Finisher American River 50 mile race!

I did it!  I finished my longest run and race in my lifetime so far, by completing the AR 50 in (a personal record) of 10 hours and 58 minutes.  My previous longest had been a 50k (31.1 miles) while this was an 81k and almost 19 miles more than anything I had ever done.  As I write this, it is the morning after the day before and as to be expected, more sore and spent than could be imagined.  But very pleased and satisfied.

The race started at 6am along the American River just outside of East Sacramento and check in was around 5:15am.  I met up with Chris (who I know from the PVAC running club) and we ran the first 8.5 miles together until we got to the first aid station.  It was freezing out and my hands (to quote Pink Floyd) felt like two balloons.  But the time went by so quickly on this part as we just talked the entire way about nothing and everything, but mostly about running.  (Chris was also a big help to me the night before by recommending what kind of stuff I needed to carry and since they would have lots of food along the way, I just needed to carry an extra water bottle and other personal items).

I tried to have some checkpoints and milestones along the way to keep my mind from exploding.  Right away after starting I got a hot spot on my left foot that would only get worse as the day went on.  The first 25 miles or so goes along the American River and was on a bike/running path with some gentle rolling slopes, so that was not too bad.  I thought if I could get to the 25-26 mile halfway point (marathon distance) in around 4:30, I could have an outside chance of breaking 10 hours, but I had no idea of what to expect the second half, which was tortuous.

I took a long break at around 15 miles, even though I was on 9:30/mile pace, to fix my blister and shoe and I probably killed more than 10-15 minutes here, but it was worth it.

I ate and drank at every stop and consumed a massive amount of boiled potatoes in salt, pretzels, M&M’s, cookies and anything else I could get my hands on.  One of the interesting treats at mile 26.7 was pancakes, yes pancakes.  He asked if I wanted syrup with this and I said I was watching my calories – ha!  Later, I had cantaloupe, grapes, oranges and bananas along with salt added to 7-up (sounds disgusting I know) and I mixed up a concoction of 7-up, energy drink and ice, which was delicious then, but sounds horrible now I know.

I made it to 25 miles at 4:25 which was pretty much in goal pace and then it got hard.

The race then went up some big hills where walking was the only option along a single track trail and the next 25 miles were all trail and rocks and slopes.  It was all very beautiful along Folsom Lake with trees and grasses and blooming flowers (lavender, poppies and daisies) along the way and lots of butterflies, birds and even an occasional chicken, rabbit to see – but no monkeys!

After the 26.7 mile aid station, my next big goal was to get past the 50k (31.1) mark which would mean I was in uncharted territory.  Around this point, I changed into my trail shoes and new socks (and some more bandaging) and a new hat and felt pretty good until my right ankle got twisted and turned so that every step was painful from the right or left side.

This was also the only race I had run where I carried my cellphone (for safety I thought) but ended up having some amazing supportive calls that brightened my day and really kept me going (until I lost cell coverage on the other side of the lake and the phone said “emergency calls only” or “no network coverage”).

I continued on and tried to get to the big milestone of 40 miles; there was an aid station at 40.9 miles and that was pretty exciting.  Ate and drank a ton more and tried to settle a bad stomach probably from eating all the crap and drinking so much.

The last miles just dragged on and were so long and never-ending.  I had been listening to music for almost 8 1/2 hours except for some socializing time with my fellow runners and the phone calls, but it was not helping so much.  I was definitely struggling.

There was an aid station at mile 44 that came up pretty quick but it seemed to take hours to get to the 47 mile mark.  And then it got impossible.  The last 3 1/2 miles were straight up and over 1000′ of elevation gain and the sore legs really did not appreciate this so I walked as best I could and kept an eye on the clock – as by this point I really wanted to beat 11 hours.

When my watch said 10:45 and more than a mile left, I just willed myself to run as much as I could up the hill and see if I could get to the goal time.  The hill just kept going and never let up until the last 100 yards where it flattened out down a road leading up the finish line.  Now I was pretty damn excited and sprinted all out through cheering crowds and the beautiful finish line.  When I crossed it, it said 10:28:01 so I was pretty happy.  I got a great finishers jacket (which I’ll wear tomorrow) and a nice shirt and even got a finishers hamburger which tasted pretty good.

After the two-hour plus ride home, I was in a nice hot shower washing away all the dirt, grime and sweat from the day and trying to move.  I walk a bit like Frankenstein now and tomorrow will be worse!

Oh, and I weighed myself and managed to go from 128lbs to 135lbs in one day, a 7 pound gain.  I think its all water weight and from the salt, and hope it will go back to normal in the coming days.

So, on this Sunday morning, I’m pretty personally pleased and proud and looking forward to no workouts, runs or anything the coming week!

Now, I can think about and focus on the next big challenge …. which I can write about in the next days.