The Unstrung Harp
Active member
I did my first 50k a few weeks ago. Didn't really plan on doing one until fall but it ended up being pretty cool. Here is an abbreviated version of a race report. Full version is here.
....And so it came to be that, at 7:57pm on the last night of online registration, whose name should end up at the very end of the registration list, but my own. As a race, I knew there would be nothing interesting for me to do here, but as training, doing an all-day 31 mile run was just as valid as the all-day 10-15 mile hike I'd have done otherwise. And this was a shorter drive. And finally, I was unbearably curious to see what would happen. I didn't think anything could be harder than Seven Sisters, even if it was 3x as long.
In order to meet my goal, all I had to do was show up and run some portion of this thing and not get injured. My secret non-real goal was to keep up with Luette, my training buddy since last August. I didn't put any thought into a time goal because I wasn't sure if I would complete the course. I had never run more than 20 miles.
Packing my drop bag was ridiculous. Due to the luxury of not having to actually carry it, I put everything I could possibly have any remote use for in there. Everything I could think of. The trouble was that this was simply a long run, so there wasn't really much stuff that I could imagine wanting. Not sure why or how it still ended up being like 20 pounds...
I asked anyone around for advice in the few days before the event. "It's never too early to walk the hills," was a common theme. Almost everyone agreed that even the slightest incline could be considered a hill and was thus walkable. Other advice ranged from eating/drinking early and often to "whatever you do, don't try anything new."
I took note of as much as I could but there ended up being a couple of new things I did try. I had never used Nuun before but Scout had the foresight to know that I'd need it. At our last IRS (Insomniac Running Society) night run, she hooked me up with some of the orange and some cola (the latter has caffeine). Within a few miles of the start, I'd put an orange one in the 'Pod.
The start was very relaxed and there was plenty of leapfrogging, chattering and some laughing with nearby runners. It was cool and inspiring to come upon the 50 milers who had already been out crushing it for several hours, and later on to see the 25k people blazing forward. We offered greetings to whoever we encountered, or who encountered us, and many seemed to be in good spirits but a few related a state of agony. We told them they looked strong because they truly did; even among the ones who claimed to not feel as such, we'd never have guessed it.
We stopped to get water and nibbles at most of the aid stations. It was cool to see David and Ian out there as well as many other really wonderful volunteers. "What can I get you? What do you need?" they asked. There was quite an array of noshes available at each station and the consistency was a boon. We were thoroughly intrigued by the pickles. Although I was feeling pretty hungry soon after the start, there was no way I was going to eat a pickle. I believe my brave companion did a few times for the sake of novelty. Pretzels, orange and banana pieces, or fig newtons were usually what I went for. Occasionally I tried some dried fruit. I don't normally eat stuff like Swedish Fish or oreos and wasn't interested in doing that here either.
I was so absorbed in talking with Luette that I didn't pay much attention to navigation, where the hills were, or any other otherwise consuming course details. I never seemed to figure out what direction we were in regards to the start/finish. It did not matter, but it was different than my usual wish to really know the course well beforehand. I did recall roughly where the more difficult sections would be, milewise, from looking at the elevation profile. Pinelands is certainly not at all flat, but it is so much flatter than everything I have been training on that I wasn't too worried about it. As I ran though one of the supposedly more difficult sections, I became pretty sure that this was not going to be remotely similar to Seven Sisters. Not even close.
We both peed around, I think, mile 6 or 7. Naturally we discussed it posthaste: In perfect unison, we said, "I peed a lot." After a high five in self-celebration of our own utter accidental-yet-totally-authentic goofiness, we then laughed about this for way longer than it was funny.
I'd felt like I was drinking a ton, and at about mile 10 I was pretty sure it was pee o'clock again. Well, no dice. Hmm, that's odd. Can there be any was I am not drinking enough? Are systems shutting down here? I was a little bit anxious now. I looked in the mirror (a porta-john with a mirror? Wow, Pineland...) and I was sweating like mad.
I went out and drank lots of water and lots of whatever that greenish-yellow stuff was. I ate more salty pretzels. I drank more again. Luette was like, are you okay? I told her I was but I was a little concerned and that I might have to be more conservative with the pace; I didn't want to stress out any systems which were already overly stressed out. We set off and I resolved to walk some of the uphills as Luette trucked up, running every single one. I kept catching back up with her but warned her that soon I might not be doing that. I made her promise to not wait for me under ANY circumstances. I was sure that even under ideal circumstances, that we'd be running separately by the halfway point. She is faster, I am sure of it.
I believe I put in a cola Nuun somewhere around mile 10 or so. It was around when I was wondering if my body was going to start going downhill, and I was thinking I was about to lose Luette. (Not that I am co-dependent, or anything....) Scout had said caffeine was "awesome during a race," and I was totally at peace with ingesting some, especially if it would mean I could hang on. Also maybe it would mean there would be peeing again soon. Just a thought. Another thought: Scout also had pointed out that the Nuun logo totally looks like buttocks, which is one of those thoughts you wish you could just unthink but you can't.
Shortly thereafter, we were on a long, gentle uphill in a gorgeous field, and the most refreshing breeze sailed along through the tall grass. I was forcing myself to walk, though I still didn't really feel the need, and Luette was running easily just ahead. I took a moment to thoroughly check in with myself. I'd become anxious because I wasn't sure what my body was doing. What is going on with you? I asked myself. What sensations do you have? And I realized that, at that moment, as well as at other subsequent moments, I actually felt really good. I wasn't the least bit tired, bored or uncomfortable. I did not feel truly stressed; I only felt imaginary fake stressed. I decided to ditch that useless bullshit and to go catch the fuck up with my friend. If I stopped feeling really good, I'd worry about it when it happened. But this moment, right now, was all good, and why would I bother to do anything else but to experience it fully?
I kept thinking, "okay this is it, she's going to be gone after this hill." But my walk simply hadn't been much slower that her run, and so I would catch up repeatedly. Finally I was like, screw this shit, and just decided to run slowly up the hills with her. Wonder of wonders, it worked. After all, I was drinking a ton, sweating plenty, and feeling fine. Yes, everyone I'd asked for advice had said to walk the hills, and I do believe it was good advice -- but when your pace is as slow as ours, I think it simply doesn't make a big difference.
As we headed to the Final Mile Aid Station for the first time, I began to prepare myself. This time through would probably be fine. At this point on the second loop, I might be experiencing something I was ill-equipped and unprepared to handle. I slurped down some chia seed gel from my drop bag. This station was being run by a local Youth Orchestra and had a small league of bewildered adolescents milling about, not playing music. Even though the words "youth orchestra" generally cause me to shudder, it still would have been cool if they'd been playing.
After the final field loop, we passed through the Grove. I'd wondered what it was going to feel like passing through the start/finish area, knowing there was still a lap left to go. I'd theorized that it may be a bit overwhelming, but I was quite wrong. Monsters were there, cheering and shouting support in that badass way that they do. I felt like I had a whole team of supporters there who wanted me to succeed, in whatever definition I chose for the word. Being affiliated with a team of this caliber is a totally new experience and more of an honor than I'd ever be brave enough to ask for. Dangling preposition be damned.
Mile 15 was behind us, we were halfway done, I still felt strong, and the support of the team would have carried me along if I hadn't. To quote Luette: "Boom. Roasted." I stored some of the buoyancy for later, just in case. ((((((to be continued)))))
....And so it came to be that, at 7:57pm on the last night of online registration, whose name should end up at the very end of the registration list, but my own. As a race, I knew there would be nothing interesting for me to do here, but as training, doing an all-day 31 mile run was just as valid as the all-day 10-15 mile hike I'd have done otherwise. And this was a shorter drive. And finally, I was unbearably curious to see what would happen. I didn't think anything could be harder than Seven Sisters, even if it was 3x as long.
In order to meet my goal, all I had to do was show up and run some portion of this thing and not get injured. My secret non-real goal was to keep up with Luette, my training buddy since last August. I didn't put any thought into a time goal because I wasn't sure if I would complete the course. I had never run more than 20 miles.
Packing my drop bag was ridiculous. Due to the luxury of not having to actually carry it, I put everything I could possibly have any remote use for in there. Everything I could think of. The trouble was that this was simply a long run, so there wasn't really much stuff that I could imagine wanting. Not sure why or how it still ended up being like 20 pounds...
I asked anyone around for advice in the few days before the event. "It's never too early to walk the hills," was a common theme. Almost everyone agreed that even the slightest incline could be considered a hill and was thus walkable. Other advice ranged from eating/drinking early and often to "whatever you do, don't try anything new."
I took note of as much as I could but there ended up being a couple of new things I did try. I had never used Nuun before but Scout had the foresight to know that I'd need it. At our last IRS (Insomniac Running Society) night run, she hooked me up with some of the orange and some cola (the latter has caffeine). Within a few miles of the start, I'd put an orange one in the 'Pod.
The start was very relaxed and there was plenty of leapfrogging, chattering and some laughing with nearby runners. It was cool and inspiring to come upon the 50 milers who had already been out crushing it for several hours, and later on to see the 25k people blazing forward. We offered greetings to whoever we encountered, or who encountered us, and many seemed to be in good spirits but a few related a state of agony. We told them they looked strong because they truly did; even among the ones who claimed to not feel as such, we'd never have guessed it.
We stopped to get water and nibbles at most of the aid stations. It was cool to see David and Ian out there as well as many other really wonderful volunteers. "What can I get you? What do you need?" they asked. There was quite an array of noshes available at each station and the consistency was a boon. We were thoroughly intrigued by the pickles. Although I was feeling pretty hungry soon after the start, there was no way I was going to eat a pickle. I believe my brave companion did a few times for the sake of novelty. Pretzels, orange and banana pieces, or fig newtons were usually what I went for. Occasionally I tried some dried fruit. I don't normally eat stuff like Swedish Fish or oreos and wasn't interested in doing that here either.
I was so absorbed in talking with Luette that I didn't pay much attention to navigation, where the hills were, or any other otherwise consuming course details. I never seemed to figure out what direction we were in regards to the start/finish. It did not matter, but it was different than my usual wish to really know the course well beforehand. I did recall roughly where the more difficult sections would be, milewise, from looking at the elevation profile. Pinelands is certainly not at all flat, but it is so much flatter than everything I have been training on that I wasn't too worried about it. As I ran though one of the supposedly more difficult sections, I became pretty sure that this was not going to be remotely similar to Seven Sisters. Not even close.
We both peed around, I think, mile 6 or 7. Naturally we discussed it posthaste: In perfect unison, we said, "I peed a lot." After a high five in self-celebration of our own utter accidental-yet-totally-authentic goofiness, we then laughed about this for way longer than it was funny.
I'd felt like I was drinking a ton, and at about mile 10 I was pretty sure it was pee o'clock again. Well, no dice. Hmm, that's odd. Can there be any was I am not drinking enough? Are systems shutting down here? I was a little bit anxious now. I looked in the mirror (a porta-john with a mirror? Wow, Pineland...) and I was sweating like mad.
I went out and drank lots of water and lots of whatever that greenish-yellow stuff was. I ate more salty pretzels. I drank more again. Luette was like, are you okay? I told her I was but I was a little concerned and that I might have to be more conservative with the pace; I didn't want to stress out any systems which were already overly stressed out. We set off and I resolved to walk some of the uphills as Luette trucked up, running every single one. I kept catching back up with her but warned her that soon I might not be doing that. I made her promise to not wait for me under ANY circumstances. I was sure that even under ideal circumstances, that we'd be running separately by the halfway point. She is faster, I am sure of it.
I believe I put in a cola Nuun somewhere around mile 10 or so. It was around when I was wondering if my body was going to start going downhill, and I was thinking I was about to lose Luette. (Not that I am co-dependent, or anything....) Scout had said caffeine was "awesome during a race," and I was totally at peace with ingesting some, especially if it would mean I could hang on. Also maybe it would mean there would be peeing again soon. Just a thought. Another thought: Scout also had pointed out that the Nuun logo totally looks like buttocks, which is one of those thoughts you wish you could just unthink but you can't.
Shortly thereafter, we were on a long, gentle uphill in a gorgeous field, and the most refreshing breeze sailed along through the tall grass. I was forcing myself to walk, though I still didn't really feel the need, and Luette was running easily just ahead. I took a moment to thoroughly check in with myself. I'd become anxious because I wasn't sure what my body was doing. What is going on with you? I asked myself. What sensations do you have? And I realized that, at that moment, as well as at other subsequent moments, I actually felt really good. I wasn't the least bit tired, bored or uncomfortable. I did not feel truly stressed; I only felt imaginary fake stressed. I decided to ditch that useless bullshit and to go catch the fuck up with my friend. If I stopped feeling really good, I'd worry about it when it happened. But this moment, right now, was all good, and why would I bother to do anything else but to experience it fully?
I kept thinking, "okay this is it, she's going to be gone after this hill." But my walk simply hadn't been much slower that her run, and so I would catch up repeatedly. Finally I was like, screw this shit, and just decided to run slowly up the hills with her. Wonder of wonders, it worked. After all, I was drinking a ton, sweating plenty, and feeling fine. Yes, everyone I'd asked for advice had said to walk the hills, and I do believe it was good advice -- but when your pace is as slow as ours, I think it simply doesn't make a big difference.
As we headed to the Final Mile Aid Station for the first time, I began to prepare myself. This time through would probably be fine. At this point on the second loop, I might be experiencing something I was ill-equipped and unprepared to handle. I slurped down some chia seed gel from my drop bag. This station was being run by a local Youth Orchestra and had a small league of bewildered adolescents milling about, not playing music. Even though the words "youth orchestra" generally cause me to shudder, it still would have been cool if they'd been playing.
After the final field loop, we passed through the Grove. I'd wondered what it was going to feel like passing through the start/finish area, knowing there was still a lap left to go. I'd theorized that it may be a bit overwhelming, but I was quite wrong. Monsters were there, cheering and shouting support in that badass way that they do. I felt like I had a whole team of supporters there who wanted me to succeed, in whatever definition I chose for the word. Being affiliated with a team of this caliber is a totally new experience and more of an honor than I'd ever be brave enough to ask for. Dangling preposition be damned.
Mile 15 was behind us, we were halfway done, I still felt strong, and the support of the team would have carried me along if I hadn't. To quote Luette: "Boom. Roasted." I stored some of the buoyancy for later, just in case. ((((((to be continued)))))
