Lean Horse Ultra Marathon Race Report Part 2.

After the turn around at mile 25, I walked back towards the aid station only a mile away.
Somewhere along this stretch I passed Kyle who seemed in good spirits but agreed the Argyle Road stretch was a bit rough on the feet. I offered him a spare pair of Injinji Liners which he turned down.

At the aid station I sat down for a few minutes to massage my lower legs, eat some grapes and a banana and drink an extra bottle of water before heading out again. Here I talked to a tired looking guy wearing a red bib as opposed to my blue. I asked if it was the 100 mile or the 50K he was pursuing, he looked a bit exhausted when telling me he was running the 50K. I envied him being so close to done. Home seemed a long ways away at this point.
A girl from a runners crew commented on my Vibrams telling me she runs in them herself.
She ran the same ultra marathon the year before but was crewing this year. She told me that since she was from North Dakota and don't have hills to train with, they drive to Minnesota for that. She sent me off with a "good luck".

The stretch to the next aid station at mile 30 was very uneventful. I didn't feel at all like running and I think I lost a lot of time overall on that section. It was slightly uphill the whole way but otherwise a nice trail. I was passed here by people running and I really felt like I could have been better prepared. I hit the wall as far as I know it.

Nothing feels like moving forward anymore.
Everything is tired
Everything hurts a bit.
It's too warm.
Must be at least 85-90 degrees.
I don't want to be here.
What a stupid idea this was.
I don't think I'll ever do this again.

Mind you, this was only little over half way into the race.
I don't recall much from the next aid station. I'm pretty sure I did my water refill, grabbed some fruit and went on my way. Although I was being slow while moving, I certainly didn't waste much time at the aid stations.

I don't know if this is how it is for everyone. My brain is terribly lazy. When I get tired like this, it begins coming up with random excuses to sit down. Out of the blue I'll think, I should sit down and clean debris out of my shoes. Then I'll catch myself realizing how lousy an excuse that is when I full well know there isn't a single pebble bothering my feet.
Then I'll think, it sure would be nice to sit on a rock for a few seconds in a shaded area drinking some water, just to kind of catch my breath. And I'll think to myself, what's the point? I'll just get winded right away again once I get up and get moving.

It's like a constant mental duel between the lazy half and the half responsible for my integrity.
If the journey to running this first ultra marathon has taught me anything, it is that the lazy mind never goes away, it's as chatty as ever. But the qualities being build to combat the lazy noise are growing stronger and stronger.

Mile 30 to 33.4 saw me running quite a bit more. I stopped frequently, but overall kept a good pace. I knew that after the 33.4 mile aid station the trail would turn back to rough. I didn't enjoy this part of the distance at all. It felt like there was way too far to go still.

At mile 33.4 aid station I sat down and did a foot check. I thought I was feeling some blistering which kept me from running much. Whenever I shifted weight to the area behind my toes it felt like I was running on blisters. I have in the past experienced this and simply draining them allows me to keep running.
Removing my socks didn't reveal any big issues. The foot was a bit pruney and there were a few minor blisters. I washed my feet, popped any trouble blisters put on a new pair of socks and was on my way. I accepted that my feet were as good as they could be and were likely just getting tired of running on gravel.

This next section was long at 6.5 miles.
Again I felt like I lost a lot of time here, my water bottle finished too quick leaving me thirsty. My feet were hurting badly as they didn't agree with being back on Argyle Road. The patches of dusty road without rocks were few and far in between. The road had too many hills and I was being worn down now.



I finally reached the mile 39.9 aid station. I had been expecting to see it right around the corner for the last 15 corners. I knew the aid stations were spaced roughly 5 miles apart. This one being an extra 1.5 mile away was a terrible injustice!

The aid station was manned by two girls who ran the course the year before. They were my age or younger and very nice, helpful and curious about everything. They gave the station a great sense of energy and good vibes. I had a couple bottles of water and a bunch of grapes here before reluctantly getting out of the nice lawn chair I had dropped into. Being an "introvert" I tend to enjoy company where conversation flows effortlessly in very high regard. And that was the case here and I might have spent a minute longer than I otherwise would have.

Getting past this point was a boost of energy. Soon after leaving I passed the 10 mile remaining marker and I strongly felt it was in me to get through the event. I felt like I was getting close and that what remained was very much manageable. I ran most of this distance and caught up with and passed a handful or more runners that I recalled had passed me some 10-15 miles earlier. My feet didn't feel as sore, actually they were pretty numb for this stretch and I am pretty sure the trail itself was a bit better too.
When I reached mile 5 to go black clouds came in fast and dumped some heavy rain on us for three or four minutes. The rain was cold and the winds didn't help but it did manage to wash a lot of crusty salts off from sweating for hours in the sun. My hat was soaked in cool water and the timing of the rain couldn't have been better. Before I knew it, the sun was back out and sweating was resumed.
I reached the 4 mile aid station and spent a few minutes although I knew I was getting close to the cut off time. But what are you gonna do when a handful of kids are asking you about why you are running and why you are wearing such weird shoes. In those circumstances it's our duty to put on a smile and say nothing is hurting too bad. Hopefully a few of them finds inspiration and heads down an active lifestyle path themselves.

I was told the time, knew I had 40 minutes to complete the remaining 4 miles and felt confident I'd get my keychain!
Over the next four miles I ran as often as I felt I could but it felt like I wasn't getting any closer. It felt like the longest four miles I have ever experienced. On the last miles my feet were useless, but I had caught up with an old gentleman (not too old to beat me in a 50 mile race mind you) who talked about finishing and how great it was. When we walked around the last corner he said something to the effect of finishing running and so we did, he told me to pass him, I told him I would if I could and let him pass the goal line right ahead of me. At this point I wasn't fighting for a good place in the overall  positions. It really didn't matter to me what place I came in and I felt he deserved to beat me since I had used him as my pacer for the last many miles.

I finished in 11 hours, 49 minutes and 36 seconds. Less than a minute after me was a German lady who had finished Western States 10 times, she won her age group and that meant to me that I should be happy with my time and not feel I should have done better.

I removed my shoes and sat down to talk to some of the people finishing close to my time. Everyone was happy and tired. When it came time for me to leave 20 minutes later it was slow moving as my feet were getting sensitive from sitting down.
Eventually I had everything packed and was on my way back to Sioux Falls. The trip would last me around five or six hours of which the first had plenty of leg cramps to throw at me. But sitting down, relaxing my feet felt good. The only thing I now had to worry about was not falling asleep at the wheel!


At 1AM I was home. Quickly making it to bed I had a tough time falling asleep. I was overly tired and my body was working overtime generating heat.

That night I didn't sleep well. I kept waking up, moving around to find cool spots in the bed and didn't get out of bed Sunday morning feeling well rested.

I apologize for the lighting in this final (day after) video. I never thought of how dumb sitting in front of a window was until later.



By Wednesday I wasn't limping anymore. My legs felt rather strong after the first night. A bit sore but no issues. My feet took a few days and are still tender but not to the point of causing pain.
The raw vegan diet I was on leading up to the race was abandoned Sunday and I have since been on a high fat junk diet. I'm too lazy to bother eating fruit right now. I just want to kick back and be comfortable with some warm food that fills me up. This in spite of knowing that recovery would likely have been a breeze had I stuck to eating fruit.

During the race I drank nothing but water and ate nothing but fruit. I did have several gels and other high energy foods with me in the backpack but I never felt like eating any of it. Eating only fruit felt ideal to suit my needs.
In fact, throughout the race I felt like I had more energy than I was able to use. I didn't feel in shape to run, but I felt I had energy. When I stopped to walk, it was either because I was winded or because my feet struck a rock. Not because my legs were fatiguing. The downhills towards the end of the race didn't bother me anymore than they did at the beginning of the race. I feel strong, I just need to get my training miles back to where they were pre-knee injury.

The backpack was a bad idea. My shoulders were sore for days from the weight. next time I'll bring my wife to crew for me and leave the backpack behind. All I'd need would be a hand held bottle or two.

This weekend we are headed out of town with friends for a bit. But the next weekend Sioux Falls has its first marathon ever. I think I should sign up.... Don't you?

Link to Part 1 of 2