Hey guys just giving you the simple lo-down on my first 100 miler that I did on Saturday 03-01-08. I started off at 3:30 in the morning on saturday ran a 31 mile leg and then took a 30 minute break. Leg 2 was 27 miles and generally easy still at this point only one small wall that was easy to overcome. It had been really easy at this point because a 10:15-11:00 mile pace is like candy to me and just enjoyable. Finally some pain was felt throughout leg 3 which was 24 miles, pounding feet, and some sore muscles but wow do salt pills help out more than ever! All the pain during this leg was very easily manageable and I was on an endorphin high I think for most of this leg so that was pleasant
Finally the leg where I actually felt like holy crap this is tough was leg 4. Again another 24 mile leg starting off at 9:15 at night and ending at 1:45 the next morning. You guys had told me that twilight running was the most difficult and most challenging however, I found it to be the most relieving, cooling part of the run, but previous runs I have done I had ran through night many times before so it wasnt anything new. Anyway the pain, mile 86 haha it was crazy usual physical pain you know wobbling sore knees, muscles that are sore as death, feet that have become one solid callous and so on. The pain I am talking about though was nothing like what I had felt before… It was all in the head all mental.. it was a mental wall. My mom was riding with me on this leg and trying to keep conversation with me so I wouldnt drift away she was asking me things like Nick, “what do you want to do in the future?”, “what is 3+18?” “what is your favorite color?” really stupid simple questions I thought with one part of my brain and I was asking myself “why is she asking me these stupid questions?” However no matter how much I tried I couldnt come up with an answer for my favorite color, or the math question or my future I couldnt remember it was strange and almost scary whatever part of my brain holds memories I guess had fallen asleep already or shutdown…that lasted mile 89 where I took a break at a gas station and ate several candy bars and a Starbucks double shot and then beat the crap out of the last miles hyped on caffeine and sugar…and that was the worst of it, that mental wall. I got back to my car at 1:45am 3-02-08 and was done.. that was it I had run 100 miles in 22 hours and 15 minutes setting myself my new distance PR. It was so much easier than I thought it would be, I have ran marathons that were harder, but none the less I am doing nothing but chilling and recovering this next couple fo days.. So nextly I’ll enter in an official trail run 100 and try my luck there. Cool well thanks for the advice guys and hopefully our paths will cross soon in future races! -Nick Hollon (P.S. any good 100 milers out here in San Diego besides the San Diego endurance 100 later in June?) I will also have pics for this up and hopefully funny captions following them. (If I dont get the pics up they can be viewed on [1] www.myspace.com/3000forthecure just click view pics and then ya read the captions their hilarious)