SJS notes

Some thoughts about yesterday's SJS 50 miler, which I finished in 13:30:47:

-The first challenges of the course are the river crossings, over a dozen of them. Most of them are at least thigh deep, and the water was so cold I didn't have any feeling below my knees for the first 15 miles of the race.

-The first aid station, at the seven mile mark, had cans of Budweiser. It wasn't even 6:30AM when I arrived.

-Not too far out of the second aid station, there was a camper who had made espresso and he gave me a quadruple shot. It was the first time I've ever had espresso.

-The second major climb (there are three) is about nine miles long and took me almost four hours to cover. The final climb is basically on a trail walking up a ski slope. For those of you who have ever gone up a ski slope without using the lift (invihash ballbuster at Winter Park!), you know how much it sucks, but to do it after already covering 40 miles along the continental divide makes it oh-so-much more fun. Still, it's that second climb that will live on in my nightmares.

-There were some pretty hairy snow crossings. I was crossing one and wondered how I could self-arrest with a water bottle. A fall would have sent you screaming down the mountain and probably would have required a helicopter extract.

-The first aid station didn't have any salt pills, so I took a banana and covered it in a huge pile of table salt. It tasted awful. The crap I eat at these races...

-I had to pick up the pace around 29 miles, because I wanted to get to the 50K aid station quicker than I had finished the Sunmart 50 miler. I made it with less than a minute to spare. I rewarded myself with two ham sandwhiches, a bag of chips, a big handful of M&Ms, and a can of pepsi. I also accidentally filled up my water bottles with Mountain Dew instead of Cytomax.

-Coming out of the 50K aid station, I saw a deer running down one of the nearby hills. It reminded me of a bullet, how smooth and fast it was. Had a Pepe Le'pew type gait, all four legs moving together. I thought to myself, "I bet he looks a lot more graceful than I look right now."

-Paul DeWitt, a fellow CRUD member, is the former course record holder at the Leadville 100 and is one of the favorites at Western States this year. I came into the first major aid station and he waited on me hand and foot, filling up my water bottles, giving me food, and the like. He also gave me a Blue Moon at the 40 mile aid station (which was damn good!). Funny to see a MOPer like myself getting such aid from one of the country's top ultrarunners. Don't think that happens in any other sport.

-Yesterday was awfully painful, but the pain was different than I'd felt in past ultras. I think my body has finally accepted the fact that I'm going to put it through that kind of hell on a regular basis.

-In honor of my "support local breweries" call for help, I wore my Lovejoy's shirt. There were several Austinites and one guy from San Marcos in the race, all of whom said they would visit LJ's when they returned. From a thousand miles away I still support the Austin hash bar!

-Just after the finish line I collapsed into a chair and popped open a PBR. Having a cold beer after ruining your body over the course of such an endurance event is unexplainable to anyone who hasn't done it, but it's unbelievable how good that beer tastes.

-I am not going to be able to run again for a long time.