ATC 50K+ Ultra Challenge

 Date: December 5, 2020

Total Mileage: 32.89 miles

Total Time (includes bathroom and re-fuel breaks): 5:28:54

Total Actual Run Time: 5:22:29

 So you all know that I ran a little run this past Saturday, and it was actually fun and quite fulfilling.  Sometime in August, when Tim put out the announcement that the ATC was embarking on a little Ultra challenge, I thought that it might be something different to do. Since it has been a weird year, and I knew that I was not going to embark on my 2nd Iron Man (just couldn't wrap my head around training after so many cancellations/virtual races, etc.), I thought I might do it.  I still had my virtual Boston to run, and I figured that I'd see how I felt after that.  

 My virtual Boston was somewhat of a disappointment.  I didn't have  a great day and never actually felt right from the start.  I probably over trained a bit in the heat and humidity and I think I just never really wrapped my head around the whole thing.  So much worry and craziness with my daughter teaching in person in the time of COVID and my personal life being a bit of a mess.  Running/biking, etc. is my outlet and it was stressing me a bit with the pressure of Boston even as a virtual race.  After the virtual run, I took a couple of down days and then focused on that crazy ATC 5K swim challenge that was a week later just to get my mind off running.  I then just started back real easy to see how I felt and focused on just making sure the runs and rides felt good.  Working with Coach Melissa, we put together a weekly plan that had me focus more on running as I started to feel better about it again and the weather began to cooperate.  I actually got up to a 70 mile week at the peak which I handled and only had one really (really, really) bad run which meant that I got it out of the way.

 On to challenge day.  I got up very early (3:30 am), dressed and ate breakfast (oatmeal, a banana, coffee and some Gatorade), finished packing my car and left for the starting area  to arrive at 5:20 am.  Several folks were running the 50K+ (it was actually just shy of 33 miles) and two were running the 100K (to the State Line).  After some quick logistics and pictures, we took off in the pitch black at 6 am.

 My plan was to have Andrew help crew me for the first few miles until I met up with my daughter at the 15 (14.6) mile trail head.  I had several gels, some Base salt, some gummy chews and a full bottle of Infinit with me.  The first few miles were with a lot of company and we ticked off 6, 8, 10, 12 miles feeling very easy with some banter and talk and it went by very quickly.  I gave Andrew my light up vest and headlamp at mile 7 and then I missed him at mile 12 (he was helping others too), but I smartly put a Nuun tablet in my belt so I stopped at mile 12 to use the bathroom and re-fill my bottle knowing I could make it to mile 15.  

 At mile 15, I met Shannon at the trail head, took off my top layer, filled my bottle, had another gel and grabbed some more gummies.  I felt fine and actually had been struggling with keeping the pace in check as I certainly didn't want to run too fast.  At this point, I was running by myself which was fine and kind of pleasant.  I don't run with music at all, so I was just kind of taking in the trail and the scenery and moving along to see Shannon again at mile 22.  During this stretch, Tim came by on his bike and we chatted at bit which was fun, I caught up with Stephanie who was running the relay, and I kind of reveled in the fact that I had only ever been on this part of the trail on my bike.  The trail also changes to concrete from asphalt somewhere in this stretch, but I didn't let that get to me.  There is also a "downhill" section (the trail is like a net 1-2% grade from mile 0, so even though it is downhill, it isn't that noticeable except for pace) to the 22 mile mark at Rambo Nursery.

 Got to mile 22 without any issues and again refueled with another gel, a banana and once again refilled my bottle with Infinit.  I knew this was the last time I would see Shannon or anyone really unless they were on the trail running or riding until the end at mile 32+.  I would also get to run through the tunnel which was a section that I had never even ridden through (I had only ridden out as far as mile 25 in the past).  I made it my goal to "not walk" (shuffle if need be) until at least the tunnel.   A tri coach friend of mine told me before my first full IM to resist walking if I could during the run and even if I was running a 30 min mile, keep running, and I took that to heart.  So I kept moving forward.  This part of the trail seems like an endless uphill (which it actually is to the tunnel) and I had to keep focusing by putting one foot in front of the other and making it to the tunnel.  Strangely, I didn't really feel tired so I just kept a steady rythmn taking it all in.  Never felt like I needed anything at all.  At roughly the marathon distance, there was a sign that said the tunnel was 4 more miles and I glanced at my watch (which had overall time including stops as I didn't pause or stop it at my re-fuel stops) which noted that I had run for 4:19 min - which in reality is my BQ for a 60 yr old (and I'll be 59 in less than a month) so that was cool.  Keep moving forward, taking in the leaves, the squirrels and the occasional biker.  Adrienne passed me somewhere along this stretch as she was running the relay and told me that I had roughly 5 miles to go, and at that point, I knew I'd make it as I still felt good and all systems were a go.

 It seems like several miles after seeing Adrienne that I saw the entrance to the tunnel.  I texted Shannon to let her know that I was there, and that I had about 2.5 miles left to go.  The tunnel is actually surreal as it is a large concrete structure just wide enough for a train and quite high.  It echoes when you run through it and suddenly the "hill" seemed to finally flatten out.  Just as I exited the tunnel, I had a really weird sensation as I suddenly felt like I was in a fog and that I might pass out - so remembering what Doug had said once - I took another gel and a hit of Base salt and after a few moments I felt fine again.  My pace had slowed a bit at that point, but I knew that I was almost done.  It was along here that Tim caught me on his bike again as he was headed to the 50K finish to welcome those of us who were done and make sure those doing the 100K (who were not far behind me) got their stuff there.  

 The last 2 miles is a blur, but suddenly I could see the lake on my left and knew that I was going to be done in a matter of minutes.  Andrew was there with his Go-Pro taping and giving me a fist bump, and Shannon was there to run me in the last few steps to the "finish line banner" and I was done.  5 hours and 28 mins after starting (5 hrs 22 min of running) and I had done it - 32.89 miles.   And surprise, I was tired, but I have been more tired after a hard half marathon or even 10 mile Race, which made me very, very happy.  

 Would I do it again???? Not so sure, but it certainly gave me a lot of confidence both in my ability to run that far and pace (my pacing was actually very good and I didn't really drop off that much in that my last mile was the same as my first) and my ability to handle slightly higher mileage in training which I think served me well.  I also found that the "shorter" training cycle may have served me quite well too.  I'm excited for a couple of weeks of easy downtime and then hopefully getting back into training for a late February marathon.  For that marathon, I'd like to run one last sub-4 (hopefully sub 3:50) and get my last qualifier so I can run Boston in 2022 as a 60 yr old.