What seems to be a normal start to all my blogs recently: “Once again, it’s been far too long.” As always life has just caught up with me and it seems like there is just always something to take up my mind space or time over this blog. But I really do enjoy them and will continue doing them. Even if it takes me far longer than planned to get them out. At last, I left off with finishing Flint Hills 50 and the Wildflower 50K coming up with my twin. Well, about two days before flying to Texas to get prepped with my twin we got word that the race would be cancelled due to excessive heat and lack of places for emergency personnel to get to “downed” runners in case of emergency. Which, I do get. So, they offered a virtual option. And while I don’t typically run virtual races because I feel part of the reason I even do the races I do is for the comradery, the aid stations, and the little part in the back of my head that wont let me quit. Because, well, I paid for it. After deciding whether we would rather take the race credit for a future race or just run the virtual we decided to run the virtual (the flights were already paid, and airlines are not exactly known for giving refunds out). He mapped out a 10K loop on a bit of trail that he hits on the weekends when he can. Looks like I am still getting that Texas heat. Even with the heat warning, we had a game plan, got everything prepped the best we could the night before, but as twins will do, we stayed up too late chatting and catching up after not seeing each other and of course got a late start to the day. Even stepping off at 7am it was already a humid 80F out and it was only going to rise. So off we went. Lap by lap we ticked off the miles. Joking about the miserable weather and wanting to stop way too many times along the way. We even joked the only thing stopping us from, well, stopping was the fact that we would still have to do a 50K that weekend if we wanted credit. Even though we already had the medals, the shirt, and the bib to “show” we had already done it, it wouldn’t have felt right. So, we ran. We chugged pickle juice like we were trying to brine our intestines and then we ran some more. Part of the course was shaded, which felt like such a respite despite the heat. But on the second half of the loop it was all out in the open and even though we were covered up the heat was radiating off the rocks and ground so badly I ended with my face swollen and burns on top of it. Every time we passed the lake it looked more and more inviting and all we wanted to do was jump in, but the thought of making our shoes even more soggy than the sweat was causing kept us from making the “bad” decision so we decided we would jump in at the end. Well, the end eventually came and it was over 100F before humidity or direct sun heat and we were both so toasted (quite literally) that all we wanted to do was get home and shower. Clean the dried sweat and salt off us. It was a brutal day, but we finished what we dubbed “The Hollowflower 50K” getting its namesake from the park we were running at, though the “Hallowflower 50K” may have been more suiting for what it felt like. Half a gallon of pickle juice between the two of us later, an insane amount of tailwind and rice crispies, and more water than the car could barely carry, we were done. Another Ultra in the books.
Thankfully the next adventure that followed was much more tame and at a much more tolerable location. Northern Michigan. Jess and I had planned a hike to the Mark Twain National Forest at the end of May. We had the idea quite a while back knowing that rain was a possibility given the time of the year. And sure enough, it was scheduled to thunderstorm all three days we were supposed to go. So last minute we decided to head north and hike the Manistee National Forest along the River Trail and a section of the North Country Trail to loop us back to the trailhead. This would be about a 22 mile hike as opposed to the 33-40 mile hike we had originally planned. And Honestly, that turned out to be a good thing. The first day we got held back from stepping off at a reasonable time because of rain once again. Not as heavy as what Missouri was getting but still enough to stop us from wanting to bed down for the night in soaking clothes. So we only caught a couple miles on day 1 before settling down to set up camp. Had a relatively leisurely morning getting up and getting camp broken back down before stepping off for Day two. The forecast had rain coming in around noon on day three so we decided to try to cover as many miles as we could on day two to make the final trek back to the trailhead quick on day three as we may not have as much time. Which of course, being Michigan it did hold off. But that’s neither here nor there. We got to see plenty of beautiful views along the river on day two and got to really soak it in. Being Jess’ first real hike, especially with a weighted pack (we had taken a few couple mile hikes with weighted packs to prep but it doesn’t quite ready you for a half marathon with a pack). I could see it in her eyes by the end of day two that she was toasted. So as soon as time was of the essence and we found a suitable spot, we settled down for the night and got some warm mush that tasted very, well, meh. But it was the boost I needed and was very happy to be eating something other than trail mix, granola, and wraps. On day three all we had was about a seven-mile hike back to the car and nearly every bit of it we just counted down the miles until we could set the packs down and head towards a hotel for the night. And quite frankly it turned out to be a good thing that we ended up with a shorter overall hike than what was originally planned for the Missouri trip. I warned her while stuffing the packs that everything adds up quick. But, being about as stubborn as I am, she packed what she felt she needed. And paid for it (haha, welcome to the suffering sweetheart, embrace the suck). I did carry her pack for about two miles on day two and for about a mile and a half on day three, but honestly, she did great. Despite it being a rough first hike for her, she was a fuckin’ trooper and stuck it out until the end. Though this hike probably talked her out of ever backpacking with me again, I hope she gets the bug again in the future, I had a blast (again, haha).
The primary reason we headed north for the hike instead of elsewhere in the country (outside of showing off my beautiful home state) was because I had the Lighthouse 100 that weekend. On a sidenote. I would not suggest a 22 mile hike with a weighted pack (and a three and a half mile run back to the car to grab charging cables) two days before a Hundred mile Ultramarathon. I don’t remember ever seeing that in a training schedule anywhere, but at the time I thought it was a good idea. Stupid me. This was also going to be an eventful race because my twin would be completing the 50 mile version of the race, making this his first 50 and my first completed 100. Obviously, me being me, I was running late to the start line and putting the wrong location in the GPS for the start line didn’t help anything. I basically ran to the start line with just enough time to spare to give a couple high-fives to some buddies that I met last year at the same race that were also seeking redemption on this course. Within twenty miles my legs were already a bit sore and the heat was already getting to me, granted it was not nearly as bad as the year prior. I just don’t believe I was properly hydrated and my legs took a hit from the hike. For the first twenty miles or so my twin helped Jess crew a bit and ran the map and having run a few ultras himself knew what I would need at every stop, and I’m sure that helped Jess immensely with her first crewing experience (sorry for making your first one be a hundred-miler, but I can’t thank you enough for the support). Shortly after, Jess headed up to drop the twin off at his starting line for the 50. Things started to loosen up and feel a bit better by the time I was hitting the 40’s and thanks to a delicious egg sandwich thing, I got some much needed fuel and morale boost to be ticking off some miles again. Things were going as good as they can, sore legs aside until about 70 or so when the sun started to go down and the rain started to come in. I started getting cold. And I mean really damn cold. Mix severe dehydration with already cool temps and even colder rain and it was a recipe for disaster. But at this point I had already made up enough time that I knew that if I had to I could basically walk the rest in if I needed to. And I needed to. At one point I was in the car changing socks, shoes and trying to warm back up for nearly an hour. After making the call to grab the poles from the recent hike I was able to move a bit faster and even shuffle a bit for a while, but my feet were wrecked. Having spent so much time in wet socks and shoes, the entire bottoms of my feet and all the gaps between my toes were basically blisters and hot spots. Every step was torture and I didn’t want to run and exacerbate anything so I stayed conservative. Which made the last 15 miles a slow dreadful walk that felt like an eternity. And after a few minor hallucinations eventually I could see Petoskey. The final city of the run. Mentally it was hard to come to terms with having to slow down so much as I had about 15-20 people pass me in the last 25 miles or so after having made such a lead on the placing (and my own hopes on the finishing time). But I figured ultimately a finish is better than not and there will always be more ultras to redeem myself further and that a finish on this course was all I needed to feel that I didn’t ever need to do it again. I’ve said it a million times, and probably said a million and one times on this run, but, fuck road ultras. They just beat the absolute shit out of you and the beating you take is so much worse than a trail ultra. Even if it is a flatter course it can’t be understated enough, the beating you will take pounding the pavement that much and using the same muscle groups over. And over. And over. I’ll stick to trail from now on thank you very much. But I needed redemption on this course. And I finally got it. I completed the Lighthouse 100.
Again, I can’t thank Jess enough for joining me on the hike through the beautiful Manistee National Forest, crewing me along a brutal 27.5 hour journey where I questioned everything I knew about what was possible, and for exploring northern Michigan a bit with me. I hope you had as good of a time as I did and I wouldn’t have wanted to have anyone else join me for the Journey. Even though we smacked a deer in the middle of Illinois on a 14 hour drive back home, it was everything I had hoped it would be.
And as always I thank all of you, for reading the rantings of a madman and for stopping by to check on my latest attempt at stopping my heart on a ridiculous ultra (jokes). Cheers to you all and your journey.
Comments
Post a Comment