite of falling a little short of my goal I considered the run a successful end to the Ultra season. I am now going to take a little time off racing and will concentrate on "easy" runs around home maintaining my current fitness level.