What a hell of a weekend! Everything started off great until I was in my rental car 13 or so miles away from my hotel on Friday night. Some dumb-a**'s got into an accident on the freeway and it took me another hour to get to my hotel. All was good and I was in bed by 1 am, just in time to wake up at 4 am and head to race start! It was a beautiful crisp morning at the base of the mountains as everyone was prepared to begin the journey for the day. We began with an uphill climb at a mediocre grade throughout the first ten miles or so. The sun was out by now and shining bright, providing an amazing view of the valleys and mountain tops as we continued our ascent. From miles 15-20 we were on a single track trail with 2,500' or so climb to the top. Finally we reached near the peak and traversed around the ridge to what I thought was our downhill descent, but only to find another mountain to run the ridge to. The sight was so beautiful and breathtaking that I all but forgot about the calf, quad, and hamstring destructing climb (around 5,000 of elevation gain at this point). As we finally began our descent and passed through an aid station (which amazed me on how they got there) I took a misguided step and pulled the same thing in my right ankle and knee as I did in Arkansas. Pain was sent searing up and down my leg and nearly dropped me to the ground. I was already too far from the last aid station to turn around, and I thought that I might be able to out "run" the pain as we continued on. I meagerly ran towards the next aid station around mile 30 in which I was hoping to get some ice. The last 2 miles before the aid station were dropping at a rate so fast that I actually ran backwards for awhile to try to ease the pain (then considered it to be a little too dangerous, so I turned around). I made it to station 6 and about 30 miles and received the necessary support. As I began to lace up and head out again, I was informed that it was not going to be an option- they were kindly informing me that I would not be able to continue to run based on the condition I was in (in hindsight a good idea). So, I had to end the race early with my tail tucked between my legs as I was swallowed up by another true ultra-runners course. (I will wrap this story up quickly) Post-race festivities proceeded and a couple drinks were consumed and then it was off to the airport in the morning. My flight in the am was delayed, then flew to another airport and had mechanical issues so delayed again, and finally made it to DFW in which my connection home was cancelled! Got stuck in Texas for the night, caught 2 different flights to get to Moline, finally home and to the physical therapist by 4 Monday afternoon! No work, hey not a bad thing, unless you have no more personal days and don’t get paid! Left the therapist in a walking boot and set up an MRI for right ankle. Not the best weekend for this wanna-be ultra-runner, but trying to focus on the chance that nothing major is wrong and I can continue on my path to 200 miles, but beginning to look bleak. I have pictures and videos to upload this week & I will keep you informed on my condition as I clip off each successive doctor’s appointment.
“After all, pain is inevitable. Suffering, however, is optional. Instead of seeking comfort, runners approach the very edge of chaos. As the ravages of potentially debilitating pain take hold, the runner fights to overcome and command the very force that threatens to bring him to his knees. ‘The obsession with running is really and obsession with the potential for more and more life,’ the great runner-philosopher George Sheehan once wrote.”
– Excerpt from RUN! by Dean Karnazes
