Seashore Nature Trail 50k

The 3^rd annual Seashore Nature Trail 50k was yet another great success. To Mel Williams and the all the Tidewater Striders who volunteered their time to help make this race a top notch experience, a big THANKS to you. Oh and thanks to mother-nature herself for blessing us with great weather. For the last 2 years, well the first year really, the weather totally sucked! Last year wasn’t bad as the trails were actually in pretty good shape considering we had just had some snow a few days prior and once again those volunteers came through. Like I said, you couldn’t have asked for better weather; low to mid 40’s with a slight overcast. I talked with a few of the volunteers before the race and they said that the trails were fast and in great shape.

This was my 5^th Ultra and the one thing that I’ve noticed over the past few races, were all the familiar faces. The Ultra community is a pretty small tight knit group, so it’s not uncommon to see the same folk’s race after race. One big surprise for me was seeing Gill and Francesca from Bad to the Bone. I met Gill and Francesca at UROC this past September; fantastic people and great ambassadors of our sport. I just so happen to be wearing my UROC 100k shirt that day and every time Gill and I passed on the trails we’d yell “UROC”……

Going into the race I really didn’t really have any goals set. If anything, I wanted to better my time from last year (6:20). All week leading up I was worried about AS flare ups, but my hips, feet and lower back felt really good, which is kind of surprising because for the previous 2 weeks I was having lower back and ankle issues. I guess all the planets and stars were aligned! Feeling great, weather was great…ok, something isn’t right. I always have some issue on race day.

I always start out in the back, mainly because I am not a threat for the win and I like hanging back talking with all the other runners or the “Common Folk” as I call them. However, today was different. I didn’t start off like I normally do. I didn’t partake in any conversation or at least at first I didn’t. I seemed to be more focused on making my way through the crowd (304 I think started). Once I got into some open trails I just started getting into a groove. After about the first mile or so I glanced down at my Garmin; the damn thing never linked up! Ughhh!  To top it off it read “low battery”. I thought for sure I charged it. I new I only had about an hour or so before it completely died so I had to mentally adjust and not let it bother me. It finally died at mile 14.67, but it didn’t matter, I was still feeling good. At this point I was hitting 8-830 m/m which was surprising because I am normally pretty reserve. I knew if I didn’t slow it down I would pay for it later on.

Throughout the day the sun peeked in and out but the temp stayed about mid 40’s. The trails were in great shape and pretty fast.  Fellow runners were few and far between. Every now and then I would come up on someone or someone would pass me and the encouraging phrase of “looking strong; keep it up” would be said and I would reply as I always do, “as long as I am vertical and moving forward, all is good”. Ultra runners are the best people on the planet, very cool and down to earth. Even as the front runners whizzed by, they’d take a second to give a quick shout out.

For the first 20 or so miles life was good. I think I hit 24-25 mile mark just under 4hrs. I thought to myself that there was a slight possibility that I could get a sub 5hr finish. Well as anyone who has ever ran a marathon or longer can tell you, a lot can happen in 7 miles. The wheels started to come off around 5 to go. I was developing a cramp in left inner thigh. I could feel it coming on. I keep telling myself “do stop, if you do, your DONE”. Well of course I didn’t listen. I had slowed down considerably as this point. People were passing me left and right (it seemed like they were anyways) and I could see my sub 5hr slowly slipping away. What made matters worse is that I didn’t have any concept of time because my Garmin died. I had to ask fellow runners what time it was as they passed by. Finally I stopped to massage the area and resorted to a fast paced walk. At this point all the negative thoughts started flowing, but as soon as they came they went away just as fast. I had a moment of clarity. I thought to myself; “There are people that have AS who cannot even walk let alone run 31 miles. I am out here representing those people and secondly, dude, you just ran UROC 100k a few months back and finished. With only a little less than 4 miles left you cannot stop now.” So I started to pick up the walking pace…than a little shuffle and then finally progressed to a moderate jog.  The last .5 miles were on pavement which actually worked out better for me. I came across the finish line in 5:29:19 which was 50 min better than last year, so a new PR was set. I’m pretty happy with that.

Another Seashore Nature Trail 50k is in the books. I have a few goals for 2012 that I mentioned in my previous blog. Who knows, maybe a sub 5hr next year! Well that’s it for now. Merry Christmas to everyone and remember, stay vertical and moving forward my friends…..Chris

My intro to the blogging world

So here we go. I never thought that I'd find myself posting Blogs and Tweeting in order to communicate with others but in today's world, technology rules.
  I guess my whole reasoning behind this is to share with other people my experiences that I encounter through running and the day to day struggles with Ankylosing Spondylitis. As stated in my profile, I was diagnosed with AS in the fall of 2006,  just before I found out I was going on a 9 month deployment to Kuwait. At that time I had very little lower back pain and discomfort in the hips and pelvic areas. In fact, the only reason why I went to the doctor was because I had Iritis. After the numerous blood tests and xrays it was finally determined that I had the early stages of AS. Classic signs; Male, 33, Iritis, HLA B27 Positive and constant lower back pain. Yep, that's me!! As with most people, at first your in denial and to be honest I haven't really come to grips with it until recently....5yrs later. During the last 5yrs I haven't taken any medications other than 800mg Motrin or Aleeve, which only take the edge off. It's only been within the last year or so that I have really noticed a difference in flexibility and pain. I've stayed active by running. Logging in 50-60 mile weeks and competing in Ultra marathon races; 50k's, 50 milers and most recently my first 100k(62 miles). However I do notice, as I said earlier, that my flexibility isn't as good and the pain is a constant 7 out of 10 most days (10 being worst). Hopefully this will all change very soon. I recently went back to the Rheumatologist to seek help. I guess when it affects your way of life something needs to be done. I will be taking HUMIRA starting on the 27th of this month. Fingers are crossed that this will help.
  For some upcoming events, I will be running a 50k on the 17th and for 2012 I plan on attempting to run my first 100 miler.  For the first 100 miler I will be blogging on my success and my failures and all the peeks and valleys that go along with dealing with Arthritis while training for this run. I hope some of my stories will inspire others to go out and be active. Stay vertical and moving forward my friends.