Overall 167th of 219 finishers (20 DNF)
Male 50-59: 22nd of 29 finishers
Race Results:
http://racecontrol.kd7bbc.org/event/lookup?evt=b18eef84-7072-11df-8a3b-001ec21c888f Course Map & Profile http://www.squawpeak50.com/sqpkcrse.htm I don't have time for a full race report now, maybe later today. In short, this race pushed me beyond any mental and physical limits I've ever approached before. My previous longest distance run was 26.2 miles. It's now nearly twice that at 50 miles, with many very steep miles and treacherous footing (snow, mud, rocks). My previous longest duration run was 7 hours (just last week). It's now more than double that at 15 hours and 19 minutes. I fought through heat, humidity, knee pain, hip pain, PF pain, a rolled ankle, 4 falls, chafing, blisters, and calf and thigh cramping. Still, I was able to run the downhill miles clear to the end. I finished hours slower than I hoped, but I finished. A number of times when other runners asked how I was doing, my answer was "I'm enduring." There is much to be said for enduring, and I feel very good about my efforts and the results. Below are more details than anyone but my future self might care about, but feel free to read on if you wish: Several years ago the notion entered my mind to run a 50 miler when I
turned 50. With the Squaw Peak 50 Trail Run in my own backyard, I never
considered any other race, despite it being described as the 3rd
toughest 50 miler in the country.
Last year, at 49 with 50 just
around the corner, I seriously questioned whether I would be able to
dedicate the time to training that would be necessary. A conversation
with Rich Lamoreaux, who had completed the SP50 multiple times,
convinced me I could complete it with just slightly more training than
normal marathon training. I recommitted and submitted my registration in
December. I made it on the waiting list, and eventually into the race.
Training
history since the St. George Marathon last fall:
History: My left
leg is 1+ inch shorter than right due to knee injury at age 14.
I
have a "bad" left knee, that acts up occasionally.
Oct 2009: Bad
right hip pain up to and during SGM.
Orthopedic surgeon recommended
larger lift for short leg.
I started wearing 3/4" in-shoe lifts.
Nov
2009: 30+ miles/week
Dec 2009: 40+ miles/week (except holidays)
Jan
2010: 40+ miles/week (until PF injury on MLK day)
Feb 2010: 30-ish
miles/week for a few weeks
Late Feb, early Mar: 3 weeks of 20 miles
or less trying to heal PF
PF wasn't getting better so I decided to
push the mileage again.
PF wasn't getting worse, so I increased the
mileage.
mid Mar to mid May: Gradually increased from 30 to 50+
miles/week, with 7 straight weeks of 40+
Taper - three weeks: 35, 32,
15
I ran the Painter's half marathon in January and the Spectrum
10K in March to get into the SGM via the Runner Series. Other than
that, I did very little to no speed running as I tried to get miles in
without aggravating the PF. I finally went to a podiatrist for the first
time in my life, and he prescribed orthotics. The PF had already
improved quite a bit before I got them, so the jury is still out on
whether the orthotics have helped much.
(For all you barefoot
running proponents out there, I've read Born to Run and understand the
potential benefits.)
On race day, I had a little knee pain, hip
pain, and PF pain, but none were bad enough to cause me serious concern.
I tried some KT tape on my bad knee as a precaution, but ended up
pulling it off early in the race.
I drove my buddy Larry up for
the early 4:00am start for those expecting to take 16 hours or longer.
His training had been considerably less than mine. I was hoping for
closer to a 12 hour finish so I started at 5:00am. I ended up catching
Larry at about mile 12. He ended up missing the cutoff at AS #8 by about
5 minutes and wasn't allowed to finish. Mostly he was very
disappointed, but he did admit that part of him was very glad to be
done.
Some of the runners I knew who also ran were Joe Martel
(12:17), Rich (11:41) & Marci (11:12) Lamoreaux, Paul Nielsen
(14:11), and Steve Earl (14:11). I never saw Joe, Rich or Marci during
the run, but ran the first part of the race with Paul and Steve.
Aid Station
| Distance
| Est.
| Actual
| Diff.
| Time
in Aid Stations
| Comments
| Start -
Vivian Park
|
|
| 5:00
|
|
|
| #2
Hope Campground
| 5.58 mi
| 6:28
| 6:14
| -0:14
| 0:02
Tighten left shoe, water, pancakes
| Dark, head lamp, ran
with Paul Nielsen and Steve Earl up the trail. Warm, humid, began to
drink to stay hydrated. At aid station, tightened my left shoe, drank
water, grabbed couple of pancakes (Scouts cook breakfast here), and we
headed out. I had a short double back to drop off my headlamp.
| #3
Rock Canyon
| 10.85 mi
| 8:00
| 7:24
| -0:36
| 0:01
Water, fruit
| I ran with Paul and Steve until I caught up to
Larry then I went with Larry for a while. I eventually left Larry and
caught back up to Paul and Steve. There were stretches of snow and mud.
| #4
Horse Mountain
| 14.62 mi
| 9:30
| 8:44
| -0:46
| 0:05
Socks, water, filled water, chips
| My feet were pretty wet
so I changed my socks as planned to help prevent blisters. Paul and
Steve went on ahead and I never saw them again. The climb ended at about
8000' and the descent back down to 5000' began. Going through an uneven
meadow I rolled my right ankle. It scared me at first but it didn't
take too long to walk it off then start running again. I decided to take
some pain killers but couldn't find them. I still don't know what
happened to them.
| #5 Gate@Dirt Road
| 20.8
mi
| 10:24
| 10:04
| -0:20
| 0:01
Water, snacks
| The descent continued. As I recall, we had
run in shadows and cloud cover most of the way thus far and on this
section we started getting more sun and heat. The thermometer at the aid
station read 72 degrees.
| #6 Left Fork/HC Gate
| 26.5
mi
| 11:24
| 11:26
| +0:02
| 0:10
Socks, water, filled water, snacks
| I had heard runners
didn't like the asphalt along this stretch. I concur. I seem to get
blisters on the balls of my feet when running on hot asphalt. After a
mile or so of asphalt I started getting that familiar feeling. By the
time I reached the aid station I had a blister on the ball of my left
foot, and another smaller one on the left side of my left heel. I would
feel them the rest of the way, but they were manageable. I changed socks
again at the aid station and reapplied Body Glide to my feet. I should
have reapplied it between my legs, as I ended up with chafing there
later in the run (especially painful in the post-run shower).
| #7
Sheep Canyon
| 30 mi
| 12:20
| 12:31
| +0:11
| 0:02
Water, snacks
| It was good to be back on a dirt road, but
the incline gradually got steeper. I continued to walk the uphill and
run the flats and downhills. It was kind of fascinating to me how my
body seemed to know when to run and when to walk. It wouldn't allow me
to walk downhills, and as soon as an uphill began I instinctively began
to walk. I credit this inner ballast with getting me to the finish line.
| #8
Little Valley
| 33.5 mi
| 13:09
| 13:44
| +0:25
| 0:07
Socks, water, filled water, snacks
| I reached Little Valley
roughly on schedule, except that I neglected to include time at aid
stations in my schedule. A volunteer refilled my water while I once
again changed socks and reapplied Body Glide to my feet. My PF, blister,
ankle, knee, chafing, and hip pain were present, but under control. I
picked up a package of Enlyten electrolyte strips before I headed out.
| #9
Windy Pass
| 40.5 mi
| 15:19
| 17:38
| +2:19
| 0:17
Socks, water, filled water, snacks, calf/thigh cramps, electrolyte
tablet
| I had been wondering ever since I ran from AS#8 to
AS#10 with the race director John Bozung and others last week to help
clear/mark the trail what it would feel like doing that same section of
the course after having run 33 miles. Earlier, along the asphalt road, I
had discussed this with another runner who had done the course before.
He said it would feel about like I thought it was going to feel like. I
knew he was right, but the steep climb to Windy Pass was far more
difficult than I envisioned. I swear the mountain got longer and steeper
during the week. Climbing the three steep ridges nearly straight up
took all the mental and physical stamina I could muster. With the
exertion and the thin air it seem like I was taking 2 or 3 breaths for
each small step. I just tried to keep moving, stopping only a few times
to take pictures. My relief at the summit was premature, as the steep,
rocky descent down to the Windy Pass aid station seemed even more
difficult than the climb. I underestimated the effort for this climb by
about 2 hours. It reminded me of the Ragnar leg of the Ragnar Relay,
except I was doing it after running about 40 miles. I found a chair at
the aid station. The volunteers were awesome as they filled my water and
brought me snacks. I had put the double layered socks they gave us in
our race packets in my vest and decided to put them on for the 10 miles
of descent remaining. As I bent each leg to put my shoe back on it would
cramp severely. One of my thighs even joined the fun. I used most of
the Enlyten strips along the way, and my eGels have electrolytes in
them, but apparently I was running low. A volunteer dissolved an
electrolyte tablet in some water, and I took another eGel. During the
remainder of the run I had a couple of minor cramps when I stepped
wrong, but they weren't a problem.
| #10 Big Springs
| 46.5
mi
| 16:17
| 19:27
| +2:50
| 0:01
Water, snacks
| I had been looking forward to the downhill,
but the first few miles weren't so much fun. There was mud, snow, and
rocks with some scary slopes mixed in. I fell on my backside three times
in the slushy snow. One of the times was especially hard as my feet
flew up and I landed flat on my back. This must have been when my eGel
packet exploded, but I didn't notice until later when I felt the
stickiness drip down onto the back of my left knee. When I sat down at a
picnic table after the race, I almost didn't get my shorts unstuck. As
the snow transitioned to mud, I at first tried to avoid the mud but
eventually just ran through it, only avoiding the deepest muck. I met
and ran with Dave along the first part of this section, then
transitioned to run with another runner for a while down the gentle
descent nearer the end. Ever since falling behind Paul and Steve I had
mostly run alone. It was nice having some company. He stopped for a
nature call and I proceed alone to the aid station at Big Springs. I
called Karen as I was approaching to tell her I was only a few miles
from the end.
| Finish - Vivian Park
| 50
mi
| 16:47
| 20:19
| +3:32
| Total:
0:46
| The last 3.5 miles of downhill sure seemed to have a
lot of uphill. I ran the downhills, but still ended up walking a lot.
I've run this section of road many times. I never dreamed it would take
me as long as it did. I saw a moose and a skunk along this stretch, to
go along with the two sets of two deer and the squirrel I had seen
earlier. South Fork park was full of people who all seemed to be having a
great time. The canyon was cool and beautiful as the sun was beginning
to go down. It was great to see Karen, Brittany and Emily cheering me to
the finish, along with Larry and Jolene. I felt badly for making them
wait for me so long, but it felt might good to be finished.
|
I
started at 5:00am and finished at 8:19pm. My official finish time was 15:19:01 (18:23/mi), way slower than the entirely too optimistic
estimate of 11:47 (14:08/mi). I had totally ignored the time in aid
stations, which ended up being 46 min for me. I also severely
underestimated the last three sections planning for 20:00/mi, 9:00/mi
and 8:30/mi with the actual paces being 33:26/mi, 18:10/mi, and
14:51/mi. What was I thinking?! I'm not even sure I could hit those
paces fresh with good trails, especially not 20:00/mi for those steep
climbs.
My legs recovered pretty quickly. My feet feel beat up.
When I got home I had the shakes and had a hard time not shivering. I
couldn't bring myself to get into a cold tub, but did soak my feet for a
few minutes. In the shower I felt nauseated if the water was warm and
shivered uncontrollably if the water was cool. I eventually got clean
enough to be able to rest on the bed and eat a little. I was still
shivering. I finally just crawled into the blankets and hoped to feel
better in the morning.
I'm writing this on Sunday evening, the
day after the race. I got up early this morning as usual (before 6:00am)
for my meetings and was at the church from 7:00am to about 2:00pm. A
few people who knew I'd run the SP50 were surprised to see my at church,
but I felt pretty good. I'm actually considering running the Utah
Valley Marathon on Saturday, but I'll wait and see.
Many
(including my good wife Karen, and my own mother I think) have
questioned my sanity for wanting to do something like this, and wonder
why I would do such a thing. For me, it's the thrill of adventure; the
satisfaction of pushing my limits and discovering that I'm capable of
far more than I first supposed. Running marathons as a young single
adult taught me lessons of preparation, faith and endurance that have
benefited me beyond measure during my life. I've now stepped that
confidence up a notch as I've faced and overcome the greatest mental and
physical test I've had to date. For me, it's spiritual. I've seen, felt
and experienced things I could do in no other way.
If you think
people are nuts for wanting to run a 50 miler, don't run one. If you've
run a few marathons and are thinking you might like to give an
ultramarathon a try, I strongly encourage it. I have no regrets.
|
