Pocatello 50 (K++)

As many of you heard, the race had many unfortunate circumstances that caused it to be cancelled mid-race.  When I started my race along with everyone else I was wearing my CW-X™  ¾ length performance tights, my Pulse™ running shirt, and my 100 Mile Man™ jacket.  My hydration system was the Nathan™ hydration pack.  I had another windbreaker shoved into it in case it was too cold for just 2 layers.  This saved me.  Many runners were just wearing shorts and tank tops, which would have worked wonderfully at the race the previous year.  This year’s P50 was COMPLETELY different.  Almost right off the bat, the weather turned sour on us.  It was raining on the way up the Slate Mountain climb, and did not let up.  I was having a great time though, and felt much farther up in the pack than I think I was the previous year.  I could feel my month’s hard work paying off.  I could also feel the one aspect I missed that morning-breakfast.  4 miles in, I was starting to get hungry.  Luckily, I had been carbo-loading for several days, so the lack of food did not affect my energy, which remained consistent through the entire run.  As we traversed the 1^st leg of the run, I sensed an eerie familiarity of the McDonald Forest 50K mud with the stuff we were running through.  This stuff was great!  It made my day, and I noticed many people with muddy behinds from lost battles with the shoe-sucking muck.  I took a spill right before the Gibson Jack Aid station (~8.6 miles).  Covered with mud and a big smile on my face, I did my job of getting the chilled aid station helpers in a better mood.  I was pretty gross, and noticed RD Jared Campbell standing there, so I made sure to give him a big muddy hug before I bid adieu >:^D 

After I left Gibson Jack the real horrors of the race started to catch up.  The higher we climb, the chillier it got.  By the time I started the Wild Mountain Climb, it was snowing.  The climb was especially brutal due to the 40 mph+ winds that were blowing snow into my face.  The sensation was close to having a dry shave with a bad razor.  Since the climb is about 1300 ft in a mile, I was forced to be tortured by the gale force winds.  I was running with RD Ryan McDermott, and we were doing our best to keep each other in a good mood up this horrifying climb.  I sped up ahead of him and made my 1^st mistake of the race.  Instead of going left like I was supposed to, I followed the other runners who were going right.  After a little while I looked at my Garmin and realized we were going the wrong way.  I yelled at everyone around me to come follow me to the race course.  There were about 10 of us, and I was relieved to get all those people back on track.  The top of this climb (near Kinport Peak) was in extreme blizzard condition, just like the climb.  You couldn’t see any of the course markings.  Because of this, many more people became lost.  Theresa Schut and 12 others made the same mistake I had made, and ended up running all the way to Pocatello.

After I made the correct turn onto the aid station course, I continued my long descent to City Creek Aid Station (~17 miles).  The road we ran down was in bad shape just like last year.  There was plenty of mud the farther down we came from the mountain.  This created big problems for people behind me, as more and more people destroyed the trail creating close to un-runnable conditions.  I wasn’t concerned about that, I was only worried about getting some dry warm clothes on and some food to eat.  I was in bad shape when I got to the aid station and really wanted to give up.  I’ve never felt so low in my life.  I had another climb up to Kinport, plus the previous memory of what the weather was like at the top.  I stayed tough though, and got out of the aid station just before 10 AM.  I put on 4 layers of clothing this time, which helped me stay warm until the 2^nd climb soaked them.   My hands suffered in ways that I have never experienced before.  Today I am writing this race report with numb and tingly hands still recovering from the early symptoms of frostbite I was experiencing.  Once I got to the top of the second climb I was in a world of hurt.  The weather was just in bad, and I was running my hands in my armpits to keep my terribly painful hands alive.   Myself and another racer, Ryan Sylva, teamed up to push through the horrible weather.  The weather got better the farther into the trees I ran.  When I got to the aid station (27 miles), I learned the race was being cancelled.  I was deeply saddened by this, and was feeling good enough to finish.  There were many runners here, huddled around the tiny propane heater the aid station personnel had brought.  A couple of them looked really bad.  My buddy Dennis Ahern was suffering from mild hypothermia.  I didn’t want to stick around, I just wanted to continue to Mink Creek and hope the race could be continued.  Sylva and myself continued on.  There is a tough little climb out of Midnight Creek and then we were on the Mink Creek trail, a sweet 6 mile downhill trail to the end of the 1^st loop.  We blasted this section.  The faster I ran, the better I felt.  I really wanted to continue on.  I kept telling myself it was 70^o and sunny at the top, to make the last climb seem not so bad (it isn’t as bad as the climbs up to Kinport).  When I got to the Aid Station (~34 miles), I learned that nobody was allowed to go onto the Scout Mountain Loop.  The race was cancelled.  Many people were lost and hypothermic from the unexpected adverse conditions that were experienced on the course.  Ryan and Jared made a good call in cancelling, as the top of Scout Mountain (8,701 ft) was experiencing 15 ft visibility with the weather.  So I finished up with 34.25 miles in 7:44, and made a good effort out it.  Nobody died, and I definitely consider that a success.

Oops

First off, I must apologize for my post on Facebook last Friday.  I was planning on running the Lincoln Marathon at top speed, which would have meant a 3:23 finishing time.  Unfortunately, I ended up with a 3:14:50.  This completely shattered my dreams of running the race at a 7:45/mi pace, and getting a time that reflected a 7:26/mi pace.  Next time, I will meet my time goals.

When I arrived to Nebraska Friday afternoon the weather was very warm, with temperatures in the upper 60s.  I worried that this would hamper my performance on race day, but I reminded myself that the race started at 7 AM and the weather would be crisp and cool.  This proved to be the case.  I went out on the run at a strong pace, clocking the 1st mile in 7:24.  I reminded myself that I should let all the silly inexperienced runners pass me while I remained strong and flew by them in the latter miles of the race.  Nevertheless, I ran at what seemed lie a pace that could get me to the finish with negative splits, and continued on my way.  The next 7 miles I clocked were at 7:29, 7:34, 7:23, 7:20, 7:26, and 7:19.  I was moving great, and doing my best to save a little energy for the 2nd half.  At mile 8 or so I passed fellow Idaho teammate Jeff Guzi and would continue to hopscotch to the 1/2 marathon mark with him.  At this time we were running at a 3:20 marathon pace.  The race was going well.  There were a couple of big hills on the race course.  I did my best to cool my pace on those and let all the silly inexperienced runners pass me.  I took my 1 pit stop during the race at mile 10, which really did wonders for my energy level.  Miles 8-13 were done  at 7:32, 7:28, 7:28, 8:38, 7:14, and 7:17.  When nearing the 1/2 marathon mark, I was running with Jeff Guzi when we passed the hotel we were staying at.  His girlfriend Lauren met us there and switched water bottles with me.  My hydration supplement of choice for this run was Nathan Catalyst, which I highly recommend.  My 2nd water bottle was filled with this supplement as well as a full can of Monster Energy drink.  I hoped that this combination would give me the energy I needed to get the splits I wanted.  My miles from 13-20 were very difficult, as they generally tend to be.  My pace dropped a bit, and I did my best to hold on to my race for dear life.  Splits from this section were 7:17, 7:33, 7:28, 7:31, 7:32, and 7:25.  By now I was on the out and back section of the marathon course.  I saw the leader of the men’s race and was a little embarrassed to see him walking.  “Not the performance I will put out” I said to myself.  Getting closer and closer the the turn around point I noticed there were very few people in front of me.  I saw the other member of my Idaho marathon team, CWO Kevin Walcom.  I did my calculations and decided he was about 2/3rds of a mile in front of me.  I decided to make a goal of trying to catch him in the last stretch, albeit very difficult.  I hit the turn around point and then hit the 20 mile mark a lit bit later.  “Home Stretch, time to book it.” It was now guts or glory time.  this would be the most miserable section and the hardest run portion of the course.  This is where I get my negative splits from.  Miles 20-finish were completed at 7:12, 7:03, 6:59, 6:54, 7:22, 7:10, 6:46, and 1:10 for the last .2 mile.  Boy did that hurt.  As you can tell, my pace was very erratic as I pushed close to an anaerobic pace and tried to hold on for dear life.  Getting close to mile 26 I caught up to Chief Walcom and tried to motivate him a little as I flew by to the finish.  Faster and faster, I found myself in the Lincoln Memorial Stadium before I expected it.  I flew across the football field to the finish, with a final official time of 3:14:50.  My legs almost gave up on me after, and I needed help from the race staff to walk after I was finished.  I learned what 110% means when I was out there yesterday, as I am still very sore the day after, which usually doesn’t happen.  My race got me in the top 25 men’s slots for the All-Guard Marathon Team, which means lots of paid races while I go represent the National Guard around the country.  I was more than surprised with my performance this weekend, which has me setting my hopes on a sub 3:00 performance next year.  I definitely feel it in my grasp.  My final place was 94/1146, and I ran a 1:39/1:35 race.  I could not have asked for a more perfect performance.  Next up, Watershed Preserve 12 hour in 2 weeks.