Woke up about 6am, gotta love an 8am race start.
I probably shouldn’t start right there. I should probably start at 1:15am when I was driven awake by a ripping wind that had just arrived. I’ve been in this part of the world long enough to know a wind like that arriving in January means that the cold air is here. My excitement level for the race decreased about 35%. I found myself having the quintessential “you don’t have any obligation to be at this, we could read all day” talk but was able to shut it down pretty quick and drop back to sleep. My alarm went off at 5:45 and I woke up without much trouble. The thermostat in the camper read 42 degrees. Now, I am not a fan of “heated” air (preferring layers or fire), but I decided the heater probably needed to be utilized this morning. I turned it on, added some layers, and made some coffee before hopping back in bed for a minute to continue to warm up. I didn’t need to leave for about an hour and half so I had time to relax (by design). The heater was marginally effective and I was able to move from the bed to the “day bed” (futon). I knocked out my bible and 75 Hard reading, had about three more cups of coffee, and used the bathroom - a critical pre-race event. By the time all this was wrapped, it was pretty much time to go. I scrambled to get dressed and commit to what clothing I needed to take…I didn’t want to be carrying a bunch of crap once it warmed up. It was currently in the Mid-20’s. Bitter cold to me, laughable to others. I ultimately decided to dress for finish line temps, which I nailed. I wore my REI base layer, Big Bend Ultra race shirt, 3 of 7 Boco, Texas flag buff, carried my handheld, and my usual trustworthy BCG shorts – this outfit ended up being perfect.
I was pretty cold for ten or so minutes before the race started, and very cold for probably the first twenty minutes of the race. I knew once the sun came up I would be comfortable, and it rose quickly and I was. It ended up being a beautiful day for a long run.
I haven’t been running much and therefore didn’t have much expectation for this race. I had set some goals (that I didn’t remember until about mile sixteen) to finish in 15 minute miles (A GOAL), finish in 18 minute miles (B-goal and the pace I’ll need to keep when I pace John (John’s Substack) at the Umstead 100 in April), hike it and enjoy the day (C GOAL (I enjoyed the day regardless)).
The first four miles seemed to tick by very quick for which I was grateful. I had run most of it, it seemed. I decided at about this time I didn’t want to look at my watch all day and just make sure I gave it an effort I would be proud of, without leaving me to death march the second half. The Alpha Aid Station was at mile 5.5ish, and I was pleasantly surprised to find it was manned by my buddy who owns the local running store. I chugged a water, refilled my handheld, and took a couple of salt capsules before pressing on down the trail.
Up to this point, the route has been mostly on Buena Suerte Road with small branches of single track. Buena Suerte Road is an old road to the Buena Suerte Flotation Mill, where I believe they made wax out of the Candilleria plant. Shortly after the Alpha aid station you fork off to a series of trails that is almost entirely single track with brief stretches in dry creek beds. This was essentially the start of the course I was new to, and the reason for my choosing the 30K. The course got crowded briefly as a few 30k runners had stacked up at Alpha and the top 5% of the 20K runners had caught up to us, despite starting an hour later. This didn’t bother me as we were on a steep climb and it gave good opportunity for me to let them all pass without slowing myself or them down much. At the end of this climb we hit another fork, 30K going right, 20K going left. I was going to be pretty much alone from here until we circled back to Buena Suerte, which was the main artery of the race that all distances utilized. The trail I was on is called the “Dome Single Track,” which circles the former Contrabando Dome Quicksilver Mine.
I drank a caffeine Ketone IQ before hitting another steep climb. I was able to make pretty quick work of it, and was rewarded with an incredible vista of much of Fresno Canyon. The trail flattened out a bit after this, and was very runnable for about a mile and a half before another small climb to the Delta Aid Station. These guys had a great view looking West. I chugged the rest of my bottle of water, refilled it, ate some trail mix, had a few more salt capsules, and set out back down the trail. The volunteer seemed a little confused on how far it was back to the next aid station (which would be Alpha again). I decided to just wing it, remembering it was probably about 5 miles.
Two runners who I had been leapfrogging with most of the morning joined me at the aid station. An older man in rubber sandals and a lady that was probably about my age. I decided leaving the aid station that neither of them would be catching me again.
The trail descended (still Dome Single) for quite some time, ultimately bottoming out at an old mining village. Keep in mind that I have not looked at my watch a single time but I suspect this was about mile eleven. I had about half a mile more easily runnable before we started what ultimately became about a three mile climb back to Alpha. It was about mile thirteen when I first started to feel a bit of fatigue. I chocked this up to all the climbing. I had pushed myself a few times as well and created a little ground. I had lost sight of Old Man Sandals, and the girl was jumping from a tenth to a quarter mile behind me.
Still on Dome Single (but also West Contrabando) heading back east, I had an amazing canyon, known as the Contrabando Waterhole, and mountain landscape, anchored by Contrabando Mountain about a mile to the right. I was ready to get back to Alpha aid as this is when I told myself I could have my other Ketone, which I knew would pick me up. Alpha would be my last aid station for the day, and I would have five net downhill miles to the finish line, and I wanted to hammer them.
I arrived at Alpha, drank my Ketone, chugged my water, ate some trail mix, took a few more salt capsules, and refilled the handheld. My former coach was there as well. He would have been on mile 36ish of the 50 mile, he looked strong and was in and out pretty quick, downing a bottle of ginger ale. I set out back down Buena Suerte. The Girl had caught me again at the aid station, I must have lingered too long. She made quick work of it and took off with me. Did she also have an unannounced back of the pack competition boiling in her head?
This frustrated me a bit. I wasn’t quite ready to take off running but, wanting to keep my competitive juices flowing, I did. We continued down the road, going back down south now towards the finish line. By this time a handful of 50K finishers, 50M runners (going in and out), and every other distance have all converged back together, keeping me moving and “pacing” myself with the occasional passerby.
My competitor remained close. I got to a flat and decided I was going to push it hard for the length of two trail markers. I gave it everything I had on this flat (probably reaching about a 10-minute pace, ha!) but was effective in increasing the gap between the two of us.
With about 3-4 miles left I was ready to be done. There is something with knowing you are almost at the finish and that tricking your brain into thinking the finish line will appear in arms reach at any time, leaving you disappointed and demoralized when it doesn’t appear over each small hill you conquer. The idea of my goals had come back into my head. I wanted to check my watch, but ultimately decided against it. What I did check was my phone. It was 12:05. I had been out for four hours and five minutes and had about a 5K left. Trying to remember my goals, the time of four hours thirty minutes came to mind as being about a fifteen-minute pace. Already being 4:05 in, I knew this was out of the question. I decided this was okay, and that I wanted to push it hard to the finish regardless. While occupied with trying to remember the goals I wrote on a sticky note at my office, I glanced back and realized my nemesis is now within 50 yards of me and moving! Here I was thinking I was giving it everything I had! I began to fear I would lose this race. This is the first time I have felt this eager and competitive attitude in a race environment in years.
I could see FM 170, which announces the final mile to the finish line. I told myself to run to the road, reevaluate my position, and then make a game plan from there. This would prove to be my fastest mile all day. I arrived at the road, thinking surely I had left my competition in the dust, only to find she was still about 50 yards behind me. I had a brief moment of weakness. “Let her pass and cruise in this last half mile, ain’t that big of a deal”. This is a mindset I am trying to remove from my life, and quickly reminded myself that how you do anything is how you do everything. I figured if I ran with everything I had I would be at the finish line in three minutes, and I figured I had three minutes in me.
About half way through this mad dash, I glanced back and had finally cleared the threat of losing my made-up race. I was in a rhythm and held the pace the quarter mile to the finish line. I stopped my watch and high fived a few Midland folks. I was excited to look at my watch for the first time of the day. It revealed to me…
A 20-mile run, the course had been long. I did the 20-mile run in an elapsed pace of 14:58/mile and a moving pace of 14:18/ mile. I had hit my A Goal!! Elapsed time of 5:01:05 and a moving time of 4:47:41. I was pleased to say the least, especially knowing the “sprint to the finish” had paved the way for this.
This was my first truly long effort since the Philmont Marathon (Cabin Session Podcast) in early August 2024. I have not been running, only walking, rucking, and lifting weights. I can only attribute this success to the fact I have been consistent in doing any kind of physical activity (imagine the results if showing this discipline in an actual training block) and haven’t had a cheat meal or alcohol since 12/29/2024. Even though this shouldn’t have needed to be an eye opener for me, it was, and the lesson has been taken to heart. What you put in your body matters. If I want to succeed in this sport your diet has to be taken as seriously as any other facet of the training and this is non-negotiable. To piggy back off of that: low carb seems to be something my body enjoys now that I am adapted. I felt better on this run than I have ever had with any “normal” fueling strategy. I will continue to monitor this situation, but am also reminded of my two-year keto stretch in which I trained for and ran my first marathon with what seemed like ease.
One last takeaway from the day:
I listened to no music and, as mentioned, I did not look at my watch. While music and running have a place where they belong together (I haven’t ran WITHOUT music since probably 2018), I think being without helped me focus on the task at hand and keep me present in the run. This is another situation I will be monitoring going forward. I believe the watch has tremendous value, on this day I enjoyed not worrying about it. In general, it is pretty beneficial to know where you are at on your course, especially in a trail race. I am not sure what the best practice is here.
This is my third year in a row at this event (50K both prior years) and I think it gets better every year. The beauty of the course is unmatched. It’s runnable. The weather has always been great. I am tremendously proud of my results at this race. I am motivated to maintain my lifestyle changes as I have seen the physical possibilities, especially with more focused training. Most importantly, I feel I have a desire to run again, I am craving the long and hard effort. I have belief in my capabilities again. I am looking forward to what the next ten months has in store on the journey to the Palo Duro 50 Mile in October.
Check out my Instagram to see some video from the race course. Feel free to follow.
If you are interested in experiencing this race for yourself, check it out here.
Congrats on your finish! I had a race last year where I let someone I passed in the final mile finish ahead of me. Turned out he had stopped because he was to put on his “Ranger” hoodie for a finish line photo. I was pissed at myself for letting him finish before me when I realized this. Glad you let the competitive juices flow.