From owner-ius-l@AMERICAN.EDU Sun Oct 13 22:41:03 1996 From: poninv@sl.geis.com Date: Mon, 14 Oct 96 03:47:00 UTC 0000 To: dead-runners-bay-request@saluki.eng.sun.com, ius-l@AMERICAN.EDU Cc: jan_kahdeman@hp.com Subject: First 50 Hi everybody, On Saturday, I ran my first 50. The Firetrials 50. Saturday morning began at 4 am. Breakfast and getting ready takes about an hour. I'am in the car at 5am. I've got 1 1/2 hours, before the race starts, to drive the 25 miles to the start at Lake Chabot ... I have lots of time ... wrong! I get on the Bay Bridge which normally takes 10 minutes to cross, instead it takes over 1 1/2 hours! CalTrans is doing road work, and 5 lanes of traffic goes to one lane. Then the traffic detours through the streets of Oakland. I arrive at Lake Chabot at 7am, I check in at 7:05am, get a couple of things together and start my run at 7:10am. Well, at least I don't need a flashlight for the start, and the trails are quiet. A dubious start, but what a beautiful morning! Partial cloud cover, cool, a slight breeze, and dry. Just a few days ago, it was well over 100 degrees here, but today is a perfect day to run. After 15 minutes I catch up with Ron another San Francisco resident, who also got caught in the traffic. Ron says he is undertrained for this run, and tells me to go ahead, I move on. The first aid station is deserted, and there are no fluids. If the second aid station is closed, I will be out of water. This is not a good way to begin a 50 miler. Just before I reach the second aid station, I catch up with another San Francisco resident, Alan Kaplan. We get to the second aid station just as the aid station crew is finishing packing up. If we arrived 2 minutes later, we would have missed the crew at this station too. For the next 10 miles we run together and past a few runners. It's great to see friends (runners and aid station volunteers) as we move along. Alan has run five 100 mile races this summer! And is understandably, a bit tired from running Angeles Crest 100 just two weekends ago. Thanks Alan for sharing your experiences and helping me along. I move on alone after Sibley Park aid station, 18 miles into the course. I get to the turn around point (25.09 miles) at exactly 12 noon. I feel pretty good. I've been concentrating on eating and drinking constantly. And I have been moving at a very comfortable pace. Starting as the last runner, 40 minutes late, has given me a psychological boost. Since the start, I've been passing people as I moved along the course. I also approached this run as going from aid station to aid station (13 of them), and not as a 50 mile course. So now, I only have 6 aid stations to go. This sounds better than having to go another 25 miles. Hey, it works for me. :-) After Skyline Gate aid station (where I get another boost from seeing, IUS-L list god, Dave Combs' smiling face), I catch up with a runner who is moving well, and we past a few runners. I can't recall the name of my new found partner (but I do remember that he is from Manteca, CA). After 36 miles my memory is not very reliable. As we run we are talking and the conversation was quite enjoyable. Big mistake. We miss the trail markers, and run for 5-6 minutes before we turn around and find were we went off course. Another lesson learned ... when talking to another runner, keep an eye on trail markers. Running an "extra" 10-12 minutes after running 38 miles, is disheartening. We repast runners, and move on to Bort Meadows aid station (at about 42 miles) together. My companion slows a bit, and I move ahead, alone again. At this point, I don't want to drink or eat any more. The gatorade tastes terrible, and water isn't much better. My stomach is a bit upset with me. I've been eating cookies, M&Ms, chips, and peanuts all day. I know that if I don't eat or drink I'am going to "bonk". So I pop a few Tums into my mouth and my stomach settles down. Thanks to people on the list who recommended Tums for such a situation. At the last aid station, the Saturday morning Mt. Tamalpais running group is cheering me on ... thanks Ken, Mort, and the other volunteers. Sorry, I can't remember everyone at this point. I finish in the "official" time of 10:40:xx. It's 5:10pm on my watch. 4 hours and 50 minutes to get the half way point, and 5 hours and 10 minutes (including the 10-12 minute "side trip") to get back. I'am happy with my split time. More importantly, I feel great. The next day my legs were a bit tired and there was some soreness, but not any worse than after a tough road marathon. Thank you Dick Collins, Bay Area Ultra Runners, volunteers, and fellow ultra runners. All of you have made my first 50 an wonderful experience! Regards, Richard ------------------ Richard Pon San Francisco, CA poninv@sl.geis.com (415) 665-5544