27th March 2021
It is not about who runs the fastest rather it is about the one who slows down the least.
~Unknown
Backing up two events on consecutive weekends was filling me with unease and doubt of my capabilities. Nevertheless, I showed up and gave it good crack. My intentions going into this race were focused on conserving my body and mind for the upcoming Last One Standing, The Great Ultra Mediocre Back Yarder (GUMBY) on the 24th April. Despite the intentions I set myself I let my ego run me into the ground, my ego exploded out and completely destroyed any thoughts of preservation.
The morning atmosphere was relaxed and the warm sun was rising as I walked onto the AIS track. I grinned from ear to ear as runners began to pop into view, I felt a surge of energy and stopped, took in a deep breath and admired the view in front of me. On this blue 400m track, runners were spread out all over, tents set up just to the side of the track and support crews were busily organising themselves and their runners. It was a little after 9:00am the 48hour and 24hour runners were currently on the track, none of which were running fast to my surprise, but I digress.
I arrived early to check on two running friends, Matthew Griggs and Michael Brennan, both running the 24hour race. At this point in the race, there was 2hours left of 24hours which means they both had already been running through the night. Micke was walking, with a noticeable limp in his walk I knew he was suffering big time. I greet Michael with all the positive energy I could muster, which is a lot if anyone knows me, Mike is all smiles and brushes off the suffering his body is going through. I knew he was going to continue until the end.
Matt was in an entirely different headspace. He was on mission and there was no stopping him from pushing ahead and reaching his goal. Matt’s face was full of determination and despite the pain his body was feeling he just kept going.
They both finished the 24hour track race, Mike with 142.8km and Matt with 244km.
Congratulations to you both, especially to Matt qualifying for the championships and dedicating this race to his still born son.
Full of excitement from the days events my ego came out and I convinced myself to race this event and not treat it as a training run. With 30 minutes to go before race start at 2:00pm I mingle with runners, Thach Huynh coming back to tackle his second 6hour, Dave Reis a Police Officer who runs Run 4 Blue, Andrew Blyton an Ultra Mediocre runner, and Cassie Cohen a hardcore lady and founder of Refugee Marathon Project.
Race director Prachar Stegemann ushered us all to the start line as we count down to race start. I prepare my Coros Vertix watch, Prachar counts down to zero, beep goes my watch and the 6hour runners set off. My legs feel light running on the springy track as I set a 5/km pace, containing as much energy as possible I agreed with myself to take the first 5km slower and if the body felt better to pick up the pace. I was able to run alongside Dave and chat his head off for the first 5km, several smiles shared between us.
My watch beeped marking 5km… I felt like a leaf in the wind, firefly reference, my legs and headspace felt good so I picked up my pace to 4:30/km. The pace feeling so good on the track I wanted to push harder, push faster, but I knew there was many more hours to go. The energy I was feeling in the moment was tremendous and I found it difficult to contain… I reached 7km and tried pushing a little faster testing out the legs and feet, they responded well and so I continued at a 4:15/km pace. This felt great, I was flying and I was all smiles. Cheering on the 48hour runners as I passed them with loud a “Wooooooo!”, giving them a thumbs up or telling them “You look as fresh as a daisy”.
I continued this pacing until reaching 27km, not much else to tell through this time except going around in a circle over, over and over again.
My partner Ellen was crewing me today, passing me Tailwind, water and food as I passed. She was all smiles and that gave me good energy.
Around 28km my glutes started to burn, they were on fire, working hard. I could feel my left foots little toe squishing in my shoe and turning into a blister. My energy levels were dropping fairly fast here, but I was persistent to keep a solid pace and lead as I was sitting in first place. My pace and energy continue to drop, I attempt to eat a clif bar but my mouth is dry and it tastes like sandpaper. I reach 35km and my stomach is in an uproar, with this new experience for me I did not expect it or know how to manage my own body in this crisis. I pushed on running several more laps of the 400m track at a slower pace and also walked for a bit, I took this opportunity to chat with as many runners as I possibly could.
I met Shaun an older runner with a beard to rival ZZ Tops’ Billy Gibbons and Dusty Hill, Joe and Joel a friendly duo training for the Ultra Trail Australia, Stephen Redfern a sponsored Tailwind athlete, Joffrid Mackett another bearded runner who you can spot a mile away with his bright tie-dye t-shirts and many others.
I reach the 40km after walking several laps around the 400m track, feeling stupid from pushing so hard early on now suffering the consequences as my guts are in turmoil. I do my best to fight off the uneasy feelings welling up in my stomach and continue running for another 4km slowing down significantly hoping my body will respond in kind and ease up on the stomach. It did not… I reached 44.5km and all I wanted to do is vomit… I pull up to Ellen at the side of the track, I lay down and breathe deeply. I lay there for what seems like an eternity… I find the courage to get up, I walk a little and instantly dry reach feeling the need to vomit I rush to the bathroom. I come back sometime later feeling terrible, I sit down and chill out for 30 minutes or so.
My guts do not let up and my internal motivation and/or drive vanishes in an instant.
I wallow in my self-pity. I be hard on myself and put myself down for the poor outcome of this race. I didn’t want to stay long in this headspace so I pull myself together, go find Prachar and fill him in on my exit of the race 4hours into the 6hour race. He asked “Do you really want to do this?”, I responded with a resounding “yes” and he replied “be kind to your body” as he took my timing chip.
I felt defeated and my ego bruised as I walked away from the first race I could not complete.
I spent the rest of the day reflecting on my effort and doing my best to be kind to myself. I thought “I ran a 3hr 21min Marathon, several minutes from my personal best, this effort was actually a pretty good effort.”
Wins
1. Running back to back weekend events with hard efforts and walking away injury free.
Challenges
1. The poor judgement of race efforts which came from my ego. Next time I will stick with my plan set prior to race day.
2. My first upset stomach and gut in a racing event. I guess this is inevitable and would have happened eventually. Next time I will slow down my pace more and eat more physical food.
Highlights
1. Cheering on Mike and Matt before my race start. Especially hearing Matt’s story, my heart goes out to you mate.
2. Being a shining light for the 48hour runners as I ran around full of smiles and loud cheers.
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