Limberlost Race Report ... Injury and Training update .. BR 100 next weekend

Limberlost 56k race report

This is going to be a short race report because this ended up being a short one for me. I have begun to feel that if Charlie Brown was an ultra runner this is the kind of season he would be having. You know the kind where whatever could go wrong will go wrong. How did I become the hard luck peanuts character anyway when usually I share more in common with Snoopy.

We headed up to Limberlost on July 16th. I would run the 56km as a last long run / training run for the Burning River 100 miler. Kim was running 28km as she ramps up the distance for her upcoming Pikes Peak Accent. I ran this last year and really love the trails here. Challenging and somewhat technical but also really beautiful.

It was a nice sunny day, great weather although it would end up getting very hot. Before you knew it we were lined up and ready to go. My plan was simple I would run the first 14km loop moderately fast, loops two and three easy and the fourth loop hard to finish it off.

The first loop went well. The trails were as nice as I had remembered from the year before. I ended up running with Stephan M. for about 7 km then dropped off a little as he was moving just a bit to fast. My HR was higher then I wanted but not to bad and I ended up finish the loop in 1:35 minutes right on schedule. A quick refuelling and refilling of the bottles and I was back out again.

A couple of km into the loop I noticed my stomach was a little unsettled, not a big deal but it did give me a small eureka moment. I realized that my nutrition problems the last few races are more then likely caused by the ensure I was taking. I ran using ensure in long races last year but never in really hot conditions. I now believe that heat + ensure = stomach issues for me so if I am right this could really help at Burning River.

I was feeling good now, it was hot but manageable and I was cruising along totally oblivious just like the Titanic until wham, I steamed head long right into the iceberg. Running along one of the flattest non technical areas on the entire course I stepped on something (no idea what) and rolled my ankle over badly before hitting the ground face first. I got up quickly nothing seemed broken but my ankle was hurting. Not so bad I couldn't run at all on it but bad enough. For #&*% sakes!!

I ran along slowly for the next 6km trying to see if the ankle would numb up or the pain would recede but no luck. It was slowly getting worse. At 25km I knew that the writing was on the wall. I could run slowly and still finish the race. I had run fast early and even walking I could get in before the cut off. The only problem with that was my ankle would be far worse for wear. I decide to shut it down and ended up walking the 3k out to the start / finish line.

Man this sucked. I felt really good except for my ankle which was only kind of hurt. I decided to take some time, tape the ankle up and see how it felt. After I got it wrapped I headed back out for a third loop. It felt no better then before. I contemplated continuing but I had a lot of time to think about things as I walked out the last part of my second loop. This was suppose to be a training run. If I kept going there was a real good chance I would hurt myself more and it might end up costing me my goal race at Burning River. I decided to error on the side of caution ( wow I know how unlike me is that!) and shut it down for the day. I turned around and walked back to the start finish.

Kim had a really good race and seems to be over her heel injury. Way to finish it strong honey.

Training / Injury update

Its a week later and now I know I made the right choice. My ankle is still hurting some but is improving every day. I got about 35 miles of running in last week and it was only mildly sore. With almost no running this week during my taper I am hoping it is fully recovered by race day.

I am really looking forward to the Burning River 100 this coming weekend. After such a tough go of it at the Mohican a little redemption is hopefully on the menu. Its looking like its going to be a hot one but hell it is July so what can you do. We will head down Friday with 4 other Ontario runners so should be a blast. Misery loves company.

What does failure teach you anyway

After a couple of weeks of decompressing (read sulking) from my DNF at the Mohican I thought I would try to figure out what I learned from that experience. This ended up being no easy task. You always hear that there is nothing that leads to future success better then past failures and the lessons learned there. Although I do agree with this for the most part I would argue that success leads to future success better then failure does. That said some things must be experienced to be truly appreciated. If that wasn't true I wouldn't run these 100 milers I would just read about them and watch some videos. Mission accomplished.

Optimist or Pessimist

I think what you take away from a race / performance like this depends on how you see the world. There are those that see the glass half full (what went right) and those that see the glass half empty (what went wrong). Then there are people like me who just see half a glass. I think that to give an honest evaluation you got to take the good with the bad so here is what I learned.

1) I really suck running in the heat.

I should have learned this lesson last year after Niagara and Creemore but the message seems not to have gotten through. I just don't run well in the heat at the start of summer. I seem to do okay once I adjust to the heat later in the summer but I suck during that adjustment time. I tend to melt down quicker then the Wicked Witch of the West in a thunderstorm. Luckily this is solvable so its sauna training next April for me no matter what race I am gearing up for.

2)Volume training works for me

All the many many miles that I put in over the winter actually did work for me. True I basically had no life but hey something has to be sacrificed on the alter of extreme stupidity so human sacrifice it was. The higher mileage did work for me just not in the way that I had anticipated. Logging the extra miles I expected to run my next 100 milers in a faster time as I would be able run stronger later in the race. Unfortunately I didn't actual run much faster due to stomach issues. Still I think that it will pay off speed wise in the near future when I don't end up spending a lot of time at aid stations puking.

What those many miles did do for me though was speed up my recovery from long races and protect me from injury. Last year I got injured in all 4 races that I ran that were over 100km. Nothing serious but still they caused breaks in training that I didn't really want or need. This year so far no problem and my legs have bounced back really quickly after races.

As an added bonus my wife still talks to me ..... sweet

3)Focus and proper prep is everything for me

My lack of focus going into the Mohican was probably the biggest mistake I made. After being so sick at Sulphur I think I got tentative on this one. Going into a race just looking to finish does not work for me and on the few occasions that I have tried this it has gone badly. I need to come out fairly hard and push early to get my head into the game because if I don't I never will find a groove. Even with races that are being used for training runs I try to run hard for a while early before pulling back. If I don't the run has and will become an epic disaster for me. I become a runners version of the Hindenburg, going down in a huge burst of flames.

My prep was okay for the race with the exception of one big mistake. I did not instruct my crew properly on what to do if I decided to DNF. After running five 100 milers and 24 hour events over the last year I had began to take it for granted that I would just push through no matter what. The thought that I might DNF never really even crossed my mind. Talk about arrogance especially for a guy that runs middle of the pack times but thats the truth. The idea that I might drop was never even a consideration until I decided to drop.

In my first few races Kim (and pacers if I had any) were told to not let me drop unless I required an ambulance. I told them to do everything possible to make me stay on the course until race officials pulled me. After a number of successful races I stopped giving these instructions so when I actually decided to drop I left Kim in a really bad position. She wasn't sure what she should do. By the way this in not a criticism of Kim at all. I blew it by not being clear on how the situation (which she had never been in) should be handled. She took me at my word that I had to stop running. Nobody should take me at my word, ever.

4)Nutrition whats that all about

Okay pretty simple, I had my nutrition down to a science. Then at Sulphur I had major stomach issues. At Mohican I stayed on my nutrition pretty good for most of the race but aid stations were problematic later in the day. I had stomach issues again but I think this was mostly due to heat exhaustion. It wasn't the same kind of nausea I had at Sulphur. I think my nutrition is solid but I guess I will find out for sure at Burning River.

I am also going to pick up a camelback with extra pockets so that if I run into another situation where I am not getting what I need for food from aid stations that I will be able to carry more of my own nutrition.

5)DNFing when you can still keep moving is bad

Should be self explanatory but really isn't. I had no idea that dropping would have the effect on me that it did. I was a second guessing, grumpy, pissed off, pain in the ass, miserable guy for weeks. I never want to feel like that again. In my only other DNF there was no issue for me, when 46 out of 49 runners have to drop due to insane weather you know that there was really no choice involved. This time it was a choice based on getting into a dark place and then convincing myself not to keep going as I wouldn't make the cutoff anyway. Now I do think that I probably wouldn't have made the cutoff but who can say for sure. If I had kept going even at a zombie shuffle pace and got pulled from the course I guess I would know and there would be no second guessing.

When I DNF again (and it will happen as thats just part of running ultras) I am going to be sure that there is no other choice.

Limberlost this weekend

Will be running 56km at Limberlost this weekend as a last really long run in getting ready for Burning River. I ran it last year and it was some of the nicest trail I have ever run on. It will be 4 times around the 14km loop for me. Going to run this with the same approach as PYP, loop 1 hard, loop 2 and 3 more laid back, loop 4 try to crank it up again. Should be a blast.

Mohican 100 Race Report - Meltdown in Ohio

Well now, this race definitely didn't end up going as planned. It's the same old story with Ultra Marathons and especially with 100 mile races. You can train your ass off, plan out everything to a tee but in the end it often comes down to the day, the course, the adversity and the uncontrollable. This race feature all of these things and more.

I am going to try and stick with the facts in this report. You know the what, where, when, why stuff. Hopefully next week I will be able to do a follow up post digging deeper into the some of the things I learned from the race about myself and running hundreds. After all nothing teaches you more about success then the occasional failure.

Prerace

I had been looking forward to this race for months. This was my first non Canadian 100 mile race so I was totally stoked. I had lots of mileage under my belt and had run the 100 at Sulphur Springs 3 weeks earlier. You know what they say nothing gets you ready better for a 100 miler then running another 100 in "training". Okay maybe only I say that. My legs felt great and completely recovered.

A week before the race I began the ritualistic weather watch. At first things were looking really good but by Tuesday mild temperatures in Loudonville, Ohio had changed to hot and humid. Each day the predictions got worse and by Friday morning it was calling for 29C with humidity making it seem like 40C. I was thinking maybe I should pack oven mitts into my drop bag.

On Friday morning we picked up JD and headed down to the US. The drive was fine and uneventful. We got to the motel we were staying at and checked in. Nice little place, basic but decent which was fine by me. We dropped our stuff off and headed over to race registration.

Registration was quick and easy but the same can't be said for the pre race meal. We ended up standing in line for almost an hour to get fed which caused us to miss the first part of the pre race meeting. On a positive note there was free beer so at least we got to drink while we waited. Free beer is always awesome as far as I am concerned.

The next morning it was up bright and early. Steve B. had arrived late that night so he hooked up with us at 4 AM and we all headed out to the race start.

Originally I had planned to run this race with the same approach as all my other races. That meant start off running not to fast but right on the edge, push a little early on then settle in. By the time I got to race day I had reconsidered this approach. A bit of honesty here, I was worried about the weather / heat. You might even say I was becoming mentally obsessed about it. I really let it get inside my head which is awful stupid. I mean the weather is the weather and with out my Pinkie and the Brain weather controlling machine I was not going to be able to do anything about that anyway. At the same time I was worried about what had happened at Sulphur. It was a very rough race for me and I think that as JD mentions in his blog I was a little gun shy. I am after all not a big fan of barfing.

This was my first and maybe biggest mistake. I walked into this race and approached it to tentatively. Bad, Bad, Chris. At the time I called it being cautious but that was a lie I was telling myself. I can not run races and be tentative AT ALL. Some people can do this and it works for them. It never, ever works for me. Not ever. I have to run controlled but aggressive early or I never find my rhythm.

I decided to run with JD and Steve since I was going to take it easy early and was just running to finish. Steve who is a much faster runner then both of us was doing the same thing. I also thought this would be fun (which it was). The thought of not finishing never really entered my mind.

Race

Some video that JD shot on the run.

We lined up at the start and were off. Here all three of us made another crucial mistake. We lined up way to far back in the pack. The 50 and 100 milers all started at the same time and since we were planning to run easy early on we thought we place ourselves accordingly. Man were we wrong. Within 5 minutes we were into the woods on single track behind a massive traffic jam.

The going was slow on this 6 mile section. Lots of climbing so it would have been slow anyway but it was really slow at this point. It was becoming apparent very early that this was going to be a tough course. We climbed and climbed, some downhill and more climbing. Almost no flat running in this section of mostly single track trails. The trails were beautiful but difficult and the line ahead of us didnt allow for much running at pace when we did hit the few flats and downhills.

As we hit the first aid station it was already brutally humid and hot even though it was not 7 am yet. I was soaking wet and looked like someone that had just had shower with their cloths on. I dont think I have ever sweat as much as I did in this race.

A quick refill of the bottles and we were back on the course. Now 6 miles into the race we were finally getting a little bit of running room so we got on pace. Another decent section of the course which was almost all single track, some technical running, lots and lots of hills but a few more runnable sections then the last area.

It was hot but I felt good. The three of us joked, chatted and amused each other, great stuff. We gelled and took our salt tabs every hour like clockwork. Then we were into the second aid station. Man was it getting hot. I found a bucket of ice water with a sponge in it and soaked my head. The cold water was like a jolt of electricity zapping me back into the moment.

Onto the next 6 mile section (almost all the aid stations were about 6 miles apart on the 27 mile loop) which was a slower more difficult trail. The most beautiful but also the hardest to run this section included a slow decent down stone steps to the base of a waterfall, a tough technical run up and along an overgrown creek and a crazy climb straight up where you had to scale the hill by using the roots of trees like a ladder. Oh and dont forget those hills, lots and lots of hills.

At the covered bridge aid station we quickly refueled, filled the bottles and headed out into the next section of the course. Lots more single track but fewer hills this is probably the fastest part of the entire course. We initially made good time but about 4 miles out we ran into the back of a huge line of runners. There was not really anyway to pass people without expending huge amounts of energy so we joined in with the conga line of maybe 20 other runners and worked our way to the next aid station.

Its now mile 23 and even though its only around 10 am the heat is unbearable. The conga line arrives at the next aid station. I am overheating and seek out the ice cold water and sponge. A walk in freezer would also be great but I know thats not going to happen. I see the bucket but to my horror there is no ice in the water. It is only mildly cool and doesn't do the trick for me at all. We head back into the woods having managed to leapfrog over most of the conga line at the aid station. We are still all in good spirits, the loop is taking longer then expected but the course is tough.

The next section of the course turns out to be the hardest of all. The first 3 miles are okay and as we head towards the area called the private property section a runner heading back the other way gives us a dire warning. "Be careful and take it easy on that section" he says.

This section is brutal with as far as I can remember 6 major climbs and the same number of very steep downhills. Its relentless, slow and the only flat section is through a field where you are totally exposed to the sun. The heat is really taking a toll on me. My heart rate is very high for the effort I am expending. On some of the last hills my breathing is becoming shallow and hard.

We finish the loop, change our shirts, get a little food from Kim and head back out with 7 hours gone in the race. This is much slower then anticipated ( I was expecting maybe 6 hours for the loop) but still not a worry. My legs feel great, the breathing was a little bit of a worry but after refuelling I feel fine.

We move along at an okay pace our second time through this section. We are now into the afternoon and its scorching hot. I start to think that I might spontaneously combust, bursting into flames at any moment. We pass a runner sitting on the side of the trail who is totally out of it. Another runner is there checking to see if he is okay. We stop to see if there is anything we can do, there isn't so we move on.

I am seeing less and less runners on the course now. Some of the 50 milers might be done but still the herd is obviously being culled by the weather. Soon we are back to the water fall and root climb. I am fading, suffering a slow death. Its like being roasted slowly on a spit over an open fire. Roasted Chris basted with warm chocolate gels seems to be the special on the menu.

The three of us nearly run out of liquids on this leg even though we all carry 2 bottles. Finally we make the covered bridge and refuel. I am in big trouble now. I am still sweating but I have been panting like a dog for more then an hour. My breathing is quick and shallow. Nobody says anything but we all know what this means. Its heat exhaustion and the beginnings of hypothermia (which can lead to heatstroke).

We are back out on the trail for the next section. Its very runnable and we do okay but are slow. I am still panting, JD is beginning to getting dark and Steve is starting to worry about the time. I am desperately hoping for a bounce back. We make it into the aid station at around the 48 mile mark. Its about 5 o'clock and I know that the sun will go down soon and hopefully give me some relief. I am still sweating (a good sign) but am starting to feel nauseous. I have been looking forward to getting food at the aid station. I need solid food here. I am out of luck. There is only grazing food here. There are not even sandwiches made (which I cant eat any more of anyway). I get some melon into me but I know its not enough. JD wants a sandwich and we waste 10 minutes waiting for them to make him one.

Back on the trail for the 6 miles of the loop we try to make good time running all the flats and downhills. I am getting worse, starting to get dark and really suffering. Steve is pressing and I am having a hard time keeping up. JD is faltering as well. We all know that at the present pace and night coming cutoff times are starting to look like they might become an issue.

Steve tries hard to get us to bear down but its no use. I know I am only going to get slower. I might make it but then again I might not. Both JD and I tell Steve to go ahead as he is much stronger then us at this point. He doesnt want to do this and fights us on it. Finally I tell him that I can't live with him DNFing because I am to slow. He finally reluctantly agrees to go and soon JD and I are running alone.

The 2 miles of brutal hills on the loop nearly kill me. We decide that we will stop at the start finish for as long as needed to rebuild. This ends up taking us a long time but we both are at least able to get back out on the trail. We have 16 hours to run the 23 mile loop twice. Thats doable even at a slow pace but its going to be close. I need to get this loop done in 7:30 to be safe.

Its getting dark and is a little cooler. I feel okay and the panting has stopped as we head back into the woods. Strangely my legs feel great. The second we step back into the woods the humidity hits us like hammer in the face. Things go okay for the first hour. We run all the flats and downhills but it doesnt last. By hour 2 I am panting again and working hard to keep from puking. I feel sick in a totally different way then at Sulphur and a sure that the heat is to blame. I fight the urge to clear the decks because I don't want to lose the food I took in just an hour ago. We are forced to walk until the next aid station. I tell JD I am feeling better but now he is having problems. He is also worried there will be no real food at the next aid station. This is making everything really dark. I try to quell his fears.

We make the aid station and JD is right. There is nothing but 50k pick pick food and sandwiches. Nothing hot or substantial. I have never seen anything like this before. I had just got my nutrition sorted and now it will take another hit.

Now I don't want to whine to much about the lack of proper ultra food at most of the aid stations but this was a real problem. I am not a picky eater but I don't think that I should have to be worried about there being proper food at aid stations as a runner I have a lot to worry about already. 20 hours into this race I have seen no soup (expect from Kim), no potatoes, no solid hardy stuff like chicken, lasagne etc.. Now usually this is not a problem for me as I have crew but there was only crew access allowed at two points during the night. That means 12 miles between crew points. If you are not going to feed me then you should at least make it so my crew can. That said obviously some runners were able to deal with this so there you go.

We are back out on the trail. Somewhere at around 3 miles later I am so sick I am doing everything I can not to vomit. Oh shit suddenly I have a new problem. My sexy fun parts are burning like they have been lit on fire. From no chaffing to this is 2 seconds, what the hell. I can barely walk. I will have lube and fresh dry shorts once we get to Kim but that doesn't help me now. I have no choice so now I am forced to run / walk with my hands down my shorts protecting my tender part from rubbing.

I am in a really bad state physically. JD is bad of as well. As we get close to fire tower where Kim can meet and feed us we start to talk about dropping. It seems like a totally reasonable thing to do. It will be borderline whether we will make the first cutoff time at the end of this loop. I convince myself that I cant make it so why try. Yes kids my mind has become mush.

We see Kim and tell her that we are done. Soon we are back at the start line and officially DNFed.

Post Race

Less then 2 hours after I drop I begin to regret my decision. I think this will plague me for a long time to come.

Steve is able to finish and collect his belt buckle. Congrats man way to stick it out.

The course was really great, I mean really great and easily the hardest I have been on in my short ultra career. I hope they will either bulk up the aid stations they have, add more or both. I will run this again next year as I have not taken my defeat very well at all.

Sulphur Springs 100 race report

Well it seems like it has taken me the better part of forever to finally get the race report for the Sulphur Springs 100 done, kind of like finishing the race itself. So if your so inclined and have time to kill read on.

Earlier this year I had decided that I wouldn't run 100 miles at Sulphur. Although I enjoyed running it last year I made plans to instead run the Mohican 100 on June 18th and figured that maybe running 2 different 100 milers only 3 weeks apart was pushing it. I would still run but maybe 50 miles or even 50k. Then came a really solid winter of training and like any runner who is dumb or crazy enough to entertain the thought of running these kind of distances I began to come up with ways to justify running both races.

Sulphur is hilly but not too technical, and a loop course so easy for Kim to crew. I know the course, many other runners that would be racing, and was in great shape. I was also thinking that this would be a good race to put up a solid time with the expectation that the 20km loop would be fast, pretty dry, and with any luck the weather would not be too hot.

The main goal of the race would be to run it as well as I could but more important to come out of it healthy and in decent shape to run the Mohican. As with most races I went in with 3 running goals. A goal - sub 24 (possible but not likely), B goal - sub 26 (should be very doable if I have no major issues), C goal - just finish (sometimes easier said then done).

Pre race

So a week before the race the hope for a nice dry, fast course were fading fast. It was muddy and with rain in the forecast all week there was little hope that it would dry out. Not much you can do about that but I was really concerned about my feet given how very muddy conditions at Haliburton had all but destroyed them last year. I was going to need my feet for Mohican so it was time to search out some good foot care advice from more experienced runners. Luckily I knew just who to ask.

I talked with Stephan and Kinga and got some great advice. Kinga told me to apply baby diaper cream with the highest zinc content I could find to my feet twice a day during the week as a preventive measure. Yeah I know it sounds kind of weird but I am up for anything that might help. She also kindly offered to tape my feet for me before the race, sweet.

On Monday I joined them and a few others for a 23k final longish run on the Bruce Trail before the race. Kinga taped my feet so I could test out how it felt. The run went well and the tape didn't bother me at all. I was a little worried as my knee was still sore from Bear Mountain but it held up well. It's always nice running on the Bruce trail, I particularly enjoyed the part of the woods that was totally flooded out requiring us to wade through a stretch of thigh high water. Good times, good times.

Friday came up quickly and we headed out to Ancaster for the prerace dinner and to pick up our race kits. The dinner was good and it was nice to get a chance to chat with some of the other 100 mile runners. After dinner Kinga taped my feet (thanks again Kinga!) and we headed back home. I was really glad we had decided not to camp, it was cold, wet with more rain coming overnight. Sure we would have to get up earlier to drive back out but I would rather give up extra sleep time to be warm and cozy in my own bed.

Saturday morning we headed out bright and early. Okay so not bright but early. It was still dark and by the time we hit Hamilton we were seriously fogged in. Even with the fog we made good time getting to the race. I was there in plenty of time to get ready, Kim was running the 25km which didn't start for a couple more hours. Soon we were lined up and it was time to go.

Race

Loop 1 - all systems go

Even though I had run this race last year there were some big changes to the course. The start had been moved due to increasing numbers of racers and the infamous "Gulch" had been removed. In its place was a very nasty downhill on dirt road. It was steep, winding and all around mean spirited. You get to run down it at the start of each 20km loop and then back up it at the end. For those of you counting along at home thats 8 times each way.

As we hit the bottom of the hill it was quickly into the woods where it became immediately apparent that I was going to be in for some muddy going. Splash, splash, splash, and its wet feet 5 minutes into the race. Sweet. Within the first 15 minutes or so the pack began to seperate out nicely and soon I found myself running along with Stephan M. He told me that he was expecting to run around 2:30 for the loop so I decided to stick with him for a while. Last year I had come out way to fast (running 2hr) and I really wanted to make sure I stayed at my planned paces early in the race. I had come in planning to run around 2:20 and staying comfortable so running with Stephan worked out nicely for me. Strangely enough I had run the first 25 miles of Haliburton with him last year.

We cruised along at a decent pace avoiding the mud as much as possible and I was able to use loop one to get a good read on the course conditions and changes from last year. It was muddy but not Seaton or even Haliburton muddy. Of course with 700 runners coming on to the trails for the shorter races in 2 hours the trails would be getting worse but so far it was okay.

We passed the gatehouse aid station going out at 3km and then came back through it at 9km. At some point around 7km I began to feel a hot spot on my heel. What the heck, already? I told Stephan that I might have to change my socks but less then a km later the hot spot was gone. Not sure what the heck that was about maybe just something in my shoe so in the end I didn't need to stop.

Soon we were on the second half of course. It was up the hill down the hill dodge the mud, repeat until we hit a low lying area at about 11km. This was a new part of the course which some other runners had been referring to as the blog / swap area. Well I got to say this part just sucked. It was long swamp grass and deep water and mud. No way around it you just had to plug through it and try to not hit the deepest parts if possible. Pick the wrong line and there is a good chance you would be digging out you shoe after it had been sucked right off your foot.

Once you got through this it was onto a logging road and then into the next aid station. I got a quick bottle refill and was soon back on the trail and into the lollipop loop. So far everything was great. I was fuelling properly, taking my salt tabs and felt good. We ended up making short work of the next 6km and then headed for the final hike up that stupid country road hill climb. As we got about half way up we saw the start of the 10km coming down. It was like a herd of elephants coming towards us. I also saw Kim stuck right in the middle of this pack of hundreds of runners. Although she was running the 25km she had the misfortune of finishing the first 5km spur and coming back through the start/finish at the exact moment the 10k started. As she passed us she looked like she was trying to avoid getting trampled by the faster shorter distance runners.

Then we were back through the start finish and ready for round 2.

Loop 2 - carefully keeping it in check

A quick stop to down an ensure and get a new water bottle and I was headed back down the hill. First lap came in at 2:17 so really good pacing for me. I was right where I wanted to be. So far so good. The course was not as bad as I had imagined it to be. The fog had cleared up and it was not too hot but I did find that it was very humid.

I ran the first 5 or 6k of this loop alone. I had thought that Stephan had gone back out just before me but didn't see him. At around 7km I saw Steve B. and Kinga about 100 meters ahead so I picked it up just a little to catch them and then spent the next hour or so running with them. Soon Stephan joined us, turns out he was behind me and before long we heading back up the road hill from hell again.

Once again my pacing was right on. I was expecting to run 2:30 and ran 2:28. I was well fuelled and feeling really good. I was blissfully unaware of the trouble that was waiting for me just a little ways down the trail.

Loop 3 - something wicked this way comes

Things are going really well. I am right on pace and feeling great. I run most of this loop alone. Most of the people I have been running with are now running ahead of me as I am very focused on staying on pace. The mud is a pain but has not cost me much time and not a huge amount of extra energy. That said by this time the trail has become much worse then earlier in the day. All the extra pairs of feet from the 50k, 25k and 10k races have made some parts of the trail into muddy messes.

I cruise along enjoying the midday sun and the run. I see a big ass deer in the middle of trail as I head along the side of the Orchard. It watches me approach but does not move. I begin to yell at it, "Look out, coming through". At first it ignores me but eventually it realizes I am not going away so it reluctantly walks off into the woods. As I pass it I look into the woods to see the deer looking back over its shoulder at me. It gives me a clear what the hell is your problem look as it watches me pass.

I pass the aid station at the start of the lollipop loop, right on pace. It is here that things start to go sideways. It starts with a little strange feeling in my stomach. Not a pain, just a little unsettled feeling. I think now thats kind of odd. Less then 2km later, as I climb the long steep hill that will take me out onto the ridge along the open fields, that little feeling becomes a small churning mass of trouble. I am starting to feel sick.

I spend the next 4k back to the start finish line trying to figure out what is happening. I have hydrated, fuelled, taken my salt, run my proper paces. I have done everything right up to now yet I am starting to get stomach problems. By the time I crest the evil country road hill my stomach is like a miniature butter churner.

Loop 4 - Oh dude what the hell

I manage to finish loop 3 in 2:40 minutes, 5 minutes slower then planned but most of that time was lost once my stomach started acting up. I sit and take a few extra minutes at the start finish in an attempt to deal with the issue. I get some soup into me, along with some ginger ale and pepto.

I also let Kim know I am having an issue. I just cant figure this out. I have my nutrition down pretty well at this point. I have only had stomach problems once before (oddly enough, last year at sulphur). I have never had problems this early in a race. Stomach issues at 55km, whats up with that?

I do what I can to deal with it and then head back out on the course. I keep it slow on purpose to allow my stomach a chance to settle down. At 9km at the gatehouse I get more soup from Kim. I dont know if my stomach is better or worse I just know that its not good. I am struggling yet my legs feel fresh, frustration begins to creep in. Over the next hour I see a number of other runners that are also struggling. I am coming to the realization that I most likely look as bad as they do. Oh Man not good.

Somewhere around the 17k mark (77km overall) I have my one and only bout of serious self doubt. How am I going to go another 50 miles if I am this nauseated. I slowly climb the road and hill that I have now nicknamed mount evil.

I end up finishing the loop in 3:08, about 15 minutes slower then planned.

Loop 5 - churning, churning, churning

In a planned effort to preserve my feet I change my shoes and socks. My feet are in good shape so far. I try to get some food into me but my stomach is rolling around like the Bering Sea on an episode of Deadliest Catch. JD is at the start finish (he is pacing someone later on). My shoes changed I want to get going but cant. I tell Kim and JD I am just going to sit and catch my breath. I have been sitting for more then ten minutes but my breathing is still rapid like I am still running. I put on a brave face but I am completely freaking out on the inside. I remember mentioning to JD that I cant believe how bad I feel. JD gives me some of his ginger candies. After 20 minutes I drag my ass out of the chair and stumble off down the hill.

I can remember very little about this loop. I know Kim met me at the gatehouse with some soup. I ran when my stomach would let me and walked when it wouldn't. Sometimes I would feel a little better but any major climbing would be followed by waves of nausea.

So just how bad was I? After the race both JD and Kim were thinking that by the way I looked at 80km that I would probably drop. Kim told me she was thinking up things to say to me to keep me going when I eventually told her that I was going to drop. Yikes.

This loop went slow. I was no longer thinking about paces or time. Running a decent time was all but out of the question now. I was now in put one foot in front of the other and keep going mode.

Loop 6 - All aboard the vomit express

I grabbed a seat and tried to regroup again. Any hope of bouncing back seemed lost. I felt worse at this point then at any other time of the race. The sun had just set. I wanted to eat but couldn't. Steve Blackburn had come out to pace me for the next 20km section of the race. I sat for a long time trying to get my body to a place where I might be able to eat but no way. I dont know how long I sat there but it was a long time. Finally I decided fuck it, this is not going to help me so might has well get moving. When I stood up a wave of nausea and dizziness nearly caused me to fall over (steve and someone else, JD maybe actually grabbed me before I fell). Then off we went.

I felt really bad as I began to think that my pacers may have come out for nothing. Steve and I made our decent down mount evil. Both of my calves had crapped up into small little baseballs of hatred and were not functioning. Luckily a big downhill is exactly what you need when that happens ( for those that dont get it thats called sarcasm). I told steve we would run when I could and walk when I had to.

I was still in good shape to finish as long as I kept moving even if I had to walk most of the way. Somewhere around 7km JD and his runner passed us looking good. Soon after we were into the gatehouse at 9km. I downed a couple of cokes and then I felt compelled to quickly walk away from the tented area where I proceed to put my hands on my knees and spent the next 10 minutes projectile vomiting.

Man it was nasty. Liquid coming out your nose is never much fun. This is really the first time I have cleared the decks in a 100 and I did not enjoy the experience at all. Worse of all it had to happen right next to the aid station. I guess thats just in keeping with me trying to create a spectacle where ever I go. One thing that was really clear to me by the volume of liquid that came out of my stomach was that I was not processing anything at this point. Not good at all.

I called to Steve to join me and headed back out. Someone said I should feel a lot better after that but it didnt seem that way to me. Maybe a little better but not much. Fifteen minutes and a couple more bouts of puking later we actually started to be able to run a little. At the next aid station I asked for something that would help with the stomach and the guy gave me some crackers (they did help). Also a super big thanks to some unknown runner that was at the aid station, I think he might have been in an earlier race but maybe he was in the 100. He gave me 3 ginger candies at the aid station which seemed to really help me over the next few hours so thanks man. I really need those.

We slowly finished out the loop. At one point we saw another guy lying along the side of the trail. Steve stopped to make sure he was okay. He said he was having stomach issues and was just trying to get it together. I think I might have grunt nodded to this as that was all I was really able to do at this point. Then we were back up mount evil and ready for loop 7.

Loop 7 - Go zombie Go

I once again had a long delay getting out of start finish area. I changed my muddy socks but not my shoes. I had a second pacer Ryan for the next 20km. I felt like crap but was now sure I would finish with only 40km to go. My legs were tired but not dead at all.

Down the hill and into the darkness we went. As we hit the first mud patch Ryan fell on his ass in the mud. He asked me not to tell anyone that less then one minute onto the trail he had wiped out. I told him there was no way I would mention that in my blog. Yeah right. In the guys defence he is not a trail runner and has most likely never run trail in the dark so dont feel too bad Ryan. After a little laugh we started our long oddesy around the loop.

I didnt feel good but wasnt puking so that was okay. Ryan did a great job keeping me moving and entertained when needed. I was super lucky to have such great people guiding me through the night. Before I knew it the sun was coming up and I was finishing loop 7, one more to go.

Loop 8 - The end is near

I was still a mess but I knew I would be finishing. A big thanks to Charlotte V. who all but forced me to take rice crackers from her at the aid station. I didnt want them but she would not take no for an answer. Good thing too as I think this ended up helping my stomach a lot.

I took a brief rest and then was off down the hill. Lots of time left before the cutoff. I had 6 hours to do 20km. I figured that I could manage that. My stomach had now settled just enough so that I could run consistently. Not fast but consistently. For the first time in 3 loops I was able to run all the flats, downhills and even some of the uphills. I kept it nice and slow in order to keep the barf monster at bay. No point pressing it as my goal had become just finishing a long time ago. I was also bonking really hard as I could not keep food down.

Around 4 hours later I was slowing walking up mount Evil for the final time. Then it was a quick jog around to the finish line and I was done.

Post Race

I have never been so happy to finish a race in my life. I tried to drink my traditional post run beer but couldnt even get that down.

I ended up finishing in 28:14:53 much slower then I expected but thats okay.

The Good

My feet came through the race in great shape. No blisters and no water damage.

Also my legs felt solid and strong the entire race. All that volume training didnt help much in the race due to my stomach but man did it pay off in the recovery. I was walking normal in 2 days, no injuries at all. Knee was not an issue. I am in great shape for the Mohican this coming weekend.

The Bad

I have no idea what happened with my nutrition. I spent a good part of last year getting it all figured out and now it seems like I am starting from scratch again. I think I am going to chalk it up to one of those things and not change much for the Mohican.

Next up Mohican 100, June 18th

Sulphur Springs 100, a change of shoes, knee update

Sulphur Springs

The Sulphur Spring 100 miler is this weekend. I would like to say I am nervous but honestly I think I have become too dumb to be nervous. I originally signed up for this 2 weeks ago during a short bout of insanity. I ran it last year and thought okay its a loop, its a semi fast course, not to technical and has been dry for the last few years. I am going to do this.

Well forget about dry, currently the course is muddy and looks like it will get worse before Saturday. Wet feet for 26ish hours, been there before and its not fun. Oh well what can you do. I will tape the feet on Friday and spend the next 4 days applying baby diaper rash cream to them twice a day ( yeah I know most of you are thinking what?). I am also thinking of ditching gels all together during the race and just using ensure instead and toying with the idea of running with one of my water bottles filled with coke instead of heed in the second half of the race.

I have the Mohican 100 in three weeks so not a great deal of recovery time but I was thinking that with my base I should be okay. Going to have to really be careful with the feet tho.

My knee seems to be okay. I had a good run of 22k in Milton on bruce trail monday and all seemed good. Really great place to run. The wading through near waist deep water and bog was great prep for this weekend. There was a small group of us so it was a lot of fun. Big thanks to Kinga and Stephan for giving me an invite to go out with them.

New Shoes

At the start of the season I also changed trail shoes. I moved away from Solomon and am now running in La Sportiva. Training in wildcats and racing in Crosslites. I cant believe how light the racing shoes feel. So far so good and am super happy with them.

A huge thanks to Derrick Spafford at Health and Adventure for taking the time to give me a great deal of insight into the different shoes. Thanks man.

That is all.

Toronto Marathon Race Report

Toronto Marathon Race Report

Okay so this race report is going to be shorter then my long drawn out usual reports. I am calling it a shorter report for a shorter race.... HA. Sunday May 15th was the Toronto Marathon. This race used to held in the fall until former mayor David Miller and his socialist cronies on the Toronto City Council decided to make the organizers bend over and grab there ankles in a disgusting display of attempted social engineering and the political favouritism. The Toronto Marathon had to move or more then likely it was going to be eliminated.

Crap, starting to rant and I don't want to get too into this issue at this time. I promise to do a much bigger post just on how these guys got screwed over in the next few weeks. That said they were put into a near impossible situation and handled it very well.

Prerace

Okay so originally I was planning on running this marathon as hard as possible (racing it) to put up a good time. Those plans changed however when I decided to run Bear Mountain. Just a word of advice, don't run a 50k race and a 50 miler during your taper time, you will be tired during the marathon.

So my new plan was to run hardish for 21km and then assess but with the plan to most likely slow it down some in the second half. I had been having an issue with my knee all week. Now this is a chronic structural injury so I know exactly what the deal is. In my early 30's I suffered a complete tear of my ACL. That means I no longer have the ligament that goes from the top of the shin area to under the knee cap (think the middle of your knee). There is no fixing it outside of major reconstructive surgery. Usually this is not a problem and running doesn't aggravate it but every now and then it rears its ugly head unexpectedly. The last time was at Dirty Girls in 2010. I would wear a protective sleeve and hoped for the best.

I woke up Sunday morning to crappy weather with more crappy weather forecasted for the rest of the morning. It was rain with 25 - 30 km winds and it was going to stay that way. I thought about staying in bed but I was going to have to run on Sunday anyway so might as well do it in the race.

I had planned to meet JD at the start line well before the race. Unfortunately I was traveling to the start line using the TTC (city transit) so the 45 minutes it should have took ended up taking more then an hour and a half. No I am not bitter about that at all. Seriously.

Got to the race with a whole 5 minutes to spare, lined up and we were off.

The Race

I really like the course for the most part. Its a fast course with little uphill and a good amount of downhill in the first half of the race. I got off to a good start, fell into a sub 5 minute pace early and cruised along. It rained, it drizzled, it rained but we were mostly sheltered from the wind and it was not to cold so all was good.

I crossed the 21km mat in 1:43 and was in really good shape, not tired, not bonking and I was surprised that my legs didn't feel heavy given my 50 miler a week before. My quads felt good, my glutes were a little sore and my HR was good and controlled. I though maybe I would keep up this pace for another 10km and then slow it down a little. That way I don't torch my legs completely and might still end up with a PB.

This idea was very short lived and by 22k I started to feel some knee pain. Within the next km or 2 my knee was hurting really badly. It was so bad in fact that I actually began to think I was going to have to drop out of the race. I just could not run on it. GRRRR.

I continued to hobble along. I was suddenly really slow.We were now on the Lakeshore a place where I have run many times. It was miserable with cold rain and wind. Somewhere around 28km JD caught up to me. He was running with the 3:40 bunny. I chatted with him a bit and told him to tell Kim that I would be later to the finish then projected. I honestly thought that I would have to start walking soon because of my knee.

Soon I was at the turn and headed back along the Lakeshore in the opposite direction. The wind and rain was in my face again. How is that possible, how can the wind be in your face going east and then going west. Stupid Lakeshore.

At 33km my knee started to feel less painful (maybe it went numb) and I was able to pick it back up. It was very frustrating, I felt good but could not run due to the knee. As the knee pain lessened I picked it up to a 5:30 pace and then just held it there. I could very easily go faster but I was really worried that if I did the knee would start to get really bad again. More important then any time I might put up in this race was getting healthy for my upcoming 100 milers so I kept it slow and steady.

Soon we were off the Lakeshore and tackling the slight uphill all the way to the finish. I started to pass a lot of people along here and soon saw Kim near the finish line.

Then I was done.

Post Race

Saw a lot of people that I knew just after the finish line who had come in just before me or just after. Lots of Longboaters and a number of runners that were taking my Running Room clinic. It is so cool to see people finish that you helped to train.

I wanted to wait around for the other clinic finishers but was starting to get cold and that can be trouble after a long race so Kim and I headed home. I got changed and then we headed over to Coach Rogers place for a little Longboat post race get together. Thanks for the burgers Roger! They went great with my giant beer.

Final time 3:47:23

Next up Sulphur Springs

North Face Endurance Challenge Bear Mountain 50 mile Race Report

A few months ago after returning from our running vacation in Florida I began to look around for a few US races that looked interesting and more importantly challenging. I already had a couple of 100 milers planned for the summer so I wanted something shorter then that but falling into the pushing your limits category. In the end I settled on the Pikes Peak Marathon (coming in August) and the 50 mile trail run at Bear Mountain, NY which is part of the North Face Endurance Challenge series.

What attracted me to this race was that it was suppose to be very technical trail with a lot of elevation change. It was also close enough to drive to and fit in nicely with my build up towards my first 100 miler this year so I signed up. I had no illusions about this being a tough race but didn't anticipate what a monumental struggle this run would eventually become.

Some surfing around the net gave me some good insight into the race and put me in touch with Eric via his blog. He ran it last year and was going to run it again this time so we made plans to meet up before hand. I also found out another Canadian runner, Kendra, who i hadn't met but travels in the same Ontario trail running circles as I do was going so we got in contact as well. I was definitely anticipating fun.

Prerace -Omens of Doom?

Things start out badly long before the official start of the race. I had problems sleeping on both Wednesday and Thursday nights. Kim is driving so I figure I can get a nap on route to the Catskills. As we pack up the car on Friday morning. I sit my phone and the GPS on the top of the car to open the door. I grab the GPS and promptly forget about my phone until we hear it bounce across the ceiling of the car while we are doing 120km on the QEW. Bye Bye Iphone it was fun while it lasted. It becomes the first road kill sighting of the day. The worst part about this (even more then what a new phone will cost) is that I actually paused before I put my phone down and considered the fact that I could forget it there. Then I did. Ridiculous!

The 8 hour drive goes okay but takes 10 with delays at the border. We see a great deal of road kill after we cross the border including a coyote and at least 3 deer. Large black crows are dinning on many of these. Poe would tell me otherwise but I try not to read to much into this. I feel like I am stepping into a Stephen King novel. You are on a road trip, no phone, dead things abound, soon an old lady will start screaming craziness at you, nothing good is coming if you keep going.

Also Eric is not going to run the 50 miler as he was dealing with an injury but invites us to dinner at his place once we get into town. We get to the motel which is okay but overpriced and somewhat seedy. After checking in we head over to Eric's place.

The drive takes about 20 minutes and we go up and over the mountain. I don't know if the mountain we go up and over is Bear Mountain but I don't like the look of it at all. What have I gotten myself into here?

At Erics Place

Eric and his wife Tani are great. We have a fantastic dinner and talk Ultras for awhile. Once again thanks guys!! I get some good insight into the course. It really sucks that Eric isn't running but he is going run the 5k on Sunday with Tani and the kids. Before we know it we are headed back to the hotel to get some sleep before the big race.

All I need is 5 to 6 hours sleep, that all. I still run and function fine on 5 hours, no problem. Tick tock, tick tock. I can not sleep. The time slowly ticks by as I lay in bed wide awake. I am so tired but sleep doesn't come. I try not to look at the clock but its impossible not to as I watch potential sleeping time disappear and there is nothing I can do about it. The last time I remember seeing the clock it said 1:30 AM which gives me only 2 hours until I have to get up. This is going to be bad.

At 3:30 the alarm goes off and we are dressed and are out the door in a flash. I am exhausted and have not even run a step yet. We head over to the hotel that Kendra is staying at and pick her up to give her a ride to the start line. Somehow we find the start area without issue although it was more luck then good planning. There is no parking at the start line, you have to park at another area and then take the race provided shuttle to the start. Kim drops us off and will meet me at aid station 4 (no crew access at 2 or 3) in a few hours. That way Kim can sleep a bit longer incase we drive back to Toronto Saturday night. I should be fine until that point which is 20 miles into the race. I have my breakfast ensure , salt tabs and will just use race provided gels until then. That way I can just run with a hand held bottle and no fuel belt early on.

At the start

Kendra and I get to the starting area and pick up our race kits. It is time for the comedy of errors to begin. I realize that I have left my breakfast ensure on the floor of the car with Kim. Thats 360 calories that I am really going to need to avoid bonking. This is really, really not good. Running 50 miles with no breakfast is a Kamikaze mission. No choice tho I am just going to have to deal with it.

The Race - Up, Up and Away

The race starts and I head out with the other 200+ runners into the darkness. The sun will soon be up but headlamps are needed early on. You have to keep your headlamp for the first hour or risk being DQed, that means I will have to carry it for the first 20 miles or dump it at an aid station and never see it again. I run at what I feel is a decent pace. For the first few miles it is mostly double track some areas are tough with lots of large lose rocks but not really too bad. It is however almost all uphill, nothing too steep but continuously uphill. Then we are into much harder single track. It is light by the time I hit the first aid station at 4 miles. I feel okay about my race so far.

Anthony Wayne to Silvermine

This feeling doesn't end up lasting long. The next section is generally all uphill on single track and very technical trail. I am noticing a problem with my breathing and HR. My HR is much to high for easy pace and easy breathing I am currently doing. I know this is due to the lack of sleep and messed up nutrition. I have to trust my breathing / effort level or my HR. I go with effort level even though I know deep down that this is a mistake. Soon I will come to regret this choice. I am still running well by all outward appearances but am starting to worry. The trail is really technical but stunning with part of it circling a lake. I am still in good shape at the 9 mile mark. I see my first bloodied runner at this aid station while I get a gel. The reality that there is good potential for a face plant on this course is driven home even harder.

Silvermine to Arden Valley

I make my first navigation error here going off course but only about 100 meters or so. I had been watching a runner in front of me and missed a turn in the trail. Easy to do as the turn was not so much another trail as it was scaling straight up a 50 ft. rock face. Some parts required both hands to climb. Damn so its going to be one of those course is it. The running up to and on the top of this ridge is really tough. Its still mostly climbing, steep climbs, smaller steep downhills and more climbs. Somewhere right around 12 miles I turn my ankle on a downhill. Damn it, same ankle injury that has plagued me all year. It hurts but is manageable for now. I make the Arden Valley aid station and down a couple of gels and some coke.

Arden Valley to Lake Skannatai

Some more gels and its back on the course. More technical, yeah really you probably see a theme by now, with single track along swamps and streams. For awhile there is mostly normal climbing nothing too tough, but only for awhile. Navigation error #2 happens here and I end up a good km off course with about 10 other runners. We have missed a turn into another huge accent. More climbing where hands are needed. We are soon on the top of a mountain, its just rock face with occasional trees. The view is spectacular and near the edges a little scary.

The "trail" I use the word lightly here, goes across the top for some time. There is more scaling up rock faces and down the other side. I am liking this but am slowing down. I am having a real issue with the trail markings. The trail is marked by orange tape and in the bright sunlight it is hard to see from a distance as it blends in with the background. I find myself stopping numerous times in an effort to find the next marking. This is pissing me off. Sometimes the markings cant actually be seen from the previous marking. Not a big deal on a well defined trail but some of this trail is not well defined at all. This is my only real complaint about this race. Please use a better marker color. On other parts of the course where there were other markings for the marathon etc. those colors were easy to see. The 50 miler is hard enough already!

I am slowly approaching Bonkland which is not a place that I really want to go but it just keeps getting closer. Finally I am off the top of the mountain and into the downhills. I am rolling into full Bonk mode now. All I need to do is hang on until the next aid station, meet up with Kim and get my nutrition sorted back out properly. Then all will be well again. I hear people cheering in the valley below and I am soon into the aid station. Salvation.

Lake Skannatati to Camp Lanowa

I have spoken too soon. There is no salvation here. I stand at the aid station looking around. There is no Kim. Kim is MIA. Every curse word I know is bouncing around head like a indian rubber ball. I refill my bottle, down a few gels and put a couple in my pocket for later. I look around the parking lot again. Where the hell is she. I am not sure what to do now and my bonking is making clear thinking hard. I do the only thing I can do. I head back out onto the trail.

This leg is 7 miles and I know that I am going to soon be in big trouble. I have one water bottle and one salt tab. Instead of coming back from my bonk its only going to get worse. I was suppose to now be carrying 2 water bottles, gels and salt. One bottle is not going to properly hydrate me for this long section which is followed by another long section.

I try my best to be mad at Kim but really I am not. I am just mad. Kim has lots of crewing experience and for her not to be at the aid station means that something went very wrong. It doesn't help that I have no idea what that is. The whole run is going to shit.

I can remember very little about this section except that I just worked hard to keep myself moving forward. I know it was hard but in my state a walk to the convenience store down the street would have been an epic track. I am forced to ration my liquids by Kms as to not leave myself with nothing to drink later in the section. Good lets add dehydration to the bonking just to make it more interesting.

The trail is still beautiful but in a mocking and menacing way. It is relentless and punishing. For the first time in the race I realize that I am so slow and destroyed that not only will I not put up a decent time but I may not be able to make the cutoffs. Wow, this really boggles my mind. It forces me over into the darkside. I still have half the race, 25 miles to go and am totalled.

Somehow I eventually come out of the woods and into the next aid station. I am not really sure how this happened.

Camp Lanowa to Tiorati

Kim is at the aid station. She tells me that she (and many others) could not find the last aid station. She drove around for 2 hours looking for it. Later I would find out from someone who knows the course that the road to the station is semi hidden and there are not signs. If you didnt know it was there you could drive past it 20 times and not see it.

I refuel, get my other fuel belt and head out again. Camp Lanowa is a cutoff point and I am in with 50 minutes to spare. The next aid station is the last hard cutoff before the finish line. I have 2:30 to run the 6.5 miles. I see a faint glimmer of hope. Seeing Kim has also lifted my spirits.

Back out on the trail I am working a new plan. Run when I can, walk if I have to but take it easy and let the calories I have and am consuming bring me back from the edge. This section has a lot of runnable areas with not too many crazy climbs. A km after the aid station I see a woman coming back down the trail in the opposite direction. Her face is blood and her nose looks messed up, it is stark reminder of what can happen out here.

I run, I walk, I run. I am forced to walk a very runnable section which I should be able to crush adding to my frustration. That said something good is happening. I am starting to come back just a little. I begin running more and a bit stronger. A small pack of runners catch up with me and I fall in with them. The company is good and soon I am at the next aid station feeling almost human again.

Tiorati to Anthony Wayne

We are into the aid station 45 minutes before the cutoff. I feel a huge wait lifted. I am feeling better and now only have to make the 14 hour cutoff at the finish line. I feel that barring injury this should not be a big problem.

This section is good running and I run the early part with the same group of runners as the last section. After a while the pack begins to break up and I am on my own again. It was nice while it lasted but I don't mind being on my own. Negative land has now been left a long way back on the trail.

My garmin is now giving me a low battery warning. I don't care about pace but like to know my distance and overall time so I hope it holds out for awhile. I didn't bring a stop watch as I expect to not be at all worried about the final cutoff at the finish.

There is now a new menace on the course, Black Flies. When I am running its not an issue but on climbs the begin to swarm. I have bug spray on but it is only semi helpful. They were annoy but not too bad at this point.

Anthony Wayne to Queensboro Road

Kim is waiting here for me and helps me refuel. I have 10 miles left, lots of time and am feeling much better. Soon I am out of aid station and back into the woods. I catch up to one of the guys from the pack I was in earlier who is now running with a pacer. We trade positions a couple times and then I decide to settle in behind them for awhile.

This section starts out very runnable and I am feeling tired but okay. After a couple of miles I begin to think that the hard part might be over. How dumb am I? We hit the bottom of a hill and begin to climb. The climb goes on for at least 1km and is peppered with false summits, eventually it becomes so steep that hands are needed but finally we are on top of Pines Mt. .

Both me and the other runner are numb to this sort of thing by now but his pacer cant believe how hard it is. A short run along the top and then it is back down. By back down I mean almost straight down. The trail is so steep that one false step will send you hurling down the next half mile to the bottom. Thank goodness this comes at 44 miles with my quads completely shot otherwise I might have some trouble with this.

All three of us make to the bottom safely and soon we are into the next aid station.

Oh ya and those Black Flies are now huge swarms. They are in my ears, up my nose, in my eyes. I get some extra protein just by breathing as I swallow fly after fly. Some I can spit out, others I cant. I must have eaten at least 25 flies on the accent of Pine Mt. alone. This is not fun.

Queensboro Road to 1777

I refuel and head out. The guys I was running with seem to have disappeared. I figure they are somewhere up ahead and I will catch up. I am beginning to fade again but only have 5.3 miles left and the worst is behind me or so I think.

This section ends up being the hardest for me of the entire race. It is only 2.5 miles but seems to go on forever. First is a climb up a very rocky old empty river bed ( I think). At the top the trail winds sideways along a hillside causing you to do some bowlegged running. It starts along the top of the hill and slowly winds down to the bottom. Bet you can guess what comes next cant you.

You got it another long, steep, rocky climb up Timp Pass past a nice waterfall. It is exhausting and now I am beginning to get peripheral vision hallucinations. Out of the corner of my eye I keep seeing things that are not there. Stumps, trees and bushes begin to look like animals, people and houses. So I just stop turning to look. I hope that there is no actual bear or I may not see it before it eats me.

I crest the pass, its nice and runnable up here. I will make some time up now. That idea lasts for about a 100 meters until I come to the downhill section. I know what your thinking. Downhill thats great. Well yeah not so much.

The trail is wide and semi steep but it is a bed of rocks. Think of a gravel driveway, now imagine that the stones are all the size of baseballs. Some are stable others are loose and you cant tell until you step on them. You cant step between them as its all rock. The downhill goes on for at least a half mile.

I take this area very slow, maybe even slower then the previous uphills. My injured ankle is wonky and the bloody faced woman is in the forefront of my mind. I will finish this race but not if I end up a breaking something. Eric had warned me about this section the night before but it is worse then I had imagined. Some things just defy description.

Finally after a lifetime in purgatory I am into the last aid station.

1777 to Finish

I refuel at the aid station. They are asking me how I am doing so I lie and say great. I often wonder if you should be honest at aid stations or not. They can after all pull you from the race. I lie to error on the side of caution.

There are 2.8 miles left and the running is the easiest that I have seen since early in the morning. Its mostly double track, fire road and downhill. My garmin has died long ago so I have no idea how long the last section or this section is taking me but I run the entire way just in case the cutoff is close. Before I know it I am out of the woods and making my way across the finish line.

Post Race

Official time 13:18:51

Picked up my race swag and grabbed something to eat. Great swag for this race, tech shirt, arm warmers, hand held water bottle, second water bottle. Awesome.

Kendra ended up finishing making it to the finish with a good 4 minutes to spare before the cut off. Way to go Kendra!

We decided to grab a hotel room and not drive back that night. We thought we might go out for a nice dinner but by the time I had a shower we were both so beat that it ended up being a stay in pizza and beer night.

I loved this course and yes it was really hard. I will be running this race again that is for sure.