Running - A Beautiful Mess, Indeed

If you have been unfortunate enough to meet me, you know that I run. Like a lot. And I want to run more. In what started as a nice lil' hobby, my side chick persay who I took for granted in high school, blossomed into a fervent love affair that is now past the honeymoon stage, but going strong. I like structure in my life and running volunteered as tribute, becoming the vehicle towards such. I have employed running to show myself that I actually CAN be disciplined enough to stick to something long enough to reap the benefits. That I actually can be headstrong enough to will myself through adversity when life inevitably throws you off the edge of the 5,000 foot tall building because life is a suicidal dick sometimes. It's in the fall where you really learn who you really are. You initially flail uncontrollably like an octopus on molly at Coachella, but then reality smacks you in the face while you're soaring down in oblivion: you have to brace for impact. You accept the situation. You don't fight it. If you look pain in it's diarrhea colored eyes long enough, you'll notice a brilliant blue that overcomes. That is the true pain. Pain is beauty because pain brings clarity. To who you are, to why you are. Running has gifted me this clarity. I just want to say, thank you running. You da real MVP.

 Now, with some much needed context, please enjoy my race report from my 50k race over the past weekend. What a beautiful mess it was, indeed.

Race information

Goals

I had no idea, really. Just get out there and go with the flow.

Training

My friend sent me a link to this race 3 months ago thinking I'd do the trail half, but the masochistic part of me thought it'd be a good idea to sign up for my first 50k with no knowledge or research whatsoever. BOI, was I naive or what? I do absolutely zero training on trails, so even the high volume of running I've been doing this year could have prepared me for slop that was eagerly awaiting me out on the trails. I have spent the year training for a sub 1:25 half (Accomplished in March; 1:24:57) with the ultimate goal of a BQ in November. This was a side-trek that I should have taken more seriously. I have so much more respect for ultra/trail runners now!

Pre-race

I couldn't fall asleep, so I read Deathly Hallows until I fell asleep until midnight. I wish I had the resurrection stone for my race so once my body died on me, I could have resurrected a second life. Woke up at 4am, had my cold brew, banana, and peanut butter bagel per usual. Watched some running YouTube vids, got my stuff together and was out the door by 515am with terribly wonderful trap rap blasting in my headphones. Once we got to the finish line, we were greeted by the Ultramarathon man himself, Dean Karnanes, whom I could not keep my eyes off his calves. With veins pulsating with unicorn blood, those things looked so hard they could cut diamond. I don't think I heard a thing he said. I was captivated. The race director then gave a spiel about how secret service along the course because we could see "two VIPs": Trump & the Japanese Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe. At first I was hoping they would actually be running because I would LOVE to see Trump run (Nothing political; The image of this would just be hilarious considering what he has said about exercise), but we would end up running along the Trump National golf course. And away we go!

Race

So many takeaways from this race. First off, I was way too cocky and got off to WAY TOO FAST of a start. The first couple of miles are actually on a well-maintained trail, so I was near the front of the group running at a ~7:30/mile pace thinking life is grand and how I could bank time now before I inevitably bonk on the hills on the back-end.
Real life slapped some humility into me once we reached the Potomac Heritage Trail. This was a whole new world to me. It was miserable. It was chaotic. It was miserable. It was a beautiful mess that I ended up loving. It had stormed the night before, so the trails (Which are primarily only maintained by footsteps) were straight slop & roots. I have never run in anything close to this in my life before, so I slowed the pace down and settled in with these 2 runners really until mile 10. This is when I started to realize another beauty of ultras: the camaraderie. Everyone is so friendly!! From sparking up conversation with runners because you can actually breath while running, to the courteous volunteers at the aid stations, I was uplifted every time I passed someone as they offered words of encouragement.
By mile 13.1, I had rolled by ankle 4 times on roots & it was hurting pretty badly. I was relieved to be greeted by my friends awaiting me at the Great Falls aid station. Their hugs were like a mushroom power-up as I went into the Great Falls portion with a clear mindset ready to take on some hills. We had what seemed to be a nice, nonstop gradual hill leading up to the mile 16 aid station where I past many of the 50 milers who were their 30-40 mile range, sooo I had nothing to complain about. I had some potatoes & salt and actually got a runners high at mile 16.5. Once again, I was naive and thought this meant I was going to truck through the rest of the race. Hahaha, it lasted for .5 miles. But man, that was a fantastic .5 mile stretch that I will cherish.
I reached my friends again at mile 19.1 with my runners high long past me. I took some photos with them desperately hoping that they were post race photos as my ankle started to nag me again & I knew that a new, fresh hell awaited me. With the falls roaring with an immense unrelenting ferocity to my right, I could not let up. Miles 20-30 were really just a blur. I was lost in the woods in a state of mental fogginess looking for those damn blue ribbons to guide me to safety. As the marathon runners past me going the opposite direction, their kind words gave me more and more energy the more they came. Thank you, kind runners. I met up with a guy who I ran with for a little bit earlier who was now cramping pretty badly around mile 25, so I tried to will him to finish with me. We were Lewis & Clark, cutting through the wilderness with reckless abandon, running at a full 2 mins/mile slower than we were at the beginning and walking the steep hills as they taunted our demise.
Around mile 29, I saw a secret service agent roaming the trail above and realized I was passing the Trump National golf course. With what could have easily been a desert mirage, I look to my left and see a golden shining figure to my left that could not be mistaken for anybody else but Trump about 100 meters away going for a long putt. "Huh, interesting", I thought as a 40mph gust punched me right in the gut. With the longest 5 miles of my life behind me, I reached the aid station at mile 30 not even comprehending how close to the finish line I actually was. I was just chilling, sparking up convo with the volunteers eating those glorious potatoes & salt when I was notified that I was actually in the top 20. With the final jolt of energy I would get, I thanked the volunteers and bolted with a renewed love of life. I reached mile 31 wondering where the finish line as I for some reason thought a 50k was 31.07 miles and not 31.7 miles. CRAP. I just counted my steps to the end and mustered a sad excuse of a kick as my body that hated me reluctantly crossed the finish line.

Post-race

I was in an utter daze as I meandered my way through the race festival. My mind primitively went straight to food as the smell of woodfire pizza dancing in the air titillated the senses. I got my $12 food voucher, SCARFED down, at the time, the most delicious pizza I had ever had and tried to make way to the shuttle so I could meet up with my friends. Still in a daze, I couldn't find the shuttle to get back to the lot & had to call a Lyft. That poor driver. I was drenched in 32 miles of sweat and dried mud. Anywho, I finally made it to Crooked Run Brewery in Sterling where my friends greeted me with a beer & a Melt burger (If you are in the DC area, you have to go to Melt in Leesburg. Best burger in the area). God bless them, I have amazing friends. Pizza, beer, burgers & friends: Name a better post-race combo.

What's next?

That was a doozy & a half. I loved my first 50k. As someone who runs on paved trails, the feeling of being in the woods on trails really only forged by footsteps induced a zen-like feeling. The people were unbelievably friendly & something I have not experienced in a race before. Now, it is time to focus on BQing for the first time in November with a 50 miler on the horizon in 2020. Again, shoutout to all the trail runners out there because trails are different BEAST that you must respect.

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