JFK 50 miler today! The start takes place in Boonsboro, MD, about 70 miles from Baltimore. We flew into Baltimore, arriving Wednesday evening, and drove to our hotel in Hagerstown. Spent Friday driving some of the course, mostly to make sure that our handler knew exactly where she could and could not be during the event. They have very strict rules about handlers and pacers in this event. Race morning weather was absolutely perfect! 30 degrees at the start, which meant shorts with a light wool shirt, hat, gloves, and a light jacket. I knew that the first 15 miles was the most technically challenging section of the course, spanning a beautiful section of the Appalachian Trail, just out of Boonsboro. I was planning on taking this section very very easy, and was glad that I had decided to do so, because the trail was quite rocky and technical. I am used to steep climbs, so the hills did not seem long or steep to me, but I walked most of them, keeping my heart rate under my predetermined ceiling for this section. I carried a hand held water bottle with several hundred calories of carbo pro, plus two gels and a peanut butter packet in my pocket. I am allergic to all the food that the aid stations would likely be offering, so I had carefully planned to carry my own food. This first section was slow, but I felt very fresh and ready for the next bit, which was a marathon length along a flat towpath. Lisa was waiting at the end of the Appalachian section, and I ditched my water bottle, hat, warm shirt and jacket, switching to a light technical shirt and picking up my fully loaded hydration backpack. I had 1200 more liquid carb calories in 1.5 liters of water, several bars I knew I could eat, some more peanut butter, and several gels in there. It was very hard to hold back on the flat section, because I actually felt really good, but I wanted to keep it to 11-12 minute miles here. I have never previously run 50, and I was very very respectful of the distance! At the very beginning of this section, my drinking tube broke, and I was left with a naked tube hanging, and had to rig up a way to wedge it under the backpack straps so that it would be upright and not leak water (and nutrition!) everywhere. It was a little uncomfortable until I had drunk it down a ways and it stopped spurting. The running felt really great, and the scenery was really exceptionally beautiful. About mile 24, I was going a bit faster, 10:30s or thereabouts, and my buddy told me to go ahead, because she wanted to keep it slower. I stopped at several aid stations and drank water and grabbed more gels whenever I could. I ate a peanut butter packet, and at one point carried a Lara Bar in my hand for about four miles, just nibbling away at it. I drank continuously from the hydration pack; my goal was to finish all my fluid by the time I reached the end of the towpath. I did not think about how far I still had to go, either in hours or in miles, just kept running one mile at a time. But by mile 36, I was really ready to get off of the towpath! That didn't happen until mile 42, so the last bit of towpath was a bit challenging. I still felt quite strong, was very aware that by this point I had run further than I had ever run! Finally mile 42 and the end of the towpath appeared! The beginning of the final section (which was all on rolling country roads) was a long, steep uphill. As I had planned, I walked this hill. As I was walking, I noticed that I was actually walking very very fast, a 13:00 minute mile (!), and my heart rate dropped at least 10 BPM. So, just for a little game, I finished an entire mile at this race walking pace, passing many runners! I then ran a mile, and I ran it faster than I had been running before I walked. I race walked another mile, with several people commenting on my extremely fast walking pace, then ran another. So, my average pace for these four miles was about 11:00 I guess, and I felt quite rested. An interesting race strategy maybe? I had also amused myself with this little game for four miles, and was now at 4 miles to go!
I was tired, but every time my body whined a little bit, I looked around, and saw someone in much greater discomfort than I was in, and could keep going. About two miles to go, I saw a lovely sunset over the hills to my left, and then I quickly saw the 1 mile to go marker. I was in disbelief that I was almost finished, and tried to pick it up the final 300 meters up a small hill into the finish. I felt energetic and oh, so happy! My original time goal was 10 hours, and I finished in 10:18:08. I am really very happy with the result, and happy with how I ran the race according to plan and pace. I collected my medal, then joined our handler Lisa and waited for Arlane to show up. Lisa told me many times to put something warm on, as it was rapidly getting dark now and cooling, but I felt good, and I didn't want to miss Arlane's finish. She finished twenty minutes or so after me, but by that time all my excitement/elation had turned to complete shivering and queeziness. We went into the gym and I had to get some warm packs and blankets for a short time because I couldn't stop shaking. I drank a lot of fluid and some hot tea, and felt better after a bit. Meanwhile, Arlane showered. I put my warmer clothes on under my warm blankets, and we took a shuttle back to the start, where we picked up our rental car and drove back to Baltimore. Neither of us wanted to drive, but I had a 6am flight the next morning, so we really had to stay near the airport. Getting up at 3:30 the next morning was a bit grueling, but I slept for a bit on the plane. This was a truly amazing run, and I am still in complete disbelief that I can run for 10 hours or 50 miles, and also that 1000 other people were doing it too!
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