2012 Bimbler's Bluff 50K

Sunday, 10/21/12 - 32.5 miles (Trail) - Finally.  After stressing about this in the back of my head since I submitted my entry, the day had finally arrived!  I slept fitfully all night, and finally got out of bed at 4:30, fed the pets, made coffee, and scrambled around in the dark trying to get ready.

Chilly morning.  I opted for the running tights, and a long-sleeved compression shirt.  About an hour's drive to Guilford, I got there an hour early and it looked like almost everyone was already there.  Ran into Gary H. and his friend Carly at check-in, met Cathi B. who is very involved with the Bluff (even designed the logo for the race), got my bib and goodie bag and went back to the car to stay warm.  Figured I'd stay in the long sleeves and tights for the race.

Here's the morning crew, waiting for the briefing:

After a briefing by race director Jerry Turk, we're off and running, one lap around the soccer field at the school to presumably spread out the field, cross the street and into the woods.  Big bottleneck for the first 5+ minutes, as it's tight single-track and technical.  First aid station was 2.5 miles in, I skipped right through there and into the next 7 mile stretch before we get to the Bluff.  The course is shaped like a lopsided lollipop - you run up the stick for 10 miles or so, climb the Bluff and circle that for 10-12 miles, then get back onto the stick for the last 10.  I got to the parking lot at the base of the Bluff feeling great, loaded up on snacks, chatting with the volunteers and some of the runners, then hit the Bluff.  Big climb to the top.  I was running/climbing with two people who, during our chat, found out that Bob was friends with Mike K., and Susan went to high school with my wife...small world indeed!!!

Top of the bluff here, note the houses at the left of the screen, far below:

So we loop around, rising and falling, I fall behind those two but end up running here and there with various groups of people.  I'd purposely not turned up the volume on my mapping app, because I wanted to run without my mileage and pace being called out.  So when I thought we were at the mile 20 aid station and they exclaimed "You're halfway there!," I felt a bit defeated.

Keep in mind that everyone I'd talked to had said it's 50K-ish, a bit longer, some put it at 32 miles, some said 33.  GPS ultimately came out to 32.5...so now I'm doing the math in my head every five minutes.  Next aid station was 5 miles away (which felt like 10), and I made the cutoff in plenty of time.  10+ miles to go.  Here's where I tell you the magic number where I hit "The Wall."  20 miles.  I'm sure mentally and physically I can overcome this with time, but same as Nipmuck, everything in me just says "STOP."  Like to the point where I'm saying "Do you really have another half-marathons' worth of running in you, fool???"  But I went ahead and loaded up, 8 miles to the next aid station, and off I go.  This section was the worst for me, as it seemed endless.  Now I'm checking my GPS and finally texted Lori to say I wasn't making it to the finish by 3, more like 4.  Walking on the uphills, running on the downhills...When I got to the last aid station I was already over the 30 mile mark...but 2.5 to go, and I think my splits for the last bit were probably faster than the previous 15...Lori was texting me words of encouragement, and my phone finally died about 1/3 of a mile from the finish.  The school start/finish line borders a golf course, can't describe how happy I was to see that through the trees.  I was running the last leg with a guy named Wayne, and when we came out of the woods to the cheers of the people at the finish line, including my wife and daughter, I couldn't have been more thrilled.  Even saw Gary at the finish:

Please note fancy WTAC Clamdigger hat :)

I'd like to point out the awesome tech shirt (maybe a size too big?), and killer beer glass etched with the Bimbler's Bluff logo, designed by one of my new friends, Cathi Bosco.  Cool.

Here's a link to the Festival of Pain:

http://www.mapmyrun.com/routes/view/147825199

So my time was 8:11, probably #115 out of 140?  I think some people may have dropped out also?  They haven't posted official results yet.  Not quite what I was aiming for, but having nothing else to compare this to, I'll take it.  A here's a few things I learned:

1. Listen to your friends.  Jeff W. told me to get some stuff to prevent chafing, I had plenty of time to and didn't take his advice.  Ouch.  Bad move.  Let's just say I'm walking a bit funny today...thankfully, no bloody nipples!

2. There is no substitute for a lot of proper nutrition, training, and a lot of miles.  I do as much as I can, but I don't think it was enough for these last two races.  Will work on that.  For now, I'm going to switch my focus to speedwork and try to get faster...

3. Pay attention to the course markings!  I didn't get lost, but lots of people did, including two guys who went 40 minutes off course before they realized their mistake and had to double back.  That has to sting just a bit.

3. My minimalist shoes are awesome, and I love them, but they're murder on long distance trail races.  Going to go up a notch in cushioning and get something with a rock plate in the sole.  Especially this time of year, when there's leaves covering all the sharp pointy things.  The last 12 miles were painful, to say the least.

4.  I'm really looking forward to the rest of my race schedule, as it's all 5K to 8M races...be nice to sink my teeth into those...

So there you go.  Going to take a couple of days off, regroup and recover, and get back at it.  Have to figure out a new name for the blog, too, and decide on a new goal...what's it going to be???

--Mike