Walking out of the aid station my headlamp on I felt pretty good, the energy drink I had was beginning to perk me up. I traveled along a trail that was slightly rutted by dirt bikes, but wasn’t too bad at first. The trail had some fun downhill sections and some nice flats too. I would jog as much as I could, but would also take frequent quick walk/sit breaks.
During one walk break two HUGE trees came into my headlamp! There were many places on trail where there were old trees, but I would swear these two were the oldest. I was so impressed by these trees that I was compelled to just stop, shut off my headlamp, and just appreciate their presence.
During one walk break two HUGE trees came into my headlamp! There were many places on trail where there were old trees, but I would swear these two were the oldest. I was so impressed by these trees that I was compelled to just stop, shut off my headlamp, and just appreciate their presence.
The runnable, fun, slightly rutted section of the trail faded away and was replaced with evil dirt bike trenches. They were just narrow enough that you couldn’t run in them comfortably, so you were left to make your way on the side of the rut, but the trail was cut into the hill. It was precarious, because there was not much space to walk on there and it made for a trying climb. Once the climb ended the trail improved and I was treated to a nice downhill bit to the next aid station!
When I left the previous aid station they had mentioned that I should bring extra food, because the next one was ‘water only’. I didn’t think there were any ‘water only’ stations, but heeded their warning and had brought a bag of trail mix to be safe. Upon my arrival at Council Bluff(mile 100.2) I was pleasantly surprised to find it was a fully stocked aid station. What the other guys meant was that no crew could meet us…
Not having crew at this station wasn’t a problem though, because the volunteers were so helpful. I sat for a little while and ate some potato chips, took some caffeine & 400mg of ibuprofen, and sent a post to Facebook on my InReach “100.2mi in… A whole new meaning to #1sthundred! Closer to the finish than the start.” It had taken me 46hrs to cover the first 100mi and I was feeling good! 62hrs left to cover 100 miles… It seemed like a long time, but I knew there was a lot ahead of me and didn’t know if I was going to make the cutoffs. I was also daunted by the concept of starting another mountain hundo after 2days of running…
Refreshed from the aid station I was ready to take on the next section that included, a road section, a ridiculous downhill, and probably the best maintained trails of the race.
Leaving the aid station we needed to go about 2mi down the paved road before we ducked into the woods. This gave me an opportunity to move at a pretty good clip and I made some good time. The turn off on to the trail was very well marked with a sign and dragons where it ducked into the woods.
Once in the woods the trail just dive bombed straight down what felt like a cliff. I believe the trail loses almost 1,000ft per mile here. The combination of the caffeine and Ibuprofen kicking and my legs being warmed up after the road section; I was able to fly! My quads handled the downhill pounding pretty well, but I wanted to make sure I preserved them for the next half, so I played with trying to use my glutes and hamstrings on the descent. I discovered that if I leaned forward and assumed a position that felt slightly awkward, I could trigger my glutes and hamstrings and the quads didn’t feel like they were being used as much and I could fly down the hill. As I was screaming down the hill I came up on Kate and her pacer. I closed on them so fast in fact that her pacer thought I was a day hiker. I really enjoyed letting it go…
That section only lasted for a few miles though and then met up with a gorgeous trail that made its way along the Lewis River. It was so beautifully smooth and soft… At one point as the trail dipped down to a bridge I looked at the two trees in front of me and noticed that they weren’t growing on the ground. They were actually growing out of an old blow down. I thought it was cool enough to take a picture of…
I kept scanning the edge hoping that it would be right there and eventually I found it, but there was no clear path down. It was more swinging on roots and hopping off small ledges to get the 30ft down the bank. I thought getting clean was worth it though, so I made my way down.
The river’s edge was a nice flat rock that had some grass on it. It was nice and dry to so I set my pack down, took my shoes and socks off and waded in. It was so nice to splash the water over myself. The temperature was excellent and the sun was shining right on me. It was a beautiful scene with the falls behind me and the amazingly clear pool below… It was amazing and I regret that I didn’t take a picture of it!
Feeling a million times cleaner I put my gear back on and climbed back up to the trail. I ran past the middle and upper Lewis falls also, but they were much farther below the trail and I was glad I went to the lower falls, because the other two wouldn’t have worked out.
Along the side of the trail beginning at the road crossing there had been signs for “The Flamingo Inn”. Every couple miles you would come upon about five surveyor’s stakes with wooden signs nailed to them. Each sign had a word and as you ran down the trail it made a rhyme that would advertise bathrooms, beds, and meals. I thought it odd that such an establishment would be out here in the middle of the wilderness, but then again I was not completely aware of where we actually were! As it turns out The Flamingo Inn was actually the Aid/Sleep station and the crew were just having fun. I realized it just as I was coming in…
The aid station was great. The crew were friendly and most importantly Emily was there! She had all of my gear again and was quick with an Ensure and a change of socks. This was a sleep station, but it was still early in the day and I wasn’t tired, so I elected not to sleep… Instead I took care of my feet, ate some food, and chatted with the volunteers.
I noticed that there were some Mountain Dews sitting on the ground and I asked the volunteer if they were for the race, or someone’s personal soda. He said he didn’t know and that they were probably the kids and that I could have one. It was just what I wanted sugar and caffeine! Caffeinated, feet cared for, and some food in me I was ready to take on what was one of the toughest sections with the most climbing on the course.
As I was walking out the aid volunteers said that I needed to hit the piñata. They had a flamingo piñata on a pole and every runner was told to take a whack at it. I was in the back of the pack, so there was not much left to it, the beak and head were all that remained… I took my best shot, knocked it for a loop, and I was out!
I had only viewed the next sections profile as part of the whole 200mi profile and it looked intimidating. What I could see was a climb going steadily up from around mile 110. What the scale of the 200mi profile didn’t show very well was that it was made up of what felt like a hundred steep climbs that would turn over and you could run down only to hike up another one… When I look at the 200mi profile now I see - and appreciate - all of the little saw teeth that I had previously thought a straight up climb.
During the course briefing they mentioned that this part of the course would have a long dry section and that they would place a sign at the last water. True to their word I came up on a sign that said last water for 7 hard miles, so I filled up. While I was fumbling with my water bottle I dropped a gu pack in the river. I quickly grabbed it before it floated too far away, but I unsettled myself so much that I tipped over into the water. The only way to avoid falling completely in was to splash my feet. Luckily I had my most airy and breathable shoes on, so they dried quickly enough, but it was still unfortunate that they got wet…
From the water the trail gained elevation steadily. My feet were feeling very sore and the Mountain Dew had worn off, so I was feeling bit flat. I took two ibuprofen and 200mg caffeine hoping it would help my feet and push me up the climb. I am aware of the studies and dangers around Ibuprofen, but for my pain ibuprofen just works better than Tylenol or Asprin. I only take 400mg and I use it very judiciously. I think that each day I would only take Ibuprofen and caffeine once. The rest of the time I was relatively pain free and had enough energy.
The caffeine and ibuprofen worked and gave me the jolt of energy I’d hoped for to power me up the steep climb. I knew that a guy and his pacer passed me at the river and thought maybe I could catch up to them. That was my goal up the whole climb and much to my satisfaction I achieved it. I caught up to them just as the climb was about to go downhill…
The racer’s name was John and I don’t recall his pacer’s name, but they were both very creative people. John talked about how he created a pouch for his hydration vest, to which I showed them my home made water bottles. We ended up swapping tales of adventure and inventions, of which I am officially sworn to secrecy by some sort of weird trail oath/patent law type arrangement. Suffice it to say, Thomas Edison would be jealous of the inventions this guy is cooking up… It was a very fun section of trail shared with some cool guys.
In addition to talking about inventions, John told me of a game he’d been playing called something to the effect of “the perfect seat” game. Where in you evaluate anything along the trail that remotely resembles a bench. He mentioned how he would evaluate sawn logs, good sized rocks, and depending on how long you play the game - standards tend to decline in relation to your legs energy and how sore your feet are - a particularly nice patch of dirt may suffice. I told him that I had in fact been playing that game all night! I also mentioned that the section out of RD9327 was great, because the dirt bike ruts were so deep they basically made a perfect bench! He agreed and on that note we located a fine tree, one that had ample sitting space for all three of us as we regrouped for the final push into the Council Bluff aid station. The funny thing is that of all the places I sat I passed by a great many benches and would then sit on a log 20min later…
Down the final stretch to the aid station John said “Holy cow!” out of nowhere, so quickly that it startled his pacer and me! His pacer quickly asked if he was all right. John said that of course he was and he would never use such polite language were he actually hurt. It turns out what had caught John by such surprise was a brilliant alpenglow purple and red Mt Adams peeking thru a window in the trees. Immediately after the vista we turned into the aid station as the colors began to fade into more grays and blacks…
Thinking that this was a sleep station, I elected to take a 45min nap near the car instead of at the sleep tent. I wasn’t as tired as I had been the previous two sleep stations and it took a few minutes of tossing and turning before I went down…
When I woke up I put my shoes on and Emily pointed me down the trail and said the aid station was a couple hundred feet past the end of the parking lot. I came in to the aid station where the volunteers, once again, were amazingly friendly. They kindly refilled my bottles and gave me some soup. As it turns out this was not a sleep station, but because there was a sleep station, Lewis River, that I came thru at mid-day and didn’t sleep at; I stuck to my plan of napping 5 times on the run.
On the next section of trail there were some light dirt bike ruts, but not as trying as the previous nights. I also passed two people in this section that were just trail side napping. I had hoped they were all right, but didn’t want to wake them, so I just passed by… At one point the trees opened as the trail went thru a high meadow or slide path and the stars were laid out above me. I knew the Perseid meteor shower was happening right around this time and was hoping to catch a shooting star or two to make the story that much better. I didn’t see one… It did however serve as a nice rest break, so as I headed off I felt refreshed.
After passing thru a campground the trail turned into a proper road. A two and a half lane wide dirt road that I followed for what felt like an eternity! I would shut my eyes and walk in the dark for ten steps to rest my eyes. I just wanted to be at the Chain of Lakes aid station so badly. We even passed the road entrance, but it was marked “Crew Vehicles Only. No Runners” and we were directed on what I would’ve, at any other time, called great trails back to the aid station. With 1mile to go I was mentally exhausted and was ready to be there, so turned my headlamp on to its brightest setting and ran. I don’t know what happened, but I can only describe it as claustrophobic. I ran with everything I had to the aid station, knowing Emily would be there…
When I arrived at the aid station sure enough, there was Emily’s Subaru! We were going like clockwork now!!! I tapped on the window and woke Emily, while again Winston was quite next to her. He did get up, but didn’t mind being awakened too badly and didn’t cause a scene.
Emily gathered the gear bag and we walked down to the aid station. On the walk in I told her “I’m fine physically, but spiritually I’m beat up.” I needed to get some encouragement, food, & rest. I was in luck, because I was able to get all three in spades! The aid captain was so helpful… He really was able to put up with me being a pretty helpless organism. He kept letting me know that he was there to help us and that we runners could be big babies and I agreed, we sure could. He offered up a grilled cheese sandwich and even asked me “Do you want the crust cut off?” I was surprised by the offer and all I could think to say was “only because you offered.” It turned out to be an amazing crustless grilled cheese and just what I needed before heading to the sleep tent.
Emily had gone in and set up my sleeping bag while I was eating and I shuffled over to it. The air mattress was going flat, so I told the aid captain and then went back to the chair to sit for a few more minutes while he filled it. Once it was filled, I laid down and I was out! I had asked them to let me sleep for about an hour and a half and that was when they woke me up the first time.
I believe I actually laid there for fifteen minutes after my wake up before I actually got up. When I sat up I noticed that Katie was on the air mattress next to mine, she went to sleep at Lewis River last time I saw her and must have caught up to me while I was sleeping. She was getting up too and was shivering. I had just warmed up after putting on my down jacket, so I offered it to her and she put it on. Then I went outside and for the second time in as many days had an amazing breakfast of scrambled eggs, hash browns, and bacon! It was amazing and the kind of all you can eat buffet that you just don’t want to end!!!
Unfortunately… It did have to end and while I was lacing my shoes up and I heard Emily say “Ok, I’m going to leave now.” I can only describe my feeling as that of a child being set at the school gate with mom just driving off into the sunrise! Even knowing that she was going to leave me on Monday, I was devastated. I had not been able to figure out the change in my times from my spreadsheet, so I thought I may see her again, but she was sharp and had figured out that if she left me there she could still make the other 3 aid stations and leave me drop bags.
Knowing this made me very happy and comforted me. I also knew I had to finish now that Emily had left… There’s no way someone could do such an amazingly nice thing for me and then I stop. I was going to push on with everything I had!
Emily had gone in and set up my sleeping bag while I was eating and I shuffled over to it. The air mattress was going flat, so I told the aid captain and then went back to the chair to sit for a few more minutes while he filled it. Once it was filled, I laid down and I was out! I had asked them to let me sleep for about an hour and a half and that was when they woke me up the first time.
I believe I actually laid there for fifteen minutes after my wake up before I actually got up. When I sat up I noticed that Katie was on the air mattress next to mine, she went to sleep at Lewis River last time I saw her and must have caught up to me while I was sleeping. She was getting up too and was shivering. I had just warmed up after putting on my down jacket, so I offered it to her and she put it on. Then I went outside and for the second time in as many days had an amazing breakfast of scrambled eggs, hash browns, and bacon! It was amazing and the kind of all you can eat buffet that you just don’t want to end!!!
Unfortunately… It did have to end and while I was lacing my shoes up and I heard Emily say “Ok, I’m going to leave now.” I can only describe my feeling as that of a child being set at the school gate with mom just driving off into the sunrise! Even knowing that she was going to leave me on Monday, I was devastated. I had not been able to figure out the change in my times from my spreadsheet, so I thought I may see her again, but she was sharp and had figured out that if she left me there she could still make the other 3 aid stations and leave me drop bags.
Knowing this made me very happy and comforted me. I also knew I had to finish now that Emily had left… There’s no way someone could do such an amazingly nice thing for me and then I stop. I was going to push on with everything I had!
Fueled by an amazing breakfast and the energy that comes from the sun being up and a new day ahead of me, I set off down the trail…
I was ready to tackle Day 4!
I was ready to tackle Day 4!
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