My family and I moved to Dallas on July 1, 2021. This was shortly after I got back from Mount Saint Helens. My wife and I decided we wanted a change. She was looking forward to being closer to her family. I was excited about a fresh start and a new city to call home. We packed our bags and moved in a whirlwind of change amidst the Covid-19 pandemic. Once we got settled in Dallas, I was looking for a challenge and wanted to push myself. This seemed like a natural next step to prepare for eventually climbing higher mountains, and a great way to test the limits of my potential. Training also gave me something to focus, which pushed out the frustration of starting over in a new state.
A few years back, a buddy named Taylor was telling me about what it felt like to get past the 50 mile distance. Up until I signed up for this, 50 miles was the farthest I had run in one day. That race took a lot out of me. I was dead at the end. I barely finished. But the race was behind me, the wounds had healed. Anyway I asked Taylor what it felt like to run 100k. He had done a 100m out west a few years back. I remember him telling me, once you run until your legs are dead tired, and then decide to keep going, it doesn't feel that different on mile 40 as it does on mile 50 or 60. I took that to heart. No matter how much training I did, my legs would be tired. I was ready to accept that, and figured even if my training was half-assed. I could muscle through the back half of the race if need be.
I was ready to step up and go big again, and I landed on this little gem. The Paris Pair 100k is a fast, flat trail race winding through a 16 mile loop in Paris, Texas. This was a welcome change from the 50 mile race I ran through the Appalachian foothills in December 2020. Without a few distance running buddies out here to get me off the couch, my training to prepare for the 100k was mediocre. I was running longer runs on weekends, but wasn't getting the miles in during the week to really give my legs the boost they needed to perform well at this race. That being said, I also know what my body is capable of. I ran 25 miles two weeks before and felt pretty good after that run. Once it was over, I felt ready.
To say I was ready is sort of only half true. I was mentally ready, but physically, I should have been running 60-70 miles a week by the time I started to taper down before the race. Instead, I was running more like 35 miles a week. Maybe a 20 mile run on Sunday, and shorter runs during the week. I pulled up to the Eifel tower in Paris Texas on the morning of the race with only 5 minutes till the race began. I didn't have my race number, and had to use the restroom. After I took care of business and got my ducks in a row, the race began probably 30 seconds later. It must have been 6:00am. It was dark. I stuck with a crew in the front of the pack. There were probably 20 of us. What surprsied me most about this race was it was the first time there werent a bunch of people that took off at a full sprint from the beginning. I felt like the 20 or so of us were pacing ourselves. We were probably running between 9 and 10 minute miles. This went on for 10-12 miles or so. When the sun started to come up, I slowed the pace down and started chuggin water, thinking of the heat of the afternoon.
I knew the total distance was 62 miles, but I didn't know the distance of the loop. The race organizeers had changed the course several times a few weeks before to make the starting area more simple for maintaining social distance. There were different loops for 5k, 10k, half-marathon, and marathon. I figured I would sort all that out on the fly during the race. I did some quick calculations in my head and figured the loop was probably 12.5 miles and maybe we were doing 5. When I got the first loop done, I ran through the beginning portion excited, screaming "only 4 more laps." The race organizers shouted back, "are you doing the 100k?" I said "yea", they said "its only 3 more laps."
I couldn't believe it. I only had three more laps of this flat course that I thought for sure I had four more laps of. Needless to say I was excited, but it as also pretty hot. Without proper training, my pace gradually continued to slow through the day. By 4:00 in the afternoon, my 9:30 minute mile pace was more of a 14:00 minute pace. I had slowed down considerably. The picture above was taken when I got to a rest stop. The volunteer staff saw the salt from sweat, crystallizing on my face. it was probably 91 degrees outside. They suggested I stop and relax, start taking salt tablets, and they dumped ice on my head. After 5 minutes of that I was ready to keep going.
A few hours later when I was starting the last lap, it was starting to get dark. I still had my headlamp on from the morning. I turned it back on and kept pushing forward. Each step felt like a chore. It was a chore with no intermittent allowance. I was out of salt tablets and snacks by then. Rest stop volunteers were thinning out fast. Because of my lack of training and preparation, the last 10 miles of the race was pretty rough. it was a combination of running and walking, and several of those folks in the front of the pack left me in the dust. This is when ultra marathons get hard. You have to confront your potential head on and bury your ego. I tried to convince myself to just run to the next trail marker or stop sign. I was probably doing 17 minute miles by then, just running and walking. As hard as it was, it still wasn't as bad as the 50 mile race I had run through the mountains the year before. I felt good about that.
Eventually at 9:26pm I crossed the finish line. Aside from the rest stop where the volunteers arrested my progress, I had been running and walking since 6:00am. One of the big challenges with this race is it was the first time I had run this far without friends. No one was looking for me at the finish line. I wasn't waiting for anyone. The volunteers were mostly spent. There was a low key welcome party who cheered when I finished, 14 hours after I had began, and I was thankful to see their smiles. I got some peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and chips, stretched for 25 minutes and then got in the car and drove back home. My wife was my rock during this race. I thought about her constantly, and she was watching the boys all day that Saturday so I could do what I "enjoy." If you ever read this Megan, I appreciate you giving me some room in my life for adventure. Cheers!
p.s. based on my lackluster training, you can imagine my surprise when I realized I finished 11th overall for the 100k. These results are a bit deceiving because there were probably only 50 people who ran the 100k in the first place. Half of them did not finish the race at all. So by finishing 11th, I was basically in the middle of the pack. I felt good about it though. it was my last major race before Grand Teton, the next mountain on my list which is scheduled for late June, 2022.
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