Psycho Summer 50K

Yesterday was the Psycho Summer 50K at the Wyandotte County Lake Park in Kansas City, KS. After attending the Royals game on Friday night with Sarah and baby and staying in a nearby hotel, the 50K starts at 8am on Saturday morning, which is great for sleep, but bad for heat! But I think that's part of the idea of "Psycho Summer"...

The temperature hit 100, or close to it in the afternoon. It was hot, but mostly shaded so it could have been worse. I didn't get sick or too dehydrated. I think there were a lot of other runners who the heat got the better of them and they had to drop down to 20 or droped out altogether. I was just happy to finish.

After completing the first loop the second two loops were mentally much easier because I knew the distances to aid stations and knew how to mentally attack each section. I ran with a pack of 3 most of the first loop but couldn't quite keep up the last two loops so mostly ran alone, which I enjoyed.

My official finish time was 7:59:16. I know that seems soooo slow with an average time of 15:28/mile but I must say this includes a lot of running and only walking the hills and most technical rock scramble sections. I completed the First Lap in 2:24:33, the second loop in 2:43:01, and the third and final loop in 2:51:40.

Previous finishes: 2008 Winter Version and 2008 Summer Version.

TATUR'S Midnight Madness 50 Miler

Ran the Tulsa Area Trail and Ultra-Runners' "Midnight Madness" 50 miler last Friday night in Tulsa. This was my second time to do it. First time being in 2010. See 2010 Report.

I drove down with my good friends Tyler Ray and Kevin Johnson to Tulsa on Friday evening. The race starts at midnight....I was just starting to get tired and sleepy when I started running...partly because I had a crazy week and only 5 hours of sleep the night before! First lap was...hot! 90 degrees thereabout. No wind. Humidity. By the end of those 10.3 miles I was dragging.

At the end of the second loop, I felt better than at the end of the first. By the end of the third loop, it had gotten light and I soaked for five minutes in an ice bath to bring my core temperature down. At mile 35, Tyler joined me and he paced me for the last 16 miles. I soaked again in the swimming pool (with ice water up to my neck this time). The last 10.3 miles were tough but Tyler and then Kevin paced me into the finish line.

I never really had any low moments. No nausea. Minimal soreness. No ankle problems. I really felt fine with a fairly consistent pace throughout the 51.5 miles that the course actually measured.

This is a great race on a great course that I highly recommend.