Theres the Garmin and its heart rate monitor strap all fired up and ready to go for my attempt at the Buckeye Winter 50k. They are formed as a cross....humm...coincidence???? I think not.Race morning dawned with temps in the low 20's..absolutely tropical compared to the 8-15 below we experience in days leading up to the race. I had on 4 layers plus my faceguard with the Festivus Hat on top. 3 different people said I won the Best Hat Award!!. Thats Great. Would I get all 31 miles in????
Thats me on the far right with TriEric...Aimee and TriSaratops. Missing was Janet..aka DaisyDuc who had wandered around the garage to chat. I trained with Eric and Aimee a few times. They were a big help to me. Thanks!!!!
I loved the atmosphere and met a whole bunch of folks. I was assured by all that its very low key and its all about the experience.
We took off at 7:27am and the folks going 50 k did the A loop..5 miles Settled into an easy pace and had to work on making sure I wasn't sliding all over or tripping. The snow was packed down but in a rut about 2-3 feet wide...obviously we would have to move over for folks coming from the other direction. I realized 15 minutes in that I had one layer too much..I took my Festivus cap off for a while to cool. Soon it was apparant with the work I had to do in these conditions that the heart rate was getting up there.
Snapped that shot about 3 miles into. I finished the first loop in about one hour, 4 minutes. I knew that the B loop...8 miles is a real tough section and I made sure to get my gels in take enough water etc.
I had done the 8 mile section last week in somewhat virgin 10 inches of snow in 2:25. This time it took 2:35. It was grinding...I saw my buds coming back from their loop as the Half marathoners began on Loop B. Ran into Kim, the Trail Goddess. Nice to finally meet her. She snapped a few pics.
Ankles got a super workout and I am sure every racer can say they nearly wiped out many times and that their ankles were stressed. Thats cool...but I was starting to wonder if I could make the entire distance... At turnaround of the 8 mile loop, I saw Brian. He was volunteering. Thanks!!! Tom Riley (hope I spelled it right) and he gave me some ibprofen pills. I really fueled up with pb and j and bananas and cookies. Heading back to the Boston Store is not as punishing. Creek crossings were not bad as they were nearly frozen over.
Snapped this pic as I was couple miles from the end of Loop B. By this time, I was debating whether I could even finish before the cutoff. I was also thinking it would just be cool to get in a Half Marathon in these conditions...but I kept moving.....
I got back to the Boston Store..
checked the shoes...all gunked up with snow..I hydrated...took 3 more ibprofen pills...some more bananas..cookies and few pretzels. At that moment I was talking myself into doing the 5 mile loop and finishing with a solid 18 miles...
The 5 mile loop was trudgery.....I saw the eventual winner, actually doing his 3rd A loop. Thanks to the volunteers at the Brandywine Falls aid station for coming up with even more pain reliever....man was I medicated...haha.....
I finally hit the Boston Store at 5 hours, 3 minutes for the 18 miles. I told the officials I was done and several told me that alot of people ...maybe 50 percent of the 50k hopefuls opted to not go the full distance.
I got the chili(loved the veggie chili) my fritos and some coffee...Thanks Caribou!!! 
But best of all I got the jacket...Love it baby!!
Some info from my trusy Garmin. Elevation climbed 5,000 feet. Calories burned....2,200. Heart rate maximum.(reached several times) 169. Average Heart rate in the low 150's. Folks, I was at 90 percent or above alot in the race....
Officially of all the races I have set out to do over 24 years of triathlons..from Sprints to Ironmans, thats the first race that I did not finish what I set out to do. However I look at it this way.
1. It was incredibly tough
2. I am tough, but need to be tougher
3. I will be back.
4. What doesn't kill you..makes you stronger
So, if you see me this coming winter on the trails...say Hi. I will likely have that silly hat on. I will be training as best as possible and I will do a 50 K.
But in the meantime..Have some great training everyone..
Life's a Blast.
32 comments:
You picked a tough 50K race for your first 50K! As everyone is saying,the going was rough out there, everyone was moving far slower than normal.
A good workout for all! I decided to skip my workout today!
You are and always will be ~
MY HERO!!
Way to GO!!!
what doesn't kill you makes you stronger and when you have the best hat, somehow everything's just fine. :-)
Those were some really tough conditions. You managed to push through it for 18 miles. That in itself is a major accomplishment,
It just sounds so brutal and you did amazing!!
Great job!
Good Job! I am impressed. Just getting to the race must have been a struggle
Wow JT I'm most definitely impressed! That race sounded brutal. Especially for a 1st 50ker. You totally rock ;D ;D
JT,
You had a great smile even if u DNF.
I hope you are in some place warm now :)
Can't believe you did what you did! Amazing in this weather, You DID finish and now have experience! As always YOU ROCK!!
Nice job JT!!! Don't worry about how many people stopped or didn't stop, think about all of the people who never even started. It was too cold, too hard, too whatever, those are the people you should feel sorry for! :)
Your adorable!
Your attitude is awesome, you need to give Dirt Diva, http://trailgirl.blogspot.com/ some of your positive vibes.
I'm impressed with the 18 in those conditions! You'll get that 50k next time for sure!
After the first step, the rest was history :-) Well done, JT! I find it hard to believe peeps race under those conditions!
It was a tough day out there! Way to get in those hard fought 18 miles with the sweetest hat out there!
I have no doubt that you will be back.
BTW...my eff winter pic is on my facebook page. :-)
Great job JT. I love your perspective at the end of your post. It's all good.
Thanks for the inspiration.
Wow, what a TOUGH race!
Congrats on the 18-miles completed. I can't even imagine going that far in such cold and snow. Love that hat!
wow, JT, just WOW!!!
congratulations on your fantastic, hard, crazy, long, brutal, snowy, impressive 50K!!!
Congrats on getting as far as you did. A low finishing rate at a 50k, now that is a tough race.
I'm sure you will be back to conquer a 50k, hopefully in warmer conditions.
Yeah, trail running will make you stonger, no doubt about that.
Wow. I can honestly say that I don't think I'd be tough enough to do 50K through the cold and snow. There's a reason that most ultras are in summertime, you know. You'll definitely do great when the time comes for another one!
I can NOT even imagine 18, cold is one thing, a!@ busting snow/ice is another. Wayyy to go, I'd be on a stretcher, crutches at least:)
Hi Triguy.. I left a comment on your blog the other day and you deleted it. I just want to apologize if I came across as being offensive in any way. The last thing I wanted to do was offend a fellow athlete. Anyway, Sorry about that.
WOW! that was quite a race! 18 miles in those conditions.. way to much for me!! :) That hat is great too!
Sorry about you DNF :( You did what you could do and I know you'll be back there to finish what you started! You're still my hero JT :)
You guys are nuts! :-)
Nice work!
I am new to blogging and found your site.
Amazing how our expectations and goals seem to increase with age.
As a 50 something Ohio guy living in Florida, I especially appreciate your WILL POWER in such cold weather. I have a tough time biking here when it is 50F..
Holy crap you picked a heck of a race of your first 50K. I don't think I'd even make it anywhere near that far in those conditions. I would have gone 50 meteres to the nearest Starbucks and called it done-zo!
You'll nail it...soon enough!
I can't even imagine trying to do a 50K in the snow!!! I have a little rule that any mile run on treacherous trails, or insane conditions (i.e. treacherous trails AND snow) counts as a mile and a half. I think each of YOUR miles counted as two!!!
What an awesome race, and way to gut it out! I'm so glad it wasn't negative degrees while you were out there. You WILL run a 50K, and soon! Try it when there's no snow on the ground. I think you'll find it much easier.
Oh, and by the way, SEXY jacket!
Great job out there JT. I could have maybe done the 0.5BTK LOL! Way to push out 18 it just looks like tough conditions. The jacket is really sweet too. I guess you cleveland peeps would wear thoses in July?!
JT...you kicked ass. You showed up in spite of some NASTY conditions. So you know what? You still won. And you are stronger for doing this.
Congrats for showing up and giving it all you had. That's all you can ask! And next time you'll have more to give. :)
(p.s. sweeeet hat!)
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