So I had a lot of time yesterday to think about how I wanted to start this race report.  I think around mile 23 I came up with something really brilliant.  An introduction that would draw you in and keep reading with bated breath.  A summary of a race that I am really, really proud of.  Then I slipped in a pile of mud, fell down a switchback, and lost my train of thought.  So here I am, sitting back, drinking a brew, and trying to remember all of the cool things I wanted to talk about.  Let’s start at the beginning.

Two years ago I ran the 20 mile version of this event (there are 10mi, 20mi, and 50k distances).  After covering the two laps that year in a bit over three hours, in about eight inches of snow, I thought it would be cool to give a shot at the big boy race.  It took me some time to get healthy enough so that I could put an “honest” effort out there, but the 2013 edition of the PSYCHO WYCO 50k saw me on the starting line.  I had a goal in mind, which was under 5 hours or about 1:39 for each of the three circuits of the 10.8 mile course (the event is actually pegged at a bit OVER 50k, but whatever).  In past years being sub-5 actually had a cash bonus, but not this year.  But the fact that there HAD been something like this made the goal interesting.

LAP 1- 1 hour, 22 minutes and 33 seconds (including stopping at my bag to exchange water bottles)

Start time was 8am.  The day dawned cloudy, a little breezy, and colder than expected at around 31F.  Which was fine by me.   Course conditions were predicted to be muddy, but the freezing temps kept the first lap manageable, but just the first lap.  My wife dropped me off at the staging area and I took a seat by a tree to at least give my legs a bit of a rest.  No warming up, no drills, just a peanut butter packet and a few swigs of water and it was time go.  Saw some peeps on the way to the starting line, Bruce Barnhart w/ Ivan the Dog, Jody Green, and some of their friends.  Horn sounded and away we went.  A lead group established themselves really quickly.  I found myself in the chase group.  I had made a promise to shove down my competitive nature for as long as possible, run within myself, and NOT race right away (kind of like Bruce Banner and the Hulk).  I couldn’t waste the energy, but I wanted to put some time in the bank with the knowledge that laps two and three were going to be a lot slower.  Fine line indeed.

The course follows single-track that is a dirt/limestone mix and a large distances of bridle trails that are typically better suited to horses.  While wobbly the dirt and trails were pretty firm and actually easy to run.  Found a heart rate I liked and tried to keep it as long as possible.  Which on the uphills was impossible.  As you can see by the elevation profile above, the race is not flat.  Most hills you could run decently, some you had to go to a low gear, and some you had to walk or risk red lining your heart rate and blowing up.  Finished out lap 1 feeling just dandy.  Did not need any aid stations or water refills, dropped my hat at the bag drop and headed on to lap 2.

LAP 2-1 hour, 30 minutes and 42 seconds (2 lap total was about 2 hours and 52 minutes.  Almost 10 minutes faster than my 2 lap from 2 years ago.

A handful of Peanut M & Ms got some sugar and protein in me and the leftover crud stuck on my teeth gave me a distraction for the next half an hour.  Anthony and I separated ourselves into a twosome that would cruise through the next 90 minutes together.  The trail was WAY muddier this time, ankle deep at spots.  You were able to stay to the sides and make pretty good progress if you picked your line well.  However there was another obstacle.  The 10 mile race had started at 9am and we began to catch and pass a large number of these folks.  Lots of, “On your lefts!!” and “Passing!!” were yelled over the better part of this lap.  Many folks quickly moved over and offered encouragement which was greatly appreciated and returned whenever I could (this was not my experience in 2011 when people were wearing headphones and did not understand the concept of faster runners passing).  I was determined to be more Zen like this year, but it was not needed.

Though we ran slower, Lap 2 seemed to fly by with the conversation that only two complete strangers, shoved together by the simple fact of the same pace being run, can share.  Where are you from? What brought your here? Course conditions now?  Course conditions later on?  Next race you are running?  If you have been there you know what I am talking about.  Once again, there was no need for me to stop at any aid station.  I had plenty of water and was feeling as decent as one could after 20 miles of hills and mud.   Anthony had gapped me a bit by now and I was not going to see him again until the finish.  It was good while it lasted.  At the end of this lap I dropped my gloves, got a handful of plain potato chips and M & Ms, again and was off to see what the last 10 miles and change had in store for me.

LAP 3-1 hour, 44 minutes, and 14 seconds 

I had only run one 50k previous to this one and that was all on a railroad grade, crushed limestone bike trail.  Nothing as rigorous as this bad boy.  I had no idea how I was going to react, despite some really good training runs over the last two months.  The initial part of lap 3 was really tough.  The hills seemed worse, the mud was definitely deeper and stickier.  I found myself tripping over rocks and roots that were easy to avoid 2 hours ago.  I was in that dark spot that seems to happen in all races.  I told myself deep down that finishing was a great goal and that I would have more opportunities.  That I gave it a good shot and ran the initial part of the race exactly the way I wanted to.  That I can’t control conditions on the course and that I was bound to get tired eventually.  But deeper down inside I knew that was all bulls**t.  Like most runners there is a certain part of my persona that is driven by setting and meeting goals.  By challenging myself.  By sacrificing to get to that point. I knew I would be pissed if I didn’t go after my goal and at least really try to do what I had set out to do.  Hell, I knew I would be pissed if I didn’t get the goal, period.  So I kept trudging ahead and who knew that salvation would be in the form bacon?

I get the jokes about bacon, I don’t like them though.  Too over-hyped in my opinion.  But I’ll be damned that after putting down 5 or 6 pieces of farm animal that was cured and salted, then fried over a Coleman stove and delicious, I felt absurdly better.  My special thanks to the local MOOSEJAW SHOP in Kansas City.  You guys saved my bacon.

Salvation #2 came after I spent the better part of a mile sliding down a hill. Scott Giddings and the G.O.A.T.Z. crew were set up at aid station #2 just above the Wyandotte County Lake Damn.  It was great seeing them and their encouragement carried me through the last 5 or so miles of the race.  By now, my hamstrings were getting ready to cramp every time I hauled them out the mud and I was going through water like crazy.  Put my head down and went uphill, then downhill. I knew there were folks behind and they had to be close.  The only thing I had going through my head was the scene in the THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RINGS where Gandalf says, “You shall not pass”.  It was something like 40 minutes of that crap.  But it got me through it.

FINISH- 4 hours, 37 minutes and 30 seconds

A full 20+ minutes ahead of my goal. Third overall.  To say I was happy would be an understatement.  It was a relief to be done.  A goal met.  A race well run.  Hard to beat those kinds of feelings.