I had an interesting thread of comments on my last facebook status update two days ago and it has motivated me to write this post asking 2011 WS runners to share. Hopefully it will generate a good discussion, and collectively, we might learn something. That status update was that Lewis Taylor and I, because we only ran 20 hours and each had CPKs under 5000, were able to run the Butte to Butte 10K 8 days after WS without any issues. He ran 35:27 and I ran 38:15. This then led to people sharing their CPKs and how their recovery had been going. One fast guy who ran four hours faster than I did and finished with a CPK over 20,000 said he couldn’t have run 6 miles on Monday.
I was prepared to run under 18 hours or very close to it this year but due to stomach (and head) problems only ran 20:47, the seventh slowest of my eight WS finishes. As a result of being trained and then not being able to run very hard the last 35 miles, my recovery has been quick. I was sore for a few days and then running by Wednesday. My toes were not that good and just lost my third toenail, and I’ve been in the occasional post-big-race funk, but I ran the 10K Monday and then did a 5 x 1000 track workout today and felt amazingly good. My CPK was 4400 and my quad soreness was close to nothing. I had heard from Twiet years ago that the winners of WS are often around 10,000. That seems to be about the right combination of preparing well but also running well. Below that and perhaps you underperformed, above that you either weren’t trained or you ran way harder than perhaps you should have. I would have preferred to be a little more trashed and having run 18 hours but you gotta do it on race day.
I know of at least two very good runners who had CPKs over 100,000 and both struggled in the snow. I do wonder if there is any connection to the unfamiliarity of the snow running and the high CPKs.
So, if you care to share:
1. How well did you prepare for the downhills, the distance, and the snow of WS?
2. What was your WS finish time? How hard did you run? Did you struggle in the snow?
3. What was your CPK? Was that higher or lower than you expected? Do you think the snow running contributed to a higher CPK?
4. How has your recovery been? Are you back to running normally now?
Wow. I think my CPK hit 4,400 just walking from the Lodge to the starting line.
1. I probably could have been better prepared for the downhills, the distance and the snow.
2. 20:37. Hard enough, but this was my first 100-miler so I have nothing to compare with. Despite hailing from a frozen northern wasteland, I didn’t *enjoy* the snow and might go so far as to say I struggled at times.
3. 33,500. Lower than expected. No, I don’t think the snow was a factor.
4. Recovery has been deliberately relaxed. I have not run enough since the race to say I’m back to normal, but if I had to guess, I’d say no.
I should add that my other blood measurements were close to normal, I had one blister on the outer edge of my right heel, no lost or bruised toenails, I didn’t throw up all day and I had enough gas left to pass a lot of people — including one Craig Thornley — between Green Gate and the finish.
Paps
Thanks, Paps. 33,500 was lower than expected because of the way your legs felt?
No, I expected higher based on the research I’d been doing on CPK values prior to the race. Since it was my first 100-miler and I had nothing to compare to, a CPK double that might not have surprised me. That said, compared to how my legs felt, I’d say it was higher than expected. My legs felt thoroughly cooked afterwards but I’ve felt worse after 50-milers.
1. 7 weeks of ZERO running due to injury, then cramming 30K of descent in two weeks between Mem Day and 6/10/11. Hindsight: my legs still weren’t recovered from the 50M on the course on 6/10.
The snow was EASY. If anything, I tend to think it HELPED people’s legs, and the record 82% finish rate. It was softer, we had to run slower.
2. 20:01:52. I never thought I ran hard, though I might’ve been too “excited” in the Canyons. But admittedly, my quads felt shot by the time I got to Mosquito Ridge.
The snow was EASY for this Midwesterner. And fun. No falls, not even annoying. But I did go slow.
3. 67,000! Top that! Higher than expected. But again, 7 weeks injury, THEN doing that 50M 15 days before the race. I will try not to do either next time.
4. I had a significnat fever for 1.5 days post-race (“Burnin’ CPK!”). VERY TIRED last week, better this week. Running 3-5mi/day now, feeling pretty good.
Thanks for sharing, OOJ. The cool weather and “easy” snow course are what I think helped the finishing rate, not the fact we were running *on* snow. We had two experienced Oregonians with at least 11 finishes between them including many sub-20 hour times, one had a CPK of 110,000 the other dropped at the Elevator shaft with trashed quads. Also, a previous winner who was pathetic in the snow but finished high had a CPK of 125,000. And the fact that your CPK was that high (67,000 would not win you the Haggin Cup) and your quads “shot” at Mosquito Ridge don’t really help the argument that the snow was soft and easy on your quads. Granted you might have come in a little trashed, but still.
I was just like you: finished in the high 20hr with a CPK right at 5,000. I struggled all day, but not because of the snow. First the altitude, then bad asthma the last 20 miles. I was never able to push myself the way I wanted and finished a lot slower than I thought (think!) I am capable of. I was shocked by how minimally sore I was, but I am not back to running normally and I could not have done a fast 10k this past weekend. Ran 7 today with heavy, slow legs around 8:30 pace, which felt plenty fast! I didn’t have much hill training but I wouldn’t be surprised if I could squat more than any other woman in the field. Not ideal, but I live in Salem, so what can I do? 😉
1.. How well did you prepare for the downhills, the distance, and the snow of WS?
I thought I’d prepared for the downhill, after all, I do live in Ashland. But that last downhill to No Hands did me in. Distance: Once again, I thought I was prepared, but I sucked. Snow: not really a problem, I’m used to snow
2. What was your WS finish time? How hard did you run? Did you struggle in the snow?
A dismal 20:46 — but it’s a finish. I ran hard but made lots of stops on the woods early on and suffered a lot of stomach issues — but I didn’t puke (in hind sight it might have made me feel better).
3. What was your CPK? Was that higher or lower than you expected? Do you think the snow running contributed to a higher CPK?
For some reason I didn’t do the CPK, thought I’d signed up for it but they never asked me to participate — guess I wasn’t a very good volunteer.
4. How has your recovery been? Are you back to running normally now?
Hiked 30 miles last week — including 24 miles over the weekend, but when I tried to run just over 5 miles yesterday I found that my right quad is still a bit cranky.
My finish time was 29:46 — oops
Annie, you didn’t have to do or volunteer for anything to get tested at the finish. They took both blood and urine samples right there in the medical tent for all runners for free. I should have encouraged you to get in there and give them samples. Not many (or any?) other races provide these tests for free.
29:46 made for a pretty exciting finish. You could have made it more dramatic by waiting at the white bridge until 29:57 and then sprinting to the finish line just under 30 hours 🙂
You’re funny — I’ve been DFL before, I just wanted to get ‘er done.
I’ve been thinking about recovery a lot, thanks for the post.
1. Felt ready for the descents, felt really strong descending the canyons in training, still suffered. Felt as prepared as I could for the distance, first attempt, still hurt a lot. Totally unprepared for the snow.
2. 21:55, Rod (my pacer) pushed me as hard as he could, felt like he got as much out of me as I had to give, but looking at the garmin data makes me feel like a wimp. I struggled mightily in the snow, felt tired and sore at Talbot and had to push aside some doubt. Held up ok to last chance, but burned out my quads to swinging bridge. Elevator shaft was painful. Advil and food brought me out of two massive lows, one at cal 2, one between browns and highway 49.
3. 10,400 CPK. Didn’t have any expectations. Felt like the snow hurt me more than I would have hurt without the snow, but hard to quantify since I’ve never done this distance. Torn right MCL in March (snowboard) made the snow extra scary for me, particularly the initial section which sloped down to the left as my left foot slipped a number of times, necessitating my right knee (and therefore MCL) to hold up (it did ok, no additional injury from the race itself.)
4. Recovery is going very slow. I haven’t tested myself yet, but yoga and running feel weak, legs feel heavy, and fatigue starts soon. I suspect it will be at least another week before I start to feel closer to normal. I couldn’t do anything for the first week due to my throat being wrecked, so that probably saved me from some early humiliation. Started running 6-7 easy the last 3 days. The joy of being able to run again offsets the depression of running slowly.
My only point of reference is Ironman. The first one trashed me for 5+ weeks, but the 10th one felt like just another workout one week later. I do think 22 hours hurt me a lot more than 10 hours. I generally recover from 50’s in a week. I skipped the July 4th 10k, but suspect I would have run about 38 compared to my 33 low last year. Successfully removed both big toenails. Throat was trashed from soup that was too hot which I threw down like a tequila shot, couldn’t swallow without pain until Monday, that was the worst part, but probably kept me from cracking 200 lbs.
I dream of a 20 hour “easy” finish.
33 min 10K? You obviously haven’t been running 100 milers for a decade 🙂 In time you’ll get slow and run an “easy” 20 hour 100 miler. Did you go to school at Punahou with Kimo, my brother-in-law? Congrats on your first 100 finish. Nothing like that first one.
Yeah, Kimo has been talking me into Waldo next year. I’ve got it on the schedule, we’ll see if I can man up this time around. As Rod likes to say, 16, 33, 1:11, 2:31, 2:03 to the river, none of it is remotely relevant. There’s something really special about trying my best and still finishing 3+ hours behind a 50 year old woman who apparently was running normally 3 days later.
1. Most would consider that I was underprepared for at least the distance and maybe the downhills. I training an average of 40 miles per week from Jan 1 through the race with only a couple runs longer than 20 miles. I do run a ton of rolling hills, but with the high country snowed in, I did a three week crash course on long, steep descents to prep my quads.
2. 19:24 – a WS and 100 mile PR. I ran easy for most of the day. Pushed it maybe 12 out of the final 20 miles, but that’s it. Quads were a bit tired on the final descents, but not “sore.” I could have kept running for quite a while longer. The snow was a cake walk… lugged shoes, some natural turnover, and no fear on the snow made it fun.
3. My CPK was 20,000 and change. I hadn’t really thought about it beforehand, but I’d say it was a bit higher than I’d expect for the effort and how I felt. Probably in line with prior finishes.
4. After a 100, I always wait until the day after I want to run. This year, I was thinking of running by Monday and wanting to run on Tuesday, so I ran easy on Wednesday. It wasn’t fast and I discovered a few niggles, but was generally fine. Thursday and Friday, I went short and easy in Silverton before taking Saturday off for a trip to Arizona. Sunday through Wednesday I’ve logged four outings of 2.5-4.5 hours with 2,700-4,500′ of climbing and descent each. I guess it’s not all “running” and I’m not pushing the effort, but I was back to training for UTMB within a week of States. Feeling great and itching to double… something I’ve not done in ages.
It helps having a big race like UTMB to get you right back on the pony. Well done, and good luck at UTMB, Bryon.
1- I felt like I was quite prepared for the distance and the uphills of the course but here in Kansas, training for those kind of downhills is nigh on impossible. We had lots of snow this winter so the snow didn’t scare me.
2- 28:47… I didn’t run near as hard as I could simply because my quads were so freaking shot by the time I reached Michigan Bluff that I was a sad sack of pain. Everything else felt great, just no go on the quads. I didn’t feel like the snow was a struggle… I fell a lot but didn’t feel like it was a huge factor for me, came out of it with a sore hip but don’t feel like it factored into any later problems.
3- 29,800. Had NO idea what to expect so can’t comment any further.
4- Recovery has been going about the same as it does for all 100 milers.. slow, but not debilitating. The 32 hour car ride back to Kansas after the race set back my usual schedule of walking a few slow miles the first few days after the race. I ran/walked a few miles from last Wednesday on and did a hilly half marathon on Monday, which made my quads tighten up again so I was reduced to walking again on Tuesday instead of running. Heartrate is still pretty accelerated. I expect to be back to a normal running schedule by next week.
If I could go back and do my training again, I would have done a WHOLE lot more plyometrics and any and all quad strengthening exercises I could come up with. I was no where near the finish time I had hoped for and I place the blame entirely on the poor downhill prep I did.
Training for the downhills of WS in Kansas? Can’t imagine trying to do that. We spend so many hours running long downhills in training and the first big session wrecks us for days. Good job getting it done, Coleen.
Instead of answering every comment, I’m just gonna let everybody share. Thanks to all who have and will.
And if you haven’t seen the discussion on the Haggin Cup post I did a few years ago, do check it out. Morrison had a 450,000 CPK after 2006.
http://conductthejuices.com/2009/04/02/the-haggin-cup/
I think another huge — if not foremost — factor affecting CPK is downhill running TECHNIQUE. This, and gait mechanics in general, is one of the most important predictors of performance; I’d put it in a “tie” for most important, along with Mental Toughness (“The AJW Clause”):
Most Important Factors
T1. Running Mechanics
T1. Mental Toughness
3. “Quad Seasoning”
4. Aerobic Conditioning
If you’re mechanically efficient, especially on the downhills, you spare your quads tremendous grief — regardless of overall race pace and conditioning. I wasn’t prepared with #3-4, but I also feel my downhill mechanics are terrible. And I feel, along with “Mental”, that Mechanics is a reason why “old guys” (40+) can do very well (if not dominate) a race such as WS.
I finished the race in 16:39 and recorded a CPK of 12,500. I was actually pretty pleased that it was not higher. I was well-prepared for both the snow and the downhills so I think my quads were OK. I did, however, have a much more difficult time with recovery and only had my first decent run yesterday (8 rolling miles in an hour). There is no way I could have run a 10K on Monday. I am going to an all-comers track meet tonight where I’ll run the mile and the 5k so my CPK will probably be through the roof after that.
AJW
PS — I have kept pretty meticulous records of my CPK’s over the past 7 years as I was hospitalized with Acute Renal Failure back in 2004 after AC100. That time my CPK was over 150,000. Since then my highest was 42,000 at 2006 WS
What has been your lowest CPK at WS?
8500 in 2007
Hey AJW,
Out of curiosity, what are your thoughts on why you have had such a big discrepancy in your CPK over the years. Was the renal failure after your 1st 100? Was Ibuprofen taken? If so how much? Although you may have posted it somewhere in the past, I have never really read a good account of someone who has gone through renal failure after an endurance event.
TAG, AJW gives a longer explanation about his experiences with acute renal failure, CPK, ibuprofen, etc over on his blog.
http://ajwsblog.blogspot.com/2011/07/kidneys.html
1. How well did you prepare for the downhills, the distance, and the snow of WS?
I was very well prepared, did lots of downhill running, plenty of distance, but like most folks, not a ton of snow running. The day we did our 12 miles was very helpful in learning to navigate in the flatter or straight up or straight down running, but running on the extreme camber gave me blisters which messed up my downhill running later.
2. What was your WS finish time? How hard did you run? Did you struggle in the snow?
18:50. I ran hard when I could, but quads weren’t an issue. I struggled in the snow some, but not terribly.
3. What was your CPK? Was that higher or lower than you expected? Do you think the snow running contributed to a higher CPK?
7500. Felt about right. Yeah, I think it did a little. I think I did a fair amount of bounding that added some fatigue to the legs.
4. How has your recovery been? Are you back to running normally now?
Recovery was the quickest ever. I ran Wednesday after the race – it was slow but sound. I’ve been running every day since.
1. I think I prepared fairly well for the downhill this year, but would have liked to have done more. I only had one training day in the snow.
2. I ran 16:45, I felt good all day until maybe the last 15 miles. I ran the snow about average I’d say.
3. 20,500 – this is about what I expected. Yes the snow contributed, but I think running the canyons hard is what does the real damage.
4. My recovery has been slow, I did an easy 48 mile ride last weekend and an easy 8 mile run on Tuesday (week and several days after the race). I should be close to normal 2 weeks after the race.
1. I was prepared for the downhills as always. I did nothing special since I run steep downhills in training year round. Hence, I don’t think I’ve ever suffered from blown quads? I will say that I usually do more single speed mountain biking as this is basically like doing leg presses while being on the anaerobic theshold.Running up or down after this feels like a piece of cake.This Spring I had 3 months averaging 100 miles a week running, with only one day of biking. I like to experiment and do different things in training. In hindsight, this was a bit over my head concerning mileage and wasn’t to much fun. Due to various factor’s, I had no runs over 50k. I wasn’t really all that worried about it. I’ve looked at the training logs of various fast dudes ( AJW, Roes, Meltzer,etc.) and noticed that they put in very few “long” runs other then the occassional 50 mile race. Maybe that leads to faster recovery or they just have more ability/natural endurance (probably the reason?). Snow prep was little. Several runs in the mountains in the snow when the trails were runable, but I’m used to running in snow in the winter anyway.
2. 23:52 finish time. My initial goal was just a 100 mile PR of sub 26, since my record of finishing 100’s is pathetic at best. I was privately feeling that I was capable of 21 or 22 depending on how hot it was. It wasn’t hot at all to me so in a way I have to be happy with a two hour PR, but will be gunning for an improvement if I ever get invited back. How “hard” did I run? Hard to say. I struggled big time in the snow, falling 4 or 5 times and going very slow because I did not want to roll an ankle or anything, so I took my time. Walking a lot and letting a ton of people pass me. I was looking back for the sweeps as I thought I was in about last place. I was shocked when I got out of the snow at Talbot? and saw I was on 24 hr. pace! From then on it was game on and I had to commit. My quads were feeling “sore” after the snow and this feeling continued until Michigan Bluff. But I did change shoes at Last Chance, to some Hokas and they felt like heaven. This seemed to help a lot. At MB a guy asked me how I felt? I said my leg’s were a little hammered, but aren’t everybody’s? He tried to talk me in to laying down for a message! I thought he was kidding!I was having none of that. This is a race! The whole race I was either +/- 10 minutes on 24 hour pace regardless of how I felt I ran between aid stations. I was becoming a little frustrated as I was trying to get some cushion on 24 hr. I seemed to be stuck in one gear the whole race. Maybe because I didn’t take a chance and really try to hammer any one particuliar section. I wasn’t going to accept a DNF so maybe I didn’t want to take any big risk? I felt pretty good from Foresthill on although, once again, I was slow/disappointed in my Cal St. section. A big difference was that I used a pacer for the the first time in my life, thus I didn’t almost fall asleep, which has alway’s been more of an issue for me then conditioning. I ran through all the aid station from Browns Bar to the finish. I told my pacer that if he was stopping for aid he would have to catch back up because I running through and not stopping exept to pee. I tried to run through Hwy 49, trying to not get weighed, but they didn’t go for it! I was so focused during the night, I don’t remember crossing No Hands or my quads being bothersome on the approach to the bridge. Actually, the whole race was just surreal to me. I guess this is a long winded way of saying that I feel I ran between a average and hard effort. Just not dangerously hard.
3. 24,500 CPK. Don’t understand enough about it to really put a value one particuliar measurement. Hell, I didn’t even know I could get a blood draw until you pushed me over to the tent! 10,000 CPK as any kind of meaningful value or measurement I’m not sure of. I think that within certain perameter’s, everybody is a little different. If quad soreness is correlated with CPK value, then yes, maybe in my case, as the snow running/breaking with the quads, did influence this value. But the rest of the run, I wasn’t particularly sore from the downhills.Just the distance covered.
4. Soreness gone by the following Tuesday. Wednesday road bike ride of 90 minutes, Thursday, 7 mile run, but was tired at the end. Last Saturday was a 3 hour mountain bike ride that was way to much. The uphills just killed me. All runs to the present, the longest being 2 hours in the mountains, have been fairly solid. A little slower then normal and at about 90 minutes, I feel pretty much gassed. I can still feel a bit of deep down fatigue in my core. Leg’s feel good with no soreness. This Saturday, a 4 hour mountain run, cuz I can’t stay away! Even if I have to hike more then normal.
(Sorry about the length of this reply, but I don’t have a blog and I guess this is kind of like a race report. But, maybe somebody can learn something new?).
Maybe I should have let you guest blog. You definitely did the training, Grae, and it showed with the PR and quick recovery. BTW, an ice massage feels real good in Michigan Bluff. Don’t knock it until you try it 🙂
good discussion Thornley. My time was 21:18. I did not get my blood drawn so I don’t know what my CPK was. They asked for blood but I was not in the mood to give it. Besides I was too busy kissing AJW ass to take the time. However, I can tell you that I recovered really quick, body was ready to run by Wednesday but didn’t run run until Friday. I ran Friday through Tuesday at total of 60 myles with an average pace of 7:45 with about 6K of climbing. Based on what you’ve said I would predict my CPK was really, really low. As I sit here in Silverton waiting to pace Nick I feel amazing and wish I were running myself. Even with my slow ass time at WS I would run 24hrs for a shot at the AJW WS/HR double, just kiddin jw…
I think I can speak for a lot of us and say that your finish time was impressive, FastEd. I remember Kulak coming to both us in the chairs at Cal-2 (errr Peachstone) and asking if we were going to finish. Both of us said yes. It’s the 100s that don’t go well that are the hardest ones. Maybe recovery was so quick because we did our cooldown from Cal-2 to the finish.
1. How well did you prepare for the downhills, the distance, and the snow of WS?
Felt well prepared for both downhills and distance. I didn’t give the snow a second thought during the race, I just took everyone’s advice and didn’t fight it. Mentally kept telling myself not to think about the race till my feet were on dry land for good.
2. What was your WS finish time? How hard did you run? Did you struggle in the snow?
21:55and I felt like I ran easy to Bath St. After that I worked hard to the river and tried to run hard from there to the finish, but looking back I sucked. No snow struggle.
3. What was your CPK? Was that higher or lower than you expected? Do you think the snow running contributed to a higher CPK?
11,000 CPK. Lower than I thought. Big toe took most of the damage and I think I could have been running sooner without the toe problems. I expected a higher CPK and figure I pussed out based on my CPK results. My goal was to buy silver polish and I felt trained to do so.
4. How has your recovery been? Are you back to running normally now?
Legs still tired but at least I can run normal.
1. How well did you prepare for the downhills, the distance, and the snow of WS?
I was ill prepared for the snow; however, I had done quite a bit of hill training including many hill reps here in MD where I live (my biggest expedition was 11,000 of climb and loss over 11 hours and ~26 miles doing a ~1,000 foot mt about an hour from my house). I also did the training run Memorial Day weekend including a hike to El Dorado Canyon but that was not very hilly.
2. What was your WS finish time? How hard did you run? Did you struggle in the snow?
My finish time was 29:42. My second half was alot faster than my first since I really struggled in the snow and lost a considerable amount of time slipping, going slow and even falling (I also lost about 5-10 minutes when I gave away my SPOT rescue beacon to the safety patrol and figured out that my “safety net” was gone…this actually weighed on my throughout the race but it was the right thing to do). I was pretty sure I was going to fall to my death several times on the snow…I lost alot of time in the first ~20 miles which I then had to make up with “fast” miles (for me) at the end 12-14 min/mile.
3. What was your CPK? Was that higher or lower than you expected? Do you think the snow running contributed to a higher CPK?
My CPK was 2,000. My creatnine and all other blood levels were within specs and my CPK was back to normal by thurs (I had scheduled my annual exam for the thurs after WS100 since I figured my doc could make sure my goal of doing the Grand Slam was not a disaster waiting to happen).
I had no idea what my CPK was going to be but I hoped it would be pretty good since I did my best to attend to my eating/hydration/potassium/sodium needs along the course.
I don’t think the snow running contributed to anything except alot of adrenaline pumping through my system as I hoped I would not make any mis-step and be the second person in my family airlifted by helicopter off a Mountain on June 25 (my husband fell off Mt Theilsen on June 25, 2010 and was airlifted to a hospital for a week…he still is recovering).
4. How has your recovery been? Are you back to running normally now?
My recovery has been very good. I was fatigued a few days after WS100 but I think that was a function of having no sleep Sat night, running the 100 miles and even not getting as much sleep as I wanted on Sun and Mon night (and not even because I was in pain but because for some reason I just woke up and couldn’t go back to sleep about 4 a.m!)
I am back to running normally. I did the Leadville Heavy Half Marathon this past weekend and felt pretty good. Maybe I was a bit tired but that could have been altitude (since I live at 250 feet above sea level) or it could be residual tiredness from WS100. It better go away because I now have less than 8 days until VT100!
Had no prep for dowmhills or climbing. Did have a 50 miler in May followed by a 72 mile fun run to the beach 4 days later. That wiped me out for a week. &5% pavement traing 6 weeks prior to race day wasn’t ideal but helped train the feet and quads a little. Quads were absolutely trashed after WS. Did not get CPK levels done this year but guess they were in the 30K range based on how I felt. Effort was comfortable and conservative all day but lack of training killed my quads. Hope that’s helpful.
Ran Black Hills 100 same day as WS and had CPK of 5000. Down to 600 one week after race and doc wants to check it again next week and told me to avoid “strenuous” exercise. So for now I am trail running “nonstrenuously”;). Now, after reading all this, I think my CPK was probably lower than the average racer. My stomach wasn’t cooperating during the race and I didn’t eat or drink much at all the last 60 miles. But also my effort level was less because my stomach was reducing me to walking most of those last 60. Only had blood taken because I went to ER after passing out a couple hours after race. Obviously dehydrated. After Bighorn 100 last year, I didn’t have CPK tested but 2 nights after race experienced what I am pretty sure was quite severe kidney pain. Thought I was passing a stone. I did take anti-inflammatories (not a lot) at Bighorn but not at Black Hills.
Rob, you might want to share some of these other stats with your doc. Yes, a 5000 CPK is pretty low after a 100 miler. Of course, if any normal person off the street went into the doc and they saw that number the doc might think you were having a heart attack. Your Bighorn experience, on the other hand, sounded more serious. Thanks for sharing.
I finished in 26:11 and had CPK levels of 63,100 which surprised me as I didn’t feel like I was pushing super hard out there. My only goal was to finish under 30 hours and to enjoy the race. I started to feel some fatigue in my quads after only about 40-50 miles which disappointed me as I was hoping the strength training/hillwork would have kept that at bay for a little longer. I read all the medical info prior to the race so made sure I didn’t hammer on the downhills with sore quads and kept away from taking Advil (I also ended up with blisters on the bottom of both feet so that also slowed me down). The snow wasn’t an issue as I live in the Canadian Rockies and even though I hadn’t run as much as I would have liked, I went into the race feeling strong. I had further blood tests upon returning home but it took about 2 weeks for my CPK levels to get back to normal.