The conclusion of my journey to my first Ultra was incredible. I had such a good time the entire race and it seemed to go by so quickly. Don’t get me wrong, there were some low moments along the way, but you learn over time to expect them and just keep moving forward. Below is my race report for my first ultra and I hope you enjoy.
It was a week of many restless nights and different aches and pains but I arrived at the start healthy and jacked up. My Dad was kind enough to take to me the race and there was a surprise appearance by brother Mike and Marcy. Carol and Thomas were there along with her friend Lisa and Mark came up as well. So I had a great cheering team.
The morning was just right in the 40’s and partly cloudy. 400+ of us lined up at the start and then ran across the field. I hung toward the back to be conservative and felt pretty good. The course was absolutely beautiful. I fell in love with trail running all over again during this race and wondered if I’ll ever do a road marathon again.
The hills, and there were a lot of hills, were challenging and I took them one at a time. They were about 3x the elevation of what I trained on in Rock Creek but I stuck to my plan, walking up the hills to conserve energy.
The first 3.6 miles were mostly on paved roads and little trails to try and spread the masses (Pace 11:56). At the Steppingstone Pavilion we had our gear set there and I used that to drop off my long sleeve and grabbed a bottle of nutrition. After this, we got into the single track trails and ran about 4.3 miles to the Aid station (Pace 13:15). We had several stream crossings throughout the day which I just barreled through in water up to mid-calf. Some people were trying to jump across rocks to avoid getting wet. That looked like a disaster to me because I know I would have fallen. During this leg, I felt strong and was moving long at a nice pace.
The next leg was 4.1 miles to the aid station and this was the quickest pace (11:28) I ran the entire day. This section had a huge downhill on gravel/paved road and I just let myself go. I felt great getting into the aid station and saw the whole cheering squad again. The next 5.3 miles were tough, tough in the sense that it had some serious hills! I was dreading the fact that I had to do that section one more time as the last part of the race but I just kept trudging along. I still had energy, when I got back to the Steppingstone Pavilion but that section of the course definitely took something out of me. This was my slowest pace so far at 13:24).
After some refreshments, I took off for the next aid station and felt pretty good, But after a couple of miles I could feel the effects of the last leg and ended up slowing down quite a bit. It was 4.3 miles to the aid station and I averaged 15:35’s.
When I got to the aid station, Mark joined me for the next 4.1 miles and they were slow as well averaging 15:22’s. This was the lowest part of the day for me. I had no cramping, didn’t feel tired, I just could not keep running. So, I just grinded through those miles one step at a time. At one point on the course we were running on this road and I said to Mark “is it me or are those trees on each side of the road closing in on us”. I’m still not sure if I truly believed this at the time but my mind was wandering and I was looking for anything to distract me from that moment. Keep in mind this is the part of the course on the first loop I averaged 11:28’s so going almost 4
mins/mile slower I could tell something wasn’t right.
When I got to the last aid station, my friend Kirstin told me to try some salty fries. WOW! I never thought cold, salty french fries and a couple of cokes would taste so good! My dad kept saying for me to keep going and all I wanted to do was stay there and eat fries. As Kirstin said, this was pure ultra food. After I left the aid station I felt awesome! There was this new found energy. It reminded of the time when I did my first Ironman and discovered chicken broth. I knew at some point of this race today that there was going to be a low and that I just had to keep plugging along and I would get my energy back.
It was interesting running the 2nd half today as you can tell when someone was feeling great they would take off and then you would see that same person a little bit later on not feeling that well. Everyone just kept leap frogging along. So, heading back to the finish, which was suppose to be 5.3 miles, I knew would be the hardest part of the course based on the first loop. But man, I was so jacked up I was loving life. After I passed 22 miles for the day, I was excited because I have not gone more that 22 since Florida IM 2009, then I hit 26.2 and was like, WOW this is pretty cool because every next step is a step further then ever before, and especially being on top of this huge hill I just climbed with views of the river with no one in sight behind me or in front of me was just breathtaking. I was all alone and enjoyed every minute. I was having such a blast that I closed my eyes for a second and opened them up. Then, after a few minutes, I started thinking that nothing around me looked familiar. I saw a tree lying across the path that I had to go under and thought, this was not here before. A little further I get to an opening on a hill and said no way! I made a wrong turn. So I back tracked and got back to where I screwed up. Oh well, I was in such a groove that I didn’t care.
I got to about ¼ mile from the finish and there was Mark with a big smile and said “hey man, you going to sprint to the finish” and I said nope! I just wanted to enjoy that last bit to the finish and I did. The entire day was remarkable and I wanted to remember every step. When I crossed the finish line one of the race directors was there to hand me a hat and shook my hand. I was so happy with just one big smile – it was a beautiful day.
My total time for the day was 7:18, an average of ~14min/mile if you account for the “added” distance” Today, I truely embraced the experience. Trail races are not the same as road races. Only 412 people started the run and 356 finished. This is so different from the races I have grown accustom to that thousands attend. I enjoyed the moments of being completely alone or talking to other people, one guy who did Leadville 100 Leadville 2 years ago and comments that it was a tough race for an East coaster, or another gal who was doing the Hat for the 5th time doing and another guy who was his 5th time as well and I told him that in 5 years it will be his 10th and my 5th. And my friend Kirstin, who I learned did Vermont 100 a few years ago, got me into this from those night runs in Rock Creek and introducing me to the Ultra community. Between her influence and my readings of Born to Run twice, Bart Yasso’s book, Dean Karno’s Ultramarathon Man book and Ultra running magazines and now completing this race – I AM HOOKED! Nine years ago this month, I completed my first marathon and today, I completed my first Ultra. Grant it, the 50K is equivalent to what a 5K is to a marathon or a Sprint Triathlon to an Ironman.
Today, and maybe for a week or so, I’ll enjoy my accomplishment and then plan my next adventure. What will tomorrow bring?? I’ve got a feeling and one thing for certain – it will be on trails!
It was a week of many restless nights and different aches and pains but I arrived at the start healthy and jacked up. My Dad was kind enough to take to me the race and there was a surprise appearance by brother Mike and Marcy. Carol and Thomas were there along with her friend Lisa and Mark came up as well. So I had a great cheering team.
The morning was just right in the 40’s and partly cloudy. 400+ of us lined up at the start and then ran across the field. I hung toward the back to be conservative and felt pretty good. The course was absolutely beautiful. I fell in love with trail running all over again during this race and wondered if I’ll ever do a road marathon again.The hills, and there were a lot of hills, were challenging and I took them one at a time. They were about 3x the elevation of what I trained on in Rock Creek but I stuck to my plan, walking up the hills to conserve energy.
The first 3.6 miles were mostly on paved roads and little trails to try and spread the masses (Pace 11:56). At the Steppingstone Pavilion we had our gear set there and I used that to drop off my long sleeve and grabbed a bottle of nutrition. After this, we got into the single track trails and ran about 4.3 miles to the Aid station (Pace 13:15). We had several stream crossings throughout the day which I just barreled through in water up to mid-calf. Some people were trying to jump across rocks to avoid getting wet. That looked like a disaster to me because I know I would have fallen. During this leg, I felt strong and was moving long at a nice pace.
The next leg was 4.1 miles to the aid station and this was the quickest pace (11:28) I ran the entire day. This section had a huge downhill on gravel/paved road and I just let myself go. I felt great getting into the aid station and saw the whole cheering squad again. The next 5.3 miles were tough, tough in the sense that it had some serious hills! I was dreading the fact that I had to do that section one more time as the last part of the race but I just kept trudging along. I still had energy, when I got back to the Steppingstone Pavilion but that section of the course definitely took something out of me. This was my slowest pace so far at 13:24).
After some refreshments, I took off for the next aid station and felt pretty good, But after a couple of miles I could feel the effects of the last leg and ended up slowing down quite a bit. It was 4.3 miles to the aid station and I averaged 15:35’s.When I got to the aid station, Mark joined me for the next 4.1 miles and they were slow as well averaging 15:22’s. This was the lowest part of the day for me. I had no cramping, didn’t feel tired, I just could not keep running. So, I just grinded through those miles one step at a time. At one point on the course we were running on this road and I said to Mark “is it me or are those trees on each side of the road closing in on us”. I’m still not sure if I truly believed this at the time but my mind was wandering and I was looking for anything to distract me from that moment. Keep in mind this is the part of the course on the first loop I averaged 11:28’s so going almost 4
mins/mile slower I could tell something wasn’t right.When I got to the last aid station, my friend Kirstin told me to try some salty fries. WOW! I never thought cold, salty french fries and a couple of cokes would taste so good! My dad kept saying for me to keep going and all I wanted to do was stay there and eat fries. As Kirstin said, this was pure ultra food. After I left the aid station I felt awesome! There was this new found energy. It reminded of the time when I did my first Ironman and discovered chicken broth. I knew at some point of this race today that there was going to be a low and that I just had to keep plugging along and I would get my energy back.
It was interesting running the 2nd half today as you can tell when someone was feeling great they would take off and then you would see that same person a little bit later on not feeling that well. Everyone just kept leap frogging along. So, heading back to the finish, which was suppose to be 5.3 miles, I knew would be the hardest part of the course based on the first loop. But man, I was so jacked up I was loving life. After I passed 22 miles for the day, I was excited because I have not gone more that 22 since Florida IM 2009, then I hit 26.2 and was like, WOW this is pretty cool because every next step is a step further then ever before, and especially being on top of this huge hill I just climbed with views of the river with no one in sight behind me or in front of me was just breathtaking. I was all alone and enjoyed every minute. I was having such a blast that I closed my eyes for a second and opened them up. Then, after a few minutes, I started thinking that nothing around me looked familiar. I saw a tree lying across the path that I had to go under and thought, this was not here before. A little further I get to an opening on a hill and said no way! I made a wrong turn. So I back tracked and got back to where I screwed up. Oh well, I was in such a groove that I didn’t care.
I got to about ¼ mile from the finish and there was Mark with a big smile and said “hey man, you going to sprint to the finish” and I said nope! I just wanted to enjoy that last bit to the finish and I did. The entire day was remarkable and I wanted to remember every step. When I crossed the finish line one of the race directors was there to hand me a hat and shook my hand. I was so happy with just one big smile – it was a beautiful day.
My total time for the day was 7:18, an average of ~14min/mile if you account for the “added” distance” Today, I truely embraced the experience. Trail races are not the same as road races. Only 412 people started the run and 356 finished. This is so different from the races I have grown accustom to that thousands attend. I enjoyed the moments of being completely alone or talking to other people, one guy who did Leadville 100 Leadville 2 years ago and comments that it was a tough race for an East coaster, or another gal who was doing the Hat for the 5th time doing and another guy who was his 5th time as well and I told him that in 5 years it will be his 10th and my 5th. And my friend Kirstin, who I learned did Vermont 100 a few years ago, got me into this from those night runs in Rock Creek and introducing me to the Ultra community. Between her influence and my readings of Born to Run twice, Bart Yasso’s book, Dean Karno’s Ultramarathon Man book and Ultra running magazines and now completing this race – I AM HOOKED! Nine years ago this month, I completed my first marathon and today, I completed my first Ultra. Grant it, the 50K is equivalent to what a 5K is to a marathon or a Sprint Triathlon to an Ironman.Today, and maybe for a week or so, I’ll enjoy my accomplishment and then plan my next adventure. What will tomorrow bring?? I’ve got a feeling and one thing for certain – it will be on trails!
1 comment:
Amazing race, Jerry. Congratulations!!! Thanks so much for sharing it with us. I appreciate your passion for the sport.
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