Mendon 50k: Loop 4 of 5

This is the fifth in a series of posts during which I am continuing to tell the tale of my personal journey through five 10k loops this past Saturday, November 10, as I attempted to complete my first (mini)-ultra marathon...

Loop 4 (1:09:28) —Pulling into the transition time for the third time, and the first during which Anne wasn’t there, was the most challenging part of the day. I had made the mistake during the third loop of spending the time once I had corrected my path, of thinking about how I might, maybe, just want to, stop short of the fifty. As soon as doubt creeps in, it become4s more of a challenge to move on… Standing at the picnic table, looking at my duffel bag of “supplies” I made the quick decision (without much thought, really) to forge ahead.

By this time, I had soaked through the long-sleeved tee (I know—“cotton kills!”) I had been wearing over my two wicking shirts, and took it off choosing to go cold… I also surprised myself with the realization that I had still been wearing the bright yellow ASICS gloves I had put on prior to running. By this time they had formed a second skin and removing them seemed unnecessary. Oddly my thought process was that if I had the gloves on I would stay warm even if I was only wearing a t-shirt.

I also deviated from my training plan and grabbed a nut bar to carry along with the intention of eating it during my first quick walk up the incline at 1-mile, just before reaching a water tower. During all my training, the only “solid” I had practiced eating (and keeping down) had been the gel blocks, but given my faux pax last loop, I needed a boost and hoped this bar would do it.

Setting out up the driveway away from the transition pavilion, I recalled telling Anne that “I would really need her between the fourth an d fifth loops…” the one detail I had right and now my goal had become not just finishing the loop in order to complete the race, but hurrying back to see my wife…

Breathe in, breathe out... YOU AND I ARE ALIVE!