Croom’s Fool Run 50K 2010
By: Janette Gaw
50 kilometers of gorgeous trails in 6:40, 12:30 min miles average, two faceplants, multiple stubbed toes, and 4 dirtied, friends bonded by the experience, and I AM HOOKED!!!
It’s laughable now to think how naive I was to estimate a “conservative” five hour, 10 min mile ave through trails. This is without any trail experience and with only 3 marathons in the past 3 months as “training”. The 50K is a double loop so the start is also where we place our drop bags (thanks to Jonathan’s blog abt what to pack). The first mile was through a dirt road which has the same surface as loose beach sand. My achilles tendons were sore and tight making my calves act out. I didn’t think I was going to make it for the next 30 miles. Then my left foot developed pins and needles then went numb by mile 3. This is going to be one long day. Being a doctor I tried to diagnose myself but it didn’t seem to be my back. I hope I’m not developing compartment syndrome where muscles get so tight it cuts off the blood supply to the extremity. Maybe it’s a pinched nerve from inflammation. THUD!!! In my distraction, I fell at about mile 6. Miraculously, it must be like a RESET button because feeling came back to my left foot.
At the halfway mark I changed to shorts and singlet (I had CW-X tights and long sleeves to begin with). Potty break. Refill fuel belt. Hmmm…. Where did my friends go? Would they leave me? I guess…. So I sprinted and caught up with them 0.5 miles into the trail. The second half was great since it felt more like a nice weekend hike — very zen. With the experienced ultramarathoner Jim’s help we did 4/1 to conserve energy although sometimes the terrain dictated the walk. I fell another time. I was the only one to fall twice in the group (I’m a such a klutz!). Following somebody so closely made it difficult to plan where to place my foot and roots get detected a little too late. The second half was also HOT! Even though it’s shaded by trees most of the way, an 80+ degree weather was not fun. We heard that there were a lot of DNFs that day. Jim started having GI issues and had to walk more. Patsy, another in the group who BQ’d recently had a hard time walking and had to run. (I guess it’s like putting a race car in a four-wheel drive terrain). The group of four split into two by mile 28-29. Still, we all finished and celebrated with two bottles of champagne!
The aid stations were about 4 miles apart. They had Heed, Hammer gel, PB&J sandwich, fruit slices, pretzels, chips, salt tabs, Aleve, and more importantly, great volunteers(except for that one volunteer who distracted me and caused me to fall a second time — still I appreciated her efforts to cheer me on)! I learned that real food during these runs were easier on my belly than gels.
Lessons:
Respect the terrain.
Practice trails before running a 50K for a first trail run.
Slowly but surely.
Take the time to eat and drink.
Need to learn more about footcare before next trail run.
Need to reapply sunblock more often.
Don’t follow your friends too closely.
Enjoy the journey.
Most importantly, bring soap and towel for the shower after the run before getting into your friend’s car.
Thanks, everyone!
