Well, where to start. It has now been 2 weeks since the Wild Idaho Fifty Mile Endurance Run, and I am trying to compile my thoughts from leading up to the race, during and after. I have more mixed emotions than I expected and writing this entry is way for me to get them out of my head so that I can move on from this experience.
August 5, 2011 – Grandpa’s Birthday
I woke up very early on this day, and certainly did not feel like myself. I felt like I didn’t know what to do or how to function. This is generally common on these dates of importance, but this day was just different. I decided that I had to get out of the house so I grabbed my discs and went and threw them at the park for a few hours and just tried to get my mind off of things. When I returned, Linda showed up and we chatted about this and that and then went to the store to get the supplies that we needed for the weekend. Shortly thereafter, Sara showed up and we finished packing up the CRV and waited for Christy to arrive. We got some sandwiches and started the drive up to Silver Creek Plunge. We decided not to be campers this weekend. I always tend to do a lot of walking and working with camping chores and I wanted to be sure that I would have fresh legs for the epic race the next day. After checking in we set up our stuff and headed down to Boiling Springs to meet with Sis and the kids before the pre-race meeting and then hang out a bit and hopefully talk with the other runners. I still have a hard time talking with other runners. I feel like I need to justify myself to them and I really shouldn’t. Some people were commenting on how I appeared nervous, restless and uneasy. I really didn’t feel like this, but I kept finding myself having these conversations in my head with Grandpa. He wasn’t talking back, but I felt like there were a lot of things that I had to say to him. One of them, apologizing for never saying goodbye to him the last chance I had before he passed away. I was just in my own world for a while. I finally snapped out of this and found myself talking with Mike Blessing and Emily Berriochoa and Mike was talking to me like I was going to do really well in the race and when he walked away, I told Emily that I thought he had me confused with someone else. She then said I was hardcore and I made some comment about them not having seen me even run before, but she saw right through it. After a little more visiting and watching the 100 milers begin their epic journey, we loaded into the CRV and headed back up to the Plunge to eat and rest for the next day. After some dinner, pre-race prep, and some Phase 10, I got some sleep.
August 6, 2011 – Race Day
Part 1: Start at Boiling Springs Campground, finish at Boiling Springs Campground. 23.5 Miles - 6,466 feet of gain. 4:47
Lining up for the race was a very surreal feeling. I had been preparing for this race since December, and to be moments away from the start and listening to Ben play the national anthem and to look over and see my family standing there at 6 in the morning to support me gave me chills. Nobody seemed to want to line up at the front of the pack so I toed the line at the start with Tony Huff and I think Jeremy Humphries. I had absolutely no plans to run with these guys, but I wanted to pump myself up and remind myself that I had taken what this course had to offer and that I was strong enough to conquer this race. I kept a conservative pace and made sure to take my 30 second walk break every 5 minutes and it felt really good for the first 4ish miles until the first aid station. The next couple of miles is a bit steeper, and I chose to run for .10 miles and walk for .05 miles and it worked really well. I got up to the Silver Creek Lookout at nearly the same time as the 3rd place runner which was surprising. I started the decent and opened up my stride and it felt great to run downhill. I did have to stop for a bathroom break, but I was nervous about offending someone on the trail so it was a very quick stop. The decent back down to the Saddle was pretty uneventful, but I was looking forward to running the ATV trail down to FSR 671. Still feeling good, I made it down to the aid station and got some nice laughs at the signs that were lining the road to the checkpoint. I was still doing well on water and fuel, so I turned around and started back up the hill, once again adopting my .10/.05 run to walk ratio. I didn’t feel like I needed it, but I wanted to be sure and conserve. After all I planned on having to run for 13 hours straight. On my way back up the trail, I encountered Wayne Rancourt who was the eventual 100 mile winner and he passed me with ease. I still don’t get how some runners can crush these courses like this, but I remain confident that I can do so with more time and experience. When I got back up to the saddle for the last visit, I checked in, filled my water, grabbed some gummi bears and was on my way. I was feeling really great and ahead of schedule, anticipating an arrival at the Boiling Springs campground after around 4 hours and 25 minutes of running. Unfortunately at around mile 18, I found myself not paying attention to my footing and I somehow rolled my ankle. I immediately stopped running and walked very carefully for a bit to try and assess how bad off my ankle was. I am no doctor, so I just started running and tried to ignore the pain and made it into Boiling Springs at 4:47 running time. I passed Christy, Linda and Sara on my way in and then found my sister and dad all set up for me when I arrived. My sister iced my ankle while I ate some Oreo’s and drank some more fluids and replenished my pack with water and fuel. Fortunately, I remembered to get some sunscreen on. I was definitely going to need it on the miserable journey that was ahead of me. I decided that I was going to just keep going on my ankle and reevaluate after the initial climb up to the Skunk Creek aid station. After a few hugs, and my Dad trying to comb my hair and I was off.
Part 2: Boiling Springs to Skunk Creek Summit. 7.7 Miles – 4,072 feet of gain - 3:10:20
In the beginning of this section, I was feeling pretty decent. Ankle aside, I was not hurting, not feeling overly tired and was doing very well with hydration. I think I could have been better about eating some more solid foods, but oh well. I bumped into Ben Blessing a couple of miles up and he told me that I was in 5th place and I was really shocked. For a split second, I thought that I might be able to finish well, but after he left, I realized the truth. I was able to manage up the climbs in the section, but I wasn’t worth a damn on the downhills. So much for making up any ground time wise. When I made it up to Skunk Creek, I didn’t see what I expected. Instead of an aid station, I saw Wayne Ebenroth and he directed me down a road that I wasn’t familiar with. In my training, my GPS took me in a different direction so at first I was kind of rattled or pissed or something, but then I realized I was hungry and was just being a pansy. When I got to the aid station I was happy to see my sister. I didn’t know if she was going to be able to make it to the aid station but I’m glad she did. She wrapped my ankle and took care of my feet. My pack was replenished and I decided to press on to the next aid station to see if my ankle would hold up. There was a lot of climbing to do which I knew that I could handle, but if you go up, you must come down. I was hoping that the wrap on my ankle would provide me some comfort and let me run a little on the downhills.
Part 3: Skunk Creek Aid Station to East Mountain Lookout. 7 miles – 2,400 feet of gain – 3:00
Pressing on, I was happy to have some music to listen to. For the majority of the race, I hadn’t talked with anyone except for at aid stations. The music helped drown out the thoughts of doubt that were lingering in my head. At one point, I found myself asking Grandpa for strength but I realized that it would be a futile request. He would just tell to me to keep going and not complain. When I got tired of hearing the same songs, I would stop the playback and reminisce on old times with Grandpa. He had a lot of those “Grandpa” type of sayings; the statements that you would only hear him say. At one point, when I stopped for a bathroom break, I remembered that when something went wrong, he would say: “Well shit, and fall back in it!” Given the circumstances, I finished up kept moving. Another of his sayings was: “Don’t worry about the mule, just load the wagon.” Grandpa was the guy who could take everything that you could throw at him and more. He would work incredibly long shifts doing physically intense work until he was in his seventies, and very few (if any) people could keep up with him. If several big jobs kept coming his way, that would be his response. As I was making my way up to the summit, I realized that the race was not going to let up. It wasn’t going to get any easier. In my head I thought; “don’t worry about me, I’ll take whatever you can throw my way.” After all, if this was easy, kids would be doing it. (Another Grandpa saying) When I started to see the other 50 milers, my spirits were bent but not broken. I kept pushing and pushing through the roller coaster and the tree graveyard until I made it to the summit at East Mountain lookout. When I got there, I re-wrapped my ankle and enjoyed a fantastic grilled cheese sandwich and questioned whether I would make it back to Skunk Creek. I figured that I wasn’t going to get back down the mountain any way but on my own two feet, so I thanked the aid station staff for the hospitality and took off.
Part 4: East Mountain Lookout to Skunk Creek Aid Station. 7 miles – 1,500 feet of gain – 2:00
On the way down I passed Emily, who was only about 1 mile behind me in the race. We talked for a minute or so and then it was time to keep on down the road. I was listening to music again which gave me a little boost and after wrapping my ankle really tight I was actually able to run a little bit here and there. I had been passed earlier by Charlie and Sam and I kept wondering if I might be able to catch up to them and maybe have some company or even pass them in the race. Sam had mentioned that he was having some problems going to the bathroom which is a bad thing. I hoped he was ok. I was still feeling strong and my body was holding up well. No cramping issues or anything. I was very surprised after a bit to hear the voices of two men coming up behind me. At first I thought I was starting to get delirious or something because I didn’t understand who it could be based on the people that I had already encountered on the trail. The 50k runners didn’t have to do this section so I thought I was starting to hear things. I then reevaluated my physical and mental condition to see if I was missing something obvious. I was eating, drinking and taking s-caps on schedule, so what could be my problem? It turned out that there was nothing wrong with me, but it was Sam and Charlie who had taken a wrong turn on the course and were catching back up to me. We talked together for a bit before they took off and left me in the dust. All I wanted was to be able to run again, but it wasn’t in the cards for me. I ran when I could, and power walked the rest. When I made it back to the Skunk Creek aid station, I was surprised at how well I was feeling and I decided that since I had come this far it would be stupid to quit now. I ate some food, Sis rewrapped my ankle, and got ready for the last section of the race. As I was getting ready to leave, Emily entered the aid station and suggested that we finish the last section together. I told her that I would probably be holding her back but she didn’t care which was really cool.
Part 5: Skunk Creek Aid Station to Boiling Springs Campground. 7.7 miles – 1,335 feet of gain – 2:45
Emily and I figured out that I wasn’t going to hold her back very much in this section. Well, unless she was just being nice and helping me finish. Like the rest of the race, I was still very strong on the up hill portions, but suffering on the down hills. Emily appeared to be the opposite. She could still cruise on the down hills, but I was able to keep up with her on the climbs. I would like to think that we kept each other in check at this point. I believe that she could have left me behind, but it was really awesome that she didn’t. We shared some stories, griped and complained and talked about future races. It was dark at this point which was made the list part of the race really cool, but we couldn’t imagine what the 100 milers had to go through, running nearly the entire first loop in the dark. Even more, we couldn’t imagine how Jon Kinzer did it two nights prior solo and unassisted. With perhaps 1.2 miles to go, we saw some odd lights up ahead. To me, it looked like someone in a light suit doing the Party Rock Anthem shuffle. I was wondering if someone was lost, or maybe if I was just seeing things. It turns out that it was Charlie who had a pack with lights on it. We passed him and came across a rubber boa on the trail which I had never heard of until just a few weeks prior. Such an odd looking snake. I stopped to take a picture and apparently, almost stepped on him. The last mile seemed never ending. I think that this was the only time where I started running out of gas. Emily and I kept pushing and finally made it to the bottom and we started cheering and yelling when we saw the lights and people who were gathered at the finish. The crowd cheered us on as we crossed the finish line together and received our finisher’s awards from Ben. My family was waiting there for me and I took off my bib and held it to the sky to say thank you to my Grandpa. I was done.
Part 6: The aftermath
Recovery has gone well. I imagine it was due largely in part to the fact that I power walked the majority of the race. Because of this, I don’t really feel like I can call myself an ultra runner. I have decided that I am going to keep moving forward and attempt my first 100 miler in February at Rocky Racoon in Texas. As long as my ankle holds up anyway. Grandpa never quit a job until it was finished and neither will I.
