2009 Moab 100

The injury I feared did indeed ruin my race. I tried hard. I so totally wanted to finish this. So it had been nearly two weeks since this mystery "injury" showed up one morning. I don't know the cause. My mileage has been low. I stayed off it with NO RUNNING for 10 days, but I could feel it only two miles into the race. By 7 miles, I could tell it was going to be a factor. By 40 miles, it was excruciating. I dragged on, limping until 80.55 miles. Sunday, I could virtually not put any weight on it. This was dumb. Now I'll lose training time. I should have stopped at 40-50 miles. I have way too much money riding on two-dozen race registrations to trash my whole season. I should have stopped, but it's not really part of the ultra-philosophy. Anyways, it wasn't part of my mind going into this.

It was SO MUCH FUN, though!!! Yeah!

Reid Delman and wife Michelle were there, of course, and Alec and Kathy Muthig from Laramie. These are some of my favoritest peoples.



The weather was almost perfect. It was so cold that I actually started the first lap with my down coat on, and tied it around my waist only after going a few miles.
Chris Gerber was there, and quite a few others who I know-but-don't-know but somehow they remember my name easier than I remember. I hate getting old. One couple informed me that I had met them at the 24 Hours of Frisco. I remembered meeting a couple, but for the life of me I can't remember the faces and names. I'm usually in sensory-overload during ultra events, so it's very hard for me. Suffice it to say it felt like a really big outdoor party celebrating what we like to do most.


Even though I didn't finish, this was not a waste of time. I was sure I had the whole hydration/nutrition thing worked out. I certainly consumed the right amount of calories. Hydration was perfect. I peed every hour, even through the 60-degree, cloudless sunny day with extremely low humidity. Last year was not the case. I stayed behind the curve all day and only caught up at night.

Maybe I need to back off on the calories a tiny bit? I'm not sure. I never got naseous, but my gut did a few cramps and I had to use the porta-potty twice. Maybe I'm exceeding the max? For some people that would mean a barf-fest, but for a professional eater like me, it means gastro entertainment.

I also did extremely well on wearing the right clothes. I was never too hot or too cold, even at night when the temps dropped below freezing and some breezes brought the comfort-levels down.
I did screw up forgetting my spare socks. I had two spare pairs of shoes, but I was wearing the only dual pair of socks I had.
I wore Drymax Maximum Protection inside with very thin socks outside for extra slip. I found this works pretty good during training. It doesn't seem like it matters what brand I use, as long as I double-up my socks.
I ended up with a hellacious blister on my right heel, but that, and some other pains, were caused by my "injury" and the over-compensation in other areas as I limped along.

Slickrock is brutal. The sand was luxurious. Every time my feet hit that sand, as fine as powder, my feet went "AAAAAHHHHH!!!YESSSS!!!!!"
This is one race where I believe the extra weight of gel inserts would be worth the weight in gold. Seriously.
My left ankle swelled. I couldn't rise on my toes. On slickrock, it's suicide to let your heels touch while running. But I couldn't stay up. The pain was mind-numbing. So my left heel got hammered. I was worried about my back, but my back seems fine.

My right leg got quite a workout as it tried to take most of the work. As I ended up walking, I had to point my left toes outward so my ankle wouldn't bend as much and pull my injured area. That's what caused the heel blister on the right foot.


This is how the race went for me. I nailed the clothing, hydration, and calories. I nailed the proper mindset. My left leg wasn't up to the task, even though I tried to work past it.

This is the only DNF I don't really feel emotionally bad about. I feel very confident that I did more than I should have. No tail between my legs. I had an exceptionally great time, learned a lot, failed because there was no physical way, and didn't wimp-out at all. Even in my agony I had a good time. I'm really lovin' this ultra stuff.

Zane Gray 50 in four weeks. It'll be a miracle if I can put Humpty-Dumpty back together again in time.