Mountain Mist 50K

My friend Lisa prior to the Mtn. Mist

The Mountain Mist 50K is the toughest of it's kind in the great state of Alabama. Do not let the happy faced man above fool you he knew exactly what he was about to get into (or so he thought)! It was a balmy 35 (or so) degrees when I arrived at the lodge on Monte Sano. I was a little bit nervous about what I might find out about myself on the trail Saturday, but I did not let my nerves from keep me away from the biggest running challenge I have faced to date. Once I entered the Lodge I made my way over to receive my racers chip. I did wonder if this chip was more for people who got lost than actually keeping up with results. Who knows? I was milling around the Lodge and I ran into Brian a gentleman I met at the Rocket City Marathon in December. We spoke for a little bit and then my friend Lisa walked in who is pictured above. We shared a few words then Gregg asked to take our picture. I still don't know what I was doing in the picture, but I'm sure it was not that important. 

L-R Ronnie, Me, Un-named Man

I departed from Lisa and walked into what was a dining type area and ran into a gentleman I had 'run' into at the Recover From the Holidays 50K. I spoke with Ronnie and those at his table and we all showed one another the kind of gear we were going to take on the trail that day. Gregg again caught me on camera. I don't know what I was saying but it must of been fairly important! LOL! After this conversation with Ronnie and the un-named man I went to my vehicle to put on my shoes and get ready for the start of the Mountain Mist 50K!

I returned just in  time for the start of the 50k! I was nervous, but ready to get after 31 miles on the Mountain! The weather was about as nice as you could ask for in Alabama in January! I wore shorts from start to finish!

The gun sounded and we were off right at 7:30 am! Only 31 miles to go! I positioned myself behind Ronnie because I felt he would be running around the pace I would like to run for the event! I wish I had stayed with that plan throughout! I started off fresh and strong and stayed with Ronnie & friends through the first aid station at mile 6.7. I continued running with Ronnie for a while longer, but then I got caught up with a 'faster' group and took off around mile 10. This would be a mistake later in the day. Around mile 11 I suffered my one and only fall of the day gently sliding in the mud and jumping right back up. At this point I was running behind the "Hammer Nutrition" guy and the lady in the black shorts. I continued to run with this grouping till the aid station stop at mile 21 (I think). I never saw the "Hammer" or black shorts lady again after mile 21.  Around 2 miles into that run I was running approximately 20 yards behind a lady in a orange shirt. She fell hard into some rocks and as I would find out later would had broken her collarbone in the fall. After staying a few moments with her to make sure she was tracking properly I moved on. I remember looking at my watch going only 8 miles to go and my time is awesome! I will surely beat my goal time of 6:30 today! 

The toughest roughest parts of the were coming up! First a climb up some rocks and then an even tougher walk right after! I was not feeling awesome, but was still trudging onward! I spoke of Ronnie earlier and how I wished I would of stayed with him. Well, he passed me during the rock climbing section of the course. I would not see him again the rest of the event. From this point forward it was just survival not really worrying about time! 

The last 8 miles of the event tested me in ways I had not been tested before as a runner.  The thrill of thinking a goal would be reached, then realizing when I hit a monster hill from mile 28-30 that the 6:30 would fall out of my grasp. I barely hung on going up those hills from 28-30! I felt like I was about to die falling to my knees once just hoping I could get to the top! I finally made it to the rest area at the top of the hill and they quickly filled me with drink and food and another runner helped me to fight on his name was James. I do not know what I would of done without him getting me moving again! We walked away from the aid station with just a little bit more to go. Then we saw race director Dink Taylor who said: "It's all flat from here no need to walk!" (I'm paraphrasing his words because I hardly remember them). I do not know what happened next, but I had a burst of energy that lasted all the way to the finish and I crossed it at 6:38:10! I am looking forward to taking on the Mountain Mist Challenge again in 2014!The pictures below were taken about .50 from the finish line. I did not care to much to try and toe step on the rocks that were to the right of me in the picture so, I just splashed through the water. I knew Gregg Gelmis would get some great shots and I was correct! 

 

We Run Huntsville