Fall Superior 50M – 2014 Race Report
1 Details
Date: Saturday,
September 6th, 2014
Distance: 50M (Officially 52.1 miles).
Weather: Mid High 40s
to start, up to the low 70s during the peak, and back down to the 50s? Kind of weird to have to highlight the
different portions of the day.
Runners: Reid Plumbo
in the 50M. Tons of other folks doing
the marathon: Brandon in his first marathon killing it in a little over 6
hours, Ann, Drew, Kim, Julie, Dean, Anna, Lisa, Shelly, Brent, others I’m
forgetting.
Crew: Court, Kelly,
and Peter came up Saturday and I saw them later in the race and the
finish. Pretty solo this trip.
Gear: Nathan Hydration Pack, arm warmers for the start (lost
one so didn't use them at the finish), Black Diamond Storm Headlamp (fit in my
pack better than the Nao), Nike shorts, multiple shirts, Saucony Xodus 3.0s,
Gaitors.
Fuel: Perpetuum Caffe
Latte for the majority of the race. Supplemented
with Gu or Hammer Gel during big climbs and some other aid station stuff
(PB&J didn’t work out well). Hammer Endurolytes
Extreme every hour like clockwork.
2 Training and Preparation
Training really started the day after our finish at Moose
Mountain in 2013. After coming across
the finish line and feeling completely spent in the hot/humid weather that day
there was a fairly large group of us camped around the finish line waiting for our
other friends to come across. The
atmosphere was electric seeing all shapes and sizes finishing in different
states of anguish, glee, exhaustion, and relief (marathoners, 50 milers, and
100 milers). To that point I had been on
the same course many times with 50 milers, including completing in one at North
Face where I DNF'ed at 40M in, but I had never seen 100M'ers in the flesh and
it was truly eye opening.
Not really having any plan for 2014 at this point, Reid and
I really didn't have to think that much about what we would do next year after
seeing those folks cross the finish line.
The Superior Hiking Trail (SHT) is really just something you have to
traverse to really appreciate the beauty and pain it can provide in equal
measure. We were hooked. We signed up for the 50k in the spring which
we both killed with the larger goal of attempting the 50M in the fall hoping to
match some of the awe inspiring performances we saw from folks finishing in the
fall.
Through the summer we really tried to focus on quality
workouts and not total volume. Always
trying to get long back to backs and hill repeats in vs. just straight up
mileage. Yeah, a nice 8 mile road run is
good, but I would much rather have 5 miles of hill repeats thank you very
much.
This training season we really started working Afton into
the mix and most of the quality long runs and back to backs were spent
here. To date, it is the best place in
the cities to get quality runs that best represent the SHT if you pick your
trails right. We did some nice back to
back 20s there, a 30 miler, and other assorted runs out there in preparation. We also focused on Tuesday hill repeats at Hyland
that started at the parking lot, up the ski jump hill for a warm up, over to
the ski hill, followed by no less than 12 hill repeats up and down the largest
ski hill and back to the parking lot. I'm convinced these repeats were the most
valuable part of my training regimen this year.
All in all, we had a nice volume of training in and I averaged about 45
miles per week over 12 weeks leading up to the race.
I was also able to see the first 20 miles of the course
running with Ann Norton during our trip up North at my parents cabin. This training run was really fun to do with
Ann, but after Crosby Manitou on our way to the Caribou River trailside I
cramped up something fierce in my inner thighs that I had to deal with over the
next 6 miles or so. This was pretty
demoralizing considering all of the training I had done up to that point on
hills specifically. Also, this roughly
10 mile stretch was no fun. The first 4
miles of which had some serious descents/ascents in them and it is just a long
ass section. I am really glad I saw it
so I knew what to expect come race day and think about how to attack it, but
hopefully I would be in better shape on race day.
3 A Minor Hiccup
About two weeks out from the race I started getting some
stomach pain across my abdomen that was just a general unease I thought would
work itself out. I went for a nice 12M
run with Heimark at Murphy on that Saturday and felt really strong. Followed up with a Sunday run even though the
lingering pain was still hanging out.
Ended up going to the doctor on Monday but I got a clean bill of health. Tuesday afternoon after lunch I felt pretty
awful and I went home. Ended up puking
my guts out all night and the following day.
Thinking the stomach pain was related to whatever bug this was I just
powered through. By Friday, all of the
bug was gone, but the stomach pain was still around. Went to the doctor where they took blood this
time, with nothing found. Ended up
talking with Marcus (MD-PHD who is now a psychiatrist but at least has some
sort of reference to what the doctors were doing) and since my stomach was
feeling better we just put it off as a weird bug.
Having not run for about a week, and with my stomach feeling
better, I went for a run on Labor Day (Monday before the race). I had no plans going out but ended up doing a
nice 10 miler which felt really good.
Followed that up with a 5 miler on Tuesday. It was a weird run that I had to walk for a
minute to get my bearings. I chalked it
up to taper stuff and the fact that I was just getting over a weird viral
something or other. On Wednesday I went
for another short 3 mile run after work and found myself light headed which was
really odd. At dinner that night I had
some serious stomach pain coming on. Having
taken solace in a heating pad the last time that happened I tried it again to
no avail. I was up all night and in some
serious dire straits as the race was now 48 hours away and I had this
mysterious stomach ailment.
I went back to the doctor Thursday morning. They did the standard exam which found me
with a clean bill of health. I started
pressing the doctor explaining I had a race I had been training for all year in
2 days and it wasn't exactly a 5k. She
said I could run it, but that I might have to concede that I might not finish
it. Great advice doc. I pressed on
something Courtney had been harping on for over a week that maybe it was stress
related due to work. And as per usual, I
should have just listened to her. The
doctor said that yeah, the pain I was feeling could easily be ulcers. She "prescribed" some over the
counter Prilosec to help which Courtney told me a week before to try. The problem was this was a shot in the dark
and Prilosec takes 1-4 days to work and the race was less than 48 hours away.
If there isn't enough stuff to worry about for a really hard
50M race, ulcers, stomach pain, no sleep, and long term damage of doing a race
with some as yet unknown condition don't really help the situation. Hopefully day 3 of Prilosec might make the
difference (fingers crossed...).
4 Race Weekend Preparation
There is a new addition to the family now that Reid and
Kelly have welcomed Peter into the club.
He came in at precisely the right time giving his parents a nice two
weeks together before he gave this race a shot.
That meant that Reid, Brandon and I drove up together for the race and
Kelly, Peter, and Courtney would drive up Saturday to join us for the race. The drive up was nice and we were making good
time so we decided to stop by an aid station for the 100 milers at 25 miles
in. We got there at a perfect time as we
saw about 10 runners go through. Most
looked really good and excited (though these were in the lead pack), but it was
cool to see them out on the course regardless.
My stomach was really starting to give me issues at this point and we
moved onto Lutsen.
We checked in and by this point I was doubled over in the
lobby due to the pain. We got into the
room and I went upstairs and laid down. After
about an hour of this with little change I decided to go for a walk. Leaving our room (the same room we have had
two times before which is crazy), I ran into Kim/Dean/Rick and eventually most
of the other crew that was up for the race.
Most commented on how much weight I had lost and after I explained what
was going on with the stomach (ulcers?) they were extremely sympathetic and
wanting to know what they could do to help.
Explaining I was on day 2 of a 14 day course of meds and that I just
hoped moving would help things I went out for my walk.
I made my way north up the road and to the Poplar River
Bridge. Having heard the river during
Moose and the Spring 50K, I stood on the bridge for about 5 minutes just
visualizing (and hoping) to hear that sound sometime the following night on my
way in during the race. I was really in
a low place at this point with very little confidence. I had trained all year for this race. My last 50 mile attempt two years ago ended
in a DNF that I have thought about constantly since. In hindsight, I easily could have continued
that race knowing what I know now about my body, hydration, food, walking, and 100
other little things. So physically and
mentally I was more prepared for the race than I ever had been. But, if my stomach felt like it did at this
moment there was a pretty good chance I would not even start, let alone finish this
race.
I made my way back to the room and my stomach started to feel
a little better. We went and picked up
our packets and drop of our drop bags which I had packed before I came up. I was able to get down some spaghetti I had
brought which an hour before would have been impossible. The walk seemed to have helped (and maybe the
drugs too). Reid had brought up Unbreakable,
a documentary about the 2011 Western States 100M race. Watching these elite athletes just kill it
was fun. Also, making fun of how easy the terrain these guys were running on at
States vs. what we would be dealing with tomorrow was good times.
The bus was leaving at 4AM and they wanted us on there at
3:45 AM. I slept a “good” 2.5 hours from
about 10:30PM to 1:00AM before I was wide awake waiting for the alarm to go off
at 3AM. I was constantly trying to gauge
my stomach at this point which wasn't hurting but was not
"right". I got up before my
alarm, took a shower, ate a sandwich, cleared the pipes (well most of them) and
got all of my gear ready.
We made our way to the bus which was packed. Leaving Caribou Highlands the bus driver
immediately took a wrong turn and had to do a 5 point turn to get back to the
main turn. Another couple of hijinks and
we were on our way. Making the route to
the Finland Rec Center the bus was pretty quiet and calm with the lights
off. It was pitch black and there wasn't
a whole lot of banter going given it was 4 in the morning. Taking a turn on Hwy 1 our driver missed the
turn to the rec center. Some folks
called out the mistake and were able to get the driver to backtrack. But he was resistant to moving the half mile
down the road to the rec center where about 50 cars were going with lights on
at 5AM. Someone yelled out "I have
to poop" which was enough to get the driver to move on down the road
towards the rec center. This broke a lot
of the tension there seemed to be on the bus up to this point and everyone was
in a good mood making our way to the Rec Center.
The Rec Center is a nice hall with facilities inside and
out, heated, and sheltered. A pit stop
in a biff, some bantering, staring at the crazy amount of stars, and we were
out to the street to start the race. A
few words from Storkamp the race director emphasizing that "pound for
pound this is one of the hardest 50 milers in the country" was not
necessarily something I really wanted to hear with my stomach still not
"right". But, that is why we
do this, right? It was time to get
moving and see what would happen.
5 Race Start to Sonju Lake (Mile 0 to 7.5: 7.5 miles)
I really wanted to start super slow. I have now relegated myself to a back of the
packer and have no problem with it as long as I don't feel completely wrecked
by the end of the race. I want to enjoy
these runs (as much as is possible) vs. really racing/pushing pace and having
serious consequences for walking that tightrope. So at the beginning of this race I settled in
behind a group that was power hiking/jogging most of the sections. The woman leading the pack was a seasoned
veteran that had done dozens of ultras, but was not moving particularly
fast. Not wanting to get ahead of
myself, and having a headlamp that had batteries that were less than ideal, I
stayed with the group to just feel myself and my stomach out. I made my way into the first aid station with
the stomach pretty absent from my thoughts, and started thinking about the rest
of the race and how to go about it. I
had been pretty tunnel visioned up to this point about not feeling well and
solving my stomach issue and I hadn't spent much mental energy preparing for
managing my race. I doubled down on
focusing on nutrition/water/salt and putting blinders on my feet so I wouldn't
trip and then cramp up throwing my race into disarray. I filled up water and left the aid station
with no major issues and decided to start moving a bit faster leaving before
the seasoned veteran and her entourage that had piled up behind her.
6 Sonju Lake to Crosby Manitou (Mile 7.5 to 11.7: 4.2 miles)
This is one of the shortest and most runnable sections of
the entire course. I started chatting up
a fellow runner who was a college professor who was a beekeeper out in
Massachusetts in her spare time. We got
to talking about her hobby selectively breeding hearty cold resistant queen bees
that didn't have a temper. I think we
talked the entire 4 miles during this section and we were to the aid station
before I knew it. I felt really good at
this point. Really strong and no stomach
pain. The first of 3 drop bags were here
(I stashed a drop bag at every other aid station), and quickly made my way back
on the course, feeling bad about ditching the beekeeper but thinking I might
see here again.
7 Crosby to Sugarloaf (Mile 11.7 to 21.1: 9.4 miles)
Up to this point there really isn't much climbing, which I
knew we were going to pay for. In
general, the trail up to this point by SHT standards is pretty
"runable". That changes during
the "Crosby" stretch. Having
run this section with Ann earlier this summer, and cramping on the large climb
out of the gorge, I had mentally prepared for getting out of this section under
the mantra of "Do No Harm". I
really wanted to make it to Cramer Road with no cramping, and making it out of
the gorge efficiently was key. The climb
down was uneventful, and as I made my way up I really tried to make sure my
foot placement was as economical as possible.
I started taking baby steps, and whenever I saw a large step
up, I would look for ways to go left or right and take three small steps for
one large one. I also started walking up
the climbs parallel to the incline, then straight ahead, then rotating 90
degrees to be parallel again in the other direction. I would continuously move between these three
different stances all the way up the hill in the hope of working different
muscles the entire time. Most of this
was based on the fact that I have run hundreds of miles and/or hills without
cramping and trying to find a different way to minimize the large extensions
that in some spots you simply can’t avoid.
Not to foreshadow too much, but I didn't cramp up for more than 10
seconds the entire day when I had to climb over one of the many downed trees
across the path. Contrast that with me
sitting against a tree at Moose last year for 2 minutes cursing everything I
could think of and I color myself purple for hopefully figuring out a way to
manage these hills without causing undue stress going forward.
After the first half of this section it turns out to be very
runable. I made a lot of time back making
my way to the Sugarloaf aid station. There
had been a lot of talk about the course cutoffs which I had never paid too much
attention to. However, it was clear that
even minor setbacks might push me close to these cutoffs if I wasn’t
careful. On the way I ran into someone
who told me we had about 1 mile left to the aid station. I told him it was more like 4 miles according
to my watch and he wasn't too pleased though he was moving faster than me and
made it to the aid station before I did.
I passed another guy not looking too good and I asked if he was alright.
He asked for some water which I opened up my pack for. I had a handheld 24oz. bottle I had already
drained and had been through most of my pack to this point so I didn't have
much left for him at this point. I gave
him about half of what I had left and moved on.
Experience had paid off for me here and I was extremely glad I had
lugged that 24oz. with me up to that point specifically for this long roughly
10 mile section. I would have easily run
out of water in this section and if the weather hadn't been as accommodating as
it was it would have been seriously sketchy out there. I had run the last few miles and was ahead of
the cutoff at 11:45AM by only about 40 minutes at this point. Had to keep it moving forward.
8 Sugarloaf to Cramer Road (Mile 21.1 to 26.7: 5.6 miles)
Having run out of Perpetuum during the Crosby section I
picked up some PB&J sandwiches at the aid station before I left. I figured between that and a gu or hammer gel
and I would be fine until I got to Cramer.
I should have tried a bite at the aid station vs. carrying them with me
as it was immediately obvious to me as I made my way back out on the trail that
these were not a good idea as my gag reflex kicked in. I choked them down as I know I needed
calories but these ended up really screwing with my stomach.
This is really the only section of the course I had not seen
yet in training. Reid had told me that
it was runnable so I had planned on making up some additional time in this
section making my way to the midpoint of the race. Well, what Reid didn’t know is this section
was going to be a huge mudfest with large sections that you simply couldn’t run
through. It reminded me a lot of the
Spring race and I just had to slog through.
Not making up much time in this section and having to walk a bunch
through these sections I really started to doubt myself. My stomach pain was ok and I was feeling
better that that would stay away, but my stomach started getting pretty
upset. I wasn’t even half way into this
sucker yet and had a days worth of running yet to do, and now my stomach was
turning on me. As I was being pathetic
in my misery, I tripped on a stick in the mud and landed hard into a huge pool
of mud. This caked the water bottle I
had been carrying which wasn’t the end of the world as I had planned on
dropping it off at the next aid, but now my whole right side was completely
covered in mud.
I just slogged through this looking forward to the drop bag
I had stashed at Cramer that had some Perpetuum in it and a dry shirt. Making my way into the aid station I quickly
changed out shirts and mixed some Perpetuum up and filled up my pack completely
for the fairly long run down to Temperance.
9 Cramer Road to Temperance (Mile 26.7 to 33.8: 7.1 miles)
Shortly after leaving Cramer Road I knew my stomach issues
were not going to be solved without a trip to the woods. I had prepared and had
some paper towels with me in a Ziploc bag.
I looked for a good spot in the woods and took care of business. Between this and the Perpetuum I was able to
get my stomach under control.
From this point on I knew exactly what was in store having
run these sections multiple times before.
Even though I knew what was coming up I was terrified that I was only
halfway in at this point with some really hard climbs looming ahead. I have listened to a ton of podcasts and read
a bunch of race reports in the last year to learn as much as I can about how
people run these distances. One of the
biggest themes that I know Reid has really embraced is to simply focus on the
aid station directly ahead of you. Once
you are in the race, you really can’t focus on the whole thing once you start
getting tired. That is the easiest way
to just kill yourself mentally. I really
just focused on getting to Temperance and put Carlton and Moose out of my
mind.
I don’t remember a ton about this section. I was able to run through parts but was
walking more sections than I would have liked.
The Beekeper made her way past me in this section and was doing really
well on the flats and we exchanged well wishes.
When I was walking I was still moving fast. My new watch had the average pace for the
race that I knew if it started getting close to 17:30 or slower would put me
near the cutoffs at the upcoming aid stations.
So I really tried to make sure I was moving fast enough to keep that
sucker about 17 minutes/mile to give me a buffer. At the aid station I saw some hundred milers
who were still moving forward. Realizing
they had been out here for around 30 hours at this point was crazy. How could I feel bad/tired if they were out
here still moving forward. They were
getting pretty close to cutoffs and I’m not sure how many of these folks got an
official finish, but it was still inspiring.
At the aid station I handed out some PowerBall tickets to
some volunteers who helped me fill up my pack.
I had picked up 10 tickets on the way up and put them in a Ziploc bag to
hand out. Lot’s of these folks had been out all night and I figured this was a
little bit of karma I could send out and hopefully get back. The PowerBall tickets were neat but I think I
will do scratch offs and make them check them while I am there in the future. This might be really fun on a looped course
like Surf the Murph where you will most likely see the same volunteers multiple
times. Well, having survived and
refilled my pack, I moved out with the beast looming.
10 Temperance to Britton (Mile 33.8 to 39.5: 5.7 miles)
While this section is “only” 5.7 miles, it has the largest
climb on the course with some boulders you have to crawl over. I have been up this section a couple times
before so I knew what I was getting into.
I had been trading spots with a few people who were faster on the flats
where I was faster on the hills. I was
hiking most of the next couple miles as I knew even this slight grade making
your way towards Carlton can take its toll if you are not careful. There are some false climbs before you really
get to Carlton I knew about. One woman
who was super enthusiastic I had been trading spots with for a while hadn’t
seen Carlton before. I had mentioned the
peak and we came around a corner and through the trees you see Carton’s granite
face staring you down. She thought I was
joking when I said we get to climb most of that. I told her she would be fine and just take it
slow.
When I finally made it to the climb I really focused on my
new climbing technique. Alternating
footings and really keeping my steps to as little extension as possible. There were some large boulders you can’t help
but climb up and over but in general I was doing really well and no cramps to
speak of. I continually climbed the
entire way up with no need to stop and rest and ended up walking down the
backside of Carlton. It was a bit
frustrating to not be able to take advantage of running these downhill’s but I
knew from previous experience that the time gained running could easily be
offset but catching a tow and tripping/falling and most likely cramping
up. So I just picked my way down knowing
the last mile and a half into Britton was totally runnable. I made my way to the pine forest where I
hoped Courtney, Kelly and Peter were waiting.
It was really nice to see them as I called previously with
no luck trying to get a hold of them (no cell service for them). I asked how Reid was doing knowing he was
killing it. I told them to skp the next
aid station and meet me at the end. I
didn’t want any outs at Oberg.
This was my last drop bag so I changed shirts, mixed some
more Perpettum, and had Courtney sort out the batteries in my headlamp as they
were dead in the morning. I had her
stuff my lamp and a cliff bar in my pack which was bursting at the seams at
this point. I had my Body Glide in there
which I had used a couple times on my inner thighs as I could feel some chafing
and dealt with it immediately. If I didn’t
have my Body Glide with me I would have been in some serious pain. Really glad I brought it with me as I could
reapply immediately.
11 Britton to Oberg (Mile 39.5 to 45: 5.5 miles)
I gave Courtney kiss and asked some of the workers about the
cutoff before I left the aid station. I
had about 2.5 hours I think to make it to Oberg and I didn’t want to be that
close knowing Moose and Mystery were behind that. I knew this section was runnable and that I
had a chance to make up some time. I was
as motivated as I have ever been at any point in any race I have done at this
point. I just thought to myself what
better chance would I have to finish a 50 miler than right now. I hadn’t cramped up, my stomach was back to
manageable, the sun was starting to go down and it was getting cooler. It was at this point that I really started to
believe I could maybe finish this sucker.
I didn’t want to get too far ahead of myself knowing how much there was
left to do, but I was motivated as hell to beat that cutoff at Oberg and give
myself a buffer for the last section.
I really tried to run every section I could and made some of
my best time of the day here. I was
really surprised at how “good” I felt at this point. I was still moving forward and running for
long stretches. Yeah, I wasn’t moving
fast, but I was moving and had some buffer on the cutoff. The heat of the day was starting to wane and
it was cooling off which was helping too.
The group of folks I had been trading back and forth with all through
Temperance and Britton were behind me and I didn’t see many of them again. This section was pretty un-eventful other
than a quick application of Body Glide again and I made my way to Oberg. I
filled up on water and picked up some Hammer Gel’s for the climbs and handed
out my last PowerBall tickets. Everyone
here was super helpful as at every aid station. They got me moving and sent me
on my way confident that I was going to finish.
12 Oberg to Lutsen (Mile 45 to 52.1: 7.1 miles)
I started power hiking up Oberg making my way to Moose. I had been here a couple times before so I
knew what to expect. I had my headlamp
on and it was starting to get pretty dark.
I had my headphones on for a while now and had been transitioning them
between my ears and my neck as I had actually been in a fair amount of traffic
up to this point and I didn’t want to be a menace out there and not hear people
coming to pass. During this stretch I
put them in and turned up some Pearl Jam and started singing some Even Flow
belting out the tune pretty loudly on the course. Good times.
When I really got to the climb up Moose there were two
groups of 100 milers and their pacers half way up the hill that had a tree we
had to climb over. It was awesome seeing
these guys out here surviving. They were
going to make it if they just kept moving forward. I climbed over the tree and kept moving on up
to the right up the stairs. Making it to
the ridgeline I wasn’t doing much running here.
Partly because I was pretty damn tired, but mostly because I knew that I
had enough time that if I just power hiked the entire way in I would make the
cutoff with time to spare. I didn’t want
to do anything stupid like catch a toe and fall or start cramping up with Mystery
still looming. Going across the
ridgeline was fine, but I had to make my way down the backside of moose. This ended up being one of the hardest things
to do the entire day. Really large drops
using only a headlamp made finding footing and handholds really difficult. The climb down seemed to take forever but
eventually it bottomed out and I knew there was one last climb left.
There were multiple 50 milers and groups of 100 milers and
their pacers all making their way up the switchback going up Mystery. It was really cool looking up the hill and
see all these trails of lights moving up the hill. I passed a few of the 100 milers on the way
up the hill and gave words of encouragement to these warriors. They were always super positive and give it
back which is still so awesome. These
guys were out here for 36 hours at this point and they are telling me good
job. This sport is just filled with
awesome people it is a joy to share with.
I made my way up Mystery and knew I still had plenty of work
to do. By this point it was getting
pretty cold and I was coughing pretty badly.
But I had plenty of time and just kept on hiking down the back side of
Mystery so I didn’t focus on it. This
section took longer than I have ever taken, but it was pitch black, and I was
over 50 miles in at this point and didn’t want to do anything stupid, so I just
took it easy and waited to hear that glorious Poplar river.
I shut my headphones off and shortly after I could hear the
rushing sound out of the woods. I couldn’t even really begin to process what I
was feeling at this point. I had stood on that bridge not even 24 hours before
with serious stomach pain and even more serious doubts in my head about what
the hell I was doing. Finally making it
out the other side and up and onto the pavement I was running my way in. I have no idea what pace I was doing but I
was running home. Making my way around
the lodges I caught Brandon and Courtney on the corner who were shocked to see
me come by. I heard my name over the
speakers and saw Storkamp waiting for me with a handshake and a medal.
I saw Courtney and was pretty delirious. She was asking what I needed and I didn’t
know. I had no plan for the end of the
race. I just decided to sit down for the
first time in over 16 hours and figure it out.
Everyone had stayed around to see me come in which was awesome. Being able to talk with everyone after the
race was a blast. We shared war stories
for a bit and then made our way up to the room so I could take a well needed
shower.
13 Post-Race and Recovery
After a nice shower washing immense amounts of mud off of
myself I ate some pizza and drank a bunch of water. Reids family stopped by and we talked a bunch
while they hung out with super trooper Peter.
I put myself to bed shortly after as no partying was going on that
night. We made our way home the
following day with no major issues. I
was sore getting out of cars but no major issues and the stomach pain for now
has seemed to subside. Yay
Prilosec?
This was the hardest thing I have ever done physically and
mentally. I was on the course for 15.5
hours about 7 hours longer than any of my other races to date. I hit some pretty large lows (mud up near
Cramer) but followed them with some really nice highs (running with
determination on the way to Oberg).
14 Things Learned
- - Mental is about 10x as important as physical. This isn’t anything new, but it has never been tested like this for me before.
- - Never think about the big picture. Only focus on what you can do in the moment because that is all you can control anyway. Aid station to aid station. Small chunks you can bite off.
- - Make sure to have enough Perpetuum for the entire race. I had no issues when I was eating this and it was plenty appetizing for the duration. I just wish I had it all day long.
- - Try to run more. I mentally try to save myself for the climbs, but the hill repeats have gotten me to a place where my body is prepared for them and I don’t need to save as much. I can spend more energy on the flats.
- - When walking up hills, alternate positions and keep the steps as short as possible. Always look for a way to walk around big steps even if it means taking more steps or a larger distance.
15 Results
- - 15:31:15 total time on course.
- - 18:38 min/mile pace
- - I finished 91/107 overall.
- - 185 people registered for the 50M so a whole lot of people DNF’ed. About a 60% finishing rate.
