Day 3,681-2 —Reflections on the Berryman 50 (55) 2024!—

 

I fell today on my short running while wearing my sandals. I thought my sandals would help me run short, careful steps, which I needed to do today, but my plan backfired on me when my right sandal got caught on a stair and dragged my toe into the rough edges of the stone. I didn’t want to look down, but when I did, I confirmed I was bleeding.

Yesterday, I only fell one time but I almost fell more than a few times, and seeing as last year I busted my finger open, being healthy today certainly is a benefit of this year’s run.

I drove down with Joel, and it was fun to travel with someone. There was mist and fog in the morning, so it was difficult to navigate on the road to this little campground by the trailhead. We got there with plenty of time, and I got my area set up with way too much food and my chair, and then I recorded a short video.

The First Lap

         I started in the middle of the pack, and I was getting pretty frustrated with the pace and the inability to pass, but after about 5 miles, I was finally able to run at my own pace. I decided to take out my phone to record an update. My goal was to make a 1-minute update throughout the race at distant intervals (5K, 13.1, 26.2, etcetera), but when I looked at my phone, it was still recording from when I started it earlier, and now my phone was telling me I didn’t have any storage and my battery was almost dead.

I must have been messing with it when I went the wrong way and missed a sharp right-hand turn. To my credit, there is nothing in front of you to indicate you need to turn, and you don’t notice the turn unless you look. To the race director’s credit, they put up several signs and ribbons to show the turn but  in the same area.

When the trail hadn’t been single-track for a half mile, I was almost positive I had gone the wrong way, but I was busy navigating a difficult trail. There were two flooded sections and a very technical hill; too bad it wasn’t part of the course.When I got to the next aid station I asked the guy what mile I was supposed to be on, and I confirmed I had added 2 miles.

I spent the rest of the lap catching most of the runners I had already passed. Near the end of the lap, I found Eric, and he was hurting. I talked to him until the end of the lap. He is always encouraging, has completed so many ultra-races, and had an impressive performance at Leadville. He is the most experienced and decorated ultra-runner I have been able to talk to at these races. He talked about how he felt like he was hurting, and he didn’t know how much longer he could keep going, but I felt like the fact he was out there about to finish a marathon loop with me despite dealing with injuries spoke volumes. He also finished the Shippey in the cold when I went home, and I thought he had frostbite for sure.

I tried to be encouraging because I needed encouragement too. I have been in a slump. I feel like going the wrong way in this race isn’t helping things, but still, it was turning into a nice day, and I still had a whole loop to catch up. And if Eric can be hard on himself with all he is done, I am never likely to get to a point where I feel like I have done enough. 

I ran into Joel at the start, but he was about to leave. I sat down changed socks and talked to some guys that were sitting at the same table. I told them, “I think the second lap is easier.” It was funny to see how seriously they took my comment. One of them didn’t know what to say, and the other one said, from his experience, that was not the case, but he was pretty nice about it.

To be Continued Tomorrow—the Second Lap: Jumping over Snakes and Hiking it in