My First Roller Coaster Ride

My training partner had been looking for a challenge that would serve as good training for a trail ultra and had come across the Roller Coaster Run. The scenery was beautiful, it was 43km which seemed manageable and the total elevation gain of around 2000m didn't seem too scary without any previous events to compare it to. We compared average gradients of the main climbs and descents to what we'd seen in the You Yangs so (we thought) we'd have a rough idea of what we were in for. Knowing that being able to run big hills was going to be critical for this run, we scheduled in a few You Yangs runs.

Flinders Peak, The You Yangs - This quickly became a very familiar sight being the top of the biggest climb, 196m over 1.5km (13% average gradient). Not huge, but good training if you do it a few times, especially if you go up using intervals.

 For February's long runs, I ran a You Yangs 24km with about 1000m gain, a nice flat marathon from Portarlington to Edwards point and back, another solid You Yangs 26km with another 1000m gain and a Bells Beach to Anglesea 39km run incorporating almost every bit of trail around Eumerella for another 1000m gain. I was mixing in 5km, 15km, half marathons and my work commutes to hit my weekly mileages and was tracking well at 60km (first cut back week), 70km, 70km and 80km. I also ran my first night half marathon which can be great for picking up mileage while the kids are asleep, so long as you're not falling asleep yourself.

Edwards Point, St Leonards - This is the southern most point of St Leonards and the turn-around for my third marathon length (or greater) run. This was another run that I got very little sleep for, but was my marathon PB for a while at 3:50.

In the final long run of the month (around Eumerella), I experimented with running both a pack with bladder and the bottle belt to keep clean water in the bladder and concentrated fuel in the bottle. Was bit awkward at first, but the combination worked well and was a well timed change as the bladder in the pack split, leaking clean water all over me rather than stick electrolyte mix. The nutrition combination was working well now, with the maltodextrin and electrolytes in the Science in Sports GO!, the protein and fat from the ZipVit protein bars and some gels and water to pad it out. February finished with 290km down, 50km over the goal of 240km and much better than on track.

Point Addis, between Bells Beach and Anglesea. Makes for a great stop over with some nice views.

I'd decided on a two week taper for the Roller Coaster Run, with 60km and 40km prior. For the first long run of march, we ran a nice 18km through the You Yangs, without the Flinders Peak climb and came out feeling great. The final lead up week consisted of a 15 and an easy 10 from Torquay to Bells on the weekend, then a 10 and a 5 Tuesday and Thursday to keep me moving. The day was almost upon us. The night before I laid out all my gear which was as follows:

• Nike Alvord 10 WS shoes
• Nike shirt, tech shorts and light gloves.
• 2XU compression tights.
• Inov8 Hot Peak 60 hat.
• Garmin 910XT watch with HRM and foot pod (for cadence and better instantaneous speed).
• Camelbak Octane 18X with 2.5 litres of water - didn't want to have to stop at check points and I'd run with this weight before.
• Nike bottle belt with 550ml of fluid containing 200g of SiS GO!.
• 3 GU Vanilla Bean gels, half of one taken every hour.
• 2 ZipVit Protein bars, 1/3 every hour.

By this point I was using a(nother) spread sheet for nutrition calculation:

My nutrition calculations - all based on the advice from Steve Born (Hammer Nutrition representation). My theory is to take this part seriously up front, so I won't have to on the day.

And had worked out my splits and paces based on the break down of hills for each lap and printed them to carry with me so I could check on my progress and adjust accordingly if I was well behind or in front of expectations:

My Roller Coaster Run pace calculations - like I said, I love this stuff! :)

Finally the day had arrived and we were up at 3am and out the door by 4am for a 6:00am arrival - we allowed two and half hours from Geelong, so we could be there at registration open at 6:30am. We registered, sorted out our gear and after a not so quick toilet stop (there was already a queue!) we moved to the start line to see the first wave off (single lap / 21km runners went 15 minutes ahead). Due to light levels, it was delayed 15 minutes, but we were off 15 minutes after them at 7:30am. All my gear was sitting well (you'll notice at this stage I was slinging the bottle over the front for easier access) and I was feeling pretty comfortable for the first downhill stretch. Then the hills set in.

Eager to start at SkyHigh, Mount Dandenong. First serious distance event (over 15km).

It's funny when I look at the Garmin connect activity for this run and the only comment I added was 'Lots of really, really bad hills.' I still stand by that statement, especially for anybody fairly new to this stuff (as myself and training partner were). The descent was pretty tough, dropping 325m from 2.5km to 5.5km, but I was fairly good on the down-hill, so I used it to my advantage. Then over the next 1.5km (Dodds Track), we climbed 215m (14% average gradient) - tougher than the Flinders Peak climb, without the stairs. I new the climbs would be un-runnable, but they almost seemed un-walkable at the time. Another 300m drop over the next 4km and then we climbed and desceneded for the next 6km (pretty rough on both still) until the main climb back to the start began - Singleton Terrace.

Feeling strong on the first lap.

The remaining climb was 350m over 5km (7% average gradient), but it was half flat sections, so the climb was just as steep (if not worse) than previously. I was managing okay up the hills and then hit the final stretch of climb 2km out. Since it was so close to the finish, I figured there couldn't be too much left, but I still remember that final stretch of goat track as the single toughest stretch of the day. It was narrower than single track for some of it, fairly rough terrain and when it climbed you felt like you should be using your hands. I finally hit the peak at 2:24 into it and was dead on track - I had been checking my splits and without trying to match them, they were all within a few minutes of what I'd wanted.

Getting some nutrition in on one of the less demanding descents.

I knew straight away on starting out the second lap that it was going to be an entirely different experience. For the first lap there had been runners every where as a large proportion run the single lap. Having people around to talk to and pace off was great to break things up - as soon as I began the first lap, it was quiet. I passed the occasional runner, was passed by others, but mostly I was on my own. The first lap I'd also enjoyed the scenery, the second I'd already seen it and was just interested in keeping it together until the end. I was feeling fairly reasonable after the punishment I'd endured and was keeping to my paces and hammering the down-hills. I was holding low 4 minute km's fairly regularly on the descents and then taking it easy on the climbs.

Everything was holding together pretty well, and the nutrition plan was working and manageable. The up hills were really hurting (I remember walking backwards every now and then to change up the loading) but I was managing them considerably well. The down-hills I was maintaining at a strong pace, hammering down them at cadences of up to 120spm - I think the ability to move my feet quickly, especially while fatigued, is what saved me on those descents. Small, quick steps allowed me to adjust to the terrain as I moved and not load up my legs as heavily with each step. The additional speed that allowed me also enabled me to use the gravity of the descent to my advantage, resulting in a fairly steady heart rate throughout, averaging 159bpm.

The final climb my legs felt like lead and I remember thinking that I'd envied the local runners of the area having such great trails for training and the scenery, but that they could now keep them. I hauled myself up the last stretch of goat track, just behind another runner who had been passing me on the hills and me passing him on the descents for a while. As we reached the peak, I threw everything into it and yelled as I pushed forward. He must have heard me as he picked up as well and we both sprinted with what was left to the finish. He beat me by 6 seconds, but it was about finishing strong, not taking the place.

My finisher's medal - a treasured possession and reminder to a huge accomplishment.

After four hours and fifty-three minutes, I had crossed the finished line, with nothing left in the tank. I'd dug deep to hold on to those climbs when I'd lost the desire to continue and it had paid off, running only 4 minutes behind my goal time (although the course ended up being 44km, not 43km by my Garmin), but more importantly, achieving my best case goal of sub 5 hours. While it was a difficult event, all the most rewarding ones are and I can highly recommend it to anyone looking to challenge themselves. If you're looking more to enjoy it, however, maybe stick to the single lap... :)