Comeback: Denied

In my quest to make something out of nothing (ie, finish Bigfoot 50K on scant training), I took a solo trip to Salt Fork State Park yesterday to run two loops of the Bigfoot course.  I needed to know that I could run these two loops slow enough to be both enjoyable and conducive to a race finish.  The race is three 10.4 mile loops, starting and finishing from the Lodge.  I figured if I could make it through two loops of the course in decent shape, a December 4th finish would be within reach and would complete my comeback from injuries.  I had thought about making this a group run, but last week I had organized a run that had some disastrous outcomes (had to move the location due to hunters, then a sprained ankle by a participant, and then Garmin death) which were distracting enough that I did not get in my planned distance.  I needed to concentrate on getting my miles, pace, and nutrition right.  Plus, I wanted to sleep in and not worry about meeting anyone at a particular time.  So, I left home at 10am, and started my first loop at 12:01pm.  I was fortunate enough to run into Kimba prior to my run, and let her know of my plans for the day.  Since I was running solo, I told her I would check in with her via Facebook so that someone knew my whereabouts and that I was OK.  She lives very close to the park, so if I had issues, she'd be in the best position to help a sista' out. 

I was both anticipating and dreading this run at the same time.  Twenty miles was longer than I had gone in months and the prospect of hours alone on the trail just seemed tedious.  Having other runners with me usually breaks up the monotony.  It was obvious I would be working on building my mental muscles as well as my physical ones today.  My legs felt good at the start, which is a good thing as the course starts off as a long downhill.  Once I was along the lake, I took in the sunshine and views. The course is mostly flat with a few little rollers in the first mile and a half.  I committed to walking all hills and inclines in order to help boost my endurance and to get practice with fast-hiking uphill.  Just prior to two miles in, the trail diverges and continues on bridle trail. And with bridle trail comes horses, and with horses, comes horse poop.  But the poop is not as big of a deal as the MUD that is created on the trail.  My experience with bridle trails is that they are all giant mudfests, and the Bigfoot course is largely run on bridle trails and therefore no exception:

Leaf-covered mud

Sole (or rather SOUL)-sucking mud

I had a great pacing strategy in place for hills (ie, WALK), but for the mud, I decided to blaze right through it.  I love getting muddy, and it was fun to splash through the squishy mud.  About 3 miles in, a couple of runners caught me walking up one of the longer hills.  I was amazed that they could run up the hill; I definitely was in no shape for that.  I caught up to them fairly shortly after they passed me as we all had to stop and wait for some horses to pass by.  I chatted with them briefly; the guy's name was Brett and he was running to support his girlfriend Lauren, who would be running Bigfoot.  It would be her first ultra.  We ended up sharing the next couple miles and some conversation.  Lauren had completed 7 marathons, but did not have a lot of trail experience.  She was also running the trail in Vibrams and her feet were already starting to suffer.  I offered some lube and tape for her feet, which she declined.  She remarked about the run being a little harder than anticipated.  I advised that she practice walking the hills, which she'd been trying to run up until that point.  By the time we reached the left turn at about 4.8 miles to go off the bridle trail, I had started to pull ahead of them. By the time I reached the road at the top of the steepest hill on the course, they were nowhere in sight.  I then felt pretty proud of my power-climbing skills, as they may be. 

I had run a loop of this course a couple weeks earlier with Kimba, and was then pleasantly surprised about the 1.25 mile stretch of road right in the middle of the course.  Usually, pavement in a trail race is not categorically pleasant, but given the effect of the mud, hills, and muddy hills in the first half of the course, the pavement offered a welcome reprieve in the form of flat fastness. I learned in that loop with Kimba that time lost climbing hills could be made up here.  So today, even though I was a little fatigued, I took full advantage of the road.  I hit up the road portion at about a 9:30 pace and dropped my overall pace by about a minute per mile. Yes!  That is how it's a-gonna get done!  I was relieved to get back on the trail and find that my road run did not seem to tire me out for the trail.  Even when I was walking up hills, my average pace was not declining.  YES! Encouraged, I ran the flats and downhills with a light and happy heart.  I finished loop 1 feeling awesome in 2:19, about a 13:45 pace. 

Aaaaand then it was time for loop 2.  I do know I was in no mood for a second loop.  One loop felt like enough training for a day, thank you.  But, I had to go back out and do it all again.  I will say that I am no fan of loops.  It is mentally taxing and something that will take time and effort to get over.  The benefit of loops though, is knowing exactly what to expect and therefore how to plan your attack.  My plan: more walking.  I had determined that much of my fatigue was from running through the mud in the first loop, so in order to be able to make it through loop 2, I needed to slow down and work less hard.  So, I decided to pay more attention to the scenery and take pictures and just enjoy the beauty of the day:

 

 

 At about mile 12, I received a phone call from Switzerland.  My Kimberly!!  She had been gone all week on a business trip and had just returned from dinner and was ready to crash for the night (it was after 8pm where she was).  I was happy to hear from her and also grateful for an excuse to walk for a while.  I chatted with her until I was finally walking up a large hill and made what might have been my fatal mistake for the day:  I sat down.  After about 15 minutes of conversation, we hung up and I continued on my way.  Only now, I was all off.  Everything in my body started screaming at me.  Even walking hurt.  WTF??  I know the whole "beware the chair" in long ultras, but a sit-down at 12.5 miles should NOT induce this effect.  I ran and walked until I finally reached the road part of the loop.  By then, it hurt to run.  @#$%!!!  So I walked/jogged the road.  By the time I got back on the trail, I figured I'd just walk it in on the road when I got to the archery range.  I was hopeful that it would be shorter to just take the road back to the Lodge, rather than the trail.  WRONG!  It was just as far.  At least if I stayed on the trail, I'd know where I was and I could have probably made it back faster running down the hills.  As I walked the road, I kept hoping that I'd see the Lodge just around the next turn, and then the next...I was getting really discouraged.  Many times I thought of just lying down on the side of the road to take a nap.  I remembered when I went on a five mile run in Tennessee last fall and two old ladies stopped and offered me a ride out of the blue. Oh how I longed for those old ladies now!  I must've been passed by two dozen cars as I walked along the road and not one of them stopped to offer me a ride.  Those bastards!

I finally made it back to my car with a 20.15 mile run/walk that totaled 5 hours, 9 minutes.  Loop 2 had taken 2 hours and 50 minutes.  Yikes.  I drove home searching for reasons why things went so horribly wrong in the second loop, and the same answer kept creeping back up:  fitness, or lack thereof.  I am just not in shape to do a 50K right now.  Yes, the mud sucked.  Yes, there were hills.  But there is no denying that my endurance is just not up to snuff.  Endurance is something that cannot be faked, and it certainly cannot be developed via cramming long runs.  I was hopeful I could run slow enough to make things pleasant for the majority of the race.  There is a difference between a slow enjoyable pace and a slow miserable pace.  I simply cannot go any slower than my 15:22 overall pace today, which is right at the cutoff.  I need to bag Bigfoot. 

While I am disappointed for my second consecutive 50K DNS, I am encouraged by many things about my run today.  Number one, I pushed myself to 20 miles (OK, so I did try to worm out of it, but I am ignoring the means and celebrating the end!).  Number two, aside from my phone break with Kim, I did not stop moving.  And believe me, I wanted to stop!  But, relentless forward progress is the name of the game in ultras, and the opportunity to work on that in a shorter training run is a welcome stimulus.  I am a believer that the struggles in training can only help on race day, so bring it on!  Number three, I had no issues with my nutrition.  I spent five hours consuming Take 5 candy bars, Honey Stinger waffles, and strawberry Clif Shots.  The candy was a little much, but alternating waffles/gels every half hour worked well. Number four, I now know where I stand in terms of fitness, and what I have to do to get where I want to be.  I'll look forward to attempt #3 at Forget the PR in the spring with smart, focused training over the winter.  Lastly, I got to play all day in the MUD!!  Who can argue with that? 

Muddy feet = happy feet!