Written, Thursday April 17Runners -
Having completed the 150 mile race in 2007. I really felt nothing more to prove. But McNaughton has a way of calling me back. McNaughton has a way of bringing me and my friends together - giving us a common goal. Just as in life, we are not alone. Last year I could say that we covered 150 miles. This year I can say that we ran it. Having never run that distance before in 2007, everything was new. There was a small fear of the unknown. I knew we were going to finish the race this year - there was no fear of the distance. But there is no denying the distance is long and the course is hard. Information on the race course can be found at: http://www.mcnaughtonparktrailruns.com/
My friend David Goggins and I have been talking strategy for a while. There is strength in numbers and we were planning on maintaining a 2:00 hour pace (10 miles) the entire time. If we could rip the 100 mile mark in 20 hours and keep going we could finish in 30 hours and be done before nightfall and get some dinner and only lose one night's sleep. Every mile I have done since last year's race has been in preparation for this race. The only way to truly prepare for the 150 mile distance is to run a lot of miles. I think it takes years of cumulative miles to be prepared to run this race. This is not something you can train for in a few months. This is also not something that I could do on my own. My crew was first class - they deserved this victory more than I. I am amazed with their sacrifice. Although I still needed to cover the distance, this would have been impossible without all of you. The race started at 12 noon central time on Friday, April 11. The following are what I remember:
Lap 1 (Miles 0-10): 1:45:30 (10:33 min/mile): David and I ran together but right from the start it felt like he had just a little bit extra - almost like an extra gear than I had that day. We remained together until Mile 30. Our hope was to run in the back and maybe be around 10th place after the first lap. 10th place I believe would have been around a 2:01:00 lap - so we were a little fast out the gate. I very much enjoy spending time with David and wished that we lived closer to hang out more. Last night we talked and he asked me to help crew/pace him at Badwater this summer.
Lap 2 (Miles 11-20): 1:46:53 (10:41 min/mile): Still feeling good - felt like we were holding back and taking it easy - which is extremely important in such a race. We were building a little cushion for the 30 hour goal. The course was surprisingly in great shape - very runnable. But, that would change.
Lap 3 (Miles 21-30): 1:48:38 (10:52 min/mile): Another well paced lap. At this point, I think David and I were running 3rd and 4th in the race. Actually, one of the 50 mile runners Brian Gaines was at the start/finish area and captured the 30 mile mark with his video camera: www.youtube.com/watch?v=XDb7CAtC3XM&eurl=http://briangaines.blogspot.com/2008/04/mcnaughton-park-trail-50-mile-race.html As you can see in the video, my friend Demah met me and told me to walk with him. He was telling me to let David go and for me to run my race. That was the last David and I saw each other until very much later. But his wife Aleeza kept me informed.
Lap 4 (Miles 31-40): 2:11:15 (13:08 min/mile): This is the only lap I ran alone and was probably the only point in the race that I had a mental breakdown of sorts. I realized that my game plan was not going to workout and for a short while I worried about that. David gained about 25 minutes on me with this lap. During this lap I asked myself OK Ryan 2:00 per lap is just not in the cards today as the course was beginning to get a little sloppy. What pace do you think you can maintain for the long haul. This had yet to be decided.
Lap 5 (Miles 41-50): 2:33:41 (15:22 min/mile): My friend Steve Cabler had driven up from St. Louis and picked up my friend John Gruber up at the airport. John flew down from Detroit for the weekend to run a couple laps with me a hang out. It was great to see some new faces in addition to my crew that drove down from the Madison area with me - CJ Werley, Demah Nuertey, and Mike Younglove. Steve and John joined me on this lap and although it was my slowest lap - it didn't feel slow. My pace was starting to slow down - although we were still a little under 10 hours for the first 50 miles. Steve and John told me I was 1/3rd the way done. I liked the sound of that.
Lap 6 (Miles 51-60): 2:36:40 (15:40 min/mile): This was now around 10 PM of the first night. I usually go to bed around 9, so my body is tired. CJ joined me on this lap and kept me motivated and going strong. We didn't slow up too much - but I didn't like how long the laps were taking. This was a turning point in the race. We needed to stop slowing down and pick up the pace.
Lap 7 (Miles 61-70): 2:35:54 (15:35 min/mile): Now around 12:30 AM Saturday morning, Mike joined me for a lap. He kept me going great. My whole crew was awesome - keeping me going - keeping our eyes on the prize. I knew that once the sun came up and the other runners started the 100/50 mile races at 6 AM I would get another kick of energy. We actually ran this lap faster than the one before. We were moving in the right direction.
Lap 8 (Miles 71-80): 2:25:11 (14:31 min/mile): Demah took over at this lap with the intention of running the next 3 (yes 30 miles) with me and getting me into a rhythm and start chopping down the lead that David and Paul Stofko had on me. As you can see from the pace, we were speeding up. Demah stayed with me from around 3 AM until 10:30 AM Saturday morning. We decided that 2:20 - 2:30 would be the new goal to maintain. And maintaining that to perfection is just what my crew and I did. www.printroom.com/ViewGalleryPhoto.asp?userid=bpadilla&gallery_id=1032871&image_id=11: This is a race photo of Demah and I running probably at the end of this lap.
Lap 9 (Miles 81-90): 2:22:49 (14:17 min/mile): Faster, Faster, Faster. Stay in the zone. I was hurting but we worked through the pain. This was a breakthrough performance for me in that I learned that I could still run even though my muscles ached. We ran this lap 7 minutes faster than David. I knew were weren't going to catch him but thought maybe Paul could be caught. Aleeza had told us that he was slowing down a bit. We passed though the start/finish area a little before the other races started at 6 AM.
Lap 10 (Miles 91-100): 2:28:32 (14:51 min/mile): Demah brought me through the night and we finished the first 100 miles around 22 1/2 hours. www.printroom.com/ViewGalleryPhoto.asp?userid=bpadilla&gallery_id=1032871&image_id=5: This is a race photo of me running through the start/finish area at night probably at the end of this lap. As you an see, I had a lot of clothes on pretty much throughout the race. My crew kept me dry constantly changing me into dry clothes. I think I had at least 3 upper layers on at all times throughout the race.
Lap 11 (Miles 101-110): 2:25:59 (14:36 min/mile): It was around 10:30 Saturday morning at the start of this lap. There were a lot of runners out on the course and it was very slippery. Mike and another friend Stacy Langenecker ran with me this lap. We ran it a little faster and realizing that we were more than 2/3rd the way done was pretty awesome. This was only the second time I had been beyond 100 miles. www.printroom.com/ViewGalleryPhoto.asp?userid=bpadilla&gallery_id=1032871&image_id=324: A race photo from around this time.
Lap 12 (Miles 111-120): 2:24:38 (14:28 min/mile): CJ joined me around 1:00 PM for the start of the lap. We were always really quick in the transition areas- not trying to waste any unnecessary time. In a race of this distance minutes add up quick. I calculated that I spent about 20 second each and every time I urinated- which occurred about 3 times a lap. This equated to more than 15 minutes of 'extra' time on the bottom line. David and many other ultrarunners have learned to pee on the run. A skill that I have yet to master but think I might begin to practice in the future. At the end of 120 miles we had put together an impressive string of ten mile laps with not much slow down.
Lap 13 (Miles 121-130): 2:31:41 (15:10 min/mile): John and Steve joined me again around 3:30 PM Saturday afternoon. Also, my friend Jay Edgar drove down from Madison and ran with me. He does an awesome job describing the lap on his blog: http://blog.jayedgar.com/2008/04/mcnaughton-10.html I quote from some of his entry: '...We were all falling down. Steve fell right on his rear end at one point; luckily he didn't hurt himself. Ryan fell down eight times in my time with him. At about mile 8 he fell on a grassy, muddy hill and just lay there for a moment. Finally he said quite simply, and perhaps a bit weakly, 'That hurt.'...' It was great running with these guys. We ended up catching Paul at the end of this lap. I stopped and shook his hand and kept running. The photo at the top was taken by someone who had just finished the 50 mile race. You can see Paul in yellow in the background. We were now in 2nd place.
Lap 14 (Miles 131-140): 2:54:42 (17:28 min/mile): My friend Randy Steiner had driven down from Madison Saturday morning and had been out there all day cheering me on and helping me. I was really looking forward to running with him. He even gave me the shirt off his back when the one I was wearing began to chaff my nipples. The course was very slopping and it would be getting dark on this lap. We passed Sherpa John on this lap and he was with Tracy Thomas. It was great seeing both of them.
Lap 15 (Miles 141-150): 3:41:14 (22:07 min/mile): We started this lap around 9 PM and finished around 12:30 AM Sunday morning. There was no longer any urgency. I knew Paul wasn't going to catch us and David was just about finished. Who cares if we finished in 35 or 36 hours? My body was shutting down and this was now survival. It is funny how things can change so quickly when you let your mind get the best of you. Mike, CJ, and Demah helped bring me home in 36 hours 33 minutes and 17 seconds. Which was an over 4 hour better performance from last year's finish. Final results are available at: www.timetorun.net/Results/McNaughton%20Park/MPTR2008.HTM
My quads began feeling normal again probably on Tuesday. Yesterday was the first day that I could see the veins and bones in my feet as the swelling is now down. I ran for the first time this afternoon since the race and it felt good to get back out there. I love to run and I love the fact that it can bring so many of us closer together. Since returning home from Madison, Jay Edgar has signed up to run the Madison 1/2 Marathon in May. I have spoken to my friend Jerry Davison who was there cheering us on all day about the possibility of running the 50 miler at McNaughton next year. The bottom line is - there are no limits.
Thanks to my lovely wife Christina, my Mother and many distance friends who kept me in their constant prayers during the race. You in addition to my amazing crew gave me the strength to carry on. I look forward to telling my sons Chase, Cruz, and Dash about this adventure in more detail when they are older. Maybe someday the Dexter boys will come back to McNaughton and capture the top four spots :-). Thanks to Andy Weinberg for always running a great race. Congratulations to my friends Darren Fortney and Julie Berg for winning the 100 mile race. Also to Jessi for finishing her first ultra. Well done. It was great seeing you both out there. It was comforting to me to know that by the time you started at 6 AM Saturday you had more miles to run than me. To all the runners that toed the starting line, you are winners. That course is tough. To the warriors that finished - enjoy the accomplishment.
In Christ,
Ryan Dexter
Verona, WI
