May 12 PCT 50 1 of 2
Where to start. lets just say there is a lot of learning that happened today. probably more learning today then i have had in any other adventure thus far. this is also the toughest day i have experienced. i'm very happy to say i endured more during the PCT 50 then i have in any other endeavor to date.
If you are interested in run details you can skip the pre-story
Pre-story
the week leading up to the run was busier then usual, and full of a series of oversights on my part and a very limited amount of sleep.
I hoped to get back from mountain view early enough thursday so i could stop by my house pick up my running shorts, nutrition, and my nathan hydration pack. Except i managed to book a late flight, so i would have landed at 11pm. Instead I wound up leaving dinner earlier then i wanted and rushing to the airport, to find out my flight was delayed 45 minutes. fits the theme so far.
We actually took off slightly before 11, and landed slightly after midnight. After a bit of internal debate i opted to save a little time and maximize my sleep I opted to go to Intuit and sleep on the floor. I figured it would be dark enough and quiet, i could wake up and i'd already be at work, this should save me close to 1 hour of driving and shift it to sleeping. very solid reasoning. so off to Intuit. Problem 1 now i don't have the running shorts i prefer for this distance, i don't have my hydration pack, and i don't have nutrition.
the good news is i'll be going by the shop to do some receiving friday night, so i can grab some nutrition, and i've got a hand holder for a water bottle, just missing the shorts. perhaps there are some at the shop that i like.
receiving went later then i anticipated, and i didn't get out of Pulse until a little after 9. There were no shorts with liners, and we didn't have enough tri shorts in my size for me to get a pair for the run, so i grabbed some lube in hopes it would suffice.
i was planning to meet up with Victor and some others doing the race at a campground 5 miles from the run start. I stopped by burger king grabbed some dinner and headed out towards the campground. I was too short sighted to stop by my house and get the things that would have helped improve the experience, and i paid in spades.
i got to the campsite, laid out my sleeping bag and went to sleep, almost 6 hours until scheduled wake up.
MORNING Befor the RUN
On friday I was told i must have done something to piss off the gods and was likely to wind up next to a screaming toddler on my next flight. if only that had been the outcome, though i should probably be careful as there is still time for that to happen.
I got up and laid there for a bit, too tired to muster any significant movement, when i finally did get up, i got dressed put on lots of lube, put on my trusty brooks pure connect instead i opted to run in my merrell trail gloves, a far different shoe then the cushy brooks i've been doing most training in. Victor and Victoria emerged from the tent, Victor made some oatmeal which i was happy to help out with, and we headed to the run start.
We got there about 10 minutes before the start, chatted with Mike (i got some sunblock, and a good thing i did) then ran down to get our numbers.
THE RUN
and the fun begins. I started out with my water bottle full of water and 3 scoops of interphase (carbopro's recovery drink). i kept the pace pretty easy as this is the first time i'd be covering more than 10 miles in a 0 differential shoe. i'd been doing most of my running and all of my long runs in the brooks pure connect, a 4mm differential, and given my history with achilles problems, didn't want to risk an injury (i know it doesn't make sense, but this is how my mind works). after the first 2 miles of climbing on rocky single track, i had some tightness in my right achilles, and needed to take a pit stop.
i followed a side trail off the course a little bit and took care of everything. While i was there a group of runners came by, including Neil and Victor, Neil remarking "that's the last time i follow victor". i chuckled and finished up, then made my way back to the course and proceeded to climb. i had roughly 10 miles of pretty steady climbing before the course would level out. i found myself very focused on foot placement (apparently running on a couple millimeters of hard rubber sole over rocky singletrack will do wonders for my awareness, at least of where i put my feet). At the first aid station i refilled my water bottle and added 3 gels to it, grabbed some orange slices and 1/4 chocolate chip muffin and was on my way again.
I fell in with a group that was running pretty steady so i just stayed there and did what i could to find footholds around the rocks. i continued like this to the 2nd aid station, around 13 miles in, my pace never rising much above pedestrian, and i was quit ok with this. again i grabbed some fruit, refilled my water bottle and added 3gels to the water bottle, then i put 2 gels in my pockets just in case.
about 1/2 way between the 2nd and 3rd aid stations. i started having difficulties, i caught my right foot on a rock and stumbled, in the act of trying to catch myself, i got a shooting pain in my right abdomen, same place i started having this issue about a week ago, this definitely put a stagger in my step, there was some signs of discomfort from the beginning, which increased as i tried to go faster, so i was keeping things at an easy pace for 3 big reasons: the abdomen, my achilles questions, and the 0 differential no padding shoes.
i wound up kicking several more rocks on the way to the 3rd aid station, after each i walked for a bit to let the discomfort subside, then i'd ease back into a lazy jog and continue on. the "good news" is that by the fact that i was wearing traditional running shorts, which offer no protection for my thighs against chafing started to catch up with me, this distracted me from the other things going on.
at the 3rd aid station (mile 17.5 ish - in 3.5 hours, it's going to be a long day) i once again refilled my water bottle, added 3 gels to the mixture, ate some solids and put a gel in my pocket, then back on my way. just keep your head down and keep covering the miles. kariem (he opted for the early start, 5am instead of 6am) should be up ahead and you will catch him shortly, once that happens, you can just hang with him and finish the run together. as runners would pass me, i'd stay with them and tell myself just hold on until you get to kariem, then you can settle back in. of course i managed to catch my footing on a couple rocks and experience the shooting pain several more times.
the most notable was coming through a slight downhill, it had been a while since the last time i caught a toe, and i was feeling ok, so had been holding a nice little effort. all of a sudden, bam, i caught my toe on a small tree root, was able to bring my right foot forward in time to catch me, and have the stabbing pain shoot through my abdomen and i came crumbling to the ground. i laid there briefly and ran a mental assessment. as i was picking myself up, another runner came by and asked if i was ok, she commented how she had fallen several times already, i smiled: "yep, just gotta be more careful with my feet".
a couple miles after this, i saw Kariem up ahead, amazing, almost 23 miles to catch him, we chatted for a bit, and stayed together into aid station #4 (about 1/2 mile). This would also be aid station #5. once again, fruit, refill water bottle, and i added 3 gels. kariem had some aquaphor a substance very much like vaseline, which i liberally applied to my thighs.
i took my card (we were required to drop this playing card in a bucket at the turn around, and started back into the run. i actually felt pretty good, so was jogging along, i was seeing people on their way back (actually i saw the lead runner pass me at my mile 20, his mile 30). several other pulse runners came through. Mike passed me about 1/2 mile from the turn around, as poorly as things were going for me, i'd expected he would have been much further ahead, guess his day was less then stellar as well. we laughed at each other's suffering and carried on.
i was still feeling pretty good, and started doing some math, i hit the turn around around 5:20 into the run, i can still save this and have a decent showing, just need to keep slow and steady on the return trip. i jogged pretty much this entire section, some little climbing both on the way out and back to the aid station. back into the aid station, a liberal coating of vaseline, drink a couple cups of water eat fruit, refill water bottle, and this time i added 4 gels, as the 3 was still relatively flavorless, except this time the gel was a different flavor, that would get me shortly. Back out onto the course, and after about 1 mile, things slowed yet again. there was a nice long climb exposed which lasted a couple miles and really put a good hurting on me. at this point i started revisiting history, not typically a good thing:
san diego 100 - legitimate drop
silverman 2009 - illegitimate drop
catalina 50 - legitimate drop - apparently i did not write about this one
headlands 50 - ??legitimate?? drop - this is questoinable
leadville 100 - illegitimate drop - this will be resolved in august
Virigil Crest 100 - ??legitimate drop?? - maybe
Aravaipa 100 - legitimate drop
Rocky Road 100 - ??illegitimate?? drop - my head was elsewhere on this one
these rattled around in my head for the remaining 6 hours on the course. the discomfort as i was experiencing paled in comparison with the questions above. these questions need answers, and i need to persevere to uncover them. mental assessment, i'm tired, my legs aren't working very well,
it seems i'm really dragging this one out, i'll pick up the last 20 miles in a couple days.
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