SD 100

first a huge thanks to all that helped me with the run: heather catchpole, heather wosoogh, mike, randy, stephanie, and brian. despite the fact that i came up short and none of you got to enjoy as much of the scenic beauty of the course as i'd promised, your efforts and support are greatly appreciated.

the day started out early, up a little before 4am, ate some eggs and cheese drank lots of water, and started heading east to the run start. Got to the run start at camp cuyamaca shortly after 5am checked in and ate a bit of the pre run food.

Got the last of my things lined up, filled my nutrition and water bottles, and i was ready to go. the run began at 6am, a very easy shuffle would be sufficient for me. there were a couple groups that took off at faster paces, i just kept reminding myself, it's a long day, there will be lots of time for things to settle out. the most important thing was to keep my pace nice and easy.

the lead up to the sunrise aid station was choc full of climbing goodness, so i was very content to put forth a slow jog up it. As it leveled off the pace picked up a bit. i still wasn't feeling it though, so kept my effort nice and slow. i ate a little bit, drank a bit, but not as much as i planned to eat and drink. coming up over the summit and around into the first aid station, i was feeling flat, nothing wrong, just hadn't found the groove i was hoping for. At the aid station, i refilled my bottles, grabbed a bagel, and was on my way again.

the next section was a bunch of single track with some little rolling hills, i took it pretty conservatively, remembering that there were numerous training runs which took 10 - 12 miles for my legs to come around and get over the initial lethargy. so i kept plodding along, content to do my thing for another couple aid stations and wait for me legs to come around.

i increased my calorie intake, eating wasn't exactly what i wanted to do at this point, so it took some effort, but i wasn't goign to let my nutrition ruin my day, i was dedicated to getting enough calories and maintaining a good effort for the entire run. so in went a bunch of shot blocks (essentially gummi bears) and lots of water and carbopro (carbohydrate drink mixture).

the pedro fages aid station was a welcome site, time for more food, some m&m's, cookies, water melon, and cantaloupe refill my water bottles take a quick bathroom break and on my way again. the 3rd section started out with some rollers, before dropping back down to where the run started. this section went a bit better, but still feeling less than ideal, more food, more liquid, and it's getting hot by now.

coming back through camp cuyamaca i stopped at my truck to grab my refills, lots of carbopro, and 5 more packs of shot blocks, then on to the aid station for more food, refill my water bottles and off again to see how difficult the next section would be. by now the temperatures have gone above my comfort zone and i'm starting to feel the heat. lovely, time to start taking thermolytes and the rest of my tablets as planned.

the next section would prove to be the most difficult for me, it was a good climb out of camp cuyamaca, and nice and toasty at this point. i spent most of this section walking up the climb, i'd run the flats and downhills, but thigns weren't feeling good, i'm over 20 miles in at this point, and my legs aren't coming around. just keep moving, i'm not too far off my estimated pace.

when i get into the paso picacho aid station, the heat was really getting to me, i dumped my hat into the ice water, grabbed a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, a glass of coke, and some gatorade. 1 of the volunteers offered me some salt tabs, i took 4, drank some more and asked for 3 more salt tablets. after some hemming and hawing on her part she gave in and provided me with the additional tablets. another of the volunteers had taken my bottles to refill with ice and water and added ice to my hat on my way out.

that was it, my legs started to come around and i began making good time through this section. all of a sudden i was hungry, and eating a bit ahead of schedule, before i was begrudgingly taking in roughly 400 calories an hour, at this point i was happily consuming 500 - 600 calories, and going through my water just as quickly. my pace was pretty steady through this section and my spirits were lifting, despite the fact the temperatures were climbing, i was doing well.

at the big bend aid station was feeling good. i was suprised to see the same volunteer that refilled my water bottles and filled my hat with icy goodness at paso picacho was waiting at big bend as well. she took my hat and water bottles. i ate some watermelon, cantaloupe, m&m's, cookies, more coke, and several cups of gatorade.

on the way out of big bend, i heard the promise of lots of climbing. nice, we are about to embark on a 1200+ foot climb over the next 2 miles give or take. eduardo, who i spoke with before the race and new from some of the other races, remarked that this climb was the toughest for him, and made him hurt severly the last time he did it. i put my head down and started my ascent.

my legs were feeling good, so i walked pretty aggressively, and jogged when the course leveled out and on minor inclines. i continued to catch and pass runners, chatting briefly as i went by. before long i was at the top, and ready to begin the descent into the milk ranch aid station. i could feel the sun getting hotter, and my sunblock wearing off, i'd need more sunblock soon, and ice.

i held a pretty solid pace through the descent and continued it through the little climb up into milk ranch. refill both water bottles, more food, strawberries were added to the usual fare and i was all too happy to sample some of them. sunblock, hat in the bucket of ice water, douse my head with icy water, ready to head out.

there was a mild climb then a long descent into the sweetwater aid station. my legs felt as they were getting stronger, so i continued to let it go a bit and enjoy the miles passing by. along the way, i found my energy building, my appetite was growing, and i was going through my food quickly, i was up to 600-700 calories an hour, mostly solids, and giong through my 2 water bottles faster than anticipated. this could get interesting, do i try and pick up the pace to get to sweetwater faster, or slow down so i don't need as much water?

to much thinking, i'll just run comfortable and let things work themselves out. within 1/2 mile i had found an unopened bottle of water. that's convenient. i picked it up and refilled my water bottle. 1 problem solved, no if i can just find a collection of food to add to my resevoir i'd be set. the heat was again getting to me, i'd need to remember to add ice to my hat before i leave the sweetwater station.

no such luck, i finished off this section out of food, and with just enough water. more food, and some more food to go. i loaded up my pockets with cliff bars, a couple gels, and had my bottles refilled, my hat socked in ice water. added sunblock, and i was off again. i bit premature, i knew i needed to drink and eat more before i left, but keeping to my true form of neglect, i left before completing the things that would make the next 7.5 miles easier.

this definitely bit me hard. within a couple miles i'd gone completely through my 2 water bottles, and eaten all the food (mental note cliff bars need a substantial amount of water to wash down, and are a bad idea to eat when you have no water. i was still catching and passing people, trying to stay conservative (looks like i'm not the only one that underestimated this section).

then it happened. that niggling little thing in my right achilles tendon let loose. running became uncomfortable at the good parts, the worst of it was my legs are still pretty fresh, i'm getting pretty significantly dehydrated, but that's easy to recover from. it's the shooting pain in my achilles that has me concerned.

if i don't figure this out soon, i'm going to be having a lot shorter day than anticipated. it's not long before i'm noticably limping, any kind of strain on my achilles hurts severely. i spend a good hour walking the rest of the way back into camp cuyamaca, where my first pacer will be waiting.

it's finally starting to cool down, but not looking like i'm going to get to enjoy the reprieve. i finally make my way into camp cuyamaca, and can hear heather catchpole's shouts of encouragement. i get to the tent and sit down, hand off the water bottles, throw my hat in the ice water and begin planning my course of action.

heather c. and brian are extremely helpful, providing me with chicken soup, oranges, i should have gotten some quesadillas too, but i was being stubborn. i drank lots ate lots, laid down and heather went to work on my right leg. whenever she got near the achilles i had shooting pain, and would wince. it was ridiculously tight, and noticably inflamed.

i laid there for over an hour hoping the rest would resolve the woes of my achilles. around 6pm i decided it was time to do a check and we loaded up and headed out for the sunrise aid station. my legs were a bit stiff, and the achilles didn't do what i'd hoped it would do. the questions start, do i press on and see where things go really bad? do i quite and finally admit there are some things that are out of my control?? i spend the better part of the next 1/2 mile or so goign back and forth over this in my head. i can still shuffle through the flats, i'm ok. it's only the ups that hurt (never mind i have a 5 mile climb ahead of me).

before long it's undeniable, even the slightest grade sends shooting pain through my achilles, my stride is far from normal, and will definitely increase the likeliness of other injuries if go through the next 50 miles, and the downhills hurt far wors than the climbs.

i pull over to the side of the course sit down and think for a couple minutes. it's official, i'm done, my run is nearly completed, though i've failed to complete the entirety of my run, i accept it at face value, it's not happening today. good days and bad days. today is both a good day and a bad day. i bounced back from my dehydration and insufficient nutrition, but i'm not bouncing back from the achilles in time to finish what i set out to do.

as i sit there, i am forced to accept the fact that there are things i just can't do. there are circumstances beyond my control, despite the fact this was amongst the most prepared i've been for any of my undertakings, it's playing out to be my first DNF. there is still 18+ hours in which i can likely hobble through most all if not all of the remaining 49 miles, but what kind of a set back will that cause? how important is my achilles tendon.

no more questions. it's time to walk back to camp cuyamaca, surrender my number and inform my support crew there is no need for support. heather c is very supportive an asks several times if this is what i want to do. when we get back to camp cuyamaca, i hand over my race number, the final step in officially dropping out. my day is over.

now it's time to start my next adventure. figuring out what i did to my achilles, and starting to fix it. i've got lots of stuff to do, and repairing myself is at the top, once that's complete i can get back to marking off the rest of the items on my list.