I made hidden peak at 9:02 (2hrs and 32 min), so well within my expectations, fueled up and got out of there four minutes later. The descent to the saddle, and subsequent climb to Mt. Baldy went well, but I was definitely "babying" my knee and so the descent off Baldy and down to "Larrys Hole" aid station at the bottom of Mineral Basin was a little slow and I got passed by several folks, but was still feeling really good. From Larry's hole up to the saddle, and then down to Pacific Mine was pretty punishing, and as steep as that descent is, I found myself having to slow way down to keep my knee from protesting too much.
Again, I was passed by several runners, but my goal was to simply finish this year so I kept my pace where it was despite my desire to keep up. Once down in the basin where Pacific Mine sits, there's a couple of rolling miles along the foothill to the aid station which aren't too steep, and I reeled a couple of them back in :) At the Pacific Mine Aid Station I think I "over indulged", as I felt like "Thanksgiving Aftermath" and had some significant pain in my stomach. Also not helping at all was the stagnant air, lack of cloud cover, and ever-increasing heat on the hike out to the ridge above Mineral Basin. Heading up the climb, I began to feel increasingly uncomfortable and slowed down considerably. As I neared the ridge above Mineral Basin, I decided I needed a push, and so I took a 200mg, time-release caffeine pill, along with some Motrin to limit the swelling in my left knee. This was the ticket!
I took a picture of myself with Mt. Timpanogos in the background, started to have some increased energy, and as a friend caught up with me I was able to hang with him along the ridge, and on the descent into Mineral and up to Larrys Hole Aid Station.
I did decide to "wallow in some mud" on the way down from the ridge, as we were essentially running in a stream from the melt-off, and I slipped and went down hard in the mud and rocks. I popped up and kept running, but knew I was going to feel this one. ;)
At Larrys I chowed on some watermelon and ginger ale, a banana, and some s-caps, and then headed out. Due to the snow, Karl decided just to set a bunch of flags straight up the 40-45 degree slope,
and it was PUNISHING! I arrived at the cat-track at the top, and headed across to the Peruvian Tunnel Aid station. I arrived at 2:14, 46 min ahead of the cuttoff. One point here... this is an AGGRESSIVE cutoff. Many folks miss this cutoff each year. It's just another part of what makes the SpeedGoat the most difficult 50K in North America. From a pure-effort standpoint, it's harder than most 50 Milers.
I felt great heading down the Peruvian Gulch, and the climb up the Cirque was super tough, but it was fun to pass some hikers who were struggling along the trail; they were only 2.5 miles into their hike ;) I also managed to pass a couple of the guys who had passed me on the climb out of Pacific Mine. I arrived at Hidden Peak again at 3:15, and left at 3:20 for the 5.5 mile descent to the finish.
The run to the finish was really sweet, as I managed to keep my knee from arguing too much, and made good time... and passed 6 more people who had passed me earlier. I finished feeling really strong at 4:44 (10 hrs and 14 min elapsed time). Not super fast, but I felt great about it considering the circumstances. A great day in the mountains!
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