A week ago last Saturday I ran the Stone Mill 50 Miler in Maryland. This was my first attempt at a 50 Miler and in fact my first attempt at any Ultra distance. The morning after the Run I boarded a plane and headed to Miami to enjoy a week long cruise recovering from the run. In the next few days I plan on writing a complete race report but I wanted to just post a few critical learning’s. In general it was an amazing experience and I am looking forward to Running a 50 Miler again next year. Race Report, Short Version. The gun went off at 6AM EST and the temperature was a balmy 27 degrees. With headlamps and hand lamps in place, 300 of us headed into the woods embarking on what is an all-day challenge. The run was over single-track that follow the Seneca Greenway Trail in Maryland. At mile 3 the sun had started coming up so we dumped lamps at the first aide station and headed back into the woods. The pace in the group was about 12 min/mile but as the pack started breaking up we set in on a comfortable 11 min/mile pace. At mile 7 there was a split in the route where we headed off the trail and eventually ended up running about 2 miles on pavement to the entrance of the Muddy Branch Trail. The name says it all, it was Muddy. Prior to the run I had been having a lot of problems with my right knee. I thought at first it was ITBS but the pain and clicking was internal and at times the knee would lock. The day of the race I was not having any pain so I was excited. At mile 17 that all changed. I was headed down a hill into a river bed and suddenly pulled up from a sharp pain in the knee. I walked a ways but it wasn’t getting better so I decided to run a bit. Running was better than walking and I continued to the next Aide Station at mile 21 where I was feeling better. As I stood around eating a PB&J and some crackers I realized I was swelling a bit and pain set in again. By the time we left the Aide Station and headed onto the C&O canal, I was not even able to walk. I hopped a bit and started running and again the pain subsided a bit but this time it was always present and for the next 4 miles I ran/walked doing whatever felt best. At mile 25 it became a task of milestone to milestone. I couldn’t quit until I hit a Marathon. Then whn I hit the Marathon I decided to limp, hobble, run or crawl to at least make the 50K mark. When I hit the 50K mark I knew I was done and was now concerned that I would cause more damage and when I hit the next Aide Station, I bailed ending with a mileage of 33.2 Miles. It has been a week, the feet are good, the knee is still swollen and I have a pretty healthy bakers Cyst behind the knee. I recon I’ll be getting some scope time to see what’s up but I make my mark at 50K and enjoyed every minute. Things I Learned:First, My hydration although I thought was good enough must not have been. I was drinking pretty regular but I was not going to the bathroom at all on the run. It was almost 2 days before I was back to normal and 12 hours before I pee’d after the run. I had decided on a Gel every hour and an S cap every 2 hours. I did only 3 gels in 6 hours and only 2 S-Caps. I just don’t think I was doing well on electrolytes and at the end I was feeling some cramping.Second Training: I had previously done some 25 and 28 Milers; most training runs were 20 or less on the same terrain as the run. It would have been better had I ran some 30-40 milers to mentally prepare because when the knee started going south r3eally bad around mile 25, I was already fatigued. I don’t know what the outcome would have been had I not had knee problems but I question whether I could have made that last 10 miles after mile 40. Guess I will never know. I wore Merrill Trail Gloves the entire run and was very impressed. I got no blisters, I was comfortable and if the shoes got too slippery with Mud I would simply run in a creek and wash them out. They dry and drain very well. Well, that’s the short version. I had a blast, people running Ultras are so much cooler than the uptight people running Marathons and other street races. If you fall, they help you up; If you fall I help you up. It almost felt like an entire team effort although it is an individual sport Oh, one last note! At mile 29, they had BBQ’d Roasted salted Potatoes. OMG, they were like eating little chunks of heaven.
