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2008/4/15 50 miles made itThe running event near Mt. Si on Sunday was a lot of fun, and I was happy that I was able to finish my race.
It started at 5:10am in the morning. It was still very much dark and I made the use of my headlamp. The race was to start at 6am, but the early start was provided for those who might not be able to complete the running by 5pm, or in 11 hours. I wasn't very sure if 11 hours is enough for me to complete running 50 miles, but I just gave myself an insurance of the additional hour, or actually 50 minutes. I found later I was glad to have made the choice. Here is note from the race organizer, telling a summary of the course:
There were about 10 of us who chose the early start. Some of us kept chatting for a while. At mile 9.9, we were supposed to turn around but there was no one at the point and we kept going. After another 3/4 miles, we bumped into them who were telling us they didn't expect us to arrive that early! So a couple of us ended up running 3/4 miles extra one way, or 1 1/2 miles extra total. Once I made the turn around, I started bumping into the rest of the early starters. Then, I started bumping into the rest of the runners who started at 6am. Some of them were really fast. By the time I completed the first 30k, a good number of 50 mile runners had passed me. I was hoping to be the 30k point by 8:30am to merge into 50k runners, who started their race at 8:30am, but I was a bit behind, and I didn't see them until after they made their turnaround at Olallie State park or at 34.4 miles. I was actually very much exhausted by the time I finished the half way through or 25 miles. It was beyond 5 hours when I reached 26.4 miles or the full marathon distance, and I didn't believe it'd have to run about the same distance once again. Meanwhile, it was great a lot of runners, or pretty much everyone cheered me up, and cheered up each other by saying "good job" or may just waving their hands. That's the greatest energy to complete the race.
There were not many mileage posts, but you'd have to learn the distance at each aid station. It was great to see "Last 3.3 miles" sign, at I guessed 3.3 miles away from the goal. I found I might be able to finish in 11 hours instead of beyond 11 hours if I increase my pace and I started running faster again instead of just trying to make another step. In the last mile, I even passed one relay runner who once passed me. My goal time was 10:59:32, or 28 seconds short of the close out. Since I had 50 minutes head start, I still had a plenty of time, but 28 seconds might have been the time I had left if I started at 6am. Of course, about 15 minutes, or the 1.5 extra miles in the early morning might not have happened, but you never know. After I finished the goal, I had so much pain in my knees, and I couldn't move. However, I was able to stand up and drove home safely. When I got home, I realized the driving distance, or the roundtrip between my house and the starting point was just about 50 miles. It was a long distance. Someone asked me if my running "hobby" for these days is affecting my performance at work. My answer was absolutely yes in a positive way. Yes, it's true that I'd get some muscle pain the day or two after running such a distance, but stronger body is definitely giving me more power and more focus. I did have a big mistake at work last week, and it was completely my fault. However, it had absolutely nothing to do with me running, or it could have gone worse if I hadn't gotten into the running habit.
Will I run the distance again? Maybe not for a little while, but yes, I would love to be running the same race again next year, and I will be running a longer distance, too. 引用通告此日志的引用通告 URL 是： http://ts.spaces.live.com/blog/cns!27ED35A78CF6278B!4615.trak 引用此项的网络日志
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