My First Ultra

After months of training, the weekend of my first ultra race finally arrived. It actually got started on Thursday evening when Michaela’s parents Steve and Rachael flew into town. They were kind enough to come out for the weekend to cheer me on and to help out with Landon as Michaela was going to be busy directing the race and I was going to be well, running the race. Landon was super pumped to see them, and got even more excited when he found out that there was no school on Friday as his school was doing a teacher training day. This being the case, Landon, Steve, and Rachael spent Friday going for walks to the park and playing with every toy in the house, and I’m not sure who was more exhausted by the time Michaela and I got home from work.

Saturday started early…very early in Michaela’s case, as she had to get up at like 3am in order to start setting up for the race. I was pretty jacked up with excitement and nerves, so I didn’t sleep in much later than she did, and spent the next couple of hours getting ready and trying to not get up in my head too much about it…”what will be, will be”…that’s what I kept telling myself. I was as ready as I was going to get…over the past 3 months I’d averaged about 30-35 miles per week, covering 350+ miles during that span. While I had never run more than 26.2 miles at a clip, I went into the race feeling confident in my ability to finish…whether or not I’d hit my goal (between 4’30” and 4’45” was a whole different story).

More than anything, I was just excited to get on with the journey. It seemed to have been a long time coming for me, as I had initially planned to run my first “ultra” way back in March, but a knee injury kept me out of the races while I got to go and cheer on Michaela and all our friends as they accomplished amazing things. While I have only been running “seriously” for a little over a year, I’ve come to really appreciate this sport and I wanted to finally test myself in the next logical progression for me (since I’d already run a marathon last December).

So Saturday at 6:30am I lined up with about 200 other runners to get out there and give it our best shot. There were three possible distances that day, a 30K (18 miles), a 50K (31 miles), and a 50 miler. I can tell you right now that while I was slightly tempted to sign up for the 50 miler, I’m glad I listened to my coaches (Michaela and Captain Kirk) who told me that I was nuts and should just enjoy the 50K…which is what I ended up doing…well, I enjoyed it as much as I could under the circumstances…

I was lucky enough to get to run with our friend Rick Santos, who is an excellent runner, very experienced having completed the Western States 100 and Leadville 100 among others, and is one of the most positive and inspirational people I know. He and I settled into a great pace running right around 8-minute miles for the first 15 or so miles. We discussed fueling, racing strategies, and other random things while the miles passed by. As we hit the turnaround I started to slow down a little, and while I did my best to keep up with Rick, my legs just didn’t want to turn over as they should and the next thing I know, Rick was long gone and it was just me and the trail.

Up to that point, I had elected to try a new strategy and not listen to music during the first half of the run. I had heard that by only listening during the second half, you can give your body a little extra energy to get back on track. I would have to say that I agree with this approach as I was able to kick it back in gear once the tunes started rocking! I settled into a groove between miles 17 and 26 without really having to walk at all which was promising. I checked my watch when I hit the marathon distance (26.2 miles) and I noted a time of 3’40”, which is the qualifying time for the Boston Marathon….if I was a female! Michaela’s going to be racing the California International Marathon in a few weeks and that is her goal, so I had to tell her that I would have made it…unfortunately, the men’s qualifying time is 3’10”…which is not really in the cards for me anytime soon!

Anyhow, I was monitoring my watch closely as I got closer to the 26 mile mark because I really wanted to take special note of that first step AFTER my marathon distance. I wanted to know when I went from being a marathon runner to being an “ultra” runner. I know it’s a stupid distinction, but one that I’ve been thinking about for a while and it was special for me. I would have to say that mile 26 to mile 27 was the easiest mile of the race for me as I was content to know that I had gone further than I ever have before.

If that was my easiest mile, the next 4 were far and away the hardest. At some point during that stretch my calves on both legs started to cramp to the point where I felt like they were both knotted into fists. Every so often during mid-stride one of them would seize on me and I’d get this jolt of pain. Shortly thereafter my left hip started to get really sore. This was slightly more worrisome than cramping, as I’ve dealt with some hip issues in the past, which sidelined me earlier in the year (the IT Band Syndrome in my knee was actually caused by an injury near the hip). Anyhow, this hip pain definitely slowed me down a bit and I elected to play it safe and walk up some of the final hills of the race (did I mention that the last 5 miles were all pretty much uphill)? I knew my goal time was still in sight and while I wanted to meet that goal, I felt my health for future races was more important than anything I would accomplish out there.

As I hit the final stretch I could see the finish line and hear some people cheering, so I managed to find that extra gear and kick it up just enough so it didn’t look like I was crawling into the finish. As I rounded the last corner I saw Michaela, My Mom and Dennis, as well as Steve and Rachael waiting for me and cheering me on. And in front of them all was Landon, wearing his Spider Man mask. He mentioned to me a few days earlier that he wanted to race me into the finish and I was more than happy to oblige. So the last 30 yards or so he accompanied me to the finish line of my first 50K. Final race time for me: 4 hours and 36 minutes. I ended up with a 1st place finish for my age group, and 6th overall which was good enough for me!

I have to say that I almost feel like I cheated on this race however. Not only was my wife the acting Race Director (thanks to Julie Fingar for all the support she’s given Michaela over the past year), but I got to run the first half with Rick Santos, who was a total lifesaver for me. Then factor in that our good friend Melisa ran by our house in the morning to grab my knee strap for me that I totally forgot, managing to ferry it out to me around mile 12. And the final thing that really swung this race in my favor…a good deal of the volunteers out working the aid stations were good friends of ours! So I knew people at every aid station, and they were so helpful getting me what I needed, cheering loudly for me, and giving me an extra kick in the butt when I started complaining those last few miles (thanks Julie Hughes!). I even had my own sign made up for me at the mile 15 aid station, which was extra special since it was made by a couple of 49er fans (thanks Jesse and Tara)!

I know not every race will be like this for me, but that made this one all the more special. Many thanks to all who came out to work the race, support me, or just be involved. You made my day and helped me reach the next level in my running. I'm planning to spend the next couple of weeks soaking in ice bathes (for the hip), eating plenty of holiday food (for the nutrition of course), and getting mentally geared up to start our training group for our Spring races (for my soul).

The next update you'll read will be after our trip to Yuma for Thanksgiving...we'll be sure to take a ton of pictures. Hope you all have an excellent holiday!