From owner-ius-l@AMERICAN.EDU Sun Oct 27 19:42:53 1996 Date: Sun, 27 Oct 1996 17:11:20 -0800 (PST) To: IUS-L@AMERICAN.EDU From: apetri@earthlink.net (The Petri Family) Subject: SNER report (long) Cc: slpicanco@ucdavis.edu Well guys, it's in the record books, my first 50 miler, and the run was a smashing success. I was not only able to complete the run, but I beat my fantasy goal and ran a Western States qualifier, 10:25. Here's the boring details. I had been going back and forth all week about this run, wondering whether I really had enough training under my belt to actually do it, and then feeling as ready as possible.I hadn't tried anything near this long before, so I had no idea of whether I could do it, how long it would take me, or how to pace myself. I figured the 10:35 WS qualifying would be a fantasy goal, broken if all went well and I ran strong the whole way. More likely, I figured 12:00, but would be happy with anything under the cutoff time. I just wanted to finish. We took off under a clear sky and full moon at 6:30 AM, and I was full of adrenaline. I latch on to another runner fast, by the name of Loren, who I basically ran with the first 30 miles. He had run this race 2 other times, both times starting out too hard, then limping in around 12 hours, so he felt committed to an easy starting pace. The pace also felt great to me, so we stayed together. We hit the first aid station, Twin Rocks (3.7 miles) in 34 minutes, well over 6 mph, but not suprising considering it's a fairly easy section, and I have a hard time running much slower than this. From here, we got to start working a little, as the next almost 6 miles were full of a lot of ups and downs. Everything felt OK, so the pace kept up, and we reached Horseshoe Bar (9.56 miles) in 1:36...still a fast pace, but not one that was causing any fatigue. This was another quick in and out, but all I could fill up with was Gatorade. We quickly got into Rattlesnake Bar (11.5 miles) in 1:58 and met up with my crew; my wife Carmen, my friend Steve, and the other runners crew guy that I was running with, Walt. John Scott, the other runner of my group, had left 1/2 early in the morning, but I now found out we were almost caught up to him. A quick check showed we were 20 minutes ahead of the fantasy goal, but I figured this was just time in the bank...I didn't have any thoughts of finishing time yet. Anyways, I dumped my flashlight, long sleeve and nylon jacket with the crew, refilled with Cytomax, grabbed some goodies, and we were off again. It was at this point that Loren forst started mentioning 10:30 pace, but with a little concern. We were real careful about monitoring ourselves, but all was well, so we forged on. We talked about a lot of aspects of ultra running, and I got a lot of good tips on the course and running in general from him. Then the hills started. Now, I did a training run on this course with Gene & Suzi last month, but we didn't run this section called Cardiac (aptly named). As soon as we hit it, the walk was on, and for quite a while. We didn't push the walk, for fear of building any lactic acid, but we pushed on. All year long I had been doing a training run up in Fall Creek that had a similar 1/2 mile stretch of really steep trail, and I'm glad I did...it helped a lot here. Finally we were at the top at the Maidu aid station (20.8), and all still felt well. We jogged along the canal to the Auburn Dam Overlook, where I again met the crew. We came in, 22.3 miles, at 3:59, 30 minutes ahead of schedule. I took about 5 minutes to have a few bites of a turkey sandwich and refill the bottles, then took of again. The next section got a little rough, starting with a long downhill, some up, then a bunch more down. The leaders finally came through, Scott St John first, but only by about a minute at that point. He ended up winning by over an hour in 7:19. Anyways. my first problem started on the way down to No Hands...my left ankle started getting sore. I thought it was my achilles at first, but it turned out to be on the side. I also made my first strategic mistake of the day, as I opened my bag and found I had forgotten to restock the goodies. Got into the No Hands station (26.1), said hi to Gene, then took off for the bridge. It was funn to touch the gate, and I stopped for a second to try stretching my achilles, which was getting quite sore. So, we turned around and headed back. There was lot's of uphill, so lot's of walking, and it was getting really warm in this section, so I was downing the Gatorade. By the time I got back up to the Dam (29.9), things had changed. I was in in 5:38, still 22 minutes ahead of schedule, but I was hurting a little. The Gatorade tasted like sh*t, and my ankle was really sore. I spent 12 minutes in this station, eating, talking with the crew. Carmen, Steve and Walt were all great about telling me how great I was doing, but I felt otherwise. I finally took off, sans Loren, who ended up about 5 minutes behind me. Now is where the play of the day occured, over a stretch of about 30 minutes. I started getting really quesy, and my legs started feeling quivery. I took some salt, I took another Electrolyte Stamina Tablet, I drank a lot, then I took a Tums. I got into Maidu, (31.4, 6:04)feeling a little better, but within minutes of leaving, went downhill again. I took it easy going down Cardiac, caught up to a train of about 7-8 people, and just follwed along. Once things leveled off a little, I tagged along, but had to walk the uphills, as my ankle was really hurting know. I guess all the stuff I took helped to balance me out, and the extra walking helped me to get my energy back, as I started to feel a lot better, but my ankle was screaming. Finally, in a fit of frustration, I pulled over, almost crying. My energy was back, I felt like running, but my ankle hurt so bad. I massaged it for a minute, then walked a minute before running again. It started getting better. I hit the power station(38.5), both bottles empty, but really starting to get a high. I noticed that despite all the walking I had done, I was still ahead of the 10:35 pace. That really pumped me up. So a hard candy and away I went. I ran into Rattlesnake, barking orders to the crew, asking Steve to get ready to go. We had originally planned on Horseshoe Bar, but because John was so far behind now, I knew there was no way for them to support John and meet me at Horseshoe. We were at 40.7 miles, the first time I had ever run over 40, I had been running for 7:49, and I felt great. Steve and I took off. After a quick run into the bushes, we cruised into Horseshoe (42.63) at 8:21, 13 minutes ahead of the 10:35. I was convinced by this point that I would finish, and pretty sure that we could do sub 10:35, but this next section would tell. I was concerned and had a lot of respect for the steep ups and downs of this next almost 6 miles. We walked, usually hard, the ups, and ran the downs. I had been paying attention to the variuos talk on this list about running the downhills and how that helps to make a succesfull ultra. The ankle was still bothering me, and all the ups and downs made it worse, but we forged on. I was starting to check my watch a lot before we got into the last aid station. I really wanted that sub 10:30, and it looked like it was getting close. We finally got into Twin Rocks(48.5) at 9:40, only 5 minutes ahead of sub 10:35 pace. Wasting no time, Steve filled my bottles and we were out of there. I used other runners as motivation at this point, trying to find some to pass then leave behind, but 2 was all I could find. We took care of them, though. I was just starting to feel tired, as was Steve, when we spotted the school, and I estactically crossed the finish line in 10:25. Checking in later, my ankle is pretty messed up. I woke up this morning to a swollen and bruised mess. It's also pretty stiff. A shame, as the rest of me fels pretty good, maybe even better that after Pt Reyes. And check this out...NO black toenails! Well, now I've got a Western States qualifier, but I'm not going to use it this year. I talked to Norm, and he explained that I can still use this one next year, so I may shoot for that. Running my first WS, first 100 for my 40th birthday would be cool. But for the next year, I'd like to focus on running a few more of these. I still have a bit to learn about fueling myself properly, and about staying organized and focused in aid stations. I wasted a lot of time in the aid stations. I really liked this distance though, as it was a fun day, and I feel like I got a lot out of it, especially being able to push through a real down spot. So, I think I'll go see the Sports Med tomorrow, then take it easy until the ankle gets better. Thanks to my crew, congrats to John Scott for finishing in a little over 12 hours in his first 50, and thanks and congrats to Suzi T..congrats for earning her 10 year buckle, and thanks for talking me into this in the first place. I had no idea I had it in me, and it's so nice to be able to suprise oneself. Pete ============================================================================== Pete, Ultrarunner under consruction | Carmen, Weddings are her biz | John & 8th grade is way cool | HONK! If you're a friend Evita Ask me about my pet squeekers | of Bill W's The Petri's of Brookdale, CA | apetri@earthlink.net | (408)338-0559 | ============================================================================