All Aboard The Blunder Bus - My Stone Mill 50 DNF Report

November 12, 2016

This blog post has taken me quite a while to write. I've been taking a lazy off-season approach to both running and blogging. To be honest I haven't felt much like writing or running. I started 2016 believing this would be my last year of running ultras, I changed my mind, but forgot to tell my psyche and my body. I'm registered for a February 50K so I definitely need to get running and snap out of this funk, so here goes.

I picked the Stone Mill 50 to be the race to wrap up my year. I've run it twice before and I know it's a fun course. Completely runnable, no crazy climbs, party-like aid stations and a dirt cheap entry fee. If I were asked if I knew of a 50 miler good to be your first, I'd pick this one. Yes, as 50 milers go, I'd call the Stone Mill 50 an easy one.

Janice and I got to Gaithersburg, picked up my race packet, checked into the hotel and in no time we were at Growler's Brew Pub having a fun dinner with Ron and Jo Kappus (ultra runners from the New Jersey tribe). Good conversation about kids, dogs, softball, calories, beer, etc. and with an early morning start we headed off to our respective lodging.

Blunder #1:

My morning started normally, woke up at 4:30, got a shower, got dressed to run and ate a banana, a couple ClifBar Organic Food meals with coffee while Janice got ready to spend her day crewing. I like to get to events an hour before start time, so with an 11 minute drive to the start line, I wanted to leave just prior to 6:00. For some reason(s) I can't recall, we left a few minutes later and arrived at the elementary school at about 6:15. It was a chilly 36° so I wanted to go into the school, use the restroom, re-tie my shoes, drink water; basically complete my pre-race ritual. I walked into the auditorium and a man and woman were there chatting and they looked at me strangely as I entered wearing a race number. I said good morning and the woman asked me if I was ok. I responded that I was just coming in to get warm and the man said/asked, "you missed the start". You may have noticed that I mentioned I've run this race twice before. You would think I would've remembered that it started at 6am. He rushed outside with me to see if the timer could still record my start time, but the timing mat had already been turned off or disconnected or something (I'm not sure exactly how they work) I couldn't believe it, my day was done before it started, but all of a sudden the timer guy said, "give me a minute and I can set it back up". The other man asked if I knew how to get to the trail and I did. I ditched the bottle of water I was hoping to drink, put my headlamp on and took off when they said the mat was set.

I've been running organized races much of my life, so I have no excuse for making such a rookie mistake. As I headed out the road section before the trail head, it was all making sense now. I was wondering why we'd need headlamps for a 7am start. I also wondered why the cutoff times seemed pretty aggressive, bordering on unreasonable. At 6am, needing a headlamp made sense and a 6pm cutoff did too.

I was running down the sidewalk now with about a 20 minute handicap and beginning to wonder if my answering "yes" to knowing where the trailhead was, was a correct answer. I remembered the trail started just beyond a bridge. I saw a bridge and crossed it, but saw no trail. Thoughts of turning around, DNF'ing, sitting down on the curb and crying, etc. all crossed my mind, but instead I laughed at myself and kept running. After climbing a hill, I saw another bridge and then I noticed the familiar radio towers across the street and now I knew I was still going the right way.

I came upon a race marshal who's job was done and was heading back to the start. He told me Mike was waiting for me and would run with me to at least the first aid station. I thought, "hmm I may be stupid and 30 minutes late to this point, but I don't need a babysitter". Mike introduced himself and he fell in behind me. Conversation lead in a direction that I asked, are you the "sweep" and his answer was "yes". This was no way to start the day, having the guy who at any moment could tell me my day was done running on my heals. As most runners who volunteer to sweep events, Mike was a super nice guy and he even called ahead to let Aid Station #1 know they'd have a late customer. As we approached the aid station, Mike told me that the cutoff time for this point was 7:05 and it was only 7:01. he was trying to be encouraging, but I saw 4 minutes as way too close for comfort.

Janice was there and told me I was catching up, I told her I loved her, tossed her my headlamp and kept going. Barely a tenth of a mile further, I caught a female runner who was basically walking fast and soon after that another female and then I caught a man. I felt like I was actually catching up as I passed a few more runners. I didn't tell any of them that I started 20 minutes late, I didn't want my encouragement to be their discouragement.

Blunder #2:

Smiling & Climbing Out Of Aid Station #2

Technically, Blunder #2 came after the second aid station. It sits at the base of a small climb after a stream crossing. I was psyched to see Janice there; as I continued the climb, she yelled up to me if I had seen Rick Stahl. I couldn't figure out how she thought I could've seen him considering he started on time (foreshadowing for Blunder #3). I reminded her that he had to be way ahead of me. I was behind a woman with a guy behind me and there was a larger group of runners up ahead. We started to loop back around in the direction of the aid station and I began to notice we were essentially running in a circle and about that same time I realized we hadn't seen course markings in quite some time. Yep, we were off course. In retracing my steps I realized I had added about 3/4 of a mile, so it wasn't that bad. When we got back to the course I realized we had turned right when we should've gone left. The course was marked fine, but we were all playing follow the leader and all it took was one of us to miss the trail markers.

Blunder #3:

Re-entering the course, I saw Bert Salter approaching and I asked him how he could've gotten behind me. I asked if he had gone off course and he hadn't. I heard a voice say, "we didn't do the lake loop" and I responded "oh, didn't you?" and that same voice shot back, "no, you didn't do the lake loop". Yep, I had missed a critical turn for a new section of the course. Here the voice saying this had been running behind me at that missed junction, knew we missed the turn and said nothing. I won't call him out, but I think he saw a short cut to get himself back in the race after spending way too long with his girlfriend at the first aid station. (Yeah, I guess I just called him out.)

Now I knew why Janice thought I should've seen Rick. Now I knew why I was seeing runners, who I knew should be way ahead of me, coming into the second aid station behind me. I had spotted myself about 2 miles and even with going off course, I was mixing in with runners who I would've been with if I started on time. It pissed me off that had dude said nothing, knowing full well we were skipping that section. Freaked out about being late, being lost and now I had cheated. I thought I could possibly make it up on the way back, but how would I figure how to make the correct turn backwards, I was sure it wouldn't be marked in the other direction.

Blunder #4:

This blunder was probably the only one that sort of makes sense. In my semi-frantic haste, I was running ragged. It wasn't that my pace was too fast, but it was all over the place. I couldn't settle into a steady stride. Worse than that, I was ignoring fueling. I realized I had now run about 14 miles without drinking or eating anything. I gobbled down a Strawberry ClifBar ClifShot Energy Gel and washed it down with Tailwind. I've found that starting your nutrition late in an ultra can be disastrous. I was hoping that wasn't the case today.

[An odd note here: My right arm felt numb. Trying to tear open that gel, I had to use my left hand and my teeth. My right hand simply wasn't working. Hand swelling during running isn't uncommon, but my whole arm seemed affected. My arm was very cold, but I still had no idea why it felt numb. At the time, it freaked me out a little, but looking back I'm sure it was just the cold. In my haste to get started I left a wind jacket on and I was wearing arm warmers as well. I was dressed too warm for the day and my perspiration had gotten extremely cold. I ditched the jacket eventually, but should've taken off the wet arm warmers as well.]

Blunder #5:

There was a section where I could see a good distance behind me and a long string of runners. I was pretty sure I saw Rick Martin from back home. The trail switched back and I got a better look and was sure it was Rick. I eased up on my pace and after about a mile he was close enough for me to yell out to him. He said, "Perry? Did you pass me?". My quick answer was, "no, I cut the course...I cheated".

Soon we were running together, wondering where Rick Stahl might be, wondering about my numb arm, talking about my cutting the course. We had turned into a line of about 12 runners and somehow I was on the front setting the pace. I felt good, I was still wondering how I'd find the lake loop on the way back, but I was having a good run with friends now and in a second that was all shattered and I was trying to focus and get up off the ground. I was running strong up a small hill littered with lime stone and I caught a toe. Falling on an incline means the ground comes up to meet you a lot faster. I saw the rock coming, had no chance to catch myself and planted my left eye right on it.

I was a dizzy, semi-blind mess; sitting on my ass. In true trail ultra fashion, every last runner who was near when I fell stopped and surrounded me in an attempt to help. I wish I knew all of them, because I'm not sure if I got to really thank them. A woman offered her phone, but I said I just needed to get up and Rick Martin said, "I'll take care of him". The hand of Paul Encarnación appeared and I was back up on my feet. I walked at first and then was able to run again. Rick and Paul and another guy stuck with me. I was running, but with the lump growing above my left eye, I was afraid my day might be over early. My vision was going bad, the forest was flattening out and turning grey. Queasiness came and went, but an awful light headed feeling settled in and I needed to walk. I convinced Paul and the others who had piled up behind us to continue on and I'd be fine. They all passed, but Rick; he was concerned and determined to stay with me. We were still about two miles from the aid station when I finally convinced him that I'd be fine walking it in. I reminded him that I had self-extracted over much longer distance back home in Stony Valley, so Rick finally agreed and took off running promising that he'd let Janice know what had happened. Soon I felt a hand on my shoulder and heard, "hey old man how's it going?". It was Ron Kappus and I was in a bad way, the look on his face  was priceless when he saw my growing eye socket. I asked him to tell Janice if he saw her. Now I had two messengers, one of them was bound to see her. I walked for about a quarter mile, but started to get cold so I went back to running to keep warm. I was moving fine, but the light headed feeling wouldn't pass.

Rick Martin Arriving At The Pennyfield Lock

Aid Station - The Bearer Of Bad News

Soon I saw the C&O Canal and shortly after that I popped out onto the gravel road that lead to the Pennyfield Lock and the towpath. I was running fine, but I wasn't feeling fine. I saw Janice in the distance and yelled her name, I yelled a couple of times, but she seemed to either not hear me or something as it seemed she was walking away from me. She heard me, she knew I was coming, she was putting together an ice pack for my head. My chair was already set up at the Jeep and Janice retrieved two women who were race volunteers, each with medical experience. I was shocked at how certain they were that I needed to stop my race and they were going to call an ambulance. I still hadn't seen my head, but I thought, "shit I must look bad". I was trying to do the math about making the cut off times at my slowed pace and I realized that I couldn't even think straight much less do math. I was a mess, my run was done. I gave them my timing chip and they recorded my dropping from the race. We convinced them I wouldn't need an ambulance and with the name of a local hospital we were off to get me some medical attention.

In The Jeep And Headed To The ER

Blunder #6:

We found our way to the Shady Grove Adventist Hospital Emergency Room, recommended as the closest. It seemed like a nice place, but the receptionist person seemed to have no sense of urgency and she was asking the most innocuous questions. I made it past her without incident and with two new wrist bands I was soon being interviewed by Ingrid, an overly efficient triage nurse. I assured her I fulfilled all, but one of the common concussion symptoms and my real concern was if I had a hole in my head. She agreed, ordered a CAT Scan and sent me back to the waiting area. I sat for 90+ minutes and decided to ask if I had been forgotten. (yes, it was a Saturday, but no; it wasn't busy) I told the sleepy receptionist that I wanted to leave if I wasn't going to be X-Rayed soon and she basically gave me a stare and asked another nurse to talk to me. She had only a slightly higher sense of urgency. I found it funny when she said she was concerned my skull could be fractured and assured me I had been referred to their fast track team, but that fast track CAT Scan team was really swamped so it could take a few more hours. Two out of the three employees I dealt with were useless. An elderly gentlemen came in with a pretty serious looking laceration on a finger. He made a quick puddle of blood while lightning behind the reception desk asked him his favorite color. After I came back out to waiting area he too reappeared. His finger was wrapped in loose bandages, but it was obvious he also was sent to wait for further care. They need to remove the word "EMERGENCY" from their sign; this is clearly just a room.

I'm sure the folks who referred us to this place meant well, but don't go there expecting urgent care. (Note: In an effort to appease Janice and my Mom, early Monday morning I visited Community General Osteopathic Hospital near home and I was CAT Scanned and released in about an hour with no skull fracture. I did however receive a semi-insanity diagnosis after I explained that I was running 50 miles when I fell.)

Much Better Service At My Home Town ER

It Was Funny How They Seemed To recognize Me...

Some parts of the day were awesome:

Mistakes and mishaps all done for the day, Janice and I were now on a mission to figure out which aid station we should visit to see the rest of the tribe still out on the course. We made it to the Riffle Ford Road Aid Station to see Rick Stahl, Rick Martin and Todd Lewis.

Rick Stahl At Riffle Ford Road Aid Station

Todd Lewis Trying Not To Laugh At My Expanding Forehead

Rick Martin At Riffle Ford Road

While I'm Locating His Drop Bag

From Riffle Ford Road we relocated to the finish line to cheer on our friends as they finished. I got a real taste for what Janice goes through when she's crewing for me. The standing and waiting in anticipation is nuts. I love her for doing it...can't believe she still agrees to do it, much less still loves me afterwards.

Hanging With My DNF Brother Ralph

We'll Be Back!

The wait at the finish line was a lot of fun watching the friends and family gaze off to the last turn where runners appeared for their final jaunt to the finish line. The turn was probably a quarter mile away so you could only sorta' recognize runners when they made the turn. As they got closer though it was so cool to see the excitement swell in their folks waiting for them. Cheering, homemade signs, cow bells ringing, kids, dogs; man that stuff is priceless.

Rick Stahl Finishing Up His First 50 Miler

• Rookie Rick Stahl nailed his first attempt at the 50 mile distance with a rockin' 9:43 finish.
• Rick Martin had another great day. This was just his second 50 miler and he won the Men's 60-69 age group with a time of 10:32.  If he hadn't had the misfortune to be right behind me when I face planted, who knows what his finishing time might've been. I can't say enough about his insisting to stick with me when I was in obvious trouble. Thank you Rick, I owe you!

Rick Martin Crossing The Line

• Geoffrey Hemgen cruised into the finish at 10:47 to the cheers of his family waiting patiently at the school. His son in the Ravens jersey won the adorable award on the day.
• Ron Kappus came into the finish at 10:53 looking like he had enough left for another 50.
• Todd Lewis took care of the Lake Loop on his return trip and got across the line in 10:57.
• Paul Encarnación, another of my heroes on the day, finished in exactly 11 hours. I wonder how much time my mishap added to his time. Thanks again Paul, see you on a trail soon!
• Bert Salter came in with a time of 11:25. I'm not sure what I was doing when he crossed the line, but I missed him. Sorry Bert, I still owe you for those late night/early morning C&O Canal Pierogies!
• Jo Kappus and Ralph Smith joined me on the DNF list. Each had a physical issue that ended their day early.

That's Todd Lewis Finishing Another Stone Mill 50 (shrugging his shoulders)

The Goofball In Front Of Him Had Just Sprinted Past Him In The Final 100 Meters

Yep, That Guy Won The Jerk Of The Day Award...Ya Just Don't Do That

Finish Line Etiquette

From the finish line we scooted over to the nearby Dogfish Head Alehouse Restaurant for dinner with Rick and Stacy Stahl and Rick Martin. We got in there just in time to be seated quickly before the waiting area gorged with folks who got a 1 hour wait. Good food, good beer and good stories. A great way to celebrate Rick Stahl's first 50 and Rick Martin's age group win. For me, it was a celebration of the end of a fun year of running. No, wrapping up 2016 with 2 DNF's and a huge lump on my head was not what I had planned; but I finished 9 of the 11 ultras I entered and 2016 saw my first 100 mile finish...I'll gladly stay focused on the positive.

Insert Your Own Caption

Next up for me is the Algonquin 50K in February so now it's time to get back to training.

Happy New Year!

ClifBar Organic Energy Food - A Product Review

Sucking down a Sweet Potato With Sea Salt
at the Oil Creek 100

I've posted very few product reviews here, I guess it's not really my thing; I write this blog mostly to share my experiences. A few things have come my way though and I've felt it necessary to talk about them. The Organic Energy series from ClifBar is definitely worthy.

First I need to state that all of the Organic Energy Food products I use are given to me by ClifBar. At the same time though, they provided them to support my adventures and never required me or even asked me to do this. I thank them enormously as often as I can. So in a way, this post is just me saying one more time, "thanks ClifBar, you're the coolest company on the planet!".

ClifBar Company has a whole host of products, most widely known are their signature ClifBar. Last year they introduced me to their Organic Energy Food. I took to them immediately, they're an excellent alternative to the common trail running fair of gels and chews that can get tiresome after eating them for many hours. I first used them on an attempt to thru-run the 140+ mile Horse-Shoe Trail (May 2015).

The Organic Energy Food packs are much like eating a mini meal. The four original flavors were Pizza Margherita(160 calories) and Sweet Potato With Sea Salt(200 calories) making up the Savory/Salty category along with Banana Mango With Coconut(100 calories) and Banana Beet With Ginger(110 calories) as the Refreshing Fruit Flavor options. Pizza Margherita and Sweet Potato With Sea Salt come in a larger 120 gram packet while the Banana Mango With Coconut and Banana Beet With Ginger come in a smaller sized 90 gram packet. This past year I've wrestled with which one is my favorite and right now I believe it's the Banana Beet With Ginger. 

They're a bit larger than the typical gel or chew package so carrying them can be a challenge. I can however see them fitting fine in the pocket of a cycling jersey. At the ultras I've run this year, I've mainly been putting them in drop bags or Janice hands them up to me as an extra special refueling treat. I do however carry them on long training runs in the mountains as I'm usually wearing a more substantial hydration pack that can accommodate them easily. Those who followed Scott Jurek's 2015 record setting Appalachian Trail run may have noticed him enjoying these meals while taking breaks with his wife Jenny along the way.

The ClifBar site says this about them: "The next generation of sports nutrition. Inspired by the home recipes of Team ClifBar athletes, each recipe is designed to provide endurance athletes with energy from real food ingredients like those they could find in their own kitchens, satisfying cravings for either real fruit or salty comfort food."

Pizza Margherita is based on Scott Jurek's Long Run Pizza Bread Recipe. Sweet Potato With Sea Salt comes from Stephanie Howe's Sweet Potato Bowl Recipe. Their actual recipes are available linked off the ClifBar site and they look extremely yummy.

They list these "Flavor Notes" for them as well:

• For long distance activity
• Made from real food ingredients
• Satisfying Savory/Salty Flavor
• USDA Organic, Non-GMO, Gluten Free, Kosher

Refreshing Fruit Flavors in the smaller 90g package.

Banana Mango With Coconut uses Troy Wells' Banana Bread With Coconut recipe as a guide while Banana Beet With Ginger looks to Scott Jurek again with his Banana Beet Ginger Recovery Smoothie recipe. Those two recipes are also available on the company web site along with these "Flavor Notes":

• For any distance activity
• Made from real food ingredients
• Refreshing Fruit Flavor
• USDA Organic, Non-GMO, Gluten Free, Kosher

So those are the original flavors. In case you hadn't heard of them, now you're up to speed. What I really want to talk about are the two newest flavors just introduced this year. a spring time delivery of ClifBar goodness arrived on our doorstep and these two new items jumped right out at me. I didn't recognize the packaging from before and then I noticed they were labeled "New". They're Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal and Banana Cinnamon Oatmeal, each packed with 140 quality calories and they've become my main pre-race go-to breakfast items.

The larger 120g packages.

The morning of an event, I'm usually up a few hours before the start time. I like to have a couple cups of coffee, maybe eat a banana and most recently I was eating a toasted English Muffin with some kind of nut butter on it. Good energy stuff to wake up the body long before you hear "GO!". In April and May I ran a 100 miler and a 50 miler and for those events, I ditched the muffin with nut butter for these new Organic Energy Food flavors and they became permanent part of my pre-race breakfast formula for the rest of 2016. (and yes, I eat one of each)



Like the "Savory/Salty" flavors, these two also come in the larger size pouch. The fact that they require no preparation is a huge plus. If you're waking up in a hotel room, a tent or your Jeep, all you need to do is unscrew the cap and you have breakfast. Growing up during the era of the Apollo Missions, I could definitely have envisioned Neil Armstrong having these for breakfast before his "one giant step". It doesn't matter where you are or what type of facilities you have available, you can have breakfast.

Scott Jurek gets credit for both of these versions of oatmeal and there's a fun interview with him linked off the product page. The interview includes some pretty cool insight from him, I recommend reading it.

• I recommend the breakfast recipes 2-3 hours before an event and eat the others during your adventure.
• I like to gobble one of the fruit packets when I know a big climb is approaching. We all know how eating during a tough climb can be a big mistake. They're a good dose of energy when and where you need it and they seem to carry a bit further than a gel or chew. That of course is all completely anecdotal and my opinion.
• When I know I've got a long runnable stretch coming up where I want to extend and not have to think about eating I go for the savory/salty flavors.
• All three categories of these Organic Energy meals are smooth energy food and a welcome alternative to gels and chews.

When running ultra marathons it's important to find things that will make the endurance and suffering more tolerable. Alternatives and variety in nutrition that work can prove to be that extra edge that gets you to the finish line. You're always looking for a new arrow for your quiver. Just like gear; your shoes, clothing, pack; your nutrition selections need to be precise and correct. Sure I still eat tons of ClifBar gels and chews and I still gobble PB&J, watermelon, bananas, etc. at aid stations. Running for hours and eating the same stuff continually can turn into an ugly gag-fest. Sometimes you just get sick of choking down the same thing over and over, especially the sweet stuff. At the same time though, if you're used to eating something that doesn't upset your gut or make you barf, you've got to stick with it. Changing something or adding something new can be a risk. Puking your guts up can easily end your day early. ClifBar Organic Energy has become a welcome addition to the things I already eat. One more arrow in my nutrition quiver; additional yummy fuel packed with quality calories that agree with my gut.

Just find our orange Jeep aka the rolling ClifBar aid station ;-)



Find them at a store near you or find me at a race (next up is the Stone Mill 50). I recommend you give them a try. If you have questions, please post a comment; I'm happy to reply.

Oil Creek 100 - "So What Happened?"

I hadn't planned to write about the Oil Creek 100. Heck, what's there to say? I didn't finish. I've been asked what happened by some and I've thought about it and I still don't have much to say, but here goes.

Oil Derricks In The Distance at Benninghoff Farm



This was to be my running high point for 2014. I had fun and finished strong at The Laurel Highlands Ultra, had a mellow July training-wise and got back at it in August. I fought through some Plantar Fasciitis as September waned towards October, but I felt pretty well prepared to take on the 100 miles in Oil Creek State Park. The Saturday before the event (yes one week out) I came down with some sort of stomach virus/flu-like sickness. It knocked me flat. I couldn't get out of bed Sunday or Monday. Wednesday I forced myself to go for an easy run and "weak" is the only word to describe it. Janice told me later that all week she was expecting me to tell her I was pulling the plug. Looking back on it, I probably should have. I was tight as a drum when we arrived at the pre-race dinner/packet pickup. I saw others who I had looked forward to seeing, but couldn't bring myself to talk to them. I was working too hard to fake myself into believing that I felt fine and ready. I feared if I talked to someone they'd figure me out as an imposter. So there ya' have it. Not much to say about it. I got sick as a dog, but still went to Titusville, thinking maybe just maybe I'd be able to will myself to the finish line. Nope! Didn't work! Lesson learned, don't show up a week after being stuck sick in bed and expect to be able to perform.

Darkest before dawn.



I did actually run some. The race got off to a good start for me, I kept an eye on my pace so as not to get sucked into a pace faster than I could sustain. I had planned to try to take about 8ish hours for each 50k lap. 43° at start time dropped to 39° before sun up. I like temperatures in the low 40's but today I couldn't keep warm. I was wearing a long sleeved shirt, but my arms were so cold they felt numb and so did my hands. Thinking of so many other things, I never saw this as a sign that something was wrong. I just figured I was cold. Janice met me at a water station which was spectacular because she gave me a pair of gloves and of all things I had again forgotten to take alergy medicine and my breathing wasn't 100%. The gloves seemed to bring some warmth I needed (and temps climbed to 50°) and for the remainder of the first 31 miles, my hands and arms started to feel normal again. I completed the first lap in about 8 hours so I was fine, I thought.

"Your mountain is waiting, get on your way!"







I put on a couple of dry shirts at Aid Station #4 and started the second lap continuing to convince myself that I could stick to my 8ish hour lap plan. I arrived at Aid Station #2 about 15 minutes slower than I had in the morning, but still nothing to worry about. The sun was setting and the forecasted cold overnight temperatures would soon be on us so I changed clothing completely. Top to bottom - a light winter hat, a lycra long sleeved base layer, a whicking layer over that and a light wind jacket to top it off and I ditched my shorts for tights. With a dry set of gloves and my headlamp, I took off to finish the lap.

Layered & Prepped For The Cold



Probably around 50 miles, the sun had dropped to a level that I needed to turn on my headlamp. It seemed like flipping that switch to "on" was like switching my switch to "off". Everything started going wrong. I had been running pretty confidently and now I was tripping and stumbling over everything. I banged a toe badly on my left foot. I banged my right foot so hard I felt like my hip dislocated. The only thing that took my mind off the hip pain was the hit I took to my head on the tree that caught my fall. The bottom had fallen out of my strength and coordination so I decided to slow down. Now even though I had slowed down, I seemed to have no energy. I had eaten pretty well all day, but I had zilch. Still I didn't think of this as a sign of anything. The offical temperature in the area eventually dropped to 30° over night and now that I was going slower I was feeling it. I was back to not being able to generate enough watts to keep my core temperature up. I just kept telling myself that I had more/warmer clothing for the third lap so I thought I could just gut it out.

I arrived at Aid Station #3 and cut off times were being discussed and all of a sudden it hit me. I had slowed down so much that I had placed myself outside the cutoff times. Doing the math based on my current snail's pace, I could start the last lap and make it to Aid Station #2 in time (maybe), but I'd get pulled at Aid Station #3. My plan for 8 hour laps was fine as long as I didn't fall out of that time frame badly and here I had. Getting to the Start/Finish/Aid Station #4 in one piece was now all that mattered to me. All energy was gone and I was cold to a point that the possibility of hypothermia was real. I dropped at Aid Station #4. Standing talking to the kind race volunteer, I noticed how the Middle School lawn had frozen and I just couldn't wait to get warm. Janice piled me into the Jeep and we drove for nearly an hour before we found a hotel. I finally regained a normal body temperature after a hot shower.

The bottom line here is that I guess I need to admit that I never completely recovered from being sick. It never dawned on me that, "hey maybe you can't keep warm because you're not healthy". I couldn't figure out that a complete loss of energy around mile 50 might've had something to do with still being sick.

I had planned for this year to be my last serious year of trying to be an ultra runner and a 100 miler seemed like a nice way to go out. I've got plenty of other fond ultra memories and accomplishments  that I can comfortably finish this chapter. I am running the Stone Mill 50 next month though. I had fun there last year and it gives us a chance to see Niece Heather and her Husband Jim who live nearby.

Man I had a great time, but our family could probably function better without an ultra runner in the home. Our kayaks hang too much and float too little. I really need to reconnect with backpacking and knock off some more states along the Appalachian Trail. Those are just a couple fun things that ultra running has gotten in the way of. Heck, maybe next year I'll do that end to end paddle of the Susquehanna River I've always wanted to do. I've only completed PA and NJ, so maybe I should finish NY and add CT to the list of Appalachian Trail States I've trekked. I'd also like to fast pack the Horse Shoe Trail end to end some weekend. Wow, this list is growing. Ha ha! 2015's gonna be a blast!

Some cool photos Janice captured in and around Titusville, Oil City & Oil Creek State Park:

 

A Saturday auction.

Welcome to Titusville.

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Stone Mill 50 Race Report - A Fun Finish For A Fresh Start

I had been having a fun year of running. The high point was surviving The Laurel Highlands Ultra in June - 70.5 miles in 19:34 - there's something about finishing cross-eyed and hallucinating at 1:05am that can leave you on a high spot. I was stoked, training was going well and I even won my age group in a short race in August. Then September rolled around and without warning, the wheels came off. When you're running an ultra you're wise to be able to recognize a rough patch as just that and you push through it. Don't let it stop you. Somehow I failed to recognize September as a rough patch and I let it stop me. I let a whole lot of things that come with running bother me and I let that frustration stop me. I scratched from 3 races and completely stopped running. I had no real idea why, but that made sense to me at the time considering I have no real idea why I run in the first place. For about 3 weeks I sat on the sofa eating chips and drinking cans of Coke 3 at a time. I was having a blast, just me and the dogs chilling and eating chips. Taking naps was also a newly learned skill. Along with building a lovely waist line, I was reaching new heights of annoying Janice. I came to learn that she cherished those days when I'd disappear for 4 hours to run in the forest. Oh well, I'd just need to learn better ways of keeping my non-running self out of her way so she could still enjoy her "me time".

One Sunday, Janice went somewhere to do something with some girls from her softball team and I started to feel like my lard ass was sinking a little extra deep in the sofa that day. The dogs were sleeping off whatever container of snacks we had polished off and I realized I needed to run. It was that simple, I needed to run. I got off my butt and went for a run - did a lot of walking as the climbs on Blue Mountain hadn't taken off the same days I had, but it was a run just the same. The next day I was right back at it, in fact I ran every day for the next 20 days straight. Over the next 32 days, I ran 31 times. Some of those runs were awful, but for some reason I was running again. I got back to running with Mojo and Mollie too! I even found a couple of short trail races to hop in for fun, got my butt kicked like always, but they were fun.


Somehow when I was going through my "I'm done with running" period I had forgotten to tell the nice folks of the Montgomery County Road Runners Club that I wouldn't be at the start line for their Stone Mill 50 miler in November. After all, the conflict with the date of that race was one of the stressors that sent me spinning out of running, how could I have forgotten to ditch this race too? Now here I was running again. Sure I was carrying a bunch of extra pounds and I hadn't done any much needed long runs, but what could go wrong? The date seemed to be opening back up so who cared if a slow 15 miles was my longest run in many weeks? Yep, I burned some Hilton Honors points and just like that we had lodging and a November 50 miler was back on my calendar.



We packed up the Jeep and left Cody home to take care of Mojo and Mollie. After a short fight with DC Metro traffic we were at Fleet Feet Gaithersburg picking up my race number. Pretty cool timing as we ran into Janice's co-worker Matt Sinopoli and his friend Gene Gignac who were also running the next day. My only real concern at that point was if Matt would leave any finish line food for me. After a tasty dinner and brews at The Dog Fish Head Alehouse, we were off to the Hilton for some much needed sleep before the 6am start.

Pre-race prep at Dog Fish Head Alehouse



The morning went fast, the over-night rain stopped and after announcing some cool stats on what states runners came from (35 from PA), the race director said a very unceremonious "go".

One last headlamp adjustment.



Heading out to the 2.? mile turn around I heard guys talking behind me, put 2 and 2 together and soon realized I was somehow running in front of a Western PA contingent, Ben Mazur, Adam McGinnis and Todd Lewis - runners I spent the day leap frogging with during Laurel Highlands. A three man freight train.

Adam McGinnis, Ben Mazur

 

and Todd Lewis 

The Western PA Limited

It was dark so I wasn't looking at my watch, but I kept hearing comments about our average pace and although I felt fine, I knew I was going too fast. I think Todd was immediately behind me and I felt like I was running from a speeding car - these guys were going good, too good for me to maintain. Finally the sun was coming up so I used wanting to take my headlamp off as an excuse to pull off at the top of a small hill. Phew! As they flew past I thought, "now I can slow down and run my pace". 

Well that all sounds good, but I got caught right back up in the excitement of the race. I was hitting aid stations ahead of schedule causing Janice to miss me at the first one(no big deal) and I had to wait for her at the next(I needed to get rid of a shirt and my headlamp). Waiting a few minutes helped, it seemed to calm me some and drop me into a pack of runners closer to the pace I needed...or so I thought. I had told Niece and Nephew Heather and Jim they may be able to see me at the aid station near the Potomac at 11:00am and then 11:45am at the Stone Mill. I hit the marathon mark well under five hours and now I had just come through the 29 mile Stone Mill aid station just before 11 and was on my way 45 minutes ahead of my planned pace. There would be no way I could survive this pace.

Towing two shirtless guys into an aid station - they sure talked a lot.



Most of the aid stations were only a few miles apart so I chose to run with just a hand held.
Janice refueled me at each aid station with a full bottle and made sure I took two bottles when the next stop would be further than the others(some had 6+ mile gaps between them and in the later miles I was sucking down the liquid). I stuck to my schedule of a gel and an Endurolyte every hour and I used buffered salt tablets twice in the 50 miles(result=zero cramping). At the aid stations I made sure to eat peanut butter and jelly sandwich quarters and a piece of banana here and there - I drank a lot of Coke and Mountain Dew too.

Matt - Chocolate Chip Cookie Connoisseur & Gene - Refueling with Gatorade

I took a few extra moments at the Stone Mill aid station and trotted up the next couple of
ascents at a very easy(slow) pace and I was encouraged by hitting the 50k mark in about 5:50 - that was much closer to where I wanted/needed to be. Unfortunately it became quickly evident that I was not slowing down by choice anymore, fatigue was ruling at this point. I had hoped to finish at 10 hours or 4:00pm and at a later aid station I told Janice that goal was falling seriously out of possibility. I had 7 miles to go and it was 2:30, my pace had slowed considerably and I explained that I felt I was going to miss that mark. I was pushing hard, but I didn't have much left. I knew it was slipping away, but I felt I could really know how much time I could salvage when I got to the aid station at 48 miles. Much of the day, my trusty Suunto Ambit2 S watch hadn't been jiving with the aid station distances so I was relying on what the volunteers or signs listed as the distance. Well, I reached that aid station and I heard a volunteer say "you're doing great, just 3 more miles". Me and two other runners quickly asked, "what mile is this?" and "just about 47" was what we got. The race web site had labeled this last aid station as being at 48 mile and I know it's just a mile and I was going to miss 4:00pm whether it was 2 or 3, but to me that announcement was crushing. I was managing my physical and mental fatigue based completely on having 2 miles to go at that point. Fatigue totally took over and my next 3 miles were a mess.

I started to hear traffic and soon enough was I popping out of the woods onto the sidewalk we crossed in the morning darkness. I knew the High School and the finish line was close. After a short run along the street a nice volunteer directed me back into a forested area and I could see steep hills looming and before long I was looking up at the finish banner, but it was perpendicular to where I was. I heard Janice and others yelling my name. It was sort of confusing about how to get to the finish, but soon I heard the race director yell, "run to me" which meant run straight up a steep grassy hill. It was maybe only 40 yards up, but it was enough to bring flashbacks of running hill drills in football. I muttered some expletive to myself, but just had to laugh at that hill. As the exclamation point at the end of 50 miles it was easy to resolve to walk that last short distance.

Coming out of the woods one last time.

 



Crossing the line I was greeted by a volunteer with wire cutters to cut off my timing tag. When I explained it wasn't on my shoe it was in my pocket, the gentlemen doing the timing simply said, "not good" with a cross look - oops. I tried to explain that I expected to need to change my shoes, but that fell on deaf ears - didn't matter, I soon saw Janice and quickly recognized Heather and Jim who live in Virginia not too far from Gaithersburg. What a very cool surprise, having them at the finish. I hadn't seen them since the Goretex 50 Mile at the DC North Face Endurance Challenge in June 2012. I now knew who those other voices were yelling my name when I was at the base of that nasty hill.



The next day I read an article that said 80% of runners go out too fast at the start of races, so at least I've got company. The Stone Mill 50 offers an easy course. With nothing more than rolling little hills and nothing technical, "easy" is the only label I can give it. Heck, we ran more than a mile on a suburban sidewalk and 3 miles on the flat C&O Canal towpath. The 2 trails the race uses snake through suburbia, one minute we were hearing loud sirens nearby and around the next turn we were greeted by a beautiful buck. Hunters were there too, decked out in full camo carrying their bows on the hunt for Bambi with a couple hundred crazies running through their hunting ground. I was surprised by the amount of water crossings - my feet were wet much of the day. I saw a helmeted woman on horseback, but I also ran through a Starbuck's parking lot. The Seneca Creek and Muddy Branch Trails are beautiful and their gentleness will tempt you to run outside of your ability - take it from me, DON'T DO IT! After all, it is still 50 miles long. All in all, I'm happy with my finish, I got in with a 10:34ish - 89th of 179 male finishers & 115th of 252 overall finishers. 

The biggest deal? >>> I beat sundown and as Jim said, "in November that's hard to do".

Janice found fun while chasing me from aid station to aid station.



I now have completed 2 of the 3 events I found interesting when I first learned about ultra trail running. The Laurel Highlands and The Stone Mill 50 both caught my eye because of their closeness to home. I remember reading The Stone Mill site thinking the drawing of the old mill was very cool and I thought it had to be a fun event because it seemed to sell out in a hurry. Of course, just like Laurel Highlands, at the time I was confident I'd never enter such an insane endeavor. The third event that caught my eye? The 3rd was the JFK 50 and I've accepted I'll never run it and that's ok, I'm having more fun than all those miles on the towpath could ever provide.