2007 JFK 50.2 Mile Race Report-C&O Canal Towpath

Be sure to read Part 1 here

I tried to fall into a groove as I headed onto the towpath. I was a little worried about the shoes since I had stupidly washed my trail shoes in the machine after running with scissors, I figured they'd be fine for 15.5 miles but I wasn't sure how they would hold up for 50.2. With 1,000 plus runners though odds are you are going to miss your crew every now and again and it definitely was not the end of my race if I had to wear my mizuno ascends since they are pretty lightweight and feel more like road shoes than any other trail shoes I've tried.

I quickly fell into a comfortable pace and just tried to assess my body as I moved forward on the towpath. I was very happy to get off the path so quickly and was hoping I'd have a good day on the towpath as well. DM caught me within the first mile of the towpath. She went flying by. I had looked at the first mile marker and knew I was somewhere under 10 minute pace and I did not want to go any faster so I encouraged her and watched her go.

The runners were pretty spread out now. I just focused on myself and enjoying the view of the river. I noted that the trail seemed to have more leaves on it than last year and I wanted to be sure I didn't lose too much focus and take a spill on the trail.

It wasn't long before I was heading into the first towpath aid station. I saw SH ahead of me and called out to him as I grabbed some fruit and a sip of gatorade. The aid station timed perfectly with my 1 minute walk break so when the watch went off I told SH I was sure I'd see him again. He was limping, said he stepped on a rock, I laughed and told him I thought I'd probably stepped on 300 of them on the trail as I pushed ahead.

The pace felt comfortable and for some reason I decided to keep track of the towpath miles and my approximate pace. I knew as long as I kept to a 10 minute pace I'd have a shot at 8:40 so I was looking to do 4:20 on the towpath (26.3 miles). Well mentally counting down miles is probably not the best tactic. It works fine when you are doing what you want but can start to get to you when you slow down or you start to think about how many miles you have left. I did my best not to play too many mind games and mostly just watched splits to make sure they stayed below 10 but there were many miles where I noted how many miles I had left on the towpath and later miles where I noted how many miles I had left to the finish.

I didn't find too many running buddies this year. I passed many trekkers and would give an encouraging cheer "Great Job," "Looking Good," or "Have a great race." There were a few runners I went back and forth with, a few pulled away, but most fell behind me. I passed quite a few women which surprised me. One gentleman I passed was not impressed by my encouragement and retorted "It will be a good job when I finish standing." Guess he wasn't having the best of days. I remarked to a runner near me that I'd still encourage everyone because it's better to make 20 peoples days and piss off one guy then not to make anyone's day. I ran with him for a bit and he pulled away when I had to take a walk break. I was doing really well with my 20/1 plan again this year and didn't want to mess around with it. During the early walk breaks I would try to eat a peanut butter cracker. Later I just made sure to sip some water while I power walked. Many of my walk breaks fell in line with the aid stations which was good but discouraging when you started to look forward to more walking.

Around mile 25 I caught up to TJ Hawk. I didn't even know he knew me but he talked to me for a bit commenting on how I was having a great year and that I looked strong. He asked me my goal and I replied that I would really like to break 8:40. At 25 we were at 4:25 and he remarked that I was right on target. It was nice to be half way done and know that 8:40 was still possible. I still felt strong here and I pulled away after the aid station.

One of my goals was to make it through the entire race without taking any pain meds. I remembered having to pop ibuprofen before I even got off the trail last year and I have just made a decision this year that I don't want to mask my pain. Surprisingly other than the regular residual soreness of 25 miles of running I wasn't feeling too bad. Nothing was standing out other than my left big toe feeling a bit numb. It was cold and I had had the same pair of shoes on for the entire day so I figured that was pretty normal.

At the mile 27 station I again kept an eye out for Rootsrunner as I thought he might be there. I didn't see him and figured that I probably was just running the wrong pace to catch them at all during the day. I thought that his other runners must be near to me but wasn't sure at all. So I was pleasantly surprised to see him under a big bridge around mile 28. At that point I was feeling good still and the shoes felt good I told him I'd just get the shoes at mile 38. But he encouraged me to take them now in case I missed them again. I got the shoes on and grabbed a piece of Mojito Mint Orbitz gum to chew on for awhile. I thanked them and moved along. They let me know that MT and the other Second Sole runners were right behind me. It was nice to know that everyone was running so well.

The next 10 miles were a bit of a struggle. I was keeping pace but the miles seemed long and I just wasn't feeling very perky. The towpath just seemed to stretch on forever and I kept myself occupied thinking about the aid station at mile 38 where I would get to refuel. I had starting hitting the soup at mile 27 and was excited to have some tomato soup at 34. It tasted great and surprisingly goes well with mint mojito gum :) I took my first swig of cola at this station hoping that the caffeine would improve my energy.

One of the ladies I had gone back and forth with for awhile commented that this was her first 50 and it was much harder than a 50k. She said all her friends on her team were ahead of her and she couldn't understand since she normally ran with them. I went for empathy but didn't really know what to say to her. She eventually pulled away from me for good so she must have started to feel better!

I kept trucking along on my 20/1 plan which was pretty close to a walk break every 2 miles, actually a little farther as I was still managing sub 10s. When I finally arrived at mile 38 I was excited to take a brief break and refuel. I still was feeling down so I grabbed some extra energy. I took a few apple slices, a pb and j, a cup of cola, and some soup and started walking.

I ran a little ways and saw Rootsrunner and asked for some caffeine as I was still not perking up. I grabbed a can and ran with it for the next two miles. Right after I left them the sun came up and my energy levels seemed to increase dramatically so I decided I didn't need it. I noted that I had been letting my head hang to the side, something I haven't done since high school track which is a sure sign I am tuckered out and I was glad I was coming around.

As we neared the end of the towpath Rootsrunner's friend LW passed me. She was feeling good and looked strong. I passed her going through the aid station and let her know to grab some extra grub as we were about to climb a big hill. I grabbed a handful of jelly beans and took an electrolyte pill as I had noticed my face was salty, I would have given someone quite a bit of money for a wet washcloth to wipe my face. Took another drag of cola and some soup and made my way onto the road.

I finished the towpath miles in 4:15:47 and was ecstatic to see my overall time was 7:13:50 meaning I could run 10 minute miles the rest of the way and finish under 8:40. I knew the race wasn't over yet but I felt good and I knew 10 minute miles were doable.

In general on the towpath this year it just felt a lot lonelier. I didn't run with many people and it even seemed there weren't as many cheerleaders along the way. Although there were a few that were fantastic! I am guessing it gets more crowded the slower you go as there are more people running 9 hour+ than under. It was cool at one point I passed a few trekkers and cheered for them and the one remembered me from last year. Another gentleman was really kind stating that he wished he could run as fast as me and hoped that I'd have a great race. All the friendly faces I did see more than made up for any down points I had when I was alone on the trail.

It was hard to encourage myself to keep up the pace when I wasn't feeling great. I think last year was easier because I didn't know what was ahead whereas this year at every point I knew exactly just how far I had to go and I knew in order to meet my goal I couldn't slack.