NYC Trail Mix 50 miler DNF

Ultras are so damn interesting. I guess that's why I keep doing them. At the moment of dropping from this race, I thought, "I'm getting too old for this sh*t." However, one good sleep and a few hours removed, I now want to go back and try again. I think I have the 50K distance figured out, but the 50 mile and beyond still needs work. I definitely made the right call to pull the plug at yesterday's race. Afterwards, I realized I was dehydrated and also, I did injure myself with a nasty fall during the race. This morning, one of my toes looks pretty bad- it's swollen and I'll probably lose the nail. I think when I fell, weirdly on an uphill, I landed in a way that messed up both of the tops of my toes. Right after the race, everything hurt. I could barely walk. This morning, it's just the one toe that's a bit concerning, but I will probably try to go for a walk later as my legs feel okay. I guess one benefit of taking the DNF is that I'll be recovered in 2-3 days.

The NYC Trail Mix in Staten Island is an interesting format. It's a looped course that consists of 75% single track trails and a few gravel sections. There are 4 road crossings and unfortunately, Staten Island drivers are not the most runner-friendly folk so that added to the challenge of the race. Playing Frogger in real life kept all of us on our toes. This time of year is also particularly challenging for a course like this. Every inch of trail is covered in dead leaves, so rocks, roots and uneven footing meets every step. I found myself just focused on trying to stay upright. I think the moment I fell was right after a road crossing, when my focus just shifted for a second as I was cursing the drivers in my head. There weren't any very long climbs, but there were plenty of short steep ass-kickers on both the ups and downs. Plenty of douche-grade sections that I felt I needed to try to run in granny gear.

The 50 miler consists of 3 x 16.8 mile loops. The race started at 6AM, so we were running in the dark for about 45 minutes. It was tricky and we all took our time. I was in a pack and was led off course for a bit somewhere in the first couple of miles. Luckily, we didn't get off track for too long. For the most part, the course was marked really well. I would say, there were only a couple of spots where I thought they could've added a few more flags as I started to panic that I was going the wrong way and back tracked. Luckily, I did meet another runner who had run the race last year, so she knew we were going the right way. Aid stations were impressive. The volunteers were friendly and super helpful and they were all very well-stocked with the usual ultra "junk" (chips, candy), but they also provided broths and hot food. I myself really enjoyed the hot tots. I especially loved seeing a young kid making the tots at the La Tourette aid station. Major kudos to Dann and his team. They did a wonderful job pre-race with a Zoom call, but also setting up a WhatsApp for any questions for runners. The racer's guide was also thorough. It's pretty awesome that Dann set up this race as a passion for introducing his hometown trails to the world, which he had explored during the pandemic. Prior to the race, they had set up warming stations and I was chatting to some folks. I spoke to people from Washington D.C. and Virginia who had traveled in for the race. As I was leaving, I also saw cars from Massachusetts and Georgia. Apparently, there was a 104 year old in one of the races as well?!

As usual, I got about 2 hours of sleep the night before the race. I just could not settle down. But I knew this was normal the night before a race, so I didn't stress too much about it. Chris was running the 50K and we were up at 3:30AM for a 4AM departure for the race. Luckily, it only took about an hour to get to the race and we had plenty of time to get situated before the 6AM start. Starting conditions really couldn't have been any better. All week, I had been worried it would be windy, cold and/or wet. It was pretty cold, but warm enough that I decided to wear shorts and start with just a long-sleeved shirt and my Houdini jacket and heavy gloves. I probably made the mistake of wearing my heavier trail socks. Thinner socks would have made the swelling in my feet less painful as I would've had a bit more room in my shoes.

Cool neon sign at the start for pics

Lining up

Since I knew it was going to be a long day, I ran the first loop very conservatively. The 50K race started an hour after the 50 mile race and I had the 50K leaders passing me. Since most of the race was on single-track, I lost a fair bit of time stepping aside for runners. The 50 mile race had an added out and back on the loop, which was my least favorite part of the course. There was a section that was rutted out and filled with leaves and a few steep climbs. I loved the creativity though for proof of running the out and back. On loop 1, the runner had to grab a slap bracelet and take it to the next aid station. On loop 2, the runner had to remember a specific assigned animal and on loop 3, a specific food to announce at the next aid station. There were 2 aid stations on each loop. The tricky part was the distance wasn't regular. Aid station 1 was great because it was at 5 miles and I had planned to fuel every 5 miles. Aid station 2 was 6.5 miles away from Aid 1 so I think that's where I got behind on hydration. I really should've used my cup and taken in some water at Aid 1. Also, when it's cold out, I never feel like drinking. I would get 2 miles from the aid station and realize I hadn't been drinking and then try to finish a bottle in those last 2 miles. I stuck to my plan of taking a SiS beta fuel gel every 5 miles, which is about 160 calories, but then I probably under-fueled, because even though I had planned on eating a bar every other aid station, all I ended up eating were a few chips and tots here and there. I was trying not to spend too much time at the aid stations, but probably should've spent at least another minute or so drinking and eating a bit more. They had Skratch out on course so that's what I had practiced with, but it's not my favorite form of hydration. I had started off with two flasks filled with GU Rocktane with caffeine and used those on the first loop.

Sunrise at the lake

I came back from loop 1 feeling pretty good. Dropped off my headlamp, Houdini jacket and heavy gloves. It was a good call to bring another pair of lighter gloves as it was too cold to run without them. I considered taking my poles, but then reasoned that none of the climbs were long enough to justify taking them. It was nice to go out on loop 2, knowing that I would be able to see the first part of the course in daylight. I really didn't feel sore until about 2 miles into loop 2. Mostly pain in my glutes and ankles. I must've turned my ankles at least 10 times out there. Luckily, I have been regularly working on ankle stability with a balance board, so none of the ankle turns were catastrophic. This morning, both ankles are sore, but nothing serious. I think that I fell about 4 miles before the finishing the loop and feeling how beat up my feet were, I decided I was going to drop when I returned from loop 2. In a way, it was fun because I could try to run a little faster to finish strong. I ended up passing 5 people in the last 3 miles. They were all super encouraging- of course, the trail running community is made up of the best people. It was pretty funny- I ran into the start/finish aid station to tell them I was dropping and immediately, a guy who's a running coach came over to try to talk me out of dropping. I think that was his unofficial job. He tried his best and I didn't want to disappoint him so I let him try to convince my for about 10 minutes before I officially dropped.

Somewhere in the woods of Staten Island. I'm smiling because I'm thinking of having real food for lunch.

If I'm being honest, I guess in the end, I just didn't want the 50 mile finish enough. I think if I really wanted to finish, I could've found someone to help tape up my toes- but actually, I'm not sure if that would've worked with toe socks. I came into loop 2, 40 minutes before the cutoff, but that still meant I would've been in the dark for at least 2 hours, given how slow I would've been. In the end, it was nice to not make Chris wait in the cold for hours, just go find a good meal and be home in time to see my son who was home from school, holding down the fort, to cuddle with a cat in my lap and then get to bed at a decent hour. Those things seemed more important than seeing loop 3. Another factor was driving. At some point, I worried that I wouldn't be able to drive home. Also, the stakes were low because of how close the race was to home. If I had spent money on travel and lodging, I probably would've limped my way through that last loop.

Learnings for the next one? I think I need to choose a course that is long and mostly on trails, but not as spicy as this one was. The potential for injury on pretty much every single step for 75% of the race was physically and mentally taxing. I think my heart rate was a good 10 beats higher than it should've been just from worrying about falling. That probably means choosing a course on the west coast. Perhaps a spring or fall race in California or a fall race in Colorado or maybe a winter desert race in Arizona. I also really need to make sure I'm hydrating well. I thought I planned well enough, but I need to probably take in a bottle with electrolyte drink mix and a half bottle of plain water every hour or so. A fuel plan based on time vs. mileage makes more sense, especially later in the race as my pace will inevitably slow down. I need to also add more calories in the form of real food. After taking in 6 gels, I just couldn't stomach the thought of taking any more. If I alternated gels and real food that would've helped, even though I'd lose some time at the aid station. Maybe I could walk out of the aid station and eat while walking.

A few memorable parts of the race: I found a runner's phone on the trail. Turned out it belonged to this woman I had seen who passed me early in the race, running in barefoot shoes. I had passed her back at the first aid station, found her phone on the out and back section and she just happened to be behind me at the next aid station. She was so grateful when I gave her the phone. She called me a "queen", which I thought was pretty funny. I told her I admired her more because she was running in barefoot shoes. Another moment was having a runner trail me for about 6 miles. He said I was running the perfect pace and he was just a courteous runner who gave me the perfect amount of space while running behind me. I think having someone behind me pushed me to keep a steady pace. Finally, there was a 50K runner behind me on this very long boardwalk section. I could tell she would catch me and pass me, so as we exited the boardwalk, I stepped aside to allow her to pass and she let out a big, "Whooooo!" We ended up passing each other back and forth, but in the end, I passed her about 3 miles from the end of second loop. As I affirmed, I'm a strong uphill hiker. I easily passed her on the steep climbs, but as soon as the trail flattened out, she would take off.

It's a bit tough to know what to do now for training. I want to work on strength in general. Get better at biking, which will in turn help me build stronger quads. Build stamina for climbing. In about 5 miles, I'll reach my goal of 1,000 running miles for the year. I'd like to maintain 20ish miles of running per week through the end of the year. It's always nice when 10 miles doesn't feel like such a big deal. And now that I know my body isn't destroyed from this race, there's always the Turkey Trot...