Stone Cat Race Report - Part 2

Since my last entry, the race results have been posted. Which brings a little twist to my earlier report regarding timing*. Also, for some reason I can't upload any pictures - Blogger doesn't seem to want to cooperate :(

And now back to our story.

I had debated whether or not to wear my Garmin for this race. I wanted to be able to run by feel, but I also wanted to roughly know my pace, too. If my pace seemed strong, that might encourage me to push it a little more or work to maintain it if I knew what ballpark I was in. Of course, that could also serve to discourage me if the pace seemed particularly slow, but that's another show. In the end, the Garmin won out. I was pleased that I was able to just use it as a loose guide and only ended up looking at it a handful of during the race. Plus, I like having it to log my runs in general. I skipped the heart rate monitor, though - that thing chafes like a m-er f-er on long runs.

After finishing the first lap in about 2:08, I headed out across the open field to start my second and last loop. The good news was that since the marathoners had done a mile-ish lap around the school at the start, the second lap would only be 12.5 miles since the first was 13.5. I tried to do a little quick math, gauging about how long the second lap might take and figured if it was somewhere around 2 hours, I'd be pretty happy with my overall time. I wasn't too hung up on it though, I just wanted to stay focused and on course.

The second lap went a little more smoothly than the first. No logjams and the 50 milers I came upon were easier to pass as we were all much more spread out. The miles seemed to tick by and I focused on just getting to Al Cat's Lounge aid station. So, recall that I had been concerned about my legs just crapping out and darkness and evil prevailing and causing me to walk. Somehow the running gods were with me and to be honest, I felt pretty good the entire run. I never hit the wall, never felt major muscle fatigue, cruised up the hills, and generally felt strong the whole way (I know, I hate it when people say that, but the running chi was aligned and I'm not going to mess with it). This time around, the party was in full swing at Al Cat's and I was again greeted by a volunteer holding a half full cup of beer as I rolled in. Randy offered me some little grilled cheeses (fresh off the grill) which smelled awesome and I would have loved to have one, but I didn't think the cheese would be great for my stomach. I scanned the table for what I was looking for - PB&J - and shoved a few little squares in my mouth washing them down with Gatorade. Pete rushed up to meet me (this was the first point on course I'd been able to see him) and informed me that he had had a Burnt Trailer. Emma snapped some pictures and cheered me on and a very nice woman behind a grill tried to get me to take some bacon strips with me on my way out. It seriously was heaven. I almost didn't want to leave - everyone seemed to be having such a good time (and enjoying what looked like a fully stocked bar set up on a nearby table). I kissed Pete goodbye and started to head back onto the trail. Emma was there with some final words of encouragement and I had another one of those moments of connection where I felt like both my body and soul had gotten some aid.

Two mantras started to formulate in my head (well, three). One was "Fast Freddies" (the final aid station) and the other two were "stay on course" and "pay attention". Things were definitely spreading out more and more and when I wasn't running with Lauren and Eric, I was pretty much on my own. I made sure to pay attention to the course markings and not let my mind wander too much. I also did my best to focus on the path ahead so I didn't trip. More than once I rounded a bend to see someone slowly picking themselves up from the ground or heard a "THUNK" behind me only to turn around and see that same slow, dazed, Frankensteinian walk of someone who had just been unexpectedly pinned to the earth.

And then. There was a rumble in the jungle. Over the course of the second lap the debate of "to go" or "not to go" turned in to "where can I go". This would be a first for me as I have never, ever had to stop during a race in my life for a potty break. I'm happy to report (without alienating any readers with too much detail...ok, there might be too much detail here, so consider yourself warned), that I timed it perfectly. Let's just say that on the poo-0-meter that goes from "You Should Have Brought a Magazine To Wait This Out" to "Cold Sweat", I found the Green Zone (and a well-placed tree). Hey folks, poo isn't just funny, it's scientific!

Back to the task at hand, I found myself past mile 20 and cruising home. The final miles clicked down and I was truly amazed at how I felt compared to how I have typically felt around this point during a road marathon. In fact, maybe it didn't hurt enough and I could actually be pushing it a little harder...? Eh, I'll save it for next year. All told, I think I'm just more comfortable with longer distances (especially on trails) and enjoy them much more than shorter, faster runs (too hard!). Now, at this point could I imagine doing two more laps of this for a 50 miler? Hells no!

On the first lap I had tried to make a mental picture of little landmarks that I could look for on the second lap to indicate how far along I was. Well, that didn't really work and I figured I'd just let the section of trail where the two-way traffic started serve as the "you're really almost there" indicator. The next thing I knew, I was out in that open field and running strong toward the finish. Jamie was timing and as I crossed the line he said "Dude, you were like the third woman!" Say what? Then a volunteer at the finish handed me a very nice green fleece finishers jacket and called me by name (standing there afterward, I heard her greet every finisher by name and hand them a jacket - seriously, does this race get any better?). I grabbed some water and Gatorade and pretty soon Pete cruised up on his mountain bike - he was bummed that he didn't get to see me finish, he was trying hard to get there, but had gotten a little lost in the woods (hopefully not the effects of the Burnt Trailer!) We hung around to watch Chris cruise in about 20 minutes later and Tim rolled in looking strong about 10 minutes after that. We celebrated and continued to watch finishers and hang out with Jamie and Carter (who had been drinking almost as long as the clock had been running - all kinds of feats of endurance were had on this day).

I have to admit, a little part of me wanted to know how close I was to the first and second women - what if my dumass off-coursed-ness had made a difference? Jamie must have read my mind and said something to the effect that the second woman had come in well enough before that my diversion wouldn't have mattered and I was relieved with this news. I was very happy with a solid third place and a finish of 4:16. After a quick trip back to the hotel to check out and clean up, we made it back to the race in time to see Ian's spectacular 50 mile finish of 8:02. I can't imagine running 50 miles, let alone at that pace - truly inspiring.

That evening, with Pete, Tim, and Chris, I had my Portland Pie pizza and whoopie pie dessert and it did NOT disappoint. One of my favorite things about racing with friends is re-hashing the battle afterward over a great meal and hearing everyone's take on the course, their experience, and creating the stories we'll tell and re-tell every time we get together.

In more ways than I can describe, I really felt like a Trail Monster on Saturday. Stay tuned for what's in store for 2010...

*Pete had looked at the results board at the race and seemed to think I was only 2 minutes from the second place woman. But when I looked at the results today online, he mistakenly saw the name "Lauren" finishing two minutes before me and assumed it was a woman finisher, not the dude named Lauren who I had been running with.