Mohican Trail 50 Mile Run - Finding New Limits

28th edition - I raced the 50-mile race

                                                               
I really love to trail run, there is just something so peaceful about it. Me. The Trail. The sound of my heartbeat. No mechanical bits making noise. No tires spewing sealant when a tire blows off the rim or punctures. Throw on a pair of shoes, grab a bottle of water if the run is long and head out the door. Just simple, clean, quiet, trail running. Me and the natural beauty that God created.

So, if you asked me two years ago if I would ever race a 50k Trail Run, I would have laughed ... non-stop, for a long time. If you asked me if I would ever race a 50 Mile Trail Run, my response ... well ... it wouldn't be appropriate to write that in a public blog post but to put it bluntly ... NO WAY!! If you follow me on FaceBag or Strava, you know that is no longer true.

• July of 2017 I ran my first 50k (Buckey Trail 50k) and finished 4th in AG. Not too shabby.
• November of 2017 I ran my second 50k (Bills Bad Ass 50k) and finished 3rd overall. Cool.
• March of 2018, 3-weeks after achieving 13th place in the TrueGrit 100 MTB race, I ran my third 50k (Fools 50k) and finished 1st in AG and 4th overall. Maybe I'm ok at this running thing.

Today, June 16th, 2018, two weeks to the day after I raced the Mohican 100 MTB race and had my best finish yet (15th place in Open Mens in 8:10), I took on the Mohican 50 Mile Trail race with zero expectations. Seriously, ZERO! Beyond a 50k I have no clue how to pace, what nutrition should look like, how my body would react, what to do when faced with adversity, and all the goodness that comes with finding one's own limits. The ONLY goal I had going into the race was to just cross the finish line ... standing ... in one piece, still breathing. My wife prefers it that way and so do I.

My bestest of buds and rock of my life, rockstar wife Angie was front and center and supported me the entire day. Remember that 100-mile MTB race I did two weeks ago? Yup, she was there as well!!

Race Description

• Race start was at 6am in the Mohican State Park Camp
• Number of Registered for 50-Mile Race was 208, Number that started 191
• First lap was 27-ish miles, second lap was 23-ish miles
• Course laps were roughly 80-85% Mohican State Park trails in reverse
• Aid stations on the course anywhere from 2.6 to 6.9 miles in-between aid stations
• Weather was sunny and 62-ish at the start and soared to 90 degrees #dehydration

Aid Station Mileage Markers per Lap

The Start

The start of the race was uneventful, nothing like a MTB Race start where everyone is vying for position and there is the stress of being bumped from the rear, knocked down, or bumping handlebars with someone and hitting the deck before the race even starts. There was about a 1.5-2 mile paved start through the Mohican State Park Campground to spread folks out before we hit the MSP Trail.

Lap One - 27-ish Miles

Everything started off great! We all quickly got into a groove heading up a fairly long climb with lots of switchbacks, passing the slower runners, and getting the legs warmed-up rather quickly. By mile three, yes I said mile three, I started to feel a pain across my left quad. You have GOT to be kidding me!! #craptastic  Obviously I kept running but the pain kept getting worse and mostly on the downhills where on the flat and climby bits it would work itself out and at times completely disappear. This is a pain that I had never experienced before let alone after such a short distance of running. Maybe I should have foam rolled more n the morning and stretched more?? It got so bad at one point that I had to start walking the decents early on because I was concerned it would take me out of the race completely. I ran straight through the first aid station (4.1 miles from the start) and made it to the second aid station (8.6 miles from the start) where Angie was all ready to give me whatever I needed, like a rockstar. At that time Angie had learned, being such a resourceful person, that I was able to see her again at Pleasant Hill Dam before the next official aid station at the Covered Bridge (a nice 10k from the second aid station). I was actually super helpful because when I met up with Angie at Pleasant Hill Dam I was able to grab some Icy Hot that I had packed and threw it on my left quad in the hopes that it might help loosen up the muscles.

The Pleasant Hill Dam stairs leading to the bottom (those Dam stairs hurt)

Arriving at Pleasant Hill Dam

Pro Tip: When you are racing something completely new and WAY out of your comfort zone, throw everything sans the kitchen sink into your support bags (kitchen sinks are heavy and your support crew prefers light packs). I packed some Old'Man Icy Hot which I promptly threw on my left quad hoping that it might help. #oldmanissues #46isnotold

Heading to the Covered Bridge we had to run ... err ... walk gingerly down The Pleasant Hill Dam(n) stairs. The pain in my quad was absolutely screaming at me still so I had to stop in the middle of the stairs to take a break. Man (I thought to myself) this is just terrible. Ok, maybe I used a few other colorful metaphors besides "terrible". I'm never going to make it to the finish line at this pace. 

Got to the covered bridge within a mile or so, grabbed a bit of food (pretty much ignored my drop bag) and headed up the MSP Trail (this was the half-way point (ish)). Up, up, and up we go! Fortunately, the climbing wasn't bothering my quad so I went right up the climb passing quite a few runners in the process. It felt like the Icy Hot was working and starting to help so to try and get more relief on the way to the next aid station, I grabbed the extra IBProfin I packed in my running vest. The other major concern I had was a flare up of IT Band pain which I can get on long runs. Popped down three more IBPs and kept trucking. After the final aid station before the 6.9 run to the MSP TH to finish lap one, my ITB pain flared up on my left leg. Oh wonderful. This is the friggin nail-in-the-coffin for sure. I was telling myself my race was over, kaput, finished, and was trying to mentally be ok with the decision (I am never ok with it .... nobody is ... don't kid yourself). When I arrived I had figured out that I can walk the descents w/o pain, and run (ish) the flats and just walk-with-a -purpose up the climbs. When I reached Angie, she always puts a smile on my face when I see her no matter what state I am in, I asked her to see me at the next two aid station because my race could be done VERY quickly. 

Pro Tip: Pack medicine! I had packed not only IBP in my support bags and took some with me in my running vest, but also packed Tylenol. I grabbed three Tylenol, having never run with the stuff in my stomach (or ridden with it) thinking that just maybe it will help subside the next pain I was having to tolerate (pain management man), and downed them with some Infinit JetFuel.

Lap Two - 23-ish Miles

Injinji toed socks kept muh'piggies comfy.

Here I go ... this is the "short loop", by about 4-miles so I am still almost running another Marathon. Cripes!! As I headed out I saw a familiar face, Max Krakoff. This was the beast of a runner that took me out of the top three spot at the Fools 50k in March of this year. A well-earned top three spot for sure! Super nice guy and so we chatted a bit. Angie had told me that he got thru the first lap about 30-minutes ahead of me, yup that sounds about right but apparently, he told me that he simply fell apart and needed to rest. So we both headed out (about 4:45 hours into the race at this point) and he was rather quickly out of sight. Or so I had thought. Before we even got a mile in I caught him and we were chatting back and forth and as we got back into where we first had entered the trail on the first lap he let me by. I told him that I wasn't going very far, very fast and that was the last I saw of him. Hope he did ok! It did motivate me to keep moving through. Made it to the first aid station, in more time than I care to admit, but I made it nonetheless. First chunk down (3.8 miles in 45-minutes ... ouch) and was happy to just be making forward progress. At this point, I had reached the 50k mark and I could have easily just stopped here. Angie was there for me, we chatted, I was ready to break down in tears cuz I did NOT want to drop out. I felt like perhaps the pain was being managed, it had not reached Defcon Level 5 just yet, so I filled up my bottles with water and headed for the next aid station in 4.5 miles. Somewhat uneventful to the next aid station other than more pain management, but I felt like I was figuring out how to pace myself with it being later into the race and the ITB pain. The knot in my left quad had gone away at this point so that was no longer an issue but I think I would have preferred it over the ITB pain. Pick your poison so to speak, eh? Got to the next aid station in about an hour with Angie, being ever so diligent and understanding, asked me what I wanted. Angie knows when I am struggling and knows how to handle me and stay calm, cool, and collected. It's one thing I love about our relationship. One of us is always the calm one and today she knew she had to be that person. Yup, she's my rock for sure! From here on out I just kept re-filling with water. Mind you it is upwards of 90 degrees and I have run the farthest I have ever run at this point but I could sense that if I put in anything other than water that my stomach could revolt.

Pro Tip: When the furnace kicks into high gear during training or racing, have a plan to put in some form of electrolytes! I drank water the majority of the second lap because I just could not stomach anything else. Try electrolyte tablets during hard long training sessions in the heat and see how they feel on your stomach. Better to find out during training than while racing.

At this point, I thought to myself, if I can make it to the next aid station, the covered bridge, in 2.6 miles then I am half way to the finish line but the risk is that I won't see Angie until the very end ... so it was a bit of a commit or quit type of deal now. Yes, I could use someone's phone to call if it got worse, but I was trying not to think of ways out of the race but more how to stay in it! This was a survival deal for me at this point to reach my goal, find the limits, and destroy them.

Note: If you have not heard the phrase "Find your limits and Destroy them" before, go race the Marji Gesick 100!! They have both MTB races and Trail Run races. Seriously challenging!! (video link)

Covered Bridge Aid Station with 12-ish Miles to the finish.

Annnnnnnd I was off to the Covered Bridge. I figured I was managing the pain well and just keep going. Made it to the cover bridge in roughly 30-minutes, not too terrible, and I refueled with more water, downed some watermelon and orange slices (but those M&Ms looks SO tasty) and headed out. At this point, I had two more aid stations to cover, 5.6 miles and the finish at 6.3 miles. Oy. This was manageable but at this point, the heat had taken its toll on me. Its one thing to race on a MTB where you get some breaks on descents or the wind can cool you off, but running ... the only break you get is when you stop. I hate stopping. Seriously hate to stop for any reason.

Other than being beaten down by the heat and unable to stomach anything at this point, I made it to the next aid station where they had some really cool tunes playing and were welcoming and cheering on runners as we came in. Supper cool volunteers and I again filled up with more water, ate some watermelon (cuz its really just water) and headed out for the final push to the finish. Only 6.3 miles left (one more 10k trail run ... sure why not) and I knew in one way, shape, or form that I would finish this race. At this point, I would run for a few minutes and walk, then run a few minutes and then walk. Not so much due to pain because the Tylenol had helped a TON, but more due to my stomach. It felt ok, but I could just sense that things could so south very quickly if I pushed for too long. So that's what I did all the way to the finish line. The goal was to finish, not to try and place, or hit a specific time goal ... Just. Finish. The Race.

When I was getting close I was trying to figure out my finish time. There was no way I would break 9.5 hours ... but it happened. Managed to finish in 9:28 and change. Even with such slow pacing on the last lap, I managed to beat my goal of going sub-10 hours. What was even MORE surprising is that I was the 10th male to cross the finish line for the 50mile race and 11th overall. I simply could not believe it. I continue to prove to myself that no matter how crappy you feel, how fast everyone else is at least in your own mind, how slow you feel you are going, how poorly you think you are doing ... you seriously just never know until you cross that finish line. Some days, yes you are slower than molasses and it shows in the results, but more often than not if you just keep moving forward you will surprise yourself at how well you do in the end.



The Drive Home
One would think this would have been the least eventful part of the day, whole lotta nope.

Pro tip: After running 50-miles in the heat and becoming severely dehydrated, REST and RE-HYDRATE before getting into the car to head home!!

We jumped in the car after a quick change of clothes in the sauna, aka porta-potty, and headed home. Angie cranked the A/C which felt great and gave me a bottle of much-needed water. About 30-40 minutes into the car ride I had that, not so wonderful feeling with my stomach. Oh joy. I'm going to get sick. I informed Angie that I wasn't feeling well and figured it was dehydration effects setting in. All was ok for the next 10 minutes or so and then it hit me. The best way I can describe this is that it felt like a piece of yellow tinted plastic was placed in front of my eyes because everything started to turn yellow with my vision, then it got a little blurry, and then I couldn't focus and everything was just disappearing. It all happened in less than one minute. I blurted out for Angie to pull over ASAP cuz I needed to get out of the car. I was likely a few seconds from passing out in the car when Angie pulled over on the highway and I fumbled for the door to open it and get out. I managed to get the door open and promptly laid my sorry carcass in the grass along the highway with the rest of the road kill. Crisis averted ... barley. As soon as I laid down I started to feel better. Laid there for what seemed like an eternity but was likely only a few minutes. Got back in the car and we stopped at the nearest gas station for a quick pitstop and we were off again. Felt MUCH better and made it home just fine. I didn't put anything into my stomach until after 8pm when things finally settled down.

Pro Tip: To figure out just how badly dehydrated you are, go use your fancy scale that can tell who you are simply by your weight. If the scale cannot figure out who you are because you LOST THAT MUCH WEIGHT ... well, my friend ... you're dehydrated BIG time!! (the answer is 7-8lbs in the negative). Sunday morning I was still 5lbs in the negative, but at least my scale recognized me! It told me ... yup ... Still An Idiot.

Finishers Medal

Of course, none of this without the love and support of my wife, family, and friends. The sponsors of Rescue Racing are, second to none.

Thanks to Christopher Bean Coffee for getting me all cranked up and stoking the fires with their Dark Mountain Magic Blend before heading to the start line. These guys roast to order and man can you taste the difference from all other coffee brands that have their coffee sitting on the shelf forever.

Thanks to Infint Nutrition for whom without I wouldn't be able to stay fueled and have the energy to push to the finish line. From their pre-set blends to their Custom Blends as my primary fuel source, I have been using their nutrition for years and continue to have success with it. They have so many options and will work with you one-on-one to ensure that your body gets what it needs when it needs it!!