Trying to keep smiling after a long day on the trails.
After taking a few days to regroup and recover from the Gorge Waterfall 100k, it is time to reflect on the experience and as I do, numbers flood my head. Here are the eleven most memorable numbers from this uniquely brutal race:
1:45(am): The time we had to wake up in order to be ready for the 4:00am start time. Yikes.
12,000’: the total amount of climbing for the 62 mile course.
2: the number of hiking poles I used during this race. It was a first for Julie and me to use hiking poles in a running race, and a test for potentially using them in Tahoe later this year. It went well even though my hands and arms were sore and beat up by the end of the race, along with the rest of my body.
8: Roughly the mile marker I started losing my mental edge and thinking negative thoughts.
15: The point in the race that I bottomed out mentally, stopped to poop in the woods, and lost a ton of time.
20: The point in the race that I got it back. The ibuprofen kicked in, I started eating better, and I put on my headphones. I actually started running again, and pretty quickly.
37: The number of people I passed over the next 32 miles.
5: The number of people that passed me back during the final ten miles of the race as I ran out of gas. I hit the rocky section of the course with ten to go and the wheels began to fall off.
1:52.53: The time it took me to cover the final 5.7 miles of the course. Absolutely brutal. A 1,500’ foot climb and a 1,500’ descent. Quads were shot and legs non-functioning. I didn’t know I could walk that slowly.
2: The number of women that went flying by me in the final seven minutes of the race. I was humbled many times throughout this run.
13:28.31: My final time for completing the 100k course. I am proud to have finished, but man did it take me a long time to do it.
This is how I really felt after the Gorge 100k.
This was one of the tougher mental and physical events I’ve done in a long time. I had some really low moments. I also got my mind and body back together for awhile and felt really good. I learned that I need to get better at technical trail running, or else be prepared to be on the course for a long time. I’m glad I did the race, and I have plenty of numbers that will likely stick in my head for a long time as a result, especially that 1:52.53 for 5.7 miles. Ouch. Until next time…