I quote “race” in the title because I didn’t enter the event to be faster than others, my goal was to finish. Matter of fact, I would go as far as say I did things during the 50 miles to ensure I wouldn’t take it like a race. For example, I was the last runner to cross the start line (some people in front of me had hiking poles!). At no point did I want to feel persuaded to run faster… but be careful what you wish for.
The first advantage of this race for me was sleeping in my own bed (even though I slept about 3 hours because of some stomach cramping… nerves?!). Race start time was 6:15am, so I was up at 5:15am, had breakfast -- about 8-10 Navitas Naturals Cacao/Goji Power Snack bites with a 20oz. glass of citrus Nuun and 2 tablespoons of chia seeds (mixed and placed in the fridge the night before) and followed it with a Vespa JR and a couple extra strength Tylenol. We left the house at 5:50am and arrived at Mike’s Dance Barn (start/finish area) at 6:05am. I dropped off my drop bags and headed to the start.
Steph was doing the 50k and had the same start time, but she was stuck in the portable toilet line, so we said our good lucks and went on our ways. At the start I placed myself in the very back even though I knew I wouldn’t finish there. Scott Breeden’s breakdown of the race two days earlier included the detail that “everyone” goes out too fast (including himself). With the first five miles being uphill and that knowledge, I knew starting in the back wouldn’t kill me.
Miles 0-5:
The first five miles were on a two-track horse trail that was either going uphill or flat. The mud was spotty and the participants were manic – myself included. I had my heart rate monitor on and the alert set for 80% (rough estimate of Aerobic Threshold). Anytime, it went off I walked. And so it went: jog, walk, jog, walk, jog, walk… I was about 12min/mi on the uphills, 10min/mi on the flats, and 9min/mi on the slight downhills through this section. I decided to skip the first aid station at ~5 miles to get around some people before we hit the single tracks – 49:33.
Miles 6-11:
This next section was my favorite for a few reasons. One, we were on nice mountain bike trails – light rollers. Two, I had settled in with a pack of four guys that had a pace that was right according to my heart rate – 9-9:30min/mi. This pack was how I had heard ultras described before… a group of strangers chatting and hanging out on a trail run – letting time slide by, not thinking about how many hours there were to go. I really wished this could have continued for another 15 miles at least, but once we hit the first drop bag at 10.6mi and everyone took varying amounts of time to spend there recharging, the group splintered. I hit my bag for half a bottle of Perpetuem and a piece of gum and was on my way – a little under a minute – 1:47:34.
Miles 12-18:
With the group gone, when I left the Hesitation Point aid station I turned on my mp3 player, took a deep breath, and settled in. I kept an eye on the heart rate monitor and took a constant effort check to make sure I wasn’t getting in the “racing” mood. Runners started coming back to me one-by-one, which was certainly encouraging. Never certain of my position in the race, I caught and dropped about 15 or 20 people in this section, which was also on mountain bike trails. I approached the aid station at about 17.5mi leading a line of about 6 people within a minute of me and decided a GU was needed, took one and was on my way – 2:51:59.
Miles 19-22:
Now being in the front of a group and the trail opening up to horse trails, I really got into a rhythm and found myself rolling around 8min/mi pace… then I see a guy coming towards me waving his hands. I take out my head phones and he says, “have you seen any pink flags close by?” Note: our course was marked by pink flags the entire way. I had zoned out and missed a turn! Luckily, I ended up only going about a quarter mile out of my way once I got back to the turn – and I didn’t miss it because of poor marking… there were probably 25 pink flags clustered at the turn, doh! To my defense, this is where the “buskwacking” section begins, so the turn goes from a horse trail to no trail. Good news in this situation, I didn’t get lost long AND I get to pass everybody again! Bad news, I lost almost 3 minutes and I have to pass everybody again! I guess the smarter you are, the shorter you get to run. The off-trail section wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be (a little over a mile), but it wasn’t fast (12:20min/mi). We popped out of the woods at the next drop bag station… I hit another half bottle of Perpetuem and a fresh piece of gum along with a couple of Endurolytes (which I had been taking at every aid station with water) and was on my way – 3:36:01.
*Interesting race observation: no matter the distance, I’ve found that the race seems to go by at the same speed. The first half is over before you know it, the third quarter you have to buckle down and focus, and the last quarter you’re just bringing it home. I could run a half marathon and feel as mentally exhausted as I did in this 50 mile because when your mind knows when the finish is, I think it prepares itself accordingly. Anyway, proof of this to me was during the above section when my legs were starting to show the first sign of fatigue/soreness. It alarmed me because it was so early in the race mentally, but when I reasoned it out and looked at my watch, I was 21 miles into a run! Of course my legs are going to start feeling tired, they would on any other 21 mile run. The question moving forward was how much worse would it get?!
Miles 23-26:
After the aid station you duck into the woods on another trail and this time I only missed the turn by about 50 meters when a runner was coming the opposite direction to tell me I was going the wrong way – talk about lucky! It was another bushwacking section and a similar turn that I missed… geez! After that half mile or so, we came out on another horse trail by which time I had passed the group again. [SPOILER ALERT: from that point on, about mile 22, I never saw another runner in the 50 mile again.] I settled in on the horse trail, then followed some more bushwacking where we had to climb straight up a ridge and came out at Ogle Lake. I had hiked here with my family, so I knew of the impending doom labeled the “stairway to heaven” by the race director. Honestly, the stairs were difficult, but a welcome relief of traction while climbing a silly steep section. Just in the mile previous I had to use trees and roots to climb up the route. At the top of the stairs we hit the road at the Nature Center for about a mile and a half (during which time I took another Vespa JR. and used the camping facilities to find relief) before coming to “decision point.” It had been such a beautiful day weather-wise and I felt very controlled and collected, it was really no decision, without hesitation I forged ahead on the second loop for 50 miles instead of taking the turn back towards the finish for 50k – 4:17:33.
Miles 27-31:
This was the last unknown section of trail before we repeated the first loop and headed back to the finish… plus it was 5 miles out of the second visit to the first drop bag where I could reset. There was a mental ease to knowing I could take a break in 5 miles, but at the same time I had an anxiety having just chose my fate and setting out on another 24 miles – nearly my longest run ever, back-to-back in one run! I was really in a no man’s land mentally and physically because I felt confident that I could run harder, but I had never known what kind of fatigue the body might have in store for me at 35 and 40 miles… ultimately I wanted to finish in one piece. Just as my battle of race versus run continued in my head I came upon the perfect duo to help me snap out of it and remind me to just soak it all in… after all that’s what Christy Victor and Erin Hazler had been up to their entire race! The half marathon route overlaps the 50 mile route for no more than one mile, but just my luck, they were on that mile… and a power arch they did provide! From there on it was smooth sailing (and another neverending staircase) into Hesitation Point for the last time where I finished off my bottle of Perpetuem along with 3 blocks of the Power Snack from breakfast and another 2 extra strength Tylenol. I switched my glasses (which had sat on top of my head the whole time) for my hat and was on to the next section – 5:07:31.
Upcoming BARA Power Arch!! (photo by Christy Victor)
Miles 32-45:
A repeat of the first loop, my time was spent listening to music, assessing my effort (to stay controlled), and freaking out if I didn’t see a pink flag for a period of time. Ha! I could be on a trail that I knew was right, but if I had recently zoned out and couldn’t immediately see a pink flag when I snapped out of it, I would have a 2-second freak out, pause, then convince myself to keep on the trail… then after seeing another pink flag I could take a deep breath (this happened probably 5 times). I hit the GU station from before and decided to have another. While there I got my first “race” feedback of the day… I was in third they “thought.” But, the others were at least 15 or 20 minutes ahead they said. This was another good news, bad news. Good news, it was too far to get caught up in racing and I could still focus on remaining within myself. Bad news, I pretty much knew my finish position and cemented the fact that there was no group ahead that I could integrate into and recreate that first 10 miles. I was not going to see another person in my race until the finish – I guess I got what I wished for, no motivation to race.
So, if not place, how about overall time? I had my virtual partner set to 10min/mi pace and I had been hovering around it as an average all day. At this point I was pretty sure I would finish, so my next goal was to be under 8:30 (only a few had done that on this course). That meant every mile that went by where I was still at 10min/mi average (or 8:20 for a finish time) I had more in the bank I could use later. When I hit 40 miles still on pace, I knew I could go 11min/mi pace and still hit 8:30… that was a boost to my confidence and really motivated me to bring it home. This was also the last drop bag spot where I finished off that bottle of Perpetuem, refreshed the gum, had an aid station worker text Steph that I was on my way and headed off!
Soon I was at the stairway to heaven again, then on the road at the Nature Center and back to decision point where I made the turn onto the two-track horse trail back to Mike’s Dance Barn. I had finished this repeated section (about 14.5 miles) only 12 seconds slower than the first time in the morning… very even pace – 7:35:40!
Miles 46-50:
Down, down, and more down… the legs were obviously pretty tired at this point and I was just trying to use the momentum of the hills as much as possible without having a quad give way and face planting. I had been catching the back end of the 50k for the last 5 miles and continued to on this section, so that was and they were encouraging. The last mile and a half takes you down an old ski slope in tall grass (luckily it was matted down from previous finishers of other races) and through a creek (which I found very cooling). Just out of the creek I see Steph, give her a hug, and head down the finish shoot – I did it! At the finish, I received some sort of bone award for age group placing along with my medal and went on my way. BARA folk and Scott were there to congratulate me… I was elated – fifth place overall, 8:17:24!
Coming into the finish – woohoo! (photo by Michael Miller) Me and Steph after our races (50mi & 50k)
Extras:
It was definitely a much better race/course than the ultra-mudathlon I expected. Only a few muddy spots, one wet creek crossing at the end and a few not-too-bad bushwacking sections totaling about 3-4 miles. I was very fortunate to have no real low points in the race… just real steady and controlled. I like to think it was an effect of preparation, but in reality, the weather and course conditions probably have just as much to do with it. My first half was 4:11 and second half was 4:06 (the uphill start and downhill finish accounts for the difference). I took in 6 hours worth of Perpetuem (~1200 calories), 19 endurolytes, 2 chocolate GUs (200 calories), 4 pieces of gum, and about 100oz. of water.
Results
My Race Stats
R.I.C.E:
Rest, Ice, Compression, and Eat (or Endurox)… recovery has been a bit of a roller coaster this past week. At times I feel like I’m ready to go, then my quads say otherwise. I didn’t run on Sunday or Monday (but Steph did!), did some “old man” strides at the track on Tuesday, took Wednesday off, ran a mile Thursday, 3 miles Friday, and 7 miles on Saturday. Today (Sunday), I feel even better and I think I could go long if I needed to… however, today ends my week, so I will take another day off and get back at it next week! I wasn’t sitting on my butt however… throughout the week I did use foam rolling, ice, compression, and two sessions of Active Release Therapy from Bloomington Sports and Wellness.
What’s next?
Whew, well the documentary, “Unbreakable” has gotten BARAns all excited about Western States 100, and my time qualifies me for the lottery, so a few of them are trying to persuade me into that. But, I just about doubled my longest race from 26.2mi to 50mi, I’m not sure I’m ready for another double of that (on a course like WS100)… yet. I am, however, pumped about the 50 mile distance and feel that if I can get more consistent in the long run department (30-35mi), I’ll get stronger and be able to recover faster… then, we’ll see (I prefer surprises).
As Steph puts it, “you can never have the first one back.” So, now I’m glad I can at least go back and read about it!
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