Ran the MMTR yesterday and just wanted to send out a thanks to the other athletes that I met on the trail. I had been having significant knee problems ever since IM FL and had not been able to run more than 10 miles without having issues. Saturdays race was the acid test for all of the work that my Dr. had been doing on me. The weather was absolutely perfect and I ran pain free for the entire race. This was huge for me because a DNF meant that I was out of running for a good while.
So here is a big thanks to The Indiana Express and Pink Jacket! Having you out there on the trail kept me focused and helped me to a much needed finish. It is amazing where you will find fellow triathletes.
If your knee doesn’t hurt after that race then you should be good to go… It can be challenge just to stay up right on that course. Other than a few slick spots it doesn’t get much better than it was yesterday.
Surprisingly that is the first time that I have stayed upright during the entire course! It can be brutal out there, that course has claimed my hand and my ankle. It was nice to not even be in the contention for the “Best Blood” award.
Yeah, the race definitely lived up to its name! Although in all honesty due to the humidity and temperature, I think the trails were actually quite a bit safer than the roads Saturday morning. Me and my buddy went for a run once the race started and the roads were really slick! The trails were the only only place we could actually get any traction. Of course, we also avoided the treacherous stuff so we could actually run the whole time… Anyway, great job to all those who competed. 50k on that mountain cant be easy!
Thanks for the compliment E. There aren’t a lot of mountains in Indiana, so putting in the miles doesn’t always prepare a person for mountains! Actually I fell on the power line strip around mile 8 on some slick rock and ended up stuck in the brambles with a slightly busted knee that is still swollen this morning! Ouch! Anyway, I was really letting that effect my race and then your group came along and completed diverted my attention–so thank you!
I also just check the race stats and only 56 women competed compared to almost 200 men!
Those sticker bushes on power line are beastly, and people wonder why I tell them to run through the shoe sucking mud. You ran a great race kben! I really enjoyed the crew that we had for the las 20k. Maybe some snow for next year.
If I do it next year I will be mentally prepared for all the variances of the course. It was a good experience. It was also a VERY long ride home yesterday! The guys I bummed a ride with complained the entire 7 hours about their aches and pains!
Tell them to HTFU!
Have you run either Mt Cheaha 50k or Oak Mountain 50k? There is a local trail running club in Georgia (GUTS - Georgia Ultra Trail Society) and they are having an Alabama triple crown competition. Whoever finishes these three 50k’s in the shortest time wins. They are each 1 month apart. I don’t know anything about the next two.
Mtn Mist was my very first Ultra. Hell, before Saturday, I hadn’t run more than 2 hrs. I was very surprised how well I did and how surreal it was. Even though I was watching my feet the whole time, I still managed to see the beauty all around me. Well, the 50 yrds to each side of me I could see through the mist.
I saw a guy in the lodge with a HTFU beanie…I thought it was appropriate.
I kept hearing about Waterline and that I would know when I got there…Man were they right! Nothing like going straight up around mile 24-25.
Now I think you Ultramarathon types are a little less nuts. Still nuts…but I can now see why you do it. Thanks for letting me play in your cool world for a day.
The hill at mile 28-29 is not as impressive to look at as the waterline but it is still a swift kick in the ass.
I am running the Mercedes Marathon then the Cheaha 50K two weeks later, why I have no idea.
I was the guy in the HTFU beanie.
How did your legs feel after water line? There is nothing like that feeling you get when you think that you are done with that climb and turn the corner and go uphill again!
I was the dark guy (one of the few, so it should narrow it down) that said I liked it before the race. That was crap!! go up that thing, THEN climb…THEN you get to run on pebbles when you can’t lift your feet.
Great…no…really…
But… it doesn’t feel as bad now (after a dew days rest) does it? I still hate that rest shelter hill, at least it was a stuffed snake in the tree instead of the really real looking rattlesnake that they used to have. The first time I saw that I would have crapped myself but I was too tired from the climb.
Are you doing the Mt. Cheaha 50k next month?
I’m actually feeling much better now. I’m surprised! May even try and run later this week. The pool and my trainer are my friends right now.
I think I may be retired from Ultras. 
My coach would kill me if I wanted to do another one with the season coming up.
That snake actually made me jump to the left about 2’. Granted, it was AFTER I was passed it and my brain processed it…but you know.
Those coaches can be pesky. Especially when it comes to trail races, every one is a roll of the dice.