Wilson Creek Frozen 50K

Starting Line for the 50Kers

I eat 50K's for breakfast! Not really but they always seem to start when I usually do eat breakfast so that hast to count for something. I woke with a troubled night sleep, I can never sleep good before a race. I always think of the things that can go wrong or the big thing that I worry about is forgetting something. I always seem to be waking up about an hour after I fall asleep to see if I packed something. I car pooled to the race with Lindsey and her sister in law Jenny and I'm glad that I did because I had no idea where these race was at. To top it off we fought heavy fog the entire way so it was nice to have some people that knew where they were heading. We arrived about a half an hour early to were we could get are race number and get ready for the race. The race went pretty good for the most part. It was a great course up until to hit the frozen cow trail but no it was pretty good, I enjoyed the course and the different point of view running above and below the fog.

About to the top of Wilson Peak

To the first aid station at 2.5 miles it was easy going and I made sure I started slow and fueled at every aid station. I wasn't going to make the same mistakes that I did in Standhope. To the next aid station was at mile 13 between the aid station was the biggest climb of the race so I didn't push too hard and made sure I walked up all the hills and ran all the downhills. When I started going downhill after the big hill climb, I ran into Ben and he eventually caught up to me. We talked for a few miles about the Standhope race and how spectacular its going to be this year. He also let me in on some insights and changes to this years Standhope race. Right after aid station 13 there was another hill that when I started climbing I started cramping up, thank goodness for mustard packets I think I ate 6 packets throughout the race. Between mile 13 to 20 I was doubting if I could finish the whole race, I was just tired and beat, and was thinking I just wasn't prepared enough, I guess I was doubting my training. When I arrived at mile 20, where the race began, I went through my drop bag and filled up on mustard packets, water and gels (only 10 miles left). Soon after I left I started getting tired but I pushed through it, when I reached the last aid station I knew it was all downhill from there. At mile 27 with 4 miles left my stomach started turning for the worse. I don't know if it was the water that I drank or pain meds that I took a few miles back but I knew that it wasn't my abs. I also had this feeling toward the end of the Standhope race but the last few miles I was forced to a run/walk/run state but I pushed hard at the end to try and finish under 7 hours, I came just shy of that at 7 hours and 4 minutes. Over all the race went well, I hydrated and fueled at the right times no low blood sugar and no problems with my feet. I wanted to finish in 7.5 hours and I finished in 7 hours. I placed 59th out of 90. Can't wait for the next ultra in June (River of No Return) to see if I beat my time. It will be a tough course to beat 7 hours but anything is possible.