There will be days
As I looked at the calendar I thought 5 weeks I got this no big deal. Back in November I had sent out an email to a group of friends inviting them to a group event I called the “Sweaty Camping Trip”. To my surprise one then two then four friends along with my wife and daughter all said that sounds fun, how long is a 50K? HaHaHa. I told them that this was a small local community race and they would love it because we can camp hang out and the best part is you have 30 hours to do a 10K, 50K, 100K or 100 mile. With that said I told them you could walk it if you wanted to because it was really about doing something together.
January arrives and the new year begins, everyone had signed up for the Strawberry Fields race for a total of 7 trail newbies and myself, it was called a race but it was more of a reason for a summer hangout, I thought if I could get everyone to taste the trails they would love it or hate it. I was surprised to find out what would transpire but I am getting ahead of myself. In September of 2019 I had attempted to run the Lakes 100, a 100 mile trail race that is an out and back mostly on the PCT trail in Oregon, I had been able to get to mile 73 before my IT Band and fatigue took me out. I found myself doing math in a chair at 4am with my Son Kyle, who is a very accomplished athlete in the pool, on the Bike and on the road, needless to say I take his advice seriously when he feels its necessary to share it Good or Bad!
2020 being the year of the Lock Down (Corona Virus) my Wife Kim and I were lucky to have Kyle and his wife Kayla living with us on alternating weeks. Both Kyle and Kayla are dedicated to their workout schedule okay Kyle is probably the most dedicated one of all of us but what would your expect from a Full Iron Man athlete. That being said I have a daily workout that includes Core, Stretching and Running or Power Hiking and I will say when they were at the house I was much better at getting them done completely because Kyle might ask if I did my workout out and I would rather not lie. I had my whole year planned out already and was looking forward to it. February would be the Hagg Lake 50k, a Mud slog that is made up of two loops around oddly enough Hagg Lake… but more about that later. May would be Badger Mountain 50 Miler, a race I had run twice before but only finished once, knowing what I know now about pain and how much I can endure I would have finished it the first time also more about that later. June would be Strawberry Field’s Forever, a race I had run the year before though i signed up for a 100k I dropped down to the 50K but more about that later. August I would run the Bigfoot 73.5 mile race around Mt. St Helens, a race I ran in 2019 but due to a Wild Thunder, Rain and Hail storm I dropped at 58.6 after running in the dark and rain for 3 hours with my pacer Dave Roth. I was battling what I can assume was hypothermia as all I wanted to do was to curl up and shiver. September is Mountain Lake 100 the reason for the whole year a 100 mile race that I had not finished the year before and by crazy luck I was able to win a spot out of the lottery back to back years.
I laid out my 2020 race schedule to help you understand what was so important about the Strawberry Fields race because when I signed up it was far from important as far as races go. I was traveling (ever week) like normal all the way up till our companies Holiday break that would carry us through Christmas and into the new year when the Corona Virus began to show up on the news. After Christmas I started back to travel and thinking that life is going to be rinse, wash and repeat like it is every year, isn’t it sad how much we take for granted that we will be able to know how life will turn out and what we will be doing and when. I was training as though the 2020 year was going to be everything I had planned. February came around and I ran the Hagg Lake 50k and of course it was the muddy, cold and wet but you guessed it more about that later. March we found ourselves in the beings of the USA locking down and races being canceled. The reality that the world as we know it was changing was becoming more and more evident as the weeks rolled by but the weather was so nice and training was going very well.
Some time during March or April Kyle, Kayla and I were watching Jim Walmsley and a group of top African Marathon runners and their body positions and style. I decided to make some changes to my running position, I found myself running faster but at some point I started to develop some foot pain in my right heel that started slowly and became something that the next day I would be limping. I started working to fix the issues but just could not get rid of them unfortunately when you have an issue with one leg it starts to mess it with my other leg as you try and compensate. April comes around and I wake to the news that Badger Mountain Challenge is going to be canceled, I start to get worried about races so I try signing up for two other races hoping that they would not be canceled and they still had room. June rolls around and my goal race Mountain Lakes 100 gets canceled, I was really depressed and stressed that my heal pain is not going away and the only 100 mile race I was going to have was the Strawberry fields and I was not ready.
Five weeks I can get my heel under control and after all its an easy course not much climbing and the loop is only 6.2 miles simple right!! Four weeks heel pain is still persisting, I just can’t seem to get it to calm down and unfortunately I can’t remember how to get back to my old running position….worry is starting to set in. Three weeks out Heal is getting better but at the cost of being prepared for Strawberry Fields… But I can gut it out it’s pretty flat I keep telling myself. Two weeks out heel pain has evened out but at the cost of serious running, but once again I tell myself it’s an easy course and friends will be there so it will be easy, I just need to gut it out. Oh ya it might rain great!
Week of Strawberry Fields, I have been emailing with race director and the race is on. I am instantly happy and sad at the same time. I decide to not run at all the week of the race and try to get my heel to be in the best shape possible before start time. What I am not thinking about about is how much not running has allowed my leg muscles to tighten up. One thing that a runner especially and Ultra runner has is the ability to do is run and run for a very long long time, case in point I ran 20 hours straight at the Mountain lakes 100 in 2019 before my body called it a day. As an ultra runner you have outrageous cardio system to match the well trained muscle groups that will propel you over that long time and distance, but we will see what it looks like when you match well trained Cardio and muscles that have been sitting idle for a week or longer.
Tuesday night week of the race we have a zoom meeting to discuss logistics for the race, meeting place, start times, food, drinks, cloths, shoes, and everything else you will need to know about the up coming race, oh ya where are the bathrooms and what happens when I am too far from a bathroom when my body tells me the time to go is NOW! yes we talk we laugh we are all in a good head space but what I am not thinking is I have not run in days. I have made a chart of my run looking at three possible scenarios.
- The race goes better than planned and I finish in under 24 hours
- I have a few issues and my heel begins to hurt and I finish in 27 to 28 hours
- My heel hurts so bad I quite and waist Kyle and Guys time.
Packing for the race on Friday afternoon and into the evening I still feel very little heel pain its almost unnoticeable and that gives me a false sense of hope that the day will go at least pretty well, I mean its a flat course and its only 6.2 mile loops how bad can it be really and I have 30 hours really ” Lets Do This”!
Saturday (day of the race) 5am, I feel really good. Gone to the bathroom and now I don’t have to worry about that for at least 6 or 7 hours into the race now so that a great relief my stomach is solid and worry free, car is packed. I had talked with Guy Stetzer the night before and he will be coming up before dark to stay the night with Kyle at the camp so he will not be alone the whole time and they can take turns pacing me as I go into the night and early morning hours of Sunday. We take off at 6:30 am right on time. it’s so odd to be going to a race where there will be so many people I know not only at the race but actively running. Most of the time it would be myself or Kyle as the only participants but this time there will be myself and 7 others on course at the same time… this will be fun and I am not thinking one thing about my race because of all the distractions, what would I have done at that point anyway I have already backed myself into a corner and didn’t even see it coming.
The whole gang arrives to the race start area, it’s a cool race as it is set right next to a housing subdivision with a soccer field, softball field with the Columbia River running along one side and towering mountains of the Columbia Gorge on both sides. We set up our Aid Station/Camp site right next to the Community Garden that would be tended by a guy in a minivan with music playing into the evening. You have to see our set up we have our tent with cot and sleeping bags along with everyone’s gear, cloths and extra food, the awning we set up is right of the back hatch of the car so you can be under the pop up awning and get into the back of the explorer without leaving the cover. We have a 6 foot table loaded with food, drinks a stove that will play a major role in keeping me on the course late into the night, along with a wide variety of snacks that you would never buy for at home but during a race all food and food groups are free game anything goes as taste is way more important than calories. Everyone is pinning theirs bib’s to their shirts some are doing it for the very first time in their lives, as excitement makes camp almost electric with talk and joking no one is even thinking about what will unfold for them over the next few hours and for some up to nine hours. Someone said we need a picture of everyone before we start in agreement we lined up took the picture and headed to the start line.
In the picture from Left to right: Kim Wicks (my wife), Kirsten Sprague (my daughter), Troy Wicks, Pam(Dawn’s Sister), Dawn Roth, Dave Roth, Wendy Jung, Bob Jung.
At the start Anna the race Director has everyone stand six feet apart to social distance for the race start then we are asked to keep our distance out on the trail which will be easy as in many trail races the runners quickly separate and over time the separation can be miles up to hours apart depending on the distance. During the Bigfoot in 2019 I ran for over 4 hours alone before I picked up Dave Roth who pace me into the most epic night of my or his life. 3-2-1 Go and we are off! it’s always a odd start when you have more than one distance starting at the same time because you have groups that are running one loop, six loops, ten loops, or sixteen loops. Dave and I quickly find each other and and run by our camp for the first loop. Dave has never run this course with me or on his own for that matter so he finds comfort to start off together. We head out onto the course as we filter through the trail entrance that leads to a large hill that I would guess was built during the construction on the Bonneville Dam because it has no reason to be where it is.
The trail runs behind a group homes on a grass and gravel driveway that had been mowed down for about a 1/4 of a mile before it turns and heads up one of the three climbs on the race course. Dave and I have split up by now and as I was heading down the other side of the first hill and saw Dave head into the wooded part of the course and did not see anyone else from our camp group around. I was feeling pretty good at this point but I was just one mile in so I better be feeling good, haha. I entered the woods realizing that I had already taken my outer shirt off and was only wearing my tank top and running pack and that should not have mattered but last year the woods were alive with bee’s, bugs and king size mosquitoes that seemed to work as a group of trail thugs waiting in the bushes for their next victims. This time there were no bugs no bees and no mosquitoes but wind oh yes the wind was howling. The weather report all week has called for chance of rain all day on Saturday but it had been moving later and later in the day on Saturday. All week as I was keeping an eye on the rain to see when I would need a jacket. Not that I would mind wearing a jacket but that presents its own set of issues from pack inside or outside jacket, what shirt to wear under it as sweat build quickly if it’s not very cold outside. Today the weather forecast was rain at 1am on Sunday but the trade off will be the wind and a lot of it, but for now it was keeping the bugs away and I was good with that.
Making the turn out of the woods was a nice change to be able to run in the sun and broken clouds and onto a narrow strip of earth that you have to keep focused to have both feet land on because it’s so narrow. You soon find yourself on a gravel road with cars parked all over the place because fisherman line the banks of the river, soon passing the fish ladder and a Boat Boat ramp where the fishermen look at the runners as lost souls running toward no man’s land and for no reason. As you break up the hill toward the trail that runs between the columbia river and parking lots or access roads you find a path of weedy grass that has been mowed down for the race and maybe fisherman but with no discernable path its almost impossible to find a running groove because your feet are all over the place as you bump and roll over uneven grass and mole hills. If the uneven surface of the trail was not enough entertainment for you there was a 20 mph head wind and with only one tree a mile or further ahead there was nothing to break the wind other than the battle in your mind that the wind was good because it was keeping you cool so Head down power on!
One mile of Head winds there was drop down into a meadow that had a trail that was a mess of dirt trail, grass mowed trail, narrow dirt path trail, root covered trail and ending at a jeep trail that was the start of the second climb on the course. The second climb was the steepest climb but was also the most beautiful view you on the course, you had the Columbia River and the cliffs of the Oregon gorge in the background. I had already decided I would be power hiking all the up hills and running the down hills and flats because I have a long long long way to go. As I pass the mile five marker I still feel pretty good but I don’t feel great and I think that’s a little odd because I have been training well and my heel is not hurting so what feels different? I can’t seem to put my finger on what is going on. Mile six marker rolls by and it tells me I only have two tenths of a mile till I am back to the camp / aid station. As I roll in over the timing mat and around the start stop area people cheer you on and tell you that you are doing a great job and at this point you are thinking thanks but really its only loop one I better look GOOD.
When I arrived at the camp after completing loop one Kyle had my bottles ready to go so I dropped my used ones and loaded up the new ones and took right off because you don’t want to waste time standing at the aid station it takes a lot of effort to make time lost when you stand so keeping those times to a minimum is very important. Crossing onto the trail from the parking lot to start loop two was still a little new because last year the trail ran not only a different direction but was on some trails we are not running this year at all. Again the woods roll by and the mile along the river and gale force winds in your face go by and into the meadow I go, then hummm then hummm a pain I recognize from past races and some training sessions. There are many things that go wrong while running but there is one thing that can really wipe you out quickly, it’s the IT band it is a pain like no other. IT band pain is best described as the feeling of an icepick be pressed into the side of your knee that can littlery keep you from moving the knee joint at all and bringing you to a broken hobbel at best and can end your day quickly. I knew what was coming as I topped the second climb and started down the second decent, I was right…… What! how can this be my IT band has not been an issue for quite some time and had not shown itself in the last few races but was back and it was really tick off this time it was only mile 11 and at this point i still had 89 miles to go. Grabbing my phone I texted Kyle to let him know I was in trouble not hearing right back from him I knew he was already gone on a training run that was going to take him away for the next few loops.
Crossing over the timing mat for the second loop the cheering was just as happy from the bystanders but in my mind I was already in trouble and running triage was about to begin…. As I ran from the timing pad toward our camp I grabbed my phone and youtubed IT Band straps because knowing this had been an issue in the past I kept the IT Band Straps in the First Aid box but had never been able to give them a try yet and here is the first shot please please work was what was on my mind. I had been running and average of 12:30 min miles to this point and had made up some time so I had a little time banked but like I said before time disappears quickly when things go wrong. Loop 3 first down hill started to tell me a story I did not want to hear my IT Band was done, how could this happen and so quickly I had problems in the past but it was usually 30 or 40 miles in never this soon never on such an easy course I mean really it’s less than 250′ of climbing this should be a walk in the park, maybe I should have started off walking and not running. The last week of not running has come back to haunt me I fixed my heel but at the cost of my IT Band, oh how I would trade the pain right now.
loops 4 through 8 were a exercise in pain it didn’t matter what I did i could not run or jog I could only power hike and thankfully my power hike was killing it I was able to hold 15:30 min over the the entire course up, down or flat I had turned the corner and was going to plow my way through to the 100 mile mark. Every loop was the same Kyle would roll my legg’s to the point of me yelling in pain and relief knowing that everytime he rolled them it would buy me about 4 miles before they would tighten up to the point of hobbling and we would do it again. Loop 9…ya Loop 9, a sad turning point. All day long my right leg and hip was done done done but I was able to just barely make the loops back to camp where Kyle would have warm food and do a unbelievable job of getting my legs back into shape to make another loop. Kyle is one of the most intuitive athlete’s and pacers you will ever find, his ability as a runner gives him the insight to know what to ask and how to read though your answers to hear what you are and what your not saying. Thankfully he doesn’t take no or I’m fine as answer he follows up with you need this now eat or you need to drink, I will not even get started on the healing properties of instant mashed potatoes burritos cooked with chicken broth.
Loop 9, Guy and I take off for another loop just like the other but for the first time my left hamstring started to show the wear and tear of the day. I told Guy there where tons of switch backs were a runner would just have to take a shortcut trail and they would take a mile of the loops easy and the first one was coming up in the woods. All day long there was a trail that would go straight but instead the race took a solid left turn leading you out and around the rip of the woods while the trail that went straight would take you straight toward the river cutting off at least a 1/2 mile. With each loop getting harder taking the left turn was like a mocking of the woods at me testing my fortitude to run the whole course, I played in mind how it might be a physical benefit but I would know i had not run the whole race and I would only hurt myself as there is no reason to be faster is was not going to win and ultras are about challenging yourself and that’s what i had come to do. I joked Guy as we made the left hand turn, remember that trail it’s been mocking me all day! We ran along for another 1/2 mile or so and I pointed out where the shortcut trail popped out amongst a group of large round boulders the size of small cars he laughed and said “I could see that playing with your mind”, which was true ultra running is about the mind and many times it’s the biggest struggle whether you are doing a 5K or 100K the struggle is exactly the same you just get better at hold it back as you run further and further. If you are new to running it takes just as much will to run the shorter distances as it does to go longer don’t fool yourself into thinking 5k is easy because it short it’s not and my mind was about to have a reality check with my body. As we turned out of the woods and into the head wind and moving our way up the river the from our headlights bounce their way along the narrow trail. Running at night takes on a whole new life, if your doing loops you enjoy the change of pace of not see the same thing over and over again you get a chance see things in a new way but if you are on a out and back or point to point race every inch is made slower and more cautious as one wrong misplaced foot step and you will be at best meeting the ground in a new personal way or at worst find yourself plummeting of a cliff to who knows where. When I was at the air station after completing loop 8 I put a IT Band on my right leg because I could feel it starting to wear from having to compensate for my left leg all day. Now that strap was digging into my hamstring in a painful way but out of fear of what was going to happen if I took it off I left in place for a couple of miles until I thought there is no way its going to hurt more than this if I take it off.
Too late my right hamstring was in a full on revolt and wanted to go home and call it a day, I thought about trying to stretch it but had a feeling that a stretch was going to send it packing for sure. My right leg had been compensating all day, every uphill it pulled every downhill it was the break and now it was breaking down itself. 14 hours of pulling double duty for the left leg, my right leg was now destroyed and now it became the next part of my body crying the loudest. I quickly went from 15 to 15:45 min miles per min to 17 to 19 min miles. I tried everything but it would not matter speed was gone it was now about power hobbling. Loop 9 would take an eternity to get back to camp. Arriving at camp I would tell Kyle what is hurting and he does his best to get my legs loosen up for another loop but my legs are shoot and I know it, they had given their all as leggs go and I was now being powered by good friends and Will power which every runner will find themselves at some point no matter how far you run its about finding that breaking point and breaking through it and holding on as long as you can I had been pushing the breaking point for a little of 14 hours and it was time to get up and take another lap.
Loop 10, Kyle lead out in his normal fashion I knew he would be testing the waters to see where I was at first physically then mentally. I could see him looking at his watch while I finished my ever present instant potato burrito that he had made fresh for the last two or three loops. I cannot confirm or deny that I was eating it a little slower than normal. I finished the burrito as we hit the first uphill and just like I thought Kyle gave me a quick drink from one of the water bottles because He had taken the task of carrying all my water and poles if I needed to give me a break from packing anything more than I needed to. He handed me my poles and away we went. Now don’t get me wrong Kyle is not looking pushing me to speed up because he is in a hurry to finish the loop, he is doing exactly what I asked him to do days and days before…. Don’t Let Me Stop!!! push push push me. I will say if you are going to find success in the Ultra world you very rarely will find it without a really go support team both during training and for sure on race day. During training you need a very understanding family because it takes a lot of time to train at a peak weeks you can find yourself running 12 to 14 hours a week or possibly more depending on the distance you are training for. On race day you need to have people that care about you and what you have worked so hard to accomplish but they also need to be able to understand most pain is temporary and in longer races you will go through many ups and downs and their goal is to keep you focused on the race and not to get caught up in your issues but to keep you focused. The saying goes like this if you feel good that will change but also for you feel bad that will change also, so hang in there time is your friend.
Leaving the gravel road now overgrown with clumpy grass mounds that had been challenging the pavement runners all day with uneven footing and irregular stride lengths something you get used to on the trail but not something you encounter often on the street, unless dodging dog poop on the sidewalk or potholes on the street. We started the first uphill that for most of the day was almost not a hill at all, but now at Midnight or maybe even later it was going to take all my focus to get up at any pace at all even while using poles at this point. All day my right leg had been pulling double duty and now had decided it was done doing all the work and I was only moving forward because I had begun to swing it forward at my hip and my hip will not take it much longer either. My hamstring was so tight the was no movement at my knee any longer and that’s a new issue coming soon I expect. We moved into the woods, which had been a den of bugs last year but this year the wind had been blowing relentless all day long the only good thing about the wind was the lack of bugs. Kyle was now assessing what I had left in the tank and how fast of a pace I would be able to maintain by how often Kyle was looking at his watch. I could tell we were not on pace to make the 100 miles as he was doing his best to get me to pick up my pace but it was all I had left and my body was not going to give any more then just maintain this current pace and at this point was a matter of sheer willpower. I continued to do the math in my mind like I had been doing all day long and I knew despite my best efforts I was going to fall short of time and more than likely energy before the final bell rang to get the 100 miles completed. I was so tired maybe my math was wrong maybe just maybe i was better off than i thought, but the reality was there was not as much time as i hoped and no doubt there was not enough energy to keep going much longer. Loop 9 about mile 5 I started to feel a few raindrops and they were huge and far apart and with the wind blowing straight in your face my brain was thinking did I feel a raindrop or is it just my mind drifting? yes, yes it is starting to rain and at that realization I lost my will to keep going not only have I been fighting to keep moving for the last 14 hours but now to get wet and to be wet in the driving wind was more than I could even think of or enduring. I told Kyle as we came down off the third and final descent I did not have it in me to keep going into the rain and lets drop down to the 100K or 62 miles and call it a race, He agreed. We crossed the timing mat and told Anna I was going to drop down to the 100k thinking I still needed one more lap i looked at Kyle and said lets get ready for one more! Kyle looked at me and said your done, 10 loops is all you need and you just finished 10, I was so happy my eyes started to fill with tears of relief. I received my metal and hobbled my way back to camp to pack up and head home.
I could never thank my family and friends enough for all the time they put into my crazy running adventures they litteraly make it possible for me to even try.
Thank you All.