50K Recap

I will do my best to put my first 50k in to words.  It was a life changing day as an athlete, was it the best race I have ever run?  Not even close!!  I have a lot to learn about running ultra marathons.  I had a plan going into the race and for the most part I executed the plan perfectly.  I had one little hiccup and it cost me, I don't usually give out my blood sugar numbers but to recap the race I believe it is important that I do so.

Pre race everything was perfect, I woke up with my blood sugar right where I wanted it to be.  I took a couple units of insulin to cover my pre race meal and it was smooth sailing as I toed the line.  As I stood at the start line the usual pre race nerves were nowhere to be found.  I knew I had a very long day ahead of me.  I knew that I needed to take it slow and save myself to hopefully have a nice kick with ten miles left.  

For the first ten miles I was doing very well, the course was extremely tough.  Below is the video of the hike up to the summit and a majority of the course.  I expected the course to be rocky and technical but I didn't expect conditions like that for every mile.  I couldn't descend like I wanted to, that is my strong point but because of the rocks and roots I had to be very cautious and had to slowly jog or walk down.  I made it up to the summit, back down, and back to the summit in a time that I was eyeing when I mapped out my race plan.

After going to the summit twice my legs were feeling the burn.  This made the rest of the race interesting, nothing major happened until mile twenty five.  I was hitting all of the rest stops with perfect blood sugars and was feeling strong.  Once I got to the aid stations I got what I needed and then walked for five to ten minutes to try and let the food settle before getting back to a slow jog.  That worked perfectly, my legs were burning but for the most part my spirits were high.  At mile 17ish I started to feel the pain and wonder why I was doing this, I had removed my headphones after the first five miles but found myself turning to my phone to get me smiling again.  It wasn't music that would help me though, it was my children, I looked at pictures and watched videos of my kids being kids.  I cried like a little kid but I was a new person after doing that.  My pace picked up and I had some fun texting pictures of myself running to Kate, my uncle and my parents.  True me in the picture below!!

At mile 22 the fun started, all day my blood sugar stayed right around 100.  The last rest stop was at mile 20 and I was doing good I had water, a waffle and a gel to get me to mile 25 and the next rest stop.  I started to get angry at mile 22 though, a low blood sugar anger.  I was wondering why I wanted to walk and why I wasn't motivated to keep kicking ass, before I could figure it out I got a text from my mother telling me to eat as my blood sugar read 74 on my CGM.  I ate but not a ton, I knew the rest stop would have oranges, soda, M&Ms, pretzels and peanut butter and jelly.  My blood sugar stayed at 74 as I got to the rest stop, I looked at the table and it was empty!!  I was in trouble, I figured I'd talk to the medic and ask him to test my blood sugar.  He couldn't but offered to call the ambulance.  I was getting pissed and said I'll be ok and said I'd continue.  That wasn't an option, the medic said "I can't let you go, sit down and eat something"  He would call the medic and told me I had two options, test and if my blood sugar is ok I can continue, if it was below 70 I'd be pulled out of the race.  5.5 miles from finishing my first 50k and I'll be pulled out!!!  Are you kidding, I'm not getting a DNF, I didn't work to quit five miles from the finish!!  Of course it took about twenty minutes for the ambulance to show up, by that time the soda, oranges and all the food had been replenished so I was doing well.  I got my blood sugar was tested and I was at 78, so I was a little lower than I had thought.  My aunt and uncle were with me after I tested and asked what I needed, I said "I need to finish!!".  My uncle would offer to pace me to the finish but I declined and said thanks but I got this.  

The last 5 miles were extremely tough.  I was basically out on my feet, my blood sugar was ok but sitting for an hour had caught up to me.  My body started to shut down and think everything was over.  My aunt and uncle would meet up with me a couple of miles from the finish and I didn't even know it was them.  I would finish and enjoy a nice cold beer with my aunt and uncle to celebrate what I had just done.

I finished!!  I ran a 50k!!  I was told I should be dead, I have been doubted and given up on so many times.  I finally found people in my life that believe in me and help me.  I have two kids that have changed my life, I have a girlfriend that will be wearing new jewelry soon.......I have everything I have ever wanted!!  I'm not a perfect person, I have failed a lot in my life but I kept working.  That sounds a lot like the 50k and how I ran.  I learned more about myself in running this race but I also believe I reached my ultimate goal.  I taught my children that no matter what life presents you with, you can do whatever you dream of.  At the end of the day what someone says or thinks of you doesn't have to be your destiny.  People will try to hold you back, people will makeup reasons as to why you can't reach your dream but it isn't their dream, it is yours!!  Always believe in yourself and surround yourself with people that truly love you and will do anything for you.  Hard work is all you need to be happy in life because that hard work will get you through school, work, and all of the challenges that life presents!!  We only get one chance at life, we might as well enjoy everything that it has to offer!!