Burning River 100: July 27th, 2013 "Close but no cigar"

This is the story of my first attempt at a 100 mile race and also my first ever *gulp* DNF (did not finish).  The Burning River 100 mile endurance run is located east of Cleveland and west of Akron.  It is a point to point race which starts at Squires Castle in Willoughby Hills and finishes in downtown Cuyahoga Falls.  The course weaves through numerous metro parks along the Cuyahoga river and also follows parts of the Buckeye Trail.  Words cannot express how awesome this race course is.  It is so cool how they connected all of the parks and it just had a nice flow about it.  There was some really nice hills and climbs along the way.  The course covers every kind of terrain you can imagine including paved roads, crushed limestone tow paths, paved hiking and biking trails, service roads, single track dirt trails, wide dirt trails, bridal (horse) trails, grassy fields, and my favorite...plenty of creek crossings.


The aid stations and volunteers were all top notch and it made for a really fun day out on the trails.  I had the best crew a guy could ask for.  Jessica was my crew leader and she did such a great job of having everything ready for me and tending to my issues.  Also, without me knowing she organized a huge group of my family and friends to come out and cheer me on from different points in the course and I will go more in depth into that a little later into my report.  My friend Mel, who I met through my brother-in-law Luke in Virginia Beach, is also an avid ultra runner and he decided to fly up here and run Burning River as well.  It was his fourth 100 mile race this year.  He felt good going into the race but unfortunately his legs gave out on him and he had to drop at an early stage in the race.  I am thankful that he was there to assist Jess in crewing for me as he had a lot of good advice to offer since he is an experienced 100 mile racer.  Also, my brother from another mother Lucas Hardbarger came up Saturday evening and he was ready to pace me through the night from mile 65.7 to the finish.

I want to rewind the clock a little bit to January of this year.  I decided to take my ultra running to the next level and try out the 100 mile distance.  I have completed a few 50Ks and also a really tough 50 miler in Colorado and a tough 50 in Mohican all without a crew or drop bags.  When you dive into the 100 mile category there is a lot more logistics and planning involved then just going out and doing the run.  I kind of like the whole aspect of the planning and all the preparation that goes into it and in my opinion the completion of a 100 mile race within the time limit is the ultimate achievement in this sport.  I am not short selling any other ultra distance because by all means anything over 26.2 is very difficult and it is quite an accomplishment to be able to finish something like that.  I was ready to begin my training and found a 26 week training plan online.  I had never used a training plan but thought it would be a good idea for accomplishing my goal.  Next I had to choose a race and it was a toss up between the Mohican 100, Burning River 100, and the Run Woodstock Hallucination 100.  I ended up choosing Burning River because it fell perfectly into the time frame of my 26 week training plan.  

My decision was made and from that point on the next six months of my life revolved around training.  Every weekend was spent on my local single track trails busting out long runs on Saturdays and Sundays.  If we had plans or were going out of town then I would find a place to run or adjust my schedule accordingly to get my runs in.  Three nights a week I was putting in miles around my neighborhood streets.  I trained in every kind of weather imaginable, from freezing cold dark winter nights here in Michigan to sweltering hot days while on vacation in Virginia Beach.  I sprinkled in a couple 50K races and also a 50 mile race which all went well and I finished one of the 50K's in less then six hours which was a personal record so I knew my training was paying off and I was getting stronger.  Thankfully my family and friends, especially Jess, are very supportive and understanding.  I was not great company during the last six months because I was always thinking about my next run.  When it was all said and done I had run 1,260 miles in preparation for this 100 miler.  At certain times of my training I started to feel burned out and also had some heel pain but I was very determined to do whatever it took to complete this 100 miler within the 30 hour time limit and walk away wearing that finisher buckle with pride.  I felt like I could not of trained any harder then what I did and that I was well prepared going into the race.

Mel and I ready to Rock!

I will do my best to take you through the different stages of the event.  Some of the sections are a blur while others are very memorable for various reasons.  Friday night a lot of the runners stayed at hotels near the finish line and had an hour long bus ride on Saturday morning to the 5:00 AM start.  Jess was crewing for me and she had the car so we decided it would be a better idea to stay at a hotel near the start line and get an extra hour of sleep, although I am not sure the anxious, nervous, and excited feeling with eyes wide open while laying in bed the night before a big race can qualify as sleep.  After maybe four hours of “semi-sleep” my alarm was yelling at me to rise up for my big day.  Jess drove Mel and I to the starting line so we could get checked in and ready to go.  There was a ton of people there and it was all becoming extremely real, this was the moment I had envisioned multiple times over during all my training runs.  We got stretched and were about a minute away from starting when all of a sudden somebody was right in my face all excited.  I covered my headlamp so I could see who it was and it was my good friends Fletcher and Rachel!  I was shocked and super excited to see them there and it gave me a great motivational boost right from the start.

Fletchers and my lovely wife rooting us on at 5:00 AM!

I heard someone yelling GO! and we were off!  I lost Mel right away in the sea of 275 headlamps bouncing across the yard at squires castle heading to the trail which would be our first 6 mile section.  This was a nice wide dirt trail which had some decent climbs and was a nice warm up to the day.  There was a couple muddy pits at various spots on the trail and I even lost my shoe at mile 3.  I generally prefer to keep my shoes loose while distance running and when my shoe got stuck in the mud my foot came right out of it, doH!  Luckily a nice guy behind me picked it up and handed it to me so I didn't have to walk back through the mud with my sock on to grab it.  The weather was cool at the start which was nice because it is usually very hot this time of year.  The forecast had rain and a high in the mid 70s and that is actually way better then 90 and sunny.  I finished that 6 mile loop at a 12 minute and 30 second per mile pace which was not to bad.  I seen Jess, Fletch, and Rachel when I got back to the castle, this first aid station was really busy and I didn't need anything so I just kept going.  The next 5 miles was pretty flat and there was a decent road section in which the groupings of runners started to really spread out.  Ahhh, some elbow room, just the way I like it.  In this section I ran for awhile with a couple guys from Illinois who were quoting the movie Dumb and Dumber and this had me laughing all the way until the next aid station.

Joe and I coming into mile 17.6 and I was happy to see my family!!

Then after the mile 12 aid station there was another big road section.  It is hard to pace yourself on these road sections because they are flat and fast.  I actually got my pace down to 12 minute and 15 second miles here which in hindsight was probably to fast early on in a 100 mile race.  I met a guy named Joe in this section and I told him it was my first 100 miler.  He then told me not to feel bad because he has never run more then a half marathon before!  What?!  He said that he had signed up for Burning River on a dare.  He is an avid short distance road runner and figured he didn't have anything to lose.  He looked like he was doing pretty good when I met him at mile 12.5 and he said he wanted to stick with me because it seemed like I knew what I was doing.  I told him.."ummm...no, this is my first 100 miler and I have no clue what I am doing but your welcome to run with me as long as you want."  We told each other our life stories and talked about everything and anything.  The conversation actually helped the miles go by pretty quick.  It had started raining in this section as well but it didn't bother me at all.  We were at mile 17.6 aid station before I knew it.  I told him that Jess was there crewing for me and when we got there I seen Jess, the Fletchers, and now my parents, my sister and her fiance along with his two daughters.  Wow!  What a surprise, I was not expecting them to be there and was really happy to see them.  It definitely got me pumped up.  Mel was also there as he had some issues with his legs early on and could not continue so now he was helping Jess crew for me. I could not socialize very long as the clock was ticking and I had to get moving!  I grabbed some supplies from Jess and I met Joe at the food tables, grabbed some munchies, and we were off.

Coming into mile 26.2 and happy to see more supporters!

We flew through the next sections which were some wide and flat grass and dirt trails.  Usually in these ultra races you see certain runners over and over as you pass them and they pass you etc..  In this section we kept seeing a guy who was wearing an Oil Creek 100 shirt and when he passed us I told Joe that I heard Oil Creek was a really tough 100 miler.  The guy overheard me say that and he said "It's not that bad! I am the race director!"  Wow, what a coincidence, I was surprised to hear that and it was nice to meet him.  I could not wait to tell Lucas about that because he ran and completed the Oil Creek 100K which is one of his proudest accomplishments.  The next crew point was at the 26.2 mile aid station.  I knew I now had my family following my progress and when we got to this crew point I was surprised to see some more of my friends there as well!  What?! I couldn't believe it!  I was kind of in shock that all these people had taken a Saturday to come out and support me.  Jess had arranged for all these people to come and it really meant a lot to see them.  Now I was a full marathon into this thing and feeling great for being a quarter of the way done.  Joe and I both left this aid station with a lot of optimism.  He had just done his first marathon and we were actually right on target of what my time goal was coming into the race. I think we were at a 13 minute and 15 second pace at this point.  I wanted to be at a 15 minute per mile pace at the half way point so it seemed as everything was coming together.  I congratulated Joe on finishing his first marathon and we were off.

Support crew at mile 26.2! 

The next section was still pretty flat with some small rolling hills and some little climbs.  I could tell the terrain was starting to change and the flat parts would soon be turning into some of the 8,000 - 9,000 feet of elevation gain this course has to offer.  We did a pretty good job weaving through this section and reached the 31 mile aid station still maintaining a great pace.  We thanked the volunteers and I told Joe he has just completed his first ultra now that we were at the 50K point.  As we left this aid station we finally got onto some good dirt trails in the woods.  I was feeling very good at this point and the excitement of dirt single track had me flying through the trails.  Joe was behind me and I could tell something was off for him.  When I inquired as to what was wrong he said the outside of his knee was starting to hurt really bad.  Oh crap, that's the IT band and once it starts acting up it can make for a long day, especially on the down hills.  We were walking quite a bit here and I was ready to move on.  He insisted I go on without him for awhile.  I finally told him to not give up and it was great meeting him and running the last 20 or so miles together.  I reached the mile 36 aid station and after refueling I seen Joe coming in as I was leaving but did not see him anymore after that.

Coming into mile 41.7 to a lot of cheering!!!

Mile 41.7 support crew.  I sure am a lucky guy.

I was pumped to knock out the next 5 miles because my crew and supporters would be at the next aid station which was at mile 41.7.  I started out feeling good in this section but after a couple miles things slowed down a bit.  I started feeling a very slight pain just above the arch on the inside of my left foot and I could also feel some pain in my left IT band which could be devastating if that got bad.  None of the pain was bad at that point so I just tackled the uphills and downhills on this section of single track trail which was also part of the Buckeye trail.  As we started to get into the hilly sections I noticed the terrain was starting to get a bit muddy and slippery especially on the really narrow trails.  There had been a steady light rain for most of the day and that along with a bunch of runners really started to take its toll on the trails.  I was walking a lot more in this section but was able to reach the aid station and was still on pace.  I decided to run across the yard to the aid station and as I got into view I could see a whole bunch of people going crazy and cheering me on.  This was getting so surreal!  I could not believe how many of my friends and family had shown up at this one!  I was extremely overwhelmed by the support and I owe it all to Jess for organizing that.  I don't think anyone else running that day had as big of a fan club as me.  I ate some food, thanked everyone for coming out, and as much as I wanted to stay and visit the clock was ticking so I had to move on.  When I left that aid station I was feeling extremely lucky to have so many great people in my life.  I am not just referring to the people that showed up to support me at the event but also a bunch of others who could not make it but sent me messages, well wishes, and support.

My brother Dan providing some much needed laughs

After the emotions of seeing everyone started to fade I realized I have some work to do as I was not even half way yet and I would not see my crew again until mile 65.7.  Things seemed to be moving nicely although I could feel my pains start to get a little worse.  There was some more climbing in the next section and my IT band / knee started feeling bad.  I was reduced to a run a little walk a little pattern which was fine.  I met two guys Jody and Cody on this section.  Really nice guys and one of them was also having a bit of IT band pain as well.  One of the guys had run the course before and he said the next section is super muddy even on dry days so it was probably going to be really bad today.  We reached mile 46.4 aid station in no time.  The miles really fly by when your having good conversation.  I was at this aid station for a little while and ate quite a bit of food as I wanted to make sure I was keeping calories down.  I had been drinking tons of water and taking a salt pill every hour so I was definitely hydrated.  An aid station worker warned me as I was leaving that the next four miles were in really bad shape.  I was not worried but then again I had no idea it was going to be much worse then I could of ever imagined.

This section was mostly dirt trails a little wider then single track with plenty of roots, mosquitoes, steep uphills, steep downhills, and MUD.  It was so hard just making it up the hills because it was like trying to climb up ice.  Then going downhills I was hanging on trees to lower myself down without falling.  There was no way around the mud because it was nothing but heavy brush and more mud bogs next to the trail.  The flat sections were all ankle deep mud so there was absolutely no running going on here.  Usually I can have fun and appreciate scenarios like this when I am racing but not so much in my first 100 miler!  The only good thing about this section was about every half mile it seemed like there was a stream crossing which was nice to wash off the five pounds of mud that had accumulated on both shoes!  The only problem was that it was difficult to get up the other side of the river banks because they were so damn slippery.  Oh well, it was all part of the adventure and I knew that it was part of the course and I need to look at it as an exciting challenge and just power through it.  At times I was just laughing out loud to myself at how crazy it was and how slow I was going.  I was doing about 30 - 35 minute miles  through this section and it was one hell of a workout.  When I finally reached the aid station at mile 50.4 I was happy to learn I had completed half the course in 13 hours.  Only a half hour behind my goal I had set before the race.  I now had 17 hours to finish the course and felt good about that.

When I left that aid station and climbed some more hills I realized the last 4 mile section took more out of me then the entire 46.4 miles before it.  My IT band pain seem to diminish but the pain above my arch was starting to hurt more then before.  I was still able to do a little bit of my run a little walk a little routine through the beginning of the next section but every time I ran the pain grew worse.  I reached the next aid station at mile 55.5 and was pretty much just straight limping at this point.  Every step was causing bad pain above my left arch.  I hobbled out of that aid station and climbed the hill next to the Ohio turnpike and then turned into the woods for a pretty big downhill section.  I limped through this section of trails and the pain was still getting worse.  I finally reached the next aid station at mile 59.4.  There was people there that looked like they were in a lot worse shape then me.  I ate some mac and cheese, thanked the volunteers, flipped on my head lamp and got the heck out of there.  Since I was only limping with no chance of running I didn't really have any time to spare.  The darkness along with more climbing and descending had really slowed my pace.  There was a little bit of trail and uphill climbing at the beginning of this section and then we were spit out onto a deserted road.  There were a couple markers that suggested we head down the road.  Another guy came running back toward a group I was in and he was nervous that we were not on the right path because he did not see any markers ahead.  I knew we had to trust the first directional markers where we got on the road but after limping down the road for a mile or so with bats swooping in and flying right past my head along with not seeing any markers I started to freak out a bit.  Then all of a sudden I see an arrow on the road pointing in the direction I was going.  On the right path, phew!!  I passed this one girl and her pacer on the road section.  She was having an issue with her knee and I knew it must be bad if my limping ass was able to pass her. 

Not one of my finer moments at mile 65.7. Notice a little mud on my shoes.

After following this section of road we were led onto a bike and hike paved path for a mile or so before making our way to a parking lot and then across a grass field where there was some sort of hall with a wedding reception in full blast.  So after about 16 or 17 hours of being on my feet and feeling like pig pen from Charlie Brown it was kind of weird hearing a bunch of drunk people in suits singing along to Sweet Caroline (Bah Bah Bah!).  I did kind of laugh about the difference in situations between them and myself.  After that it seemed like I was climbing a bunch of big steps on a trail and I finally reached my next crew access point at mile 65.7.  I came in to a few remaining die hard supporters cheering me on and I told them thanks for being there because I know that being a spectator at an ultra is less exciting then watching paint dry or grass grow. I also ran into my friend Cheryl who was working at the aid station and that was awesome to see her there.  Lucas Hardbarger had met up with me here as well and was ready to pace me the rest of the way.  I was about an hour ahead of the cutoff at this point so I was still feeling like there was a chance.  I texted Jess before getting to that aid station and said if possible please get me a Chipotle burrito and she came through!!  My mom wrapped my arch for me and I changed socks along with putting on a fresh shirt.  Getting ready to leave this aid station I noticed that girl I had passed on the road come limping in and someone yelled "clear a table!" and that was kind of the scene around that aid station.  It looked like a war zone with injured and tired runners everywhere.  I think quite a few people dropped at this point.  Lucas and I left the aid station and I smashed that burrito as we were walking and it was so nice to get some real food of substance in my stomach.  Rice is an easily digestible carb and is great for distance running fuel.  I was still in a great amount of pain though and we moved through the beginning of this section extremely slow.

We were following a couple groups of people and talking and then all of a sudden we came to a fork in the trail and there was no direction markers.  Crap!  We all made the decision to go one way and then some course officials that were near the next aid station seen our headlamps coming across the field toward the aid station.  The problem is that we still had about three miles to go before we got to that aid station which was really close to us all of a sudden.  One of the guys came over to tell us we missed a turn and was going to lead us back to the trail but another official had said that we must go back the way we came and could not take a short cut back to the trail or we would be disqualified.  As for me, I was kind of upset because anything more then 5 feet extra with the pain in my foot was really mentally defeating.  Now I had gone a half mile out of the way and had to go back. I was not happy but accepted my fate!  All of a sudden I seen the girl who had the bummed knee and she had gone the wrong way too and she was yelling at the guy who said we had to go back the way we came.  She really let the poor guy have it and was saying the turn was not marked and he was messing with her cutoff times.  Then she turned in an upset manner and sprinted back up a hill that we had all come down.  I couldn't believe it.  After all her problems with her knee and running 68 miles she still had the energy to sprint up a hill, wow, some serious adrenaline!  She recently posted her race report on the Burning River facebook group and did not mention that whole scene but she did go on to finish the race.  One of her crew had done some chiropractor voodoo on her knee and I guess it fixed it.  Also, when we were led back the way we came we discovered the missed turn was mark VERY clearly and we were all eating a big steamy plate of crow with all the fixins.

The next three miles of trail had some more ascents and descents which I was transversing very slow.  Lucas was doing a great job pumping me up mentally to stay in the race and assured me that things would turn around very soon.  As much as I wanted to believe that, I could tell this damn foot pain was getting worse and I could hardly walk so it was going to be a very long 30 miles to the finish. Also, I was almost behind the time cutoffs at this point.  I got to the aid station at mile 71 and told my remaining crew and supporters that I was really thinking my day was over.  I was so depressed at that thought.  I did have a pair of more cushioned zero drop road running shoes in the car and as a last ditch effort I changed into them.  I walked around a bit and it felt pretty good!  New life!!  I might not be able to run but I could walk at a good clip so I thought there might be a chance.  Luc and I left the aid station and I was only 10 minutes ahead of the cutoff time.  It was going to be tough going to stay ahead of the cutoffs but it is possible I thought.  Felt good for about a half mile and then after being forced to run down a steep grass hill the arch pain had returned in full force.  I was back to moving at a very slow pace and no matter how hard I tried to move faster it was excruciating and could not do it.  After two miles into this three mile section I phoned Jess to come and pick me up at the mile 74 aid station because I was not going to make the cutoff and even if I did have time I had no clue how I was going to do another marathon being in that kind of pain.  It was not your normal quad or calf pain soreness, it was more of an injury type pain and it felt like I was doing a lot more damage with every step.  With a half mile to go to mile 74 the three guys sweeping the course came up behind me and that really signaled the end for me.

Luc and I at mile 74.

I got to mile 74 about 3:03 AM which was 12 minutes past the cutoff and Jess was there waiting for us.  I had been on my feet playing in the mud for 22 straight hours and was pretty ripe, I felt bad for Lucas and Jessica having to smell me in the car on the way back to Jess's sisters house.  Not finishing this race was and still is a pretty emotional thing for me.  I am very proud of what I achieved but it is the first ultra that I started and did not complete.  The one thing that leaves me with an empty feeling is that I devoted so much of my life over the last 6 months to training and thought I did everything right but still came up short.  On some positive notes, it was an extremely rewarding experience from the start of my training in January all the way up until race day.  I learned a lot about myself in the whole process.  The race itself was a blast and I give a ton of credit to those who did such a great job putting this thing on.  Also, I can't say it enough, the volunteers who gave up their weekend to come out and work the event were so awesome.  To my family and friends who supported me in person or in thoughts, that means more then you will ever know.  Jess was the best crew a guy could ask for.  Lucas was an awesome pacer and would of no doubt got me to the finish if I was not injured.  Some would think that after an experience like that one would not want to try another 100 miler.  I, on the other hand, only 2 days after this race was looking for another 100 miler for next year.  This is something that I really want to achieve in my life.  I think I am going to attempt the Indiana Trail 100 in late April next year to hopefully score a finisher buckle and build some confidence.  Then in 2015 I am heading back to Burning River for some redemption and I will be running along side my good friend Joe Gatton (we pulled each other through our first 50Ks in 2012) who has committed to doing his first 100 miler....Alright Joe!!!!!  Let's do this!!!!!

Mohican 50 Mile: June 15th, 2013

Ultra Runners ready to blaze the trails

This race takes me back to the awesome trails in the Mohican State Forest.  In early April my good friend Lucas told me he was going to do the 50 miler in June at Mohican and asked me if I wanted to do this race with him.  I was unsure if it was a good idea to do a 50 mile race six weeks before my 100 mile race which I have been training for all year.  After consulting some veteran ultra runners I decided it was a good idea to do the race for training and I needed to take it really slow as to not get injured or burn myself out.  In the past I have entered races to be used primarily as training runs and the competitive drive I have makes me go faster then I want to and I end up needing more recovery time then from a normal training run.  Lucas assured me he would be going at a very slow pace since he suffered some setbacks in his training from injuries sustained in a car accident back in early February.  I was glad to hear that he wanted to go at a slow pace because it was going to help me restrain myself from running the race like it was my primary event this year.

I decided to to run Mohican in my Altra Superiors which are the shoes I have worn for a majority of training for the Burning River 100.  The nice thing about the Altra Superiors is they are still considered minimalist shoes because they have a zero drop (no heal raise), but they also provide a little bit of cushion which I found out I need for high mileage training and races.  In the past I always ran with VFFs or Vivobarefoot shoes which had no cushion and my feet would get weird pains late in races and that usually lead to me

The Hardbarger RV..that's how we roll!

The first pair of Altra Superiors

walking a large portion of the courses.  I put over 700 training miles on these shoes and two weeks before the race while looking at the large holes in them I really started to wonder if they were going to be able to hold up for the 50 miler.  I emailed Altra a few pics of the shoes hoping they would offer me free shipping on a new pair but they only told me their shoes are designed for 500 - 700 miles.  I ordered a new pair and never received a confirmation they shipped so I figured I would not get them in time and would have to pray the torn up shoes would make it 50 more miles.  Then a miracle happened on the night before I was to leave for Mohican.  I got home from work and the new shoes were waiting for me on the door step!  What a relief!! 
 

Pre-Race Speech

After work on Friday I left early and got down to Mohican about 6:30.  I found our camp spot where Lucas had already set up his RV.  Race camping in style this year!!  We headed over to the pavilion across the street from the campground to pick up our race packets and get the pre-race pasta dinner.  They were not messing around with the pasta this year as they piled it a mile high on our plates.  We also had a few draft beers from the Great Lakes Brewing Company beer truck!  After listening to the pre-race speech we kind of hung around talking to people we knew.  We ran into our friend Nick and he was talking to someone who had a shirt which said Brew Crew.  The funny thing about that was his friend's name was Brew and he was crewing for him.  The guy with the brew crew shirt mentioned they are from Asheville North Carolina and that he was here with his friend Brew and Brew's wife Jennifer Pharr Davis who is the current world record holder for fastest thru hike on the Appalachian Trail.  About a year ago I read her book about her first thru hike of the Appalachian Trail and now I was meeting her at Mohican of all places, it's such a small world.  Nick,

Jennifer Pharr Davis, world record holder hiking the App.trail in 46 days!

Luc, and myself hung out in Lucas's RV for the rest of the night.  I was able to get all my stuff prepped and ready to go for the morning.  We stayed up kind of late but it was nice catching up with those guys.

The alarm went off at 5:00 am and I got up after only a few hours of sleep and got ready to hit the trails.  Lucas and myself made our way over to the starting line and before we knew it the 6:00 am start was under way!  We took it really easy for the first 10 miles or so as we were weaving down the switchbacks and talking about everything and anything.  This notion of taking it easy was very difficult for me even though I knew I could not attack this course like it was a regular race because I was using it only as a training run.  I noticed that this course is different from the Forget the PR course and it was nice to experience some different trails in Mohican.  Another thing I noticed which was very strange, there was not any mosquitoes, which was awesome!

Luke and I at the pre-race meeting

As the miles went on we continued our slow walk / run pace and got to go through some nice patches of mud and also a few river crossings which were nice because they cleaned off our shoes!  We got to run through the ravines near Lyons falls and also do the hand over fist root climb at little Lyon's falls.  These are a few of the most scenic areas in Mohican and it felt good running through there.  Then we reached the covered bridge aid station where we filled up our water and I found the famous no bakes I was looking for (referring to my last blog from Playin Possum 50K)!!  After leaving covered bridge we had to face one of the hardest sections of the course.  There is a lot of long steep climbs and we did a good job powering through them and then in a flash I stepped on a rock under a plant and rolled my ankle really bad!!  Our slow and steady pace started to get a bit slower after the climbs in Hickory Ridge as we reached the aid station.  Also, we got passed by the first place 50 miler in this section which was really humbling.  He went on to win in a little over 7 hours. 

Me, Luc, and Nick partying a little bit on 50 miler eve

During the 6.5 mile run back to the starting line, to complete the first loop, Lucas starting feeling a bit of his ultra running nausea that seems to haunt him at Mohican every year.  By the time we reached the starting line aid station I think Lucas was in bad shape.  We walked the next 5 miles to the Park Road aid station and we got passed by the first place 100 miler on this section as he was on his third loop, pretty impressive!  We rested at the aid station for a little while in hopes that Lucas could shake his nausea.  He ate some watermelon and drank some water while sitting down.  None of it seemed to help.  As we left the aid station I was treated to a classic Luc puke!!  I felt bad for him as I know it could not be a pleasant feeling.  We walked for the next 4 miles to the fire tower aid station and during this time Luc had lost his lunch again and i think he even yelled F&#K Mohican!  Lucas was sitting down for awhile at the fire tower and hoping to come around.  Jay Smithberger came into this aid station and he was also having a bad day as he was 62 miles into the 100 mile run and proclaimed that he was dropping.  Lucas asked him for a ride back to the campground and he told Luc no as he was trying to encourage him to keep going.  Lucas told me that we should leave and walk to the next aid station which was only 2.5 miles away.  As we started off he was again tossing his cookies!!  He stuck out his fist which was the fist bump sign for go ahead I am dropping.  Jay ended up giving him a ride back to the campground.  I knew he was feeling awful and going on without being able to drink water or eat food was just not a good idea for him. 

So, since we had been walking for the last 15 miles I was chompin at the bit to do some running.  I took off after saying goodbye to Luc and about a half mile later I rolled my freakin ankle again!!  It didn't seem to hurt to bad so I kept running on it.  I really made up some time on the decent down to the covered bridge aid station.  Then I did the climb up to Hickory Ridge and felt like I made some good time there as well.  Feeling pretty good as I cruised into the Hickory Ridge aid station which was the last stop before the 6.5 miles back to the finish line.  My pace slowed down quite a bit after leaving this aid station.  I think I was pretty tired from not sleeping much the night before.  I pushed on knowing the end was near!  All I could think about was Trail's End Pizza and some good craft beer!  This last section certainly dragged on for a long time, but I was pretty happy that I passed a few people in this section on the way to the finish.  As I got closer to the finish line my friend Tyler came running out, it was awesome to see him and it helped to secure the thought that I was almost done and ready to party!  As I came around the corner toward the finish line I seen that Luc, Luc's wife Jen, and Tyler's girlfirend Liz were also there.  It was nice to have a cheering audience as I crossed the finish line and got my Mohican 50 mile medal!  It was a well deserved medal because this Mohican course was really tough.  There was some awesome ascents, river crossings, and great trails.  I was glad that Luc was with me during this race until mile 35.  If he was not running with me then I would of surely ran too hard and injured myself worse then I already did.  I also had a lot left in the tank at the end of the tough 50 miles which was a good sign.  Lucas took this video of me coming into the finish:

                                                

We sat around the campsite and partied until late.  I could hardly keep my eyes open but the beer and pizza were tasting great and we were also having some great conversations so I fought the sleep as long as I could.  My ankle was really swollen that night and actually it took a couple weeks to heal.  As I sit here writing this blog my ankle is at 95% which is a great sign.  I have completed all of my super hard training weeks and I am tapering for Burning River.  Lucas is coming out to pace me and hopefully the next blog I write will be the story of me training for and completing my first 100 miler with brother Lucas pushing me to the finish line.  I am nervous and excited at the same time, but I just need to take comfort knowing that I have put in well over 1,150 miles of training since late January and I have done all I can do.  So whatever happens....ummm...happens!  Until next time I bid you adieu!  

Playin Possum 50K: May 18th, 2013

This race takes me down to the Delaware State Park in central Ohio.  This was the inaugural outing of the Playin Possum 50K but as I will describe later, you would never have known it was the first time they have ever put this race on.  Through some good friends, Nick and Lucas, and the awesome trail running community of Ohio I met Mark Carroll and Chad Heald.  These two guys had the vision for this race and decided that all proceeds will go to a great cause, the local Special Olympics group.  Another cool thing about this race is that it was the first ultra marathon in the central Ohio / Columbus area.  So, a primary goal of both race directors' vision was to get as many first time trail ultra marathoners as possible.  They succeeded in both of these goals raising over $4,000 for the Special Olympics and had 56 first time ultra runners toe the starting line out of 119 total runners!

Jess and I left on Friday after work to head down to the Columbus area.  The Delaware State Park was right off Route 23 so we were able to stop on the way and pick up my race packet.  I was excited about all the awesome schwag included with the packet.  We stayed at our friends place in Westerville which was about a half hour from the race.  I got up extra early to get ready and make sure I had plenty of time to get there before the start.  I met a few people before the race and also talked to Nick who was the captain of the start / finish aid station, which was one of the busiest aid stations.  I also said hello to Jay Smithberger who was the favorite to win the race and got to say hi to Rob Powell who puts on the famous Forget the PR 50K, and Rob was there to hang out and watch the race.

Coming in to the start/finish line aid station at mile 6 and feeling strong

Since mid January I have been training for the Burning River 100 mile race which is at the end of July.  This training has me putting in a ton of miles and back to back weekend long runs every weekend.  I have felt myself getting stronger mentally and physically throughout this training.  I wanted to take this 50K easy and use it as another training run but I also wanted to really see how good I could do with my current level of training so I just decided to "go with it."  Chad and Mark gave an introductory speech and a Special Olympics athlete gave a blessing and some motivational words, then we were off and running!  I settled into a nice pace at the beginning, maybe a little to fast but I felt good so oh well.  I was following a group of about 12 runners who were mid-pack runners which is what I am aspiring to be so I decided to just keep up with them.  Two of the runners in this group jumped off to the side so one could take a rock out of his shoe and they rejoined the pack behind me.  These guys were really funny and I don't think they meant to be.  One was talking about how he hopes he does not get lost, as he got lost in a 5K before and the other guy was saying he felt so good and they should be back up there leading this pack.  We were only 2 or 3 miles in and feeling good at that point is a lot different then feeling good at 29 or 30 miles in.

We got to the first aid station which was only 3.5 miles in and I didn't need anything so I was turning around to leave and noticed Rob was there helping.  The next few miles went by pretty quick.  I had lost the big pack I was running with and was going on my own.  I was feeling pretty good and kept a 10 minute and 30 second per mile pace to the next aid station at mile 6 which was Nick's aid station at the start finish line.  As I was grabbing a few chips and a cup of Gatorade I noticed that Rob was at this aid station as well!  After leaving this aid station I heard the humorous banter of the guys guys from before.  They were behind me for the next mile or two and keeping me cracking up the whole time.  I wish I had a recorded script of every conversation these guys had during the race because they were so funny.  We had to run a small road section here and then turned into the woods.  We got to the water crossing on this course which was some very murky and stagnate water that was not flowing, but it was fun to jump in and wade across.  It is always interesting to hear comments from first time trail runners who are worrying about getting their feet wet, but then after they take the plunge they realize it's not a big deal and is actually fun!

Grabbing a cup of gatorade before leaving the start/finish aid station at mile 18

About 9.5 miles in I still had a pretty good pace going and I got to the next aid station which had these awesome no bakes.  Usually I avoid desert type foods at aid stations, but I couldn't resist this time and it was well worth it.  The lady that made them said she is going to be at Mohican running an aid station and I told her I am running the 50 miler there next month and will be looking forward to eating some no bakes there as well!  When I was standing there eating I seen Rob again (3 aid stations in a row) and this is where he gained the nickname "aid station creeper"!  After leaving this aid station the course took us over the dam and down a straight and long high grass berm.  Then down a gravel road to the next aid station where I ran into our friend Cheryl.  It was good to see her as she is always in a cheerful mood and she is the captain of the aid station that Jess and I volunteer at during the Forget the PR race every April.  After departing this aid station I had a long chat with another runner about many different topics including the different trail running events in Ohio and also different approaches to training for ultra marathons.  After leaving the dam area we started back toward the start finish aid station which would put us at mile 18.  On the way back I was running behind a French couple who were speaking in French.  They were having a long conversation and I had no idea what they were talking about!  They looked at me at one point and I just nodded like I understood.

Cord and I approaching the finish line

Approaching the start finish aid station Nick came running out and asked how I was doing and what I needed.  I was good on water so just grabbed a gatorade and a few snacks before continuing on.  When I left this aid station I felt pretty good and realized I had an excellent pace going for myself.  I originally was going to take my time on this course since it was to just be a training run but I was on pace to break six hours which would crush my previous 50K personal record (PR) of seven hours and four minutes.  So I kept up with my awesome pace for the next 5 miles and was still feeling pretty good into the next aid station at mile 23.  Then I met a guy named Cord who was running his first 50K and he was in major pain but was still running.  I ran with him the next 3 miles and he was explaining how he has never felt pain this bad in his life!  He was not even sure how his legs were still moving.  That is the amazing thing about distance running, the human body can withstand a lot more then the mind wants it to.  We got to the mile 26 aid station and Cord was cramping up.  I gave him two salt pills to help him with the cramps and I left the station before him.  About a mile later he came running up behind me.  He was still hurting but I told
him we were on pace to have an awesome finishing time and we both pushed each other for the next 4 miles to the end.

Wounded warriors at the Playin Possum 50K

About a quarter mile from the finish we noticed there was a different congratulations sign for every first time ultra runner and they were spaced out all the way to the finish.  That is just another example of the top notch job Chad and Mark did putting this race together.  As we were approaching the finish line I realized I had reached my goal of finishing in under six hours.  Five hours and fifty-one minutes was my official time.  I was really happy about that.  It seems all the training I have been doing for the Burning River 100 is really paying off.  After crossing the finish line Chad handed us the most unique finishing award I have ever seen.  They were real horse shoes which I thought was an awesome idea.  They also had a post race cookout with a bunch of good food.  I had a chance to visit with Nick for awhile, thank Mark and Chad for putting on the race, and eat a veggie hot dog with the works!.  I left this race feeling pretty good.  Not only did I PR a 50K but I had a really fun time.  I later learned that all 119 runners finished the race!!  That is completely unheard of for an ultra marathon or any running race.  That is a true testament to the sport and it can be attributed to the great spirit of the trail running community and great volunteers who donated time out of their schedules to come and help out.  In about a month I will have my toughest training run at the Mohican 50 mile race.  Looking forward to it!!

 

  

FPR Race Directors Race 50K: March 30th, 2013

Jess and I volunteered on April 27th for the Mohican Forget the PR 50K and 25K race put on by Rob Powell.  This is a great event and it was here that I completed my first ultra marathon in April of 2012.  There are many cool things about the main event such as the super challenging but awesome / fun course in the Mohican Forest , the awesome aid stations, the coolest race director who is at the finish line to greet every runner as they finish, and also the family like atmosphere that surrounds the race.  The after party is really cool as well as there is usually kegs of beer and some great vegan food.  In 2011 I volunteered for this race and had just as much fun volunteering as I did running it in 2012.  So this year I got to experience the best of both worlds.  Every year Rob gives the volunteers the opportunity to run the course with minimal aid and minimal course markings.  If the volunteers complete the 50K they get a buckle just like they would if they were running the actual event.  So I decided to volunteer  and run the Race Directors Race, which was held a month before the actual event.

That's what I call some mobile aid!

I was going to camp at the campground the night before the race directors race but the temps were dipping down in the high 20s / low 30s and I would of had to set up camp in the dark.  I took the easy way out and opted to stay at a hotel about 25 minutes away.   I arrived at the starting area about 20 minutes early.  I wanted a chance to visit with T-P (Michael Toth-Purcell).  He is a friend of mine who lives in Ann Arbor that I met while running on the Potawatomi trail in May of 2012.  It turns out that T-P worked at the same company as me but was stationed out of our corporate office and I work at the TSDF in Detroit.  When I mentioned this event to T-P he wanted to enter the race in 2013.  He grew up in Ohio and took many family trips to the Mohican state forest and he seemed really excited about running a 50K there.  In fact, he was so excited that he volunteered to run a mobile aid station for the race directors race!  So, I got there and said hello to everyone and listened to the instructions about the course.  There was a last minute change in our route because they had close down part of the trails so the gas company could cut down trees in one of the most beautiful places in Ohio.  That's all I will say about that because I don't want this blog to turn into a political soap box!

Then we gathered on the dirt road next to Mohican Adventures Campground and Rob yelled Go!  So we were off and I was running with the lead group to start.  They were flying up the first few hills and really going at a fast pace.  For some reason I just kept running with them at that fast pace.  My biggest problem is when my legs feel good I like to really push it.  So we were cruising along and a few of us missed the first turn of the day!  Luckily we quickly realized what we did and got back on course.  So about two miles into the race we reached Big Ass Hill and began our trek up that monster!  As we were climbing up that steep beast I looked over and seen some younger guy running up Big Ass Hill.  What?!!  I have ever seen anyone run up that hill but this kid ran the whole thing like it was no big deal.  The rest of us were dying when we finally made it to the top..lol.  From there we had to take the road over to fire tower and when we got there T-P's mobile aid station was all set up with snacks and water.  He was also offering a clothing drop since the temperature had risen a lot since the early morning cold.  After refueling, we took off toward the bridal staging area and then hit the bridal trails in the southern part of the Mohican State Forest.

Mac and I trying to figure out where we got off course

After a few more miles we came to the first shin deep river crossing, it was cold but invigorating!  My feet were likes blocks of ice after coming out of that river (water temps around 35 degrees), but it did not take long for them to dry out and warm back up.  Around this time I met another runner named Mac and we ended up running together for a long ways and crossed two more rivers before the next aid station.  When we were getting close to the aid station at Rock Point we ran into Rob on the trails and he said Mac and I were in first place.  Umm...that's impossible because there was two different groups of people ahead of us that were leading.  Crap!  Did we miss a turn?  Getting lost was my biggest concern going into this race since I am not completely familiar with the trails.  As we got to Rock Point we were refueling and the other two groups rolled in.  According to another runner's Garmin compared to mine we had missed about 1.25 miles.  Mac and I thanked T-P and Ron (another guy who ran the race in April and came to help with the mobile aid station) as we left Rock Point and we both vowed to make up that missed mile at the end of the 50K.  We pushed on through the bridle trails and got to a confusing trail intersection where Mac made a good decision which led us in the right direction.  The group of 3 runners in second place would eventually make the wrong turn at this intersection.  I will touch on that later in this report.

The chilly Mohican river!

Mac and I made it back to the fire tower where we refueled on some snacks provided by the T-P mobile aid station.  Then I seen the first place runner coming back to this area from making a wrong turn and going a few miles out of the way.  Mac and I left the fire tower and started our decent to the covered bridge.  I got ahead of Mac in this section and I felt pretty good so I just kept going solo.  I got to covered bridge and Ron was there with some aid.  I filled my water and headed back on the Lyons Falls loop.  This is one of the coolest sections of the course.  it includes a hand over fist root climb and some technical trail running.  After climbing up little Lyons falls I kept pushing on.  Then when I got to the stairs at Big Lyons Falls the second place group of three came up behind me.  I was shocked, did I make another wrong turn?!  They were messing with me telling me that I missed a few more miles.  This really made me depressed, but I felt better when they came clean and told me that they messed up at the confusing intersection I mentioned earlier.  They had added a few more miles onto their day.  I followed them back to the covered bridge.  After leaving covered bridge T-P took a couple pics of me crossing the Mohican River.  This was really cold and about thigh deep.  It took a little longer for my feet to thaw out after this crossing!

Balance is the key!

I followed the three or four mile section along the Mohican River to the mountain bike trail.  We had to pass up the North Rim Trail and add in the mountain bike trail to make up for some of the miles that we missed due to the trail closures.  On the way up to the mountain bike trail I tripped and ended up doing a somersault and landing right back on my feet!  I could not do that again if I tried!  So I followed all the switch backs of the mountain bike trail back to the campground area and decided to follow some of the campground trails to add the extra 1.25 miles that Mac and I missed.  When I got back to the parking lot and my Garmin officially read 31.1 miles and I was satisfied.  I was also happy to see that I set a PR of 7 hours and 4 minutes on the Forget the PR course!  I think all the training I have been doing for the Burning River 100 at the end of July has really paid off.  After the race we all met at Trails End Pizza for beer and pizza, which is the perfect combination after running 31.1 miles through the trails of the Mohican State Forest.  My next event is at the inaugural Playing Possum 50K in Delaware state Park.  I am excited to run this new event because it is put on by my friend Mark Carroll and all the proceeds go to the Special Olympics, looking forward to it! 

Corktown Race 5K: March 10th, 2013

This awesome event takes place in Corktown, which is one of the oldest neighborhoods in Detroit.  The potato famine during the 1800s in Ireland drove many Irish immigrants to this area.  So as you can imagine St. Patties day in this neighborhood is a pretty big deal.  Every March on the Sunday before St. Patties day there is a 5K race and then it is followed by a huge parade down Michigan Avenue.  Also, the many beer pubs in this neighborhood are set up with extra beer lines and quick food, usually corned beef sandwiches and Guiness.  The hardcore partiers are up and at it by 7:00 AM.  This neighborhood is where the old Tigers Stadium once stood before it got torn down.  The neighborhood had taken a turn for the worse when that happened, but is recently undergoing a huge revitalization.  There are many younger people moving to Corktown and the establishments there are really taking off.  This is the first year we have decided to come to Corktown for the big party and it was well worth it.  The 5K is more of a fun run then a serious race.  There is a costume contest and almost everyone is dressed in green in the spirit of the celebration.

Jess and myself getting ready to run.

Race is complete, time to get our drink on!

 When I woke up in the morning I had to get out and run 5 miles before heading down to the 5K so I could get some required training miles in for my big event at the end of July.  Then Jess and I drove downtown and found a sweet parking spot North of the freeway, which was smart because there was huge traffic jams of cars trying to get right into Corktown for the festivities.  In reality we were really close to everything without the hassle the other drivers were having.  Jess's two friends from her work, Stacy and Moureen, were going to run the 5K with us so we found them and got in line to start the race.  I think there was around 13,000 runners and most of them dressed in green which was a cool site.  The course goes 1.5 miles down Michigan avenue and then back.  Along the way there were many spectators and even some bagpipers were out playing.  I took some video of this while I was running.  The video is pretty choppy for obvious reasons but I posted it anyway.  This was neat to see.  I was really feeling the spirit and vibe of this massive celebration, especially because of my Irish descent.  There was some very interesting costumes as well, one guy was dressed in a wrestling singlet and he must of been drunk before the race started.  He was leapfrogging parking meters and yelling at people.   

Bagpipers on the parade route

Congrats to Maureen who finished her first 5K!  After the race Jess and I went to a few bars and walked around checking out all of the festivities.  Then we watched the parade for awhile.  It was quite the scene.  We ended up hanging out at a Detroit original called Slow's BBQ which is a staple of Corktown.  We grabbed some chicken sandwiches and also a few beers from their awesome beer selection.  Then we met up with a couple friends from work who were also down at the Corktown celebration and headed to a pub called Nancy Whiskey's where the Irish party was raging!!  They even had a separate line just for Irish Car bombs, my favorite shot!  Perfect!  This was such a great time that we will defnitely be back next year.    

Seashore Nature Trail 50K: December 15th, 2012

In April I finished my first 50K at Forget The PR in the Mohican State Forest and then in September I managed to complete a 50 miler at Run Rabbit Run in Steamboat, Colorado.  In October Jessica's brother Luke showed interest in running the Seashore Nature Trail 50K and asked me if I wanted to run it with him.  I thought it would be a great way to end the year by running my third ultra and helping Luke to complete his first ultra so I told Luke that I was in!  

My first 50K at Forget the PR had 4,500 feet of elevation gain.  The 50 miler at Run Rabbit Run had about 9,500 feet of elevation gain and almost the whole race was ran between 9,000 - 10,600 feet above sea level.  The Seashore Nature Trail 50K is very flat compared to the other two ultras I did and some of the race is actually below sea level!  Plenty of oxygen and I also knew the weather was more then likely going to be ideal.  I was thinking this ultra would be relatively easy and I did not train as hard as I did for the other two.  That mindset was completely idiotic because it really does not matter how flat, what elevation your at, or what the weather is going to do.  If it was easy they would not call it an ULTRA marathon!!

Time to RAWK!!

Fast forward to December, Jess and I fly to Virginia Beach the night before the race and after grabbing some food we get to Luke's place around 11:30 PM.  Luckily the start time of the 50K was not until 8:15 so we didn't have to get up super early.  After we woke up and got geared up Jess drove us to First Landing State Park which is only about 10 minutes away from Luke's place.  We arrived at the starting line with plenty of time to spare.  While waiting in line for the bathroom before the start I had a few people inquire about my shoes.  I decided to wear my Vivobarefoot Breatho Trails because I've been trail running in them since May and they got me through my 50 miler in the mountains.  These minimalist shoes are great because they are breathable and they have really nice traction lugs on the bottom of them.  A lot of the minimalist shoes on the market do not handle muddy, slushy, or slippery conditions to well due to a lack of traction.  I still have complete ground feel in them even with the traction lugs.  The temperature was in the low 40s to start and would climb into the mid 50s throughout the race.  As far as running weather goes, it does not get any better then that!  While waiting for the start of the race I also met Luke's friend Mel who is an experienced ultra runner and we exchanged our time goals etc..  His time goal was six hours and Luke and myself were looking to finish in less then seven hours.

The race director gave us the official GO! and off we went.  The first mile is on a paved road leading to the trails.  This is a smart move by the course planner because it gives the field a chance to spread out before entering the trails.  I have been in other trail races that bottle necked at the trail entry point and it caused runners to come to a complete stop right at the beginning, which is frustrating when the adrenaline is pumping and the legs are fresh!  The trails for this race wind through the swampy forest of First Landing State Park.  They were well maintained, wide, and soft..thanks to the help of pine needles and sand.  The roots a.k.a. "trip hazards" were often hidden but I am no stranger to that.  After taking a few nice spills on the trails here in Michigan I learned the value of treading carefully on any earthen trail.  We were going with the flow of the main pack for the first few miles.  I looked down at my watch and realized that we were moving at a pretty good clip.  A fatal mistake that I have made in my first two ultras is going out really fast at the start and having nothing left for the last half of the race.  I cannot believe that I did not learn a lesson from my past mistakes.  It is easy to ignore the actual distance you have to go when your feeling great and really killing it.  The mind is tricked into thinking that this is your day and you will be able to maintain this level of running for most of the race.

Kicking some ass.  All business!!

We even passed Mel at mile 3 and I knew his goal was six hours so that was uplifting.  In reality Mel was really smart by maintaining a comfortable steady pace so he could run the majority of the course without burning out to early.  As we were getting close to the first aid station the leading runner flew past us going the other way!  He was 8.5 miles in and we were only 5 miles in.  His name is Billy Edwards and he went on to win and finished the race in 3 hours and 35 minutes which is an amazing time for a 50K on trails.    Luke was keeping up with me and we were both feeling pretty good as we came into the first aid station (The 64th Street Aid Station).  Before I continue the story of our journey I want to say that the volunteers at the aid stations of this race were top notch!  They were friendly, ready to help in anyway possible, and had great setups to keep people moving through.  It is so great that people would volunteer their time to hang out all day feeding a bunch of crazy lunatics who enjoy running super long distances for fun!  I told Luke that we cannot hang out too long at any of the aid stations because that could really hurt our time over the course of the entire race.  We quickly ditched our long sleeve shirts, grabbed some munchies, refilled our water and off we went.

This wayyyyyy!!

The next section of trail is an out and back which provided some great views of the water.  It always helps the miles go by when you have nice scenery to look at.  We also came across a very enthusiastic runner that had a wild outfit on and she was extremely happy to be out running the trails.  She was actually doing really well and displayed true ultra running spirit!  We got back to the 64th street aid station and again we did not stay long.  We were both still feeling pretty darn strong at this point which was almost 8.5 miles into the race.  We began our journey back to the area where we first entered the trails.  It was almost 4 miles to the next aid station (The Bald Cypress Aid Station) and we kept a decent pace all the way there.  We slowed down a little bit but nothing to be concerned about at this point.  We were in and out of this aid station as we knew we would be back in 3.5 miles after completing the Bald Cypress loop.  This is where we started to slow down.  Luke's knee started bothering him and I felt a slight pain in the arch of my left foot.  Nothing to bad, but not something you want to feel when your only 13 miles into a 31 mile race.  We completed the loop, refueled at the aid station, and started walking.  We were half way done at this point and the wheels started to fall off.

We are doing a great job hiding our pain here at mile 20!!

Luke's knee pain was getting worse and my arch pain was slowly creeping on me.  We walked for a half mile or so and started a slow jog.  At this point Mel passed us while keeping his steady pace.  He looked strong and I was jealous.  That was the point in the race where I told myself that going forward I will never again make the mistake of not pacing myself at the start of an ultra.  So, we were basically at a "run a little and walk a little" routine that we repeated all the way back to the 64th street aid station.  We started the out part of the out and back section again and we were both hurting pretty bad.  I never thought about quitting in my other two ultras but I confess that the thought actually crossed my mind in this one.  That negative thought passed quickly though because that is not how we roll.  We are both hard working guys with strong work ethics and we were just going to have to roll up our sleeves, dig deep, and get this thing done.  In this section of the out and back we saw Mel going back the other way and wished him luck on meeting his six hour goal.  The tide had risen in a few areas of this section and the trail was flooded in two areas.  Wading through the ankle deep water actually felt refreshing and I always enjoy a good water crossing in a trail race.  We reached the far point of the race and turned around to head back on our death march to the finish.

Luke at the marathon mark.  Still almost 5 joyous miles to go!

 We got to the 64th Street Aid Station and refueled.  Our pace had really fallen off at this point.  Just finishing is definitely the goal now.  We were walking for really long stretches and still had about 8 miles to go.  The winner Billy Edwards flew by us again going the other way!  It turns out he was running extra miles for charity and he looked as fresh as when he started, what a machine!  That was kind of a reality check for us but congrats to him.  During this stretch we were picking objects in the distance such as a tree or a rock and we would run to that point and then walk for awhile.  We would repeat that process all the way back to the Bald Cypress Aid Station.  Along this section we reached the 26.2 mile mark and it would be Luke's first ever marathon distance.  This was a milestone but I am pretty sure we were both thinking it would be nice if this was the end point in the race.  We pushed on and finally made it to the Bald Cypress Aid Station where we refueled and set off to do the Bald Cypress loop one more time before heading to the finish.  Starting this loop was very uplifting and Luke even made a comment that it was a good feeling.  This sense of the race being over quickly faded right after we started the loop.  There was a lot of people passing us through here and we both wished we were not in a super amount of pain so we could run and finish ahead of all these people.

We crossed the finish line!! Party time!!

After we got off the loop we only had one more mile to go.  We decided that we were not going to let anyone else pass us.  It was motivation to finish this thing is proper fashion.  We were on the paved section and with about a quarter mile to go we seen another "lurker" on the road behind us and we decided that we had to run the rest of the way to the finish.  Every step was extreme pain but this was kind of a good pain because we were almost finished which meant beer and pizza was in our very near future.  One of the best things about ultra running is that you burn so many calories that you can eat and drink as much as you want after a race and you don't have to worry about it.  As we got close to the finish area we seen Mel and some other people cheering us on.  Then we crossed the finish line and Jess was there to take our picture and congratulate us.  It was a great moment to be finished and I know Luke was super happy to have completed his first ultra marathon.  We finished in 7 hours and 24 minutes which was a personal best for myself and a great time for Luke considering it was his first ultra.  Mel was close to his goal of 6 hours but went a little longer which is still a great time for a 50K.  For the record, the beer and pizza went down really well that night at the great after party!! 


This race was very well organized and I was happy to be a part of it.  This was a great way to top off the great year I had.  I hope 2013 is another great year for my ultra running.  I plan on taking things to a new level.  Stay tuned!    

 

 

Detroit Free Press Half: October 21, 2012

This time it was back to the D for the annual Free Press Half Marathon.  Jessica's brother Luke came into town from Virgina Beach to run the race with us.  I had not really prepared for this race due to my long recovery from the Run Rabbit Run 50 Miler.  In the weeks leading up to the half marathon Jess had mentioned that a guy from work was running in his first half marathon ever at the Free Press.  She had also said that he wanted to have a bet with her to see who could have a better time.  I never heard if the bet was finalized until the day before the race.  When I heard how much the bet was for I decided this was not going to be a light stroll through Detroit and Canada.  I was going to pace Jess to get her best time ever and beat her co-worker who was older and had a lot of injuries during training...so he said.

The cold October morning woke us up!

Luke got into town on Saturday.  We went and picked up our race packets and then Jess's family came over to watch the Notre Dame football game.  We took it easy the rest of the day since we had to get up early.  This race starts at 7:00 AM which is super early but I guess they need to do that logistically.  Can't keep the streets of Detroit closed all day!  The alarm went off, I strapped on my VFF Trek Sports, and we got geared up before heading downtown.  We were trying to find a closer parking spot then we did the previous year but we ended up parking in the same exact spot!  It was not as long of a walk to the start line as we thought it was.  The weather was very cold in the morning and we couldn't wait for the race to start so we could warm up!  We picked a location to meet up after the race in case we could not find each other and then we worked our way into the huge group of people at the starting line.  About 25 minutes after the initial waves started we were finally under way.

There was a lot of congestion at the start and I noticed that our pace was not as good as I thought it should be.  We were struggling to pass people because of the sheer number of runners in the streets.  After about a mile things opened up and we were able to settle into a nice pace.  Jess was leading the way and I was pleased at how fast we were moving.  Then we hit the bridge to Canada, which was another point of congestion.  It was hard to pass people here and our pace slowed down again.  We also lost Luke here as he got stuck behind a big glob of slower runners.  On the way down off the bridge we were greeted by the Canadian customs guy with a microphone rattling off his usual cheesy but funny jokes.  While running next to the Detroit river in Canada there were some nice views of the Detroit skyline.  There was a ton of spectators who came out to support all the runners, which was nice to see.  As we went along the Windsor side we kept a very good pace.

A sea of runners waiting to start moving

Then we hit the hot and muggy tunnel back to Detroit.  It was another point of congestion and we also had a hard time passing people down there.  So we lost some time on our pace during the mile jaunt under the Detroit river.  As soon as we got out of the tunnel we were able to make up some time.  Jess and I were both starting to feel the burn of running as hard as we could for so long.  As the race went through Mexican town and Corktown our pace began to slow.  I told Jess we need to run hard and finish strong.  We pushed ourselves to the max and Jess did a great job maintaining her pace right through to the end.  As we were finishing, the first place marathoner was also coming into the finish...WOW!!...he just did double our distance and he started about 25 minutes before us so he was really cooking.  We ended up with a great time of 2 hours 5 minutes and 11 seconds.  Jess hit her PR and really did a great job.  I thought for sure that we had a good enough time to beat her co-worker.  After looking up his time we found out that we lost by 9 seconds!  We put forth 100% during the race and it was just a tough break.  We will definitely beat him next year!!

All finished!  Time for Starbucks!

After the race we found Luke who came in not to long after us.  We went to Starbucks and grabbed a coffee before heading home.  After getting cleaned up we went over to Jess's sister's house for some brunch and bloody mary's.  A nice way to celebrate after a hard fought battle.  Even though we came up just a little short the effort was awesome.  I am proud of Jess as she has come a long way in her running.  Next up for me is the Seashore Nature Trail 50K.  This is in Virginia Beach at First Landing State Park.  Luke decided he wanted to run his first ultra ever and I am looking for a nice way to cap off my best year of running.