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| Selfie somewhere in Arkansas |
This was the first long run I did without Julie on my crew. It was a boys weekend and I know it killed her not being there. The weekend started harmlessly enough with a Thursday birthday and shakeout run with some of my training partners (Angie, Steve, and Kim). Kind of a traditional run Angie and I started last summer before each other's races. At the end of the run Steve started asking questions about when we were leaving and talking about trying to crash our drive. Long story short, it was a really cool surprise when Steve showed up at my house at 5:30 Friday morning to head down with Scott, Will and I.
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| Scott, Will and I at Checkin |
We arrived at the race starting area just before packet pickup ended and the 100 milers were going to start. We picked up my bib number, took some pictures, saw the start of the 100 mile race, went to get some beer and had dinner at the marina. Good food and unbeknownst to us, bring your own beer....really good thing we had our priorities in line before dinner! After dinner we went back to the hotel and ended up hanging out with some of the other 100K runners and 100 mile pacers. We had a great time and loved getting to know some Arkansas and Oklahoma runners. Turns out we are all like minded in our running. Hell, even our Saturday morning running groups are called the same. The Breakfast Club, and they were founded under similar circumstances! I suspect if we every get our two groups together we would have a blast! I joked with many friends sending me texts and messages of best wishes that Scott, Will and Steve were trying to get my competition drunk to make it easier on me. In the end all they really accomplished was getting themselves a little liquored up! Epic mistake, but again, so fun!
We managed to wake up on time and get to the start with time to chat with more runners. My
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| Trash talking with Justin??? |
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| Running into the Hickory Nut aid station |
crew and I developed a plan for the run the night before and it did not include going out at the start with the leaders. Sometimes you can overthink these things! Out with the leaders, into the dark, and trying to turn my headlamp on. I settled into a comfortable pace and ran along side Chris Ho for a long time. Great conversations, just like running with all my friends at home. Up a mountain, time to check out a great view and down a mountain. By the time we got near the 12 mile aid station I looked at Chris and told him I thought I was going to get scolded by my crew as we arrived. We had averaged a 9:15 pace on a plan of 11:00 for those first 12 miles. We laughed and as we arrived it was not as bad as I thought. Everyone was happy I felt pretty strong and looked good (but then again, I always look good!). I think Scott did say they would have been more ready for me, but they were not expecting me for at least 10 minutes!
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| Lake Quachita Vista View |
The next stretch of trail was off to Brady Mountain. It seemed like lots of climbing, some nasty trail sections, but an incredible view of the lake. A really fun section of the course, it reminded me a lot of my favorite part of Hitchcock...the Westridge Loop. I was really looking forward to running this section with Steve or Will on the return. I ran this section with Chris and in the last couple miles we ended up separating as I took off on the down hill. It was probably a good idea. I think we were both getting to comfortable running with each other.
Steve met me about a quarter mile out below me on the road. We talked about what I needed, that Justin was 3 minutes ahead of me and PoDog had just left with his runner. I had never met PoDog, but I remembered him from Traveller and thought he was a pretty cool runner, kind of an Arkansas ikon. I got to the Brady Mountain aid station and was in and out really fast. One of the most memorable parts of the stop was yelling to my crew to start flirting with my wife! Sending her texts that I love her, and I was strong and to add a few heart emojis! Since she had never missed a long ultra of mine I thought it was most appropriate. I can't help but think of what all the folks at the aid station thought.
The next section was a seven mile stretch to the turnaround. A nice downhill stretch in the forest overlooking the lake in many areas. It was one of my favorite sections as I ran past so many 100 milers, met PoDog, and the trail was just plain fun. Just as Justin was leaving the aid station I was coming in, gave him high fives and our paths crossed. I arrived at the turnaround in 4 hours and 50 minutes. I was in disbelief, a sub 5 hour 50K. I slammed an ensure and about 8 orange slices and took off. As I was leaving Chris was coming in and again, high fives and we parted ways. It was a cool, exciting part of the race to be that close to both of them. I knew the last half would probably hurt!
I love out and back courses! It's a great chance to see how tough a section is when you are on the reverse side. Going back up to Brady Mountain is one tough hill. It just goes forever and it was starting to warm up. I pushed my way back up and things were going well. Crossed a few small creeks, kept going up and down smaller hills. Somewhere I figured out my watch stopped working somehow. Looking back on it, it was not that big a deal but it might as well have been a catastrophic event at the time. Everything I do for training focuses on average pace and lap pace. I could not get the watch reset and I could not fathom using the "force" for the next 20+ miles. At that point I lost sight of the fact I would be joining Steve in two miles and he and Scott both had watches to pace me with.
I saw the Brady Mountain aid station again and came down the hill ready to pick up Steve as a pacer. I was a little agitated because of my watch but Scott, Steve and Will got me in and out of the aid station super fast. I had never been paced by Steve but together we have logged maybe a thousand miles training over the last year. We got back on the trail and started working out strategy to close
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| Steve and I on a creek crossing |
the gap on the leader. We decided to hold where we were and start to gain on Justin when I picked up Scott. Everything was good, we climbed, talked, laughed and kept a pretty reasonable pace. We reached to top of the climb, took in the view and then....BONK! Best and worst word for an ultrarunner! Steve kept his composure, kept me moving, just a little slower, kept having me take salt and gu, drinking water and just chatting. I felt like we were crawling but it turns out we only backed down to an 11:00 pace. During the bonk time, Chris took the opportunity to pass me. I came out of the bonk and started running down hills strong. By the time we got to the next aid station to switch pacing with Scott, I was back on track with a lot left in me.
Scott and I got in and out of the last crew aid station in seconds. We walked out of the station for about a quarter mile then got moving. I was excited about joining Scott. Scott has been my running partner for nearly three years and maybe knows me like almost no one else. He was running with me as I struggled to recover from my illness a few years back, I was there when he trained for his first ultra. Steve, Will and him had worked out a plan to ensure I kept a 12:20 pace to beat the course record. We were in third place and were trying to figure out how to close the gap. With all that being said, we started running. We ran with a purpose and had a great run. Scott always seems to pace me after my worst and sees me at my strongest. Again, he was impressed with the tenacity I brought into the last 10 miles of the run. We ran most everything and power hiked up some hills. We had fun going through the water crossing...40+ feet of cold, ankle deep water. We ran up most of hickory nut mountain. Four miles left and this is where it got fun.
At the Hickory Nut aid station I was 17 minutes behind Justin and 12 minutes behind Chris. This is the last online update anyone had until the finish. Scott and I decided to see just how much we could close the gap with them. We pushed down the mountain hard. I think we broke into an sub 8 minute pace down the mountain. Coming off the mountain atv trail we took a wrong turn and got off the course. We corrected our mistake quickly and turned back. Just as we got onto the trail again Chris came down the road as well....he missed the same turn. We both took off, back on track and a few minutes later Scott said to me, isn't that Justin ahead. Justin was going through a rough spot so I kept running and Scott held back with Justin to make sure he was alright. It's times like this that make me so proud of this sport! One runner, giving to another runner, even at the height of competition.
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| Heading to the finish line 10:30:46 |
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| Mike, Chris and Justin |
Scott caught back up with me and we kept going, pretty excited about closing the gap. I heard the finish line story like this from Steve and Will. They were waiting for us to start finishing and someone called out that a runner was finishing. The assumption was that Justin would roll in and then Chris and me. They were surprised when they figured out it was Chris. A few minutes later another call came out about another runner about to finish. It sounds like they assumed it was Justin. Again, another surprise
and lots of excitement when they found out it was me! Second place overall, 5 minutes behind Chris, the leader, 18 minutes ahead of the previous course record. It was the most fun I have ever had at a finish. Steve posted results on Facebook and then handed me the phone for a quick celebratory call with Julie. I really wish she
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| Resting after the race |
could have been there, but it was so neat to talk to her right after the run, her excitement was so special. I had trained pretty hard for this race, and as with all ultra-running spouses, she sacrificed a lot over the past two months. Lots of love and gratitude Julie! 💖💖💖 After her call we celebrated..... It was a great night to hang out at the finish, talk with other runners, see them come in and enjoy a few beers.
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| Julie, Celebrating in Omaha on the deck |
I learned a lot from this run and it will be interesting to see how well I apply those lessons this year. After working to get in and out of aid stations fast, I think I finally perfected that. I know there were people that started talking to me and I walked away in mid sentence. I did not mean to be rude, just call it focused. Apparently I accepted a hot dog at an aid station and when the aid worker asked me if I wanted ketchup on it I walked away from him. I have no recollection of that incident, I am going with the idea Will and Scott made the whole thing up to laugh about in the future! But then again, who doesn't love a hot dog 40 miles into a run??? Maybe I was really craving a hot dog? I learned my pacers have a lot of fun waiting for me. Great stories of other runners, families, crazy activities, etc. I am really looking forward to getting the opportunity to crew and pace for these guys later this year!
I learned a lot more people have more confidence in my running than I do (or did). I thought my training partner Angie was kinda joking when she told me three weeks out that I should try to win it. After all our winter miles together I never should have doubted. When I mentioned this to Scott, Will and Steve they reaffirmed Angie's comments. That was really motivating before the race and seems to have changed me a little for the good in the 10 days post race. Maybe I will be a little more aggressive runner going forward. I learned that if you ever get the chance to pace me in the last 10 miles of any race, you should. Apparently I am a lot of fun and am just tougher than hell so I will run you hard! Sorry Steve and Will, you two have gotten the worst of me and it seems like Scott is always there to enjoy what you two suffer through!
One last thing, I learned I really like running the 100K distance. It is so tough, so fast, and just like the 100 mile it is long enough you learn things about yourself. And I really like the recovery of a 100K....3 days rest and you are good to go!
