So I finally popped my ultra-cherry, with no training and my furthest distance prior to this being a half marathon. 13.1 miles is not 31 miles. They have the same numbers....but that's where the similarities end. For the record I am not one of these "first time with no training" people who is an olympic cyclist or a nordic skier, I am a run commuter who averages 80-100 miles a month. I am a true fun runner. I always hate the stories of the "first time marathon" when it's some one who is an endurance athlete from another discipline. Rant ended....
First off I want to thank everyone who ran with me, ok... ran several miles ahead of me, but the way the course was designed there was a lot of crossing back into on coming traffic. This meant I had a steady stream of "great job!", "looking good!", and "you got this!". I cannot stress enough how much this helped. Here is the course, basically a boomerang starting at the shorter side with about 5 out, 5 back to start then almost 3 out and almost 3 back, this is one loop for the 25K and twice for the 50K.
Bad news I didn't bring my phone so I am using stunt doubles and stand ins from the internet....
I arrived early and was still deciding if I should do the 25K or the full 50. Having done many half marathons I knew I could pull off the 15 with no problem. And I think that is what ultimately made my decision, I knew I could do 15....I didn't know if I could do 31 miles. ( I should have used a Captain America picture since I wore my Cap shirt but I'm totally Thor, with a bigger beard...and gut)
Before the race we had an informal kind of mill around and meet and greet. I was one of the few newbies and unknowns. Most of the rest of the runners seemed to know each other. But everyone was very welcoming and I was made to feel an adopted member of the tribe.
I cannot emphasize enough how straight and flat this course is.
Make this a little straighter and flatter and you are getting close to what the trail was like. And a little bit of rain and mist didn't help because it made the end fade into a haze at the end so it looked like it would never end.
The runner scenery was much better... to start off with we had the wild ladies of South Dakota
Apparently these hotties were known to the tribe as they were contenders for the top female spots. And they did not disappoint placing 7th and 8th over all but claiming the first and second place ladies spots.
There was even a couple from Canadia (misspelled for comedic effect) who both finished right before me saving them from my coveted DFL space.
I made the classic mistake for the first few miles of getting caught up in other people's paces. I started off too fast and knew it but figured I needed the pace/time cushion for when I eventually slowed down even more...which I did.
My Sonic speed cost me and I was cramping bad. Both hammies were on fire and my right calf was locking up. This was about 9 miles in, with 22 more to go.
I slowed it way down. I just kept moving forward. Looking at my garmin and keeping up the constant math game of how fast do I need to go for now to ensure that by the time my pace totally decays I can still finish in the 10 hour time limit. Finish became the goal of the halfway point.
I am exhausted but in good spirits at the half even though this is what all the ladies looked like
All sweet smiles and gorgeous hair. They weren't even sweating! Their terrific hair was even more impressive when you factor in the constant misting rain. I don't know how they did it. My fellow gentlemen at least had the decency to sweat and look like they were exerting themselves.
As it went on I alternated between power walking and lazy jogging, this helped to alternate between hamstrings roasting and thighs burning. All the while my right foot was on fire. The pain was searing.
This is my right foot, probably why it was screaming at me. It's a cranky little cyborg. I was on pace and still going to make it just under the cut when it started getting dark and my garmin said low battery. I'm not a social media person. I'm not a no picture never happened kind of guy. But I am a document my runs kind of guy so I was freaking out that my watch would die before i finished.
I started chasing sundown like I was worried about vampires, and not those Twilight glitter bitches.
It's getting dark, back light is off on my watch to save battery. No wasting time to turn it back on. I'm running blind with no instruments. Just chugging through the burning legs because I'm about 2miles out I think but I don't know my time.
And then my heart almost broke...
I saw ATV headlight coming down the trail... I was over time. They were coming to get me. I had failed. I thought I had more time.
But it was Krista! One of the race volunteers offering to light my way back to the finish (she's prettier in person). I said I was fine and could see ok. Really I just needed her to go away. The ATV exhaust would get my asthma going, but the real reason was it was just too tempting. My shoulder devil was telling me to just take the ride back to the camp site. It was only about a mile away. 30 miles is fine. You've been out here for over 9 and a half hours. There is no shame in quitting. My shoulder angel was apparently tired too and was not really helping with any convincing arguments.
This was my wall. I didn't hit the wall at mile 20, I hit mine on mile 30. I almost just dropped to ground. I just wanted to sit, to stop.
Then I thought about my son and daughter. All the times I had told them about what it means to be tough. I always told my son that tough is not about being the biggest or the strongest. Tough means you want to give up but you don't.
I got moving and finally saw the light of the camp ground. That was it. It was over. I was on auto pilot. Nothing was going to stop me. I arrived to find Chad and Krista were the only people left. I was finishing at almost 6pm on for a race that started at 8am, but who's counting. Chad gave me my finisher coin and told me that I had earned it.
So again I want to thank Chad for hosting a great race and cultivating a friendly, fun, and relaxing environment. All of the volunteers were awesome, thank you for staying extra late for the slow guy. There was even someone at the last station I went to. Thank you to Kevin and Billy and everyone I met before the race, maybe next time I will be able to keep up.
This is my first but certainly not my only trail event I will do with Eagle Endurance, looking forward to many more.
Check them out, lots of great events.
http://www.eagle-endurance.com
Thanks for taking the time to read this guys. Sorry I didn't have actual pics but rain and cell phones do not mix well. Tore something in my right calf so for now...gotta walk.
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