ICE AGE Trail 50 Mile Run

50 Miles 7:13:42 8:40 average per mile
6th Overall out of 219 finishers.
1st Age Group(35-39)out of 26 finishers
6:00 am) Start 40 degrees and windy. Light drizzle.
Friday night drove down with my Dad. We stayed in Elkhorn about
15 miles from the race start. After we checked in and relaxed
for a bit we drove to Whitewater for packet pickup. Got my bib
and my chip and we headed downtown to find a place to eat. We
ended up at a family restaurant and they had pasta on the menu.
So that was a score for me. My dad got the fish special being
Friday night and all.
After dinner we headed back to the hotel but stopped a couple
times to check out some of the course and parking for the
morning. Watched some TV till about 10:00 then turned in for the
night. Alarm was set for 3:30 am. I did not sleep well at all
no big surprise there. I had a lot of nervous energy. I wanted
to get going.
Saturday morning I went through my usual routine eat, drink,
shower and get all my gear ready. We left at 5:00 am. We made
it to the start around 5:20 am. I stayed warm at the start with
some extra clothes on knowing I would take them off last minute
and hand them to my dad. Race started at 6:00 sharp. It was very
low key a guy just saying GO!
The first 9 miles of the course is a loop on the Nordic Trail. I
was up in the front in a group of 12 runners. We were running
too fast for my liking this early in the run. After a couple
miles I let them go. I was now in 10Th position running by myself
for the rest of this loop. The Nordic Trail was double track but
was hilly and I was not really expecting this to be this hard.
I was already walking some of the steep hills. The early fast
pace was already causing me to be winded. Not a good sign this
early into a 50 mile run. I finished the first loop around 63
minutes or around a 7 minute pace. I should have run it much
slower. I saw my day and handed him some clothes I was over
dressed.
Now we started back out heading towards the Ice Age Trail. When
we hit Confusion Corner we turned left and headed down the trail.
We would run this to mile 21.7 before turning around. I saw my
dad again at mile 17.4 and he had a full water bottle waiting for
me. Sure was nice to have him there. I was still in 10TH position
at this point. On the way back I say him at mile 26.2. My time was
around 3:32 well on my way to a sub 7 hour time.
The next time I saw my dad I think it was around mile 33. I was
not expecting to see him. We had discussed at which points on
the course he would be at but he was able to make this one as
well. It was always good to see him it lifted my spirits each time.
I think I moved up 1 spot at this point.
The next aid station was mile 37 and I talked to my dad and he
said a couple runners had just gone through and I was catching
them. This was what I needed to hear at this point it helped me
mentally to keep pushing.
In the next 3 miles I passed 3 runners going into 6TH position.
I was very happy to be passing runners and not be the one being
passed. I arrived at mile 40.3 the final turn around point. I was
mentally and physically done at this point. I wanted to be done.
I had enough. Of course though I pushed on. I ran the last 10
miles slower than I had run all day. No one passed me though.
I saw my dad one last time at mile 43.5 and he said you only
have 6.5 more miles. That seemed 100 miles to me at that point.
I was struggling bad. I still managed to keep running but every
hill would cause me to walk. I was very happy to see the finish
line. In my previous 2 ultras I was strong at the finish so this
was a different experience. Received my belt buckle and got some
food and drink.
Overall this was such a great experience and sharing it with my
dad made it even more special. Thanks Dad for all your work and
support out there.