The day was finally here! I was ready to run and complete my first 50 mile trail race! I had put in the time both with training and planning. I had learned from my mistakes down in Georgia and I knew I had my nutrition dialed in for this event. I have had many long runs at pineland, so I knew what to expect in regards to the terrain and rolling hills. This would be my last "big" run before Vermont in July.
Race time was at 6am and I am lucky enough the start line is less than 40 minutes away from my front door. So the travelling logistics were easy. Catalina, my superstar crew chief and partner, and I arrived and got the drop bag set up at the "Final Mile" aid station (which I would end up passing by 6 times during the race). I wasn't nervous and it was nice to see friends at the starting line. I did my best to start behind EVERYONE and try to go slow. Unfortunately, I still went out too fast. At 13 miles in I was about 20 minutes ahead of pace. I knew I might pay for it at the end (Spoiler alert: I did pay for it), but I felt so good and fresh at that point. I was hammering down the downhills and walking the big uphills as planned, but I ended up going too fast on the flats. At about mile 35 I could start feeling my left ankle start talking to me. I was hoping this wasn't going to be a problem, but I knew it was still sore from rolling it at Riverlands a few weeks back and rolling it again a few days before the race on a training run. I started slowing the pace I could maintain on the downhils and the pain in the left ankle started to spread to my knee and hip. This is where I say I wasn't too proud to walk. I knew this wasn't my "A" race for the year and there wasn't a sense of pushing it and injuring myself. I continued run/walking for the remainder of the course but still finished strong. I ended up being slower than my goal time of 8:45, but still finished in a respectable time of 9:37.
Alright, so that's the short version. Here's the detailed version with all the extra information for anyone wondering:
Gear and clothing at race start:
Hoka Speedgoats 2
Injinji trail socks
New balance 3" impact short
NB singlet
Brooks cascadia Jacket
trucker hat
buff
Nathan Speeddraw plus insulated 18oz hard flask handheld
(3 servings tailwind plus blueberry crisp cliff bar)
Nathan Exodraw 18oz soft flask handheld (3 servings tailwind plus untapped maple)
Garmin 35
The 50 mile racers start 2 hours before the 50k racers and then the 25k racers start sometime after that.
The course is a 25km loop with aid stations no more than a few miles away at any time. This is why I decided against a vest and instead took two handhelds for the majority of the race. If there would have been a chance of rain and changing weather, I might have reconsidered that choice. Luckily, there was no rain, a bit of cloud cover, and tamps stayed between 48-55 degrees farenheit all day. If I needed to change any gear or clothing it would have to be at my drop bag with Catalina at the "Final Mile" aid station.
The plan was to go the first 13.5 miles at a 12 minute pace. I ended up completing those miles closer to a 10:30 pace. When I saw Cat at 13.5, I dropped my flasks and grabbed a fresh one with tailwind and kept romping around oakhill. I saw Cat 4.5 miles later on the otherside of Oakhill and grabbed two new handhelds with cliff bar and maple syrup and kept moving! I would see her again in 11 miles. I was having a blast on the well groomed wide rolling trails, having conversation when I could. However, not the entire course was fun. The second time around in the meadows I could not get comfortable footing. The meadows have the cambered trails that the farmers had just mowed that provided a challenge to get footing on. I persevered and kept hammering through. After leaving the meadows, I stopped at the Yurt aid station to top off my bottles and deviated from the nutrition plan by grabbing a hand full of potato chips.
I found myself again at the "Final Mile" aid station around mile 30. I knew the next 20 were going to be tough, so I took the time to change socks, put on a new pair of hoka speedgoats that are a half size up , rolled out my hamstrings and glutes with the R8 roller, had a few sips off coke, and completed the 4.5 mile section of oakhill before seeing Cat again. I let her know I wasn't feeling a hundred percent, but everything was good, It just wasn't worth the hard push and grit I know I had in me. I chugged some of her coffee and kept going, now with only 1 loop left.
The last loop was the hardest. At this point, all the 50k and 25 runners have been on the course. The areas of mud were much muddier. The cambered meadows were now even more on a camber. It got quite out there. There were times I could run a 9min pace and deal with the pain and other times I walked knowing it wasn't worth the potential injury. Throughout the race I didn't have any lows, which is definitely a first; however, I did get my first experience of tearing up while running.
When you've been out there running for hours on end, you become raw and open. I had a moment of uncontrollable bliss around mile 39. All of a sudden it all hit me. I have the ability and opportunity to run around some trails and not worry about anything else. I have put in this hard work in preparation for today. I have a tremendous amount of support for my ambitions. It got too emotional for me and I started to dig deep a deal with the pain for a bit. I really hope someone saw me crying while running, that must have been a sight.
After some run/walking I finally made it back to the drop bag. I changed shoes for the last 5-6 miles. I was getting tired of the weight and volume of the speedgoats and thought going to the Evojawz would be a good decision. Well, it wasn't. Going from all the cushion to a trail race shoe felt great, except when my feet hit the ground. I could feel every lug underneath my foot. This slowed me down and I am willing to admit it was a silly decision. I should have just kept wearing the same shoes until the finish. I got out of oak hill for the last time. I dropped my handheld, kissed Catalina, and sprinted the last mile to the finish.
I was exhausted but so happy I made it happen. I enjoyed my free pizza, beer and bbq and collected my finishers items: cowbell, pint glass, altra gaiters, and darn tough socks. It was a learning experience, but I know I'll be back.
Stay tired and run wild.
