When I first started running, I wasn't sure if I could finish The Rutgers 8K (the first race I ever signed up for). I discovered the sport of ultra running through one of my favorite artists, Ben Gibbard of Death Cab for Cutie. It's striking to see what he looked like in videos from Transatlanticism vs. what he looks like now. Ultra running definitely made him look fitter and healthier.
I'm not sure of the exact moment when I thought it would be a good idea to sign up for a 50K trail race. By then, in late 2018, I had been training seriously for about a year. I had successfully completed a trail half marathon and that experience flew by. At mile 8, I remember feeling sad that the race was almost over. I think I had a smile on my face almost the entire time. I ran that race very conservatively, because at that time, I was unsure if I could finish a HM distance, so I started with a super slow pace. It was a trail race with a lot of climbing and descending and I was really proud of myself for finishing the race. I loved the atmosphere of trail running. Folks were so low key and causal and it was great fun trampling through mud and hearing conversations while on the trail. There was a very unfortunate fight between a couple- the gal was yelling at the guy for not warning her that the race was a technical trail race with lots of hills. I wonder if that relationship lasted.
Early miles and smiles at the North Face Endurance Challenge at Bear Mountain
The aftermath of 13.7 miles of running through beautiful trails
I still smile when I think about how I ran my first marathon distance as a training run. One of the best parts about training is getting to know the town and trails where you live. The fact that I could map out training runs of all distances from 4 miles to 26 miles was something I never thought I could do. I got to know my local trails so well that I would know the trail down to where I felt like I could run them with my eyes closed. I ran the trails in the early mornings in the dark and was able to make my way around with a head lamp on. It did get a little spooky though and in the back of my mind, I was worried that I might stumble upon a bear or someone camping out in the woods. I don't often run in the dark on trails anymore.
Getting back to my first 50K, The North Face Endurance Challenge at Wachusett Mountain in Princeton, MA - it was a super humbling course of about 6,000 ft of elevation gain and the same amount of loss. I achieved my goal of just finishing. I was firmly at the back of the pack and the sweeper (the person who removes you from the race if you're not hitting cut-off times) was only an hour behind me at certain points of the race. Within the first 5 miles, I had slipped on a wet tree root and scraped my arm up pretty badly. The trails were muddy and the day got hotter and hotter. We had to climb a trail up to this summit and then we had to do it again. After that second summit, I thought that the climbing was over, but the trail was relentless and we climbed yet another long hill. I was full of negative thoughts and didn't know if I could continue. The descents were super rocky with boulders that made them un-runnable. In my memory, almost 80% of the race was un-runnable because of the rocks and uneven footing. This is what a lot of the trail looked like:
I did somehow get a second wind at mile 16 though and felt pretty good for the next 10 miles. After mile 26, things got hairy again. I will never forget sitting in a porta-potty thinking, "I don't have to get up. I could just sit here." Of course, I eventually got up and made it to the next aid station where a kind volunteer offered to dump ice cold water over my head. It felt amazing. At the same aid station, there was a runner laying on the grass. I think that's where his race ended. In the end, I managed to get to the finish and it felt so great to cross the finish line. I was in the back of the pack, but I was not dead last. And knowing the 15% of the field DNFed (did not finish), I was grateful that I was able to finish. For a first 50K, it was a toughie. I was out there for over 10 hours in the end. When I was in the training block for this race, I decided that I wasn't going to eat my favorite snack during the entire training block. I would have a bag of Lay's Dill Pickle chips waiting the car for me at the finish. Those chips tasted so good when I was finally able to sit down and relish in the feeling of finishing the race and finally getting off of my feet.
Happy to be on runnable terrain
No, I'm not giving you the finger, just enjoying eating my favorite junk food after over 10 hours of running/hiking
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