Never running 50 miles before I didn't really know what to expect. A few weeks before the race I was worried about being able to finish, in the week before the race I stopped thinking about the distance and just accepted the fact that I would be moving for a long time.
Then race day came and I was up at 3AM to eat breakfast and get ready. I like to eat around three hours before the start of races to make sure that my stomach is settled and good to go once I'm running. For races with early start times that requires a very early breakfast. After breakfast and getting everything together it was off to the race with my parents and girlfriend Sonya who all did a great job crewing for me that day and were up and ready to go at 4AM without complaint which is amazing.
Then it was time to run. For the first twelve miles until the skunk hollow aid station I was running what I thought to be a very comfortable pace. The course was very enjoyable, lots of nice trails and dirt roads and all the hills felt very runnable. However looking back I realize it was way too fast. For most of the first 12 miles I was running with the eventual women's winner and 4th overall Aliza Lapierre. I think I passed the 12 mile mark a little before 1.5 hours, too fast!! Just for some perspective on how much I actually slowed down after 12 miles, I ended up finishing 84th. Even though I went out way too fast those first miles were definitely fun.
Between Skunk Hollow and the next aid station I realized that if I didn't back off the pace I would blow up. I slowed and eventually made it to the top of Garvin Hill. The views were great from there and by this time the sun had come out and it was a gorgeous day. I continued on, then somewhere around mile 23 I hit one giant ass wall. Miles 23-32 were hell. Nothing felt right, every step hurt and I felt like I was making zero progress. I honestly do not remember all that much from this part of the race. Mostly I remember that I hated moving and I had the almost constant thought of just make it to mile 32 where you can see everyone, then figure it out from there.
I met Sonya and my parents at the Greenall's aid station around mile 32. There were definitely parts of me that wanted to rip off my number scream I quit and hop in the car to go watch football and drink beers on the couch. It sounds funny but something Sonya said really helped. I think she could tell I wasn't feeling it when she said "it's just a jog what else do you have to do today."
That's basically what I though about for the last 18 miles, it's just a jog keep going until you reach the end. Miles 32-42 weren't as bad as the last stretch had been. I just slowly made my way through the course, not worrying about getting passed and simply focusing on constantly moving forward. I didn't think about anything besides my next few steps and that definitely helped.
For some unknown reason around 42 miles in I felt great and ran the next five miles as fast as I could. It felt like I was flying at the time, but who knows how fast I was actually moving. Pulling into the last aid station around mile 47 there was a slight uphill and that was it for my great feeling and fast running. Leaving the last aid stop I shuffled along at an absurdly slow pace until I hit the 1 mile left sign. I managed to bring my legs back to a run for that last mile and cross the finish of my first 50.
The course and volunteers were amazing. All the aid stations were fully stocked with plenty of food and drink and every once in a while you would pass a homeowner outside cheering you on. I can't wait to come back next year and do this race again.
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