TM Chicago Infinity 2022

 Race: TM Chicago Infinity 2022

Date: August 27, 2022

Time:  65k - 8:20:38

Place: 4th place male of 123 / 5th overall of 168

Pre-Race Conditions:

Sitting at the Easy Street Inn in Coloma, Michigan again for lunch. Almost a year to the date after we found this place last year. Great food at a little old bar that pointed us to a good winery just down what road. I’ll be stopping there next to resupply a little bit of my wine stash. 

Feeling good about this one. It’s going to be warm later in the day but the weather looks cool to start. In this event we have to run a 15k lap first then get to choose between 15k or 5k after that. My goal is 65k with a fallback of 60k. My slowest lap at toughest last year was 1:09 on a 5 mile loop with 20 obstacles. This is going to be a 15k lap with about 27 obstacles. A lot more running will play to my strengths. And this year we only cross the river once and come back on the bridge. I’m looking forward to that river crossing cool down and pee spot again. 

My run training has been good although my strength is probably lacking. I haven’t done much lifting or obstacle training recently in favor of yoga. I’ve been loving the Flow class especially with Joe on week nights. It gives me a reason to have to leave work on time and then an hour of meditation. I’m hoping the hour in the heat a few times a week is going to help my heat tolerance. 

After my last 3 hot races where I died on course I’ve been doing as much heat training as I can get in to build my tolerance. Scheduling has been hard to get those midday runs in. I have when I can. Hopefully it’s enough for this weekend. 

The way the cutoffs are setup we can’t start a 15k lap after 1:30 and can’t start a new lap after 3:30 but do have an hour grace period until 4:30 to finish an active lap. The goal is to start 15k number 4 by about 1:15-1:20 and then squeeze in that last 5k start right before the 3:30 cut off. How this is going to go is going to depend on that first lap. It will set the tone and the speed of the rest. This being a flat course means a lot of easy running for me. At LBL earlier this year I rocked out 50 miles in 8 hours on a much more difficult course. But there were no obstacles and no one to really clog up the course.

Going to see how this goes tomorrow. Hopefully it ends with my Elite Status for WTM. 

Race Recap:

This one finally went really right. I got my Elite Contender qualification for WTM and did it having fun and enjoying the process. 

The morning started like any other race morning. No matter how early you get up and try to get ready you never seem to have enough time and it always feels rushed. We got up and had breakfast finished our last prep and headed off to the venue. We had a slight detour where Google Maps took us the shortest route right to a closed road. We had to drive around the airport and get into the venue. It was a 10 minute detour we really didn’t plan for. We got there and thought we had horrible parking because we were right at the end of a long row. Luckily it was only a decent walk to check in and then we were right by the pit for a short walk after the race. 

After check in, setup went fast. I shared a table with Eddie, TJ, Sue Harvey Brown, Cali, Beth and Mom. There was a lot of excitement and joking around as we got ready. About 7:28, I jumped into the start corral waiting for the pre race briefing to start. I said hi to a few people while waiting and then caught up with Sean to say hi and ask what the hold up was. It was now about 7:35 and 5 minutes after we should have started. Sean told me that we would be delayed until 7:50. 

We waited and hung out for a bit and then got the expected pre race speech from Sean and birthday wishes from the group. We started about 7:55 and then got running the first loop. I went out with the lead pack at a comfortably aggressive pace. I knew that it was going to get hotter through the day and more people would be on course for the next loops. The goal was to push the pace a little bit and then settle in for lap two. I started with TJ, Scott and Dave Carta. We were together for a bit and then split up after the first river section. I was planning on sticking with them more but my pace was very comfortable to me and I wanted to run how I felt. I kept seeing Nick Artis up ahead. He was leading me by a bit and pulling away a bit. I mentioned to Scott at one point that he seemed like he was on a mission. The first lap was pretty fun. No obstacle issues until I got to Blockness. Nick ahead of me got in and out. I got there and struggled to get over the first block. I was able to get my fingers to the edge and decided to just wait the minute or so to get help. The next guy came up and we were able to get up and over the blocks. The last mile and a half was easy. Some road running on the bridge over the river. A spur out to the rings, balance beam and sandbag carry. This 1200 meter loop or so was completely exposed and one of the hottest sections of the course. I felt it every time there and pushed through. After the spur we had about a mile left with only Everest, Mudderhorn and EST. Cruised through them all and then headed back to the transition area to resupply for lap 2. 

I hit transition after about 1:35. Way ahead of my 2 hour lap goal. I was pacing fine and thought it was going to be a good day. Nick was there with me. We were rushing to get in and out fast. Not just because we didn’t want to waste time but because another wave was about to start and we wanted to get out ahead of them. I got what I got what I needed and then Nick and I started right about together. I was running while eating a piece of watermelon. Thanks Bruce for the practice doing this. I got to the ditch obstacle and then called out to the crowd and got them to cheer for Nick. He wasn’t too happy about that. Right about there was the last I saw of Nick as I pulled away and kept cruising. I had a little bit of GI issues on this lap. Super gassy and realized I forgot to take my aminos at the last transition. This hit me about mile 5.5 where I thought I was going to puke and was coughing a bit. Probably a bit of the GI and sinus draining. I told myself I was going to keep moving no matter what. Righted the ship and then got moving. I hit cage crawl and cry baby and was feeling a lot better. There was a bunch of people on the course this lap and it gave me some people to talk to. I did have to cut the line to a few obstacles but it wasn’t bad. A lot of people knew about the runners in the purple bibs and were happy to let us cut in front of them. I finished out lap 2 in just about the same time as lap one. It was only a few minutes slower. I came into transition about 3:35 and was really happy with my pacing. I now had over 4 hours to do the next 2 laps. 

I took an extra minute in transition making sure to get my Kion aminos and watermelon. I started off again on lap 3 right after a heat heading out. I wasn’t in too much of a hurry knowing they would clog up the course for the for at least the first mile. Before the ditch I caught up with Dolby and then did the same thing and got people to cheer for him. He just called me an idiot and I went on my way. It was about a mile and a half in or so and Dave Carta caught up to me. I was coming off my struggle on lap 2 and he was starting to feel Bigfoot 200 from 10 days before. We just started running and talking. Dave doesn’t run with a watch and just goes. I kept checking my watch and keeping us on a good pace. We had a comfortable run and pushed each other. It was a great situation for both of us. I could have went on faster alone but would have been miserable fighting to keep going. Running together took our minds off our struggles and we had fun. Dave was good about getting into the obstacles and getting us to the front of the line with me following. Lap 3 was a little slower due to us relaxing and enjoying the course. We came in to transition with just over 5 hours elapsed on the clock. We knew that there was a cut off at 1:30 for the 15k laps. I checked with Megan, the TMHQ employee in charge of timing, that we only had to be past the first cut off at about a half mile in. We had that easy. 

We got out together and started lap 4. At this point it was just routine. I got the crowd to cheer for Dave coming out of the first mud pit. We got into cruise control chasing a runner ahead of us. We figured he had to be on lap 3 but was struggling. He would pull away and then slow down and we would catch up. We had a brief chat with him at Devil’s Beard and he went up ahead. It wasn’t long before we passed him. I was a little concerned that they were going to force us to the cut off after mile 5 and wreck our loop. Luckily we got there right as the THMQ guys were showing up. I’m not sure if they were getting ready to close that section but we were already past and there were no further cutoffs. We made good time along the back of the course. Dave kept telling me to go on without him. He was feeling Bigfoot and starting to slow down more than me. I told him I would if I needed to but we had tons of time left and I would stick with him as long as I could. After about mile 6 we were headed to Funky Monkey and saw Hannah Carta headed out towards Cage Crawl, Crybaby and Castaway. We asked her why she was so far behind. She yelled something back but we just kept going. I told Dave we had tons of time and just kept going together. We got through the other obstacles and to the spur. Dave was falling a bit back and I told him lets run over to Cali and we will walk for a minute. We did and then walked for a few minutes. It was the recovery we needed on the back hot section of the course. We cruised through these obstacles and to the finish line. 

After EST, I was pretty muddy so I swung by the rinse station and cleaned up a little bit and then met Dave in transition. We had an hour and 45 minutes for our last 5k. Tons of time. We decided to just walk it. We could have ran or jogged but there was no point. Our goal was 65k and we had that in the bag. I cracked a Fitaid and Dave cracked a sparkling water and we started walking the course. It was our victory lap. Plenty of time and no rush. The 5k was fast even walking. It took us just over an hour with stops at all the aid stations and thanking the volunteers we passed. About a mile from the finish just over the bridge Hannah came up behind us yelling. She was asking if we were really going to let her beat us. Our answer was an emphatic “Fuck Ya we are”. She left us in the dust and we went right on walking with over an hour to finish our last mile. We finished that last mile for a final course time of 8:20:38 and got our 65k and Elite Contender qualification. It was a good day and we hit our goals. 

This race was a good jump back and confidence boost going into WTM. I think this seals that I’m going in solo again this year with the goal of that orange jacket. These paces showed that I could be there. Even in the heat and no cover in Chicago. The heat has always been my achilles heel but I seem to be improving with the focused heat training. 

"Just remember that Scooty-Puff, Jr. sucks!" - Phillip J Fry, The Why of Fry

The Bad:

My one issue this whole time was a little bit of GI issues. I missed a quick fix my first time through transition because I was rushing and not thinking. That gave me a little bit of slowdown at about mile 6 on lap 2. After I finished that lap I took care of myself at transition and righted the ship. 

A little bit of organization and a list on my gear about what to do between laps would have been a great idea. 

The Good:

I didn’t put in a good deal of focused training going into this one. I focused a lot on running and heat training. A lot of hot yoga for recovery and focus followed by a lot of sauna and steam room. It seemed to help because I felt comfortable the whole time. It wasn’t the best plan going in but it worked and I managed to complete every obstacle. Next is just to up this and keep on what’s working. 

Moral of the Story:

It’s great when things go right and I’m able to get decent training and recovery in before the event. Going in relaxed and ready for the event makes all the difference. I went in without the need to try to worry about pacing and just enjoy the event. I need to carry this on to November. 

Time to relax for the holiday and then focus on getting in a good 2 month training block. 

Best Moment:

The best moments were linking up with Dave early on in lap 3 and having a good friend to run with. That whole run would have been a lot different if it was alone. We were both struggling at different times and got each other through it. Then we figured out we were way ahead of our paces and then got to walk our last 5k as a victory lap and enjoy it. Both got our Elite Contender status and had a great time doing it. 

Worst Moment:

Didn’t have many bad moments on this one. The only things I can think of is the GI issues and being too race brained to deal with it. Luckily the prep and week leading up to the race mitigated the worst. The other bad thing was my vest was rubbing on my right pec and I had some nice chafing. May be time for a new vest that isn’t so beat up and wrecked. 

Funniest Moment:

Dave and I had about an hour and 45 minutes to do our last 5k lap. There was no rush and incentive to do anything more than 65k so we decided to just walk a victory lap. We took our time and about a mile from the finish line Hannah was running up yelling at us asking if we were going to let her beat us. We responded with an empathic “Fuck Ya we are” as we kept walking and she ran right by us. 

Map:

Results: 

Gear:

• Atlra Superior 4.5

• Garmin Fenix 6S

• 2XU ¾ length compression shorts

• Dirty Girl gaiters

• Injini calf height socks

• Buff

• Salomon Adv Skin 5 vest

Nutrition:

• Applesauce 

• Watermelon 

• Water

• FitAid

• Tailwind Naked

• Tailwind Raspberry Buzz (Caffeinated) 

• Bananas

• Kion EAAs

• Salt Stick Caffeine