White River 50 Mile Report - The week of Jul 23-29

Sunday: 0
Monday: 6 miles R
Tuesday: 6 miles R / 8 miles T (7 min pace)
Wednesday: 6 miles R
Thursday: 6 miles R / 6 miles T (with Danielle)
Friday: 0 (one day taper)
Saturday: 50 miles (White River 50M - a come back tale)

Total Weekly: 88 miles running

(R = Road, T = Trail, E = Elliptical)

This year, my intent going into WR was to use it as a "strong/fast" training run. Since my legs would be tired, I wanted to see how hard I could still run it. All things went well and as planned. I've told Glenn in the past I thought I could run 8:30 on this course and I still think I can. This last week after he returned from crewing Scott Jurek in his 2nd straight Badwater win, I told Glenn that my plan was to go into the race on tired legs. He said, "good, then you can start out slow," or something to that effect.

I've gotten pretty good at getting sleep two nights before the race. I slept well on Thursday night knowing that Friday I would not sleep. This has nothing to do with nerves for me but that I make it a point not to treat this as more time away from my wife. I.e., I don't want to spend all of Friday evening dwelling on rest and getting to bed early and giving her more reason to dislike my running. Also, WR this year was on her birthday. I made sure and had her birthday present ready on Friday and we went out for dinner and drinks (diet Pepsi for me as usual) and didn't worry about the time. I also planned on being awaken by work, or something or another. I find it best to plan for the worst and hope for the best. It preps me by adjusting my attitude. Well, I got to sleep a bit after 11:00 pm; got a call from work at 12:30 am. It was a quick fix and I was back to sleep by 1:15 am or so. About 2:00 am, the phone rang. It was my son returning my wife's call. She had woken up earlier and noticed he was not home from work (he works until midnight). He was doing more overtime and would not be home until 3:00 am. By 3 when he came home, there was other neighborhood noise - one of the neighbor families delivers newspapers and they were all hustle and bustle. And yet another, my son's friend and his dad, left at 3:30 am to go fishing. So, 4:00 am came finally and I slid out of bed, made my peanut butter and honey sandwich, warmed up left over coffee, and put my pre-packed gear into my car.

I got to the race at about 6:00 which was good for me. I love to socialize but when I do that, I always forget to stretch and make sure I have what I need for the race. I had to adjust my pelvis and get my stuff for the run so I pre-planned to get there in just enough time. I would have plenty of time to socialize after the race. I had told Glenn this a couple of days before the race so he would know why I was keeping to myself.

I moved towards the front on the pack and slowly started after RD Scott yelled "go!" I eased into a comfortable stride and pace and focused on NOT getting caught up in the rush. To do that, I put on my iPod and was anti-social (SORRY EVERYONE)! Kendall noted my rudeness and pointed it out. "Hey, what's up with the head phones? How can I disrupt you if you can't hear me," he jested. To which I replied, "Oh, I dunno, you're doing pretty good." On to the run and the flat trail we went. I passed a few folks but tempered myself when I saw Meghan Arbogast. I pulled in behind her and relaxed. She was obviously taking it easy and it was easy for me to go slow watching her being patient. We quickly got to the first tiny bumps on the trail and there was a chain of people going way too slow. I was trying to be patient and it helped to see some of the others like me pass by. I passed Meghan and she followed. I flew by the first aid station as usual, (I have never found a reason to stop there). Which reminds me, I went with a one bottle option as it was a cool day ... in retrospect, with my hard breathing and the dust, I should have gone with two bottles 3/4 full. Soon I was looking for the "open" area near the camp ground where I stop every year. There's a porta potty that I like to use there. I saw it and jetted over to use it. I quickly got back on the trail and tried not to catch back up too quickly. I remained focused knowing that the climb was coming.

On to the climb where I excel. I love this section of the course. It has some of the steepest climbs. Michael Jackson was screaming in my ears and I let out a whoot of my own. I passed a couple of guys then soon passed ultra-stud Dave Terry. Dr. Dave's an animal. He's so strong that he could probably run the whole course without walking a step. Anyway, I knew I would be seeing him later in the race but for now, I needed to go at my pace and on the climb I was fast-steppin'. I passed a few more folks before getting to the stairs. There was a group of 6 or more folks on the stairs, lead by Carol O'Hear, and I almost considered going on the side but didn't. I pushed the climb and passed a couple more people. Now, I was in the back of a small train that included tp!, Carol, Charles, Kendall, Meghan, and a couple of people I didn't know. When we leveled out, tp! took off. We were running at a decent pace and I didn't feel the need to try and pass at that point. Eventually, though, the pace became too slow and I needed to move on. Kendall made sure that I wasn't able to pass easily as he swung is elbows and gave me a 'loving' shove. Charles did the same as I ran by Meghan yelling "tree." I had to accelerate to miss it and he gave me an elbow as well. It's nice to know you're loved out there and I do know they were having good clean fun with me ... pay back I'm sure ;-) I got out into open trail and really started to move. tp! and that yellow shirt was nowhere to be seen. I did see a couple of runners ahead; one I'll call "lime-shirt" and the other "Canadian," both of whom I saw for several hours to come.

The running was good and I tempered it somewhat on the slight inclines, taking only a few steps on the steep parts, then back to first gear again. Soon I was alone but not for too long. I got to a familiar open area and saw tp! and another guy. As I cruised on, I passed the first guy (who turned out to be Tim Stroh); then all of the sudden, tp! pulled over to the side of the trail looking like he was going to puke. I gave him some words of encouragement and moved on. Soon, I caught lime-shirt and he stuck to me like glue. I had passed a couple of early starters and found out after the race that they told lime-shirt to stick with me. I was passing so many people, glancing over my shoulder ever so slightly to see he was still there. I realized eventually he wasn't going anywhere anytime soon, nor was he in a hurry to pass me. We cruised in and out of the Ranger Station aid and continued to climb strong.

We caught some more people who collectively became another train and we moved on. I think this is where we passed Canadian. The climbing here was fun. This is more of the same walk until you can run, run until you have to walk section. I've become very fluid in transitioning between the two and I was very satisfied with my effort. This section was more of the same, passing people and climbing hard. It took a lot longer than I thought to eventually see the first returning runner / leader of the race. Soon, there were a couple more, and then a few more. Not too far behind was the group of three women battling it out (Nikki, Kami, and Julie). As we neared Corral Pass, I slowed and the group passed me.

We hit the aid station and I was in and out quickly. William Emerson filled my water bottle, I grabbed a couple Succeed tabs and a GU and was out of there. One of the group beat me out and I passed him quickly. Around a couple turns and there was Meghan heading the other way. Hmmm! She'll probably catch me soon. Down the steep trail we headed where we would see everyone else heading up. The going was good but not too fast. This is a mistake most make on this course. They hammer the downhill, which is almost 10 miles, and have nothing for the next long climbing section. Into The Ranger Station quickly and off again. A few caught me here, including lime-shirt and Canadian, and I let them go. A little further and a couple more passed me by. I cruised along, legs a bit sore, a slight doubt entering my mind, "Maybe I climbed too hard." Still on cruising speed, my legs begin to recover. Down and around the last turn without anyone else passing me, "where's Meghan?" and across the road I head towards the Buck Creek aid station. I was pleasantly surprised to see that they had move the aid station down near the start and away from the river. The clock was there and I tried not to look. John Pearch was holding one of those fancy timers and said, "just about 4 and half hours Tony." Not really knowing or remembering my splits before, this seemed a little slower than I had hoped for. I also saw a few of the guys who had passed me on the down hill getting into their drop bags ("hmmm, they didn't get too far ahead"). Someone grabbed my water bottle to fill and as I went to grab some food off the table, someone just blasts into the aid station. It was Dave Terry and I was surprised he had taken so long to catch me. Still no Meghan.

I left the aid station quickly and left the others just sitting there. As I moved along the flat section anticipating the climb, I saw a couple of guys ahead of me; lime-shirt and another guy - "ha, ha, trail meat!" We hit the climb and those guys were just too close not to pass. As I approached the first guy, Dave smacks me on the back and gives me a playful grin. He was doing to me what I was just about to do to those guys ahead of me. He continued to "run" the climb and I thought, "if I'm going to be a tough runner, I need to follow one who knew what that meant," and I started to run. I passed the first guy and Dave just kept pulling away. No matter, I was still running my race and did some good running indeed. I felt strong and soon saw lime-shirt walking ever so slowly ahead of me. And, "who's that?" It was the infamous Eric "fancy tights" Clifton. I passed lime-shirt easily (he was bonking) and Eric was "running" but not faster than I was walking this section. I was taking much to long to get passed him and was eating too much of his dust, so I kicked it into 3rd gear and passed him quickly. I continued to run and got way away from the others. This is where I saw James Varner, who was having an off day. He said, "Go get'em tc," and I gave him a smile and a wave. Michael was singing to me again by this time and I was really moving. I went in and out of the Fawn Ridge aid station with minimum aid. As I was leaving, someone asked if I wanted some ice to cool my head and I said, "No, I'm pretty cool as it is." I had really been quite cold all day and was still a bit cool on the climb. I questioned if I was putting enough effort in the climb then forgot about it soon after I started to run again. The running was good in this section and I was really enjoying the day. I didn't really have any of those, "How far to the next aid station," moments as I inhaled some deep breaths of fresh air and was high on endorphins. I passed one more runner before getting to the steep downhill section which was right before the last climb to Suntop. I knew that my stomach was grumbling and I wouldn't last too long on the road if I didn't pull over into the bushes so I found a good spot to do just that. As I was pulling up my shorts (sorry, it's part of the story), Meghan came trucking on by. I followed closely behind her and we climbed the last section together. Soon, we neared the top and saw Glenn where he would be for hours taking pictures. I gave him a smile and pointed at Meg like, "She's the one!"

Into the aid station I was again greeted with a friendly, "Tony! You're doing so well." It was nice to see John Wagner and his lovely wife Janine; along with Lynn Yarnall all smiles. I downed a couple of cups of Mountain Dew, got some Succeed, and grabbed my freshly filled water bottle from John. Took a couple of gels for the downhill run and was off. They gave me a wonderful send off, cheering very loudly. Meghan came cruising by much too fast for me to follow. I wished her well and didn't expect to see her very much longer. She got pretty far ahead and I could see her as I came around each new turn. She caught another guy, Mike, and seemed to slow a bit ... or was I speeding up? I cruised behind the two keeping in mind this was a 6 mile downhill followed by a 1 mile flat section of road. I didn't want to kill myself after 2 miles. They didn't seem to be pulling away and even though my legs were a bit sore, I felt strong. So I decided to try and catch them ... but not too quickly. I eventually did and started pulling away from them (not in my plans). Meghan yells, "what ARE you listening to?" To which I replied, "Michael Jackson." The lead was short lived as they both came up on me in no time. "Slow song," I said as they passed by (I couldn't resist). I hung onto them and was able to stay with them all the way to the bottom. On the last part of the downhill, we saw Canadian. I hadn't seen him in a long time and had all but forgotten about him. He was not as fast on the road downhill. Mike and I cruised along on the flat section and I picked it up a bit when I knew we were close to the Skookum Flats aid station. I could see Meghan's husband on the side of the road and she starting to give him instructions on what she needed. I did my usual in and out of the aid station, patted Lary Webster on the back and thanked Phyllis Welker and John Bandur who were working that aid station too. Around the corner I saw Max Welker walking his dog. He was excited to see me so far up in the pack and shook my hand so hard I thought he was going to throw me onto the ground. I laughed and continued on, taking it all in stride as it were.

Finally, I was meeting my nemesis once again ... the dreaded Skookum Flats where I had spent hours walking and barely able to move in past WR training runs and races. I met her with a patience but also a determination to remain strong. I had been thinking about that since the start of the climb to Suntop. Mike and Canadian passed me quickly and I knew Meghan would be soon behind. "Could I latch onto Meg and hold on for a little while?" I continued with my determination and moved the best I could, trying to pick it up every once in a while; and slowing, exasperated oh too often. I kept looking back but not seeing Meghan. "What happened to her?" I wasn't going that fast ... hmmm! Eventually, I saw her way back there as I glanced over my shoulder on a wide turn. "Stay ahead of Meghan; stay ahead of Meghan; stay ahead of Meghan." That was what I would focus on for as long as I could. As long as I was ahead of her, I knew I was doing ok. I wondered what time it was and if I still had a chance of breaking 9 hours. Mike had told me we were at 7:45 early in on this trail. 10 minute pace on Skookum is not as easy as it sounds. I stayed on course and continued to stay ahead of Meghan. "Wow, I might just pull off a good race." Off in the distance I saw Craig Ralston (I didn't know it was him at the time). He was just standing there and didn't look too good. As I passed, he cheered me on. Not too long afterward, he was latched onto my tail. He was doing pretty good on the climbs and I struggled to stay ahead of him. That was actually good for me having someone else to push me. Maghan was close and we were 3 heading into the last 2 miles. We passed Canadian who was walking on a flat section. He was bonking and we would now pass him for good this time. I cruised along, getting passed by Craig and then repassing him. Back and forth, while Meg was patiently following. He passed me again and I was exhausted and just started walking. Meghan put a hand on my back and said, "Tony, don't walk now," to which I grunted. I begrudgingly started back up and was back into it but struggling. It was ok because they both were struggling too. We hit a cruisable downhill and Craig was going way too slow for us but we couldn't pass. Meg found a passing lane on a wide turn and I forced my way right afterwards. Craig was not giving up though. As Meghan pulled us along, I was grunting and breathing hard as I was spent and my stomach was getting sour. Meg was tired too and we started with some dueling grunts to get us through to the end.

Into the last stretch of trail, we both recognized we were close and could no longer feel Craig behind us. Around the twist and turns of the end and up the little climb, Meghan grunted out, followed by me and Craig was charging hard. All of us on the road now, Craig and Meghan took off to get'r done! I said, "Meet you at the end," as they pulled away. I started to get my road legs back and they stopped pulling away. I could here the crowd roar as there was obviously a race to the finish happening a bit in front of us. And then, all of the sudden through the trees, I could see the crowd. "Wow, they're close. I can sprint that far." I took off, passed Meghan and had my sights on the finish line. The clock read 8:41 and I pumped my fists in the air with delight. The crowd started to roar again and then I realized I was in the middle of a sprint to the finish. I couldn't disappoint the fans so I gave it my best shot. Craig wouldn't give up and came across the line just ahead of me. Meghan crossed and we were all ellated to be done! I turned to see Meghan when the announcer called, " ... and Meghan Arbogast, 3rd woman!" She was shocked. "Who dropped," she wondered. It was Julie, who was hurting pretty bad and was dehydrated.

We cooled off quickly and I gave up on the idea of hitting the river to relieve my legs. Eventually, I had to go change because I was just freezing. I stayed around for a few hours watching friends come in, shaking hands and giving hugs. But alas, all good things have to come to an end. The BBQ started late and I had to get home soon as we were having company for my wife's birthday. I gave myself a 6:00 pm leave time and Rob still had not come in. Glenn told me that he was hurting and I felt for him having to be out there so long on the trail.

I'm sore today but still buzzing with the time I ran. 8:41 ... a PR on this course by 40 minutes. Now I'm all packed and ready to head out with Danielle tomorrow for cross country camp. The coach, whose husband is also a cross country coach, asked me if I would come along and help with the kids. "Would I!" Now that's what I call a nice vacation. Hope to see some of you out on the trails soon. I may be out there doing a 12 summits with Arthur on the 5th ... if not the 12th.

Next up .... CCC 100 miler Augsut 26th/27th.