"I can't believe I am standing up, talking to this guy about how to get cat piss out of a carpet... God, why do I have to work? I have more important things to do!"
This is all I can think about Friday afternoon as I am at a Dealership, working a Customer Appreciation Day in Kansas City. Its merely 18 hours till I start the longest race of my life on the toughest terrain I have run and I am on my feet in the sun. At least I have that 6 pack of Gatorade. Eventually, 2:30 comes... I hustle to the airport, avoiding standby, grab a Wolfgang Puck turkey sandwich (cause I am sure he made it) and jump on the plane. I get back to the house at 7:00. Rose and the kids are ready to hop in the van and we start the drive south to Gnawbone... actually Nashville, but Gnawbone does have a tougher ring to it! The race is being held in Brown County State Park. Its acres and acres of park space carved up over 10, 000 years ago by the melted glacial water.
We arrive by 8:30. Jake and I get to the tent to get my number, and we both notice how nice and muddy the field is. All I can think is: 1. I hope it doesn't rain anymore. 2. Considering that we will be running the hills, that up high it might be dry. I got one of my wishes.
I am delighted in that everyone is in good spirits, not one crying episode, no complaints of any kind... This could be the start of a great weekend. With the race to beginat 6:15 am and it now being close to 9Pm, I decide its time to get a quality pre-race meal. Where to go... where we will all eat something? Hmmm.... McDonald's... Perfect! I know what you are thinking... I need to carbo load, eat good food... well, lets face it.... I am anticipating on running for over 11 hours, a quarter pounder with cheese, fries and coke will be burned off in no time, and its not like I am trying to run fast. So I say, go with the calories!
We drive back to the Holiday Inn in Columbus, IN. The kids are excited cause they see the indoor pool, the putting green, the game room. The perfect vacation for a 3 and 5 year old... but they will have to wait a while... so their idiot father can go run in the woods for half a day! Everyone hops into bed and we go to sleep watching Oceans 11.
I wake up at 3:45am, with out the need for the alarm, which was due to go off in 30 minutes. I make some hotel room coffee, start reading emails and have a PB and J sandwich. There is a Starbucks across the street, but I am thinking I will wait till we leave. Eventually 5:15 comes around and its time to wake Rose to tell her its time to get in the car with the kids to drop me off. This is the time when I am amazed that Rose agrees to come along for these crazy-ass events! So out into the pitch black, with kids in pajamas we drive to Brown County State Park. I give everyone a kiss, and head over to the starting area. Standing there is Randy Step, AKA Head Goat, who is the race director. Kind of apologetically, kind of maniacally laughing about "HOW muddy the first leg of the course is... " I am absorbing all this, but really I had been in a zone where I was not dwelling on anything. My attitude, as cliche' as it sounds was "it is what it is"... we'll see... shit, I'm about to run 50 miles... its going to hurt... but no one made me do this, so no sense in complaining. My last thoughts before getting started... "Keep Moving and Don't QUIT!"
Dance Barn to Ogle Lake (5.3 miles)With little pomp and circumstance, Head Goat gives us a few final words... follow the pink tape... and we are off. "Where the do these people think they are going... this isn't a 5K!" I really was shocked at the pace that people started off at. It was fast! Being the true mid-packer that I am, I was pretty sure that no matter what, I would not be the best , and I would not be the worst... at least I hoped I wouldn't be the worst. I stuck to my guns and went slower than the pace that I thought I needed to go out at. I would try to stick to a 25 minute running to 5 minute walk ratio. We quickly came through the Junkyard where the dogs luckily were caged and started to head up the horse trail. Uphill for the most part... through a thick, squishy, mud bog with tree trunks fallen across it every so often just to spice it up a little more. I really did a good job at this point of blocking out the Aw shit!" thoughts from my mind... I just kept thinking that eventually it would get better. I started up my Earpod about 30 minutes in and with no previously planned playlist... U2's Beautiful Day came on. (The song I sing to the kids before they go to bed) Definitely a pick me up, and got me thinking about how I had nothing else to do today, but to go for a nice long trail run.
Usually 5 miles, nice and relaxed will take me anywhere from 40 to 50 minutes.... on this day, with the mud and trail, it took 90 minutes. It was a rough start to the race. We go to the first aid station. I refilled some water popped a salt tablet and some GU. ( A corn syrup type sustance, with sodium and potassium that comes in a variety of flavors) Luckily I packed 2 pairs of socks in a "drop bag" that they bring on the course for you. I was not going to change shoes today, so getting into dry socks was a big relief. I got on my way to the first of 2 - 18 mile loops through the park.
Ogle Lake to Hoosiers Nest (8.8 Miles Into the Race)
Thank God we were now on relatively dry trail. I was behind a group of about 10, having caught all the "speed demons" at the first Aid Station, I lagged behind them as they lead the way. This was an overly chatty bunch and for what ever reason, I just wasn't feeling real social. Kinda just wanted to keep on keepin' on. As I had mentioned before, I was wearing my Earpods, but at the time was not playing anything. ( I was more afraid of the Ipod running out in 10 hours than my legs!) One woman exclaims" I don't know how people run with head phones on, on a trail... with or with out people around..." and all the other do-gooders, chime in "I know, I know, blah blah blah... " Well being that I was behind them, earphones in... I was feeling even less social than before... Frankly... It isn't that hard to run with music... stay on the trail, don't fall off the cliff... the premise doesn't change just cause you are listening to a little music.
The time started to click away as I projected my angst, pain, and discomfort onto the group, giving me sort of a sadistic pleasure. The thought "of just wait, cause I'm gonna kick your ass one way or another in this race", brought me comfort. The trails were real tight on this leg, maybe 12 inches at some points, with a 80 ft drop if you decided to slide off ! This leg of the course had an elevation gain of over 1,000 feet, with an equal amount of decent, meaning that this was up and down constantly... really starting to challenge your legs and your ability to stay upright. Eventually the pack got back to where we started, Hoosiers Nest and we hit the Aid Station. Aside from the drinks, I grab a slab of bread with peanut butter and Jelly, shove that down my throat and chase it with a chunk of boiled potato, dipped in salt.... yummy!
Hoosiers nest to NorthGate (17 Miles into the Race)
It seemed the Music Nazis fell in love with the Aid Station, cause I beat them all out of there, never to see them again... until the end. The next leg was downhill, with some good conditioned trail. For the most part, I was able to find some dry footing, which quickly helped to get in the groove. I flipped my music back on and was treated to a spiritual double shot of ... Elvis's rendition of , How great Thou Art and John Lennon's, Instant Karma... Mix a little Buddhism with your Christianity, I always say! That Elvis could sure do some gospel, and how can you beat a mantra like:
Why in the world are we here, Surely not to live in pain and fear, Why on earth are you there, When you're ev'rywhere, Come and get your share.
I was "shining on" by now. The trail was all mine. After finishing the down hill section we make a turn off-trail and into the woods... Bushwhacking. Stick, leaves, thorns, animals... Oh my! This might be fun while romping through the woods for a few miles, but when the thought of another 36 miles is on your mind... you do start hoping that there isn't too much of this... otherwise, I would be asking for a machete'. I turn the corner out of the woods and I see the Red Caravan, Rose and the kids are waiting for me at the Aid Station. Jake asks how I am doing? I tell him "great". Which was the truth, memories of the muddy beginning were long gone and I was on a good stretch of trail. This is the point in the race where the kids were introduced to all the delicious things at the Aid Station. Oreos and M&M's for Maggie, Licorice for Jake. At first I told them that it was for the runners, but the volunteer said they could have at it... which opened the door for the rest of the day. Another, PB and J and potatoes for me, which seemed to gross out the family. They walked me back on the trail. I yelled out a fair well and I was off.
North Gate to Hesitation Point (22 miles into the Race)
I was now on the trail that I "knew". I had come down to the park in April and scouted this out a bit and was running a section that I had done before.... just not after having done 22 miles. The trail was labeled as "easy". A nice, gentle rolling path, allowing me to enjoy some of the Indiana spring foliage. But quickly the signs changed to blue. "More Difficult".... then a turn later onto "Difficult". So much for the nature path... another 1,000 foot climb over the course of 2.5 miles. Still I was feeling good, this is the nature of the beast.... run where you can, when it becomes more productive to hike up the hill, then do that. I was zoning out to my Ipod, (much as I'm sure the Music Nazis had feared) when someone shot past me like a dart, followed by someone on a bike... Marathoner. The race had just about any distance category you could want and at points the marathoners and half marathoners crossed our paths... this guy would be done soon... I still had about 7 hours! Not too far behind them a woman moving at a good clip came up on me. She asked me what race I was doing, I told her the 50 mile, she was too, and I told her that she was moving good. She thanked me and said that she did the early start, leaving at 5:30am... OK? Not that my brain was working real well, but if she started ahead of me by 45 minutes, how could she now be passing me? At first, she wasn't quite getting me, she was pretty confused, then she kinda shrugged and said " I had been lost for a while, so I am not really sure what I'm doing right now." I left it at that, and we got up to the Aid Station safely. 
Hesitation Point back to Ogle Lake (24 miles into the Race)
As I refilled my bottles, and popped another S-Cap, (one every hour or so) I overheard the volunteer, a loud and slightly obnoxious guy, saying that "you are on time, but the cut-off to get back here the second time around is 4 o'clock. If you do not make it here, you'll get driven back in the SAG wagon." It being around noon... and with roughly 20 miles to get back to that point, perhaps I should have paid this more mind... but hell, I was on pace. I was doing the mental math, or what math I could do... and envisioned myself getting back by 3:30... but regardless... it seemed like a slightly unfair cut-off. I mean at 4 pm you still had 3 hours left to complete the race in 13 hours. You would then have 3 hours to do the final 9 miles... which seemed like more time than necessary. I told Rose I would see her at the next stop a mere 1.8 miles away, back at Ogle Lake.
Hesitation Point to Ogle Lake (25.8 Miles into the Race)
A real quick leg... down a 100 foot staircase along some flat trails to the next Aid station. Cuts had been forming along my heals where my socks end and the dirt was rubbing off the skin were they came in contact. It was uncomfortable, but what can you expect running 50 miles.... at least no blisters to speak of.. The ball of my left foot was a little tender from running slanted on the narrow trails, but it was not debilitating yet. I had rolled each ankle once, but caught myself before they broke off.
Getting to the Aid Station, I decided to use the 2nd and last pair of socks I brought. I dried my feet, and thought they looked good. In talking to Rose about it later... she actually thought they were pretty rough, its all relative I guess. Rose was going to hang out at the Lake for a little while, let the kids play, then take them back to the hotel for a nap. I said goodbye and that I would see them in a few hours! Off for another 18 mile loop, before the final leg to the finish.
Ogle Lake to Hoosiers Nest (29.3 Miles into the Race)
Back on to the narrow section of trail. I feel good with the new socks and I now have another runner not to far away, that we start leap frogging each other, one takes a turn in the front, the other walks a minute, catches up, I walk 5 , he goes ahead, I catch up. It is a sort of unspoken camaraderie that we form. One guy slips, the other yells to make sure he didn't fall off the cliff. A branch the size of a pole vault pole crashes 10 feet behind me, I laugh and he asks what was that? "Just my life flashing before", he said he'd be kind enough to tell the race director that there was an impaled guy back on the trail, whose wife and kids are waiting for him. I told him I appreciated his efforts. So back and forth we went, a couple jokes here and there, but we each were listening to music so if we needed to speak we had to wave each other down.
Hoosiers Nest to Northgate (36.4 Miles into the Race)
Eventually we exchanged hometowns, me Indy, Him Lafayette... he had 2 boys, 14 and 16... we never exchange names.... funny but when you are 2 people out in the woods, names don't seem to mean anything... hey and you seem to suffice!
Northgate to Hesitation Point ( 41.3 miles in to the Race)
So now we've approached 3pm. I get back to Northgate and ask the volunteer how am I doing on time. He tells me I am actually 2 minutes behind, but not to worry, you are doing fine, and that he was sure that if you were close, the guy at Hesitation Point would let us go. I wasn't so sure after what I had overheard the last time through. I shared my thoughts with my new friend from Lafayette. He seemed a little concerned as well. To boil it down we had and hour and 10 minute to cover the 5.2 miles to Hesitation Point. Remind you, this was a leg that had 1,000 feet of incline mixed in... not exactly a track race. So without any word really spoken between the 2 of us we started moving along... with a big pick-up in tempo. Another guy had been at the aid station and seemed to share our concerns and started picking up with us. Back and forth we drove up the switchbacks. Constantly checking my watch, thinking of what bullshit this would be to not be able to cover 5 miles in 70 minutes... when meanwhile we would have 225 minutes to cover the last 9 miles... much of it downhill? I was bitching in my head, because , I knew if the word was "no" when we got up there, I would respect it. I may try to politely plead my case, but it would be done quickly and respectfully. You do not want to risk Karma by second guessing an ultra Race Director. These mythic souls put on epic events... and it sure ain't cause the pay is great... it is true passion, and to go against one of these earthly emissaries of the Running Gods, would be to question the Gods themselves... meaning: watch out for the next lightening storm!
Up and up, taking turns in the lead, running the flats and downhills, trudging the uphills. Minutes ticked away wondering when and if the trail would end and if we would get there in time... moving at a faster pace than we had attempted all day and this being around the 40 mile mark, where the speed cruve is already on the decline. Eventually we hit the horse trail and run up the final hill to the bald guy counting down the minutes, asking us if we knew how close we were... the 3 of us all slap five, fist bump or offer some form of human expression to tell each other job well done. It seemed to be a good thing that we pushed it... cause he was serious...but little did we know that he would call the race director after we left and was told to keep it open longer... thereby allowing others who missed the cutoff time to continue racing.
This however, was the end of my RACE! It would not be the end of the run... just my ability to compete had been spent over the last 5 miles stretch. I had given just about every ounce of quality that I had in my legs to get to the 41 mile mark... there would not be a joy ride 9 miles to the finish. Rose was there and I told her... "I am gonna get to the finish, it just might not be pretty. " The other two guys said they would see me back out there, I said, "Sure", knowing that there was no way I was to catch back up. I slammed down chunks of orange and grabbed a banana. The kids were asleep and Rose said she would meet me shortly back at the lake.
Hesitation Point to Ogle Lake (43.1 Miles into the Race)
Back down that huge stretch of stairs... my quads were starting to tighten to the point were I started to walk backwards down them. (Something I usually reserve for the day after a tough marathon) I walked a good deal of this short leg, really thinking that I needed a break for the final 6 miles. I ate the banana, listened to Joaquin Phoenix's version of FOLSOM PRISON BLUES and got myself in a positive frame of mind for the final "kick".
Ogle Lake to Mike's Dance Barn (50 Mile Finish)
The kids were still asleep. I saw Rose one more time and told her that I would hopefully see her in 2 hours. Now, as I write this, it seems almost incomprehensible to think that with 2 hours left... I was almost done... but that is how it felt... I had done 10 hours, what was another 2? My ankles were bleeding at this point, my quads were fried, but nothing was broken and I could keep moving forward. I looked back to the volunteers at the AS. "OK, 6 miles left, right? " "6.9". was the correction. Rose chimes in, "Well, that's really 7 ". Total buzz kill! But nothing to do but get going. The trail back home was one that we had not been on yet. There was no joy in getting to see something new at this point, uphill, switchbacks till you got to the park road. That was at least a little fun, because I shuffled past all the camp sites, with its inhabitants looking out across their campfire. The look in their eye saying what my dear Grandmother would say... "look at that poor slob!"
Shuffle, shuffle, shuffle till I got to an unmanned aid table. I grabbed 2 inches of Pringles and shoved them in my mouth. A sign read "5.4 miles to the finish... I had only gone 1.5 miles... Ouggh, this is going to get tough.
Onto the horse trail, or should I say mudbog, bringing us full cirle from the start of the race...a total joke. Nothing to do but move forward. I tried to run lightly through it, with each step the brown muck trying to steal my shoes. I continued on this slog till I spotted a blue shirt ahead... another runner looking in worse shape than me. I caught her a few minutes later, we said hello. I asked if she needed anything, a GU, some water. She said she was fine, just tired, confused, and not real sure how much more we had to go... I told her we were less than 2 miles, it would be over before you knew it. Eventually the downhill mudpuddle ended and we were forced to run straight down a ski hill! (Just in case someone's legs weren't trashed... this would be sure to shred the last of your quads and compact you feet into your ankles.) I was tempted to just slide down on my butt... but who knows how badly that could have turned out. Fittingly Springsteen's "This Hard Land" was the last song before I turned off my earpods, in order to be a little more present at the finish, and to avoid the ire of any music nazis present! I got across the line in 12hours 0 minutes and 44 seconds... I was awarded 4th place in my age group... receiveing a dog bone shaped Carabiner for my efforts (yes, there were only 4 idiots in my age group!...but that was all that finished, some other 30-somethings may still be out there!)
I met up with Rose and the kids, cleaned up, ate some BBQ Pig and listened to a little hillbilly music before we headed back to the hotel. I managed to summon the energy to go swimming that night with the kids and no one drowned. And we did the next morning as well. We had a lovely Mother's Day Brunch and hit the outlets on the way home, where I got some new Crocs... considering they seemed to be the only thing I could get my feet into.
I am taking away alot from this experience. For one, it was easier than I anticipated... with exception to the 5 miles to make the cut-off, I was well trained for it. I never pushed above my own capabilities and I stayed in the present... never getting to far ahead of myself. Tasks, any task may seem daunting and unmanageble, but when you break things down into smaller more "manageable bites" it is amazing what can be accomplished. I ran Aid Station to Aid Station.. dwelling on nothing longer than a 5 mile increment... I reasoned that no matter what, I could get through 5 miles.
As for how I feel, really awesome, with exception to the scabbing cuts on my heals and my sore thighs. But the soreness I attribute directly to having to push those miles. If it wasn't for that, I am certain I could have run the next day... not that I was going to. ;) Overall it was a great event and I could not be more thankful to Rose and the kids for letting me try this stunt! Everyone seemed to be in good spirits for the day and that really took alot of the worries away.
Now I am taking a couple day off, to recharge and then I will slowly get back into some light training. Because... of course the next challenge is never too far away!
I take the drive out to the park at 5 am, down a Red Bull
and start getting dressed in the Truckster.
It’s cold, like 39… ideal conditions to start a marathon, but when you’ve
been training in 110, a 70 degree swing is a big deal. Few minutes to the start, I breathe in the
cool mountain air and look up to where I will be going. Even though I know I am under trained, when I
get to the starting line, I deep down feel it would be an insult to the racing
gods to not give what I have… at that moment.
The gun goes off and down the trail we go. Looking around, I gauge what trails we are
on and based upon the 2 X 15.5 mile loops we will do, I recalibrate my race
strategy. Instead of taking it easy on
the flats, to have enough for the mountain climbs… I decide… to take it easier
on the climbs so that I can stretch it out on the flat lands. And as we all know
“The best laid plans of mice and men… and those that barely have a 20 mile
training run under their belt…go often awry!” (See Robert Burns) This all made a lot of sense, as I am
trailing two gents when…. CRASH!!!
