Better Late

 We breathe the spring air,

Clean and crisp with the promise

Of vibrant new life.

Tuesday, March 29, 2022

My first 50k post pandemic, outside of a few glitches by both me and the race organization, went pretty well.

First, what went well.

My goals were to not walk and to run under 5 hours. Again, just slightly over-reaching. Within the last two miles I power walked two short climbs. I also finished in 5:14.

Yet, although I fell short of those goals, I felt my plan, hydration, nutrition, equipment, pace and effort were spot on.

The plan was to get by using only a Simple Hydration bottle and four gels supplementing with aid station supplies as necessary. I only wanted to stop every six miles to start with more stops if necessary if I got caught out in the heat or was just starting to drag for whatever reason. Perfecto!

What made that plan possible was training with SIS Beta Fuel mix and their high sugar and caffeine content gels. So while other racers either used vest packs or stopped more often, I was sailing along light as feather. This will definitely be my plan A going forward.

Equipment that worked well but will possibly change under different conditions will be the use of the Track Smith trail shorts and shirt. They worked great under mild to hot temperatures but would swap out or supplement in cold conditions. The shorts, with the two pockets in the liner and two mesh pockets in back were just about flawless. My only concern, and this may not be related directly to the shorts, is that I did experience a little irritation post-race on my nasty bits. This could be from having to drive so long to/from the race and just having sweat and grime pressed in areas that, with a little attention, wouldn’t have been a concern. Next time out I’ll use a little Nut Butter pre-race and change into clean underwear post event.

My Salomon Ultra Glides also worked well. Often I’ll experience mild to very painful heel pain which I believe is rooted in Plantar Fasciitis tendencies. But no problems. I’ll stick to these for future long events unless the new Salomon Pulsar Trail Pros or the Saucony Edges end up wowing me. Regardless, the Ultra Glides are great and if not always in the race rotation, will be in the training and fastpack line up for the near future.

Now to the glitches. I started three minutes late. Why? Because when it’s cold out I don’t like to leave the car until absolutely necessary. The race was scheduled to start at first light at 6:25 a.m. But because of the heat they must’ve decided to up it to 6:15. I did hear an announcement to gather at the start in 15 minutes at 6, but I thought they were going to go over race stuff, so I’d make my way over then.

Wrong. When I got out of the car at 6:15 I heard a countdown. Shit! I started jogging over and asked if the 50k had started and yes it had. 3 minutes late out of the blocks. Tried to not let it throw me too much and just work my way through the crowd without too much expenditure of additional energy. Actually turned out to be kind of fun.

Another glitch was a change in course that ended up causing many competitors to inadvertently cut the race short. Now if they had taken their time to go over this at the start instead of rushing to get people out on course pre-morning light, I would’ve been in a win-win situation; starting on time and getting a true finishing place. But hey, it’s been two years and everybody’s a little over antsy right now.

The course change was late in the race when what normally would’ve been only a single out and back section was changed to double out and back because they decided to cut a mile loop section at the far point of the course off. Many competitors understandably and largely unknowingly blew through the second turn around.

The only reason I didn’t is because for some strange reason when I got to that point and saw a competitor I was closing in on not make the turn, I asked a volunteer if we were suppose to do the out and back again. He said yes. So I pointed to the dude ahead and asked why that dude didn’t. He said he told him to, but what can you do? I then asked if I needed to tear off another page from the book they had at the bottom to prove I’d hit the turn around spot, he said no, he trusted me. But when I got to the bottom a volunteer said on the second loop I needed to pick up a red wrist ban. I did.

If they would have required that this be shown either at the return aid station or at the finish, I’m guessing I would’ve finished in either fourth or fifth place instead of the 14^th they had me in. Not sure what the final results will show as they claim they’ll look into the glitch.

I’m not optimistic but I don’t care all that much either. I ran another strong race over a distance I haven’t run in years. I’m now very optimistic I’ll get the age group record at Bull Dog later this year and will then hold both the 25/50 records for 60–69-year-olds. That’s been on my hit list for a few years now.