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Stone Steps 50K - RunUltra Marathon


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Cincinnati, Ohio
United States
Overcast
Total Time = 6h 03m 46s
Overall Rank = 24/68
Age Group = 40-49
Age Group Rank = 6/15
Pre-race routine:

Got there about 45 minutes early. Used potty a few times. Talked with family and Kurt.
Event warmup:

None. This is a long freaking race. My goal is to finish and not get hurt. Speed is of no concern today.
Run
  • 6h 03m 46s
  • 31.07 miles
  • 11m 43s  min/mile
Comments:

I did this one kinda on a whim, hoping my Ironman fitness would hold out long enough to see me through this. My only other previous "trail running" experience, sort of 27 years ago when I ran cross country in high school, was a little duathlon a few weeks prior. The race started at the gazebo and headed out to do the first 5+ mile loop. Kurt and I stayed together and talked alot on the run, which made the time go by faster. The one thing I learned about trail running, as opposed to regular street running, is that you can NOT take you attention away from the trail....EVER, or you WILL fall and get hurt, which we saw several people prove over and over again today. The trail is an absolute nightmare of roots and rocks, to the point that a few times you had to walk over them or risk a broken ankle. On the first loop, there are these steep, and crazy long STONE STEPS that demand your respect and attention as you walk up them. Only those of a fitness level near "GOD" ran these suckers....and I was not one of those. The trail is so narrow most of the time that there is little to no chance of passing someone, unless you ask them to let you pass them. There are a few area where the trail opens up to a field for a little jaunt, but then it's right back to trail running. As we finished lap 1 and came back to the Gazebo to run across the timing mat, I saw the family! YEA!!!! Having them there is the boost I need to keep me going in these things. Off we went to LOOP 2, the 3+ mile loop. Not much to report here, just the same mix of trail running really. Walked the steps and super steep parts, as did everyone else. I really was just sticking with the heard on the first couple of laps, since I was new to this. I was in a LEARNING curve here and deferring to the grizzled veterans to give me a lead. We finished the second loop with no troubles and I was feeling good. Saw the family again, but they were going to leave after this loop, as it's to hard to entertain a 7 year old boy for 6 hours in one place! So, on we went. My right knee decided it wanted to insert some pain into the race, and my hips were feeling some pain as well, but both knee and hips were taking turns as to who wanted to be the leader in the "pain" selection. Sometimes, nothing would hurt at all. As I came back for my 5th lap, the family was just getting out of the car as I spotted them. I yelled to Erin to give me some magic "blue pills", which are our pain/imflammatory meds. She met me at the aid station and gave me a couple, as I gulped down chicken broth and coke. Off I went. 2 freaking laps to go! Last time on the 3+ mile loop. This loop was a bit slow for me, as I was in FAST SHUFFLE mode. Stuff was kinda hurting here. Shoulders were tight. Knees. Hips. I had felt worse on Ironmans and Marathons, so I knew I was gonna finish, but I really wasn't sure if I was gonna hold my crappy pace or not. I plodded along and eventually came back to the aid station, where I stopped and refueled. Chicken broth. Coke. Cookies. More Coke. We looked at the clock, and it was 4:58. Mary made the crack that I needed to HURRY UP and finish this thing. SIX hours was my "kinda" outside goal, and that didn't leave much time. I wasn't feeling as bad as I thought I might, but my knees were still stiff and not very happy, but off I went......After the first mile on this last loop, SOMETHING WONDERFUL happened. I felt better. My little shuffle turned into a stride. My knees didn't feel as bad. I got faster. Faster felt better. One by one, I began finding people to pass. I guess I should mention that for the most part on the last 3 laps, I was running alone. Sometimes I would have someone passing in a different direction on an "out and back", but mostly, it was me and MOTHER NATURE, which was very nice. The sound of the breeze blowing through the trees was almost overwhelming sometimes. Leaves were constantly falling all around me. I could occasionally hear large tree branches crashing to the ground, and a few times, there were LARGE branches over the trail where they hadn't been on the previous lap. So...on I went. I was getting faster...and faster on this last lap. Much like the last few miles of my last Ironman, I felt increasingly better. I chanced a look at my Garmin to discover my pace was getting faster. Over bridges. Up and down. Left and right. Over this. Under that. Finally I saw the Gazebo through the trees and knew it was done. I felt better than I had for many marathons I'd done, so I wasn't unhappy. I came up to the timing mat and saw Mary. Ahhhhh. That's what it's all about. She had a smile and I crossed the line and it was all over. I finished my first ULTRA and I was happy. I didn't kill it. I wasn't last. I felt reasonably good. Life is good.
What would you do differently?:

Absolutely nothing.
Post race
Warm down:

None.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Birds flying out my ass.

Event comments:

My only complaint was that there was no finisher medal. One of my hardest races and no hardware? Hmmmmmmmm. Good race to get my feet wet in the ULTRA scene. Nice people. Good aid station. T-shirt not so impressive...not such a great advertisement for the race. Whatever. Mission accomplished.




Last updated: 2010-10-01 12:00 AM
Running
06:03:46 | 31.07 miles | 11m 43s  min/mile
Age Group: 6/15
Overall: 24/68
Performance: Good
Lap 1:58:02, Lap 2: 32:59, Lap 3: 56:57, Lap 4: 37:46, Lap 5: 1:06:37, Lap 6: 43:51, Lap 7: 1:07:38
Course: Figure "8* sorta course, with the start/aid station in the middle of the "8". In the forest. Rocks. Roots. Stone Steps...Lots and lots of those.
Keeping cool Average Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 4
Physical exertion [1-5] 4
Good race? Yes
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? No
Post race activities: Below average
Race evaluation [1-5] 3

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2010-10-25 9:46 AM

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Extreme Veteran
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10010010025
Latonia, Kentucky (near Cincinnati)
Subject: Stone Steps 50K


2010-10-25 10:12 AM
in reply to: #3170231

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Champion
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Subject: RE: Stone Steps 50K
were you able to sleep last night at all? I ran most of one (around 32 miles) with a friend a few weeks back and the next few nights were awful, i think the longest nights sleep was around 4 hours...



Congrats and nice job, where in cincy was the race held? (i grew up in ohio).

Again nice job.
2010-10-25 10:24 AM
in reply to: #3170284

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Extreme Veteran
331
10010010025
Latonia, Kentucky (near Cincinnati)
Subject: RE: Stone Steps 50K
It wasn't the best sleep ever, but the 6 Guinness and 4 slices of pizza may have helped a bit! 
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