The List

So as I was running my last BIG race of the 2011 season I was thinking about writing a race report for the blog. These are the things one thinks about at mile 20 of a 32.5 mile run. Yes that's right a 50K race is supposed to be 31 miles, but somehow this particular race measures 32.5 according to the trusty Garmin. So anyways I was thinking of things to write and thought that a race report would be pretty boring. After all not much happens between aid stations in a race with less than 150 people spread out over the course of 30+ miles. It did occur to me however that this very well may be the toughest event I have done in my albeit short endurance career. So the idea for a list of the hardest events I have done began formulating in my head. Well I had plenty of time (6 hours and 8 minutes to be exact) to come up with the last and the reasons why they are the hardest. I even came up with a ranking system using cans of Red Bull (again this is what happens when in the woods all alone and 8 miles to the next aid station/can of Red Bull). So the hardest events are the ones that require many Red Bulls (see caffeine) to keep going.

I want to preface this list by saying what is hard for me, may be easy for others. I have the unique ability to zone out on long runs and just kinda hang out in side my own head. I too would much rather run a marathon than a all out 5k in which I can taste the lactic acid in my mouth. So take this list for what it is worth and know that just because I rank something as "harder" does not mean that I think things below that are easy. This list is made up events that are all physically challenging and require serious consideration before doing another of the same or greater magnitude.

#1- Bimblers Bluff 50K- I know what you are thinking, this one is fresh in my mind so of course this would top the list right? Well yes and no, this was my second time doing this race and I really feel like it has given me the most difficulty. I was able to knock almost a hour off my time from two years ago but this is without a doubt a really challenging course. The run uses barely marked trails, crosses streams and rivers, and the course is marked using one sided red/white tape which often on a windy day is impossible to spot. There are several spots where you must scale rocks and or slide down paths on your butt. The downhills are soft and loose in terms of footing and even during a dry spell alot of the fire roads are filled with pond size puddles. Tack on a extra 1.5 miles and 2,500ft of vertical gain and this is without a doubt the toughest single day event I have done.

#2- Stone Cat 50 Miler- Running 50 miles is just a major grind on ones body. This particular course utilizes (4) 12.25 mile loops and all though they are relatively flat, the year I did the race one of the roads was flooded so at the end of each loop I had to change my socks. Running 50 miles is hard, running 50 miles in wet squishy sock sucks.

#3- Lake Placid Ironman- Everything was great...till I got sick....30 minutes into a 12 hour race. My swim time was 1:43 which put me with the Age group average of the 70-75 Males. While hanging onto one of the lifeguards and heaving he said to me "not in the Navy huh?" to which I replied "no I'm a {heave} Army guy". After that I thought the bike was not as hard as people make it out to be. Granted due to my poor swim I passed 1300 people so I guess that makes it more fun when you are the hunter and not the hunted. The run, well they say a Ironman run is where the race is made or broke and I got stuck somewhere in the middle. I knew running under 4 hours would put me under 12 for the day so I went out hard (see too hard) and just could not hold it together. When you are relegated to a walk/run because even though your mind wants to run but the body can't you know you are in for it. I did pull it together to finish by running all of the last miles after the hill into town. Overall this was a challenge worthy of it's title but I don't put it up there with being alone in the woods with 8 miles to go and not really sure where you are.

#4- Rev3 Quassy- It was my first and fourth half ironman and it is my white whale. So much so that I left it off the 2012 schedule to give me some time to take a deep breath before I attempt it again. First year looking back I was not trained to the level of a half ironman but that takes nothing from the difficulty of the course. Since it's inaugural race all the pros that have done it say it is easily one of the toughest bike/run combos on the HIM circuit. Second time I did it I was flying along have the race of my life when I got a flat 20 miles in. Then another and then another, lack of bike support had me walking a mile before getting assistance finally and finishing the race.

#5- B2B 150 bike ride- This is a 148 mile bike from Harpoon brewery in Boston to their brewery in Vermont. Sitting on a bike seat for 8 hours is less than fun. Add in heat, wind and a ton of hills and you have yourself a real long day. The first 100 was fine but everything after that is just monotonous and you really wish you were doing anything but. Overall I did not see the "fun" in doing this ever again, even with the allure of free beer once at the finish.

Looking back on the list I guess the common factor is that all these events exceed 5 hours. So events like the Boston Marathon (a very uninspired 4:13) did not make the list. I guess the shorter the event the less likely it is to make you regret what you signed up for. I am on record as saying I would much rather run a marathon than a all out 5k. I did just that last weekend running a 5k in 19:17 which is a pr for me. It hurt, my lungs wanted to explode, my legs were like dragging weights and I wanted to puke for exactly 2.9 miles. So it all is relative but when you are out there swimming/biking/running for more than 5 hours you start to question a lot of things. Will I finish? why am I here? This is stupid? Never again? However at the end of the day all those things fade and all that's left is a rinky dink piece of medal that goes around your neck and says you finished. And as cheap as that medal is I always wear it with pride for the rest of the day. Then it gets put in the bag with all the others and forgotten about. They are worthless in value but priceless in memories.

One last thing I thought of while running on Sunday. "Momma said there would be days like this, I just did not think I would be registering for them"