As everyone probably knows by now, the race had to be stopped yesterday bec of weather. Before thathowever, i made it about 54km in about 7.5hrs. I really wish i could have finished the final 20km bec i was feeling really good after check point 5 of 8, a euphoria of knowing i could actually go 75 km in one go after running 4 marathons in the prior 4 days. I was actually really running along at agood pace with a fellow canadian competitor, which was really blowing my mind based on what i had done that day already. The final 20 km would have been nothing and i was hoping to come in at under 10hrs.
In any case, the weather got bad ad they had to stop us. The really annoying thing is that the top people that had gotten as far as we did, including myself, had go throug the worst weather conditions imaginable at the top of the mountain, 9200 feet, before and during the descent. I got rained and hailed on, it was ridiculously windy, and itwas probably 32 degrees. If i hadnt faced my challenges and perservered early in the week, that might have done me in. I basically had to walk sdeways so the hail would stop pelting me in the face. It was really really cold. Smehow i got throug it and started running again. Then it warmed up, i dried and was ready to finish the final 30km only to be stopped with 20km left. It was definitly for the best, however, as many other competitors still had to go through it and it wasnt getting any better.
Regarding the course itself, i smoked through the first 2 stages, 15km, which was relatively flat. Then we had to ascend 1560 meters over about 21 km, which is essentialy nonstop up. I didnt have to stop once over that portion, although i really just maintained a fast walk, which is really what almost everyone did. Some jogs thrown in at times. The incline through rocky fields, etc, was really intense. After reaching thesummit, i started to run again as we went down, with a walk thrown in at one point due to the weather issue described above.
A couple points to note. Elavation did not affect me at all...way to go elevation training mask. I take back what i said the other day about the stern episodes, they were a life saver on the way up the mountain as i just maintained a fast walk and knew that i had about 10 to 12 hours of running and walking ahead of me on the day. My beard is in full force now ad is longer than it have ever been, and surprisingly i am really not even phased by it. I am not even sore today, which blows my mind, even though i have now done about 212km, 133 miles, in five days with a backpack. Its true that at these things you meet peopl that turn into lifelong friends. I already see that happening with a few people as we are already starting to plan our next race/challenge (atacoma 2014???). My food planning has been fantastic as all my meals are great adeveryone around me is complaining about theirs. Although, as mentioned the otherday i think, the 3fuel has got t go...gels and the like are much better. Yesterday, i ditched the 3fuel all together for just gels every hour and i felt 10 times better. The other days i used one gel for the whole day, expecting the 3fuel to compensate, and it just wasnt the same. I suspect gels throughout would aid my performance. Also, after thinking about it, i think the 3fuel was part of why i felt dehydrated on day 1, ie the cramping. But these are all good lessons for next time.
So now there is one day left, a 14km, that will probably be underway when you are reading this. I am planning to run it out with everything in the tank. My pack weighs practically nothing now, so hopefully it will be a delightful finish. Thanks for all thesupport this week and talk to you all soon. What an amazing, difficult, and ridiculous experience this has been, and i already look forward to potentially doing it again!!!!
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