#cavecreekthriller50k aravaiparunning PAAZRNR AZTrailrunning RFP

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Race Wrap Up – Cave Creek Thriller 50k

 Last week I mentioned a little bit about this race.  Actually, before I go on, I use “we” a lot when I talk about the ultra-races and training; just to be clear, I am referring to Robin and the girls, and in some cases others that are part of the team that will be crewing or pacing me, depending on the race.  So, the “we” for this one was just Robin.  I did talk to the girls a bit and they listen and provide some feedback but most of the time it is, “good luck dad, you’ll do great.” 😊 – Love the support but teenage girls have other things on their mind…….I guess 😊!  Okay, Robin & I – we were looking at this race as a barometer.  As of 10 days ago, I had 2 A-/B+ races on my calendar that I was signed up for; a 50 miler & a 100k, with the intent of throwing my name into 2 lotteries for 2, separate 100 milers in June.  I had not planned on a fall race and when I pulled an abdomen muscle last month, my training got cut down, and slowed down, so I can nurse things back.  Adjusting my training helped in the healing process and as the days went by, I continued to feel better and better; although still running less miles and much, much slower than typical.  A week out of the race, after a run, I had a reminder come up about volunteering for this race and I thought, rather than volunteering, how about racing. I felt really good on that day’s run and didn’t have any noticeable pain in the stomach.  Robin and I discussed it and, as long as I went into it with the “barometer” mindset and taking it easy we should have a good understanding on how things are progressing for December & February races.  The next few days leading up to the start were different than usual.  My mind was not focused on the race, rather than life, travel, business, family, etc. I was thinking about it, but I am usually obsessed with a race the week of and there is not much else on my mind. I had not expectations, I had not real stress, and I felt light because, well, I had no idea what the hell was going to happen.  In early June, I ran another 50k and the furthest I had run since that race was 11 miles, twice. I had also noticed my knees becoming uncomfortable on a few runs which wasn’t normal.  Figured that was due to the slower pace and more steps.  Two days out there was some anxiety that started to creep in, typical.  How will my abdomen feel? What about the knees?  Did I train enough?  All normal thoughts, at least for me heading into a race.

 Race day came and we were up well before the sunrise. We started the race right at sunrise. 😊  The start was about an hour away from our house, but the finish was about 20 minutes and they had a shuttle from there to the start.  HUGE thank you to Robin for taking me to get the shuttle so early and continue to support me in this wonderful and weird sport.  There was about 60 or 70 of us loaded onto a school bus heading out and upon arrival, we all checked our gear, or in my case my handheld bottle, filled up on H2O, and got to meet a few folks before we toed the line.  At 630am, we were all off and running.  This course, from what I was told, is very misleading.  The first few miles had one or two little climbs and downhills but for the most part, the first 15-16 miles were pretty much flat trail, jeep road, or gravel.  I started off at a very easy pace which felt much slower than normal but after a few miles I caught up to one dude, Adam, who was stopped on the side of the trail; sort of off balance, and looking like he was trying to pick something out of the bottom of his shoe.  I stopped to see if he needed help and he used me as a post to lean against and try to get this thing out of his shoe.  About 15 seconds later he pulls out this 2-inch-long nail, fortunately bent, that he must picked up along the way.  Also fortunate was that it never broke through and hit his foot. Adam and I ran for a minute or so together than I think he stopped to fix something.  Not too long after that I caught up to Blake, and we ran together for some time, in silence before I got next to him and we started talking a bit. Soon after that, we caught another, still trekking the same pace, David was his name.  David, Blake, and I ran together and shot the shit for a few miles before Adam again caught up.  The four of us ran together, talking and pacing one another for a good 5+ miles before hitting the first aid station.  Once there, we all did our own thing and left at different times, no more than 30-45 seconds though.  Adam and I left together with Blake and David in sight.  After about a mile I had left Adam and caught up to David, and then Blake. He and I again ran together for about another 4 miles until we hit the halfway mark, mile 16.  I was in and out pretty quick but started hiking out.  Right around mile 12 I started really feeling my knees.  This time it wasn’t an inconvenience, it was more pain.  Not something that I felt was going to hinder me for this race, but races to come were on my mind.  Getting to that halfway aid station was good; I fueled up, cooled off, and got some more water.  However, as mentioned, I decided to hike it out.  On the way out, I passed by David and Adam as they were coming in and gave them a fist pump; didn’t know at that point would be the last time I would see them until the finish.  Blake caught up to me as I was hiking out, figuring my knees out.  He asked if I was okay, I said, “yeah man” and we high fived.  I walked for about 5 minutes.  The trail was a bit technical, but flat, so I decided it was time to run.  There was no more knee pain as I was running but, I was skeptical to see if it would return. With the stop at the aid station and the walking for a spell, maybe they were just a bit tired, since I hadn’t run that far in a while, but once I got moving, things were feeling really good. A few minutes later I again caught up to Blake and he and I again ran together until the next aid station. Overall, he and I probably ran together for about 12 or so miles and David and Adam for about 6.  These guys were just genuine, good dudes.  Blake and Adam were running in their first 50k’s, so I was super excited for them and David had a couple under his belt.  We talked about running, family, life and most importantly, enjoyed some great miles together.  

 As we left the next aid station the flats began to disappear, and the climbs started. These weren’t crazy but after running flats for most of the race to this point, and with the sun starting to beat down on us, there was no shade and the next 2500 feet of climbs over the last 10 miles or so was going to be interesting.  At this point too, I started to feel some inconveniences in my abdomen.  Nothing painful, but I was aware, however, after 20+ miles, I thought that was a positive.  As we approached our first, relatively mild climb, I passed by Blake and told him I would see him soon; unfortunately, I didn’t out on the course.  I also got another person that I hadn’t seen all race. He was pulled over to take a picture, the one with the trail leading up to the pointy shaped hill.  I thought that was a great idea so pulled off next to him and did the same (obviously since the picture is above 😊).  He cruised by me, but not too far ahead, and after running up another hill, through what seemed to be a hold RV junk yard (I know, crazy right?), I creeped up to him again.  We had another couple of climbs and descents together, than a good downhill leading out onto a road for about a half-mile before the next aid station.  The flat trail, and surprisingly the pavement felt really good and I cruised into and out of that aid station with two, nice big climbs left.  At this point I was all alone, except for a few hikers out on the trail.  I passed some heading up the 1st big climb and said a nice hello, and then had a gradual decent for a couple miles until the next aid station, proceeded by a very technical, and steep downhill. This was probably the funniest part of the day, as I was doing my best to navigate the technical downhill I hear, what seems to be another runner coming behind me.  I hadn’t seen one since the RV graveyard, so I was surprised when I stepped off trail to see this new guy from nowhere, completely bombing down this section of the course.  As he cruised by, he made a joke about his incredibly awkward downhill style.  Hell, I was incredibly impressed he was crushing it through that section.  Pretty impressive….and funny 😊.  Things flattened out as I headed into the last aid; only 3 more miles to go but the first half-mile is the last climb.  You can definitely feel the heat at this point since the sun was right on us during this climb.  I caught up to a couple 27k racers and this one dude, God bless him, guy was probably in his mid to late 60’s.  As we just started the ascent together, he was about 5 feet in front of me.  He stopped, looked up, turned to me and goes, “bitch of a way to finish this up huh?”  Freeking hilarious, and I totally agreed.  Although it was hot and it was a challenge 28+miles into the race, I felt good hiking up, especially knowing once I hit the saddle it was all downhill until the finish.  I got to the top and then took a gradual steady pace meandering through the trails and stopping for one more photo. As I started back up, I noticed another runner up ahead and he seemed to be favoring his right leg.  As I got closer, I noticed it was Jeremy, the guy that shared a seat on the bus with me on the ride to the start.   Unfortunately, he was having some knee/hip issues, but I slowed a bit and we had a little chat. Once again, another great human being and this is why I so love this sport.  We all go through our moments of shit storms, pain caves, and also, pure delight and joy.  We both know we were very close and as I decided to go ahead, we gave a fist pump knowing we would see each other in just a few minutes.  After a short little climb, it was downhill and into the finish.  Our goal was to time it just right and have Robin and the girls be there to meet me at the finish.  Isabella had gymnastics practice and Robin was coaching, both until noon and we figured about 30 minutes to get there from the gym with picking up Alaina. At the halfway point however, I was well ahead of where I thought I was going to be, to my surprise, and delight, and concern too!!!!  But the text I sent her never went through letting her know not to rush.  That said, I ended up finishing about 30 minutes before they arrived.  Fortunately, our family members out here, June & Pete Dz 😊😊 were at the finish for a wonderful surprise. (video cred to Auntie June there 😊). I’ve been fortunate to have them in my life, and be able to call them family, for almost 20 years.  They’ve been trying to get out to see a race and it worked out well today, in between their grandson’s soccer games. So, thank you so much June & Pete for being there, and, for ALL THAT YOU HAVE DONE AND CONTINUE TO DO FOR US!!!!  In true Pete fashion, as soon as I crossed the finish and after a sweaty smelly hug, Pete says, “can I get you a beer?” As great as that sounded the heat beat me up a bit the last 5 miles and I just wanted to guzzle water and some electrolytes…..beers were to come in the near future 😊.  

 Robin and the girls got there, and we all had some time to spend together.  Robin and I debriefed about the race and the girls caught up with June and Pete. A few minutes later, Jeremy, my seatmate on the bus came in and we gave each other a hug and congrats.  Now, I was looking for Adam, David, and Blake to share my gratitude with them and to celebrate their finishes; especially with Adam and Blake being there first 50k. After several minutes and a number of other runners coming in, I noticed Blake crossing the line.  After giving him some time with his family, we greeted each other with a big hug (that’s what we do when you share miles and the suck with each other 😊) and appreciation.   I asked him about David and Adam, and he said, all three of them were hurting at the aid station before the climbs started.  Adam a bit more than Blake but David seemed a bit out of sorts. Some time passed and I was getting cleaned up and ready to hit the road when I noticed Adam coming in. He and Blake, both finishing there first 50k’s and a tough one too.  I was really happy for them; so was Adam’s family.  His wife and two young kids where there for photos at the finish and his young daughter, maybe 4, gave him a makeshift medal she created.  I wish I had a picture of that because it was awesome. As I walked back to where we were sitting, I heard some clapping and looked up to see David’s dad (saw him earlier at an aid station & again at the finish) head out to greet David at the finish.  He looked worn, and tied, but he came across and didn’t stop.   I heard he was battling some stomach issues, so I gave him his space but before leaving, I leaned down in his chair and thanked him for sharing some miles and keeping me at a good pace.  He reciprocated and we again, shared a hug.  

 Being able to challenge ourselves keeps us coming out, or at least from my perspective, keeps me coming out.  Sure, there is some fear, anxiety, and doubt with ultras and, absolutely, there are moments that it sucks.  There are times when your internal voice, or even external voice is saying, “never a-F$%^ING-gain!!!”  Yep, there is pain, hurt, problems & definitely inconveniences that most, figure out or, have help from others to work through them.  We learn each time out.  We live each time out.  And, we connect each time out; again, at least I try to.  I didn’t know what to expect going into this and what I got from it was gratifying.  Having June and Pete there at the finish!!!  Sharing a good number of miles with Adam, David, and Blake, and……witnessing Blake and Adam finish their first 50k and David, gut out a great finish; I was a joy to be a part of.  Of course, I must thank Aravaipa Running for another fantastic event.  Thank you to all the volunteers, aid station workers, course folks, bus drivers, and all that lent a hand to put this event on.  To the other runners, in ALL distances, congrats on your effort; toeing the line is the toughest part; be proud!!  Again, to David, Adam, and Blake, thanks for the mile’s boys, hope you are recovering nicely and trust we will see each other again out there.  To June and Pete – blessed to have you guys in our lives – thank you.  Of course, to my crew (well, maybe not this race but you guys are always my crew 😊) – thanks for your continued love, support, and help as I continue to try and test myself.  This shit sure doesn’t get much easier but, I think….I believe I am getting better!

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