50s For Yo Momma 50k

My race t-shirt

I finished my 3rd ultra-marathon on May 12th, the 50k at "50s For Yo Momma."  Yeah, it was a while ago.  Sorry to take so long with the race report but better late than never, right?
There was some good and some bad but, I will say this about the race.  It was very well organized, excellent volunteers, an awesome trail, and an overall quality experience.
Going into the race I had a goal of finishing in 6 hours.  Looking back, that number was probably not great because it was based on a different course that I ran 8 months earlier. My training was probably not adequate for that finishing time in this race.  Somehow that thought didn't come to mind before the race started...
The course was a 5.2 mile loop that was done 6 times for the 50k.  So, to finish in 6 hours I needed to average one hour per lap.  It's nice when the math is easy like that.
Here is kind of a break-down of each lap.

Lap 1: "Dang, this pace is too slow."  And it probably was.  I always start these races at the back of the pack because I don't expect to be one of the faster runners, but this race was pretty small and I had a fairly high goal so I probably should have started closer to the front than I did.  I kind of got locked in behind a bunch of people on the single-track trail so the first lap was slower than I hoped.  The time for lap 1 was in the 1:10-1:15 range.

Lap 2: "I've got to make up some time."  I knew that I was behind pace but that if I could shave off a few minutes each lap I'd be alright.  I bypassed the aid station at the start/finish area and got ahead of several people there.  When I got to the trail again I followed a guy for a bit and couldn't help but notice his unique physique (nice rhyme, huh).  He wasn't that tall, had broad shoulders and chest.  His thighs were massive (He kept talking to his friend about biking) but then his calves were really small for a distance runner.  I know some people are sensitive about these things and I don't mean to make fun, but it was interesting to see that body shape.  Anyway...I passed him and ended up finishing that loop in just under an hour.  I think the time was around 2:10.

Lap 3: "I hope they're not shooting at me."  The first part of this loop was fun because there were gunshots all around.  Loud, too.  Gunshots really aren't fun if they're aimed for you, but I was fairly confident the race organizers would have kept that off the course.  Although with ultra-running you never can be too sure...  Anyway, I didn't know where they were coming from but someone said there was a shooting range nearby.  I felt like I needed a bright orange hat...and to run faster.  It wasn't a bad thing, I guess, because I did make up some time.  My legs were definitely feeling some fatigue though.  Time at the end of the 3rd lap was 3:03.

 Lap 4: "6 hours might be pushing it."  I started this lap feeling ok.  I knew that my time was about where I wanted it to be so I tried to keep the same pace, but my legs were tired.  I kept my mind occupied by reading the signs they put up on different parts of the trail.  Somebody had a thing for coyotes because these were some of the signs. "Coyotes can run up to (i don't remember) miles per hour" and "Coyotes prefer fresh meat," etc.  Not sure what the point of all the signs was but I guess it was nice to have a little something to read along the way.  That lap finished and I was starting to feel pretty worn out.  My time was around 4:05.  By the end of this lap I knew that 6 hours probably wasn't going to happen.  I just couldn't keep up the pace.  But I still had a little hope.

Lap 5: "Why do I keep tripping?"  So I started this loop and noticed my head was spinning a little bit; not bad, but definitely noticeable.  Kind of the way I feel at the end of a long run if I didn't bring anything to eat or drink.  I got to the trail and my feet kept hitting things --  rocks, roots, the trail.  I kicked probably 4 or 5 things in about a minute...and decided to stop and walk before I ended up face-down in the dirt.  I walked and drank some water and ate whatever I was carrying.  That helped some but the scenery was still spinning a bit.  When I did start running again it was at a slower pace.  The rest of the lap was pretty uneventful...just one step at a time.  And I really don't remember the time at the end of the lap.  I do remember at the mid-lap aid station I got the last cup of soda and another runner came up right after me asking for some.  They said they only had diet soda left.  Who wants diet during a race?  So I gave him half of my cup of the good stuff.

I sure got tired of this hill

Lap 6: "I don't feel so good..."  Yeah, I got a bit nauseated.  There are a few things that may have contributed.  Namely dehydration, Heed, and carbonation.  I wasn't peeing much and I don't think I drank much the day before the race. Hammer is a company that sponsors lots of ultra-races and they make a sports drink called Heed.  It tastes nothing like gatorade and isn't very good, but I usually drink it because that's what they have.  I've never had issues with it before but lots of people say it makes them sick.  Maybe so.   Needless to say, I spent several minutes at this aid station refueling and mustering the courage to start the last lap. 6 hours was out the window.  6:30 was my new goal but I really didn't have much hope for that.  But I had to finish so off I went...slowly.  About a mile into the lap I crossed paths with the soda guy from lap 5.  That was a huge blessing because he stayed with me for a while and we chatted for 10 minutes or more.  It got my mind off my twisted stomach and put some enjoyment back in the run for me.  Then he passed me and I was left alone for a bit.  I had to go slow to keep my stomach contents in their place, but at least I was running now.  The aid station came up and I just ran past because I knew if I got anything, everything might come up...and that's no fun.  I was feeling better though, and I came upon the "4 mile" marker.  That meant I had just over a mile left.  I had been telling myself the whole lap that my finishing time would probably be around 6:45 or so, trying to not get my hopes up.  With about a half-mile left I finally got the courage to check my watch and see what the time really was.  It said 6:25ish.  Wow.  "Maybe I can do 6:30 after all," I thought.  So I turned on the jets...or jello...or whatever was left in my legs.  I was going faster anyway.  It was a long half-mile but finally the finish was in sight.  I stumbled across and stopped my watch.  6:31.  "I'll take it," I thought.  The race director was right there to shake my hand, congratulate me on finishing and give me my medal.  And that was that.

Finishers Medals

I was there alone so there are no pictures of me.  Most of the pictures in here are from the race website.  After the race I ate some pizza, drank something then drove 3 hours home. That was a fun drive...at least my air conditioning worked.

One little side note with this race.  I wore a new pair of Vibram five-finger KSO "trek-sports" and this was the first run of any real distance that I did in them.  They did great. Very cool shoes.