100.11 Miles, 20:56:08, 12:32 Pace
Pictures: http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0AauHLJy1cNGLkY
A few first's this week: my first 100 mile week, first ultra-running stage race and a 50 Mile PR (10:14:13, old was 11:58:00); now the details!
Mindy and I arrived in Mountain View, AR Thursday around 4:30 pm, checked into our cabin (Sylamore Lodges, HIGHLY RECOMMENDED) and went to the Race Headquarters about 8 miles away to pick up our packets. We got there and Steve and his family were still unpacking and getting everything set up. We offered to come back but they were more than happy to drop what they were doing and check us in; from there we went to town to get our groceries and then back to the cabin to rest up for the weekend.
Friday 50K
Woke up Friday morning ready to get down to business. It was a 9:00 am start so we got to sleep in a bit, got up around 7:00 am got my stuff together and we headed down to Blanchard Springs Race Headquarters. It was much different than the day before, the parking lot was full and everyone was getting ready for the race. It was rather chilly (low 30's) so we stayed in the car until about 8:50 am to keep warm. We then ventured over to the start line where I spotted some fellow SLUGs. Jerry and I chatted a little, he asked me how I was feeling and I told him that I felt good but to ask me the same question tomorrow!
After some last minute race instructions Steve announced the start of the race and we were off. We all started the climb out of Blanchard Springs and onto the trail. There was a strong field of runners there as the Montrail Team had sent 3 women and one male to make it interesting; of course Paul was also there to try and reclaim his title. This race used much of the same trail as the Sylamore 50K 3 weeks ago so I was somewhat familiar with the terrain. I felt good as I arrived at the mile 9.5 aid station but found out there that we had a 12 mile out and back with an unmanned aid station at the turn (6 miles in). No problem, chatted with Mindy a bit, loaded up on water and a few M&M's and I was off still feeling pretty good. It seemed longer than 6 miles (come to find out it was actually 7.5 miles or 15 total out and back) and as I reached the turn halfway through the race my appetite started waning and I was feeling a bit off. I filled my bottles, took some quick gulps and headed back towards the 21.5 mile aid station. Since the temperature was relatively low my plan was to take one Succeed Cap (salt/electrolyte capsules) per hour which I thought would be sufficient to keep me in balance but figured out later this wasn't enough. As I arrived at mile 21.5 Mindy was there to fill my water bottles and provide some encouraging words. I told her I wasn't feeling so great and wasn't sure why; I left and things went downhill rather quickly from there. My appetite was completely gone and I was feeling very queasy; as I rolled into the mile 25.7 aid station I felt like I was going to be sick. I filled my water bottle and was off again walking a bit to pull myself together. About a mile later it hit me and I started vomiting as I walked, it was all water and I knew that I only had a few miles left. Diana (Montrail Women's Team Member) passed me as I was getting sick and shouted to me that we were almost finished; I wiped my face off with my sleeve and began to run again in short spurts just to get it finished. The trail kept winding around but finally started it's descent into Blanchard Springs. I emerged from the woods and heard Mindy screaming, "GO DIDDY!" and jumping around in excitement. This gave me the strength that I needed and I ran to the finish feeling bad but glad to be done. I needed to figure out what I had done wrong so I sought out Steve the race director to pick his brain. I told him what happened and he took one look at me (I was covered in salt) and said "You need to take more salt no question about it!" For some reason (I'm still an ultra-newbie) I thought I was taking too much salt and figured that was what was making me sick so I stopped taking the S-Caps all together once I started feeling bad; this made it worse! I then began to repair for the next day's 50 miler and took some post-race recovery drink, 4 salt caps over the next couple of hours and replenished my vitamins. We headed back to the cabin to eat and rest up for the next day's race.
Saturday 50 Mile
It was an early one, 6:00 am start! I got up at 4:30 am feeling very achy and nervous; actually I'll admit it I was a bit scared. My only other 50 Mile race was last year at Berryman and it was ugly; 11 hours and 58 minutes, 93 degree weather and I was sick almost the entire second half (dehydration and lack of salt, you think I would have remembered this when I was having issues Friday). It was still quite dark outside when we arrived at the race start and again we sat in the car until about 5:50 am. With our flashlights on and ready Steve gave some last minute instructions and then we took off into the darkness. I was following the group and we all headed up the fire road missing the turn onto the trail. As we headed up we saw a few lights below and wondered who would be out besides us in the dark that early, turns out it was the leaders and they were the only ones who followed the trail correctly. As we ventured up the hill we finally came to a T and figured out something was wrong, Steve the RD drove up and said we had all missed the turn so we started back finally getting on the trail. After being on the trail a bit we started passing people who had not missed the turn, I saw Lee and Carol and we said hello and exchanged encouragments and then I met up with Jerry, Stewart and I believe the woman's name was Jen. I walked with them a bit and chatted but then started to run a little more, on a 50 miler you run when you can so I figured I would follow suit. About 10 miles into the course, yesterday's winner passed me. Then Paul Schoenlaub and David passed me and I asked Paul what was going on. He explained the mix-up that happened in the beginning but said he was excited about being able to chat up everyone as he made his way back to the lead; GO FIGURE : ) I then ran alone for a long while looking forward to seeing Mindy at the 23 mile aid station and to be half finished.
Arrived at the aid station, handed Mindy my water bottle and quickly ran to the bathroom to take care of business. I emerged a new man feeling great and ready for the next 27 miles. Mindy asked me about my salt intake (I had been taking 2 an hour and felt great) and suggested that I eat a potato which I did. I also grabbed some peppermints and started on my way. I knew I would see Mindy again at aid station 31, 37, 47 and the finish; that definitely helped keep my spirit up! As I ran alone through the woods with Pink Floyd playing in my Nano I was truly having an out of body experience; words cannot express how absolutely beautiful the surroundings were as I floated effortlessy along. To be honest the next 20 or so miles were relatively uneventful; I fell and cut my hand and knee (had to once this weekend, right?), got to see Mindy at each aid station and just continued taking my salt caps every 1 hour. I met up with Diana again at around mile 41 and decided to run it in with her at a pace that would insure a finish, I knew that a lot can happen in the last few miles from my Berryman experience. We reached the 47 mile aid station and Mindy told us that the nearest woman was only 3 minutes ahead; Diana really wanted to give chase and take 3rd place so I told her I'd stick with her to help her push to the finish. Mindy also mentioned that it was all downhill so I knew it would be an awesome experience as we barreled down the rocky terrain. We were flying but still didn't see anyone, then with about 1 mile left I spotted the other woman and told Diana we may have a shot but that we'd have to make up at least 1/4 mile and we were running out of time; she really kicked it in gear but so did they as the finish neared. We emerged from the woods and begin our sprint across the campgrounds covering the last 1/3 mile. They were just up ahead but as the finish line came into view we knew they had us by about 10 seconds; oh well a good time of 10:14 and more importantly I felt great! In fact after I crossed the finish line a woman teased me about looking totally rested and suggested that I go back out; NO THANKS! Glad to be done and feeling good. I chatted with Mindy a bit as she shared my excitement, showered there at the campground and then went back to the finish to cheer in the other runners. I had taken 24 Succeed caps during the race and had no salt caked on my body; lesson learned!
Sunday, 20K
Mindy is actually going to write the race report for this race. She was an amazing partner, volunteer and crew member this weekend; without her I couldn't have finished. She cooked, cleaned, rubbed my feet, kept my gear in order, everything; I think I may have had the easier job of the two of us! For this reason I wanted to run the entire race with her on Sunday and cross the finish line together. She was a bit nervous for the race as she hasn't done much running in the past year and this was about the farthest distance she's ever run especially on a technical trail like this. I'll let her take it from there.
What an amazing weekend! My love and passion for running has been renewed, it's a lot better when you don't feel like you're going to die when you finish. We met some amazing people, Steve and his family put on a great event and Mindy and I got to share some great moments together; not to mention the surroundings were absolutely amazing!
Put it on your calendar for next year!
Carey
A few first's this week: my first 100 mile week, first ultra-running stage race and a 50 Mile PR (10:14:13, old was 11:58:00); now the details!
Mindy and I arrived in Mountain View, AR Thursday around 4:30 pm, checked into our cabin (Sylamore Lodges, HIGHLY RECOMMENDED) and went to the Race Headquarters about 8 miles away to pick up our packets. We got there and Steve and his family were still unpacking and getting everything set up. We offered to come back but they were more than happy to drop what they were doing and check us in; from there we went to town to get our groceries and then back to the cabin to rest up for the weekend.
Friday 50K
Woke up Friday morning ready to get down to business. It was a 9:00 am start so we got to sleep in a bit, got up around 7:00 am got my stuff together and we headed down to Blanchard Springs Race Headquarters. It was much different than the day before, the parking lot was full and everyone was getting ready for the race. It was rather chilly (low 30's) so we stayed in the car until about 8:50 am to keep warm. We then ventured over to the start line where I spotted some fellow SLUGs. Jerry and I chatted a little, he asked me how I was feeling and I told him that I felt good but to ask me the same question tomorrow!
After some last minute race instructions Steve announced the start of the race and we were off. We all started the climb out of Blanchard Springs and onto the trail. There was a strong field of runners there as the Montrail Team had sent 3 women and one male to make it interesting; of course Paul was also there to try and reclaim his title. This race used much of the same trail as the Sylamore 50K 3 weeks ago so I was somewhat familiar with the terrain. I felt good as I arrived at the mile 9.5 aid station but found out there that we had a 12 mile out and back with an unmanned aid station at the turn (6 miles in). No problem, chatted with Mindy a bit, loaded up on water and a few M&M's and I was off still feeling pretty good. It seemed longer than 6 miles (come to find out it was actually 7.5 miles or 15 total out and back) and as I reached the turn halfway through the race my appetite started waning and I was feeling a bit off. I filled my bottles, took some quick gulps and headed back towards the 21.5 mile aid station. Since the temperature was relatively low my plan was to take one Succeed Cap (salt/electrolyte capsules) per hour which I thought would be sufficient to keep me in balance but figured out later this wasn't enough. As I arrived at mile 21.5 Mindy was there to fill my water bottles and provide some encouraging words. I told her I wasn't feeling so great and wasn't sure why; I left and things went downhill rather quickly from there. My appetite was completely gone and I was feeling very queasy; as I rolled into the mile 25.7 aid station I felt like I was going to be sick. I filled my water bottle and was off again walking a bit to pull myself together. About a mile later it hit me and I started vomiting as I walked, it was all water and I knew that I only had a few miles left. Diana (Montrail Women's Team Member) passed me as I was getting sick and shouted to me that we were almost finished; I wiped my face off with my sleeve and began to run again in short spurts just to get it finished. The trail kept winding around but finally started it's descent into Blanchard Springs. I emerged from the woods and heard Mindy screaming, "GO DIDDY!" and jumping around in excitement. This gave me the strength that I needed and I ran to the finish feeling bad but glad to be done. I needed to figure out what I had done wrong so I sought out Steve the race director to pick his brain. I told him what happened and he took one look at me (I was covered in salt) and said "You need to take more salt no question about it!" For some reason (I'm still an ultra-newbie) I thought I was taking too much salt and figured that was what was making me sick so I stopped taking the S-Caps all together once I started feeling bad; this made it worse! I then began to repair for the next day's 50 miler and took some post-race recovery drink, 4 salt caps over the next couple of hours and replenished my vitamins. We headed back to the cabin to eat and rest up for the next day's race.
Saturday 50 Mile
It was an early one, 6:00 am start! I got up at 4:30 am feeling very achy and nervous; actually I'll admit it I was a bit scared. My only other 50 Mile race was last year at Berryman and it was ugly; 11 hours and 58 minutes, 93 degree weather and I was sick almost the entire second half (dehydration and lack of salt, you think I would have remembered this when I was having issues Friday). It was still quite dark outside when we arrived at the race start and again we sat in the car until about 5:50 am. With our flashlights on and ready Steve gave some last minute instructions and then we took off into the darkness. I was following the group and we all headed up the fire road missing the turn onto the trail. As we headed up we saw a few lights below and wondered who would be out besides us in the dark that early, turns out it was the leaders and they were the only ones who followed the trail correctly. As we ventured up the hill we finally came to a T and figured out something was wrong, Steve the RD drove up and said we had all missed the turn so we started back finally getting on the trail. After being on the trail a bit we started passing people who had not missed the turn, I saw Lee and Carol and we said hello and exchanged encouragments and then I met up with Jerry, Stewart and I believe the woman's name was Jen. I walked with them a bit and chatted but then started to run a little more, on a 50 miler you run when you can so I figured I would follow suit. About 10 miles into the course, yesterday's winner passed me. Then Paul Schoenlaub and David passed me and I asked Paul what was going on. He explained the mix-up that happened in the beginning but said he was excited about being able to chat up everyone as he made his way back to the lead; GO FIGURE : ) I then ran alone for a long while looking forward to seeing Mindy at the 23 mile aid station and to be half finished.
Arrived at the aid station, handed Mindy my water bottle and quickly ran to the bathroom to take care of business. I emerged a new man feeling great and ready for the next 27 miles. Mindy asked me about my salt intake (I had been taking 2 an hour and felt great) and suggested that I eat a potato which I did. I also grabbed some peppermints and started on my way. I knew I would see Mindy again at aid station 31, 37, 47 and the finish; that definitely helped keep my spirit up! As I ran alone through the woods with Pink Floyd playing in my Nano I was truly having an out of body experience; words cannot express how absolutely beautiful the surroundings were as I floated effortlessy along. To be honest the next 20 or so miles were relatively uneventful; I fell and cut my hand and knee (had to once this weekend, right?), got to see Mindy at each aid station and just continued taking my salt caps every 1 hour. I met up with Diana again at around mile 41 and decided to run it in with her at a pace that would insure a finish, I knew that a lot can happen in the last few miles from my Berryman experience. We reached the 47 mile aid station and Mindy told us that the nearest woman was only 3 minutes ahead; Diana really wanted to give chase and take 3rd place so I told her I'd stick with her to help her push to the finish. Mindy also mentioned that it was all downhill so I knew it would be an awesome experience as we barreled down the rocky terrain. We were flying but still didn't see anyone, then with about 1 mile left I spotted the other woman and told Diana we may have a shot but that we'd have to make up at least 1/4 mile and we were running out of time; she really kicked it in gear but so did they as the finish neared. We emerged from the woods and begin our sprint across the campgrounds covering the last 1/3 mile. They were just up ahead but as the finish line came into view we knew they had us by about 10 seconds; oh well a good time of 10:14 and more importantly I felt great! In fact after I crossed the finish line a woman teased me about looking totally rested and suggested that I go back out; NO THANKS! Glad to be done and feeling good. I chatted with Mindy a bit as she shared my excitement, showered there at the campground and then went back to the finish to cheer in the other runners. I had taken 24 Succeed caps during the race and had no salt caked on my body; lesson learned!
Sunday, 20K
Mindy is actually going to write the race report for this race. She was an amazing partner, volunteer and crew member this weekend; without her I couldn't have finished. She cooked, cleaned, rubbed my feet, kept my gear in order, everything; I think I may have had the easier job of the two of us! For this reason I wanted to run the entire race with her on Sunday and cross the finish line together. She was a bit nervous for the race as she hasn't done much running in the past year and this was about the farthest distance she's ever run especially on a technical trail like this. I'll let her take it from there.
What an amazing weekend! My love and passion for running has been renewed, it's a lot better when you don't feel like you're going to die when you finish. We met some amazing people, Steve and his family put on a great event and Mindy and I got to share some great moments together; not to mention the surroundings were absolutely amazing!
Put it on your calendar for next year!
Carey
2 comments:
Hard core, man. Congrats!
-Mark S.
Thanks Mark! It was a lot more fun and less "work" than I thought it would be.
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