Mendon Ponds Trail Run 50K

Saturday, 11/2/2013: Mendon Ponds Trail Run 50K, 31.61 miles, 6:34:37, 12:29 pace, 46F, overcast, light mist to heavy rain and back, calm.

I woke up at 5:50AM and quietly got ready. My darling Christine had a sinus infection and elected to stay home. The temperature was 48F so I dressed in my CW-X tights, Brooks Racing Team t-shirt and arm warmers. Luckily I had another tech top, hat and Sehgahunda hoodie in my bag. It was dark when I got down to Mendon Ponds Park at 7:15AM. Someone was parking cars using a flashlight. I got my bib and got set up. I put my bag in the shelter and tried to decide what to wear.

Before the race.

I chose to add my Brooks jacket, beanie and a pair of mittens. I remembered to take 2 Endrolytes and to apply BodyGlide. I had my Salamon/Camelbak hydration vest along with a 5 ounce gel bottle of Hammer Gel. I put my iPhone in a upward facing pouch and kicked off my RoadID eCrumb so that my wife and kids could track me. The sun had come up by 8AM for the start.



Lap 1 - 1:05

I met up with Chris Washburn from Newark before the start and ran with him for the first mile. He told me that if I started out too fast that he would "kick me in the ass". So ... I hung with him until I stopped to take off my jacket. I ran pretty steady. The course was a bit moist, leaf covered with the usual roots and rocks. I found that taking Hammer Gel from my bottle was a lot better than ripping open a gel packet. You do get a lot in your mouth. It's a bit tough to swallow it all at once but it's a lot faster and easy to do while running than trying to open a 1.25 ounce packet of Gu.

Lap 2 - 1:10

I ditched my jacket, beanie and mittens when I came into transition. I changed to my orange Fleet Feet hat and went gloveless for lap 2. My recollection is a bit fuzzy but I think it started to sprinkle during this lap. I remember that a couple of does cut across the trail about a hundred feet in front of me at one point. I started to get passed by faster runners at the 2 hour mark.

Lap 3: 1:19

I put on my Brooks light gloves when I came through transition. It started to sprinkle harder. I was still pretty dry ... I think. The footing on the trail was starting to get a bit muddy.

Lap 4 - 1:30
I ditched my empty 5 ounce bottle of Hammer Gel for a 10 ounce bottle and remembered to take 2 more Endurolytes. The miles started to add up. It started to rain ... OK, pour, during this lap. I couldn't just say that it was just sprinkling anymore. I could hear the rain in the trees. I was drenched and got pretty discouraged. I walked a lot of this lap in the mud and struggled to get up to a run even on the downhills.

Lap 5 - 1:29
I thought about just quitting ... for a second. Not today! I was going to finish even if I had to walk the final lap. I was cold and wet when I came into transition. I took off my Brooks Racing Team top and gloves. I changed into my dry tech top, Sehgahunda hoodie and Brooks hat. A woman let me borrow her gloves. They were tight but I was glad to use them. Now I have to find her again sometime to give them back. I spent a bit more time in transition trying to psyche myself to head back out. I told the guys at the finish tent that I had changed my shirt and would have to tell them my number. I noticed that My Garmin 310XT was on low battery.

The rain let up just a bit as I headed out. I passed Wilt Alston around 1 mile in. He was walking because of his knee. He said he was going to finish even if he had to walk the last lap which he did. I gave him encouragement and continued on. I picked up my pace a bit. One more lap. I passed Carl Camille around mile 3. He said that he had some stomach issues early and was wet. I told him that changing into some dry clothes might help, wished him encouragement and continued on. I stopped at Carol's Cafe, the rest stop at mile 3.5, and had a half banana, 2 chocolate Oreos and some water. I thanked them for being out there in the rain all this time and continued on. I passed Tom Butler around mile 5. He said that he had put his top on after lap 3. I wished him encouragement and continued on. I found that once I walked that I had a tough time getting back to a run. The footing was wet, sloppy and slippery on this lap. I was careful on the downhills so I would keep up on my feet. My shoes were soaked and covered with mud ... I continued on trying to keep out of the mud but there was no avoiding some of it. I came down to the finish ... no need to tell them my number. Done in 6:34:37. My Garmin died from low battery five minutes later. The top three 50K finishers were under 4 hours ... but I finished my first 50K. It felt good to stop.

Crossing the finish line! Thanks for the pic, Stacy Maier!

Yep ... I'm special!

I was 57th out of 91, link here, and 8th out of 14 in my M50-59 age group. Chris Washburn finished in 5:49:15. Wilt Alston finished in 7:30:32. Tom Butler finished in 8:35:05. Carl Camille finished in 8:48:30. There were 70 finishers in the 20K, link here. There were 60 finishers in the 10K, link here. There were 17 finishers in the 5K, link here. I didn't catch up to any of these other finishers that I knew. That was kind of weird.

End of race
I wanted to take a picture of my muddy shoes and the finish line but I found that my iPhone was dead. I figured that it was either dead because it got waterlogged or a dead battery. I was just a bit tired ... OK, a lot tired. My legs were sore. I drove up to the East Lodge and borrowed someone's phone so I could call my wife and 2 of my 3 kids which I remembered the phone numbers. I left voicemails that I was done. I found out later that my eCrumb died at 12:05 during lap 4. My oldest son was watching it and got a bit worried. I had a banana and some water and headed home.

My muddy shoes 

A well earned finisher's medal!

I found that a lot of people know me ... but I don't know them by name. I am not too good at names but I recognize faces. A lot of people encouraged me during the race and congratulated me after the race. I thank them all.

I lazed around the rest of the day. A nice hot shower and bath did help. All in all, I survived with no ill effects.

Oh, I put my work iPhone in a container of rice. Hopefully that will suck any water out of its innards. UPDATE from Monday, 11/4/2013: my iPhone survived!