Brian Detweiler

Recap

I had originally signed up for the Marathon distance and decided to upgrade to the 50K. I had been dealing with Achilles tendinopathy, but most recently felt like there might be a slight stress fracture around the first and second metatarsals on my left foot. I'm a stubborn one, as runners tend to be, so I decided to run anyway.

The air was cold and crisp in the mid-30s, but knowing it was going to heat up to the 60s by the end, I opted to only wear arm sleeves and gloves and no jacket. This was a good choice as I only endured about an hour of cold before it started to get warm enough to cause sweat. The race started at 7:00 AM, so there was no need for headlamps.

Coming out of the start, we descended into the valley. The first section was smooth, uneven rock that I had some difficulty with due to the stress fracture. Only able to touch gingerly on my left foot, I didn't attack that downhill as hard as I wanted. I decided I wanted to keep an average pace of 8:30, so I tried not to overdo it on the outset, but I ended up going out at the back of the front pack, which was decidedly too fast.

I was able to hold my pace for about 15 miles before a noticeable degradation hit my form and stride. By mile 20, I got hit with the run-walks. Miles 25-27, I picked it back up for a slow jog. From 27 on, I was dragging pretty hard.

The course itself was not super challenging, except for the rocks and sand. Sand saps your energy and deals a mental blow as you expend more effort to go even slower. The rocks were primarily a concern for my stress fracture. Thankfully, I made it through with no further injuries. The results really highlight my lack of preperation. I was a better runner in my mind than I was on the trail. This is a recurring theme on these longer distance runs. I tend to overestimate my ability.

This being my first 50K distance, I wanted to take with me a mindset of "time not distance" to keep myself from being intimidated. This worked well for most of the race, but once again, I overestimated myself and thought I would be done in probably 4:30, or 5 hours at the latest. When 5 hours rolled around and I saw the 5K turnaround point (meaning I had 1.5 miles to go), I got a little frustrated. This could have been avoided by setting my expectations a little beyond what I expected myself to do.

Overall, while I was disappointed in my effort, I enjoyed the race. It was beautifully scenic and the runners were friendly and uplifting.

Into the Darkness

Valley of Fire Backwoods 50K

Las Vegas, Nevada

2018-11-17

Results

Gear

Nutrition

Recap