Surf the Murph 2010

I signed up for this race to see how I can handle a 50 Mile trail run. One of the runs I was planning to do next year was the Bighorn 50 Trail Run. If I can't run a 50 here, I sure as heck can't run one out there. After my Birkebeiner Trail Marathon in September, and how the small rolling hills just hammer my calf muscles, I knew at that time the Bighorn 50M was not for me.

Until a month ago, I had never run at Murphy-Hanrehan Park and fortunately I was able to get out there twice. I ran once with a friend from my health club and the second time with Katie Thompson who I met there by chance. It was really helpful to have a general idea of what I was in for. I was well trained for a marathon and was excited to see what the day was going to bring.

Race Day

I packed a million things into my drop bag and headed to the Park. The weather looked to be perfect for running. I decided to wear cross-country ski pants and a long sleeve shirt with a short sleeve shirt on top. I also would be wearing my Nathan hydration pack. I was going to also carry some Shot Bloks and a lot of S!Caps.

This run was three 16.8 mile loops for the 50M. I was wearing my Garmin 310XT and had decided to stop/restart the Garmin with every loop. That way it would be better for recording the route and my paces.

Loop 1

Loop 1 Garmin data here. 16.86 miles.

We were given instructions and told that about half the runners got off-track last year. I couldn't understand this as all you need to do is keep the flags to your left. How hard can that be? Pretty hard, if you asked me now. :-)

I fired up my headlamp and at 6:00am (exactly) off we went. I think I was roughly in the pack where I wanted to be, between the top third and top half. There must have been almost 40 runners in the 50 Mile event. It wasn't too long before Katie ran up to me and we started to talk. Unfortunately, Katie's headlamp had almost zero light output. Her Ragnar Relay run this year had drained it. Ugh for her. My light was bright and Katie and I ran together to share my light. I learned that I really should have turned my ball cap around as the bill shadowed the ground in front of me, which doesn't make for the best running conditions. Oh well. At the first aid station the woman there (I should know her name but don't) lent Katie her headlamp which was a super-nice thing to do. Katie and I continued to run together. Every aid station was great. I just drank water at the Horse Camp station and when we got to Lisa/Helen/Katie's-aunts station, Helen gave me a handful of jelly beans. Yum. I must have run with a mouthful of Jellybeans for a mile after that. :-) The sugar was hitting the spot.

Earlier in the run I stepped on a few stick and rocks with my right foot but none of that seemed to bother my running. Somewhere between Lisa/Helen's station and the starting point I ran on top of a baseball-sized rock. This one really rolled my foot/ankle. Even so, that didn't hurt either.

Oh, I forgot, around mile three my intestines started to gurgle. Oh no. That was not a good sign for the day. My GI issue continued the entire first loop. Katie said she had packed Immodium-AD in her drop-bag. I told her that I didn't want to take any and that I'd be OK. Before we finished the first loop I changed my mind. I also said that I was planning to drop back a bit from her and start lap 2 alone. She is a very strong runner and I knew my pace was not going to match hers on lap 2.

We completed loop 1 in a very good 2:56. My body (except for the GI issues) felt great and my muscles felt great. Katie gave me 2 Immodium-AD and I told her I needed a restroom stop and was going to take a few minutes before started lap 2.

Loop 2

Loop 2 Garmin data here. 19.13 miles (oops).

I got some water, made my restroom stop, had some food at the aid station and took off running. Oh no! I had a sharp pain in my right foot. The kind of pain where you can't run without a limp. I walked a few feet and tried again. Pain. Now I'm about 100 feet into loop 2 and I'm thinking about the 33 more miles I need to cover. Ugh. I considered turning around right then and there and calling it a day. If it had been like Tuesday/Wednesday with the rain and horrible winds, I would have quit. But Saturday was a beautiful day so why not just have a great walk in the park. That's what I did. My goal now was to walk and try to run once in a while. I wanted to get to the North aid station and then to the Horse Camp where I would then come back to the finish on the road and trails to wait for Katie to finish lap 2.

So now I'm mostly walking but running short distances, with pain. I made it to the North aid station and had some Mac and Cheese and hung around there for a while. I talked about my plan to drop and was offered a ride back to the start. No thanks, I was going to work my way to the Horse Camp station. It was enjoying my walk so much and then I started out again. It was such a surprise when the pain was gone. It had taken about 1h15min for the foot/ankle to loosen-up and it felt great now. Well, there was nothing left to do but run! At the Horse Camp station I was still considering dropping at some point but as long as I felt good and knew I wasn't damaging my foot, I was going to continue.

I was running well now and chatted with Daryl and a little later, Lynn. Lynn and I chatted until we arrived at Lisa/Helen's aid station. They had Arnica Gel and Lisa rubbed some onto the spot where I had pain. There was no pain now but I'll take all the help I can get. I think this is where I met with Maranda. Maranda is a young woman also running her first 50M race. Maranda was looking for some energy and I gave her a serving of Shot Bloks. Maranda and I started running together and she complained about an upset stomach she was having so I gave her an S!Cap too. We separated and met again at the Horse Camp station. I asked Maranda if she needed anything and started to take out more Shot Bloks for her. She said, No, the other things. Oh, S!Caps. I gave her a bag of S!Caps and she told me that the one earlier had instantly soothed her stomach. That's what I like about these races too, people working together to get each-other through. It was here that I told Londell to cross me off the list. I was feeling a small amount of pain increasing in my foot and I was doubting I was going to do another loop. I also told him that if I did do the third loop I would let him know on my next time through so he could un-cross me off. :-)

Maranda and I would run together from here to the finish of loop 2. You know how all you need to do is keep the flags on you left? Well, Maranda and I were running and it seemed like the final part of the lap was taking too long. Things were looking too familiar. It was really eerie and kind of like a nightmare in the daytime. Of course, we had already run the full course once but we were seeing parts that seemed like we had just seen a short time earlier. I kept saying that all we needed to do is keep to the right of the flags. How could we have gone so wrong? This surprises me as it will most of you that were out there, but we had run right by the three flags and the 'Fun Zone' sign and repeated that entire 'inner loop' area in the North Portion of the run. You can see where we doubled-up on the run if you open my Garmin map for loop 2 and zoom in a bit. Oh well, what's an extra 2+ miles? hahahaha

How about my foot? At around mile 28 there was some light pain creeping back in but I was still running well. When we were running and I'd glance down at my Garmin, we were always going at around a 10:20 pace. Not bad, I thought. I was super happy that my mind was still very clear (except for missing the Fun Zone), and my legs still felt great, and my stomach felt awesome. It was a great day to run. Only at around mile 35 did my legs start to feel tired but that may have been after we climbed Pike's Peak.

Maranda and I finished loop 2 and then I went back to the timing table and dropped out. I loved every minute of the day except for the very beginning of loop 2. I felt great but I decided to be conservative and not stress what may/may-not be wrong with my foot. I got a long-50K in for the day with a time of 7:40. I was very happy to be on my feet that long without hitting a wall like what can happen when running a marathon. Maranda met her boyfriend after loop 2 and he went out with her to run to the horse camp and then from there to the finish (well, that was her plan). I hope she finished well.

Loop 3

Loop 3 wasn't for me today. I dropped out to ensure I didn't damage my foot.

I got something to eat and drink and then went back to the timing table to see how my loop 1 partner, Katie, was doing. She was rocking! Our loop 1 together was 2:56. She ran loop 2 in 2:50. At that rate she would be done at around 9 hours. Awesome. I decided to wait and watch for her finish. Katie had a fantastic loop 3 of 3:03 and ran a 8:50 for the female win and it was her first 50 mile race. Congrats, Katie! The second place woman would come in at 8:54.

The next day

This morning I have the expected overall muscle soreness and a bruise on my right bicep. How the heck did I get that bruise? I'll never know. I went on a 15 minute walk to warm-up slightly and stretched my hamstrings, calf muscles, and quads. That felt good. Now I need to schedule a massage, sooner rather than later!

Next year?

I think I would run the 50M next year. This year I had the bad luck of stepping badly on something with my right foot three times which ended up being the major topic in my run as you all know now. The race was great. The volunteers were great. I love the shirt too. Thanks to everyone out there and I'll see you next year!

Oh yeah, I now know that the Bighorn Trail Run 50K is the one for me. I hope that I'm able to make it fit into my schedule next year.

--Mark

additional notes:

I almost drained my Nathan 70oz pack on the two loops and I only used it to supplement what I got at aid stations. After the first few stations, my favorite drinks were 2+ cups of Coke plus a cup of water. I like peanut butter and jelly sandwiches best and always enjoyed a few potato chips. I may have only consumed 6 Shot Bloks total as the aid station food was hitting the spot.

I took 2 S!Caps at a time but only when I 'felt' I should have some. That worked well. After the race I took 2 right away and then 2 more when I got home. My legs never cramped at any time.

I think a belt pack with some storage would be ideal for me in this race next year. It's such a pain in the @SS to fill the Nathan I never wanted to do it. Those 22oz bottles are easy to fill but I don't think I'd want to carry one for 10+ hours. Putting one in a belt looks like the way to go.

My feet were very strong after running a bunch of trail races in July. They have weakened as I have noticed later in the Summer. I think I need to change at least two of my long Saturday runs to trail runs. Also, since three of us in my house have weak ankles I am going to shop for a wobble-board. Londell took a picture of me running. My foot strike is obviously on the outside corner of the heel. What the heck does that mean? My shoes are neutral but does that mean I should have a different type of shoe?

My last thought is that I wonder if I should get 'trail shoes'. I run everything in road shoes.