Muddington News: October 2009

I am finally getting back to August and a story about the Mat-Peak-Challenge. I was training for both a flat land race and the mountain race this summer at camp. I had many many excellent runs, some were pretty tough. The road out in front of camp is pretty hilly and I was running in the 4 wheeler track into the wind on these incredibly hot days, I know hot is a relative term for you southern types. On these triple whammy days hothillywindy I was never quite getting the speed I wanted but I felt as though the running was toughening me up pretty good. I would run and debate with myself as to what was going to be my race in August the Humpy's Half of the Mat peak. It was pretty intimidating thinking about doing the mountain run as I have never done anything like that and would over 9000' of elevation leave me completely destroyed in the middle of the wilderness with a helicopter hoisting me outta there. Well I talked with my friends dad who has done the thing like 9 times and he is a total animal and he would regal me stories of young bucks trying to do the challengs and turning into pile of twitching jelly from cramps. I was taking this stuff in with fear and trembling, should I, shouldn't I. Then came the day to sign up for the half marathon and I made my decision, Mat Peak, and I would just go into it with the mind set of finish, go slow, back of the pack, no pressure. After all I had zero knowledge of the race course, which has been known to be poorly marked and people get lost every year and add miles to the already 16+ mile course. I arrived race day, the birthday boy a fresh 40 years old with 30 dollars and nothing better to do. We lined up at an invisible line and a couple of guys who put on the race and also run in it walked out in front of us and turned to face us. You should have seen the way they gave us the race info for the day, kinda feeding off each other to try and not forget anything important. I was loaded with all the required gear, wind jacket/pants, thermal top/bottom, hat/gloves, food, water (2 bottles), firstaid stuff. All of this was crammed into a lumbar pack I picked up at http://www.steepandcheap.com/ The gun went off and we all trotted down to the trail head at the other end of the parking lot of the Lazy Mountain trail. The entire race I stayed in conversational mode, that of being able to converse while maintaining a steady pace. I was near the back of the pack and just enjoying a glorious cool morning with clearing skies, rumor was the top of Beyers peak had snow on it, so cool! I made it to the top of Lazy mountain in 1:20, then we ran down a short steep backside of the mountain and with no flat transition back up a hill not quite as high as the Lazy peak. At the top of the hill we decended into a valley of tall grass and alder patches which slowly climbed for a few miles until we were above the tree line and up in the high valley which was turning more and more into a moonscape. A friend who started with me, and was still recovering from a huge mountain race from two weeks prior, was wanting a slower pace so we separated at approximately the base of Beyers peak. Way out in the distance I was begining to see just how far behind I was because the front pack was skylined climbing Beyers peak and they looked about 30 miles away and I just kept repeating the words the veterans had spoken before I started the race, everything looks farther than It really is. I made it to the really big climb up Beyers and about 1/4 of the way up the leaders came screaming by. A friend and training partner was in 9th place and that was really cool to be able to holler at him for a bit. There was a huge fog bank on the opposite side of the valley we were climbing on and in that fog I heard a HUGE rock slide clattering away, the rains the night before had loosened the rock up. I wished I could have seen that. I eventually made it to the top and there was a half way check point, a lady had slept there the night before and she was up there with piece of paper and a pen checking names and numbers which were written on the backs of our hands, 49 for me. At the peak I sat down took out a snickers bar and ate it in two bites and swallowed a gulp of power aid which was in my right hand bottle holder, water being in the left. I got up and picked my way down the slippery slope and fell on my butt twice from rock slides and wet lichen. At the base of Beyers I sat down and emptied my shoes and set about finishing the race with a pick up in the pace as I had been really really holding back and now I knew the way back and understood what was ahead of me. The legs were stiff a bit but I decided to go for it. I was back in the long valley and it was predominantly downhill. I was also trying to be ready for at least two more hill climbs and a leg busting decent into the parking lot finish chute. I was hurting pretty bad and ran the downs and walked the ups. At the end of the valley there was a couple who had hiked in and were offering pieces of granola soaked in honey, pure energy. With a huge thank you I went into a long long climb up to the what I'll call the hill before the Lazy mountain peak. It was long, did I mention that, and totally exposed to the sun which was out in full force. As I was winding my way up through head high grass and fireweed I saw a moose grazing and that did not excite me too much but at the pace I was going there was a chance she would move off before I got near her. I had been alone for a couple of hours at this point and as I reached a point close to the top of the hill there was a group of hikers relaxing by the trail and I stopped for a second to say hello and they offered me a saltine and a shot of water, I took the lovely salty saltine and declined the water as my rationing skills were about what they needed to be. I got to the top of the hill and finished my water as planned and then there was a steep decline to the, no flat ground valley, at the base of Lazy mountain peak. The legs were so stiff on that descent it was amazing I was able to run down that at all and at the base in the valley there was another random guy who had set up maybe six cups of water and vitaminwater in little dixie cups. So I sat down and took two vitamin waters and shook the rocks out of the shoes to get ready for the last STEEP climb up to the peak of Lazy. Well I made it up and there was the last check point and, as planned, I finished off my poweraid. No more fluid and olny one way to go, down. I started the long descent to the finish line and my legs felt incredibly bad I couldn't even run 100 yards but I just slowed instead of walking. I was popping, hard to explain but kind of a foot plant and then knee bend almost simultaneaously, down the mountain. My quads couldn't take a full force break to stop my downhill progress. I was at this point getting pretty excited about finishing and the emotion was sending endorfins into my body and I was able to increase my speed. Popping became more and more like actual running downhill. I was completely numb and for the first time in the entire race I was going anarobic, but still focused on my limits as I had no Idea how far I had to go. I passed a runner, more endorfins. Right before I passed that guy I had heard a roar of cheers and I was thinking, if I can hear the fininsh cheers I gotta be close. I was getting pretty close to slowing because of not knowing how to regulate my energy in relation to how much was left when all of a sudden there was a lady on the side of the trail who saw me, turned, cupped her mouth and yelled RUNNER!! Oh yeah baby not only did I get complimented on being called a runner but now I was close to being done! The lady was with maybe three or four others, probably a family. She was yelling gogogogo, the kids were yelling runrunrun ifyouweregoinganyfasteryouwouldbeonfire, the dad was yelling doinggreatgogogogo. And the edorfins were emptied into the system, nothing left to hold back on just running into the parking lot full tilt to the chears of my adoring fans, speaking of.....where was my family? They said they were going to be here at the finish, and also why was it going so quiet now.....where is the end........what is going on........NICE! That family hiked up the mountain to cheer us on and I was pouring it on like I had a 30 yard dash to finish and in reality I had no Idea how much more was left and if I didn't back off soon I was going to puke. I slowed down thinking that was a pretty rotten joke on me, I recovered my composure and didn't stay slow for long because I didn't want that guy I had just passed to repass me. About 5 minutes later, 5 minutes!! I came around a steep bend and there was my wife and my kids playing in a creek,she yelled gogogogo and AK and IM barely looked up from the dam they were building to yell at me but I couldn't look at them, my eyes were fixed on a terrifying set of stairs wayway too steep to navigate at the speed I was going and I mad an instant decision to take the 6 inch wide path to the left of the stairs, I made it to the bottom and there was the parking lot and my mom with a camera yelling at me to wait wait, not going to happen mom. She had been standing for an hour and a half with the camera waiting to get the shot and she didn't want to miss it. Legend has it she actually stood there with camera held up to her face for the entire time, a true fan. As I hit the pavement of the parking lot I sorta jogged into sight and looked around to see what was next and my mom said, up there to the finish. Back to the starting line up a hill at the other end of the parking lot. All the finishers were there tailgating and hanging around, and they all were clapping and cheering and that felt really good, almoast as good as crossing the finish line and removing the lumbar pack I had been wearing for the last 5 hours and 21 minutes. Pretty fun though, will I do it next year, yes and I will definitely be under 5 hours. The winner made it in at 3:08 and my training partner made it in 3:39 for 11th place. That was August 1 and I stopped training that day and only recently started up again, It is October 15 today and it is the second week of a training cycle which will take me up to Feb. 7 and the Surf City Marathon, UNDER 3 HOURS is the goal, we'll see what happens. Long story but I had fun writing it, I hope you all enjoyed reading it.

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