Four days removed and I am still trying to process the Mississippi 50 Mile Endurance Run. Last Friday, my sweet wife and I drove down to Laurel, Mississippi so I could take a shot at a 50 mile race. The trip down, with one exception, was really quite nice. Grandmother and Nanna graciously took the kids so, it was just us.
Oh yeah...the aforementioned "exception". If you'll recall, the wind was blowing like crazy last Friday. I was helping Will get into the suburban when a huge gust of wind blew the door shut on my leg and pinned it between the door and running board. OUCHIE! I thought, all at once, the race was over before it started. All that training and anticipation...gone. But, other than an egg shaped bruise, the shin didn't give me too much trouble at the race.
After a great dinner...and LOTS of rain, we headed back to the hotel to get my drop bag ready for the race. Gu, socks, pretzels, duck tape, wet wipes, extra water bottles...etc... Bedtime was 10:30 and wake up was 3:30. Banana, two pop tarts, HEED and half a cup of coffee for breakfast and we were off to the start. The drive to the start was around 30 minutes. Rain was intermittent by this time and the temp was around 40 degrees. Everyone seemed to be in good spirits despite the weather and darkness. I was really happy to be starting the race with Kam and Gene. The morning got even better when I found my friend Josh a the start. Some other familiar (and strong) runners showed up (Kevin and Emily)and we all dumped our drop bags and gathered around the start. A couple of short minutes later...we were running. I never heard the starter say go...but "go" we did.
So, I'm not going to give a mile by mile report. But, generally the course wet, wet, wet and a bit more hilly than advertised. The main thing I wanted to do throughout the day was keep my mind under control. The FIRST time i lost that battle was around miles 18-20 when my brain said "you don't have much effort left in your body dude". Of course, a little panic set in when i thought..."oh, how nice...only 30 more miles to go". But, fortunately, that sinking spell was short lived and before I knew it, the halfway point came and went. Seeing (and kissing) Karen at the aid station and having her lie about how great and strong I was looking was a HUGE lift! She killed her first "crewing" job ;)
So, around the marathon mark, I was feeling really really good and that lasted for several miles. I never really fell off the wagon again after that but there were definitely some low points on the way in. The aid stations were really helpful...super great people with well stocked food and drink. Having had all the gel i could possibly stomach around mile 30, I started sampling the aid station food. That means: PBJ sandwiches, cheese its, pretzels, candy bar (bite size), chex-mix and oranges. I had no GI problems at all...PTL!
There were only two shoe changes during the race. I really needed a third change but just couldn't do it. I'm not sure why though. It was either frozen fingers or simply the fact that I couldn't wrap my mind around such a complicated task after 40 miles of running. Either way...my dogs were barking LOUDLY from 43-50. Fortunately, God saw fit to send me a running gift and Aaron miraculously appeared the last 10 miles. We spend those final miles tricking our bodies into some pretty cruel punishment. Once we hit mile 44, the gravitational pull of the finish line kicked in and we really began to get...well...giddy. We began running harder and the mud became less of an obstacle.
Before long...it was over. I crossed the line. The RD was there to shake my hand and some complete strangers clapped for me and offered genuine congratulations. It was really a very satisfying moment. Hugged Karen, my sister and Kam. Josh (who stayed around after his finish some 45 minutes earlier) came over to chat. He was telling me how proud he was and that he knew i could finish. He, and everyone else, said some other stuff but, honestly, i was coming in and out of consciousness at that point and just wanted to sit down. Hugged Josh and wished him luck for his marathon the next morning (Freak) and then sat down to wait for Gene to come in.....BIG MISTAKE....recovery blog COMING SOON.
