taken lightly

First and foremost I'm speaking about the shoes but I'll get to that a bit later. Being that the race took place on my birthday he me anticipating some distraction. Jen and I made plans to go out and dine at Papa Charlie's the night before regardless of the menu as I am a big of this restaurant. It has great food and the seating offers breath taking views of Moose Mountain w/the river in the valley below. On our way up the north shore I felt like more of a spectator than someone who would be competing the next morning and we decided to stop in at Tettegouche to see whether we might catch a couple people we knew running the 100-miler. They already passed thru but it was nice chit chatting w/volunteers. We proceeded from there to check into our room at Cascade Lodge which is a very historic looking place that has been a family tradition for more than a century. I was in no mood to just sit around there so we headed up to Lutsen for grub! Consuming the typical American diet of a bacon cheddar burger and fries and washing it down w/pint after pint of Mesabi Red I joked w/Jen about how well these carbs would benefit me the next day. She figured not too highly so she rounded up every waitress to sing happy birthdayas they brought out fudgy wudgy cake...mmmmm! We timed the meal just right to make the brief meeting down by the pool once I had my packet. It was quick and painless and everyone was out of there by dusk. Back at the place we were staying there were Adirondack chairs out front and the weather was so inviting that I could have looked watched the stars and listened to the lake all night. Eventually, a soft bed came more appealing than hard wood. In the room we had the Discovery Channel on late and we were hooked into this wind turbine program. Knowing I had to get up at a ridiculous hour to catch a shuttle bus to the start we just stayed up all night eating junk food. All this until now was the first half of where I should have gone more seriously.

Now, even though I had a headlamp I still was leery about rolling an ankle in the woods. I decided to where my NB 790s(HUGE MISTAKE)as they are low profile and I competed the half voyageur trail marathon in them earlier this summer. One thing I'm very good at(usually) is reconnaissance, reconnaissance, & more reconnaissance. Somehow, I overlooked the obvious that there is a lot of rock on this part of the SHT and a guy my size will need cushion. After we got the green flag it was up a gravel road for about a 1/4 mile with a left hand turn into the forest. I was sitting comfortably in fifth playing caboose on this short train of lead runners. By 20 minutes in moved up the ranks and held the runner up spot with no desire to pace as I feared getting lost in the dark. Shortly after having those thoughts it happened, the quiet veteran of this event missed a turn that he had done in the past and was disgusted in himself and very apologetic to me and the other guy in our threesome. The error would only cost us ~45 seconds as the trail brought us out to a scenic overlook of a lake. I actually liked the occurrence as it sort of broke the ice and there was conversation from that point on. We caught the other two that fell off the back and came into the Sonju Lake Aid Station together. It was now that I decided to dictate the effort for the next segment of trail. Minus jamming my big toe and cutting the one next to it w/my nail.....I felt settled into a nice rhythm. Just cruising thru the Crosby Manitou State Park Aid Station would only be part of what made the following 9.4 miles some of the most unpleasant I've ever had to absorb. I had a drop bag w/my gel flask and wanted to leave my headlamp and arm warmers but that is where my inexperience would only magnify the situation. I was now leading the race on my own and it was probably 10-12 minutes later that it happened again... but this time I was all alone...and OFF COURSE. For those that haven't been in this position I wish it on nobody as your senses go raw in an instant. Since my eyes were glued to the trail 99% of the time looking for obstacles I missed the waist high orange, reflective tape at a point on top of a gorge that gave a right(correct way) or left(wrong way) option and guess which way I went. Not only was I adding distance to an ultra but I was covering some brutal terrain at the same time. I descended to the bottom where I came to the banks which from there the playing field opened vastly. After peaking at my watch I made the difficult ascent and noticed it took me almost four minutes and I know I was going at a speed like I was finishing the race due to panic. I calmed down quickly seeing the ribbon but this moment would prove crucial. My IT bands in both knees and hips were growing sore very rapidly and I was starting to get dizzy and chilled from poor hydration and nutrition. The last 1/3 of this segment had more soil which made the impact less but the damage was done. I stumbled into Sugarloaf which is where I had Jen start showing her face and she was wonderful in getting my electrolytes back up and a change in shoes. Shockingly, I was right on goal pace even w/the bonk. Going back out on course didn't seem smart but the support from complete strangers was too good not to give it a try. As soon as I left I wondered whether to go right backwards as I was covering real estate slowly. I was so sore that I hiked faster than my attempts to stride. Bringing myself into the Cramer Road my mind was made up and yet the volunteers nearly won me over for another round. This was not an easy decision to accept as I walked to the car w/Jen. For me, it wasn't about competing w/the other runners but rather the course and it beat me to a pulp. I had initial thoughts of how could I have messed this up so badly and I clearly answered that one. I also doubted whether I was cut out for this and I wasn't having any of that!! All I can say is that I didn't leave w/a bitter taste in my mouth and the ultra scene hasn't the last of me.

Trail Run: half of Superior Trail 50 Mile(26.7); 5 hours 34 minutes