Dances With Dirt Gnawbone 50 Mile (Part 2)

On race morning, I woke up at 4:00am, and started my usual counter intuitive pre-race routine of taking a shower (loosens me up a little I think), had a cup of coffee, and ate my a race morning breakfast of a few cashews, a small bowl of corn flakes and banana.  The race start was at 6:15am so after rounding up all of my gear I had Katie drive me down to the race start at Mike's Dance Barn on SR 46 on the way to Nashville.

After our arrival at 5:30am, right after the early 50 mile start we milled around for a bit and I used the facilities and chatted with a few fellow runners.  One guy had told his wife he was going to work and driven straight through the night from Michigan to come to the ultra trail race instead.  Wow.  I appreciate Katie.  I did have one well timed discussion with another runner who clued me in to the fact that there would be ALL flavors of GU at the aid stations every 4 to 5 miles for the 50 milers.  This was great news as I promptly unloaded all but 8 of my "belt gels".

Race Start

Time flew by and it seemed like I didn't even wait for the pre-race meeting and gathering for the 6:15 start.  Unlike usual, I squeezed into the back of the starting corral and avoided the front since I had decided my first 50 miler shouldn't begin with an especially aggressive start.  I got a kiss from Katie for good luck and then waited.  We started with no gun, and began running with just barely light conditions.

The start was actually very calm punctuated by a little nervous and excited energy amongst the runners.  Since the 50k was on the same course, there were plenty of us in the pack that quickly turned from grassy field to gravel road and eventually horse trail.

Ultra Course: Pink Line (Two Loops of the upper half)

 

It became gradually muddier as we climbed and I found myself dodging all over to avoid wet shoes.  Luckily, the warm conditions over the past few days had dried up the worst of the horse trail.  It was still pock marked with inches deep mud but at least didn't immediately soak my shoes.

At this point the sky was partially cloudy and the temperature hovering around 60.  Perfect!  The trail was suitably wide but still the traffic jam was apparent in the back where I was at and I did get a little irritated knowing that I would be completely unaware of who the front running 50 mile runners were.  The mysterious front pack made things fun for me later, however, so that was fine.  I got to chat with quite a few runners on the way uphill so I stayed relaxed.

Finally after 5 miles or so we left horse mess trail (and steady climb) for the BCSP trails.  A group of runners tucked in behind me and I talked blindly to them from the front for a while.  When I asked where everyone was from, I heard two say they were from Bloomington, and saw that a young couple was behind me.  I recalled only two names from the pre-registration list from Bloomington, a couple (I assumed) with the last name Potter running the 50k.  There was only one other local runner I never saw, also running the 50k, and no local runners in the 50 mile.  I guessed who they were and ended up running with them and chatting for at least the next 10 miles, keeping me relaxed and running at an easy conversation pace.  This was such good luck, we got to have a nice time talking and I kept my inclination to "hammer it" at bay for just a little longer.  At both the Hoosier's Nest and Ogle Lake aid stations I also was greeted by Katie cheering me on and the Potters congratulated her on our upcoming wedding, which she got a kick out of I am sure.  I don't usually make that much conversation during a race!

Team Potter and I

I ended up slipping off at an aid station and starting the strategy I wanted to stick with for the remainder of the race at around mile 20.  First, begin to pick up the overall pace for a negative split and hopefully strong finish.  Second, walk the steepest hills to conserve energy, and stride out on the flats just slightly faster than what I felt like I should run to make up time.  This mostly went as planned until I caught a number of other 50 milers and a pack of us second guessed a turn down by the lake, and then ended up with at least ten people running backward, then the wrong way, then back the same way again until we eventually saw the elusive pink flag.

Speaking of the sometimes well hidden pink flags, these were one of the defining features of this course. Some were strangely spaced, others just plain led through off trail brush piles to create whatever inconvenience was possible.  But, this is what I signed up for!  After 50 miles, my mind was programmed to be searching constantly for them, and I actually dreamed about looking for pink flags while running that night.  If you've ever played a video game for an entire day, then had strange "in game" dreams you might know the feeling I'm talking about.

Soon after the lake the serious climbs begin as well.  These were the non-runnable climbs, from ridge bottom to ridge top in BCSP, anything from stairs to the nature center to flat out walls of land that had to be gripped with both hands down to climb.  There were four of these, and two loops of the BCSP section so therefore eight non-runnable climbs in all I think.  I loved it, some might not, especially if looking for a PR.  Finishing the section with all the climbs also meant descending onto more horse trail, and running through more off trail brush.

Throughout all this I kept my race long nutrition strategy (timed by my watch).  Every 30 minutes, whether I wanted it or not I forced down a GU.  Every hour, I had one or two endurolytes depending on how much I felt I was sweating.  I also made sure to finish my hand bottle of water before each aid station.  Early in the race I stuck with non-caffeinated GU and switched to more caffeine as the race went on.  I am convinced that going GU only was another key in having a great race, as I have thrown up at some point in almost every 5 hour or longer race I have ever participated in.

As I passed the drop bag point I made my one and only stop of the race.  An extremely helpful volunteer helped me get my drop bag, take off Lunar Racer 2 pair #1, and put on Lunar Racer 2 pair #2 and fresh socks.  My legs started tightening even just sitting for seconds, but it was definitely worth it.  Fresh shoes and socks felt great, partially because I definitely had some residual mud and water inside the first pair.

Coming into the final 20 miles, I had been passing a constant string of 50 milers, many who had started at 5:30am.  There were plenty to catch given my definite negative split as I had run the first 25 in well over 5 hours (can't remember exactly what it was, but I know it was over 5).  This was fun as I slowed for a bit to talk to most and then went on my way.  Around this time, however, and as the 50k runners disappeared after the cutoff at the 25 mile "decision point" things got quiet.  That's when I spent more time alone, and the mental state I would describe as "the hunter" began.

"The Hunter"

When you're out trail running alone, with just silence around you, your senses begin to sharpen and every sound, rustle, snap or fleeting glimpse of movement is processed by the mind.  In this case, I was looking for the elusive "next" runner, and I never knew when I might get a glimpse and make the catch.  This got more exciting when I passed a few more, and got some words of encouragement from the aid station.  "You're looking fresh, and you just made top ten.  The next guy is just a few minutes up, you'll catch him."  This was the sort of stuff I got from the aid station guys.  A lesson to be learned, when I thought about it.  If they are telling me this, they probably are passing this sort of information to the next guy too.  I made it my goal to always look really "fresh" and cheery to the aid station folks.

After I made 10th, my adrenaline likely sharpened my senses further, and I could feel how tuned in I was to the slightest flash of color or movement ahead, as my field of vision was tuned around bends in the trail and through the foliage, taking in every movement to spy my next "catch".  I also knew when I was spotted, and tried to make up tons of ground while still out of sight.  I think this must be the slow moving "game" of competitive trail running and I completely enjoyed it.

I found myself thinking of the slow moving "persistence" hunters in our ancestry, no doubt moving through the woods in pursuit of their prey and with keen senses detecting the unwitting meal's every move from afar.  I think the trendy ultra running writers are onto something here, because I felt like my mind acclimated a little too easily to this mode of operation.  I also know this "hunter" bit sounds ridiculous and will not talk about it again for a while.

Getaway

As I had said, I tried to cover ground quickly and catch the next runner.  But things work both ways.  Although I was never passed, I was "caught" several times.  By the time I hit 6th place, the aid station guys were telling me about a "mystery pack" of 2nd, 3rd, and 4th place and telling me they were only "5 minutes ahead".  I did finally make one final, and difficult catch.  I got fleeting glimpses of a runner ahead at several trail vantage points.  I finally caught him, and as soon as I slowed down, hesitated at a confusing flag, power hiked a steep hill, or got water at an aid station I was caught back.  Now from my description, this sounds awfully competitive but really was friendly, as I got to chat and run with Zach a little during all this back and forth.  I looked up all the of the the guys I finished around on ultrasignup.com and found out he's about my age and a great ultra runner.

I did finally make a break for it and charged a few hills, and then hammered after the climb to gain a hopefully insurmountable gap on the last horse trail.  I gained quite a bit but I was constantly pushing at every opportunity for the rest of the race thinking that Zach was likely to finish strong and catch me.  When I finally broke from the woods on top of what was once a Ski World slope I took several look backs going down the steep and rocky slope to see if he had come out of the woods.

I pushed very hard for the last five miles.  I can't be sure but I think I threw a sub 7 minute mile in there somewhere.  Ouch.  I did wish a little for ibuprofen around this time as I had pains sort of radiating from all directions of my knees at different intervals.  I definitely couldn't crash downhills at all.

My only regret from the last ten miles of the race is that I didn't push even harder through the campground section of the loop each time as it was very flat and fast.  It seemed like I had a lot more left than I thought.  The campground road really hurt my feet the last time through, and that dissuaded me a little.

Finish!

The last mile of this race felt great for sore feet, but was also just ridiculous.  The flags were placed to encourage running entirely "in" the creek from the slope bottom to the dance barn, and I definitely did.  I emerged from the creek, almost couldn't believe I was actually looking at the finish line, and ran a fast and strong 2oo meters, and also sprayed a little celebration water from my hand bottle as I saw Jeanette (my sister who came to see the finish) and Katie.

I got immediate results after crossing the line, 5th overall and 1st in age group.  The next guy had fallen off the 2,3,4 pack I was chasing and was only a minute earlier.  I saved a salty kiss for Katie, filled up a dixie cup of beer, and walked down to the icy creek to get my legs some relief.  I talked to the 4th guy (Matt, also in the creek) for a bit and really just enjoyed not having to run anymore.

I found out the winner, Josh Wopata ran away from everyone with a time of 8:31:50, only a minute or two off of Scott Breeden's course record (well, if the course changes can there even be a course record?).

Of the almost one hundred (I heard varying numbers) of actual registered starting 50 milers, only 33 finished. According to the results I believe there were more than few that opted for the 50k cutoff and a number of DNFs.

I forgot to stop my watch so I thought I was at 9:44 but my time turned out to be 9:41:56.  I really had no time goal (or idea of what I could do or how I should race) so I was very happy with how things went.  I ran a conservative and mostly sociable race, followed my nutrition plan, executed well, and finished very strong at the end of my first 50 miler.  I also feel fortunate to have had one day of perfect weather sandwiched between a week of hot humid and then cold rain this week.

Overall, even with the non-runnable climbs, confusing turns, horse mud, bushwhacking, and ski slopes. this course is made up of some of very enjoyable trails.  Although very slow, the course is not "as bad" as one might think and the aid stations were excellent.  I would actually recommend it to another first time 50 miler provided they had logged some time on the trails around here.

I could sum up this race by mostly just being thankful.  I'm thankful for great weather, fiance race support, a nice group of runners to race with, a cheap race (considering) of $69 (including DWD camping chair, BBQ meal after, free local beer, technical shirt, running hat, great aid stations), a great injury free spring of training, and no blisters!.  Oh, and I'm thankful for 2x GU.

Blister Free!  Thanks Balega!

Lunar Racer 2 Soles, Foot Soles: Both Held Up

Ice Bath

My Nurse