Way to Cool Crash and Burn

Overheard at the Goat Hill AS, mile 26.8 into the race....Or, did I just imagine this?

Friendly Aid Station Person: "Welcome to Goat Hill aid station. What do you need?"

Runner #139 (me): "(gasp) There's nothing on that table that can fix what's wrong with me (wimper)!"

Friendly Aid Station Person: "What's the matter?"

Runner #139 (me): "My self diagnosis is age and LACK OF FITNESS!!! Can you fix that with a damn brownie?!"

Friendly Aid Station Person: Nope (pointing and laughing) so get your ass outa here! (more pointing and laughing)

Runner #139 (me): "I'll sally forth without your useless brownie! A pox on your brownies! Oh, and thanks so much for being out here you guys...I love each and every one of you."

I was fried....legs crispy and the stomach was staging a coup.

It took about 20 miles.....20 miles for the wheels to get wobbly and the dashboard lights to start flashing. I made it to the half way point in 2:17 and felt like a hero, however over the next several miles, my mortality surfaced once again and the familiar pace squelching leg fatigue inevitably took the reins. The rest of the race I found myself running with the "not gonna go sub 5 hours so stopped giving a shit" group. A friendly lot, with plenty of walking and stalling to chat at various aid stations...I had, for the moment, found my peeps.

THE PLAN going into WTC was to run hard from the start and see how far I could get before caving in. The weather conditions were perfect, the course was very runnable and I felt my conditioning was in the "OK" category - basically trained but not optimal - but still pretty good for me. With the exception of 2 ball bustingly steep climbs (one shared with Dawn Infurna-Bean of the WS100 video A Race For The Soul - and for the record, she is just as nice in person as she appears in the video. I will add she is way stronger/faster in person as well.), this course can be run without walking so fast times were there to be had for those who had done their homework.

The dog ate my homework.

My time of 5:25 was on the disappointing side mostly due to not being able to move any faster over the last 8 or 9 miles...but, as stated, THE PLAN was to run hard and deal with the consequences later. At some point past 20 miles, I knew my tab would need to be paid, I just wasn't sure when the bill collector would come-a-knockin...he eventually did, and my account was slowly, painfully, settled.

WTC is a long way to drive for a 50k but I think I will want to have another go at this one next year. I'll come with a revised PLAN and attempt a more even pace throughout. Still, it was good to test myself and see how far I could go at that pace. Overall, the event is extremely well run and a great way to kick off the Sierra Nevada ultra running season. BBB