Moab's Red Hot 55K - Anger Took Over

The past few months of training have been solid.  Or as solid as one can expect them to be during the coldest and darkest months of the year.  I had an idea of what I could expect of myself.  One little problem, I had never run this race before.

With all that I set myself a small game plan.  

1) Splits at each of the 5 aid stations (honestly had no idea how aggressive or passive they were).  

2) Fuel and hydrate on a consistent basis.

3) Hope the winter training was enough to carry me in under 5 hours.  

(The Start - Sunrise over the La Sal's) 

I can't tell you how great it was to start a run in sunlight and in mild temps which I believed hovered in the upper 20s.  With an increase to the numbers of those running the race, I put myself near the front in hopes of not getting bounced around in the early miles.  

(The Start - Despite all the down jackets, it wasn't nearly that cold)

Wasn't sure what to think of WA saying mile 3 came in at 6:51 but thankfully the surrounding views distracted me quickly as we continued on.  

Aid Station #1 (Mile 5) came and went without me stopping.  The views were amazing, the running terrain blah.  Basic non-technical dirt roads with one short steep section in the mix.  More of the same and things finally got fun around mile 8ish.  Slick rock, sandy washes, steep ups and some couple of feet drop offs.    

Around Mile 10 I stopped to enjoy the views for a tad to long.  Standing some 1,000 feet above Arches National Park below and on the other side of the highway.  I caught myself tracking the paved road thru the Park.  Found Balanced Rock, the Windows Section and then started to look for Delicate Arch.  "Crap, I'm in a race!" is what I thought before motoring off to Aid Station #2 (Mile 11.5).  Again I didn't stop as I had enough to carry me thru Aid Station #3 (Mile 17).

It was AS#3 were I refilled on water.  A stop lasting less then a minute.  3 aid stations down and roughly 5 minutes ahead of my self imposed split.  "Was I running to hard and leading to an epic blow up?" is all that crossed my mind.     

Up to this point I was moving at a pretty good clip.  I never once felt great during the race, but in all honesty, I felt pretty damn good and just stuck with it.    

While stunning and highly enjoyable, the footing and terrain starting at roughly mile 19/20 gets pretty gnarly.  At the time, I wasn't sure if I was blowing up or if I were just off my game.  I tried to lie to myself.  Telling myself to walk a steep section in hopes of saving something for the end.  At times I honestly was taking it conservatively.  Other times my slow walk was all I could muster.  I would get passed but also pass others. At almost 3 hours of running hard, this is to be fully expected.  The only reason I was able to keep a positive mind set was my flat and downhill running was usually done faster then those around me.  

Starting around mile 22 I would occasionally lead a group for a minute or two.  Bad idea.  I got lost so many times.  Time actually lost wasn't anything but the effort to correct my error was taxing.  At one point I apologized to the runner next to me for missing the flagging yet again.  The runners response who happened to be Ian Torrance was "I've run this 5 times now and I still have no idea where to go".  

Shortly after I was hitting my low point.  My pace was at it's slowest it had been all day regardless of terrain. I was starting to cramp badly.  Mentally, the wheels had already started to fall off.  Only thing that crossed my mind was I went out way to fast.  Runner after runner was passing me by.  Then Woody came passing me by.  It was great seeing him run so strong this late in the game and I tried to use that as motivation.  But every time I looked up he just appeared farther and farther away.  Man did he put a gap on me in such a short distance.    

I literally stumbled into Aid Station #5 (Mile 28).  I re-tied my shoes.  Threw down a cup of water, 2 cups of soda and S-Cap and looked at my watch.  For the first time all day I was behind my splits.  By a damn 15 minutes!  4 hours and 15 minutes on the clock.  5 1/2 to 6 miles left.  45 minutes to go under 5 hours.  I put my head down and started to run out of the aid station doing some math and self doubting.  

I didn't have a shot in hell is what I thought in breaking 5.  I crested the first little hill out of the aid station and my hairs stood up on my arms.  Behind The Rocks, Amasa Back, Canyonlands NP, Dead Horse SP.  All right there in what felt like touching distance.  I had no choice but to give this last portion of the course hell and for the first time in almost an hour I was moving fast again.  

Sad thing is it didn't hurt to move fast again.  I hadn't blow up.  I simply stopped trying to run strong cause it was hard.  How f'ing lame! I got pretty angry about all this.  Angry about all those runners I let pass me by over the last few miles.  Angry at letting all my hard work over the last few months possibly go to waste.

I ran every step from AS#5 to the finish.  The only thing I can clearly recall is cursing a lot to myself.  Every time I encountered a steep embankment, a technical downhill, a patch of ice or that damn sandy trail.  Any time I could have taken it easy I pushed myself even more.  I can't tell you how many 55K folks I passed.  What I did know was I didn't get passed once.  I also recall somehow catching up to Woody.  Seriously how did that happen.  Was hoping he would tag along for the last mile.  Instead I got to witness him cross the finish line shortly after me.

4 Hours, 54 Minutes and something 30 Seconds.  27th Place overall.  Crossing that finish line felt so fucking satisfying.

(The Finish Line - Fantastic end to the race)

Drinking a few more ounces of water here and there, popping in a few more S-Caps and minimizing that low point are the only things I would have changed about the race.  Otherwise I was very happy with how I executed my race.    

Hanging out after the race and drinking a beer with Woody was fantastic.  Oh and Woody, the Butternut Squash Apple Bisque was amazing! 

Funny thing about the race.  I was hanging out with my friend Hillary (who ran 6:03 in her first ultra!) and she was talking with a few others about the big accomplishment.  They all talked about going out and celebrating.  Asked if I wanted to celebrate the big finish.  I politely declined.  I didn't say this to them, but completing this race isn't a big deal to me.  Yeah I worked hard and am VERY proud of my effort.  Even more so for them and their finishes.  But this race is simply one step in preparing for this falls RRR100.  It's the only mind set I can have with running and it's now time to move on to the next series of steps which is preparing for the SJS50 in June.  

(The stunning Jackson Trail on the other side is a must do run)