Daily Note

Tie Dye 50K - 4:56:40, 3rd/145 starters, suspecting DNF rate was high for a 50K due to the area getting its hottest day in about 8 months. Started off in mid 60s, high humidity and due point due to recent rains which also made the course very muddy in many places. I took off at a very reasonable and easy effort as I figured this one would be hard for me and other runners (especially those from the north which was 95% of the runners). Phil Noble joined me after the first couple of minutes and kept me company as we caught up over the next couple of hours. I had a lot of other company the first 3 hours from those actually running the race too. I wisely let the lead pack of 6-7 runners get out of sight in the first 15 minutes. Then I was passed by a couple of other runners and then one more. I spent most of the 1st loop in 9th-10th place, keeping in mind my reverse effort strategy in most 50Ks. Splits for 1st loop - 24:34/144, 31:07/146, 35:55/147, 50:47/149 - 2:22:30 first loop, got aid from my cooler and put ice in my hat and shirt which felt good - it was already pushing upper 70s at 9 a.m. 59:25/155, 36:45/162 (moving decent, but HR was starting to spike and not come down even when walking a couple of hills - signs of heat stress), 38:57/158, 18:46/153 - 2:33:50 2nd loop - factoring in a minute+ at aid station the 10 minute increase in time isn't too bad considering it was mid 80s heat index by the end. I passed several guys and lost the first place woman who was right behind me most of loop 1. I knew I had moved up to at least 5th, but couldn't be sure where exactly I was place-wise. I knew another runner (Tyler) was not far behind, so I conserved some energy the last few miles in case a faster finish was necessary to hold him off. I was pleasantly surprised when I won a nice ceramic clock for finishing 3rd overall! Calories burnt - 4,087, avg hr 152 overall.

Consumed: Figs - 2 (200), pb&j (120), granola bar (150), gel (100), stinger waffle (130), bevita (100), gatorade (100), clif bar (250) = 1150 - a little low for almost 5 hours.

Pros: Managed the heat the best I could, ran my own race - moved up from 10th to 3rd in last half of race. Got to visit with Ohio friends! No falls!

Cons: One trip, heat stress - not acclimated for summer yet, but summer is still a month away!