Solo 50km Race Report (my first 50km & first road marathon!)
# Race Report
- "Race": Solo road 50km - Date: 2022-12-01 - Location: Hong Kong ([route](https://i.imgur.com/bpEsbeS.png)) - Time: 3:58:42 (per GPS)
## Goals
| | Goal | Completed | | --- | ---------------- | --------- | | A | Sub-4:00 | Yes | | B | Sub-5min/km pace | Yes | | C | Sub-4:30 | Yes |
## Splits | KM | Split | KM | Split | | --- | ----- | --- | ----- | | **1** | 5:09 | **26** | 4:31 | | **2** | 4:26 | **27** | 4:31 | | **3** | 4:27 | **28** | 4:31 | | **4** | 4:38 | **29** | 4:26 | | **5** | 4:35 | **30** | 4:30 | | **6** | 4:29 | **31** | 4:25 | | **7** | 4:50 | **32** | 4:33 | | **8** | 4:26 | **33** | 4:53 | | **9** | 4:25 | **34** | 4:42 | | **10** | 4:29 | **35** | 4:45 | | **11** | 4:28 | **36** | 4:39 | | **12** | 4:28 | **37** | 4:53 | | **13** | 4:31 | **38** | 4:36 | | **14** | 4:32 | **39** | 4:47 | | **15** | 4:34 | **40** | 4:48 | | **16** | 4:24 | **41** | 4:56 | | **17** | 4:31 | **42** | 5:17 | | **18** | 4:20 | **43** | 5:11 | | **19** | 4:28 | **44** | 5:43 | | **20** | 4:22 | **45** | 5:32 | | **21** | 4:25 | **46** | 5:37 | | **22** | 4:24 | **47** | 5:41 | | **23** | 4:38 | **48** | 6:05 | | **24** | 4:29 | **49** | 6:01 | | **25** | 4:29 | **50** | 6:10 |
## Training My training for this would best be described as....a bit of a mess.
I started planning out my training 4 months ago, intending to revisit the course of my first (and to that point only) marathon. This time, I wanted to complete the full 50km trail rather than bailing out early and settling with the marathon as I did the first time, but....15 weeks out from my planned "race" week, I got COVID.
COVID knocked me completely off training for weeks -15 and -14, and then I managed 55km/wk for weeks -13 and -12. I *finally* felt back to normal for week -11, but then I went and overdid it. I was very careful to keep the volume low at a very manageable 60km again, but I ramped up my elevation gain way too quickly. Prior to getting COVID in August, I had consistently done 65-75km/wk for the entire year with a few weeks here and there at 80-100km, but mostly on the roads with 500-1000m of weekly elevation gain. Given that I was planning a trail 50km with about 1200m of elevation, I had started to incorporate a few trail runs with more vertical gain into my training, but I didn't do so with enough caution and ended up hurting my knee on a trail descent in mid-September (11 weeks out). I cross-trained for weeks -10 and -9, walking and some very light running for volume and to get some time on my feet, and indoor rowing to maintain some intensity. 8 weeks out, I was able to get 45km of running supplemented by a few hours on the rower without aggravating the knee, so I was back in business. Weeks -7 through to -3 were: 71, 85, 75, 100, and 100km, and finally with some intensity as the down weeks due to the knee issue finally cleared up the lingering effects of COVID on my heart and lungs. The final 2 weeks were 40km and then 12km on the week of the 50km.
However, 6 days out from my planned "race" day, I was finally able to get in to see my physio about the knee (which hadn't gotten worse despite the increased volume over the last month, but was still not feeling 100% and stopping me from trail running as descending hurt it). I won't go into the details of the diagnosis as it's very specific to my own biomechanical shortcomings and injury history, but the summary was that he said I can go ahead with a 50km without causing further damage, but only if I did a lot less elevation gain than the planned ~1200m as all that descending would be a recipe for further injury. So, with that, my initial goal of doing a trail 50km with no real time expectations was scrapped under a week out from when I needed to do it (due to upcoming holiday travel), I had to come up with a new goal.
The obvious place to turn my attention was a road marathon or 50km, but unfortunately there were no local events available so I had to go with a solo effort. I chose to go unsupported too just for the extra challenge, so I planned out a 25km out and back route with as little elevation gain as I could find (ended up being just over 100m) and a minimally complicated route as I didn't want to have to think about navigation too much.
In short, I got in 1 month of quality training for a slow trail 50km with lots of elevation gain, but had to change my goal at the last minute to a fast-ish flat road 50km. I think COVID and the injury didn't dilute as much of my pre-COVID fitness as I thought though, as those 2 100km weeks with hard workouts were pretty easy. My consistency prior to getting COVID definitely paid dividends here, as I think my performance was a lot better than the mess that this training block was would suggest it should've been.
## The big day I got in just over 8 hours of sleep the night before, but I slept *awfully*, waking up with a body battery of 50 according to my garmin (I very rarely wake up <80 unless I'm sick or hungover, or slept <6hrs, so that's not great). I only checked this afterward to avoid placebo-ing myself into feeling even worse, but in the moment I could tell I was feeling just okay, but not great. I had a slice of toast and plenty of water, sat around for my gut to do its thing, then left home for the ~95min bus trip to the start point. I got there by around 1100, and started shortly afterward as I didn't want to get too cold. We've had a warm "winter" here so far in Hong Kong, with it being 25-30C for most of the last couple of weeks. The temperature dropped from 28-30 on the 31st of November to 13-15C on the 1st of December (with 70% humidity and 21km/h sustained winds and >35km/h gusts when I started), which feels surprisingly cold when you're accustomed to the former.
So, now is probably the time to go over my "race"-day gear:
- Singlet and half tights - New Balance Fuelcell TC - Garmin Forerunner 245M - Aftershokz OpenMove - Salomon Sense Pro 5L with 2x500ml Speed Flask in the front and 1x500ml soft flask in the back (I also had a fresh t-shirt, a lightweight long sleeve, a lightweight face towel, and my mask and wallet in the back for before and after)
Nutrition:
- 1.5L of water in soft flasks, 500ml of which had 1x Nuun sport tab (caffeinated) - 3x Gu Gels - Rocctane Coffee Cold Brew: 1425mg amino acids, 125mg sodium, 70mg caffeine - Chocolate Outrage: 450mg amino acids, 50mg sodium, 20mg caffeine - Salted Caramel: 450mg amino acids, 125mg sodium, 20mg caffeine - 1x Clif Bloks (Salted Watermelon: 100mg sodium)
and onto how it went:
### KM 0-10 I downed the Salted Caramel Gu a few minutes before I started (neither caramel-y nor salty enough. Mediocre flavour, 5/10).
The first 10km was mostly uneventful other than 1 brief slowdown for navigation (kilometre 7) as I took a wrong turn. Since I had no idea what pace I wanted to target given that this would be my first 50km, second marathon, and first road marathon, I made an effort to allow myself to pace at a comfortable low to mid-Z3 by feel for the first 10K to gauge how I should approach the rest of the day. I was going faster than I expected while feeling good, so at the end of the first 10km was when I mentally switched from hoping I'd be able to hit goal B to knowing that goal B was in the bag barring catastrophic cramping, and that goal A may be possible.
### KM 10-20 I finished the first 500ml flask of water, and had about 250ml of the water with nuun in it. I also ate the Clif blocks from about 12-16km (Decent flavour but they're a PITA to eat. Will save them for the bike and stick to gels while running in the future, 6/10).
The body still felt good and I was in good spirits due to the consistent and better than expected pace, but my feet and ankles started to *really* hurt. One part of me was happy that my knee wasn't troubling me, but this was some serious pain. I had overlooked one critical fact: most of Hong Kong's bike paths and running tracks are slightly banked/cambered for drainage, and they tend to also be somewhat lumpy (when the surface swells and cracks due to the heat, and is repaired by just laying another layer on top). It's mostly a non-issue when riding a bike, but running 25km out and back on an angled and slightly lumpy surface in laterally unstable shoes like the Fuelcell TC places a lot of strain on the feet and ankles. The pain seemed to plateau rather than continuing to get worse though, so I was able to mostly ignore it and I don't think it affected my pacing too much, if at all. It's just something I wish I'd thought of beforehand as it would've saved me a lot of pain if I ran in something with a broader base and less lateral instability.
### KM 20-30 I only drank about 300-350ml of liquid for this 10km, so I had just under a litre left by kilometre 30. I had the Rocctane gel just after the 25km mark for a caffeine pick-up (not a coffee drinker so the coffee aftertaste stuck around for a little too long, 6/10).
20-30km had fewer turns and a more consistent grade, and I felt pretty good. I continued to run mostly by feel and tried to minimise how much I was looking at my watch while focusing on keeping my form fluid, so I'm happy with how consistent the pacing was for this 10km split.
### KM 30-40 I realised I probably hadn't drank as much as I should've over the prior 10km split, so I finished up most of my fluids by around 36 or 37km. I had the final chocolate gel at 35km (it's chocolate, 7/10).
30-35km felt surprisingly good, but that wasn't really a surprise as I've done a few 30km long runs and always felt fine up to that point. However, 33-34km was when I started to feel the first warnings of the cramps to come. I aerobically still felt good and capable of 4:20-4:30, but I could tell my muscles were reaching their limit so I consciously chose to slow down to the 4:45 range. I knew by this point that I'd banked enough time in the first 30km that I could make it under 4 hours so long as I stayed under 5:00min/km for a little longer, so I didn't want to risk absolutely blowing up really early.
Up to this point, I was listening to podcasts ("Behind the Bastards" and "This Podcast Will Kill You") as I find that's the best way to get through the monotony of long runs for me. At around 35km or so though, I needed something to focus on rather than something to get distracted by, so I switched to music and cranked up the volume. That slight lift in pace from 37-40km may well be attributable to the music, as it re-focused me.
### KM 40-50 By this point, I was basically out of fluids and had no nutrition left. In hindsight, I should've taken 250-500ml more liquid with electrolytes along with me and made an effort to drink more in the 20-30km split, which could potentially have staved off some of the cramping to come. 1 more gel may have been good to take down at 40km, but I don't think it would've made much of a difference at that point, and I may not have eaten it even if I had it, as my stomach wasn't feeling awesome when I took the gel down at 35km. It wasn't ever an issue thankfully, but 1 more gel may have been too much.
As is obvious from the split, the first proper cramps came on at just past 40km, and I had to walk and stretch for a few seconds at 41.5km when a calf locked up. I was hoping to complete the full marathon without any walking, so that 10m or so at 41.5km really stung. 41-43km was okay after I loosened up that calf, but then both hamstrings and the one calf took turns briefly spasming and locking up from 43-50km, hence the substantially slowed pace. I managed to keep the walking down to probably <100m in total with the total stoppages only being at 7km and 43km to cross the road, and ~48km to briefly stretch a hamstring, but wow, that last 4km *sucked*.
## Post-Race ### Immediately Post-Race I made the critical error of not arranging for anyone to meet me at the end point, or planning to finish somewhere that I could rest and refuel before heading home. I had to walk about 800m to get to a Chinese fast food spot, which took >30min with how many stops I had to take to stretch out my legs. By the time I got there, the pain in my legs was immense. I must've been quite the sight shoveling fried rice, iced tea, and coke into my face while writhing in pain and desperately trying to stretch and massage my legs under the table.
I couldn't stand the prospect of >90min in a bus with multiple exchanges and the walking that would entail, so I called for a taxi to get home ASAP. The pain in my legs thankfully finally started to fade down to bad but manageable soreness during the taxi ride about 70-80min after I stopped, and the rest of the day was pretty manageable. I got home, showered, laid in bed for a while, had some spaghetti, and got back into bed and had an early night. Everything hurt too much to foam roll or stretch.
### 1 Day Later (2022-12-02) Predictably, everything hurt in the morning. Walking sucked, and every major muscle group except my pectorals and triceps was sore. It got surprisingly better just a few hours later though, so ~~running~~ limping some errands and meeting up with friends in the late afternoon and into the night was just very uncomfortable rather than super painful. I ended up walking more than I had planned to at around 14K steps, but no running of course. I think all this walking helped with the muscular recovery, but not with the knees and feet which didn't appreciate the impact.
### 2 Days Later (2022-12-03) I was already feeling much better than I expected. I had a follow-up with my physio this morning, which surprisingly showed that the 50K hadn't worsened my knee issues like my physio feared it may. In fact, he said that my range and mechanics were noticeably better than the first time I saw him the week prior just from doing the prescribed exercises and stretches a few times, and despite having run a maximal 50km under 48 hours previously (and being super tight everywhere as a consequence).
Everything was still super sore, though. I did a tentative 1km to see how it felt in the afternoon, and my knees were battered (just generally from the impact, not related to my injury and what the physio observed).
### 3 Days Later (2022-12-04, today) My knees are still sore, but most of the DOMS has faded away aside from in the calves, and weirdly, the intercostal muscles. I expected my quads, hamstrings, and glutes to be much more of an issue, but they all recovered really quickly. I ran another tentative 1km this morning which felt surprisingly almost normal, so I'll probably do another 2-3km to a park and back to get in a quick bodyweight strength workout and to do some of the exercises the physio prescribed. I'll probably get back into it with 5 or 6km easy tomorrow, and aim for maybe 50-60km on the week.
## Reflection Overall, I'm *really* happy with this. 3:58:42 for a 50km is more than I thought I could ever do, and 3:13:43 for the marathon (unofficial, of course) really motivates me to do a properly timed event with on-course nutrition and a proper training block to shoot for sub-3. It's also technically a massive 2:42 marathon PB, down from 5:55:03 (set on the trail I mentioned I wanted to re-attempt). I still think ultra runners are fucking insane though, as doing this certainly didn't make me want to sign up for a 50mi or 100km. I can see myself doing another 50km and especially if it's on some nice trails, but no longer.
As for regrets, I don't really have any. Training went as well as I think it could've given the shitty timing of COVID and my knee injury. I think this performance really goes to show the value of consistency, as I was able to put up a good showing off of a single month of good training which was preceded by 2-3 months of poor training due to sickness and injury only because I'd been much more consistent for the rest of the year leading up to it. A note for newer runners to keep in mind is that the jumps in training volume I made in that final month of training were very aggressive, and was only something I could risk because of my prior consistency. My weekly average running volume for this year including those 3 months of very disrupted training is 64.5km/wk, so ramping up to 100km so rapidly in that single month of good training was risky but not totally reckless as that's a level of volume I know I can run at without too much trouble.
Moving on to equipment, it would've been nice to have my Endorphin Pro 1's with me, but I left those with my brother and I think the Fuelcell TC was the right choice from the shoes I currently have in my rotation. The More v3 would've certainly been more comfortable and not caused the same awful foot and ankle pain as it's much more laterally stable, but I certainly wouldn't have gone under 4 hours for the 50km in them as their weight is very noticeable at <4:30. I should've probably taken the extra hydration with me as aforementioned, but that's the only equipment choice I'd change aside from the shoes if I was to do this again.
Regarding my race-day execution, I don't think I would've done anything differently with hindsight as my pace in the last 10km was mainly limited by the cramping rather than aerobic fitness shortcomings or "hitting the wall"/"bonking", so I don't think that going for a more even split would've helped much. I probably would've cramped almost as badly after 40km if I ran 4:45's until that point but not had all that time banked up, so I think it made sense to allow my body to self-regulate the pace like I did. It was definitely risky and could have backfired as I went a lot faster than planned for the first 10km, but it went better than expected and I held on for longer than I'd honestly hoped, so #noregerts.
TL;DR - I'm content with the process and really happy with the results. Would I do it again? Fuck no. As much as I've gotten used to them, solo efforts suck. I won't be doing another marathon or longer outside of a proper event with people to run with and on-course support, and any of you have my consent to slap me if I'm ever seen at a >50km event.