Long Haul 100 Race report
(Garmin stats: 101.79 miles)
A pretty good day, great weather, perfect course conditions, but lack of training and just getting over a cold meant pretty much all walking in the second half).
Loop 1: 3:39:19
Feeling good and taking it easy. 7:00 am start this year vs last year's 6:00 am start felt more relaxed. Plan was to keep the heart rate low, no specific run/walk ratio, just slow down for a while once heart rate hit 135. I wasn't looking to break 24 hours and was pretty sure I was not in shape to do that, so this helped reign in my pace even though I was feeling good. Ran into Brad and chatted with him. He was on a very specific run/walk (not using whole minutes, maybe something like 4:30/1:30, kind of guessing here). So, whenever I got ahead of him, dialed it back a bit.
Loop 2: 3:43:43 (7:23:02)
Loop 2 was a lot like loop 1 but now I had one loop down and "only" 5 to go. Kept running pretty steady and ended up being pretty close pace-wise to the first loop.
Loop 3: 4:08:38 (11:31:42)
During this loop I would start out strong and gradually slow down by a combination of choice and need. At the start of the loop, Evan adjusted the time he was going to show up since it was looking like I'd be way earlier than planned.
Starting out in the light, I'd finish in the twilight.
As I approached mile 40, realized I'd be under 9 hours (about 8:51), thought back to the year of struggle race where mile 40 was at 10 hours and it seemed pretty hopeless. I was also pushing things a little harder, no longer worrying if I was running over 140bpm for heart rate. Coming up around Boots and Saddles the heel of my right foot was starting to feel raw, maybe a blister forming. I had ignored the piece of bark in my shoe for too long. After the aid station I stopped trying to push. I'd be way ahead of 12 hours for the first half with no intention of trying to break 24 hours (althoug I'd have been happy if I did or got something like 25 or even 26 hours and felt good the whole time).
Also, I didn't have my lights on me, no headlamp or wastlamp, although I did have my $12 USB charger that came with a light on it which cast enough light so I wouldn't trip (last year Daisy managed to use the same charger/light as her primary and maybe only light source).
The last couple of miles from the last aid station to start/finish, purposely slowed down a little, as well as slowing down due to getting darker out and my root foot heel/blister issue.
Loop 4: 5:16:09 (16:47:51)
Evan had gotten there a bit early and was waiting for me, got going on the 4th loop which started as walking while I finished what I was eating, stopped at my car (half mile past start/finish) to grab waist light, headlamp, an extra shirt to stuff in my pack for when it got cooler out (it would not get cooler at night, sligtly warmer actually, would not get cooler until the morning, after sunrise as front started coming in), and trekking poles. Eventually did some run/walk, still no set interval (probably would've helped at this point). Made it to campground aid station for first time, I think I had some soup. The electrolyte drink was starting to wear on me (Roctane mix). They has candied dried ginger which was very tasty and made me feel better.
Sometime after campground aid station we ran with a guy named Brian (from Indiana), he had come through the first half in about the same time as me (maybe a little faster), but his stomach had turned on him. Invited him to stick with us. We stayed together until the second visit to the campground aid station, at which point he said he needed to take a bit of break. We would see him later that loop just as we left boots and saddles and he was heading towards it, maybe just 5-10 minutes ahead of him.
Had the potato soup (it's just instant potatoes, kind of watery with either veggie broth or chicken stock). Finally felt a surge of energy especially as we got closer to the start/finish. Last mile of the loop was about a 15 minute pace (which would be the fastest split of the entire second half - never really got back to anything close to a "running" pace or even a jogging pace.
However, I did make it through the loop without further aggravating my heel. Trekking poles might've giving me a slower overall pace but took a lot of weight off the heels.
With a time of 5:16 for the first loop of the second half, pace was slower than 30 hour pace (just barely under 32 hour pace). I had to finish this year, did not want to fail at getting the 500 mile buckle and also really wanted to make sure I'd get one more lottery entry into Western States. Did not feel well for much of the second half but knew I could make it through. Evan was great company. Next up was Cynthia who missed pacing me last year when I dropped out. So, there was also that motivation. She also brought with her some bandages and cream to work on my blistered heel. Very thoughful and helpful.
Loop 5: 5:44:06 (22:31:57)
After working on my foot and getting some food and saying goodbye to Evan we were off to start loop 5. Stopped by car to grab some gels and throw rain poncho into my pack as there was a chance of rain at some point. This loop was a lot like the last one but this time I had Cynthia instead of Evan. She was always very encouraging and helped keep me moving telling me what a good job I was doing even though I didn't feel like I was doing a very good job. There were more food stops and a few short sitting breaks and more ginger (the candied pieces were gone but they still had some smaller ginger chews they kept hidden). It's been a while since I've run with Cynthia, maybe a year or more so we had lots of catching up to do.
Finishing up loop 5, leaving boots and saddles aid station is always nice, as we left this time, the finish felt more within sight. Daisy would be waiting for us and then I'd switch pacers and thank Cynthia for her help.
Loop 6: 5:27:49 (27:59:46)
Still dark out, with light not too far away, we set off for the last loop, and about a quarter mile away realized I left the trekking poles propped up against the building, so Daisy ran back to get them while I waited and finished the soup I was working on. Just passed campground aid station (or maybe just before), we saw the sky change from black of night to a very dark purple, still almost black but slowly lightening up as dawn approached.
Making it back to sunlight was nice but there was still a way to go, moving along and tried to keep the stops as short as possible. After what seemed like forever, made it to the boots and saddles aid station which was in the process of preparing to wind down. There was a guy in yellow that finally got a good gap on me and would finish 10 minutes ahead of me. There was also some rain which I hoped might go away before getting heavy but realized it was going to get heavy so broke out my $0.99 poncho which helped a lot to keep me dry-ish and retain some heat without getting too hot.
As we got to the final mile, chipped away at it and soon realized if I picked it up just a little bit could come in under 28 hours. Small victory, I'll take it.
Crossed the finish line which Daisy was able to capture on my phone as she ran ahead of me a little bit. Amy handed me my 500 Mile finisher buckle (she asked if I'd be back next year, I told her not to ask me that right now). I was more excited than I thought I'd be with a pretty big grin on my face.
Then, went inside the pavillion where several people cheered pretty loudly for me while I held up the buckle. It was a little bit unexpected. I felt like I could've run a better race (severe lack of training miles since Colt 45 race) but I did accomplish what I came to do - got the buckle I missed last year and got a fast enough time to enter into Western States lottery one more time.
After sitting for a bit, Daisy drove me to my car and said goodbye, then I sat for a bit and thought about napping but then after a little bit realized I did not feel tired at all.
Drove home and when I walked up to the door saw a hand drawn sign from Charlotte. It showed me running with Daisy and her at home with her mom and Amelia cheering me on, perfect ending to the 500 mile journey.
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