Thoughts about the JFK 50-Miler

All,

Here are my thoughts:

The run was hard. Finished in 9:48 (on my watch). I was still walking to the start when the race began. No big deal, had all day to run.

My brother Mark called me just after I finished and asked me if I wanted to run the Bull Run Run 50 in April. I told him no way, that I would not run 50 again! Two days later............... I'm thinking about it............... My training prior to this 50 included 4 runs at or over 20 miles (2 runs at 22 miles) with a marathon 3 weeks prior to the 50. I ran the marathon at a slow pace on purpose (4:26) just to get use to the slower pacing required for the 50 and spend more time on my feet. Thanks to my brother Mark and Mike McGlynn for keeping me within the plan.

* The first couple of miles or so on the JFK are on a road and uphill.  Temp 26 degrees at the start. It was a beautiful day. I took it easy (had a long day ahead of me) and stayed at 10 minute miles. Made a "head" call just prior to entering the AT portion. First of many. I had not run trails prior to this event. The AT portion (14 miles) is paved for a short distance, then gets very rocky. It was very hard to run on the rocky trail. I fell twice and came close to twisting my ankle on quite a few occasions. Rocks hurt my feet.  Switchbacks coming off the trail was slow going due to the steep downhill and the line of folks in front of me. At that point 17 miles were under my belt.

* Then came the C & O canal, 26 miles of towpath. A lot of leaves on the ground. Had to stop twice to empty debris from my shoes. Noted some runners had gaiters on. Towpath was in the shade and I was almost cold the entire 26 miles.  Ran 15 minutes and walked two, eating and drinking while I walked which was my plan.  Just after 41 miles I got tired. Met the wall? Most of the time I was forcing myself to stay on pace (stay slow), but at 41 miles I had to do the opposite, force myself to run pace and not want to extend the two minutes waking. The battle of mental determination had begun!

* Came off the towpath at 8:14, (43 miles) right on pace. As I hit the last 7 miles on a paved road, the first thing I met was a steep hill.  Walked the hill (no one ran up it) and then ran/walked the last 7 miles.  Did not use my 15 and 2 plan anymore. Walked when I hit a hill (even a small hill) and also walked when I was tired.

* I wore a heart rate monitor. My heart rate was below 130 all day. During the last 7 miles I slowed down, my heart rate went down to 116 and I got cold. At 46 miles I had to put my gloves back on. Lost my appetite after 7 or so hours. Ate 6 power bars during the day, chips, bananas, M&Ms, and drank a lot of Gatorade and water. Did not like the soup. Not salty enough. Lost my desire to drink after 8 or so hours.

Had to force myself to drink a small amount at a time. I used a support person from the Reston Runners Running club. In hindsight, I should have made PP&J sandwiches to give to my support team for me to eat. Aid stations were 4 or so miles apart generally speaking. I thought before the race that the distance between was too short. I no longer hold that view.

* No blisters but did put duct tape on my big toe. Had a hot spot from the AT rocky portion. No cramps, just a bit of an upset stomach, took a Tums for that. Took pills (sodium/potassium pills) every hour after 2 hours.

* The 50 is so much different than a normal marathon. A true test of endurance. I was amazed at the range of runners. Normal looking folks. My praise goes out to those that spent 14 hours out there. Thighs sore today but otherwise feel ok. I've felt worse after running a marathon with a poor training plan. Resting pulse almost normal (47 this morning). Would I do it again? Yes, but can not tell my wife for awhile.

Cindy thought I looked like death at the end. Best part of the run was the hug I got from my wife. She was so warm and I was so cold!

* It was only 2 years 7 months ago I had cancer. I remember not being able to run 3 miles without stopping after the radiation treatments. I know I'm alive.

All I have to say is that people who run 100 miles are nuts!

Rory
Semper Fidelis
Major Rory F Meehan USMC