At the 6AM start the temperature was 18F. It was a bitter cold beginning to this race. When training for an event like this you always just hope and pray that the weather will cooperate, because running 100 miles in and of itself is difficult enough without the weather complicating matters. Well today the weather was a challenge in the morning, was really quite beautiful during the day and then the temps dropped like a rock once the Texas sun set. While I have to say the weather wasn't my issue on this day, injuries on the course ended my 2nd attempt at a 100 mile trail run.
Leading up to the race I trained well, got lots of rest and generally feeling pretty darn good about my chances. Having DNF'd in Leadville and taking on a much flatter course in TX I really thought that this was going to be my day. Every event you learn something new about the sport, yourself and equally important others around you. My experiences in triathlons, 50 mile endurance runs and an attempt at LT 100 gave me a solid informational base both physically and mentally in approaching this race. I knew that I was physically fit for the race. I also knew that i was mentally fit for the race....albeit probably debatable by the naysayers.
Being mentally fit means understanding the course, your limitations and being able to adapt and handle what the day throws at you. Sometimes its good and sometimes not so good. For the most part the race was a success, despite the fact that I didn't actually complete the event. So why was the day a success? I successfully completed 80 miles, the furthest distance to date. I got injured on the course which then resulted in another injury which compounded with fatigue and weather caused me to sit down at mile 80 and take an inventory of the situation. I knew that with 7.5 hours left in the race that it was going to be a huge challenge to finish in under the 30 hour cutoff, given the fact that it had just taken me 8 hours to complete the previous 20 mile lap. Not to mention, I knew that I was pretty beat up. I did think that with the sun rising in 2.5 hours that it might provide me with the energy needed to pick up my pace, however, the little rollers on the course had become almost insurmountable on the 4th lap as both left and right legs/feet were injured and trying to go up or descend was painful to say the very least.
My pacer, Tim Engel, was pushing hard for me to keep going at the mile 80 aid station. He was going to his car to get more clothes to wear for the last lap and final push, but before that I told him that it wasn't a good idea to go on and that it was time for me to call it quits. He told me to think about it while he went to the car. I knew that I was done, he knew that I was done. So with a cup of hot chocolate in my hands I was very very happy to be sitting down and at complete peace with my decision to stop. I was happy that I had completed 80 miles and didn't want to really hurt myself. I knew that I had beat up my IT band and wasn't quite sure weather I had fractured my right foot or not, only knew that I couldn't put too much pressure on it when walking. So as I sat there at 4:30AM sipping my hot chocolate, waiting for Tim to return and enjoying the fact that I was done, I began to feel a little light headed, my ears began to ring, then my face got hot and then a cold sweat. I knew that my blood pressure was dropping and that I was going to pass out. As I sat in the chair I calmly asked a volunteer at the aid station to get a medic because i was going to pass out. He didn't hear me the first time so I repeated it again. It was one of the last things i remembered before waking up as i was being tossed around in the back of my rental car as Tim was taking me to the local ER.
Not a fun way to end the race, but a reminder of the fact that running this distance is not normal or probably good for the body. As usual, a lot was learned during this race and many more experiences gained. It was a bunch of fun, a challenge to say the least and will keep me coming back to chase the elusive 100 mile goal.
For now, signing off.
Cheers!
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