By David Nichols
On October 15th I completed the Nashville 50 mile ultra in a time of 8:02:27.
But before I tell you about the race weekend I would like to go back to and and tell you how I got here.
After making the commitment I set out to set up a training schedule. I gathered information from online ultra schedules, my previous marathons and local ultra runners Larry Donald and Shane Thread who went way beyond to give some great advice and actually offered to come help crew on race day.
I settled on a 18 week schedule that consisted of 4 to 10 mile runs during the weekday, 12 to 35 miles on Saturday followed with a 10 to 14 on Sunday.
I had great support from the (BOR) Band of Runners on Saturdays with a few of them joining me for the very early long runs....some of which were in the rain!! Nadia was very helpful bringing me food, drink and support on many of the runs.
On Friday the 14th we loaded way too much stuff and headed off to Nashville. Our first stop was to a B3's for lunch before going to the start finish/line to drive the course to locate the aid stations that Nadia would be driving too on Saturday. Once that was done it was time to hit the packet pickup which was at the start/finish line. When we got there we found a tent with a few folks milling around, but it still had the feel of anticipation of race day.
The next few hours consisted of some rest and carbo loading at the Spaghetti Factory downtown . Not sure if it's worth mentioning but we paid $17.00 to park for 2 hours....are you kidding me!!
Well it's finally race day morning, the weather is ideal for the day with 40 low and a 75 for the high with no wind. After we finished gathering up and loaded the car we had some breakfast and a few moments to take a breath. Before going to the race we had to make a stop at Mc D's for a egg mc muffin that I will eat at mile 15. On the way to the race I had to crank up the tunes as I normally do for a long run to the sounds of Bostons' 'SMOKIN"
It's approaching start time as the director gives some final instructions the race begins and we take off to cheers and encouraging words. The majority of the course is on their greenway system with 12 miles on a grass trail which turns out to be very helpful in the latter stages. As we approach mile 2 the course takes a right into the trails, but a few runners ahead miss the marking on the road. So I holler out to them that they missed the turn, not sure if they came back or not.
Before I know it I am approaching mile 6 which is the first aid station where Nadia is waiting with my supply of GU, pretzels, body glide, pbj, cold rags...etc. As I leave she let's me know the next aid station is at mile 9.5. This takes us now to the downtown area where we run across a large pedestrian bridge that has a terrific view of downtown and LP field. Once the course goes out another 2 miles we turn around to hit the previous aid stations and are at mile 22 at the start/finish line.
The next 16 mile consist of many rolling hills and a few large hills with one that is extreme!! As planned I walk most of the hills to try and save the legs for later in the race. There isn't much crowd support but what is there is very appreciated. The course was open to the public so it actually added to the support once they knew what we were doing.
Now as I'm coming back once more to the start/finish line I'm at mile 38 at just under 6 hours of running and the fatigue is staring to set in. I take a few extra minutes at this stop as Nadia is draping me with cold wet towels and words of encouragement. At this point I can realize that I only have 12 miles/2 hours to go which is the first 6 miles of the course and back. As I take off Nadia runs with me for about 1/2 mile before having to return to the car to make it to the next aid station. At mile 40 I'm back on the grass trails for 3 miles but hurting. But help is on the way by a group of 4 that were behind me. I know that sounds strange but I was able to regain form and stay with them up to the aid station at mile 44.
The remaining 6 miles are the most difficult miles that I have ever endured. Nadia walked with me from the aid station for a bit before i was able to start running again. I would continue to run and walk as needed to keep myself going forward as fast as possible. My biggest obstacle starting about mile 38 was the nausea, not sure but we think maybe I took in too much salt. I tried taking my mind back to the training runs and what it took to get to this point. I told myself I'm about to finish a ultra so keep moving!
Finally the finish, I see and hear Nadia. She yells out as my pace quickens to the finish line.
WOW we did it, 18 weeks, 810 miles what a ride!!
I couldn't have a had a better crew than Nadia, no way I could have done this well without her.
There are some terrific pictures from the race on the website nashvilleultra.com
I can't wait for the next one!!
