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BigHorn 50 mile trail run

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Location:

Lehi,UT,USA

Member Since:

Apr 29, 2010

Gender:

Male

Goal Type:

Boston Qualifier

Running Accomplishments:

2009 Provo River Marathon, 4:04:38

2009 Provo Canyon Halloween 1/2 Marathon, 1:27:22

2010 Ogden Marathon, 3:04:39

2010 Deseret News Marathon, 2:51:36

2010 Provo River 1/2 Marathon 1:19:01

2010 Top of Utah Marathon 2:52:24

2010 Just Cuz 1/2 Marathon 1:17:36

2011 13.1 LA 1/2 Marathon 1:19:43

2011 Timpanogos Half 1:16:51

2011 Treadmill Marathon 2:49:26 (pr)

Short-Term Running Goals:

2:45 Boston.

Favorite Blogs:

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Miles:This week: 0.00 Month: 0.00 Year: 0.00
Elliptical Trainer 2017 Lifetime Miles: 107.00
Treadmill 2017 Lifetime Miles: 454.20
Race: BigHorn 50 mile trail run (51.5 Miles) 10:10:01, Place overall: 17, Place in age division: 7
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
51.500.000.000.0051.50

Well, now I got that out of my system for a while.

 

This is going to sound really stupid, but for some reason I envisioned this being a little bit more “fun” I’m not sure why I would think that.  I have about 100 excuses but honestly I don’t think I need to make any excuses, I’m happy with my result, I really had no way to know what to expect and with all my resent set backs just finishing a 50 miler is something I’m pretty proud of.

Stayed at the in-laws last night and actually got a really good night sleep, almost 7 hours of sleep then woke up at 3:00am with no alarm.  My Father in law offered to drive me to the start even though there were buses leaving Sheridan, we got to the start about an hour early and 15 minutes before the buses so I had the porta potties to myself for a while.  It was chilly at the top but I knew that was only going to last for an hour or so, so I was happy about the cold.  Surprisingly the race started with an out right sprint with about 10 guys right off the bat, I wasn’t expecting that at all, I started up chase group 1 with 3 guys behind me, I felt good but we were running through snow drifts and mud puddles pretty fast, I kept thinking “this is to fast” but I didn’t want the guys behind me to pass.  A couple times I saw 6:10 on my Garmin, bad news.  At mile 8 I tripped on a rock and wiped out pretty hard, skinned my knees up but nothing felt broken, the 3 guys all passed me, which looking back actually may of saved me from something really bad happening.  I tripped about 5 times over the first 20 miles, I think that it was simply a matter of me doing all my training runs on the road, my normal running stride just doesn’t lift my feet enough so I kept tripping.  I could tell that falling was taking a lot out of me and decided taking a really hard fall was going to put me back a lot more than just slowing down, so that’s what I did.

I would say this route is almost 50% un-runnable, the up-hills are to steep to run- and the down-hills to technical.  I was pretty upset that I kept walking up hill but then I realized everyone was walking the up-hills and no-one was passing me.

My family was all waiting for me at the mile 33 aid station, I told them I was going to be there between 11:00 and 12:00, at 11:10 I was 3 miles away and saw that it was straight up-hill to the aid station, I averaged about 16:00 pace for that next 3 miles.  All my kids and wife were waiting for me and walked me the last 100meters up the hill.  They told me even the winners all walked that hill so I didn’t feel so bad.  I spent way to much time at that aid station with my family, eating and taking care of blisters, I noticed 2 girls running the 50M come in and immediately leave, my wife told me I had to go catch them so I didn’t get chicked, I knew I couldn’t catch them though, they were hauling.  About 5 miles later I got backed by Girl # 3 and thought, I need to start running with girls, they are way smarter than me when it comes to racing.  I kept jocking back and forth with the 3rd Girl and ran/walked with her for quite a while and eventually broke away.  Besides the 2 girls I could only think of maybe 2 other 50miler guys that had passed me and guessed I was in about 15th place, but I didn’t really care, I knew I wasn’t going to pass anyone, and I couldn’t see anyone behind me so I was content with my place.

Mile 38 all of a sudden like 10 people just stopped right in the middle of the trail (at this point there were 100M, 50K, and 30K people on the trail) and one of the 100M pacers was sword fighting something with a stick, turns out there was a huge rattlesnake just off the trail all coiled up and really pissed off.  Eventually we all bush wacked around it and I decided to try and help scare it away cause we were afraid for other runners coming down the trail,  I found out I could throw rocks almost as good as I could run at that point, and I’m terrified of snakes anyway so I left it to the pacer and left.  Not sure if he ever got rid of it, I hope so.

Around mile 40 the trail actually got really nice to run on, single track without rocks and a downslope, If I didn’t have 40 mile legs I’m sure I could have flown down it, but by this point 9:30 pace felt like sprinting.  Then at 46 miles the trail came out onto a dirt road which also would have been nice to run on but it was 85 degrees at this point and I was dead.  I kept telling myself I just needed to make a running motion no matter how slow it was and just get done.  That 4 miles was miserable, I knew my wife was waiting for me at the final aid station to pace me in so that kept me going. The final aid station is at mile 50, seriously, I thought this was a 50 mile race I was ready to be done.  I’m really happy my wife was there, she was all gung ho and I kept having to tell her to slow down, but without her I seriously would have walked the last 1.5 miles so I was glad she was there. 

I finished strong, never had a major breakdown and was so glad to be done.  I immediately crossed the finish line and jumped into the Ice cold river.  So nice.

 

Things I learned,

Don’t follow the 6:00min/mile guys at the start of an Ultra

Don’t try to find the “dry” way around rivers and bogs, just go through them you’re going to get wet and muddy anyway.

Do train on trails, not roads.

Learn not to fall down so much.

Learn how to take care of your feet better, I dealt with a pretty bad blister almost the entire race.

 

Un-fortunately I am in a really bad age group so I don’t get any award at all, If I came back next year I’m sure I could win something, but at this point I don’t think that will happen.

Altra Lonepeaks Miles: 51.50
Comments
From allie on Sun, Jun 17, 2012 at 09:37:13 from 174.23.141.62

nice! congrats on the 50-miler. sounds like it was a fun but tough experience. i like your list of things you learned -- i presume that is because there is another ultra in your future? just wait until after des news :)

From Rob on Sun, Jun 17, 2012 at 10:19:03 from 184.167.92.40

I'm not sure I'll do that again, it really wasn't very enjoyable. It wasn't enough like "running" for my liking.

From allie on Sun, Jun 17, 2012 at 10:23:57 from 174.23.141.62

ha. i've never done an ultra and that is exactly why -- it's very, very different from road racing. i won't knock it until i try it -- i just know know if i will ever try it :)

From Russ on Sun, Jun 17, 2012 at 15:30:53 from 24.72.199.44

Nice job! I joined your path at the cow camp aid station - the one with bacon. That last three miles up to the Dry Fork aid station was tough & like you I was glad to see everyone walking. The downhill single track was fun but tough, gave me some nice blisters in a spot I've never considered blistering. The final 5 miles of road were brutal. I got hosed down twice & that helped a lot, but I walked at least half of it. Like you, I think I got that out of my system for a while. Congrats on finishing 50+ miles. That is a huge accomplishment.

From Rob on Sun, Jun 17, 2012 at 15:58:39 from 184.167.92.40

They tried to make me eat bacon but just the smell made me sick. How did you get to Cow Camp? Was there a way for a bus to drive there?

From Jake K on Sun, Jun 17, 2012 at 16:06:35 from 216.70.22.115

Nice job rob. With the injuries you've had, just getting to the line and running 50 miles is a heck of an accomplishment... And you ran well, when the course was runnable! No treadmill marathons this week, ok? :-)

From Rob on Sun, Jun 17, 2012 at 16:38:16 from 166.147.89.144

Running may be out for a while, I jacked up my knee and may have cracked a rib on one of my falls.

From Tina on Sun, Jun 17, 2012 at 20:28:09 from 75.162.237.95

Congrats on finishing the 50m! Very impressive! The dirt road section was brutally hot this year.

From jtshad on Mon, Jun 18, 2012 at 08:18:35 from 204.134.132.225

Congrats on a solid race, that is a great intro to Ultras! Impressive that you ran so well and learned a lot (about trail running and yourself!). Good run!

From Lulu Walls on Mon, Jun 18, 2012 at 17:06:25 from 155.100.212.98

Wow! That is awesome Rob. Finishing strong without a major breakdown is quite the accomplishment! Yes, training on trails is some good advice :)

From Carina on Mon, Jun 18, 2012 at 17:20:52 from 204.15.86.83

Such an awesome accomplishment! I am so clumsy I don't think trail racing would be a good idea for me! Way to stick with it to the end!!!

From Rob on Mon, Jun 18, 2012 at 17:37:52 from 204.15.86.95

Thanks everyone, I've been intrigued by Ultra Marathons for a while and just had to go give it a try. I can definitely see the appeal but if I ever try it again I'm going to make sure I'm better prepared for sure.

I'm pretty sure I ran the last 42 miles with a cracked rib, at the time my chest felt tight but I thought it was just from my heart beating out of my chest :). Today I'm definitely in some pain.

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