Steamboat 50 (Part 3 - Return)

What's gone before and before before...

I messed around up top of Rabbit Ears probably for 5-10 minutes.  It was cool, but at some point I had to head back down that grunt of a hill I had just climbed up.  A volunteer kindly took my picture and I was gone.  Back toward where I had come from.  I typically go downhill pretty fast and I passed a few folks on my way back down.  I also slipped on some steep loose gravel, but just like Imogene somehow managed to avoid any serious consequences.

Somewhere in the 2 and a half mile stretch from the turn around back to the Dumont aid station I went through my longest run ever.  It was remarkable, I even commented to my little video camera about it.  I was feeling pretty good, but my stomach was starting to grumble at me.  Nothing serious, but it felt full and didn't care to stop feeling full.

Back at Dumont, I thought some carbonated beverage might help and I drank some coke and ginger ale to see if that might help.  I hit my drop bag for a couple more gels and Clif Bloks, turned down a beer offer and headed back onto the trail.

Charles Danforth and I had been pretty close entering this aid station, but I lost him somewhere just before it and I wouldn't see him again for quite a while.   I figured he was visiting with his family and that's when it really hit me that my wife and son weren't going to see me finish.  I got really pretty choked up, but the moment passed.

I ran alone for a bit.  I leapfrogged with a couple of very nice women for a while.  Then, as I'm negotiating a downed tree while simultaneously passing someone, my other nemesis of the day appears.  Chris, a guy I had met on a "Church of the Holy Trail" run several weeks back, was letting me pass.

Initially it didn't register, but then I was like:  Hey aren't you Chris?  While he was simultaneously re-introducing himself and saying that he thought he had recognized me eariler.  We would run together for pretty much the rest of the race.

The stomach issue was becoming a real problem, and I was starting to suffer from micro-cramps in my legs.  I had no desire to drink and eating was out of the question.  I got to aid station number 6 and declared myself perplexed and an aid volunteer commented on the salt crusting my cheeks, suggested SCaps, some melon and a turkey wrap.  Initially, I thought the turkey wrap was the all time worst idea ever presented to me, but right then Charles shows back up and said that I should really give it a try.  I was sure he was ahead of me, but it turned out the other way around.  I accepted the roll and headed back out onto the trail.

I would take a bite of the wrap and a mouthful of water to soften it up.  Eventually I got almost the entire thing down.  I was starting to feel better too, but was still worried about the cramping.  I had a vial of Advil and Endurolytes.  Probably a half hour after the SCaps, I took 4 Endurolyte capsules.  This worked.  By the time I got to the Long Lake aid station, I was feeling good again.  My rough patch officially over.

Chris, Charles and I ran in a fairly loose line until we got to the Long Lake Aid station, where I stopped to fill my water bottles and eat a pretzel.  I headed out, and very quickly realized I was forgetting something.  Keys and phone were in my drop bag.  I turned around retraced 100 meters and found my bag sitting in the sun.  I opened it up and upon grabbing my keys and phone, I literally scalded my hand and they ended up on the ground.  I was more than a little surprised, but upon reflection quickly realized that what I had done was effectively leave them on the dashboard of a car in the hot sun.  I picked up the phone and tried to open it, but it was stuck.  I was fairly certain that the thing was dead.  I hoped that the same wouldn't be the case for the keys.  Oh well, they got stuffed into my fanny pack and I headed back out onto the trail with my fingers crossed.

This section from aid station #7 until the Mount Werner station is remote and the race director made it clear that rescue would be difficult if one found oneself in serious difficulty.  I was not having problems, but as I traversed this section I came across 2 people who were.

One gentleman had been unable to keep anything down since the Dumont Aid station -15 miles back, and another person who had been in difficulty since just after the turn.  I offered them both water, gels or Bloks, but they both declined.  I don't know if they finished, but I was really struck with the stubbornness of people who undertake this kind of thing.  I don't think that kind of stubbornness is in me, but I don't really think this race really tested me either.

I caught back up to Chris somewhere on this second to last section, and I think he was experiencing a bit of a rough patch.  We motored along together for a mile or two until he declared that he was holding me back and pulled off.  I wasn't really troubled by our pace, but thought perhaps a fairly cheerful guy could be pretty annoying if you're suffering so I went on alone.

Upon reaching Mt. Werner, there was Charles again.  Dude was truly my nemesis on this day.  At this point I was feeling tremendous.  I didn't really take much time at the aid station, I simply topped up on Succeed and got motoring on the descent.

I started flying.  I pushed the pace into the mid 7's and passed a whole bunch of people.  I was feeling good.  Suddenly, my blisters from Imogene let go.  The one on my left heel splattered seemingly all over and the one on my right heel was torturing me.  I started questioning my own sanity and slowed down a bit.  It was rapidly getting warmer as I descended the mountain and I walked a bit in the shade and had a drink.  I got passed back by one of the people I had passed higher up on the climb.  Then the wheels came off.  I remembered I wanted to finish with a smile.  So the 7's turned into 12s and 13s.  No worries.

Charles came by along with several other people.  I wanted to finish alone so I waited until there was a good gap and jogged it out.  My Mom and her dog were at the finish as was Fred Abramowitz with a pint glass and a hand shake.  Charles quickly greeted me at the finish and said that he couldn't get beat by a rookie.  Chris came in just a couple of minutes after I did and I went over and thanked him for the time we spent on course.

Anyway, this was really remarkable.  Somehow I had finished.  My official finish time was 11 hours 27 minutes and change.  I negatively split the course and I met all of my race goals:  Finish, Smile, go under 12 hours.  Had I not gotten behind on electrolytes and water, I might have been close to 11 hours, but that goal will have to wait for another year.

I believe the ultrabug has bitten and I've been infected.
Thanks for reading.
J