2015 Speedgoat Race Report: Chasing Splits

July 29, 2015 | By | 10 Replies More

2015 Speedgoat 50km Race Report: Chasing Splits

I’m not going to lie, the course record was on my mind.

 

At every aid station during the race I had referenced split times from my 2014 Speedgoat 50km race and course record and found myself within 1-2 minutes of each split along the way. I had considered my 2014 Speedgoat 50km run to be the best ultra-race of my life so it was an encouraging sign of my fitness!

 

The night before the race I set my alarm for 3:30AM and surprisingly passed out fairly quickly at 11pm when I actually tried to go to bed. After my usual pre-race breakfast of some sourdough bread with almond butter, 2 cups of coffee and a Ugo Bar I was ready to roll!

 

When RD Karl “Speedgoat” Meltzer started us off at 6:30AM I quickly shot to the front and didn’t look back.

I didn't react very quickly to the starting gun though... Photo Credit: Paul Nelson https://www.facebook.com/paulmichaelnelsonphoto

I didn’t react very quickly to the starting gun though…
Photo Credit: Paul Nelson https://www.facebook.com/paulmichaelnelsonphoto

For the first mile I could hear Alex Nichols (who has had an amazing year winning Moab Red Hot 55km over Rob Krar in February, leading team USA at the IAU World Ultra Trail Championships in France in May  ahead of teammate Alex Varner and others, as well as winning the Mount Blanc 80km ultra  just last month!) still breathing behind me. A couple miles later I was all alone though, and I realized two things:

 

  1. Alex was probably a bit tired from all his incredible racing success over the past few months.
  2. My mountain legs were back!

 

The rest of the race was a blur of really tall wild flowers, some techy off-trail sections at high altitude and some gnarly gravel/rocky mountain roads.

Flowers were so tall this year it made it hard to see the trail! Photo Credit: Paul Nelson

Flowers were so tall this year it made it hard to see the trail! Photo Credit: Paul Nelson  https://www.facebook.com/paulmichaelnelsonphoto

 

The sun’s hot rays even at 11,000’ made me a bit thirsty and in addition to the Vfuel gels I was taking about every 20-30 minutes I also grabbed some bananas at the “Larry’s Hole” aid station around miles 12 and 21 respectively.

By the time I got to the “Tunnel” aid station around mile 24 I knew I had built up at least a 15-20 minute lead and was able to relax a bit more.

This is what happens at aid stations... Photo Credit: Meredith Terranova

This is what happens at aid stations… Photo Credit: Meredith Terranova

 

 

With over 11,000’ of climbing at mostly high altitude and some off-trail sections the Speedgoat course (at least in the last 2 editions where the course has become harder!) is never easy. In the end I’m always reduced to a powerhike for much of the final climb up to the final aid station at Hidden Peak.

That final ridge line up to Hidden Peak around mile 27 always reduces me to a powerhike! Photo Credit: Paul Nelson: https://www.facebook.com/paulmichaelnelsonphoto

That final ridge line up to Hidden Peak around mile 27 always reduces me to a powerhike! Photo Credit: Paul Nelson: https://www.facebook.com/paulmichaelnelsonphoto

On the final descent down to the Finish I took my time, already thinking about the pain I’m going to experience at UTMB100. With a few miles to go I realized I might be very close to my course record of 5:12 from last year. However, not wanting to risk injury or a full pain-cave effort I didn’t quite throttle to 100%. On the final switchback, within sight of the finish line, I saw my time from last year flash on my watch. This year would be 32 seconds slower, but overall it was a much more controlled effort. I didn’t experience any real energy lows or have any doubts on being able to finish strong. I’ll take that as a confidence builder to apply to my build-up for the main focus of the summer: my first 100-miler attempt at the Ultra-Trail-du-Mont-Blanc!

Final turn for the Finish! Photo Credit: Isaac Gallegos

Final turn for the Finish!
Photo Credit: Isaac Gallegos

 

Awards! Photo Credit: Paul Nelson: https://www.facebook.com/paulmichaelnelsonphoto

Awards! Photo Credit: Paul Nelson: https://www.facebook.com/paulmichaelnelsonphoto

 

Subscribe to my YouTube channel “Vo2max Productions” for some race video footage in the future.

Kudos to fellow Team Colorado teammate Hillary Allen for breaking the women’s CR!

Big thanks to Sandi for filming and crewing, my parents and my aunt and uncle who traveled out from Oregon to watch and help support at the race! Also, thanks to all the volunteers, sponsors and of course RD “Speedgoat” Karl Meltzer himself for another fun event!

 

Final Summer MUT Running Racing and Training Thoughts:

After a pretty rough go at the 12-mile Kendall Mtn. Run a week before Speedgoat this year, I was a bit anxious to see if my “mountain legs” were back. At Kendall my legs were fairly unresponsive and dead on the climbs and I realized that perhaps I was on the brink of overtraining (much like I did before the 2013 UROC 100km which was the worst ultra race of my life). There is something horrible and beautiful about training at 100+ miles per week and going over 25,000’ of climbing. I think in the past I’ve tended to climb way too hard on most of my mountain runs and that it lead to muscle-fiber exhaustion. Usually my cardiovascular system is in pretty high gear most of the year thanks to road marathon training…it’s the skeletal muscular system that often fails me first in mountain-ultra-trail running. Racing Kendall gave me the insight to actually take a very easy and flat week and put in a taper for Speedgoat instead of keeping my mileage and vertical at near all-time highs. In retrospect I think this was for sure the right choice (I might change my mind after UTMB though!). There’s a fine line between optimal, peak training and overtraining and sometimes it comes down to a few little details.

 

Transitioning between road marathons like LA and Boston to an ultra like Comrades required some gear-shifting ability with my legs (the 5 weeks between Boston and Comrades wasn’t ample enough for that as I suffered a bit at Comrades). Making the transition now to ultra-mountain races requires more than just “shifting gears” though…it’s requiring a new transmission system.

If you’re read our new eBook: “The Sage Running Secret: A Guide to Speedy Ultras.” You can find out more about my car and running analogies and how variable Running Economy is the name of the game.

Thanks for all the support and hope your training is going well!

#AnySurfaceAnyDistance

Cheers,

Sage

@SageCanaday (Twitter and Instagram)

(Facebook Athlete Page)

 

Shameless Sponsor Plugs:

Gear:

Hoka One One Huakas

Ultimate Direction “Groove System” Mono belt

Compressport R2 Calf Sleeves (use code: SAGE15 at checkout for 15% off your order!)

Drymax Max Protection Socks

Julbo Stony Shades

 

Nutrition:

Flora Health 7 Sources Oil, teas, honey and Gogi berries (taken as part of my regular diet).

Ugo Bars (pre and post-race)

Vfuel gels ( taken once every 20-30 minutes while racing)

Trail Butter (post-race recovery!)

Avery Brewing Joe’s Pilsner (opened within 1 minute of finishing) and an IPA of course!

 

Race Data/Training:

Strava.com (see my mile splits and all my training etc.)

elevationclip

 

 

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About the Author ()

2-time Olympic Trials Qualifier, Mountain runner, Author of "Running For The Hansons," trail runner, videos for Vo2max Productioins, LLC.

Comments (10)

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  1. Andy says:

    Thank you for sharing!

    It looks like some shoe sawps went on? Is that the same shoe different color, and what was the strategy of the swap?

    Do you know what your UTMB gear list might be yet?

    Happy training, Andy

  2. Binay Singh says:

    Hi Sage,
    Congratulations. What a feat. Three years in a row. I am really excited that you got your mountain feet back and looking forward to your UTMB race.
    We were eagerly waiting for your report from this race. I hope you come up with some videos from the race too. Great race report with awesome pictures. Always a joy to read through. Best of Luck for UTMB.

  3. Steve says:

    Awesome as always! It was amazing to see you run both last year and this year, but to think this was race was just a big check-out to UTMB is definitely setting the ‘grand stage’! This was you at mile 3: https://instagram.com/p/5rnhdDR_kY/

  4. George Harris says:

    Sage, great race. I had a question you went with the Hoka Huakas instead of the Hoka Speedgoat. Is that because it is a lighter more speed type shoe vs the more solid Speedgoat?

    I really like my Speedgoats great cushioning and kind of a bounce I don’t get with the Challenger or the Huakas

    Good luck in your next race.

  5. SageCanaday says:

    Hi Andy,
    I wore the Hoka One One Huaka the whole time during the race (black or green color I think).
    For UTMB I’ll probably have a Challenger ATR or Huaka or Speedogat ready for swapping though. I’ll also wear an Ultimate Direction SJ Pack with full bottles up front, lots of Vfuel gel flasks, a UD Ultra Jacket and other gear. Thanks for the support!

  6. SageCanaday says:

    Hey thanks so much for the support Binay! Still working on the video. Speedgoat is always a great test and fun race for me to do..just hoping to carry the momentum on to UTMB. Hope you’re doing well!

  7. SageCanaday says:

    Hey Steve,
    thanks so much – awesome pic! Great seeing you guys out there. Thank you for all the support!

  8. SageCanaday says:

    Hey thanks George! I really do like the new Speedgoat, but I honestly didn’t have a broken in pair for the race. I also figured that the dry rock and dry dirt trails at Speedgoat didn’t require the full Vibram lug traction that the Speedgoat shoe has so the Huaka was the lighter choice. The only other thing is the Huaka has a bit wider of a toe box which I also like. For UTMB I’m bringing both models with me as well as the HOKA Challenger! Thanks again for all the support and hope your running is going well!

  9. Ryan says:

    Hey Sage, congrats on the win. Definitely impressive, given your last 6 months of training mostly for fast road running. Good luck at UTMB, I’m pretty stoked to follow the race, especially with you and Rob running it this year.

  10. SageCanaday says:

    Thanks Ryan! Still trying to get my mountain legs back but Speedgoat was a good sign I think. Now if I can just triple the effort in terms of distance and vertical gain…UTMB will be very tough and very different from a road marathon! Hope your running is going well.

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