Silver Rush 50 2013

Round 2 with the Silver Rush 50

This was Sean's 4th 50 miler and my 2nd.  Clearly I have been slacking.

Here is a link to our race review from last year with more details about the course.  http://ultraveggie.blogspot.com/2012/07/silver-rush-50.html

Sean's ultimate goal was to run it in under 9 hours this year.  I didn't really set a time goal before the race started, but I was hoping to not rupture my Achilles or further injure it and to beat my time from last year. 

Many of you know that both Sean and I have had some Achilles tendonitis issues for the last couple weeks.  Sean's Achilles tendonitis was from lacing his shoes too tight and the shoe putting pressure on the tendon.  Mine has been going on for years- I will jabber about it later. 

Surprisingly, my Achilles pain was finally almost gone before the race started.  I joked that the crash landing off of my bike on Friday on the way home from work cured me, but actually I think it must have been the change in my shoes. My bike looks like it got more injured than I did; I just had some bruises. 

Sean thinks I have pretty legs, I think he is smoking something.

The shoe change: Sean just bought me the Mizuno Ferus shoes on Wednesday night after run club.  My Achilles issues are always related to my lovely Haglund's deformities and bursas that irritate the insertion of my Achilles.

Haglund's Deformity

That isn't actually my foot, but that is pretty much what my heels look like.  The only real treatment options for the condition are wearing backless shoes, orthotics, soft heel countered shoes, heel counters that angle properly, cutting holes in the backs of your shoes,  anti-inflammatories, ice, steroids, steroid injections (controversial), heel lifts, stretching/night splints, or surgery.  I have tried pretty much everything except for surgery.   Surgery is always the last option and a big decision.  There are many risks with that surgery and I won't be having it done until I can no longer manage it.   Anyway, the angle of the soft heel cup and possibly the fact that the shoes are big enough that I can scoot forward in the shoes so my heels don't touch the backs seems to be helping and I had very little pain during the race or after.

If you find me running in these shoes in the future you will know why.

Luna Leadville Hiking Sandals

Oh yah, the race.  So Mike Aish, the winner of Leadville's SilverRush 50 last year and former Olympian volunteered to pace Sean to get him a sub 9 hour time.   (We met Mike the night before at dinner at a friend's cabin- that was one of the most ridiculously nice offers we have ever received- not sure why Mike has had some bad press previously- but that is not at all what we experienced.)  When he offered to pace Sean, we didn't really know much about him, Sean knew how he had finished last year but that was it.  Mike was extremely humble and never even mentioned anything he had accomplished in his life. 

Here is a neat video about Mike from last year.  http://www.coloradorunnermag.com/2012/08/08/mike-aish-crushing-hope/#

Mike had done a 30ish mile run the day before up Mt. Albert and over Hope Pass and was doing the SilverRush mainly as a training run for the LT100 this year.   Mike got the job done and got Sean to the finish line 6 minutes early in spite of his achilles tendonitis and respiratory cold.

Anyway, I think that Mike Aish will do really well at the 100 and he is a great guy as well.  

I ran with Sean's best friend Zack.  We had an awesome time chatting and the time flew by.   We kept thinking that Sean was missing out on the fun run.  I ended up losing Zack at about mile 37 and then the miles started to drag to the finish. I ended up getting to the finish line by making myself run at least 100 steps before I stopped to walk for 30 steps.  It was slow and painful, but I did eventually make it to the finish line. 

As always, I questioned the distance, Zack's Garmin Fenix watch said 48.03 and 23.5 miles at the half way point.  My GPS said that I need to run faster if I expect to run 50 mile races with it.   

photo by JeremyEbel

Sean took off 55 minutes from last year and I took off 49 minutes.  See, I am totally slacking. 


Thanks to the Runner's Roost Crew and all our friends for being out there.  Congratulations to all who ran and toughed out the rain, lightening, the hail, and the terrain. Congratulations to all those who made valiant attempts, but didn't get the chance to finish.  It was awesome to see so many friends out there.  Congratulations to Mike Aish, Leila, Ryan L, Barefoot Alex, Hawaiian Shirt Ray, Zack L, Amy O, Dana K, Woody, Katie O, Trevor W., Alex R., Junko, Oza K., Will L., Cindy D., Phil K., and Amanda H and everyone else I forgot.   Thank you Eddie R, Marissa M, Cory L, Allisa L, Milan K, Margo K, Adrian K, Erin R, Tony D., Jeremy E, Sully, the mustache crew, and Zack's parents for all your support out there.