Promise Land 2006

Wow, a year has already came and gone since my last Promise Land experience.  How a year can change.  Last year when I ran Promise Land, no one knew of me or why I was running these ‘ultra-races.’  I came into Promise Land this year actually known and pretty fit as I’ve been gearing all of my training for the MMT 100 miler in May.  I was surprised when Dr. Horton seeded me #3 and realized I probably would not finish in that position given the entrants. 

I arrived at Promise Land with a ton of doubts about how well I would do as I had many variables to contend with: 1.) I had ran the Umstead 50 Miler in Raleigh, NC on April 8, just two weeks before Promise Land; The heat and the stupid pace early on (3:24 at 25 miles) took a toll on my legs as the surface was much harder than I had anticipated; and it was just my second ever 50 miler.  2.) I had gotten sick mid-day on Wednesday and went out for a run and almost went down 2 miles into the run as I was dizzy and extremely nauseas, 3.) I arrived at Promise Land on antibiotics – having no idea how those things would react in my system. 

The evening before was pretty uneventful, driving to Bedford and setting up camp for the night in the back of my SUV. I told Dr. Horton that my only goal was to break 5:40 and with that I’d be extremely satisfied; he laughed at me and thought I’d be faster based upon my Bel-Monte 50k time the previous month.  The morning of the race came and went; up at 4:15, guzzled a Boost, a ton of water, and a Redbull, made a quick portajohn stop and was ready to line up. A pack of about 6 dashed up the mountain clocking an 8:41 first mile and already sweating like mad.  Luckily, the rain came and made it darker much longer than it should have been; thank goodness for wearing a headlamp!  As we crested the top of the mountain a few guys behind me started telling me that my shorts were falling off of me.  Indeed; I had packed one fluid/gel pack mix in the pocket and with the weight of the rain it was pulling my shorts completely off.  I’m running downhill holding my shorts and trying not to fall; I’m sure it was a spectacle to be seen.  I managed to tighten my drawstring and proceed without missing a beat. 

I kept Mike Mason and Brian Kistner in sight a majority of the way until we crossed the Blue Ridge Parkway; this was the end of my race; I could tell for some reason that my body was not absorbing my fluid very well despite the fact I was peeing frequently; 2X up to this point.  I must have ‘bonked’ a little on this section as a few people passed me on the long downhill.  I managed to make it from aid station to aid station but never really felt good.  Thank goodness for Dan Villarreal catching me; he provided the spark I needed and I managed to stay in front of him as long as I could until the Apple Orchard Climb.  For some reason the small cup of chicken noodle soup refused to sit on my stomach and I puked my guts out no less than 6X up the climb.  No one ever passes me on climbs; this time 6 people passed me!  I managed to keep Jenn Shelton in sight as my long legs assisted me in climbing the stairs and used her to pull me along.  When I got into the aid station at the BRP I managed to get to my drop bag and guzzle some Spizz – a protein/high calorie drink and a can of V-8.  Within 2 minutes I felt great; I managed to start running and running fast; I had 5:10 on my watch as I left the aid station and I knew I needed to run fast to have any attempt to break 6 hours.

 I ran as hard as I could and wished I had felt like this at mile 12 instead of now; I passed Bryon Backer on the descent and kept the hammer down; I felt redeemed as he made fun of me last year as he dared me to jump a downed tree about 7 miles into the race and I fell hard and barrel rolled quite a ways and ending my race as the wind was knocked very hard out of me.  I clocked a 6:30 final mile and felt super.  I ended up with a 5:51.19 – not what I wanted but close given the fact I only felt like I was operating at 70% effort.  Two days later, I’m still limping and wondering if I should just have backed out of Promise Land – my knee hurts – a physical therapy appointment made me feel better as they didn’t think I tore anything (Must have been when I slipped on the steps climbing up Apple Orchard.) and I’m trying to recover to get a tiny bit more training in for MMT 100.  The race was tough but I loved every minute of it. 

I’m so thankful to finish each ultra and learning something new every time I run one.  The races like these could never be successful without a great director like Dr. Horton, the sponsors, and of course the volunteers.  I’ll keep coming back to Promise Land for many years to come.  Congratulations to all who finished and managed not to get hit by lighting on the mountain top!

~Nick Whited