99 Days to Ultraman Mexico: On The Danger of Enjoying a Bud Light Lime
“I thought the Bud Light Lime meant I was done.”
Looking ahead at the race, the day that concerns me the most is Day 3. Each day is massive, but a double marathon is brutal.
I’ve run 50 miles in a day once before. Big Brad Ultras “The Pounder.” The race took place on technical single track trails in Bradbury State Park in Pownal, Maine. My longest effort going into that race was 26.2 miles. Nearly doubling that wasn’t something I knew how to prepare for and it showed. I felt surprisingly good when I passed the 26.2 mile marker.
By mile 30, I was running on fumes. I remembered this feeling from my first marathon. Now I knew I could push through it, but it would be brutal. I teetered on the edge of failure for the next couple hours. By mile 40, I felt like a zombie. During long runs, it can be hard to separate how you feel from how you’re actually doing. Want a good read? Just watch the aid station volunteers. The more excited they seem to see you, the worse you probably look.
When I came out of the woods at mile 40, they all jumped up like I’d just won an Oscar. I barely registered it. I hadn’t quit, but I was just waiting for someone to say I missed the cutoff. They pulled up a chair and stuck a Bud Light Lime in my hand.
I’ve never been so happy to see a Bud Light Lime.
I don’t think anyone has.
I took it as a polite way of saying I was done. I was disappointed and relieved. I figured I had given it everything I had. I drank some Coke, ate some brownies, and sat back in the chair. For some reason, they were all still standing over me.
“Well… okay, time for you to go.”
“What?” I said.
“You’ve got time. Only ten miles left! Get going!”
They helped me up out of the chair and jogged alongside me to grab my trash as I trotted back out onto the course. I couldn’t believe it. I was so sure I was done. I turned the corner into the next section of woods and realized I had no choice but to go on. I couldn’t quit and they refused to DNF me. Then the sugar and caffeine hit me. My shuffle turned into a full run. I didn’t know that was possible. I had been lower and more exhausted than ever. I was back. Three beautiful miles of rolling hills through a clear-cut section of forest. I had reached that surreal level of appreciation and gratitude ultramarathons are famous for.
Eventually, I hit the technical climbs again, but it didn’t matter; I was going to finish. I missed the final time cutoff by 15 minutes and got a DNF. I felt incredible.
I still crossed the finish line.
I still ran 50 miles in 12 hours and 45 minutes.
Looking at a double marathon after two full days of racing, I know I will have to enter that valley again and again.
I can’t wait.
Training Log
After 10 humid miles yesterday, I woke up feeling sluggish. My coffee pot burned the coffee. I don’t even know how that happens, but it gave me the perfect excuse to delay the run and sit in a coffee shop. My usual 5-mile loop has a bridge collapsed into a stream. Normally I hop across, but with last night’s rain, the water was high and the gap too wide. I was not even a mile into the run and I didn’t know what to do. The smallest disruption in routine throws me off. I stood there for almost a minute searching for a way across. Then I turned around and did a hilly eight mile out and back on Devotion Rd. A fitting name for endurance training.
• Run: 10.18mi
• Time: 1:40:05
• Elevation Gain: 505ft
• Pace: 9:49/mi
• Mobility Work: 20 Minutes