Have you ever had straight pins pushed into your legs all over at the same time. Not to mention, that while they are pushing the pins in they are pouring rubbing alcohol and salt on them. This is what my legs feel like 48 hours after completing the Northface Endurance Challenge 50K in Kansas City.
This was my first road 50K and actually the first 50K of any kind that I have actually completed. I have signed up for the Psycho Wyco 50K http://www.psychowyco.com/ and ran in the race three times and each time I have pulled out at 20 miles. I thought with this particular race, being that it's in my old hood and running on roads that I intimately familiar with, this would be fitting for me. The lead up to the race wasn't ideal by any means this time. I hadn't done any distance longer than 12 miles for about two months prior to this race and wasn't getting the amount of rest I normally get. Here is the background on my lack of rest.
I work two jobs, my full-time gig with Perceptive Software and I moonlight as a bartender at the Power & Light District in Kansas City. I am more of a substitute bartender but I have been working for them for around four years and they work with my schedule and keep me on the calendar, so I do my best to make myself available to them as needed. It's a very symbiotic relationship and I am gracious to have the opportunity to make some extra cash; it comes in very handy. As we approach Labor Day and the end of the busy season outside (I work outside in the middle of the Live Block at a bar called the Living Room) we are down to two full-time bartenders and myself. Well, this past week we had Hot County Nights on Thursday and they needed me. I woke up at 6:00am took Alice to school, went to Perceptive, ran five miles at lunch, worked until five, drove to the Power & Light, worked until 2:00am, came home, made a entire box of pasta, drank a half gallon of water, and went to bed by 2:45am.
Friday at 6:00am I woke up, took Alice to school, went to work, ate pasta all day, went to the Power & Light, worked the Survivor concert (that's right, the same Survivor that sings "Eye of the Tiger") left as soon as I could, got home by 11:00pm, laid out all my race stuff, hopped in bed by midnight.
Saturday (race day), woke up at 4:45am, got dressed, ate a banana, went to QuikTrip and got a Sugar-Free White RockStar Enegy Drink, ate a GU on the way to the race, parked and got to the staging area at 5:20am. All in all it was a whirlwind for the 72 hours before the race and certainly not the way I like to prep but I thought I could push through any problems during the race and my attitude is always one of, "hell I can sleep after the race!"
We hit the pavement at exactly 6:00am and were off. It was a bit strange when I realized I was starting off in the top five group. I don't consider myself too fast but it seems that as I branch out and run these longer distances, I am finding myself running more and more near the front. It feels pretty good but it's a new experience for me. I have my smart pace band on and am trying to ease out into the race using a warm up strategy. As normal, I go out a bit faster than I had anticipated and it will come back to bite me but I think my lack of training is what really bites me later.
It is pretty warm and thank heavens the race director made a point to mandate carrying sixteen ounces of fluid while on the course. I was going to run with a ten ounce bottle and I needed all sixteen at numerous points throughout the race. Around mile thirteen I had ran a 1:38 half and a bit under on my pace to run a sub four hour 50K. Here was my entire thought process around what I thought my time should be for this distance via my internal monologue.
"Ben, you have ran a 3:01 marathon, you can run five more miles in 59 minutes can't you?"
"Sure I can, I mean even if I run slower, I will still have plenty of time."
Perfectly logical in my mind, in hindsight, I am a dumbass. I had trained religiously when I PR'ed my marathon and wasn't in that shape but I felt I could do it. This was mapped out in my head all by myself, but a great woman once told me, "never go into a dark alley all by yourself and the same thing goes for your mind." Point taken.
To speed things up around mile twenty I get passed by Michael Wardian, a ultra running superstar and a very nice individual all the same. He started 30 minutes after the rest of us and will end up beating the rest of us by around an hour by averaging nearly sub six minute miles for the whole race. Insane. At mile twenty three I realize this is going to be a struggle. My legs hurt, I am hot, I'm tired, and I haven't even made the marathon yet. At mile 26 I come through at 3:16ish. That is a pretty respectable marathon time but that is the last respectable thing I will do during this race. It takes me one hour and two minutes to run the last five miles. I had been averaging 7:36 per minute for the first 26 miles and an astonishing 12:28 per minute for the last five miles. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Talk about bonking, hitting the wall, choking, whatever, I had wasted a perfectly good marathon by adding the extra five on the end. It's too bad I signed up for the extra five at the end.
Anyway, after I tripped the line at 4:18:35 seconds http://www.sportstats.ca/display-results.php?lang=eng&racecode=100791 I struggled over to the recovery tent and collapsed into a chair. Luckily my posse was there to support me, Alice, Ruby and Emily all ready to cheer me up and help me out. About fifteen minutes later we hobbled over to my car and I drove home. I tried to lay down but that didn't really help but I managed not to crap this time, that's a bonus. My wife has a Tens Unit from her car wreck that we thought might help me with the soreness. I have never used one or really new what they did. As she place the four electrode pads on my legs I should have known better. When she turned it up my legs went straight as boards my muscles went tight as bricks. It wasn't very helpful.
On Sunday, I took a walk with the kids and the dog and started to feel a bit better. If nothing else my confidence is back and I am looking for the next one to sign up for. Sucker.
This was my first road 50K and actually the first 50K of any kind that I have actually completed. I have signed up for the Psycho Wyco 50K http://www.psychowyco.com/ and ran in the race three times and each time I have pulled out at 20 miles. I thought with this particular race, being that it's in my old hood and running on roads that I intimately familiar with, this would be fitting for me. The lead up to the race wasn't ideal by any means this time. I hadn't done any distance longer than 12 miles for about two months prior to this race and wasn't getting the amount of rest I normally get. Here is the background on my lack of rest.
I work two jobs, my full-time gig with Perceptive Software and I moonlight as a bartender at the Power & Light District in Kansas City. I am more of a substitute bartender but I have been working for them for around four years and they work with my schedule and keep me on the calendar, so I do my best to make myself available to them as needed. It's a very symbiotic relationship and I am gracious to have the opportunity to make some extra cash; it comes in very handy. As we approach Labor Day and the end of the busy season outside (I work outside in the middle of the Live Block at a bar called the Living Room) we are down to two full-time bartenders and myself. Well, this past week we had Hot County Nights on Thursday and they needed me. I woke up at 6:00am took Alice to school, went to Perceptive, ran five miles at lunch, worked until five, drove to the Power & Light, worked until 2:00am, came home, made a entire box of pasta, drank a half gallon of water, and went to bed by 2:45am.
Friday at 6:00am I woke up, took Alice to school, went to work, ate pasta all day, went to the Power & Light, worked the Survivor concert (that's right, the same Survivor that sings "Eye of the Tiger") left as soon as I could, got home by 11:00pm, laid out all my race stuff, hopped in bed by midnight.
Saturday (race day), woke up at 4:45am, got dressed, ate a banana, went to QuikTrip and got a Sugar-Free White RockStar Enegy Drink, ate a GU on the way to the race, parked and got to the staging area at 5:20am. All in all it was a whirlwind for the 72 hours before the race and certainly not the way I like to prep but I thought I could push through any problems during the race and my attitude is always one of, "hell I can sleep after the race!"
We hit the pavement at exactly 6:00am and were off. It was a bit strange when I realized I was starting off in the top five group. I don't consider myself too fast but it seems that as I branch out and run these longer distances, I am finding myself running more and more near the front. It feels pretty good but it's a new experience for me. I have my smart pace band on and am trying to ease out into the race using a warm up strategy. As normal, I go out a bit faster than I had anticipated and it will come back to bite me but I think my lack of training is what really bites me later.
It is pretty warm and thank heavens the race director made a point to mandate carrying sixteen ounces of fluid while on the course. I was going to run with a ten ounce bottle and I needed all sixteen at numerous points throughout the race. Around mile thirteen I had ran a 1:38 half and a bit under on my pace to run a sub four hour 50K. Here was my entire thought process around what I thought my time should be for this distance via my internal monologue.
"Ben, you have ran a 3:01 marathon, you can run five more miles in 59 minutes can't you?"
"Sure I can, I mean even if I run slower, I will still have plenty of time."
Perfectly logical in my mind, in hindsight, I am a dumbass. I had trained religiously when I PR'ed my marathon and wasn't in that shape but I felt I could do it. This was mapped out in my head all by myself, but a great woman once told me, "never go into a dark alley all by yourself and the same thing goes for your mind." Point taken.
To speed things up around mile twenty I get passed by Michael Wardian, a ultra running superstar and a very nice individual all the same. He started 30 minutes after the rest of us and will end up beating the rest of us by around an hour by averaging nearly sub six minute miles for the whole race. Insane. At mile twenty three I realize this is going to be a struggle. My legs hurt, I am hot, I'm tired, and I haven't even made the marathon yet. At mile 26 I come through at 3:16ish. That is a pretty respectable marathon time but that is the last respectable thing I will do during this race. It takes me one hour and two minutes to run the last five miles. I had been averaging 7:36 per minute for the first 26 miles and an astonishing 12:28 per minute for the last five miles. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Talk about bonking, hitting the wall, choking, whatever, I had wasted a perfectly good marathon by adding the extra five on the end. It's too bad I signed up for the extra five at the end.
Anyway, after I tripped the line at 4:18:35 seconds http://www.sportstats.ca/display-results.php?lang=eng&racecode=100791 I struggled over to the recovery tent and collapsed into a chair. Luckily my posse was there to support me, Alice, Ruby and Emily all ready to cheer me up and help me out. About fifteen minutes later we hobbled over to my car and I drove home. I tried to lay down but that didn't really help but I managed not to crap this time, that's a bonus. My wife has a Tens Unit from her car wreck that we thought might help me with the soreness. I have never used one or really new what they did. As she place the four electrode pads on my legs I should have known better. When she turned it up my legs went straight as boards my muscles went tight as bricks. It wasn't very helpful.
On Sunday, I took a walk with the kids and the dog and started to feel a bit better. If nothing else my confidence is back and I am looking for the next one to sign up for. Sucker.
1 comment:
Ouch! I had a friend from Wichita run that race. It was his first 50k, and he said he finished 17th. He has yet to run an official marathon (though he has obviously been over that distance).
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