The G Running Diary

Me and Mt. Diablo: 10/1/04

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My personal struggle with the mountain was not so personal. Other people were out there too. The trouble was, I was the last person left. All the 25K runners had finished a few hours ago, and the small number of 50K runners were off ahead of me, so they were all done by now. Or so I thought. It was hot and I was on the last big hill. I felt nauseous. I had to pee, but when I tried all I got was about a teaspoon of very bright yellow. So I was dehydrated and I'd goofed with the salt too. But I was fine on the downhills and the good news about this run was that the whole last section was pretty much downhill. You make a left turn onto single-track trail and it's all fun. Some people thought that section was too slippery, but as long as you keep running, you don't have to worry. It's when you stop that you could fall down.

I looked forward to running the Diablo 50K, even though it would be without Don. He was in Idaho running the Bear 100. The drive there is really simple and we've done it many times. I didn't sleep as well as I normally would though. I was a little worried about waking up in time. Sometimes I can sleep right through an alarm. So I woke up every hour. I made a tortilla with peanut butter and jelly for breakfast, got my stuff and took off. I should have eaten more because I hadn't had much dinner either. I arrived in plenty of time, chatted with some people and we were off. Immediately Cindy and I started walking together and talking away. That made the first half fun because we talked about so many different things. But there was no way I was convincing Cindy to upgrade from the 25K and do another loop with me.

It was a beautiful day, and the breeze and shaded areas kept us from getting too hot. Jim Winne's aid station was fun to stop at (4 times for me) and the view from the summit was great. I liked that part of the course because it was easy to break up into pieces. On our way down, we passed people on the single track, and I was happy to see that Cindy was right behind me. I came into the start/finish area before her, but that was only because she had stopped to give a runner water and electrolytes. As I was heading out with my whole peanut butter and jelly sandwich, Cindy and Sarah gave me encouragement. Easy for them--they were done for the day! They both had done well. Wendell told me I was last, but I knew Jim Winne would be waiting up there for me, so there was no consideration of cutting it short. It was kind of liberating knowing that no one was going to catch up to me.

So after hanging out with Jim Winne until he kicked me out of the aid station, there I was alone on the mountain. But I thought about the group of people who would still be waiting at the bottom. I wasn't alone at all. I finished with a relieved smile and got a few cheers. I was tired and definitely needed to sit, but felt good, happy, and welcomed back.

I drove home while the sun was setting, and talked to Don and Philip. They finished the Bear in 33 hours and both sounded much more perky than I felt. Maybe it was the extended runner's high from a hundred miler. It was a good day.