Short story: I finished! I did the entire course in about 7 hours and finished DFL. I measured a little long at 31.57 instead of 31.1 but I’ll take it! Sore and achy now but on cloud 9 anyway!
Long story:
Woke up at 5AM, got dressed and packed up, and ate a half PB&J. Drove over to the course earlier than necessary but it worked out. I hit the restroom, got my bib and chip, and got to stay warm in the car while I waited for the start. The RD had conveniently rented the building and lot next to the start so I was within 100 yards of the starting line without even leaving the car! We lined up 15 minutes early, got some last minute instruction, heard the National Anthem, and started at 7:30AM on the dot!
This course was entirely on pavement and instead of pounding the pavement I think it pounded me. The race consisted of a short ‘cheater loop’ of 1.5 miles and then six 5 mile loops around the ‘lake’. I put that in quotations because they’re dredging it right now so it’s just a giant mud pit with no water. Not the most scenic thing ever but at least it was different.
There was an aid station at the start/finish and a mini-aid station with just water and Gatorade on the other side of the lake from it, about 2.5 miles in. I didn’t even carry a handheld. Very conveniently stocked and well organized race! Plus our vehicles were so close to the start/finish that it was easy to stop and grab GU, a drink, food, or whatever without leaving the course.
There was an aid station at the start/finish and a mini-aid station with just water and Gatorade on the other side of the lake from it, about 2.5 miles in. I didn’t even carry a handheld. Very conveniently stocked and well organized race! Plus our vehicles were so close to the start/finish that it was easy to stop and grab GU, a drink, food, or whatever without leaving the course.
Splits were great for the first 2 full loops, averaging about 11 minute miles and feeling good. I fell in with another slow runner and we ran together perfectly. I only got lapped by 9 people on the first two loops which was way better than I expected with 70 runners on the course. At the end of the second loop I tweaked my right knee and suddenly all that feeling good B.S. went right out the window. I had figured I had at least to the halfway point before I felt like garbage but that was not to be. I took 2 ibuprofen and figured I’d see how things went.
The third and fourth loops I was averaging a 13-14 minute mile because I could only run about a quarter mile at a time and then I had to walk until my knee relaxed a little again. Once I finished the fourth loop I knew there was no way I was quitting so I just toughed it out. I am thanking my lucky stars that there were people out there as slow as me to keep me going at this point.
I managed to keep the 13-14 minute pace for the fifth lap and was still feeling strong coming into the start/finish area. I was chanting to my slow partners, “We’re getting medals, we’re getting medals”. I couldn’t have been happier knowing that I could crawl the rest of the way and still finish under the 8 hour cut off. Then I got a rock in my shoe and I could feel the blister forming. I figured since I was almost done with the lap I would wait until I reached the staging area to get it out. That was a bad idea.
Just before I started lap 6 I took off my shoes and cleaned out the debris. I figured I would be fine for the last lap without changing socks. That decision would haunt me for the next 5 miles. The rocks seemed to be imbedded in my socks and kept aggravating the balls of my feet. I developed some gnarly blisters and could barely run. The last 5 miles were more like 15 minute mile pace and my knee was still giving me grief even that slow. I got lapped by a 68 year old man and then passed by a 69 year old who said it was his 786 ultra and/or marathon. I didn’t mind so much that he passed me. I kept up with my slow buddy as best I could but even he started to pull away. By the final loop around the parking lot to the finish line he was too far in front for me to out kick. I gave it my best but was happy just to arrive at the other side of the line standing. I received my (GIGANTIC!) medal and the RD and photographer snapped a few pics.
We were ushered into the boat house (Ugh! Stairs!) for pizza and beer and pop and running chatter. I told everyone that was still hanging around about my upcoming race to raise money for the trail so hopefully they’ll sign up. All of the experienced runners gave me advice on my upcoming races and scared me a little too with their horror stories! All in all, this race was awesome! Great aid, wonderful volunteers, 2 shirts (one LS and one SS), a giant medal, and lots of pizza and beer and pop! I’ll definitely be doing it again!
