Well, I did it! I had a great race experience at the Heartland 100. I ended up coming in 7th overall with a time of 19 hours, 33 minutes and 44 seconds. This is my personal best time for running 100 miles, taking 19 minutes off my previous fastest time.
I traveled to this race alone and ran it alone, which ended up being ok given it was an out and back and was pretty easy to have my drop bags pre-set along the course. The course was amazing. This was the very first time I had run in Kansas and I was not disappointed. I will say that I thought Kansas would have been flatter. The course offered an endless supply of rolling hills that seemed to become more frequent as the race went on.
As you will see in the pictures we had a wonderful day to run. The sky was clear, the temps were in the low 80's, the humidity was higher than I would have liked AND the new race factor was the wind! Holy cow, it was windy, which it seems to be all the time there in Kansas. The winds ranged from 15- 30 mph. The race directors knew this so when they developed the race course they designed it in such a way the runners would run with cross winds for the majority of the race. This helped big time.
We started at 6:00am in the dark, sunrise was around 7:40am or so, check out the photos of the sunrise. I ran with a fellow named Mike from Oklahoma City for about 15 miles early on until mile 25, which I did in 4:05, so a very comfortable pace. I pulled into the mile 25 aid station in 11th place for the 100 mile race. I decided to put on my iPod and kick up the pace to mile 50, wanted to make sure I reached mile 50 within 8 hours, 30 minutes....which is pretty darn fast for a 100 miler, humm maybe not so smart.
Metallica's new album Death Magnetic (excellent by the way) provided alot of energy from mile 25 to 31 and I continued to hold a strong pace and by mile 32, I was starting to reel in runners. I reached mile 50 in 8:24, ahead of pace and on track to break 17 hours, which is freaky fast for 100 miles. I did not believe this was in the cards, but one can dream. From mile 50 to 75, I was a pace machine, I took over fourth place around mile 66 and continued to run stong. I enjoyed the aid stations, had the power pellets, sloppy joes and other good eats. I was focused on hydration as the humidity and heat were a factor.
As I pulled into the mile 75 aid station I was told that the 3rd place runner was only 20 minutes ahead of me and that he looked pretty tired. I downed some Conquest (the energy drink on the course) and took off to tackle the remaining 25. The only problem was that my legs did not want to move. It was as if I drained my 3/4 full gas tank at the mile 75 aid station.
Oh no, this is deja vu all over again, similar to Lean Horse and Western States I hit mile 75 and wheels come off the truck. Or is it, Andrew you just ran 75 miles, what the heck do expect is going to happen! I chose the latter and focused staying loose and relaxed, increasing my calorie intake, etc. I added power walking into my running more frequently. The sun had gone down at this point, so I could see the runners in the distance with their head lamp lights gaining ground. I made it to mile 86 in 4th and was passed by two runners in and out of the aid station, the next 10 miles was filled with what seemed to be an eternity of big rolling hills, run down , walk up, run down walk up, run down, walk up- you get the picture.
I get to mile 95 and enjoy the last manned aid station, which has this special brew they are serving...I take a whiff and I pass knowing that drinking it would certainly create an unpleasant outcome. I do enjoy some Coke to settle my stomach and some M&M's to keep me going. The last five miles seem to go on forever, I am running for 2 minutes and walking for 1 minute. That is all I am seemed to handle. For the first time ever I think I am having hip pointers and my quads are shot, every step hurts now.
Dig deep, Peace House, AIDS orphans with no parents and little hope, people losing jobs, people battling life threatening diseases, this is nothing, push, push, push forward. That becomes my motivation. At 1:28 am in the morning I see the Cassoday water tower in the distance, I am almost there. This provides an added bounce in my step and I resolve to finish strong. I end up powering in the last 3/4 of a mile and finish 7th with a time of 19:33:44.
As always, I am grateful for my family allowing me the opportunity to train and prepare for these events, without their support and sacrifice I cannot do this. I am grateful for the volunteers and race organizers who truly make these events happen. I am grateful for my family, friends and co-workers for their support and interest. I am grateful i finished, healthy and in the position to continue my quest of epic adventure in my life in my our world.
This is has been an amazing experience for me and I am so thankful for all of the support and cheering so many of you have provided along they way.
I am blessed.
Check out the rest of my photos of the race at:
http://flickr.com/photos/28965358@N04/
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