I spent the week in Colorado with temperatures ranging from -1 to 16
degrees. When I ran on Wednesday
morning, the temperature was -1. Now, I am
in Talladega, Alabama (or close to it) where the temperature at 7am is 65
degrees. The race is going to start in
30 minutes, and the only question is whether I start with a shirt on or off. My son-in-law, Ben is running this race as
well, and Amy is crewing for us. I asked
Ben last night if he wanted to stick together, and he said it would probably be
good for the first half, just like we did in October at the Paris Mountain
50k. As this is Ben’s second ultra, this
is a good idea. Just before the start,
we chat with Caitlin, who is a former roommate of Amy’s. She says she is going to take things really
easy today. I also make the decision to
take off the shirt as it doesn’t feel cool at all.
Mile
3.3 35:54 (10:53 avg./mile) Chandler
Springs
Ben
is in the lead right from the start as Caitlin and I follow behind. Within a couple of miles, Ben has worked his
way quickly around other runners, and Caitlin and I lose sight of him. Surely, we will catch up to him soon enough
as he settles into a good position. When
we get to this first aid station, Ben is nowhere to be seen. Caitlin and I press on thinking that we will
catch up to him at some point—sooner or later.
Despite the fact that Ben is well ahead of us, I have run a quick pace
for this section. My goal today, if it
doesn’t get to hot, is to try to average between 12- and 13-minute miles.
Mile
8.5 1:05:34 (12:37 avg./mile)
Clairmont Gap
I
continue to lead as Caitlin is content to follow behind. Another runner, who is running his first
ultra, is also tagging along behind. I
manage to dial back the pace nicely, and I am happy with my pace given the
conditions. Speaking of which, it is
already feeling warm. I don’t know how
warm, but when the breeze is not on me, it feels very warm. At this aid station, we see Amy, and she says
Ben is about 7-8 minutes ahead of us. I
drink some chocolate milk as well as some Conquest.
Mile
14.9 1:39:48 (15:36 avg./mile) Adams
Gap
Caitlin
and I along with a couple of other runners make it down and through the most
technical trail portions in this race.
The rock gardens are such that walking is necessary at times to keep
from injuring myself. At one point I
catch a toe and go down, but mostly unscathed, I pop back up and continue
leading the small pack. Then around 12
miles or so, I finish a downhill section and realize that I need to slow
down. There is no breeze in this valley,
and I am roasting. I let Caitlin and
several others pass by me. I watch them
pull away, but know that if I am going to survive this warm weather, I need to
slow down to keep from overheating. At
the aid station, Amy has already left since she needs to keep up with Ben. The aid station workers are telling us
runners that it is seven miles to the next aid station. At first, I think I have missed an aid
station or something. So, I ask, “Isn’t
this mile 14 aid station?” Yes, it is,
at which I reply then we only have four miles or less to the next aid station,
not seven.
Mile
18.4 1:08:32 (19:35 avg./mile) Hubbard
Creek
The wheels are coming off as I continue to slow my
pace. I think I feel okay, but it is
just so warm that I know I cannot push the pace like I want to (or could in
cooler weather). Scores of runners have
passed me by, but there are a couple of runners that are moving as slowly as I
am. At the aid station, Amy is here with
more chocolate milk and Conquest. I also
take the opportunity to sit down. Amy
says that Ben is 27 minutes ahead of me, and Caitlin is about 10 minutes ahead
of me at this point. Earlier, I was
thinking that mile 18 would be the point at which I picked up the pace to see
if I could catch Ben, but now I know that unless he blows up, I will be
finishing behind him today. After
drinking chocolate milk and Conquest, I grab a couple of PB&J sandwich
quarters.
Mile
25.3 1:48:48 (15:46 avg./mile) Silent
Trail
After
the refreshments, I settle into a good groove.
This section has several stream crossings, and they are good for cooling
off a bit. It feels like I can push a
little, but I know I need to save that for the end. Instead, I methodically make steady forward
progress. Somewhere on this section, the
race clock passes 6 hours. The previous
two times I ran this race, I finished in 6:40 and 6:44. This is obviously going to be slower than 7
hours, but the question is how much slower than 7 hours? At the aid station, Amy has again moved on
before I get there. I grab a couple more
PB&J sandwich quarters and refill my empty Camelbak. I also drink two cups of Coke. It is time to see what I have left.
Mile
27.9 32:35 (12:32 avg./mile) Lake
Cheaha
Leaving
the last aid station, I feel ready to push it to the finish. I run most of this section and pass a couple
of runners. It is now time to really
kick things in and get this race done.
At the aid station, I grab another cup of Coke before heading towards
blue hell.
Mile
31.1 1:04:12 (20:04 avg./mile) FINISH –
Bald Rock
Blue
hell is the name of the trail that climbs Mt. Cheaha. The trail is marked by blue blazes, and
climbs 1,500 feet in about a mile—hence the moniker. I vow not to stop on the climb and manage to
work my way around another couple of runners.
As I near the top of the blue hell climb, my leg muscles begin to rebel.
First it is my right calf muscle. I
ignore that and keep pushing. Then it is
the left calf. Finally, the upper legs
start to cramp, both on the insides and backsides. By the time I have finished the blue hell
climb, my legs need a break, but there is still about a mile and a half to go
to the finish. All of the runners that I
passed in the last few miles come back by me as I am still moving forward, but
only in a technical sense that I am not actually standing still. I stagger into the finish with Ben sitting
there already showered and changed.
Official
Finishing Time 7:55:23
112th
out of 228 entrants (31st of M40-49)
It was a very
ugly day for me today, but I guess I can take solace in the fact that I did
persevere and finish no matter how slow it was.
Ben was 50 minutes ahead of me at the end. My legs recover quickly once I allow my body
temperature to come back down. The heat
cramps were intense, but I worked through them, deep within my pain room.
Ben and I are
both entered into the Bull Run Run 50 miler on April 7. This will be his first 50 mile race, and we
will see how well he makes that transition.
Until then…
Never stop
running,
Darin
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