Marshall Mangler 50k 2015 Race Recap

31 miles, over 4500 feet of gain, and one hell of a good time!

I woke up at 3:45 AM and had a big glass of water, a banana, and toast with Wild Friends Chocolate Coconut Peanut Butter. Oh man is that stuff gold!  I headed out the door to pick Alyssa up with a mixer bottle in hand filled of one serving UCan superstarch and 3/4 serving of Hammer vegan protein powder, which I started drinking at 5:00 AM.
 

The Trail Family

We were the first runners to arrive. We got hoodies and pre-registration goodies including gloves and a mug with the Marshall Mangler logo.  Around 6:15 I downed another serving of UCan. People were starting to trickle in. We checked our race packs to make sure we had everything. Alyssa offered me a packet of pickle juice. I accepted and tucked it into a front pouch and forgot about it. We set our drop bags in the designated area and put everything else in the car. It was 10 minutes to start and looking around the room I was surprised to see very few people.  5 minutes to the start and we went out to the line. Still there was only a few people! Was this it? No. People started filing in from the parking lot. All said we had a small field of less than 30 when the race started.


The 50k race started at 7AM. Temperatures were in the upper 30's with a good breeze. The first 5 miles were comprised of the orange loop around the golf course, a very runnable loop.  I was happily moving along at a pace in the 11's. At around 1.5-2 miles in I came around a turn in the trail to hear some intense screaming and crying.  One of the front runners had taken a fall on the roots and rocks and lacerated her leg! A number of people had already stopped with her and were calling 911 for help.  There was ample help so I continued on.

At the Pigeon Aid station I caught up to Lamar​ and we spent the next 18 miles or so running together, pacing each other by switching of lead.  The first 5 miles of the red-blue trail have some good climbs and our pace dropped to around 12:00 all the way up to the Wisconsin Shelter Aid Station around mile 10-11. From there we were able to modestly increase speed.

The next loop of the course went well..at first.  At mile 16 at the Pigeon Aid Station a volunteer dug my last serving of UCan out, a 5 ounce soft flask of which I drank on trail over the next 5 minutes. I also had a peanut butter and jelly sandwich square and a small handful of pringles before leaving the aid station. The pace had slowed down just a little bit, but I was still running strong . That is until around mile 23.  I had neglected hydration and the Ucan I had taken wore off leaving my blood sugar low.  Bonk! I was in trouble. The first 23 miles I had only drank around 30 ounces of water. I began walking because I simply couldn't run and felt my legs starting to cramp.

Realizing my mistake I started drinking water, took a salt cap, and had some Honey Stinger chews. After two 20 minute miles I started feeling a little more human and by this time I had arrived at the Wisconsin aid station where I met up with Lisa (aka Coach Cupcake)​, who graciously volunteered to run the last 7 with me. We slowly left the aid station and made our way along the trail, my legs threatening to cramp up when ever I tried to push so I just let myself run comfortably and took many walking breaks.

I stopped to let some runners by and then remembered the packet of pickle juice from Alyssa. Let's see if this stuff can help at all.  I downed that puppy and almost immediately felt my legs ease up. Within a mile or so I was back at it with some gusto. My feet felt battered with every footstrike, but Lisa kept me moving like she was a cowboy and I a cow, coaxing me forward when I walked too long. Coming up the big climb at mile 28 with 260 feet of gain I was running more and more, stopping less and less.  Then came the mostly flats and downhills. The pounding of the downs really were crushing my feet. The trail here is loaded with rock and I was wincing with each footfall by the end of mile 30.

It was up the damn oil line hill one more time, cursing it the whole way and then an easy decent down the bathtub trail, appropriately named for the bathtub on the side of the trail. Lisa kept saying " Go!, Go!" To which I finally replied "I'm gonna!" and took off down the final 0.3 miles at an 8:30 pace. Gotta love the downhills with soft, forgiving trail underfoot.

I was happy to see Lamar waiting to see me cross the finish.  Then it was inside for some Hammer Recoverite, food, and rest before moseying out just in time to catch Alyssa tearing down the final hill!

The Marshall Mangler closed out my 2015 race year.  It has been one hell of a year for me running. I ran 3 marathons and 3 ultras including two 50ks and my first 50 miler. Over the course of the year I had PR's in the mile and 5k (ok those first two were training runs),and also the marathon, and 50k. This race was a PR by a whopping 39:26!  This coming year will be a distance year with big goals of running both a 70 miler and 100 miler.

One Training Weekend to Rule Them All

This was peak week for Marshall Mangler training. This will be the last big week of training until next year. After the Mangler I will take some much needed rest and crosstraining time and begin to mentally prepare for the arduous training cycle ahead in 2016.

Wheeling

There is no shortage of reminders of a prosperous past

Tuesday, I worked on a site in West Virginia and due to downtime I had an extra long lunch and was able to squeeze 10 miles in along the Wheeling Heritage trail in an out and back. I was still a bit sore from Sunday's 21 miler, but I got it done and felt good doing so. The Wheeling Heritage trail is a little over 10 miles long and all asphalt.  I started at mile zero and went out to 5 and back.  The first 2 miles passed a snuff factory, the smell of their product filling the air. A short jaunt up the trail and one finds himself smack in the middle of a sewage treatment facility with the trail bisecting the property. After this was a scenic stretch in downtown Wheeling. This was the highlight of the first 5 miles of the trail and also had public restrooms and water fountains.  I hope to explore the second half sometime and I hope it offers more.

All in all I'm just a runner in the wall

Wednesday I took a 2 1/2 mile run in Luna sandals around the roads near work.  I have to say the sandals felt great. I ran gravel and grass on the sides of the road when possible and they seemed to handle all types of terrain well. I am looking forward to more runs in these "flip flops".

Thursday I ran 5 miles in Oakmont and Verona. I tested out the new Hulton Bridge. It works! I got over the river dry!

North Park

After a rest day Friday it was time to get real. Real real. Extra real with real realness in every bite. ahhh..you get it.  I woke up at 2:40 AM, stumbled towards the espresso machine and turned it on. Soon I was out the door and driving to North Park. I arrived around 3:40 and managed to get 1 mile of road in before Lamar arrived to start our pre-dawn run. We began with the Orange loop around the golf course.  A few miles in and I had to make like a bear does in the forest,  more precisely that big, blue Charmin bear.

Trailrunning Tip of the Day:  Always pack some TP!

We made it back to the cars right around 5:15 when we met Lori. This was Lori's second trail run and she had decided to come out into the forest in darkness and hoof it out for an hour or two with us! Brave girl. We ran the red-blue up to the Wisconsin Shelter. We took our time navigating the ankle twisting, rocky sections with care and crossed the road from Wisconsin to the Red trail and followed it back down to the road.  Lori parted ways at that point with 6 or 7 trail miles under her belt before the sun had cared to rise.  From here Lamar and I took the pipeline climb towards Pigeon Shelter and came back around to meet Lisa just as the sky was starting to show color.

From here we ran a complete loop of Red-Blue to Red along the Marshall Mangler course route.  There were plenty of deer and the weather was beautiful for running. The trees were in full color and the trails were covered with the fallen hands of their brethren.

After reaching the cars Lamar and Lisa headed out and I put in 4 more miles at around a 9:30 pace. I was surprised to be able to hold that after such a long run. All said and done this training run was 26.2 miles in 5:45 with over 3400 feet of gain. Afterwards Tara and I met up with friends for an after noon at Phipps Conservatory and for Japanese/Korean at Oishii Bento in Oakland.  So. Damn.Good.

Lisa gave me a pack of Ucan generation to try out.  I will be picking up a pack or two for the mangler.  In 26 miles I had a little under 100 calories of tailwind in my water, one pack of Ucan in water, and a few Honey Stinger chews. With so little I still felt surprisingly strong for the nearly 6 hours out there.

EQT 10 Miler

Most of the EQT Runderful Crew

Sunday arrived and I was up at 5 AM to get ready for the EQT 10 miler race.  I hadn't planned on racing it after Saturday's huge run.  Just getting out there and enjoying the morning with friends and getting my training miles in was the goal. My legs certainly were sore still. I donned my costume and drove down to Station Square to meet up with Lisa, my race partner, and the rest of the awesome SCRR and Runderful squad. Lisa was dressed as a nerd and I went as The Doctor, which arguably could be said a nerd too. I figured on trying to hold around a 10 pace, but likely ending up walking much of the race. As long as we could stay ahead of the 15:00 mark we were good as gold.

The gun went off and we began the small climb towards the West End Bridge.  At mile 1 I was surprised to see we had a 9:30 pace and my legs were loosening up. In the back of my head was the thought that this would be the opportune time for a tempo run if my body was in good enough shape to safely pull it off. Aid Station 1 was a little after mile 2 and our awesome friends Suzanne (AKA Wonder Woman) and Lori were volunteering. Selfies and water and hugs were had. Mid-race hugs should be at every race!


We began picking up the pace dropping into the sub 9's and I felt good still. What the hell!?  I asked Lisa what her course PR was. She said around a 8:24 pace.  I looked at my garmin and crunched the numbers.  I asked her if she wanted to go for a PR and said it was still possible in that we weren't too far off pace wise. We began modestly accelerating and I think it is safe to say neither of us really felt it too bad until maybe the last 2 miles. That said, we were not going to get Lisa a PR on that day and both of us could care less.  We ran a much faster race than either had anticipated. Lisa recovering from the Chicago Marathon and me from a long training run.

 All said and done we finished with a pace of 8:38 per mile. I don't know if it was the bow tie or the sonic screwdriver or maybe the fez, but it felt like a miracle in it's own small way.

At the finish volunteers were ushering us to keep moving after the finish line. I did not know until shortly after why. Lisa asked if I saw the guy being treated by medical personnel. I hadn't.  She did. They were giving a man CPR. Unfortunately the end of this story is not a happy one.

My sincerest sympathies to the family and friends of Michael Kovacic.

If there is a lesson to be learned it is this: Life is short and one never knows how short it may be. Love those around you, care for yourself and others, and seize the day.  Don't put off showing your love to the world because in the end that is what we leave behind. The care and love we bring to the world is what is immortal in us and it is the best we have to offer. 

 

Hell Hath No Hurry 50k Race Recap : Poseidon's Revenge

After months of training and two marathons this year it was time for the final Marathon Maniacs qualifying race: The Hell Hath No Hurry 50k in Settler's Cabin Park near Pittsburgh. It was a nice,cool morning even at 10:00 AM when the 50k started.  Nice and cool because it had been and still was raining like mad.  Here was the forecast for the day:

The course is laps around a 10k loop. I had 5 laps to complete and ample time to do so....at least it seemed like ample time. The weather conditions made even that hard pressed. There were two aid stations on the course.   The main one being at the start/finish line and another roughly halfway through the loop.

The 50 milers (bless them, the brave souls) started at 6 AM and the 10k group started at 8AM.  By the time we hit the course it had been trampled to mush. A few of the long downhills were particularly treacherous.  All I could do was carefully inch my way down or point my feet downhill and crouch like a skier and let the mud carry me.  I found it is much easier to run through the heavy mud than walk through it.  More force hitting the ground provided more traction.

All Trail Mud Pics courtesy of Alyssa C, the Wild Trail Turkey

 That being said, only 10-15% of the course was runnable.  Out of 31 miles I estimate less than 8 were ran. The rest was a back and forth between slogging mud and running short sections where the opportunity presented itself. On a favorable day 95% of the course is runnable.

With each lap the trail conditions deteriorated further. I was already feeling fairly tired when I finished the 2nd lap (12 miles in).  I approached the aid station for a refill on suppies.

The aid station volunteers were fantastic! They essentially crewed for each runner.  Coming out to meet me they took my bottle and refiled it with water and offered up an assortment of foods. There were donuts, pb&j sandwiches, pizza, watermelon, trail mix, gummy candies, pretzels, easy cheese, crackers, and more.  One of the awesome things about an ultra/trail race is the food. It is plentiful and wonderful.

After the aid station stop I saw John and Alyssa who were awaiting the 2PM start of the 30k race. We talked for a bit as I walked over to my gear to top off the Tailwind. Each lap I switched out soft flasks from a cooler.  One with Tailwind and one with water. Then I mixed up a batch of Tailwind for the next lap and put the soft flasks on ice. Unlike a road race I took my time at the aid stations without worry of the consequence of time.

Starting the 3rd loop I wasn't certain how I would fare being so tired and with so many miles left to go, but in these conditions the name of the game is simply constant forward progress no matter the pace. I decided to try and take my poles for this lap. They helped tremendously on the slick uphills, but I found them to be cumbersome and slow me down over the rest of the course. I did not take them with me after the 3rd loop.

Suprisingly, I started feeling a little better over this 6 mile stretch. It was short lived, but a nice respite, regardless.  Also, I started feeling muscles wanting to cramp. Keeping in mind this advice given to Pittsburgh Marathoners from Dr. Vonda Wright proved to be so useful:  [When you cramp (or in my case are on the verge of doing so) stop. Do not try to massage the cramp out. Instead apply pressure on the area until it subsides.]  Over the following 16 miles I used this technique many times and never once went into a full blown cramp/spasm.

End of the 3rd Loop - Me stuffing my face with a PB&J

 The 4th loop - Every loop this mud was getting worse.  There was a break in the rain which was welcome.  At this point I spent the remainder of the race mostly walking with less and less of the trail being runnable. The splits from here on out were mostly between 15:00 and 19:00 minute miles. I was more than content knowing this was sufficient to meet the cutoffs by about an hour.  These last12 miles I saw a lot of camaraderie out there.  I met a number of people along the way.  Julie, who was hurting from not fueling enough. I gave her a gel and we talked briefly. She told me how she couldn't quit because she told her children to always finish what they start.  What an inspiration and a role model! I logged a good bit of miles with a guy from the Air Guard who was running the 50 miler. I met a number of others along the way.  Most of us never asked each other's names. We were in it together and were all supportive of each other. There wasn't that competitive edge trying to get ahead. Just an urge for us all to come through it.

This condition was present over most of the course

Those late stages of a tough race really test you mentally as much as physically. The nonsense that streams through my head at these late mile moments! And the silliest things can pull you through. The theme song to Unbreakable Kimmie Schmidt was on repeat in my head for far too long, which then made me think of a bit of solid advice from the show. "You can deal with anything for 10 seconds. When the 10 seconds is up start on the next 10 seconds."  Don't think of the 10 miles to go when you have been slogging along for over 5 hours. Think only of what is immediate or as some say,  run the mile your in.

Approaching the Finish Line

I set out to run 3 marathon length events in 90 days to quaify for the Marathon Maniacs. Ultimately, I ran 2 marathons and a 50k in  54 days. I also realized that I can run a 50 miler. After running 31 miles with almost 5000 feet of gain through these conditions I have no doubt I can run 50 in good conditions. Looks like I'll have some plans for next year! But, for now I will rest and recoup. In 2 weeks training begins for a sub-4 hour attempt at the Akron Marathon and possibly a PR attempt on the 50k distance in November at the Marshall Mangler.

This finishes up my fundraising effort for the Epilepsy Foundation with a solid $900 raised! Thank you to everyone who donated!

It's Almost Hell Time!

We are just a few days away from the Hell Hath No Hurry 50k and I am feeling dem ole taper blues. I am also excited! Excited for the race and some quality time in the woods with friends! Excited for the Marathon Maniacs qualification! Excited for the next training cycle and getting back to big miles! So the dichotomy is alive and well. All at once I am happy and a bit sad, or should I say endorphin deprived?

The course is 10k loops. While this may bore some I am happy that I can set up my own personal aid station/drop bag along the course. A cooler with icy beverages, a chair, extra shoes, and a mini first aid kit are priorities on the list.

This will be my second ultra distance event. My A-goal is to finish under 6:45. The B-goal is under 7:30, and the C-goal is simply to finish. 

All the Run Foods!

Over the past few weeks I have been trying different nutrition products. Most recently I have been using Tailwind for long runs. I also used it at the God's Country Marathon.  True to their advertising, I found I could use solely Tailwind and come out of a long run in pretty good shape.  That said, at God's Country I think I mixed it too strong leading to excessive water retention. We live , we learn.  I plan to have pre-measured bags of Tailwind to add to my bottles for HHNH.

One of my favorite distance tasties has been Hammer Perpetuem Solids. They are not as sickeningly sweet as gels and have a good flavor.  Recently a friend of mine was moving and cleaning out her apartment. I was fortunate enough to be bequeathed a bag full of Hammer goodies. Recoverite, Perpetuem Solids, Perpetuem Powder, and Gels.  I likely will try a Perpetuem Powder on Saturday's race with Recoverite afterwards.

Thanks Coach Cupcake!

Training

Since God's Country Marathon was only 3 weeks before HHNH I took care in planning my training/taper out.  God's Country was the longest training run for the 50k. The following weekend I ran back to back 13 milers; one on road and one on trail. Overall the mileage was kept low and reducing week to week.  At the time of writing this the orange fields are actual mileage and white is what is to come. 

Taper madness has got me, but not for much longer! Packet pickup Friday and then a day full of nature and camaraderie! Vive la run!!

Train like a train

I'm 7 weeks into training with big race events on weeks 15,17,21, and week 24 wraps it all up with the Hell Hath No Hurry 50k trail race. I have logged about 170 miles in the first 6 weeks and am feeling good....hungry, but good.

I have been looking to get more involved in the local running community and as a step in that direction I've been pacing at the Steel City Road Runner's (SCRR) group runs for a few weeks. It's a great opportunity to help out an organization I love and to meet new running friends.

Two weekend's past the long run was the SCRR Half Marathon Training kickoff run. There was a great turnout. It didn't hurt that the weather was very nice for February in Pennsylvania. I led the 9:30 pace group for 10 miles. The route overlapped some sections of the Pittsburgh Marathon including the big hill climb from the Birmingham Bridge up Forbes into Oakland.  This is the hardest climb on the Marathon route. For us, it was 2-3 miles into our run. Race day it will be around mile 11. The weather was great and the run was mostly effortless. Gotta love those runs that click!

Last weekend I paced the 10:00 cool kids for 16 miles. Aside from entirely missing the turn onto Craig Street and subsequently 5th things went according to plan. Because of that little missed turn we had the pleasure of climbing the Bob O'Connor hill which had as much gain as the Birmingham-Forbes climb into Oakland, just in less distance. The slippery snow proved an extra challenge and by the end of the run I was squarely wiped out.

Training is on track and warmer weather is just around the corner, but until then I am missing my Sunday trail runs! C'mon Old Man Winter...we have had enough.

Fundraising began for the Epilepsy Foundation! As a person with Epilepsy, the Foundation's work has been very important in my life.  Epilepsy is very prevalent. Over 65 million people worldwide are diagnosed and 1 in 26 people in America will be diagnosed with Epilepsy at some point in their lives.

Donate at least $22 before March 3rd and get entered to win a rubber band! (and an iPad mini, but who cares...rubber band!!)

Get an iPad Mini and a Rubber Band

Please Go Here to check out my page and give anything you can. And now through March 3rd, if you give at least $22, you'll be entered to win an iPad Mini. You'll probably win. Click Here for all the contest rules. And if you have any questions please Email Us and we'll get back to you right away.

 

Getting it back via R&R

I started this post a while back and got busy and let it hang in limbo. So .........

After the Mangler 50k on Saturday smart recovery was at the top of my to do list. I'm still figuring out the best ways for my body to recover after a major endurance event.

Immediately after the race I like to mix a Vega recovery drink up and slam it down with a banana. I didn't have my Vega after this race and despite the tough run I had I finished feeling better than either of the two marathons I ran previously. I had energy and, aside from destroyed leg muscles, felt pretty darn good. So after the race I had a cup of chicken noodle soup and two slices of pizza, which were provided at the race. Carbs and some protein. Good recovery meal, right? I think I ate a CLIF bar on the way home too.

Before I left North Park I wrote Tara and told her I was done and coming home which means one thing...Indian meal! After each major race Tara has hooked us up with a gigantic spread of Indian food. I'm talking $50-60 worth for just the two of us. This is reason enough for me to run a race!

The next few days were spent eating and foam rolling and eating and stretching and eating and eating and ......eating. Also, at least 3 sessions of foam rolling a day.  Sunday I took a short walk on the treadmill, washed laundry, and knocked out the dusting and glass cleaning. Keeping moving really seems to help for a quicker recovery.

I had scheduled Monday off of work knowing that I'd probably need it. I dropped Tara off at work (we work together) and was surprised by my friend, and coworker, Nick. He had just moved and had a spinning bike that he offered up free of charge! We loaded it in my car and I headed home for a mostly relaxing day. Throughout the day I foam rolled and watched some quality TV; Walking Dead while taking a cool epsom salt bath and a whole lot of Doctor Who.  I also managed to clean the bathroom, sweep and mop floors, and finish laundry. Fairly productive rest day!

After that it was time to get going again. I had signed up for a 100 mile challenge. Run and/or walk 100 miles and the first 3 finishers would get a prize of an undisclosed nature. I began logging a lot of miles walking and started tracking my walking at work. There was a bit of light running as well with a 14 miler in the city one week after the Mangler and more than a few shorter runs.

100 miles in 10 days and a solid 3rd place finish! After this effort I will be ramping down for the remainder of the year taking a break until January 5th when 9 months of training starts for the Pine Creek Challenge 100k!

Taking a break means something different to runners than most I think. For me it is planning about 20-25 miles per week with all easy effort runs. No tempo, no speedwork, no farteks (hee hee ha ha ho ho, I said fartlek). I also got a gym membership at planet fitness so there will be plenty of crosstraining, stretching, and foam rolling. A break from challenging running.

The next post will feature an interview with Queenie Zook, one of the creators of the Doctor Who virtual race series, which included the 50 and 100 mile ultra-Whovian challenge.  Until then stay warm and run happy!

 

Marshall Mangler 50k Race Report

After having to cancel every race I wanted to run for a few months at the end of summer / early fall due to work I decided I wanted to test myself. I signed up for the Marshall Mangler 50 k. I had 8 weeks to train. The challenge, the goal, was to train enough in that short time to be able to run the 50 k within the course time limit of 8 hours. Normally I would train at least twice as long for a marathon. I set myself up a schedule focused on long, slow trail runs and got to it..  Now, onto the race!

What can I say? This was an amazing, wonderful , grueling, painful experience. The kind of thing that you come away from with knowledge. Knowledge about the limits of the body and heart and of things that simply can't be put into words.

Race start was at 7:00 AM. It was in the upper 30's with periods of rain and 15-25 mph winds. Less than ideal, but far from a worst case scenario like snow and ice. The rain held off for most of the day so wet, slick roots and leaves and some muddy patches were the worst that the weather brought.

The course left from the Ice Rink driveway and went half of a mile up the hill to Pigeon Shelter. This was the location of an aid station and our drop bags. Our course would take us past here 4 more times and, for me, many of those times would be ugly. The first 4-5 miles followed the Orange Trail through the forests around the golf course. Leaving Pigeon it crossed a field of high, wet grass on the edge of the green. The kind that makes your legs sting and itchy. This lasted only about 50 yards. By the time I would be back here again the grasses were sufficiently trampled to remedy this minor inconvenience.

Winding through the conifer forests over hills and rock, roots criss-crossing the path, breaking the bedrock and pushing it up at odd toe-catching angles, the trail works its way counterclockwise back to Pigeon Shelter. I was following a group and chatting with some people I met, taking it easy and warming up. By mile 3 the sun was starting to come up and at the mile 6-ish aid station I decided to forge on without a stop.

The run was easy and enjoyable and otherwise un-notable for 12 miles or so. From the Orange Loop we crossed over to the Red Trails, following the main branch up 1/2-1 mile to the Red-blue dot. This trail winds its way up the western slopes heading south towards the lake. An aid station was set about halfway on the Red-blue at the Wisconsin Shelter. I stopped to refill my soft flasks and grab a handful of pretzels.

The aid stations. The sweet, sweet aid stations that literally made this race possible for me. The stations had bananas, pb&j sandwiches cut into little 2" squares, goldfish, pretzels, salt and vinegar chips, trail mix, m&m's,cookies, water, soda, Gatorade, and a staff of the greatest volunteers under the sun, or in this case under the clouds and rain.  These guys were knowledgeable and encouraging. More on that later.

 From the Wisconsin shelter aid station here I made my way down to the southern end of the lake and the start of the Rachel Carson trail. There was an unmanned fluid station here. Following the course I went back up the Red Trail and back to Pigeon Shelter and the Orange trail. Just under 16 miles in and only 1/4-1/2 mile to the aid station I had a wicked calf cramp. This marks the true start of the race for me. Over the next 16 miles I would come to learn things about myself. I would also come to having a number of out loud conversations with myself that bordered on insanity.

As I walked toward the Pigeon aid station the volunteers jumped into action. All the volunteers were great, but a special shout out to the Pigeon crew. And I mean crew. It was like having my own ultra trail crew. One guy came out to meet me, took my soft flasks and had them filled by the time I was at the station. I started stretching and massaging out my calf at which point the guy ( why didn't I get names?) who took my water bottles came back with a massage stick and even offered to massage it out. I opted to take care of it myself. In the meantime the crew gave great advice and encouragement. I ate some pb&j, and a little of everything else. Pretzels and m&m's can not be over rated in an event like this.  I left Pigeon feeling good. 

Less than a mile later everything in my legs started cramping and went into spasm. The semitendinosus, vastus lateralis, vastus intermedius ,and worst of all the vastus medialis. The entire chain of motion came to a grinding, spasming halt.

I tried massaging and light stretching trying to find the balance between relief and sending the muscles back into contractions. After a few minutes I tried walking. Painful, short steps. Then a stop again with more stretching and massage. Then a short walk. At that moment I knew without doubt I would not be finishing the race. How could I go another 15 miles like this? The clear answer was I couldn't. 

One runner passed me in that time. One of two still behind me. He very kindly stopped to see if I was okay and when I indicated I would be he carried on with his race. At this point I made a decision, one that would prove to be the right one.  I set my intentions on walking the 4+ miles remaining on the Orange trail back to Pigeon and seeing from there. After 2 miles around a 20:00 pace with light, slow , and careful running on flat ground I  was able to bring my pacing down to a 19 and then 18 on the last few miles. During this time I doubled up in the salt stick plus caps and had an extra Hammer perpetuem solid. By the way both of these items are amaaaazing!

The first thing I learned about myself was that I could run after full muscle spasms. Run might be a strong word for what I did, but I was still moving albeit very slowly. I needed to carefully hobble and walk all uphill and downhill and could slowly shuffle my feet on the flat ground.  I finally made it around to Pigeon at mile 20 and talked to the guys there. They all felt it was still possible and within the time limit. I thought possible, maybe. Within the time limit no. At this point I made another decision. The decision to go as far as I could regardless of time. Just to see how much further I could  push this body. 

With this decision I crossed back to the Red trails. Here I started walking a little less and running on the very slight inclines. Still though, I had to walk the hills. With almost 4000 feet of elevation gain on the course this wasn't going to be easy.  I started checking my pacing and crunching the numbers. If I could keep around a 15:00 pace per mile I could do this still!! The running became easier as I went. Easier does not mean easy by any sense of the word . I was still shuffling my feet close to the ground and felt every muscle threatening to spasm. After making the big climb up to the Wisconsin aid station I stopped to refuel and eat. The volunteers here were great. I left feeling encouraged and with too much food in my belly. 

As I wound down the remainder of the Red-blue towards the southern lake edge my legs again went into spasm. This time, however , I knew it wasn't the end. I knew that this made finishing in 8 hours an even more daunting task, but I only had 6-7 more miles to go. At mile 23 my garmin battery finally gave out. 5 1/2 hours in GPS mode for a forerunner 10! I was amazed, but I knew this would happen eventually and was ready. I used mapmyrun on iPhone to complete tracking and monitor my pacing. Along this trail I became my own drill seargent. If anyone was around to hear the obscenities streaming out of my mouth! "You are not stopping , keep moving your  f$&@ing feet" "You didn't come this far to quit and you didn't come this far to finish after the time limit! F$*#ing move it"  

Another thing I learned about myself is that even when the body entirely quits the heart and soul can propel you through pain and torment. 

Coming down to the unmanned fluid station I pressed on knowing I had enough fuel and water and was now on the return path! Two major hill climbs stood in my way. The first was directly ahead.  At this point I could "run" uphill a little bit and I took advantage of this by doing so intermittently in the climb. At the top I was across from the Wisconsin aid station which was cleared out . 

I pressed on and crossed over to the second hill climb left. The beast that worked its way back towards Pigeon. This climb went straight up the mountain. No switchbacks, no turns , just straight up. I stopped halfway up and stretched lightly, then attempting to walk up it backwards to see if that would be easier on my damaged muscles. It wasn't. After conquering the climb I checked my watch.  I was around 7:10 in. Rounding up to Pigeon for the last time I heard the guys screaming and cheering. Just the boost I needed. While passing I asked how far? About 1/2 a mile!! I'm actually going to do this AND within the time limit!! I was ecstatic. Coming down towards the finish chute I felt a surge of energy that took me to the line at a chip time of 7:31:16! 

Victory!

First 50 k In the books!

I had mentioned there were two people behind me at the start of the second loop  and one passed me soon after the cramping began. The second person finished sometime after I had left. 

I was the last place finisher within the 8 hour time limit. And last place feels incredible!

Course and Placement:
Elevation Gain: Approx 3940'
Distance: 50km   31.1 miles - I tracked 32.7 miles using Garmin and map my run

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