November 12, 2016
Vail, Arizona
Start to Gabe Zimmerman Aid Station (mile 4.9)
I started the race mid-pack which was pretty much where I wanted to be. I’d rather spend time passing people than being passed. The first mile heads up a steady incline, and I got by a few people there but watched as a group including a few girls moved on ahead of me. I was determined to not push it early on though and relax, so I let them go. When my watch beeped for the first mile after cresting the hill, I ate my first Shot Bloc and had a sip of water. My plan for the day was to eat one Shot Bloc after every mile in order to stay on top of nutrition from the very beginning and consistently. The next few miles were rolling but generally downhill, and I got into a groove. I managed to catch up with the group that went ahead early on right as we were crossing under the railroad tracks. The next section was a wide dirt road, and everyone shuffled their order to get more comfortable after having run in a train for a long time. I came into the first aid station right behind one of the lead girls after passing another one, and the first took off as soon as she saw me. I dropped my sweatshirt there, had a handful of MnMs, and kept moving.
Gabe Zimmerman to Sahuarita Road (mile 11)
Things felt much more spread out from this point on, and I enjoyed running alone, not feeling pressured from behind or in front. I saw Stephen at the 1-10 tunnel which I was looking forward to. They had “decorated” the tunnel with a mini mummy in the entrance and some skeletons in chairs wearing Colossal Vail t-shirts in the middle. It felt really strange to be able to see the light at the end of the tunnel but not the ground in front of your face, but I ran through anyway, trusting that Stephen and the tunnel volunteers had cleared it of any rocks. After the tunnel, the course generally goes uphill for a few miles, and I let a couple people pass me because it was suddenly a bit congested again, and I didn’t want to run too fast. I was glad to reach the road crossing which marks a high point and then start the decent on the other side. As I was approaching the other, though much shorter and brighter, tunnel, my left foot slipped off the end of the trail into a tiny ditch or something, and I rolled my ankle right over. My toes immediately went numb. Out loud I told myself, “This has happened before, and you’re always okay. You’re okay. You’re okay!” and kept running. Turns out I was, because once the numbness wore off, I never felt any issues there again. About a mile later, I crossed over the timing mats before crossing another road to the next aid station.
Sahuarita Road to Peaks View (mile 16.9)
The Sahuarita Road aid station had a Harry Potter theme, complete with a Platform 9 3/4 sign, costumes, and music. I had them fill my water and left my gatorade soft flask alone. I have to take my Solomon pack off to get the soft flask back in more quickly. It’s like stuffing a body pillow into a pillow case. Fortunately, it didn’t take long or slow me down like I thought it might. This was the first race where I’ve refilled while using my Solomon pack. I didn’t eat any food here or at any of the later aid stations. I had continued eating one Shot Bloc per mile and didn’t feel the need to try an unknown. This was a drop bag aid station and people were stopping to get into theirs, but I didn’t use a drop bag for this race, so I was out of there quickly.
The next section was also generally uphill, but I kept moving consistently and started running into 50 mile runners who had started 30 minutes before us. I walked, ran, and talked with Marcus for about a mile until we ran into my friend Kaitlyn who had probably been on pace to win the women’s race. I was really surprised to see her up ahead, especially since I hadn’t passed any more women to that point. She said whatever she had eaten at the last aid station had not sat well, and she was feeling nauseous. I wished her the best and went on ahead. Soon I passed the 50 mile leader going the other direction, and not far after him, other 50 mile runners and the 50k leader Charlie. I got passed by a girl I recognized from the Catalina State Park 10.4 mile race in September. She had passed me mid-race there and went on to take 2nd in our age group. I was third. “Her again!” I thought. She seems to like the come-from-behind strategy even more than I do!
This segment of the course was the only one I had not run in advance, and I knew the last couple miles had a big hill. It was an impressive one mostly because you had a clear view of it as it wrapped around the hill on the other side of a ravine. The race got more congested at this point with 50kers and 50 milers going in both directions. I passed Corey, John, and other people I knew going the other direction after having turned around. It was fun to see them during the race and cheer them on. When I got to the Peaks View aid station, I saw my friend Laura there, who was running the 50 mile race. I reapplied sunscreen here, refilled water again, and had them put cold water on my buff that had been sitting around my neck in hopes that that would help keep me cool, and then I was off, back in the direction I had come from. Halfway done.
Peaks View to Sahuarita Road (mile 22.8)
I was looking forward to coming down the big hill I had just climbed, and I took advantage of it, trying to get a little more speed going finally. I also decided to take more ibuprofen to keep any leg pain at bay, so I pulled the ziplock baggie out of my back zippered pocket, and popped the pills. When I looked down to close the ziplock, I saw my bib tabs were no longer there and must have just fallen out. It was windy. Ugh! Those were my meal tickets! Lame! Oh well. I kept going, making it my mission to try to pass some people up ahead while I was feeling good. One of the first people I came to was Benito, who I know to be very fast, so I assume he was not having a good day for one of many possible reasons. He let me pass, which was strange, and then I worked on catching a girl up ahead. I tried the advice I’ve heard from Sally McRae of passing quickly and then getting out of sight right away so that the other person doesn’t try to come with you. That’s what I did, and before I knew it, I was back at the Harry Potter themed aid station.
Sahuarita Road to Gabe Zimmerman (mile 28.9)
Another quick transition through an aid station with a water refill and more cold water on my buff thanks to Steve, Chad, and Darcy, and I was moving again. I passed two people on my way to the short tunnel a mile away, and then I started to feel a little fatigued for the first time. I did more walking for the next couple miles than I had done so far (other than up the steeper climbs), but when I saw three guys up ahead walking/running, I decided to try to pass them all, which I did before coming to another climb up to the road, a climb I had decided in advance I would walk. After the road I knew it was mostly downhill to the tunnel, so I ran most of it, although I was getting to the point of walking even some of the shorter hills. I saw some more guys up ahead and passed two of them before getting to the tunnel.
When I came out of the tunnel and saw Stephen, I immediately checked to see if he had his watch on and asked him to run up ahead of me to the next aid station (which was his plan anyway) and be ready to switch watches with me. Mine had started chirping about the batteries being low miles ago.
Gabe Zimmerman to Finish (mile 33.8)
Final aid station. Finally. I did my usual – icy water on the buff, more water in my bottles, and prepared to move out right away. Stephen whispered to me that someone had just left the station and I should hurry to pass them. This gave me some renewed energy and I slowly ran out of the aid station with that runner in sight. We chatted for a moment and then I ran up ahead into the Cienega Creek wash. By the time I made it through the wash and started climbing up the single track again, they were out of sight.
The next couple miles were tough. I knew this part was coming – a decent climb right at the end of the race. I did a lot of walking but each time I saw someone up ahead, I tried to move a bit faster. In total I passed four people before getting to the top. As I approached the top (one mile to go!), I passed the final two, one of whom was having major leg cramps, and I darted down the hill towards the finish as fast as I could handle. I wanted to make sure they didn’t catch up. About a quarter mile from the finish, I passed one more person just as both calves started to cramp like crazy. I held it together and gritted it out, coming across the finish line with a time of 6:19, much faster than my first and most recent 55K was.
