Feeling the Heat at Hells Hills 50

Getting the boot : my trophy from Hell's Hills

I spent all week wondering why I signed up for this race - I am not a good hot weather runner and was not looking forward to it. So when my alarm clock went off at 2am on Saturday morning I was really not in the right frame of mind for a hard 50 miler.

My goal races over the past year have been built on pre-defined race goals and strategies, nutrition plans and a lot of mental preparation. All three were absent from this race, and the extent of my preparation was deciding to run in my Asics trail shoes to give me a little weight advantage in the heat. Of course, this was not a goal race - I had earmarked it as nothing more than a training run - but it's still a 50 miler. I really shouldn't take these things so lightly.

Anyway, to the race - it consisted of three 16.7 mile loops of the "tough and rugged" mountain bike trails at the Rocky Hill Ranch in Smithville. There were also 25k and 50k races being run.

I hung around chatting to Alan Wrinkle before the 5am start, and once we got going it was cool but humid. I hadn't bothered to change the batteries in my headlamp from Rocky Raccoon because I knew it would only be dark for an hour or so, but it made the footing in the first few miles a little tricky. "I mostly disappeared into my head" I figured I would try to get some fast miles under my belt early before the heat descended, and so I found a little niche for myself near the front of the pack. Meredith had a small group of runners who had started running at 2am - they were doing 2 loops as a training run, and started their second with us. I loosely attached myself to them, but generally ran by myself. I was in a funny little mood - not very talkative - and mostly just disappeared into my head. Despite myself, I started to enjoy the run - savoring the smell of the pine and the beautiful full moon. I flip-flopped with Meredith's group for most of the loop - they would catch me and we'd run together for a while, then I would do a quick in-and-out at the aid stations and see if I could get to the next one before they caught me again. Such are the silly games by which I amuse myself at these long races!!!

But it worked. God bless 'em, they towed me to a nice 2:50 first loop. I dumped my headlamp in my drop bag, refilled my water and Gatorade and headed back out for loop number 2. I knew that I hadn't been drinking enough on that first loop, and it was a mistake that would come back to haunt me.

Loop number 2 was when things started going to hell. It was getting hot and my motivation levels kept dropping. I've run virtually all of my ultras with two handheld bottles - my two amphipods are great, but they are not insulated which means the liquid does not stay cold during the summer. I would put iced water in them, but within a mile all the ice would be gone and the water would be hot. In retrospect I should have taken my camelbak.

I ran for a while with a real nice guy from Waco called Paul, and it turns out we were both using this race as an early training run for Cactus Rose. "I want Gavin to be proud of his dad too" We chatted for a bit about the reasons we run these races, and he told me he had four daughters at home who were all at the stage where they thought daddy was the greatest, and were so proud of his running. So his motivation was that he had to make the most of it while it lasted, and he couldn't go home and tell them he hadn't finished a race. That struck a chord with me because I want Gavin to be proud of his dad too. Right now my running doesn't mean anything to him, but at some point it will.

By midway through the loop, I was draining both bottles well before I reached the next aid station, which meant I was getting into hydration deficit. Not good, and this resulted in some none-too-pleasant mild dehydration side effects (no, I'm not going to elaborate). When I left the tunnel of pines aid station, I had already started mostly walking. This meant it would take that much longer to get from aid station to aid station, so I had to start rationing the water I was carrying. This was a catch-22 which put me further and further behind the hydration 8-ball. At one point I was passed by a guy wearing a martial arts vest, then about half an hour later I was passed by what looked like the same guy. Surely I'm not that dehydrated that I'm imagining things?

I finished out the loop in around 6:40, and by now it was seriously hot - about 94F. "I teetered on the edge a few times" I spent a bit more time at my drop bag and cooler sucking down fluids, and popped a few salt caps before heading back out. I also figured out the "martial arts" puzzle - there were two guys running in the same martial arts vest, and the three of us set out together on the final loop. I was reduced to a walk interspersed with some run/shuffle while they ploughed ahead. I continued to plod forward, and tried to figure out why I wasn't running more. I came to the conclusion that it was partly mental - in my goal races, when I was tired I was always able to mentally override my body and push it. Here I just didn't care enough. But that wasn't the whole story - I was also trying not to overheat, and I know I teetered on the edge a few times. After all, I had to run a smart race in the heat just to finish the thing.

It seemed that the aid station would never appear, and I started to feel a little lightheaded - my water long since gone. Until thankfully, gloriously there it was. And there were the two martial arts guys - and they looked a lot worse than I did!!! The aid station really saved me - I filled one of my bottles with ice cold water and poured the whole thing over my head. The shock of the icy water really woke me up and invigorated me. I refilled my bottles with water, heed and as much ice as I could cram in, and downed a few cups of de-fizzed coke. Then I got ready to head out again. The martial arts #1 guy had already gone, and the other one left just behind me.

Then my competitive side kicked in - I told myself I was not going to be passed again so I took off running and put some distance between myself and martial arts #2 guy. I think martial arts #1 guy had the same idea about me because he was gone (he confirmed this when we laughed about it after the race). I had enough energy to run fairly hard for about 1.5 miles, though this wasn't all bravado - I knew that the more distance I could cover running, the less time I would have to spend without water.

Early in the day I had enjoyed the smell of pine, but it was now getting a bit nauseating. And I discovered that as the day had heated up, the heat was being absorbed by the trees and reflected down onto us runners - bugger.

I kept praying for the meadow. Although it is really exposed and crossing it would be brutally hot, it would mean I was close to the final aid station and only about 6 miles from the finish.

I felt that if martial arts #1 guy was anywhere in sight when I got to the aid station I had enough in the tank to take him on the last stretch. But he wasn't, so I guess we'll never know. I was now in that strange buffer zone where I probably wouldn't be able to catch anyone ahead of me, but nobody behind me was anywhere close enough to worry me. The only other thing I could aim for was a sub-11 hour finish. So I set off with that in mind.

Those last few miles were pure misery. The heat was getting to me, my water was quickly gone and the clock seemed to be working against me. I pushed a slow run where I could (mostly any shady section I could find), and was glad when I popped out onto the jeep road. The last portion of the run is completely unshaded, but when you're virtually at the finish line that doesn't matter so much. I sucked it up and jogged up the gravel road until I made the turn into the field and toward the finish line. I beat the 11 hour goal with about 2 minutes to spare - yes (in all the "thank god I'm done" excitement I forgot to stop my watch).

Once I finished I realized I was feeling surprisingly good, especially when I saw the state of some of the other runners. A whole bunch of friends came over to congratulate and hug me - Cheri, Joyce, Diana, Robert, Joe and several others. They were all insistent that I move into the shade and a lady came over with an ice pack which felt wonderful. Joe gave me the finisher's medal and a trophy for finishing 6th overall - something that really surprised me because I'd run horribly and really struggled. But I guess so did everyone else. I joked that it was a triumph for stubbornness over common sense, and there is more than a grain of truth to that.

Things I learned from this run
I am very stubborn, which helps compensate for my lack of natural running ability. After a tough second loop I never considered not going out for the final one. It's always good to reaffirm I can "gut it out" - good old British stiff upper lip!!!

I am not a hot weather runner - give me a frosty morning any day. This run in the heat felt harder than both the Bandera 100k and the Rocky Raccoon 100 miler. I do have a nice tan though.

I recover quickly because I am not sore at all today, though I was definitely feeling the effects of the heat and dehydration last night. Apparently I had a long conversation with Nancy that I have absolutely no recollection of. But I seem to be back to normal today. I did consider getting up early to go run hills with John and Roger, but laziness got the better of me and I slept in instead.

Zero DNF Record Still Intact

I really struggled at the Hells Hills 50 miler today, but with the temperature in the 90s so did everyone else. I finished in 10:58 and came away with a nice trophy for taking 6th place overall.

Report is pending.

Forecast for Hell

I am signed up for the 50 miler at Hell's Hills this coming Saturday. The temperature is forecast to be 97F - should be interesting.

Signed up for Hell

I just signed up for the 50 miler at Hell's Hills (the replacement race for last weekend's Rocky Hill Ranch). June in Texas - what was I thinking?

Actually it will be good practice at being self-sufficient for the Cactus Rose 100. Besides, a good sufferfest does wonders for the soul.

Yes, I'm sure that makes sense :-)

"Deckmart" Weekend

"Deckmart" is Clea's invention, combining the two races we both had planned for this weekend - Sunmart on Saturday and the Decker Half Marathon on Sunday.

Day 1 : Sunmart 50 miler
Objective : PR and break 9 hours
Ok, let me get the suspense out of the way. I smashed my PR by 40 minutes and finished in 8:46:28, good enough for 34th place (out of 159 finishers).

Now that the numbers are out of the way, let's talk about the race. We got to Huntsville on Friday night after a hellish drive from Houston where we had enjoyed a fantastic pasta dinner and picked up our excellent race premiums. We spent a comfortable night and got to the park early on Saturday morning. It was freezing cold - upper 20s/lower 30s. I'd just got out of the car and the first person I saw was Ryan Beard - a really fast runner I know from Austin. We went off in search of the HCTR tents and found Joe, Robert and Meredith. We set up our drop bags and visited for a while. Other folks started to show up and I chatted to Jeff and Cheri (note: absolutely no mention of the GF word), and gave Celeste the race packet we'd picked up for her in Houston the night before. As I walked to the start line, I ran into Ryan Valdez (El Scorcho race director and distorted veracity blogger). We are both signed up for the Texas Trilogy and were excited we were actually about to start it off. It was good to see him and we chatted and took a few photos while we waited for the start. Ryan V. would go on to have a solid race and run almost exactly the time he predicted at the start line.

The gun sounded and off we went on the first of four 12.5 mile loops. I made my first mistake of the day here as I dumped off my gloves before the start. My hands quickly became numb and painful - it took a good 45 minutes for them to thaw out. I settled into a column of runners, and Ryan B. slotted in behind me. We gradually inched our way through the line until we found ourselves behind Meredith and Matt Bush at the front of the column. These three are seriously good runners and I wondered how long I would be able to stay with them, but we talked about this and that, fell into a good rhythm and finished out the first loop together in 1:50.

On the second loop, I bumped into Clea and Meghan who were running the 50k and we ran together and chatted for a while. The girls were full of smiles and were obviously having a great day. By the time the 50k/50 mile routes diverged I'd hooked up with Meredith again - she was in one of the money slots and was looking to push on, and Ryan B. was not far behind. The three of us ran together, taking turns to set the pace until we got to the farside aid station where I had to use the porta potty and we parted ways. Luckily the 50k and 50 mile routes converged again here and out popped Clea and Meghan, who had picked up another runner from my wife's hometown of Brownwood. We got to talking and it turns out he lives just down the road from my father-in-law. What are the chances? We finished out the loop together and I came in at 3:55. I was still running at an 8 hour pace which I figured was a bit too aggressive and decided to settle into a more conservative pace.

I started out on the third loop running by myself. Ryan B. was not far behind me and Meredith and Matt were not far in front. We continued to encourage each other as we passed at the out-and-backs, and I finished out the third loop right at 6:20. I was refilling my bottles before heading out again when Clea came over to see if I had everything I needed. The girls had finished their 50k (both taking 3rd place in their age groups) and she told me I was looking strong. She then told me she wasn't going to run Decker the day after. Bugger - I was banking on her being sensible and stopping me going out psycho fast. Oh well, I laid a mild guilt trip on her (sorry Clea), gave her a quick congratulatory hug, picked up my ipod and set off again.

The last loop was passing by much the same as the third. I did the out-and-back on the jeep road and as I was coming down, Joe Prusaitis was heading up. I think we'd synced up our pace after the first loop because I kept seeing him at the same point each go round. I pointed this out as we passed, and he yelled back that I was smoking this race.

Ryan B. caught me just after the 50k/50 mile route diverged and showed why he'd done so well at Cactus Rose because he powered the rest of the course (it also helped that he had to be back in Austin by 7pm for a party). I caught a few runners along the way and was going well until my Garmin quit about 5 miles from the end. From then on I had no idea how I was doing so I just ran. Once I hit the final aid station I knew I had 2.8 miles to go so I sucked it up and kicked on to the finish line. All the HCTR folks cheered me in as I came down the final stretch to the finish line. I was very relieved to see that clock because I honestly had no idea what time I was running.

I had a good day and was pleased with the PR, but what really made my day was when Joe Prusaitis told me several times that I had run a great race and he was impressed. Coming from an ultra runner and coach of his stature, that was very special.

It was a great Sunmart weekend. I had many friends out there, several of them doing their first ultras. Some of them made their goals, others did not. To those that didn't, I offer this: what truly matters is you had the courage to start. As long as you continue to aim, your day will come.


Day 2 : Decker Half Marathon
Objective : survival
I got to the expo center and one of the first people I saw was Clea. I think she was very happy to see me ("oh, thank God") and explained that she had left several "psycho" messages on my phone to say that she had changed her mind and would I run with her. I was very happy too, otherwise I would have been lining up with the 7:30 pace group. As it was, we had a very enjoyable run over the Decker hills - we took it very easy, stopped for bathroom breaks, chatted the miles away and treated it as a fun recovery run. We crossed the finish line at 2:02:11 (9:20 pace). Could I have run it faster? Maybe, but it wouldn't have been anywhere near as much fun. Thanks Clea.


Things I learned from this weekend
My training and conditioning is right where I want it to be - I ran the first half of the 50 miler at a fast clip, and never bonked. My recovery was also very fast - I wasn't sore or stiff afterwards and I felt good running this morning.

The experiment with the brand new trail shoes also worked - I had no problems whatsoever, and I am getting pretty good at taping my feet. The gaiters also worked well - no trail debris or sand got into my shoes. I also ran Decker this morning in new road shoes, and that worked out great.

Gel flasks - always dilute the gel with a bit of water. Makes them much easier to use and cuts down on the weight (which stops them bouncing).

Salty old dog - I could have filled a salt shaker with what I scraped off my forehead on Saturday.

I enjoy running by myself, but running with friends makes the miles disappear so much quicker. Huge thanks to Meredith, Ryan, Matt, Clea, Meghan and "the guy from Brownwood whose name I can't remember" for sharing time on the trail with me.

And finally, this year's Sunmart finisher's jackets are really nice.

Ar Hyd y Nos (All Through the Night)

"Not all those who wander are lost" - JRR Tolkien (printed on the back of the Timber Knoll tech shirt).

I am sitting here with my feet up watching the womens' olympic marathon that I recorded last night (come on Radcliffe, Yelling and Yamauchi). Out of the corner of my eye I can see the spare running shoes and socks that I put out ready to take with me yesterday and forgot. That is why my feet are a mess right now - I have counted at least 8 separate blisters and I suspect at least two toenails are going to part company with me. On the plus side, I ran well enough to knock out 51 miles and finish 4th overall in the Timber Knoll 12 hour race (I finished around 11:45).

Because of the threat of rain and thunderstorms we decided that Nancy and Gavin would stay at home. I drove down to Penernales State Park under strict instructions from Nancy that I would not attempt to drive back before taking a nap in the back of the Explorer. Fingers crossed, I agreed.

Got to the park early, picked up my packet from Brad and wandered around saying hello to friends. The packet had some good stuff in it including a hat, a technical singlet and an LED handheld torch. Just before 7pm, Brad and Joe gathered us all together and explained the course. It was an 8.5 mile loop and first time through we would run it clockwise, then anti-clockwise and so on. The 6 hour and 12 hour runners would start together and right on the dot of 7 we were off.

Quick note of explanation. There is no set distance in these races - it is however many loops you can run in 6 or 12 hours. The terrain is half jeep road and half rocky technical trail. The entire course is hilly.

I found a niche for myself just behind the lead pack and ahead of the main group and felt comfortable, though as usual I probably went out too fast. About 30 minutes into the race, the heavens opened and it felt glorious. If you've never run in the rain, you've missed out on something really special. But because the rain was so heavy, it turned part of the course into a mudbath. In places your shoes would sink into the mud and clumps of it would stick to the bottoms, making them very heavy. Stones and pieces of mud found their way into my shoes and started rubbing my feet raw, but there wasn't much I could do about it. I really need to invest in a good pair of gaiters. This was an ideal course for my Montrail Hardrocks, so it was doubly frustrating that I had forgotten them.

I finished the first loop in 1:21 and started out on the reverse loop - very useful because you can see who is behind you and how close they are. About halfway through this second loop it got dark and I turned on my headlamp. I was wearing my El Scorcho singlet, as was one other guy and the volunteers called us the "El Scorcho" boys (Ryan - a number of folks asked me about your race and were keen to sign up for next year).

Once the rain stopped, it got very humid (although the temperature was a very comfortable 78F). For the rest of the race I noticed something I never thought I would see - my breath fogging (like a cold winter's day) in Texas in August. I'm guessing it was due to the saturated air.

Just before starting loop 4, I stopped to gossip with some "6 hour" friends who had already finished while Brad made me a burrito and some ramen noodles. They were really good and I told him I would run this race again just for the food. Once I set off again I took a wrong turn a few minutes into the loop which dumped me straight back at the start line. Feeling rather stupid I headed out again.

By loop 5 the field had noticeably thinned. Most of the 6 hour folks had finished, and some of the 12 hour runners had given in to sleep. About a mile or so from the end of the loop, a guy caught up with me and recognized me from El Scorcho. Apparently I had caught and blasted past him on the last loop. I didn't remember him, but he sure remembered me. We had a chance to chat for a few minutes before he passed me up.

When I got to the start line, Joe asked me what I'd said to the guy. He had told Joe that I had him worried and he kept talking about having to put some distance between us to negate my finishing kick. I told Joe he needn't have worried because this was going to be a slow last lap for me. Brad joined in and urged me to have a crack at him (since he'd also had a similar conversation) and we could have a good race, but my feet were really hurting and I was really in no condition to do much. I knew I didn't have much of a chance of catching him or Dalton, and Derek was way ahead. By the same token I was far enough ahead of my pursuers not to have to worry about them either. Sure enough it was a painful last loop, and I stopped several times to empty stones and debris from my shoes. I finally hit a rhythm about 3 miles from the end, ignored my blistered feet and turned on the gas to kick to the finish line. The last section seemed to be the longest of the night - every turn I was convinced would lead to the finish line but it kept on going. I eventually finished 4th overall - the first time I've cracked the top 5.

I came in to the finish line, grabbed my camping chair, a bunch of good looking munchies (including some fantastic coffee bean brownies made by Dalton and his wife) and joined the group seated around the timing station. It turns out that my "El Scorcho" rival pulled out a fast loop the last time round - ah the power of motivation.

We all hung out to wait for the last runners and Brad sent out for breakfast burritos. They were super yummy and I had two. Then I helped tear down the tents and do clean up which I think helped prevent any post-race stiffness.

Lessons learned from this run - I had none of the problems I encountered at El Scorcho, I was very well hydrated and my shot bloks and sports beans always gave me a jolt of energy when I needed it. My final time was by far my worst over this distance, but it was on par for this course and the other runners. El Scorcho aside, I haven't run any training run longer than 7 miles for the last month, so I'll take it. All in all a good race. I had some tough moments, but it's good to know I was mentally strong enough to overcome (or ignore) them. That mental drive seems to be my forte and helps make up for my lack of natural running talent. I also ran most of the race by myself and found I enjoyed the solitude. Damn, but my feet are sore though.

PS. Just finished watching the Olympic marathon. Unfortunately, Paula Radcliffe couldn't overcome her injury problems and finished a distant 23rd, obviously in some pain. Still, it was a good race and Constantina Tomescu deserved the victory for her gutsy front running.

Rocky Hill Ranch update and various ramblings

Didn't do as badly as I'd thought - I finished 9th overall. 31 runners started the 50 miler and 21 finished. Here are other vague thoughts from the race:

Damn stupid commercial jingle that kept running through my head all day:

F-R-E-E, that spells free
creditreport.com baby.

I must have repeated this silly little thing in my head hundreds of times. Very annoying.

While climbing up Fat Chuck's Demise for the fourth time, I urged my future self to remember exactly how I felt at that moment and to not do something this stupid again. Needless to say, I am now sitting here thinking how I can improve next time out.

Halfway up one of the insane dirt inclines there was a very random "no parking" sign. Gotta love it.

"Still can't quite bring myself to pee in the woods". Did I really write that after one of my other races? Does not seem to be a problem anymore.

I think ultra running must be what mainstream running was like before it became so commercialized. Just a bunch of dedicated people and enthusiastic volunteers who do what they do simply for the love of it. I hope it stays that way.

Quote of the day from Daniel Graves as he passed me on loop one - "what the hell am I doing running up this hill?"

Struggling in Smithville

Ok, this is the craziest thing I've ever done for a race. My alarm clock went off at 1am so I could leave the house at 2am for a 4am start at the Rocky Hill Ranch 50 mile race. Nancy came with me because she was running the 25k course as part of Joe's rogue trail series class. Along the way we stopped off at a McDonalds just off IH-35 and Hwy 71 to pick up another Austin runner who needed a lift to the race.

We got there early and checked in with race director Joe Prusaitis. As Nancy's race didn't start until 7am, she was swiftly put to work on check in. I got our ice box and camping chairs and set up our drop bag area near the start line. As I was carrying my camelbak to the drop bags, I passed a group of guys I knew and one of them called over "what are you doing, getting a few early miles in?" I laughed and replied "what do you think I am, crazy?". This cracked them up - after all, we were standing in a field in the middle of nowhere at 3:30am about to run 50 miles.

The 50 mile course was three 25k loops, with the extra 3.5 miles being made up by an initial out and back. The 25k and 50k races would be starting at 7am, but we started at 4am under a beautiful full moon. It was the first time I've run trail by night and my headlight worked really well. I enjoyed it, but running in the dark really does slow you down. From time to time I'd turn the light off, stand still and enjoy the moonlight. Absolute silence out there in the woods, punctuated now and again by the cry of coyotes. The initial 3.5 out and back loop was basically up Fat Chuck's Demise (ie. all the early hills), so we ended up running those four times.

I knew a whole bunch of people at the aid stations and looked forward to seeing them again at each loop. I finished the 3.5 mile out and back and the first 25k loop right at 3:50. That meant that the 25k and 50kers had a 50 minute head start on me as I began loop 2, but I hoped to catch up to Nancy somewhere along the route (I knew she'd probably started late as she'd been working packet pickup). I passed a few runners from the other races on this loop, and eventually caught up with her at the Tunnel of Pines aid station - she was chatting to Jeff and Ron who were running the station. Said hello to the guys and refilled my bottle, then we set off together. We walked through the water crossing before I said goodbye and told her that I'd see her at the finish line.

Got back to the lodge, recharged my bottles, picked up my ipod (which I'd forgotten for the second loop) and got ready to set off again. I had been leapfrogging with Gabe Ayson and Daniel Graves for the entire race, and Gabe and I left the lodge and ran/walked a large portion of the final loop together. We were both pretty beat, but he said that quite a few of the 50 mile runners had already dropped and the gossip at the aid stations confirmed that. Chatting with Gabe helped pass the time and I hit a purple patch about two miles into the loop where I felt really good. Decided to make the most of it and set off at a (relatively) fast run - I knew I would be walking later on. Stopped for a while at the Longhorn aid station where the crew did a great job of taking care of me and set off at a walk/run/shuffle toward the next aid station 5 miles down the trail.

Stayed at the Pines aid station for a while discussing Ron's quest to sample every one of the beers at his local pub and get his name on the wall. He called it a new endurance sport - classic stuff!!! Gabe caught up to me here and we walked off to the Pines Avenue together. By now I was pretty much done and ready to walk most of the rest of the way, so when Gabe took off I didn't make any effort to catch him. From time to time I would run a little and I passed a few of the 50kers along the way. Reached the finish line in 11 hours 17 minutes and Joe, Henry and co cheered me in. That was nearly 2 hours slower than my best 50 mile time, but you can't compare times across different races and I knew I'd given my all for that day and that race. I saw Ryan (the guy we'd given a lift to that morning) and he'd taken 5th place in the 50 miler - he'd had an awesome run but was also doing the Frankenstein walk. Apparently a lot of people had suffered out there. Henry came over to shake my hand and I congratulated him and Joe on designing a course that kicked my butt. Also thanked Gabe for making that last loop more bearable and said hello to a few friends before we headed back to Austin. I was pretty tired and fell asleep on the sofa until my dad woke me up half an hour later to watch the Joe Calzaghe vs Bernard Hopkins boxing match. To finish the day on a high note, Joe won (he's from Wales).

I'm not that sore today, just tired. I was going to get up and go run the Sunday morning Ken's loop, but I didn't wake up in time. Think I'll run it tomorrow morning with Nancy instead. I think I need to add some road running back into my regime as that helps maintain my pace. I struggled today, but so did a lot of other people. My knees hurt, but the Montrail Hardrocks helped a lot on the stony ground - I wouldn't have wanted to run that race in my road shoes. I didn't train specifically for this 50 miler - my longest recent long run of note was a 22 miler on the green belt about 3 weeks ago - and had no specific goal. Having said that, it was good to know I could still grind out a 50 miler.

Singing Delilah at Rocky Raccoon

5 years ago I couldn't run a 10k without walking. Yesterday I ran my first 50 mile race at a faster pace than I ran those old 10ks. If you would have told this chubby little Welsh boy five years ago that he would run a 50 mile race I would have laughed all the way to Mr Gatti's.

Our weekend started on Friday as Nancy, Gavin and myself had a relaxed drive up to Huntsville. We got to the park mid afternoon for packet pickup and then took Gavin to play on the swings. It was a beautiful day and I was so glad the weather would be good for my peeps. We wandered around for a while and then left to check into the hotel. Nancy wanted me to wear the Rocky Raccoon sweatshirt, but I have this thing about not wearing the shirt until I run the race so I left it in the bag. We had supper at a funky little place called the Potato Shack, finished it off with a nice piece of turtle cheesecake (helps me sleep - ha ha) and then we headed back to the hotel. Spent some time re-reading bits of "Running through the Wall" for motivation, then we had an early night.

I've always been nervous before my marathons, but for some reason I've not had the same nerves for either of the trail races I've run. Instead I was excited at the challenge of the unknown. We got to the park just after the 100 milers had set off and I could see the procession of lights as they made their way into the trails. A few days before this race, I'd signed up for a 50k in Fort Worth in July called "El Scorcho", and as I waited at the start line I spotted a guy wearing an "El Scorcho" shirt. Got talking to him and it turns out he was Ryan Valdez - the El Scorcho race director. What are the chances?

Pretty soon we were off. I wore my Round Rock Fit shirt and as we wound around the course I got a lot of banter about the "no whining" logo. On the way up to the Far Side aid station, I caught a glimpse of Jorge Pacheco coming the other way - he was flying and would go on to win the 100 mile race. On the way back from Far Side, I saw the first fall of the day - an acrobatic 360 that left the guy flat on his back. Fortunately it looked a lot more spectacular than it was painful as he got up and seemed ok. A few minutes later I heard a voice scream "get out of my way" and a runner came streaking past me at a full-on sprint. He kept yelling as he pushed past the group in front of me. Well, there's always one, and I figured I would be passing him long before the day was out. Sure enough, not a mile later he was flat out by the side of the trail looking thoroughly done in. Didn't see him again. A short while later I came across a guy running in a coonskin cap whose name really was Davy Crockett!!! I would continue to meet entertaining characters throughout the day.

Coming up toward the swamp I lost concentration for a moment and turned my ankle on a hidden rock. I gingerly put my weight on it, and limped for a short while before getting back to a slow jog and then finally my normal run. I'm a world expert on ankle sprains (my own at least) from my rugby days, and I knew I could run it off. It wasn't a factor for the rest of the race, but by the next day it had swollen up like the proverbial fatted calf.

I got back to the lodge in around 2:39 and saw Nancy and Gavin - they'd set up a "shark tent" and were obviously having a great time. I stopped off at the porta potties and then at my drop bag. Dumped off my long sleeved shirt and gloves, replenished my e-gel and shot bloks, picked up my ipod and headed out again around 2:44.

Felt pretty good for most of the second loop. Went through the dam road aid station, the out and back from far side, and cruised through the marathon distance in 4:23. Coming up on to the dam road, the ipod started playing a bunch of great songs. Every one reminded me of a time and place - Chantilly Lace, Tom Jones' "Delilah", Kirsty McCall's "Days", and Pulp's "Common People" amongst others. I was pretty much by myself on the trail, so I started singing along. Grooved along for a while, singing loudly, waving my arms around like a lunatic and having a great time while sneaking the odd furtive glance behind to make sure nobody could hear my awful singing. If you saw me, or heard me at any point during this part of the course, please keep it to yourself!!! "WHY, WHY, WHY, DELILAH" I howled as the coyotes covered their ears and the alligators sought refuge at the bottom of the lake. However, the high didn't last, and by the time I closed in on site 174 my right knee had started giving me problems and slowed me down. I'd been having some IT band issues for the last month or so and hoped it would settle down, but by the time I got back to the lodge I knew I was in trouble.

I completed loop 2 right at 5:50 and stopped off at my drop bag again to get some double shot espresso clif shots and sports beans and drop off the ipod. I wanted to get back out quickly before my knee seized up, but knew it may already be too late. Nancy and Gavin came over and I didn't want to worry them, so I told them I was tired and this might be a long last loop. I took off again, but it was very painful to run so I decided to walk for a bit and see if it would ease. From time to time I would try running again, but the knee was crying Mary so I resolved to continue at a fast walk. I also knew that if I had to drag my sorry ass the whole way around that course I would. Then, not far from Far Side, something clicked back into place and the knee pain was suddenly gone. I got into the aid station, refilled my bottles and took off at a brisk run to test the knee out. It felt good, so I decided to try and make up for lost time. The walk break had left me feeling really fresh so I started pushing the pace and pretty soon started passing a lot of people. Came back through the dam road aid station, filled up quickly and took off again. Coming back up through the wilderness I started feeling really good, and by the time I got to site 174 I was flying. Chugged the double espresso shot and headed out of the final aid station and into the biggest runner's high I've ever had - those last 3 miles were my best of the entire run. I felt so good and covered them in under 24 minutes. I kept pushing the pace and the faster I went the better I felt. I popped out of the woods a mile from the finish line and decided to really drop the hammer. Took a look at my Garmin and saw I was running close to a 7 minute mile. What am I doing running a 7 minute mile after 49 miles? Hell, it felt good so I went with it and picked up the pace again. Motored through the final part of the trail and onto the approach to the lodge, where several spectators started clapping me in. I did my airplane impersonation as I crossed the finish line feeling really strong in 9:24 - over 35 minutes faster than my goal time.

Crossed over to the shark tent where both Gavin and Nancy were asleep. Nancy was shocked to see me as she didn't expect me for another half hour at least. I was still coming down after my high and had a permanent goofy grin on my face. We stayed around for a while cheering on some of the other runners, and it was dark by the time we left. As we drove out of the park I could see the headlights of some of the 100 mile runners in the woods. I really felt for those guys who would be running all night - maybe next year I will be one of them.

My fueling strategy had worked really well, but I started to get really hungry and raided McDonalds on the way home to Austin. Large fries, big mac, double cheeseburger (can't beat fats for those fast calories), then I emptied a packet of trail mix, then made a pile of bacon sandwiches once I got home. Couldn't sleep last night, so I got up around 2am, made some more and watched tv most of the night. Then I was ready for breakfast.

Overall, I had a great time despite the knee problems. The fact that I came back strong at the end and finished well under my time goal bodes well for longer distances. I have to say I really love the atmosphere and feel of these trail runs. The volunteers can't do enough for you and everyone is so friendly. Surprisingly, I'm not feeling that stiff today. My ankle is swollen from that silly altercation early on in loop one, my knee is a little sore and my feet are bruised but I'll be ready to go again in a few days. It's time to repair and get ready for the Austin marathon in two weeks time. Ice is my friend!!!

Signing out from the strange world of ultra running.