The Human Body is capable of amazing things

This past saturday was my 40 mile run. The longest run of my life thus far. I went through the gamut of feelings during my run...everything to phenomenal to completely beat down and back again.

My friend Jim (who is also running the 50 miler) and I left Niketown just before 11:30 on saturday morning in high spirits. We were both about to embark on the longest run of our lives. I'd previously done 60K (37.2) a couple times and Jim had done 33 miles the weekend before. We entered Central Park at 5th and 59th and headed up to the northern end to meet up with Ramon (a RUN NYC and TNT coach) who was celebrating his 41st birthday by running 41 upper loops of the park (57ish miles). We ran into him on the west side and joined his entourage for about half of an upper loop before parting ways at 110th street. Ramon had already done 37 miles by the time we caught up with him. Jim and I could only hope to be feeling as strong as Ramon seemed when we hit the 38 mile mark.

We ran west on 110th until we go to Riverside Park and then proceeded north until we found a path down into the park away from Riverside Drive. We ran along the dirt path until it ended at the tennis courts, where we followed a narrow path around the edge of the courts. When that path ended, we found ourselves on a road just above the West Side Highway that didn't have much traffic but looked like a highway. Eventually, that spit us out up near 125th street where we navigated our way back onto the greenway. Continuing north we eventually made it up to the GW Bridge and walked most of the ridiculously steep path and road that led us up to the MTA station at the bridge. We ran inside, literally ran through the station, and picked up some gatorade and some quick snack food and started the traverse across the bridge.

Once in Jersey, we jumped onto the northern trail in Palisades State Park and began our assault on the woods. I started feeling very fatigued and a little nauseated, but continued running on. I mentioned my state to Jim and he agreed to slow down the pace and take it a little easier, but my condition continued to deteriorate. My pace continued to slow and I became more verbal about how bad I was feeling. Jim, always thinking of others first, stated that he thought we should walk for awhile. I agreed and we started alternating walking and running as my nausea continued to worsen. Eventually we were doing more walking than running. I told Jim he could continue running and I'd fend for myself, but he wouldn't budge.

We were closer to the park headquarters at the north end of the park than we were to Manhattan, so we decided to keep moving forward and make the 5 miles to the headquarters and reassess the situation there. As I continued to feel worse, Jim kept encouraging me. Eventually we came upon a staircase where I sat down to try and recover a little and to try and calm my nausea. As I sat there with my arms resting on my knees, I saw the skin on my legs begin to undulate wildly. Realizing I was hallucinating, I knew my day was over. There was no way I was going to finish the run.

After a couple minutes, I got up and Jim and I crossed a small service road and reentered the trees. Jim offered me a GU saying that the ginger might settle my stomach. Just the thought of trying to eat anything was making my stomach turn, but I knew I needed some sort of nourishment. I was completely falling apart. Minutes after taking in the GU, my stomach settled and I was back to running. I still felt very fatigued, but I was able to run again.

A few miles later at around the 20 mile mark, we reached the park headquarters just as rain started to fall. We entered the small building and refilled water. Jim found a vending machine and I grabbed a Mt. Dew, which I immediately drank along with another GU. As I regained some strength and Jim drank two Brisk Iced Teas, the thunderstorm unleashed its fury while we huddled under a small porch trying to decide what to do. I was feeling much better, but we weren't sure how long the storm was going to last.

There was a small break in the storm, so we decided to try our luck. The rain was still falling, but not very hard. We ran down the road and then entered the trail getting our first taste of the new terrain created by the rain. Mud and water were everywhere. My shoes were soaked through within minutes, but we continued running. The driving rain returned and brought thunder and lightening with it. The storm worsened and the light strikes were so close we could feel the heat. We had not choice but to press on, there was nowhere to take shelter except for a bunch of trees. The trail was covered in sometimes six inches of water. We continued on.

Eventually after a number of miles, thousands of raindrops, and countless lightening strikes, the rain subsided and we found dry ground again. With the absence of the rain came the reemergence of the heat. One foot in front of the other. The pace was slow, but we were still making progress. Eventually reaching the GW Bridge, we ran back into Manhattan and went back into the MTA Station to refuel once again.

Once again, I started feeling ill, but once again, a GU quickly settled my stomach and we were able to make some slow progress again. We continued down the west side debating how far we were going to run and where we were going to end the epic run. Eventually we decided to run all the way downtown to the Runners' Station located at Harrison and the West Side Highway, which would make our total somewhere around 42 miles. We were both beginning to feel the fatigue set in as Jim started calling some of our friends so that we could laugh at ourselves and tell them how bad we felt.

The sun began to set and the dark clouds began to roll in as thunder rumbled in the distance. It was now a race against Mother Nature's impending fury. She'd already beat us earlier in the day and as much as we wanted to hurry our pace to thwart her, we lacked the energy. With each slow step, our doom was sealed. Just north of Chelsea Piers the rain began. The pouring rain soaked us in an moments. We sought shelter for a short time, but decided to just get the day over with and went back out into the driving sheets of rain. For two miles we continued a slow, sloshing trudge down the West Side Highway. About a mile away, I knew I was on deep energy reserves and found myself grunting my way down the path. Eventually the Runners' Station came into view and Jim and I knew our long test of will had come to an end. I unlocked the station and we went in to wait out the storm and recount our run.

I was amazed I was able to bring my body out of the poor state it was in at around mile 13 and run another 29 miles. It was a test of both physical and mental fortitude that I was able to pass with Jim's help and encouragement. I was the weak link, but we were able to work through it and finish out the run. I think we both learned from the experience and it will benefit both of us on race day.

Thank you Jim. There's no one else I'd rather pound 50 miles out with. Let's crush this race and then look forward to bigger, tougher, and more insane. We both have trouble stating why we want to do these things, but I know we both understand.