January
26
It is the day before I turn 50, and I am sitting in my warm truck
waiting for the start of a 50k race that should be run today. I feel ready, but I did feel a bit off yesterday
getting a chill at one point and a little warm later. I hope I am not coming down with
anything. I woke with an ever so slight
head ache, but it is not a factor now.
The temperature is currently 28 degrees, and it is supposed to climb
into the mid-40s. My initial plan was to
start the race with shorts, a long-sleeve and short-sleeve technical shirts,
hat, and gloves with another throw away shirt over the other two. When I get out of the truck 12 minutes before
the race start, the wind is calm, and I don’t think I will freeze without the
third shirt so I leave it in the truck.
Mile
6.7 1:07:49 (10:07 avg./mile)
O’Shaughnessy Point
Surprisingly,
I see nobody I know before the start or during this first section. I am relaxed and just trying not to go out
too fast. This may look fast, but this
first section is all runnable and mostly flat.
My hands were cold for the first 20 minutes or so, but have warmed up
okay, and I am glad I started with only two shirts. I grab a handful of waving, kettle cooked
potato chips at the first aid station.
Mile
11.9 1:01:35 (11:51 avg./mile) Aid
Station #2
Martha
is crewing for me this year as I am trying a new drink. My drink of choice since 2003 has been
Conquest, but they went out of business over 10 years ago. Fortunately, I
bought a case of the canisters, and I only use it in races. Finally, though, my supply is almost gone so
I dialed up a mixture with Infinit to try to closely duplicate the Conquest
formula. I tried this new mixture (CR01)
on a training run a week ago, but the true test will be during a race. So, Martha was going to try and walk into
this aid station so that I could drink some CR01 early in the race. Unfortunately, she didn’t make it to the aid
station before I blazed through so instead I ate a PB&J sandwich quarter
and another handful of potato chips.
Mile
17.3 1:07:33 (12:59 avg./mile) Fearn
Road
 |
| Coming into Old Railroad Bed aid station |
My
energy level is high so far, and I have been pacing well with several other
runners. While this is more than halfway
mileage wise, it is considered the halfway point as the second half is more
difficult than the first. Martha is
here, and I drink several ounces of CR01 before drinking some chocolate milk as
well. Here’s hoping the CR01 agrees with
me! I trade out the hat for a buff, but keep
the gloves on for now.
Mile
21.0 51:22 (13:10 avg./mile) Old
Railroad Bed
This side of the mountain is wetter than the other
side, and sections of quagmire are encountered.
So far I am able to make my way through the quagmire without the mud
coming over the tops of my shoes. I chat
up a young runner right behind me, who is running is second or third
ultra. He sounds really surprised when I
tell him I am turning 50 tomorrow. His
dad is 54, and he says there is no way he would ever do something like this! At this aid station, Martha is joined by Ben
and Amy. It is great to see all three of
them! I drink some chocolate milk and
then a splash of Coke just to give me a little edge for the technical section
ahead of me. Then I grab another
sandwich quarter and a handful of potato chips.
These wavy, kettle cooked potato chips are awesome.
 |
| Drinking some chocolate milk from Martha |
Mile
25.1 1:03:16 (15:26 avg./mile) Hiker’s
Parking Lot
Almost
as soon as I leave the last aid station, a gray-haired lady lets several us
pass. I mentioned to a couple of guys
with me that she will likely pass us climbing up Waterline trail. I make good time on the railroad bed section
as one guy points out that it is a slight downhill grade, but it is rocky and
technical. Then the left on the Alms
House trail, and finally another left onto the infamous Waterline trail. Just like a predicted, the gray-haired lady
passes me almost as soon as I get on Waterline.
However, I am determined to climb this portion hard, so I stick with
Sally. We exchange first names and begin
chatting. Soon I realize that this is
Sally Brookings, and she has tons of serious ultra-running experience! I know we have run races together, but this
is the first time that I know of that we have spoken. I think usually she is way ahead of me! Near the top of Waterline, I manage to slide
by Sally and roll into the aid station about a minute ahead of her. I drink most of the rest of the bottle of
Coke and then grab another sandwich quarter and handful of potato chips. The warm-up is over; now it is time to get
this thing finished.
Mile
29.5 1:07:30 (15:20 avg./mile) High
Bluff
But
first there is quite a bit more quagmire mud to deal with. I make it down Natural Well without much
trouble, but I cannot get into much of a rhythm with all of the mud in McKay
Hollow. I hold my own, getting passed by
a couple of people, but also passing a couple of others. When I get to the final climb, I go into full
redline lung breathing mode and pass six other runners on the climb. When I get to the top and this final aid
station, I just punch my watch and start running towards the finish.
Mile
31.1 16:00 (10:00 avg./mile) FINISH –
Lodge
I
manage to pass another handful of runners in this last section. Parts of my legs have seemed to be on the
verge of cramping, but I just adjust and focus on using the muscles that aren’t
acting like they are going to cramp. I
make it to the finish is great shape and a PR on this course of over 10 minutes
on my previous best!
Official
Finishing Time 6:35:05
159th
out of 374 starters
My surge at
the end wasn’t quite as quick as last year, but I finished with my fastest time
ever on this course. I was waiting to
try and see if Lanier was going to finish and somehow missed him
completely. The results show he finished
21 minutes after me. Lanier and I have
run many sections at Hellgate the last two years. Not only is my time a PR, but I also gained
significant places over the course of the race.
At O’ Shaughnessy Point, I was in 195th place. At Fearn Road, I was in 176th
place. At the Hiker’s Parking lot
crossing Monte Sano Boulevard, I was in 178th place. So, I passed 19 runners (net) over the last
six miles.
My next race
is slated to be the Mt. Cheaha 50k in four weeks. I dearly hope that it is not as hot as it was
last year when I basically melted. Until
then…
Never stop
running,
Darin
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