My first 50 mile race is now in the books. This was certainly the toughest run I've ever been through in the sense that multiple times I felt like just sitting down and saying no more but with the help and council of my two crew members/pacers, Mike and Clint, I was able to find the resolve to keep moving forward and finish.
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| Pre-race meeting, minutes before the start. |
We got to the park where the start/finish line is located around 9:30 pm. We got some gear unloaded, got a tent set up and Clint and Mike headed out to grab some food and a few more supplies while I stayed back to relax as much as possible.
There was really nothing going through my mind during this quite time other than thinking how warm it still was and how warm it would remain through the night. I tried to not think about the actual running part for fear I might start stressing myself out. I kept telling myself, its just running but walking is also acceptable. Just get it done.
Around 11 pm I changed into my running shorts and shirt and slipped on my
CEP calf compression sleeves. I got my packet picked up from the booth and prepared my bib number, got a bottle full of water and continued to wait. By this time Clint and Mike had made it back from their errands which helped the last half hour or so before the race meeting go by quickly.
At 11:45, runners were summoned to the start line for the mandatory pre-race announcements and last minute instructions. This was a bit of a pain because it seemed like the longest 15 minutes of the entire night yet I know how important these things are for race directors and participants alike. But finally, the one minute countdown began and what seemed like only 20 seconds later, the horn blew and we were off.
Lap One
From the very start, I employed a strategy of run for four minutes walk for one minute (4:1) ratio to conserve as much energy as possible without going too slow at the same time. I had tried this ratio a few times in training and it seemed to be a good balance. I did my best to relax during the first few miles and just concentrate on keeping my heart rate low, breathing under control and a steady intake of fluids. I tried to take in some of the sights of the night time views of the river, such as the downtown Tulsa skyline which was actually rather pretty on this particular night. The wind was calm which concerned me a little with not much breeze to keep our warm bodies cool. There was however a slight breeze off the river which felt great later into the night and remained steady during the day light hours.
Lap Two
I felt great after the first lap, bouncing into the start/finish area I was enthusiastically describing the one elevation change in the course profile which I think I called "bitchin." The elevation profile for the course is fairly flat, except, approximately between miles 5 and 7. Starting from about mile 5.5, you make a cut east onto the famed Turkey Mountain ("Tulsa's playground" as they call it) and begin climbing on the mountain's west side. In about a half mile you gain approximately 120 or so feet with grades well in to the teens on the steepest parts. At the top of this climb is the loop's second large aid station where some familiar faces from the
OTRA club in Oklahoma City were logging some volunteer hours. Upon leaving the aid station you get to go down a long gradual incline that takes you past the 7 mile mark. On this second lap however, and the course alternating direction each lap, I had the pleasure of going the reverse direction; climbing the long gradual gradient and having a good time keeping my quads in check going down the steep parts on the west side.
I cruised comfortably into the start finish area to complete lap two and my legs felt as they do at the end of any 20 mile run: tired.
Lap 3
I picked up Clint for the third lap and we resumed by 4:1 strategy. It was still dark out but about the time we made it to the OTRA aid station on Turkey Mountain, dawn was beginning to break. Fatigue was also beginning to mount and take its toll and reducing some of the wind in my sails along with it. I really began to doubt myself around mile seven as Clint and I were starting a "light pole interval" game.
I had reduced myself to running between one or two light poles and walking between one or two and alternating that for the remainder of the lap. I began to become highly self aware of things too: The twinge in my knee that seemed to shoot pain down my leg with every step. The pain in my swelling toes as they were being pushed farther into the toe box of my shoes. The soreness coming from the entire bottom of my right foot.
The morning light was not making matters any easier either. With the light of the day I could see the entirety of the loop I was about to complete for the third time and comprehending the distance of 50 miles really started to embed itself into my mind. I was looking across the river at a point I had been about an hour and a half prior and thinking I would cross that point two more times before this run was finished. I really didn't think I could do it.
I began thinking of the things I would tell people, reasons why I couldn't finish. Around the ninth mile of the third lap all these thoughts in my mind was enough to make my eyes well up and push me to the brink of tears. Luckily a short time later I was able to see the start/finish area which lifted my spirits a little but I was still seriously considering a DNF. I sat in an ice bath for a few minutes, went to our tent, drank some
protein and ate and discussed the situation with my crew mates. Mike brought up a good point, "you've gone to far to quit now" he said. He was fucking right. I stood up, Mike was already in his running clothes ready for his lap four pace duties and at the very least I couldn't disappoint him since he came all this way to get in his run for the day. The ice bath helped, my feet felt better but not good. We moved forward.
On the fourth lap, Mike provided some much needed comic relief. The River Parks trail system in Tulsa is very similar to the Hefner Trails that circumnavigate our beloved Lake Hefner... except much nicer. There also seems to be a much larger active/athletic community in the Tulsa area based simply on my observations of the sheer number of people that were out for their morning jogs and/or bike rides. Several groups of people we saw, anything from Team in Training groups running their summer training schedules to pro cycling teams cruising down Riverside Drive on their way out to the country side for their Saturday morning long training rides. This was a fitness mecca, with endorphins ricocheting off everything in sight. It was the perfect place to be for sarcastic pot shots at weekend warriors.
We overheard the usual topics, things we are all familiar with as athletes that run in herds. We heard the knee excuse probably several times but I recall one as a guy passing was explaining to his comrades why he was unable to run more than a few miles at a time. Introduce someone new to a sport and almost instantly they seem to transform into a physiology expert when you put groups of athletes together. There is always at least one in every pack. We overheard a man explaining muscle function like a dissertation to two other running partners that could have looked less interested.
We got hoots and hollers from some passers by that knew what the few of us wearing race numbers were up to. Some earnest words of encouragement came from some of the Team in Training folks as they were stopped, taking nice long draws of water while they were resting at the half way points of their four mile runs for the day. I thought it was quite funny as Mike and I were working on our 34th mile.
As the lap wore on and we weeded our way through to the thinner areas of people, I was reduced further to simply walking and running when I felt like it. We took our time up the long gradual hill that led to the OTRA aid station and gingerly made our way down the west side of the mountain on the steep sections. My quads were protesting this descent as the cost of 36 miles was mounting. Mike kept me distracted though, in his never ending search for a girlfriend, we examined possible prospects along the way, discussing pros and cons of each subject as they passed and subsequently deciding these specimens were sub par. The search will continue.
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| Mike on the right and I in the hat. End of lap 4. |
We finally rolled into the start/finish area sometime prior to 10am, Mike having completed his jog-break-between-awesome-walking-workout. My folks were there which probably meant more to them than it did me but I was still happy they came. Another trip to the ice bath, reloading some fuel, changing shirts and it was off for the fifth and final lap.
Lap 5
By the time we rolled out for the fifth lap I could smell the finish - both literally and figuratively. I could smell it because I knew I only had one more lap to go, 10 more miles and I would be done. I could also smell it because it was literally a few hundred yards behind my back. Gotta love loop courses.
I started by walking first, and munching on some energy food I grabbed from the tent before heading out. After I finished my light snack, coach Clint immediately employed the "light pole intervals."
A coach is someone you need during a run like this. Someone that knows the boundaries between pushing and not pushing too far but still pushes. Clint is a coach by nature and trade. He comes from a family of coaches and is employed as one. Clint is also my regular running partner and knows me pretty well when it comes to logging miles on pavement. I couldn't have asked for a better pacer for the final lap. Special thanks to his wife for allowing him to participate in this. :-)
At times lap 5 felt more like a death march, and other times it felt like a simple regular morning jog. I went through several miniature highs and lows but I think euphoria had the upper hand as most of the lows were felt subconsciously. The sun was rising high and the temps were heating up. I was thankful we were only running and walking a few hundred feet at a time because I was afraid to run out of water between aid stations. I was drinking a lot, maintaining a steady fluid intake as I had been all night.
I could feel the sun bearing down on my skin. A side effect of doing most of your training in the pre-dawn hours of each morning is no gradual tanning to fare skinned individuals like me. Today, was burn day. Shit. I knew I forgot to apply sun-screen at the end of lap 4.
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| Clint and I headed to the finish. |
Along the way I had figured my mom had been on the phone with people, because I started receiving text messages from uncles and cousins living out of state that of course had no idea prior to this day that I was running this race. It was a nice boost to get words of encouragement from them. I also was receiving messages from my wife who said she would be there at the finish along with our little boy.
Clint and I rounded the last turn on the southwest corner of the "rectangle" loop and headed north for the final two miles. By this point I wanted to run the whole way in but the legs would just not allow it. I was able to muster running a little farther than the two light pole intervals we had been doing for the previous two hours. It was hot, well into the 100s. It was after noon by this time and the sun was directly overhead. We kept drinking. We picked up some small bottles of water left out at an unmanned aid station and poured them on. It felt good to have some cold water running over a warm head and sweat soaked hat but it seemed to evaporate as quickly as it went on.
One mile left. I could once again smell the finish. The wind was blowing from the south, and we were heading north, so this smell was purely symbolic. I wanted to jump up and down but physically couldn't but I did so in my mind. This was it.
We came over a small hill and could see the finish through the trees. An ambulance was there taking a collapsed girl to the hospital for heat related injuries. Not good, but I hear she turned out okay (she did finish too). I came around the bend and saw my two year old son, ready to run the last few feet with me across the finish line. That was fun, but he hands down out ran me. That was sad.
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| My son racing me the last few feet to the line. |
I crossed the line in 12 hours, 44 minutes and 32 seconds. Not world class but I did complete my third tier goal of finishing. Then it was a very swift walk to the ice bath.
Post Race
I decided to not even change out of my clothes but rather throw on a t-shirt to cover my shoulders and get in the car to head to my wife's relatives house where we had planned to stay for the 4th of July holiday. It was supposed to be a short trip to their home but apparently the fatigue and being awake for about 28 hours was too much and I promptly fell asleep. I woke up when we arrived at the house, my wife had stopped at McDonalds for lunch (that was the best damn burger too) we unloaded our stuff, I ate lunch, took a shower and hit the sack for about a 3 hour nap. We had a good couple of days in Tulsa, expected soreness in my legs and joints presented themselves in glorious fashion but I was already thinking of how cool the next 50 miler will be. Whenever that is.
As far as recovery, I was ready to run again on Tuesday, the 5th. I had even set my alarm to get up early to hit the gym for a brief jog on the treadmill and perhaps some spinning on a stationary bike. But this week I have opted to force myself to take a full week's recovery as some muscles still feel as though they need the extra few days. I should resume a regular routine again however next week. I'm looking forward to getting back to regular runs to help Clint in his training for an Iron distance triathlon coming up in September.
Overall I loved this race. Special thank you to Brian Hoover (RD) and all the volunteers who stayed up all night to make sure we had food and drink to get us runners through to our goals. I'm not positive that I would run this race again in the near future because of the time of year. I would much rather do this distance in the cool of fall or early spring. The heat is simply too taxing for me, but perhaps down the road I'll find myself once again toeing the line at the Midnight Madness 50.
