Day 2,764-5 — Tunnel Hill 100: Making it in 24:12:10 with average pace of 14:32 — with my PICTURES from the RACE

Still in shock about how well things went. Almost everything that could have gone wrong didn’t or just didn’t very much. Surprise Surprise! No major breakdowns throughout the race. I was never really at a point that I wanted to give up. 

Parts of the race were harder than others, and I did want to quit a lot, but I was able to keep those type of thoughts mainly out of my head, by encouraging other people. 

You deal by not thinking about it. Pushing it out of your mind, just like meditating. A guy I met early in the race had this down exactly. 

No Numbers Todd

The first segment of about 13.3 miles started with some cheer as well wishers sent us off. I saw a guy’s face had been made into a sign that was impressive. Nobody was really talking in that first 5 miles or so, and since my strategy was to talk to other people during the run as much as I could, I started to slowly try to make polite conversation. 

The first guy I talked to was pacing quite well, and I started using him to pace me. I didn’t want to get caught up doing more than around 10–11-minute miles in the first half, but people were pushing it early and everyone was passing me. 

Todd had one light layer of clothes and carried a water bottle and a pair of sunglasses. He would go for a while and then walk. It seemed like he was in touch with his body. I talked to him for a while, but when I asked him what he was trying to pace. He told me, “no numbers man.” I said no problem, and I didn’t mention it again. 

Todd didn’t want to think about anything but the run and what he was doing at that moment. He was doing it right. I rarely talk to runners like Todd because they don’t talk, they just stay in the moment and run. 

Chris that Lives Close to Me

The next guy I talked to said we mutually followed each other on Strava. He said he worked in a shop in Maplewood. He told me about some great ultra-races in St. Louis that I had never heard of. I imagine he finished a lot sooner than I did, but I don’t know. He pushed ahead of me after a while. He had done a few 100s already and was trying to run this Ultra under 24 hours. He said there is an ultra in the Spring that goes behind Six Flag’s, which is so close to me; I am going to investigate running that race in the future. 

Chris told me he sometimes will run 10 miles to and from his shop that he works at in Maplewood. I thought that was so cool he was able to do that. I think he had three daughters, and he told me his wife runs ultras too. 

If you are reading this Chris, I hope you finish at the time that you wanted. We ran together during part of the first 13, but we stopped at an aid station where his wife and kids were there to greet him. 

The Good Friends with Beards 

I saw these guys mainly in the first 13. I ran into them once again at some point in the first 50, but I remember talking to them at around the 13.3 turn around. I remember one’s name was Jacob, but I don’t remember the other guy’s name. They told me that they had started their own nonprofit. One of them said he just decided randomly to run a trail 50K. He said it was tough and took him 8 hours to finish, but that he got it done. He then talked his friend into doing it with him the following year. I was impressed with what they were able to do before, and just getting straight into ultras without any other type of races in preparation seems crazy to me. 

The last time I saw them. We talked about the Lord of the Rings movies. I hope you guys finished at the time that you wanted! 

Lizzie the Vegan 

She told me that she had already run multiple 100 mile runs, and she was only 22. We mainly talked about what it is like being vegan when I mentioned something about diet stuff in passing. She was like, “you are vegan too!” she was the only vegan I met on the run, so it was nice to talk about what that is like for a while.  

She was running the 50, but she had completed a 100-mile run recently. When I kind of jokingly gave her a hard time about it. She was like, “but I am staying here the whole time and then I am going to run the last 25 with my friend to help pace him.”

I thought that would be more difficult than just running the whole 100 for me. I told her she sounded like a great friend, and I meant it. We were running together as we finished the first marathon. 

Shane the Engineer 

Shane was doing everything very regimental. I think he was walking a .1 every mile, or something like that, and I started walking with him. I knew that I needed to walk, so I would walk with other people in the first half whenever they were walking. He told me about his system and he everything down to an exact science as much as possible. He was both planning regular walk intervals and stretching throughout the race. He told me he was an engineer that designed jet engines. 

Shane was the most prepared runner I met that day. At one point I was complaining about my water bottle that was leaking throughout the race. He told me he had the same one and to try to close it with my head. I thought he was joking at first, but I tried it and it worked. It still was not perfect, and I will probably end up buying some other handheld water bottles. 

I saw Shane between miles 26-38. I am sure Shane finished at or better than the time he predicted! 

Angie and Alexis

    Two woman who decided recently to run ultras. They both had completed a 50-mile run six weeks ago. Angie might have completed the 100. Angie was doing the 100 and Alexis was doing the 50. 

    Angie was trying to get Alexis to PR from six weeks ago. Angie was intense. Alexis did end up beating 11 hours. I saw her in the tent around 10:30. She was struggling for a while during her last 10 but stuck it out and got it done. 

    I could not believe how recently they had gotten into the sport and were finding so much success. I started running and talking with Alexis when Angie was struggling and then ended up talking to Angie when Alexis was struggling. They were both nice. Angie if you are reading this, I hope you finished at the time you wanted. 

Catching up with Dave

    Dave who I ran a good part of the K82 with was running the 50, and I had planned to try to run some with him, but the only times I saw him during the run I couldn’t get his attention. Then, I saw him running a little ahead of me, and tried to catch up with him. There was fewer than 10 miles left before 50, so not a whole lot left for him to go. 

    When I got beside Dave, I looked to make sure it was him and tried to get his attention. He was in the zone. Dave told me that he had been trying to find me, but I was pacing about 10 minutes ahead of him. We talked about the race so far and how his training had gone. I was surprised how fresh he looked after telling me about his recovery after the K82. 

    I got to run his finish with him, and I saw his wife and his kids all smiling at the finish. I tried to move over to the left right before I hit the finish line, so his wife could get a solo picture of him crossing the line. Good for you man, hope to see you at another race soon. 

Recovery 

    I finished the first 50 around 10 hours, and my wife had not left the hotel yet. I knew it would be possible because I told her I would likely be a lot later than I was. I was thinking I would finish 50 in closer to 12 hours. She was following me by my phone and the updates for the race, but it was spotty, and the updates aren’t always the best predictors. I ate some potato soup while I waited and ended up sitting outside snacking on food from my drop bag.

    I was getting cold, and I was suddenly starting to cough violently. When Sarah and family arrived, I was shivering. I had taken off my gloves, so I could eat my food, but now my hands were beyond cold. 

    My mother-in-law and wife put a blanket around me, and we walked back to my wife’s car. I sat in the car for about a half an hour and warmed up by the vents. This was probably my lowest point in the race. I was cold and tired, and I still had 50 miles left to go, but I finally got to drink coffee. 

    I had been putting off caffeine all day until after 50. My wife had the cold coffee I had planned on drinking, so I drank some of that, and I think that ultimately made a huge difference for the next 50. 

    I had put off listening to anything during the first 50, so I was thinking I would start the next 50 listening to a podcast. I jumped out of the car with my headphones in and headed towards the path. 

Jeff and the next 26.6

    As soon as I started to play my podcast, this guy started talking to me. I don’t remember what he first said, but he wanted to talk, so that worked out perfectly for me. 

    He asked me my running story. It was kind of funny because when I mentioned the part about being a vegan, he felt like he needed to tell me why he loved meat and cheese so much. I told him I wasn’t trying to convince him to change his ways. He wasn’t sure how to respond to someone who was so happy not eating meat or dairy. Jeff was a good guy who had gone through a lot in his life, and he made the best of things. 

    It was also his first 100, and he was super consistent with his running doing 10-12 miles a day at least six-days a week. He had not been training with walking, so we talked a little about adjusting to walking some. When we started really clicking was when we started doing more specific splits. The first mile we did was 80-20 split. We ran for .8 and then walked for .2. We walked as fast as we could and ran the next 13 miles doing variations of splits between running and walking. We mainly were doing a lot of .7s and .3s, but we dipped into some more even splits too. 

The goal was to not do a 50 50 split until the last 24 miles, and we kept to that.

Originally, I was thinking I might want to nap at mile 76 but talking to Jeff we decided to only stop for 30 minutes. I was worried my wife might not be up at midnight, so I sent her a text message. I was so happy to see the read receipt. 

I sat in the car with her for 30 minutes and warmed up and ate a vegan brownie, and I had some cold coffee. My wife told me I seemed better than I did at 50, and I was like, “yeah, because I am,” which seemed so obvious to me at the time. 

I found Jeff and we started up again. 

The Next 12

Jeff had a difficult time getting started, but I was freezing and shivering, so I could not slow down. I told him I was going to have to run at least a half mile to get warm. He ran slower but was still coming and just complaining about his legs and how bad he feels. I reflected on how nice it was to think about someone else’s pain, so I wasn’t thinking about the blisters I was already nursing, or the chafing I was trying to ignore, or the rocks in my shoes that I was trying not to think about. 

He eventually started running again, but it became clearer that he was going to have to walk more. I pushed him as much as I could, and he helped me by keeping me distracted. When we finally made it to the turnaround, I was starting to get angry. I screamed curse words at the turnaround sign. It seemed to take forever to get there. 

Jeff might have been hurting, but I was hurting too. Every .1 seemed to take an eternity, and it just kept getting harder and harder to run at all. I knew I would start feeling better after the turnaround, but it took forever to get there. 

I told Jeff when we started the last 24 that I might decide to push the last 5 or so if I was feeling up to it. It would have been great to finish with him, but I must run my own race, and I like to push it at the end. 

8 Miles Left

Jeff told me he was going to have to just pretty much walk from this point out, and I told him I understood, but good luck to him. I thought for a second that I might wait for him at the end, but I knew my wife would want to get on the road as soon as possible, and I would want to take a shower. If you’re reading this Jeff, I know you finished at an impressive time. It was great running with you. 

I first had to use the bathroom, but then I was able to start moving faster. When I started the last five miles, I was playing music for the first time during the race, and I was loudly singing along. At one point, I started crying around sunrise. I don’t think I felt tears, but I was overwhelmed with emotions. I ran some of my fastest miles near the end. 

95-11:08

96-9:51

97-9:43

98-10:55

99-10:10

100-10:14

My wife was there at the finish and was able to record me crossing the line! No one was there to give me my buckle, but I was able to find it. I saw Todd, and he congratulated me. He said he was able to finish around 14 hours! 

    I still got a lot to learn, but I think it is safe to say that I am making progress. 

    Thank you to everyone who supported me and encouraged me before, during, and after this race. All the volunteers made my race so much easier. They were the most friendly, helpful people. I didn’t think I could do it, but I did. And now, I need to go run again.