Notes
The 2007 San Diego 100 (SD100) was to be my 2nd 100 miler after doing the Rio del Lago 100 (RDL100) back in fall 2005. I felt confident and my goal was to beat my PR of 28:55.
Three weeks prior the San Diego 100 I ran the Lake Tahoe Triple Marathon (LTTM) where my left ankle got swollen. After LTTM I went to the doctor and took some X-Rays which showed that everything was OK. I got some medicine, took it and after 2 days the swelling and pain was completely gone.
Between LTTM and SD100 I only had the chance to run one training run; a 7 mile run on flat surface. I was a little bit concerned that I did't prepare myself enough.
The night before the race I had trouble sleeping and only got 1 hour of rest. At 3 AM my wife Linda and I got up to get ready to drive to San Diego, which we did. We arrived there at 5:15 AM and I got ready for the start.
At 6 AM we all took off. I really enjoyed the sunrise and I felt good but a little bit tired. I promised myself to go out slow, which I did. It was particulary interesting to run on the PCT (Pacific Coast Trail).
Linda was sleeping in the morning so I didn't see her on the first aid station (Sunrise 5.9 miles). However she was in the 2nd aid station (Pedro Fages 12.6 miles) and I was glad to see her. At that aid station I was on a sub-27 hour finishing time. Linda is such a trooper to be there because she's 7 months pregnant and came with me even tough I told her not too. Secretly I was really glad she did.
Almost 20 miles into the run I arrived at the 3rd aid station (Museum 19.8 miles). I wasn't happy because my ankle started to hurt again, which was a real bummer. I tried to keep good faith and soon was out to conquer the first challenging hill. Despite the good faith I didn't get a break and my ankle got worst. At the next aid station (Paso Picacho 25.8 miles). There I rest for about 5 minutes before I left.
Along the way to the next aid station (Big Bend 30.7 miles) the pain got a bit much so I took an ibuprofen, something I usually never do. Arriving at that aid station I told Linda that the ibuprofen didn't help at all and I put on a pressure sock, hoping to keep the swelling down. I would not see Linda until the last aid station in the first loop since the next one (Milk Ranch Rd 36.5 miles) was not accessible by car. During that time I got constantly slower sometimes even walking the downhills. I kept pushing on hoping to get a 2nd wind which didn't happen.
Arriving at the Sweetwater aid station (42.8 miles) I was really down and sat there for 15 minutes. There Linda and I talked about dropping from the race but decided to keep going at least 50 miles and hoping things would still turn around for my favor. With this little hope I took off. Along this last part of loop one things went worst and I took another ibuprofen which didn't help either. It took me over 2.5 hours to do this 7.4 miles, a distance I usually do in 1 hour and 15 minutes. I arrived at the 50 mile aid station with only 45 minutes to the first loop cut-off time but still 2 hours and 45 minutes to the second loop cut-off time.
I decided to drop out of the race NOT because of my pain or tireness but because of the fear of doing some real damage to my ankle. It was a very difficult decision. I definitely will be back next year because I have unfinished business here.