A Day at the Lake

After doing my polar plunge through the ice on New Year's Day, I wanted to accomplish another goal this year: a 50 mile run at age 50. While I'm not aware of any local 50 mile races per se, I found the perfect venue: an event in Minneapolis that features your choice of a 12- or 24-hour run around Lake Nokomis.

There is no set distance or finish line; you just go as many laps (2.41 miles each) around the lake as you can before they stop the clock. It's a well-supported race, with food/drink stations positioned at halfway points (ergo, no need to carry anything), and a crew of volunteers who record your distance for you every time you pass by the official timing tent.

I have never done an ultramarathon before, so I opted for the 12 hour race. It was held two weekends ago and, this being June, my main worries had to do with heat and sunburn. I should be more careful what I wish for, as the day turned out to be unseasonably cold (upper 40's/lower 50's) with pouring rain throughout. I think I was the only person in the race who didn't have a jacket or appropriate rain gear.

A couple of hours into the race, my spirits were lifted when I saw a couple of my running friends; they had come out on this awful day to run some laps with me! Not only did they provide me with some much-needed company, but when they left for home, one of them gave me his jacket to wear! With those guys gone, I needed the companionship of my MP3 player (loaded with many hours of my favorite music) more than ever. Imagine my horror when I put the headphones on, pushed the "on" switch and... nothing! The battery was dead, thanks to the soaking rain.

At 35.5 miles I took a longer than normal break, this for the purpose of changing into all new (that is to say, DRY) running clothes & shoes. I didn't stay dry for long, but it gave me a mental boost. All through the day I made a point of taking Fig Newtons, pound cake, rice krispie bars, whatever they offered every time I passed an aid station. Not only does one need the energy from food, but the rules of this event mandate that all runners be weighed at the 4 and 8 hour marks... and if you lose more than 5% of your weight from the pre-race weigh-in, they pull you out of the race until you get your weight back up to acceptable levels. This turned out to be a non-issue for me, as both subsequent weigh-ins showed a 4 lb. gain, thanks to the soaking-wet jacket + layers of clothes + shoes & socks.

At one point they were serving pizza, and the little slice that I had tasted so good that I really wanted some more the next time I came around. But the pizza availability turned out to be as fleeting as the time between rain showers, and it was all gone. I reached my 50-mile goal at the 9-1/2 hour mark, so then I set my sights on trying to make it into their "all-time, 100 kilometers in 12 hours" society. Five more laps... sounded like I could do it.

I'm pleased to say that the officials in the timing tent heralded my arrival at the 100k (62 mile) mark by ringing a bell, and it sure was a sweet sound. There were less than 5 minutes remaining on the clock. First thing I did was walk over to the food tent to get some desperately needed hot coffee, and a cup of scalding-hot chicken soup. I made a feeble effort to add a little more distance, and then I heard the announcement that the race was over. I ended up officially going 62.44 miles - lots more than I've ever run in a week, much less a day - and I was 5th out of 19 men overall. But I was first place among 10 men age 50+.

Staggered over to the massage tent, where a very kind lady rubbed my legs & back for nearly an hour. Then I wanted nothing more than to put on my dry street clothes for the drive home, but the communal changing tent was by now full of water. Didn't want to dip my clothes in those puddles, so I just sat on a towel & drove home in my soaking-wet race clothes.
I felt like I could sleep for days, and legs & lower back were very sore. But I had to stay awake for our son's high school graduation the very next day. Oops! -didn't know about that being on the same weekend, back when I signed up for the race.

Mark