On Friday I ended driving up to Payson Arizona for the Zane Grey 50-trail run (aka the toughest 50-miler) I arrived and met up with a good friend in Rick who was also running in the race and his friend Athens. From there we headed off to the pre-race pasta dinner.
As we were about to finish eating, Bob the race director began talking to all. He asked all who were running the trail for the first time to please stand, and there must have been a good 40-50 runners running this trail for the first time. Then he asked if there was anyone doing his or her first ultra, and I was the only one who stood up. There were two 70+, and I think Michael Hayden was the only one under 20 (remember that name, at 17 I say he's the future of ultra running). Also in attendance was Pam Reed of Tucson, a back-to-back winner of the 135-mile Badwater Ultra-marathon. (http://www.pamreedrunner.com/) We ended up taking pictures with her and I was off to bed for some rest.
Our run was to begin at 5:00 am. My alarm went off at 1:30 am, I usually wake up early, and begin to hydrate myself, I always have to shower, before leaving the house, that's my routine. So I drive to the bus at 2:45 am so I can get dropped off at the start line, We get to the start line around 4:00 am, I'm not really nervous, I just think of my game plan. I decided to run with my heart rate monitor
The race begins at 5:00 am, we are off running, first 30 minutes or so we need flashlights, we start up at an altitude of 6,800 ft. I have no problem with it. I'm feeling good and the views are spectacular. I arrive at the first aid station at 6:25 am, 35 minutes ahead of the cut off time. Average heart rate was at 80% of my max.
The next aid station is at mile 17, so I fill my camel pak with water and two 20 oz bottles. Along these next 11 miles I decide to have a cliff bar, along the way I must have gotten lost about 3 times, I didn't go off that far, its just that I couldn't find the ribbons, the trail was rocky that I really didn't look up that often. I reach aid station 2 at 9:30 am, 45 minutes ahead of the cut off time. Average heart rate was at 83% of my max.
Off I go, I pull out my bandana wet it and keep it on the back of my neck to keep cool. They had said that from mile 20-30 we were not going to have any shade, I wanted to make sure I felt great, and I did. The next aid station was at mile 25, (Hell's gate canyon) I would say that around mile 23, I heard thumping, about 20 yards away, I could see a stampede of Elk, damn they are huge. I decided to walk to be safe; I never thought I would see that, I guess I am lucky I did. I reached mile 25 at 12:55 empty on fluids, so I refilled. My average heart rate was at 81% of my max; my pace was comfortable and consistent. I was 35 minutes ahead of cut off time and was feeling good just hungry, the energy gels that I had taken did not sit well, so I had to take some Tums. My legs were feeling a little tight, so I just had to bust out with the Tiger Balm to keep them warm.
I was at the mid point of the race my legs felt warm I had fluids, the only problem was I was running on an empty stomach, by this time all I had had was two cliff bars and about two energy gels that upset my stomach. So I had to force feed myself, everything was looking good, except that I felt I was slowing down a bit. I was no longer power walking the hills or they felt steeper. Since there are really no mile markers, you have to estimate your pace and your mileage. I got to the point where I had about 40 minutes till the cut of time, and I had about 3 miles to go. I took some time to think things over. I knew that I could have picked it up a bit, and made the cut off time, and I had the energy for it. But had I done this, would I have still had the energy to complete the remaining 17 miles? At this point I made up my mind, and said that is it, by loosing my patience I might have risked an injury from those rocky trails. I had seen others passed out in aid stations, others throwing up, I was still standing and feeling good, with just tightness on the calves and starting to cramp up a bit. From that point I walked the rest and drank up the rest of my fluids, I didn't care much about time. My run came to an end after 33 miles of running. I took some pictures of the rocky trail
Some may be disappointed for not finishing, not me. For being the first Ultra marathon that I attempt, and choosing one with a tough trail, I have to be happy with my results. Its a great experience, I met great people, I saw some great landscape views, I experienced a stamped of elk, and most importantly I listened to my body and made the right decision before things got ugly. I recognize some mistakes that I made, that I could learn from. I can assure you that in late April in 2008, I will once again be up in Payson attempting to run the Zane Grey 50 mile trail run, with more experience.
