2019 Dawn to Dusk to Dawn 50K

Agony to Ecstasy to ER

Last year's race was memorable for all the wrong reasons. I had been battling plantar fasciitis, had very low training mileage and almost no long runs for preparation, and unbeknownst to me at the time, I suffered from atrial fibrillation. All those have been corrected. I've run injury free for the last year. The atrial fibrillation has been corrected and I can train with no restrictions or medication. My mileage has increased significantly, almost double for some months year over year. I would have liked a few longer runs or races, but that's in retrospect. I set up my race schedule based on what I perceived was appropriate for my fitness, my willingness to travel, and the winter weather. Leading up to race day, I've tried very carefully to take the time to taper properly. The weather forecast, which of course I've been checking daily, looks good, possibly some rain, but no bright sun or warm temperatures. While I wouldn't say I was well prepared, I'm as confident as I've been for a race in several years.

I loaded everything but my gym bag into the car last night, so all I needed to worry about was getting up in time, eating breakfast, and getting to the race. For once I was getting a good, solid night's sleep when the warning alarm on my phone went off at 4:00 AM telling me the battery was low. I got up, plugged it in to recharge, but my rest was disturbed. Even though I got back to sleep, when the real alarm went off I was groggy and not ready to get up yet. With the 24-hour race beginning at 7:00 AM, all the parking on the street was taken, so I had to park in the school parking lot and walk a little further hauling tent, sleeping bag, and gym bag. Sometimes I wonder why I bring and set up the tent because half the time I don't use it, this year being one of them.

With the 50K not starting until 9:00 a.m., the 24-hour runners had already been on the track for over an hour before I arrived. I found a nice spot on the infield to set up and put up my "little" four person tent. After that I wandered around to greet friends and pick up my ankle timing chip. That's the one that linked to the live results, while the bib chip served as a backup in case anything went wrong. At the start is was around 60 degrees and partly cloudy. I knew I needed to slow down from my usual training pace, so I adjusted my run-walk ratio to running 250m and walking 150m. Despite the extra walking I was still covering each lap in the 3:16-3:22 range except for laps that I mostly walked while eating or taking a port-a-potty break. This put me on pace for about a 7:05, well under my 7:30 goal. As always the question was how long I could hold that pace and how much would I slow down once I started. The first test would be at 20K. I was still running very consistently and wasn't noticely tiring yet. As 25K came and went I could sense a growing fatigue and started wondering how much longer I could maintain this pace and how I should adjust. At 30K I was still on pace for 7:05 but I was tiring. I managed a few more laps a that pace then slowed by 5, 10, 15 seconds per lap. By 35K I'm thinking it's time to walk more or even consider all walking as a little insurance that I would finish. Fortunately the clouds were blocking more of the Sun and overheating was no longer a significant worry. I opted to walk with possibly resuming running later if I needed to for a sub-7:30 time. I didn't even consider lessening the run distance and lengthening the walk distance. The first couple walking miles were quite slow as I reached 40K in 5:48. With the last 10K in 1:34:03, that time was on pace for a 7:15, a time out of reach at my current pace, but it gave me a little breathing room for my goal. As I began to recover and feel better I picked up the pace to where I was consistently sub-4:00 for each lap and sometimes even sub-3:45. One of the 24-hour runners took it on himself to be a pacer and cheerleader for me over the last 15-20 laps. The company was welcome and very appreciated. With 10 laps to go I was confident of reaching my goal and eased just a little keeping a close eye on the clock. For personal pride I did break into a run the final straight rather than walking across the finish mat. My final time was 7:25:43, well under my goal, though I had slowed considerably over the last 10K. It ranks as probably my third or fourth best ultra race ever and my best in the last four years.

After I finished, the day started to fall apart, almost literally. I immediately checked in with the co-race director as he had requested given last year's episode. While talking with him I literally collapsed and was kept from falling on my face when he and a friend grabbed my arms. It seems I literally ran myself into the ground. They eased me onto a chair and then on the ground so they could elevate my feet. I was a little nauseous and probably dehydrated, but after being covered with a blanket and getting something to drink I was feeling better. The RD did call 911 so the EMTs arrived. Of course at least one of them remembered me from last year. With only a little persuasion I agreed to go to the ER where the ER physician also remembered me from last year. This year they wanted to keep me overnight. It took longer than I'd hoped for everything to return to normal, so I ended up staying a second night while they ran additional test. After all that the conclusion was that it was primarily extreme exhaustion and dehydration, but follow up will include appointments with both my primary car physician and my cardiologist.

I need to reevaluate my goals after this. If my goals are sending me to the ER, they are too aggressive. I'm not into this ultra running to torture myself. It's the community and camaraderie that I enjoy. Unless otherwise advised, I still intend to run all the races I've registered for, but at a much lower level of intensity.