Defiance 50K
Well here is a recap of race number 43 out of 100 that I am trying to do. This race was run on October 13th, 2012. I had just got done with a one week vacation with my wife in Orlando, Florida going to every possible Disney place possible and I was ready to just get out and run.
My wife was still in Florida staying the weekend visiting a friend that lives there so I decided this would be a good race to go to since I wouldn't really have anything else to do. The morning started early at like 6:30ish because I had to drive down to Tacoma. This was a new race for me so I tried to leave a little earlier than normal because it is always hard when you don't really know what is going on. I read the website and it was saying to park in the overflow park which was about 1 mile from the start line. I didn't have a problem with this because I was healthy and ready to go. I carried my bag of ultra goodies with me on a short jog. When I arrived at the start area I found out I could have parked at the starting line because I was there early enough to have gotten a spot. I was a little frustrated by this because it was a less than desirable day because of a substantial amount of rain.
I got my race number and stuff and then hung out at the picnic shelter by the start line. While I was there I met some great people from Tacoma. They were both running their first 50K, this was a common thread with me also because it was also my first official 50K. This couple was really great to talk with and it helped to pass the time for me before the race starts. Like I said the weather was pretty horrible and it was pouring down rain. The race started and I went out at a good pace and was a little worried that I may have been starting out to fast. Another side note here this was my first race running with a pair of minimalist shoes, the Merrell Trail Glove. They really felt good on my feet. The race starts out with a flat section and then it starts to climb into the Point Defiance State Park. After about 5 miles into the race I was starting to settle in and get comfortable. At this point I was running with a few people and was really happy with the way things were going. I was positioned somewhere in the top 10 for my race. We almost went off course because some old guy was mad at the race and took down a bunch of markings but fortunately at this point I was with some people who had run this course before and had said no the race goes this direction not that way so I followed him and it turns out he was right. I think my race started to go South right about this time because I was beginning to have a small pain in my foot at about mile 6 of the 10 mile loop which was right after the aid station. I thought nothing of it.
At the end of the first lap I had run 1 hour and 30 minutes which was a really great time and like I said I was in the top 10 but then the problems really started for me. I tried to run as much as possible but my knee and my foot were both giving me problems so I couldn't run the whole time like I wanted. I was seriously doubting myself but I pushed on because I did not want a dnf. My second lap was 2 hours 1 minute so I was losing a significant amount of time on this second lap because I couldn't run the whole time. The next time I run this race I want to redeem myself on this race because if I would have stayed on pace I would have finished in the top10.
On the third lap I was really struggling but I decided I needed to go on. Also here I changed out the shoes because my foot was really hurting me. The more cushioned shoes really helped me get through the last lap. It still took me a really long time for the lap but considering I was running on a broken foot I guess I did pretty well. Yep that's right I found out after the race I had a stress fracture on my second metatarsial. So the third lap took 2 hours and 16 minutes and I finished my first 50k in 5 hours and 48 minutes and 34th place out of 100. I was actually pretty impressed with myself after I found out my foot was broken. I finished.
After the race my foot was really bothering me. They had a pretty great post race party so to speak . I had a great caesar salad with salmon. After eating and gathering my things I remembered that I had to walk to the car which was approx 1 mile away. Why did I part so far away????? Normally this would have been fine if I was sore or hurt because my amazing wife would have went and got the car for me but she was still in Florida and I have a hard time asking for help so I just walked to the car. On my way out of the parking lot I ran into Matt Hagen (an ultrarunner that I have really been wanting to befriend) and he said something to the effect of "That's a nice gait you have there" commenting on my silly looking way of walking on my broken foot. Later on when I met Matt again I brought this up and he remembered me. That's in a later blog post because I am quite behind on my posts.
All in all considering all the things that went wrong with this race, not having my crew (wife) with me, almost going off course, running on a broken foot, surviving the horrible weather, I was happy with this race it really taught me to persevere. I love ultrarunning and plan to do more of it.
Peace out
Chris
My wife was still in Florida staying the weekend visiting a friend that lives there so I decided this would be a good race to go to since I wouldn't really have anything else to do. The morning started early at like 6:30ish because I had to drive down to Tacoma. This was a new race for me so I tried to leave a little earlier than normal because it is always hard when you don't really know what is going on. I read the website and it was saying to park in the overflow park which was about 1 mile from the start line. I didn't have a problem with this because I was healthy and ready to go. I carried my bag of ultra goodies with me on a short jog. When I arrived at the start area I found out I could have parked at the starting line because I was there early enough to have gotten a spot. I was a little frustrated by this because it was a less than desirable day because of a substantial amount of rain.
I got my race number and stuff and then hung out at the picnic shelter by the start line. While I was there I met some great people from Tacoma. They were both running their first 50K, this was a common thread with me also because it was also my first official 50K. This couple was really great to talk with and it helped to pass the time for me before the race starts. Like I said the weather was pretty horrible and it was pouring down rain. The race started and I went out at a good pace and was a little worried that I may have been starting out to fast. Another side note here this was my first race running with a pair of minimalist shoes, the Merrell Trail Glove. They really felt good on my feet. The race starts out with a flat section and then it starts to climb into the Point Defiance State Park. After about 5 miles into the race I was starting to settle in and get comfortable. At this point I was running with a few people and was really happy with the way things were going. I was positioned somewhere in the top 10 for my race. We almost went off course because some old guy was mad at the race and took down a bunch of markings but fortunately at this point I was with some people who had run this course before and had said no the race goes this direction not that way so I followed him and it turns out he was right. I think my race started to go South right about this time because I was beginning to have a small pain in my foot at about mile 6 of the 10 mile loop which was right after the aid station. I thought nothing of it.
At the end of the first lap I had run 1 hour and 30 minutes which was a really great time and like I said I was in the top 10 but then the problems really started for me. I tried to run as much as possible but my knee and my foot were both giving me problems so I couldn't run the whole time like I wanted. I was seriously doubting myself but I pushed on because I did not want a dnf. My second lap was 2 hours 1 minute so I was losing a significant amount of time on this second lap because I couldn't run the whole time. The next time I run this race I want to redeem myself on this race because if I would have stayed on pace I would have finished in the top10.
On the third lap I was really struggling but I decided I needed to go on. Also here I changed out the shoes because my foot was really hurting me. The more cushioned shoes really helped me get through the last lap. It still took me a really long time for the lap but considering I was running on a broken foot I guess I did pretty well. Yep that's right I found out after the race I had a stress fracture on my second metatarsial. So the third lap took 2 hours and 16 minutes and I finished my first 50k in 5 hours and 48 minutes and 34th place out of 100. I was actually pretty impressed with myself after I found out my foot was broken. I finished.
After the race my foot was really bothering me. They had a pretty great post race party so to speak . I had a great caesar salad with salmon. After eating and gathering my things I remembered that I had to walk to the car which was approx 1 mile away. Why did I part so far away????? Normally this would have been fine if I was sore or hurt because my amazing wife would have went and got the car for me but she was still in Florida and I have a hard time asking for help so I just walked to the car. On my way out of the parking lot I ran into Matt Hagen (an ultrarunner that I have really been wanting to befriend) and he said something to the effect of "That's a nice gait you have there" commenting on my silly looking way of walking on my broken foot. Later on when I met Matt again I brought this up and he remembered me. That's in a later blog post because I am quite behind on my posts.
All in all considering all the things that went wrong with this race, not having my crew (wife) with me, almost going off course, running on a broken foot, surviving the horrible weather, I was happy with this race it really taught me to persevere. I love ultrarunning and plan to do more of it.
Peace out
Chris
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