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| Sunrise on the first climb up Corral Creek |
Fun times in the mountains outside of Pocatello, Idaho on
Saturday. I had been sick all week and
wasn't sure what to expect. I thought I
was doing a good job of pacing and keeping my effort level under control in the
first third while I cruised along with my friend Lyndon who was doing his very
first ultra. When I got to the mile 26
aid station I figured I was about middle of the pack. I sat down to organize my pack and heard one
of the volunteers say there were only 8 more runners after me.
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| Ridge running before dropping into Gibson Jack |
My comfortable pace had me nearly at the end and then to
make matters worse on the next big climb I just had zero gas. I was fueling and
hydrating fine but the effects of getting over a cold left me feeling really
blah. I didn't put it together at the
time but I had also kicked a few rocks and roots on the way down to the City
Creek aid station that must have pulled a muscle in my stomach when I tried to
keep myself from hitting the ground. Whatever
happened, the result was pain in my abdomen that made downhill running almost non-existent.
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| The Wall, The Gut, or The Barkley section in City Creek |
I essentially walked all of the easy sweet downhill
from Kinport Peak to the Midnight Creek aid station and from there to the West Fork aid station. I was really frustrated because this is where you need to be making good
time. People were passing me so I knew I
was getting closer and closer to last place with 25+ miles to go that includes
a 10 mile uphill stretch. I resigned
myself to the fact that I would surely get cut at the West Fork aid station since
I was moving so slow and because I didn't have a headlamp at the right aid
station. The races rules said anyone
leaving Scout Mountain aid station (mile 46) after 5pm had to have a headlamp. Before the race I put my headlamp in my Big
Fir aid station (mile 56) drop bag.
Miraculously I got to West Fork aid station (mile 41) at 4:50 just ten
minutes before the cutoff.
At West Fork I asked the volunteers if I was in
last place and they said I wasn't which was a relief because for the past hour
I was sure they were all waiting for me and I had been planning to drop out of the race. With 10 minutes to spare they were all pumped
to get me refueled and back out on the trail which was kind of perplexing since
I hadn't planned to continue. Once I
made up my mind to continue the aid station captain told me I had to stay for a
few minutes. I stood up and put my pack
on and asked why? She said I was not
making sense and stumbling on my words (totally true). I explained the reason I wasn't making sense
is because I was originally going to quit and then was trying to shift gears
and wrap my head around continuing!
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| Several miles before West Fork aid station |
I asked anyone if they had a headlamp I could borrow and no
one did so I was just going to go to the next aid station and ask them. If they did...I would continue. If not...I would be done. It was my fault and I didn’t have time to
stand there complaining. I just didn't
want to give up on myself if there was still a chance. Just then Luke Nelson, the RD, came up
and asked how I was feeling. I said I
was doing OK and needed a headlamp. He
asked the same group of people for a headlamp and someone gave him one which
was funny. I was already on the trail so
he said he would go back and get it and run it up to me. It was also funny to see him riding a single
speed beach cruiser looking bike up the trail to meet me.
The six miles before West Fork I struggled to maintain an
average of 24 minute miles that had an average downhill of 220 feet per mile
and I knew that wouldn't cut it so I tried running uphill when I left the aid
station. There was less jarring on my
stomach and I ended up running about half of the
10 mile uphill. In the 5 miles to the Scout Mountain aid
station and I cut my mile pace from 24 to 17 and went from 220 feet per mile of
descent to 360 feet per mile of gain. It
made no sense but I was determined to do what I could to make sure I made it to
the end.
Once I popped out of the trees and onto the exposed road up
to the top of Scout Mountain I had cell coverage. Michelle and I exchanged a number of text
messages and she cheered me on which was much appreciated. I ended up doing about 40 miles of the race
solo so it was nice to have a little ‘company’ while I hiked. (Power hiking through rocks and texting is
not advised) I had to put the phone away
once I crested the top though because the downhill off of Scout Mountain is
insanely steep for a short bit but then turns into the nicest switchback trail
leading into Big Fir aid station. I
wasn’t lighting the trail on fire with my downhill speed but was surprised and
happy with being able to uphold a respectable pace while dodging the many ankle
biter rocks that seemed to always be rolling under my feet.
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| Looking south from the backside of Scout Mountain |
Surprisingly, I was making good enough time that I didn’t
need the borrowed headlamp until right before Big Fir. It was a PrincetonTec (POS model I believe)
and it was almost bright enough to see my hand 3 feet in front of my
forehead. I was grateful that a total
stranger loaned it to me and thankful the sunset gave me just enough help that
I didn’t need it. As I was rolling into
the final aid station I was pretty sure I was in last place now since I left
West Fork with two minutes to spare and no other runners came in while I was
there. The volunteers confirmed that I
was. They still had hot perogies and
baby potatoes sautéed in butter which was amazing. I finished them off with one of Karl
Meltzer’s Red Bulls and headed out. As I
was leaving I asked Karl if this kind of performance would get me through
Speedgoat 50k in a month and he assured me that I would be fine. Sometimes it just isn’t your day.
I had two hours and thirty minutes to run just over 6 miles so barring a complete meltdown I thought I should be able to get it done. The finish line had a midnight cutoff so I couldn't just slog in. The sweepers were planning on leaving right behind me to
clear course markings so my goal was to stay ahead of them as long as I could
and once they caught me to enjoy some much appreciated company. I
don’t know how soon they left after I did but I managed to stay ahead for a few
miles. We hiked the trail up the Nordic center
together chatting away which helped pass the time and quickly reached the final
descent toward the finish line. After a
short single track and dirt road section we reached the highway for the final
quarter mile of pavement and cruised into the finish at a fairly decent
pace. I had about 30 minutes to spare on
the final cutoff I think. I am not
exactly certain of my finish time. Luke
was there to greet me as I crossed which was nice. He presented me my finisher award and the caboose
(or DFL) prize which was a cool Patagonia Houdini jacket.
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| Gorgeous bookend to the wonderful day |
My first ultra was the Pocatello 50+ miler in 2011 and I had
my worst day ever. I have had lots of
great races since then thanks to the many lessons I learned that day. This day was worse…but I just couldn’t quit
on myself. I love setting and achieving hard race goals
but the feeling at the finish is so much sweeter when I have had to overcome
some sort of obstacle and push myself to the end.
Big thanks to Luke Nelson and his crew for putting on an
amazing and tough race that will not disappoint. The trail marking was perfect even for slow
guys in the dark! All of the aid station
volunteers were wonderful and helped push me on when I didn’t know if I wanted
to continue. I’ll be back and hopefully
won’t have any more lessons to learn next time.
10 mile uphill. In the 5 miles to the Scout Mountain aid
station and I cut my mile pace from 24 to 17 and went from 220 feet per mile of
descent to 360 feet per mile of gain. It
made no sense but I was determined to do what I could to make sure I made it to
the end.
