avalon 50: run with the buffalos

unlike last year’s experience (pole position), this time (with help from my trusty garmin streetpilot) i managed to arrive at the port on time and catch the boat to catalina island, where the avalon benefit 50 mile run took place.

arriving on the island i realized how cold it was. i was already shivering on the boat, but this was freezing! in the evening we had the race briefing for an overview of the course and general questions. we also picked up our bibs and dropped our bags, to which we’d have access at miles 18 and 34. i found a group of early starters and arranged to meet in the morning and start together. these guys have been running the avalon 50 for over 20 years, definitely the right people to start with in the dark and on a course i didn’t know.

we met at 2:50 (i only managed to have about 1 hour of sleep) for a freezing 3:00 start. the official start would be at 5:00, but with the 12-hour cutoff and this being my first 50 miler, i wanted to give myself the extra time and not have to worry about the cutoff. i stayed with them until it got light enough to see without our headlamps; they took off and tuong (we were staying at the same hotel) and i stuck together until the turn-around point at 26 miles. there was no way i would have gotten the course right in the dark. the first couple of miles included hopping over two fences and weaving through tall bushes. i was glad to have company!

my eating and drinking up to that point had been: hammer gel at mile 7.5; refill of cytomax, a cup of coke and a banana at the empire road aid station at mile 11.5; 3 slices of salted potatoes, 3 quarters of peanut butter and jelly, a cup of coke and refill of cytomax at little harbor, mile 18.6 (where i also got more cytomax from my drop bag and had my morning constitutional — i know, too much information…); i was feeling really good up to little harbor, but started feeling crappy (maybe i ate too much?) from there on. we got to the turn-around at mile 26 6 hours into the race. tuong’s plan was to run a faster 2nd half, so he took off from there, while i took my time at the isthmus aid station refilling my cytomax, drinking coke and eating more salted potatoes.

now alone, i cranked my ipod and started getting into the music and finding my focus again. i had an ok mile, then from 27 on i began to feel great! the music brought my energy back and i was singing, smiling and enjoying the stunning views of the ocean. i took a few pictures and just enjoyed being out there; life is good.

my run back to little harbor at mile 34 was nice and steady. the only thing making me feel uncomfortable was the fact that i was still wearing long pants. i should have changed into shorts on my first time around there at mile 18. didn’t matter anymore, i was now there, i had my drop bag, and i put my shorts on. i sat down to take care of my feet — surprise, no blisters! so i just put on fresh socks and fresh shoes. i had some pretzels and coke, refilled my bottle with just water this time and off i went. changing into shorts and putting on fresh socks and shoes was the best thing i did. i felt like i was just starting a 16-mile run, as opposed to running the last 16 miles of a 50-mile race.

it was a short run to eagle’s nest at mile 38.8. they had buffalo burgers, beer and hard liquor, but i played it safe and stuck to coke and pretzels. i refilled with cytomax again, grabbed a can of redbull and took off. at around mile 40 i’m looking down working on my fanny pack, and when i look back up… a buffalo! about 12 feet away and coming (slowly) in my direction. i moved to my left and let it pass, while reaching for my camera, but by the time i was ready to take its picture it was already getting back into the wild. i managed to take a blurry picture (i was facing the sun) of its back while it walked away.

i had the redbull going, todd rundgren‘s i can’t stop running started playing, i was riding a runner’s high and feeling awesome!

“I can’t stop running
I can’t stop running
I have a vision of myself
breaking the finish line string
I still can hear it
This dream is calling
So I’ll keep running”

i was beaming when I got to pumphouse hill at mile 44. i hadn’t been drinking much for the past 5 miles so i didn’t need to refill my bottle. i just drank some coke, grabbed a handful of pretzels and headed to the finish, only 6 miles away now!

by then i was so high on endorphins, pain was not an issue anymore so i just ran down to the finish. the last 3 miles were a bit hard on the legs — all downhill on paved roads — but at that point i didn’t care, i just wanted to get to the finish line and receive my medal!

i finished in 12:32:02 official time, which was better than i expected. the splits attached only show running time, as my garmin was set to pause the timer when i stopped moving. it showed 11:59:08 at the finish, which tells me i spent way too much time at the aid stations: 33 minutes for only 6 of them. i have to learn to get in and out quicker and eat while walking away from the aid station.

arriving back at my hotel room, i took the nicest hot shower, lied down for an hour and met tuong to walk (ok, shuffle) to the cassino, where the banquet/awards ceremony would be held. (not without first falling off the last step getting out the hotel door onto the concrete sidewalk; i felt flat on my butt then on my back. my legs swung up in the air. luckily i didn’t get hurt!) it was a hoot to see all of us walking up 5 ramps to the casino, and then back down 5 ramps after eating and drinking. we looked like a bunch of cripples holding on the the rails and doing that funny post-race walk. that ought to have been videotaped!

it was all a wonderful experience, and a memorable first 50-mile race.