Saturday, February 10, 2018

Mountain Mist 50k 2018 - Beat the Rain


January 27

I am 49 years old today.  It is a great day to run in the woods and feel like I am young again.  The only problem is that it is raining lightly right now.  It is supposed to stop soon, but then start again sometime this afternoon.  When I left my house, the temperature was 53 degrees, so I decided I only would need a short-sleeve shirt.  As I drove up to Monte Sano, the temperature was lower.  I am sitting in my truck looking at 46 degrees.  That is a bit cool for only a short-sleeve shirt, but it is supposed to warm into the lower 50s.  Hopefully, I won’t be too cold before that happens.

Mile 6.7      1:10:54 (10:35 avg./mile) O’Shaughnessy Point

For the past month, I have been having nose bleeds every two days.  My last one was two days ago, so right on schedule, 15 minutes into the race, my nose starts dripping blood.  Fortunately, I am prepared with a Kleenex all ready to be stuffed into a stopper.  I do have to stop running, dig it out of my Camelbak, and jam it in.  During this time, 25 runners pass me, and I have lost about 5 minutes.  However, I am then able to run okay, and I meet up with Lanier, who I met at Hellgate last month.  When I get to this aid station, I throw away the nose plug, and everything with my nose seems fine.  I grab some potato chips to eat at this aid station before continuing.

Mile 11.9    1:02:37 (12:02 avg./mile) Aid Station #2

I am setting a comfortable pace at this point and am not worrying about my overall time—which is good.  My energy level is very good.  The only concern is that my lower legs have tired quickly, probably from the hard skating hockey game 5 days ago.  I don’t think it will be an issue though as other parts will begin to hurt more soon enough.  I don’t get much to eat here.

Mile 17.3    1:10:45 (13:36 avg./mile) Fearn Road

This aid station marks the halfway mark for the race—not in distance but in effort and typical times.  The race time is 3:24, which is slower than I wanted at this point.  My other finish at this race was 6:52, so if I can run even splits (first and second halves) then I should beat that time.  My daughter, Amy, has driven up to this aid station to meet me with some chocolate milk.  I drink the majority of the pint before thanking her and continuing the race.

Mile 21.0    51:51 (13:18 avg./mile) Old Railroad Bed

I am making steady progress and trying to maintain a good pace through the land trust section of the course.  I am getting passed by a runner every so often so it feels like I am slowing down, but I know that I want to save myself for the last two sections.  This part is very rocky and technical, and I just want to get through it without twisting my ankle.  I grab some PB&J sandwich quarters and some potato chips at this aid station.

Mile 25.1    1:08:57 (16:49 avg./mile) Hiker’s Parking Lot

This section is the most technical section in the race and ends with the climb up the waterline trail.  As I am climbing up the waterfalls on the waterline trail, I pass a handful of runners.  It is almost time to start the finishing kick, and I am warming to the task.  When I get to the aid station, Travis Satterfield is here, waiting on his wife to come through.  Travis plays drums in our church’s band, and it is great to see him.  He lies and says that I look great.  I stuff a couple of handfuls of potato chips into my mouth and wash it down with a cup of Coke.  Let’s see what kind of kick I can deliver today!

Mile 29.5    1:06:03 (15:01 avg./mile) High Bluff

I leave the hiker’s parking lot and for the first mile, just maintain the pace I had been keeping.  But then, as I know a technical downhill is coming up, I pick up the pace.  I pass a few people before the downhill section begins, and then pass a few more as we pick our way down, past the natural well.  When the trail bottoms out, I feel good, and continue to push the pace, passing several more runners before the last climb of the race begins.  On the climb, I am working hard, and manage to get around 4-5 more runners.  At the top of this climb is this aid station.  I grab another cup of Coke, and then start final section.

Mile 31.1    14:19 (8:57 avg./mile) FINISH – Lodge

My legs are starting to tire, but there are runners ahead of me who are clearly more tired than me.  I pass two runners, and then two more.  Then I see Lanier up ahead of me, and I pass him and another runner.  Lanier comments that I passed him on the last section at Hellgate as well.  After that, I spy Susan Donnelly in front of me.  She had passed me about 7 miles ago, but I quickly close the gap on her.  I pass her and another runner before finally crossing the finish line.

Official Finishing Time          6:45:26

134th out of 343 starters

A misty rain starts right as I am coming into the finish.  I talk with Lanier and Susan and a couple of other runners in the lodge after the race.  I consider waiting for Travis to get here, but then decide I am getting cold so I will get in my truck and drive home.  As I am leaving the lodge, I bump into Caitlin Milford.  She is one of Amy’s former roommates, who I was able to hold off and finish ahead of last year at Mt. Cheaha.  This time, she finished over 25 minutes ahead of me, and I never saw her.  Although Amy did tell me at mile 17 that she was about 15 minutes ahead of me.  Clearly, she had a great race today.  Maybe I can keep up with her again at Cheaha this year.  The Cheaha 50k will be my next race on February 24.

Never stop running,

Darin