Some people were asking for the details of the race. At first I didn’t want to post them because who really enjoys running and near death experiences as much as myself? But since a number of people asked, I thought I might as well edit my journal entry a bit and throw it up here (I'm not an english major so don't judge me on my poor writing or bad spelling). So enjoy, and be thankful you don’t enjoy torture as much as I do!
The start for the elite group was at 8:45. It was really nice getting to sleep in compared to races in UT. The ultra marathon guys left at 8:15. (The ultra was an extra 3k and 500 m climb.) So we took off going at a pretty darn good pace, about 6-6:30 pace on average for the first 13.1. There were times on the steep hills (not really steep) when we slowed to a 7 or 7:30 minute pace but it was was a pretty grueling pace for the first half. The first few miles were on pavement but we soon switched off and on between dirt roads, grass and pavement. The really annoying thing was that the grass was wet so it was really hard to get traction and we were trying to pass all the slow ultra marathoners so it was really annoying running in the taller grass and trying to maintain the traction so we could pass them while going up hill. I'm really not sure why they had the ultra marathon go first. I guess if the ultra went last then the fast ultra runners would pass the slow marathoners so I guess it's a lose lose situation either way for one of the groups.
Anyway, so the first little while felt pretty good. My lungs were working much harder then usual so I was concerned about that but I was keeping pace pretty well and my legs weren’t hurting so I kept going. After about 8 miles I was started to feel my iliopsoas (basically a muscle in the front of the hips). I've read that is the muscle you're suppose to use while running hills (so you conserve your quads) but I had never felt it that much in all my training runs. So apparently I was running up hill with good form… too bad my iliopsoas had never been worked out that much before. At about the half way point I was in 13th or 14th place i think. I was feeling pretty good and then the real hills hit me... and they hit me hard.
The half marathon mark was actually in the town of Zermatt. There were tons of people there cheering and such so it felt good running with the encouragement but it didn’t last long. When were a ways out of town we did a U turn and headed right back for it, but this time going up into the hills that surround the town, not through the center like before. From that point the hills didn't stop for what seemed like forever!! This is the part that really started killing me. My legs were tired but not too bad. The thing that absolutely killed me was my lungs (and eventually my salt levels but I’ll hit that later). I had to stop quite a few times (along with a lot of the people around me) just because I felt like I was going to pass out. My arms and legs would start tingling and my vision would go a little blurry so I would walk until a felt better than start a slow jog again until I felt like was going to pass out again. I did that all the way till the hill stopped (maybe 3 or 4 brutal miles). Eventually it leveled out a bit and I picked up my pace to about 7:30 to 8:30 pace depending on how steep the hills were. (At this point I was running on a pretty decent gravel road.) At one point there was this little tourist train that had some people on it and I passed it running up hill. I'm not sure how fast it was going but it couldn't have been too fast because I felt like I as barely moving. It was tempting to jump on and just ride it for a while, but I didn't.
Soon enough my nice gravel road turned into a pretty rough rocky trail. Of course I didn't have my trail shoes so I felt most the rocks on my feet and if I didn't land in the perfect spot my feet felt it pretty good. The trail had a slight decline to it which would have been nice (and I could have really made up for lost time) except for two things. First, my body was still in oxygen debt and my legs just felt weird. And second, my iliopsoas was so sore at this point I couldn't get my legs to respond fast enough to run safely at my normal fast down hill pace. If I tripped on that terrain I could have easily put myself in the emergency room. I figured a trip to the emergency room wouldn't be fun so I didn't go as fast as I wanted to.
Another thing that really challenged me was my salt/fluid intake. I’m still not exactly sure what happened but I think because I was breathing so hard the first half of the race that I lost a lot more water through evaporation than I’m use to. At the halfway point I started taking gu and drinking a bit more water but I think it was a bit too late. During the massive hill after Zermatt there was one or two aid stations that I walked through so I could drink more water without spilling it. That was great going up hill because I wasn’t going fast enough for it to really mess with my stomach. After I picked up the pace at the top it started hurting me. Going up the hill I noticed my sweat was a different consistency and much saltier that normal so at the rest of the aid stations I drank gatorade (or something like it). Unfortunately when I drink I think I swallow a little air with my liquids so my stomach gets bloated. So on the down hill I was dealing with trying to not go so fast that I couldn’t keep control of my legs, avoiding the big pointy rocks and skirting around the massive ones, making sure I was getting enough oxygen, and trying not to throw up all my gu’s and liquids that I desperately needed.
So this went on for a good 8 miles or more, up and down hills. Some steep going up, some going down. The trail got a little better and I didn’t have to manage the down hills because it started climbing again but nonetheless, I was pretty tired mentally and physically.
I think the worst part was at the end. I guess the race director really likes steep hills so he started the finish of the race with a hill so steep I didn’t see one person manage to run up it. I went from a gradual up hill to this really steep hill and the worst part was I could hear the band playing at the top but because the way the trail bent around the mountain I couldn’t see where they were or how far away the finish line was. So I started my speed walk and did my best to keep my legs moving. After about two hundred yards of insanity it got less steep for about three minutes and then climbed like crazy again and didn’t stop for about 1 mile. This long hill was at least a little manageable. I could jog for a bit then walk for a bit then jog and walk. It was the only thing I could do so I wouldn’t pass out. Once I hit the top of the hill and went around the bend I saw all the people and the finish about another 400 feet higher, too bad it wasn’t a straight shot to the finish. Nope, I had to keep running along the side of the mountain, climb another 500 feet or so that was practically straight up then finnish with about a 100 meter stretch down hill.
And that was it 26.2 miles later I was done, but more importantly still alive. I went through the chute, got my shirt and “goody” bag grabbed a cup of gatorade and tried to keep moving. The problem was that my legs didn’t want to keep moving. I bent over for one second and my iliopsoas cramped up and I couldn’t stand up straight for about 30 seconds. Then when I tried shaking out my quads, my right vastus lateralis cramped up pretty bad. Then I realized how low on salt and potassium I really was (despite all my efforts taking gu’s, eating bananas and drinking till I felt like I was going to throw up). So I went back and got two more cups of gatorade but I’m not sure how much that helped. I looked around for Kels for a while because we were going to meet at the finish line and she had my chocolate milk and special drink mixture I made up earlier. After I didn’t see her for about 10 minutes I headed straight for the massage area because I was hurting (for details on why she wasn’t there read her post below). After a shower and a 40 minute massage (that I was so grateful for) I could walk much better and felt like a new man… almost.
So, looking back on it I think I should have started out a bit slower so my iliopsoas didn’t start hurting so early. That would have helped me on the hills but I’m not sure how much because of the whole oxygen thing. I’ve never had altitude sickness and I finished the race at about 8,400 feet so it wasn’t even that high but my lungs really were killing me. (Most of my training took place at about 1,400 feet so that may have affected me more than I anticipated. I did get some good runs logged in the alps at about 6,000 feet though.) Knowing the course would have also helped a ton! All I was working off was a tiny elevation guide that wasn’t very detailed. And I still don’t know why I lost so much salt so quickly. I even drank 8 oz of my salt/sugar mixture before I started. That last half of the marathon wasn’t the most enjoyable time of my life but going down the mountain on the train I was blown away at what I had actually climbed. The scenery was breathtaking also (too bad I didn’t get to enjoy it completely going up :).
So, if you read this and think I’m crazy, well you’re right. I think after this race Kelsey has truly realized how crazy I am. Especially when I said I would like to do it again. With a little different training and a knowledge of the course, I think I could definitely get top 15 if not better. Too bad that probably wont happen seeing as I don’t foresee us living in Switzerland again.
For those of you you who wanted the gory details, I hope your appetite has now been satiated.
