Race Name: Light 2 Light 50 Miler
Distance/Type: 50 Miles
Race Location: Currituck Beach light Station Corolla, NC
Climate Data: 25 °F at the start warming to 36 °F
Race Date: 03-Feb-2018 6:00AM

Finish Time: 09:36:52
Finish Place 17 overall, 9th Male
Race Stats: Garmin

Race in 1 paragraph: 
Signed up for this race untrained as a gauge for how bad off I am.  Since everything about this race was in my favor (Location, Distance, terrain & Weather) I went down there with a fairly aggressive  goal of finishing in 9Hours & 30Min. Race didn’t go exactly as planned, as few do, but good weather and a chasing spirt helped me walk away with a new 50 mile PR of 9Hours & 36 Min!

Pre-Race
The wife & I loaded up in the car early Friday morning to make the 10 hour trip from Tn to the far reaches of the outer banks.  Drive went well & the time flew by quickly.  We arrived at the Comfort Inn for packet pickup right on time & met up with Pat & Michelle.  We socialized for a little while grabbed a photo with Henry then decided to go and get dinner with our weekend house mates at the amazing Kill Devil Grill. Dinner was fantastic as expected and we retired back to the beach house for the night to get ready for the next day’s adventure.  The house was very a nice 4 bed room house via air bnb and had everything that you could as for. The wife & I ended up with the bedroom with a twin & a set of bunk-beds that cuddled together in on the bottom bed.  Before bed Pat & I went out and got our February 2 kilometers in & then it was time for bed.

Race

Wake-up came early as I traditionally like to shower in the morning before the race so when the alarm went off at 4:30AM i quietly slipped out to the shower and got ready.  While in the shower one of the house mates was nice enough to make us coffee & drive us to the start so the wives could sleep.

Once we got to the start it was a hurry-up and wait situation, the wind was blowing and it was about 25 °F which made me worry about being cold so I ended up starting in pants which is very unlike me.  Most of the ladies were piled into the female bathroom to keep warm.  Pat & I walked around for a little bit then it was to the start line.

With my aggressive goal I lined up at the front of the line & the count down started….. 3-2-1 and we were off!  My overall anticipation for the race was that everyone would start out fast & quickly fade around the marathon so Pat & I took off trying to put some distance between us and the majority of the pack.  There were about 4 people ahead of use and we were a little unsure of running 8 1/2 but we were doing it anyhow …. typical, hahaha.  The miles were clicking off quickly and Pat & I were enjoying the run, about mile 8-9 I decided that I had to use the bathroom and there was an actual beach access bathroom I could use.  I told Pat that I needed to go and I would catch up to him in a bit, DUDE WAS I WRONG!  I went and had a long bath room break, shedded my pants & and it was back on the road in shorts.  It took me a mile to get back into the swing of things and I started my chase to catch pat, as I figured that he would have slowed down a little to wait for me.  I pounded the next 11-12 miles trying to catch him until I reached out beach house where the wife was waiting for me with my stuff.  She said that he had just left so I hurried, got rid of my pants & some other items and I was on the road again, chasing…  I had noticed that my legs were getting very tired and I was sweating a lot but my fluid intake was good and I had urinated a couple of times already so I decided to keep the chase up.  This would go on

At about 35 miles my legs had decided that they had enough of the asphalt pounding and really started hurting.  This pain was not something I had experienced before.  Both leg I.T. bands felt like rubber bands and each time i stepped it felt like I could collapse at any moment. At some point, in one of the low moments before I got to the check-in at Jennett’s pier, I called the wife asking here if she could find & bring my an avocado wrap.  Within minutes she was flying by me cheering & screaming for me.  They had found wraps and avocado for me, it was one of the saving graces of the day.  Before she left I asked if she had any gum, which she did, and this was the other saving grace; I really need to pack gum in my race bag.  Along the way i was playing leap-frog with a man & woman in the race.  As I was reaching into my vest for my Tylenol they asked me if I had any pain relievers … I looked in my ziplock and there were only two Tylenols, I said well all i have are these two, Great he woman said he’s in pretty rough shape … I handed them the two tablets and wished them well as I paused for a few moment to get my pack back in order.  Dang I thought I wanted those and they are my last two, but the guy looked to be pretty rough and needed them more than I did so I shook that off and got back to ‘running’.

From here the next stop would be the Bodie Island lighthouse, the last aid station before the finish. 2is miles from the light house, about a mile before the turn into the lighthouse, would be the only time I would see pat until the finish.  You see my friend was feeling great & instead of slowing down he actually speed up and was 4 miles ahead of me!  HOLY SMOKES GO PAT!!! I cheered for him and continued down the road.  At this point the best I could do was the Proble-Wobble with and occasional shuffle thrown in.  The Bodie lighthouse aid station was good & the only place I took a picture I took along the way.  On the way out I got to see Lauri & she snapped a couple of photos of us running however my focus was the finish 7 ish miles to go & I suffered in good style those last 7 miles.  Around 5 miles to go my music died, now I was all alone, In massive pain & once again questioning if I could hit my goal.  I kept moving for a little and finally got a little motivation back and got into some hard-core “Pain Cave” run / walking when out of nowhere I see my wife!  What are you doing,  I asked all confused?? She said that someone told her I was struggling and wanted to come out here to help!  Oh my gosh this was the most selfless thing she could have done that day.  We walked and chatted for a moment but she could tell I was on a mission and sent me on my way to the finish.  Not to worry She called her friend to come

and get her and they cheered & yelled at me as they passed me by.

That was just the motivation I needed 3 miles to go!  I sucked it up the best I could and ran what I could but it was a very futile attempt my legs were not going to allow it.  After what seemed like an eternity I could hear the finish but could not see it …… where was it?? Was I ever going to get there?? My mind was playing tricks on me ….. THEN finally there it was the parking lot to Jennette’s Pier, YES !!! I made the turn into the parking lot and hobbled as fast as i could to the finish line.  Everyone was there yelling & cheering, I crossed the line at 8 hours & 36 minutes and was ecstatic!  Pat, his wife, Shanda & some other running friends (racers) were there to congratulate me.

Post-Race
Right after I finished the only thing I wanted was a seat.  My poor legs and feet were soooo sore.

I sat, we all laughed and hung out for a little while, I had a cup of chili & enjoyed the race atmosphere for a little while before we left and headed back to the beach house.

That night the girls had planned on a steak dinner to celebrate our victories.  WE ALL FINISHED & ACHIEVED OUR GOALS!

Then next morning we all awoke, hung out for a little while then Shanda & I had had to get on the road quite early for what would end up being a long day of Rain, Fog (foam) and accidents as we made the 11 1/2 hour (that’s right 1.5 hours longer) trip home.  Tired for running & tired from driving we finally made it home.  Proud & Satisfied

 

What Went Right
Stomach & weather was perfect, avocado wraps were amazing.  Must pack gum in my running vest & need to bring backup music for longer races however the wal-mart mp3 player with my single earbud was great for 8 hours.

What Went Wrong
Nothing went really wrong except for my lack of Base miles & training. My legs were shredded after the 50k

Conclusion
Great race & much faster than expected.  If you like flat, road & the Outer Banks, this one is definitely for you!