February 5
After Hellgate in December, I planned to run the Mountain Mist 50k in
January and then probably the Mount Cheaha 50k in February. However, the Omicron variant had other plans
for me. Starting around January 8th,
I started feeling a sore throat. When I
woke up on January 10th, it was clear that I had a serious upper
respiratory issue going on. I tested
positive two days later and made the decision that I wasn’t going to race
Mountain Mist on January 22nd.
Instead I volunteered for almost eight hours at the finish line to
fulfill my volunteering at a race requirement for the Kettle Moraine 100 miler
that I am running in June.
After that James Ebert, a co-worker of mine, told me he was running the
Frozen Falls 50 miler on February 5th. I was not excited about a 50 miler coming
back from Covid, so instead, James talked me into the 50k option. So, here I am waiting in my truck for the
7:30am start of the 50k. James started
the 50 miler at 6am. The temperature is
currently about 18 degrees—just a little nippy.
I have decided to start my race with a regular pair of tights, a
short-sleeve shirt, two long-sleeve shirts, hat, and gloves. I have the thermal sleeve on my Camelbak
hose, but will have to sip water often to keep it from freezing.
 |
| Just getting started in the race |
I
don’t know what the starting field for the 50k is, but it isn’t large. There are about 40
of us shivering with a
stiff breeze cutting across the lake. The
race begins, and it takes about 20 minutes before I get feeling back in my
hands. It will take 40 minutes before my
toes thaw out. As it has only been about
three weeks since I had the worst of the Covid symptoms, I am starting
conservatively. This first section is a
lollipop loop that crosses a suspension bridge coming and going. The course has a dusting of snow on it, so
the bridge crossings are going to be fun.
The aid stations are all unmanned except for the main one at the
finish. I pass this one without
stopping. I like my pace so far,
although I was hoping to be closer to 12 minutes per mile.
Mile
11.1 1:02:12 (12:12 avg./mile) Split
for Half Marathon Shortcut
In
addition to the 50 miler and 50k options, there are also 10k and half marathon
options. This section is flatter than
the first section, but there are many blow-downs that have to be maneuvered around,
under, and over. After the blow-downs
there is a road section that is a couple of miles. I make good time on this section, and when I
get to the aid station, I look for a small bite to eat. Lying on the aid station table is an open and
half full bag of potato chips—perfect! I
grab the bag and quickly munch down the chips.
Mile
16.5 1:06:08 (12:15 avg./mile) End of
First Lap
The
mostly flat terrain continues for this section even though the majority of it
is beside the lake. There are several
damp spots, but overall the trail is in pretty good shape. I am around a handful of other runners at
this point. Conversations range from
general partnerships and the economy to the current politics in the House and
Senate. Someone thinks that Manchin
should be knighted for his recent activities of blocking certain
legislation. I don’t engage in this
conversation, but later I ask one of the runners what he does and learn that he
is a lawyer. The distractions that the
conversations provide allow the finish line to sneak up on me. My time through a little over halfway is 3:26,
so I hope that I can keep it less than seven hours for the race. At the aid station, I eat a jumbo hot dog and
wash it down with some Tailwind, which I am trying in a race for the first
time. As it seems to have warmed up
quite a bit, I shed one of the long-sleeve shirts and change out my hat and
gloves for dry ones that are thinner.
Mile
22.5 1:32:12 (15:22 avg./mile) End of
10k Loop
Starting
this section, I immediately think that I probably should have stayed with the
thicker gloves as my hands are cold. I
hope they warm up like they did after the start of the race. Going down the steps before the suspension
bridge, I roll my right ankle as I was getting off the steps and onto a short
dirt section before the bridge. I grab a
railing to keep myself upright as I let out a moderate yelp of pain. Another runner coming back towards me stops
and asks me a couple of times if I am okay.
I assure her that I am fine and that it will feel better as soon as it
stops hurting. Since I roll my right
ankle often, it takes less than a mile or so before it stops hurting. I navigate the rest of this lollipop loop
without any more issues. When I get to
this aid station, it is time to refill my Camelbak for the first and
(hopefully) only time of this race.
Obviously, this section was slower for me this time, but I am still
feeling good about where I am. I have
left all of the runners behind that I was running with before the end of the first
lap. I expected one or two of them to
catch up to me, but none have yet.Suspension Bridge
Mile
27.6 1:07:58 (13:20 avg./mile) Split
for Half Marathon Shortcut
Getting
through the technical lollipop loop, I now have two goals for this
section. Goal number one is not to roll
my right ankle again. Goal number two is
to get to the split before James catches me.
He is on his third lap, while I am on my second. He got the 1.5 hour head start, and I saw him
on the 10k loop. I figure I had a little
less than 30 minutes on him at that point.
No other runners catch me, and I don’t catch any runners either on this
section. As I get to the unmanned aid
station, I am thinking it is time for a cup of Coke. Sitting on the table is a half full can of Coke—perfect
once again. As I grab the Coke and start
drinking it, I hear a shout behind me—it is James coming into the aid
station. We trade greetings, and then I
say that I will see him at the finish.
Mile
30.5 30:46 (10:37 avg./mile) FINISH
Leaving
the last aid station, the split in the course is right there. The second lap for the 50k is the half
marathon course, so I only have about three miles to the finish, whereas James has
to run the full 16.5-mile lap each time.
Therefore, I have 2.5 miles less to get to the finish than James does,
so I like my chances of getting to the finish line before him. I push the pace hard on this last section
taking the “short-cut” over to the lake in about eight minutes. Then it is a smooth trail to the finish. Along the way, I pass a couple of 50-mile
runners trying to finish their second laps and then I pass one 50k runner
before I get to the finish line.
Official
Finishing Time 6:37:21
20th
out of 55 starters (43 finishers)
The finish
line is lightly populated as there are not many crews out here today. I get my medal from the race director and
then head over to the food table. I eat
a nice cheeseburger, chocolate chip cookie, and a bag of potato chips while I
sit on a rock beside the lake waiting for James to finish. I don’t have to wait long as he finishes the
50-miler in 8:25:14 in second place. It
is a Huntsville sweep of the top two spots in the 50 miler as Michael Wall
takes the win.
After James
gets a bite to eat, we walk across the dam and up the hill to where my truck is
parked. We quickly change and head for
home. The thermometer in my truck says it is 31 degrees, so it never did get
warm today. This race was an easier 50k
than most and was a great race for my comeback from the Omicron variant. I am really pleased with my time and effort,
and it is actually my 9th fastest 50k out of 35 finishes. The plan for my next race is the Bull Run Run
50-miler on April 9th. Until
then…
Never stop
running,
Darin
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