Busy day at Squaw! (2 days to go!)

It's another beautiful day in Tahoe! I got a solid 8 1/2 hours of sleep last night, a bit shy of the previous night's 9 1/2, but I'm feeling rested and ready to go!

I'll be heading over to Squaw with my pacer Jay and friend Pam in a little bit. We're going to hike up to Escarpment, about 4000 feet in 4 miles, for a ceremony at the top of the mountain. The highlight, though, will be meeting my coach Andy Jones-Wilkins and his family for the hike! After we've climbed down from the peak, there are a series of seminars available--everything from blister treatment (I'll pass-if I have nastier than usual blisters, I'll be begging an aid station medic for assistance) to final crew instructions to a Q&A session with a few veteran runners that is being MCed by my coach! The real highlight will be milling around with my fellow runners and their friends and families. I imagine there'll be a pre-race energy today!

Tomorrow morning I have a 9 am weigh-in followed by a race expo. At the weigh-in, I'll receive my yellow wristband that is my lifeline to the race...lose that, for any reason, and I'm out of the race. It's the only way that all of the volunteers can ensure that only healthy runners are competing; it's also the only way the race organizers can administer a final test to weed out the morons among us: if you can't go 20 hours without losing the wristband, they probably don't want you out there running 100 miles in the mountains. They'll give us the final runner instructions at 12:30 tomorrow afternoon, and then it's back to the house for a pre-race pasta dinner and last minute packing of drop bags, etc. Breakfast is served at Squaw at 3:30 AM on Saturday morning, and the gun will sound at 5 AM sharp. From there, my big adventure will have begun...and 20-some hours later, I'll hopefully cross that finish line at the Placer High track.

One little note: As I was wandering around the Village yesterday, I was drafted into servitude for the race. When you see the runners run under the huge start line banner on Saturday, and assuming it doesn't fall down on anyone, know that I was one of the able-bodied who helped set that up! Photos to come later.

Time for a shake-out run!

Race day tracking information (3 days to go!)

Race day is nearly here! We're heading over to Squaw Valley in an hour or so to check things out and attend an afternoon seminar. It'll feel even more real when we do so.

A lot of people have asked me about race day tracking information. Here are a few methods by which you can follow along at home:

1) The ultra live website maintains a runner tracking system that is stellar. It provides regular splits and pacing information updated at each aid station. http://www.ultralive.net/ws100/webcast.php is the link. From there, you can choose your favorite runners to follow by name or bib number. My link is http://www.ultralive.net/ws100/189 since I am Bib #189.

If you're interested in tracking some of the elite runners, let me suggest following these folks in the men's field: defending champion and course record holder Geoff Roes (M1), last year's third place finisher Kilian Jornet (M3), six years consecutive top 10 finisher and my coach Andy Jones-Wilkins (M9), Nick Clark (M4), two-time champion Hal Koerner (16), and Ian Sharman, who ran a 12 hour 100 mile race at Rocky Raccoon this winter (M8). In the women's field, I met elite runner Aliza Lapierre (24) on Day One of training weekend, and later discovered she was super fast when she was flying down Cal Street on Day Two. I told her then that I expect her to make some noise in this race! Others to watch include defending champion Tracy Garneau (F1), masters' wonder Meghan Arbrogast (F2), Nikki Kimball (F3), recent Comrades 4th place finisher Ellie Greenwood (20), and Kami Semick (26).

On a personal note, my WS training weekend running partners Chris Calzetta (248), Dave Town (372), and Skip Crockett (157). Jeff Bertot (104) has been a virtual running partner after we were introduced by a former track teammate of mine from my high school days, and I was introduced to Nate Sanel (341) by mutual running friend Ron Abramson. Fellow Missourian and Saint Louis Ultrarunning Group member Ben Creehan (154) is a guy I expect to run a stellar race and perhaps surprise a few people toward the front of the field.

2) The race apparently has a number of webcams set up along the course, including one at the finish line in Auburn. Those can be accessed somehow on the ws100.com website or the ultra live link I posted above. I'm not finding it right now.

3) Facebook, of course. If you want to chat with fellow "Silky Supporters", or get live updates from my crew--including my better half, my college roommate Jeff, my pacer Jay, or my friend Pam--find our Facebook Group "Silky's Western States Crew", request membership, and we'll add you. Of course, the snow course is keeping my crew from seeing me until Mile 60 or so, so they're going to be restricted to the web updates above for a good portion of the day, too.

It really is a motivator knowing that I'll have friends, family, and even a few strangers I'm sure tracking my progress over the Sierra Nevada mountains this weekend! I hope this post is informative, and I look forward to entertaining you all as best as I can!

What to eat...What to eat...my eating plan. (4 days to go!)

It's an old rule of thumb that a person will burn 100 calories for every mile run. That means that a runner in the Western States Endurance run will burn, at a minimum, 10,000 calories. That's several days' worth of calories burned in one day, or 28 Big Macs, whichever you prefer.

There are as many suggestions on how to fuel an ultramarathon as there are runners. Some are complex. Any source that starts talking about glucose polymers or whey protein will not keep my attention. Others are simple. Remind me to consume the 300-400 calories per hour I'll need, in foods that my stomach can handle, and now we're talking. As one tip pointed out, that's nothing more than 12-16 ounces of a sports drink and an energy bar per hour. If only it was that easy...

My coach suggested eating about 800 calories for breakfast about an hour before the race. 800 calories. That's only two English muffins (189 calories each) with a little peanut butter (another 40-50 calories), two bananas (105 calories each), a Coca-Cola Classic (12 oz. for 145 calories), and some Gatorade (32 oz for 200 calories). No problem.

But what about when I'm running the race? Coach AJW suggested trying to eat solids for as long as I could before switching to energy gels. By comparison, when I run road marathons, I subsist on GU energy gels, Gatorade, and water for the more or less three hours of competition. For an ultramarathon, though, I need something more...and a whole lot of fluids. My buddy Ryan, who ran the Leadville 100 last year, had a pretty straight forward plan for his first 100 miler:

I decided to accomplish this mostly by ingesting a hammer gel every 30 minutes while I ran, in combination with drinking sports drink and eating some solid foods and more gel crap at aid stations. I also needed to address my caffeine habit. Normal people rely on caffeine late in these races to get them through the night. I, on the other hand, was going to need a constant, high supply of the stuff. To accomplish this I brought Red Bulls (no vodka) & 5-Hour Energies eating solid foods for the first 50 miles before switching to energy gels and water.

My plan isn't complicated. When it comes to fluids, I'll pass on the Red Bull, but I will be partaking in the "flat Pepsi," soda de-fizzed for our stomach's delight on a fairly regular basis, at quite a few of the aid stations. A six ounce hit of Pepsi provides a quick 70 calories plus a caffeine kick that's needed for a Diet Coke addict like me. I'll also be sure to drink a cup or two of Gatorade or water at every aid station, regardless of whether I have a sensation of thirst.

My supply belt holds two 22 ounce bottles, and I'll have a supply of water and Gatorade in the two bottles...Gatorade on the left, water on the right (that became an unintentional habit). For the hotter sections in the canyons, I'll carry a 22 ounce handheld bottle favored by most of my ultra peers. I've never been fond of the handhelds, but recognize the importance of extra fluids in the heat of the day in the depths of the canyons. My goal is to empty these bottles as often as possible. My first ultra featured a stellar case of dehydration (I was eight pounds underweight 28 hours after I finished...a night's sleep, several meals, and a flight home later), and it's all I can do to avoid that again.

As for food intake, I'll try to follow my coach's advice to eat solids for as long as I can before switching over to the GU energy gels. I ran a couple 30 plus mile training runs on peanut butter and jelly sandwiches alone (no gels). Each sandwich has approximately 350 calories, and most of the aid stations will have sandwich quarters available. I'll grab one or two, along with bananas, watermelon, strawberries, licorice, or boiled potatoes and salt, whatever looks good, to supplement the main course. I could look up the calories in each of those, but trust me, they're all decent except watermelon, and that gives me some extra fluids.

As the race grinds on and my stomach starts disagreeing with me a bit, I'll switch over to GUs more frequently. I favor GU Roctanes in Blueberry Pomegranate, Cherry Lime, or Pineapple flavors. If you've never heard of GU, it comes in a small 1.1 oz packet featuring 100 calories of flavored gel. It's not particularly tasty, and in fact it's been known to cause me to dry-heave on occasion, but nothing provides the perfect amount of carbohydrates and all that nutrition stuff that bores me in one quick hit. It's like a booster charge. I've packed 18 packets of GU Roctane, and most of the aid stations will have regular (low octane) GU available, too. There will be no shortage of GU.

The later aid stations will also feature soup broth. One cup of chicken broth only has 38 calories, but it slams runners with approximately 1/3 of the daily recommended value of sodium. Most people try to avoid sodium; ultrarunners thrive off it.

The last element of my food intake will be something called an S-Cap. S-Caps are small capsules that provide electrolytes in a quick hit to alleviate cramping and provide a little pick-me-up. Each capsule has 341 mg of sodium! They also have the other electrolytes--potassium, chloride, bicarbonate, and phosphate, and I can say that they've worked so well on my training runs that I've been cured of calf cramps in a matter of minutes. My plan is to take an S-Cap once an hour throughout the race. By comparison, I'll probably take a GU every 30-45 minutes after I start taking them.

Of course, the one thing I'm hoping I have the stomach for when I reach the finish line, or shortly thereafter, is an ice cold beer. Tentative plans are to get lunch and drinks at the Auburn Ale House after the awards ceremony, and I'm trusting I'll have my stomach back by then....right?

Robie Point to Placer High School (Miles 98.9 to 100.2) (Still 5 days to go!)

You've seen this map before, in my last post about the No Hands Bridge to Robie Point. This stretch, the 25th stage of this historic race, takes runners from the trailhead at Robie Point and heading the other direction, away from the trail and into the city of Auburn, California.

Special thanks to Harry Landers, Vince Brinly and Hallie Shuffler, Deanna Marranzino, Greg Gomez, Jason Terry, Geri Virtue, Ryan and Amy Kelly, Mel Glauber, Courtney and Jim Flynn, Phil Quatrochi, Jerome and Jess Porter, Marea Hunter, and my Mom's employers Gentling Dental Office for their donations to the Wounded Warrior Project. Very special recognition to three other donors to this segment: my law school classsmate Daniel Gallegos, Kevin Allie, and the 725th Brigade Support Battalion (Airborne), 4th Brigade (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division. All are currently serving in the military--Daniel in the Navy, Kevin in the Air Force, and the 725th Brigade is an Army airborne unit based at Fort Richardson, Alaska all made donations to be a part of my Patriot Crew!

In case you didn't notice, the list of donors outgrew my original goal of marking donations to the course in $100 mile increments. We've now raised over $12,000 together, having passed the $10,000 mark one month ago when my then 3 month old daughter Nora made the donation that put us over the goal. I'm going to have to look into freezing her credit cards before she goes to the mall! I'm grateful for everyone's support, and simply humbled by the support of those serving in our military. It is my great pleasure to dedicate my race to all of them, but in particular the wounded among them, and I thank each and every one of them for their service.

This final stretch from Robie Point is one of three spots where crew members can run alongside their runners, the others being along Bath Road into Foresthill and from the river to Greengate. I've asked Beth to join me for this final stretch, and I look forward to celebrating our achievement with her, because all ultrarunners understand that it takes a family united to reach the finish line.

The one thing that can't be seen in these photos, because I don't think they captured it, but the first quarter mile or so of this stretch is extremely steep. Runners express surprise that a paved road could bring them to a crawl, but that's exactly what happens once one emerges back into civilization.

As runners follow small painted arrows through the largely quiet streets (for most of us, anyway, since it's the middle of the night), they might be surprised to find a few residents camping out in their yards, cheering on the runners.

My eyes teared up last year as Fernando and I made our way through the town, passing one small party of race fans. As we did, they shouted out his number, which I've adopted as my own bib number this year-- "189!"--and rang a large gong in his honor. In the darkness of the night, it was a chilling commemmoration of the huge feat he was in the act of completing.

Before long, runners will come into sight of the Placer High School stadium lights glowing ahead of them. WIth a left and a quick right, runners will enter through a gate in the fence, stumble onto the track, and here their arrival announced over the loudspeaker to the spectators gathered at the finish line. There's about a 300 meter run around the track to what most of us would recognize as the traditional track finish line, and each runner's running resume is read out loud.



In 2006, Brian Morrison entered the track with his pacer, seven-time champion Scott Jurek, leading by a solid number of minutes (I think I've read as many as 15 minutes). All he had to do was run the 300 meters along the track, and he would be crowned the champion. Unfortunately, Morrison collapsed, and when it was clear that he was not going to recover, Jurek and another crew member helped him up and carried him across the finish line. In doing so, he was disqualified for receiving improper aid from a pacer or crew, and Graham Cooper was named the surprise champion when he crossed a bit later.

Each runner's crew is permitted to run along the track with them. When the straightaway is reached, crew members can step to the side if they want to let their runner cross the finish line alone. As one might imagine, each finish is a dramatic event, one that brings cheer and emotion from all present.

Here's video footage of Geoff Roes's record-setting final mile and finish last year. Notice how bright it still is--he finished in just over 15 hours, so it was only 8 PM!

Guys like Geoff Roes will finish in the 8 o'clock hour on Saturday evening. In fact, given the course alterations announced today due to snow, I wouldn't be surprised if 2011 featured the first ever 7 o'clock hour finisher. 24 hour hour finishers wanting to earn the coveted silver belt buckle must finish by 4:59:59 AM on Saturday morning, while all finishers must be done by 11:00 AM. One second over 30 hours, and a runner will not earn a bronze belt buckle given to all those who finish in the 24 to 30 hour range.

And that, my friends, is the course! Of course, as my other post today shared, they changed an early stretch. But 100.2 miles is 100.2 miles, and I can't wait to get out there and see it all!

(No) Surprise-It's a Snow Year at Western States (5 days to go!)

Here's the just-released announcement and a photo of the course change.


What does this mean?

Well, the course is rerouted from miles 23 to 35. Ignoring the snow, it probably means a flatter, faster course, as we'll drop down into a valley instead of climbing up into the highlands. Of course, the snow will do its part to slow us down.

It also means that the first spot crews will be able to see their runners is at Michigan Bluff at Mile 55.7...and that may not be enough time to get to Foresthill, where most crews attend to their runners. It's hard to believe that I'll run over 55 miles without seeing my wife and family! At the same time, it may mean they'll get a little extra sleep back at the house we rented in Tahoe City.

Finally, it still means that this is a 100.2 mile race. That hasn't changed. So away we go!

Training Week 24 Recap (6 days to go!)

Well, it's here: race week. Almost 200 days since I heard my name drawn in the lottery and a full six months of training later, I packed my bags today. We'll be arriving at our place in Tahoe City on Tuesday afternoon, and Western States events start on Wednesday afternoon. I won't be running much before Saturday, though I will be logging a few miles here and there to keep the legs fresh and adapt to the altitude.

Here's what I ran in my 24th week of training, a taper week, for this race:

Monday: 5.12 miles.

Tuesday: 5.11 miles. Two days of uneventful running.

Wednesday: 3.10 miles. Legs were still feeling dead, and I got time-crunched at work before a softball game so I didn't get to the track like planned.

Thursday: 8.09 miles. In my final track workout, I ran 3x1600s in 5:48, 5:49, and 5:59 (stomach issues). It was a reassuring workout.

Friday: 1.05 miles. One last loop with the dog!

Saturday: 10.12 miles....and I flew. This was one of those confidence boosting runs that I needed. The weather was perfect, and my legs were comfortable clicking off low 7 minute miles the entire way.

Sunday: 7.56 miles. It was hot and humid, and I took it easy and ran on the sunny side of the road wherever I could. And with that, my final run before officially kicking off race week was done!

Total Week 24: 40.15 miles, my shortest week of running so far this year. I've run 1,658.47 miles in 2011, and 1,797 since I found out I got into Western States on December 4th. And it was all for a little race starting next Saturday.

The Silker family has been on the run! (7 days to go!)

Quick post since I can't let the one week mark go unmarked on the blog! The Silker family has had a number of running achievements this week, and I wanted to mark them.

Last night, my dad ran his first 5k in Duluth, Minnesota, at a pre-race event for the Grandma's Marathon! I'm so proud of him-and I hope he gets the marathon bug and decides to run Chicago in 2012!

My mom ran Grandma's Marathon today. She's a grandma of four (and soon to be five), so it's only appropriate that she crushed her marathon PR by over 30 minutes with her finishing time of 4:28! Amazing stuff!

Finally, my brother published this article about my pursuit of a silver belt buckle just one week from today. In fact, I'll hopefully be at or near the Rucky Chucky river crossing one week from right now as I type. Thank you to my brother for writing such a thoughtful article, and thanks even more for inspiring me to run this race for the Wounded Warrior Project.

One week. It's hard to believe how close it is!

No Hands Bridge to Robie Point (Miles 96.8 to 98.9) (8 days to go!)

The 24th stage of the Western States Endurance Run takes runners from the idyllic scene at No Hands Bridge up a steep climb to the pavement at Robie Point on the outskirts of Auburn.


Special thanks goes out to Pat & Gretchen Scoggins and family, Stephanie Grise, Matt & Betsy Malten, my first best friend way back when we were basically born two house away from each other Ben Rempe, Dustin & Julia Beckley, Tom & Nancy Garvey, Troy Headrick, Jason Lentzke & Jennifer Marquez, Jeff and Kristin Votteler, Meghan DiPerna, Mark & Stephanie Becher, Sam Durham, Mike Nawrocki, Brant Frey, and Holly Miller for their donations to the Wounded Warrior Project that sponsor this section of the course (and, in case you couldn't figure it out, much more beyond that, too, as I'm trying to recognize everyone)!

The first sight on this stage is No Hands Bridge, which will be lined with lights at night as runners cross the American River.

While this photo doesn't capture it, the American River roars below the bridge.

Most of the trail looks like this--single track, dirt, some rocks. It winds its way in a steady uphill that felt steep last year on Mile 35 of my pace run last year, but surprisingly not too bad on Mile 2o of my training run this year. I can hardly imagine what it will feel at Mile 97.

As we rise out of the canyon into the town of Auburn, I distinctly remember hearing the cheers and hoots of the aid station at the top of the climb. The echo bounced off the canyon walls and seemed to call us all forward when gravity, and the competitors' legs, were calling for everyone to take a seat. Before long, we reach the top of the climb, the aid station rests to the left while the gate to the city of Auburn is positioned to the right. It's all pavement from this time forward.

The lead runners will arrive at Robie Point at 8:55 PM. It won't be until 4:40 AM that the 24 hour runners reach the aid station, with the 30 hour runners arriving at 10:35 AM, only 25 minutes before the aid station, and the race, close. Robie Point is a welcome back to civilization--houses, roads, cars, people...of course, for quite a few of the runners, all is quiet since it's the middle of the night. It's just a short jaunt, 1.4 miles, down the road to the cheering crowds at Placer High School.

Western States snow course announced! (Still 9 days to go!)

In a surprise move that conflicted with their earlier message that the snow course wouldn't be finalized until sometime next week, the Western States race committee announced the 2011 snow course today. Follow the link here for a map and explanation.

Highway 49 to No Hands Bridge (Miles 93.5 to 96.8) (9 days to go!)

The 23rd stage of the Western States course departs the large aid station at Highway 49 and works its way to No Hand Bridge over the American River. Given how far into the race runners are when they depart Highway 49, that initial couple hundred foot climb is a tough one. But soon, it's all downhill to the river.

Special thanks to Jim and Connie O'Connell, Amy Sellers, Kathleeen Ricketts and family, CJ Rog, Liz Anderson, Katie O'Connell, Ben Baughman, Vanessa Garza McAllister, and Casey Wendeln for their donations the Wounded Warrior Project that sponsor this segment of the course tour. Special thanks to Jim, who served two tours of duty in Iraq with the Army, and Ben, who also served in the Army (if I recall correctly--sorry, Ben!).


None of the photos I found accurately portray that climb out of the aid station. It's a rocky, rutted climb over a trail battered by runoff water and horses. The footing is poor, and it is steep enough to frustrate even the strongest of runners. I found myself struggling up it over Memorial Day, and I imagine I'll walk this climb, particularly since I know what comes afterward.


Once runners have reached that peak, they'll find themselves in a meadow. The meadow is single track, and full of flat and downhill sections that are best described as cruisers. I remember turning my ankle slightly while pacing Fernando last year, but it's a fast section where even battered runners can get back into a running pace.


After a mile of meadow running, runners emerge onto a fire road again. While it probably won't be in view (I can hope anyway), the tallest bridge in California, the Foresthill Bridge, appears to the runners' right.


Foresthill Bridge is just a few hundred yards from the hotel room I've reserved in Auburn. Built when the federal government had plans to build a dam that would have flooded the canyon we will be running through, it is stands 730 feet tall, higher than the Golden Gate Bridge. I've never seen the scene, because I cannot stand Vin Diesel, but the movie XXX apparently features Diesel's character driving a Corvette off the bridge, opening a parachute as he falls toward the American River.


Before long, though, the trail turns to the left and the bridge commonly known as No Hands Bridge will come into sight, even at night. The aid station volunteers line the bridge with white Christmas lights, a beautiful scene in the darkness of the run. They also set up a large video board that projects movies, more probably for their entertainment than that of tired runners not wanting to waste any time with only a few miles to go to the finish line.

This last photo shows where the aid station is located. The bridge itself is to the left of the aid station, and from there, it's a about a 2 1/2 mile climb up to the city of Auburn.


The lead runners will arrive at No Hands Bridge around 8:25 PM. It's fairly safe to say that in a typical year, the runner who leads at NHB usually will win the race. I'll tell the tale of one who didn't in our final segment of the tour. 24 hour runners will arrive at 4:10 AM, with 50 minutes left to travel the final 3.4 miles. 30 hour runners arrive at 9:55 AM, and the aid station, like the race itself, closes at 11:00 AM. Only 3.4 miles to go!