Mckenzie River 50k

It's been a rough year for running. . . I should just leave it at that.  I've been lucky enough to run my entire life injury free.  I've had some sore/knotted calves and some plantar facia problems but I've always been able to run.  It's been a year and I'm still struggling with pelvis/hip/back problems.  These have limited me to running maybe 20-25 miles a week for most of this year.  Not anything you can run ultras off of.

I'd registered for Mckenzie River 50k back in April and I was gonna do this race.  By the time July rolled around and all the health care professionals that I've worked with basically said that they don't really know exactly what's causing my problems (just quit running), I'd had it.  I needed to run.  I got 5 weeks of decent miles in and 3 long runs with a 20 miler being my longest.  I knew I wasn't quite prepared but I was gonna do it!!

Three days before the race I'm not really sure the race is gonna happen due to a fire in the Mt. Washington area.  The top 10 miles of the course gets closed and it ends up being an out/back course which means double the climbing. . . yet another thing I hadn't trained much on.  I got one good run at Mac Forest and another at Ridgeline but most of my miles were pancake flat.  Let the good times roll!

September 10th rolls around and I meet Aaron Porter, Jessie Applegate and a bunch of other folks I'd never met before at 5am and we take off for the start.  The smoke doesn't get too thick until 5 miles to the start.  You can smell it. . . this is gonna be fun :)

My warmup goes fine and my legs feel pretty good.  I know Nick Triolo is in the event but looks like Mario Mendoza is a no show.  Craig Thornley says there's a guy named Joe that could contend.

Gun goes off and I'm in no hurry to push the pace.  I picked it up just a bit to get in front before we hit the single track going up the falls.  This year there was just a quick loop up around the falls due to the fire then loops back to Carmen.  A loop of only about 3 miles.  I lead those miles taking it pretty easy.  Joe is right on my tail and Nick behind him.  I stopped at the first aid station just to top off my bottle.  I knew it was gonna be a hot day so I wanted to keep on top of my fluids.  I let Joe and Nick go by and I settle in right behind them.

A mile goes by and I know they're going faster then what I want to this early.  I'm being very cautious as I know my fitness isn't there and I don't know if my hip is gonna even hold up.  As I'm going through the "shredder" for the next 5 miles my hip is hurting and I'm thinking that I'm not gonna make it.  I drained my bottle a lot quicker than I thought and I'm empty a mile or so before the 2nd aid station.

Trail Bridge aid station finally rolls into view and Taber Shears is there which it's nice to have a familiar face.  I chat briefly as he fills my bottle for me, grab some Gu and get back at it.  They tell me I'm already 2 minutes down.  I'm not concerned and I'm thinking maybe they'll come back to me.  I don't know who this Joe guy is and he was running with a huge Camelbak which is unusual.  I knew Nick had ran Waldo 100k 3 weeks before that so I was thinking he might be trashed.  There's a lot of race left!

The next 5 miles go by pretty uneventful  I'm actually feeling pretty good rolling off 7:30 miles or so.  I hit Deer Creek and Lonn is there to fill my bottle up and cheer me up.  I've lost another couple minutes on the leaders but I'm happy to be out.  I grab some fruit and chat a bit more before getting back on the trail.

By now I'm in the groove.  I'm hitting miles closer to 7 min and even had a 6:42 mile once we hit the road right before Buck Bridge.  I passed a spectator saying the leaders only had 2 minutes on me.  I'm actually feeling like I'm gonna catch em!  Well that lasted 5 minutes. . . once I got to Buck Bridge they said the leaders had 8 minutes and I knew it was probably a lost cause.

I settle into a pace and still feeling pretty good. . .until mile 20.  I could feel it coming on.  I hit Deer Creek again and I'm almost begging Lonn to finish for me.  I struggle on the next 5 miles and I end up having to walk the climbs.  My head is swimming in fog and I know I'm toast.  I take my time and keep pushing fluids and Gu but by the time I get to Trail Bridge I'm barely able to push myself on.  Taber tells me the leaders have 15 minutes on me.  I'm just telling myself it's going to be hard to finish let alone hold onto 3rd place but I struggle on.

The last 5 miles swim by in a haze of 10 minute miles and a weird sensation like the ends of my toes are expanding like water balloons.  Was pretty freaky there for a bit.  It's getting really hot and there's no wind.  I was really wishing the river was close but this is the section it's underground.  I have no idea how nobody has caught me yet.  Finally the finish comes into view.  I hold onto 3rd in 4:10 or 33 minutes slower than last year.  Joe ends up winning my a ways and Nick comes in second.

As I resist the urge to run headlong into Carmen Reservoir (the water is like 45 degrees) it hits me that I'm done.  I reach for the Mt. Dew and luckily they have 10 glasses poured and nobody else to consume it. . . I oblige :)

This was one of the more mentally taxing races that I've ran. . . the only one tougher was Mac Forest 50k last year.  I knew I was going to finish this race but I didn't think I could get through Mac.

I spent the rest of the afternoon roasting by the finish line cheering everyone on.  Spend some time icing my legs in the river and enjoying meeting some new members of the ultra family and chatting a bit with ultra legend Craig Thornley (he's finished Western States 100 miler like 80 times) and just plain enjoyed the day.  After Jessie came in we drove down and got some lunch and watched Aaron consume half a box of ice cream sandwiches.  We all hobbled around like old men (some more than others), admired my butchered toes and reveled in the feat that we'd all accomplished. . . again.

Thanks everyone for a great day!

Here's my Garmin link for fun:

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/113686501


Final results at www.mrtr.org