Dam Insane 40K Trail Run - Purified in the waters of Lake Pleasant!

Yeah that's the title of the run. "Dam Insane". A play on the word Dam as the run takes runners across the Lake Pleasant Dam. So here's the info from the Aravaipa Running website:

7:00 AM – 40 Km (Dam Insane) Start7:30 AM – 26 Km (Dam Crazy) Start7:45 AM – 13 Km (Dam Tough) Start8:00 AM – 4 Mile (Dam Challenging) Start8:00 AM – 2 Mile (Dam Fun) Start


The Dam Good Run is a unique opportunity to run across the New Waddell Dam. Aravaipa Running in partnership with Lake Pleasant Regional Park brings you this 12th Annual run, walk & hike. New this year is a 40 kilometer & 26 kilometer option on many of the park’s newest trails!

A full marathon is 42.195 Km. The Dam Insane run is 40Km. There's a 2.195 Km difference. Or 1.34 miles. So guess who was running around the parking lot and boat ramp area right before the start of the race. I'll give you a hint... Not the brightest person's blog you're reading! :)

Mistake number 1!

Mistake number 2 would be wearing shoes not tested on the trails, just on the street. The Hoka Challenger ATR V2s. Hell everyone knows the saying "Nothing new on race day!" But noooooo. Challenge Accepted.

In summary, I take a self proclaimed "Insane" run; add milage to make it an unofficial marathon distance in untested shoes on unfamiliar terrain in Arizona during late April.

Let's get the part that you're interested in before I babble endlessly about my pain and darkness.
The run was absolutely beautiful. The vistas in the back country across the desert. Seeing wild donkeys was a total surprise! They didn't seem started, but seem to ask themselves "why are these humans out here in the back country? They maybe crazy. Let's watch them for a while and see who dies first." And yes, I have video.

The announcers told us at the start the climb to "The Point" would be worth the effort. The point was the highest point of the run and when we got there... for that moment... Oh my... Took my breath away. The beauty of the lake against the desert back drop and the ability to see for miles in every direction. Simply stunning.

But that climb though - the redish one in the graph above. On a single track goat path!!! One mistake and that would be more than just a tumble. The climb had me thinking back to the extreme pain of The North Face Endurance 1/2 Marathon!
But this was my mile 17ish!?

Big shout out to the volunteers. Oh the volunteers were wonderful! They were kind and tended to our needs with the care and concern of a professional support crew. Inquired of our mental state, especially for us slower folks who were in the back of the pack. I can't thank them enough for their presence. Only distance trail runners understand what a life line these folks are.

We hung out at the aid stations waaaaaay too long. We, being the Gang of Five that had a quiet mental bond for around 8-10 miles. We lost one at the last aid station, his mile 21. Great effort! And man it was hot by then.

The heat was deceptive. The heat was a secondary element to all the other challenges the course brought to the table. Climbing was extreme which taxed runners that weren't prepared. Couple of small creek crossings were a curve ball. The sights were a constant distraction from the heat. There were the occasional breezes that gave us the false illusion of coolness as the temperature continued to rise.

I drank more water and went through more water (dumping on head and cooling sleeves) on this run than I've ever been through before.

The finish was strategically placed at the top of a boat ramp. As a result several runners made it out to purify themselves in the waters of Lake Pleasant at the end of a grueling adventure in the back country. (RIP #Prince). Yes, I required purification after the most difficult run on record for me.

The cool waters temporarily removed all the screaming pain with the coolness of the still crystal clear waters that would aid in my eventual recovery.

I had planned that moment for the last few miles of the race to get in that water and to get my Taco Bell freeze! So dip I did to relieve an aching body, fractured mentality, but still gleeful soul.

For miles I had zoned into the thought, if it ain't broken, torn, or bleeding no matter how much it screams, ignore and subdue it! PERIOD! Keep moving.

For seven miles our little pack alternated hiking with momentary bouts of power jogging. We were all in pain. All fractured. But determined and relying on each other to keep pushing forward.

In Aravaipa Running fashion, there was that signature break whatever will you have left climb right before the finish. WTF!?!? Y'all ain't right for those, but at least you know you running with Aravaipa if at the very end when you get a little happy, your joy is stolen from you when you see that final climb that will take everything you have left before you can really call it done.

This run left carnage all over the place. The medical kits were in full swing on this one. I consider myself fortunate to endure to the end without shedding blood, falling to heat stroke, twisting an ankle, or needing the be lifted off the side of the mountain by helicopter (no reports of that from our run group, but that's common here in AZ during the hotter months).

Now for my byotch session...

First four miles were great. On asphalt or hard packed dirt! Shoes performed flawlessly and as expected. Accidentally grabbed barbed wire fence on the creek crossing. Ouchy. But his little boo boo would pale in comparison to the pain forthcoming.

Around my mile 11ish I'm asking for tape at the aid station from the med kit due to a developing hot spot (read painful developing blister) that is severe enough that I'm changing my stride to compensate. Tape up my heel and toe as if I'm some amateur licensed nurse. Plus, the temp is quickly rising and we have yet to make the biggest climb. Remember I have roughly 16 more miles to go!

Mile 15ish, I'm in pain. Like never before. Feet are tender as slow cooked Boston butt over a 175 degree apple wood smoke after 18 hours. Yeah, like that. With the actual heat trying to cook us literally from above; heat lamp style.

For ten miles I'm in shoes where every step is feeling as if the rocky terrain is a meat tenderizer and my foot is the meat from a second hand grocer fresh out the freezer and the party is in an hour!

I lie here typing this out feeling every pulse of my heart beat in my feet! I've never been in this kind of torment. Not even after my 50k in the wrong shoes. My feet hurt so bad after the run as I sat in the shower fully clothed, I was afraid to take my socks off to see if the visual matched the pain. LOL, like a kid that waits to see blood before the cries.

Fortunately the visual didn't match the pain.

Despite the torture. It was a good day. This was a training run and I got my ass handed to me. The goal was to finish around six. Was 30 mins off that goal. Under 15 min pace. Was slightly off that goal. And to consider the mental strengthening needed. There were several moments at my lowest where all it took was a reminder that if this was the 100K I would have a whole lot more distance to cover, so suck it up buttercup!

Today? The day after. Sore. But felt better after my run. Yeah, I ran. Have to keep the streak going. Fortunately no blisters to report.

Biggest lesson learned? Don't fvck with a run with Insane in its title and ADD to that shyt while in untested NEW shoes! That's just fvcking stupid. Would I do this run again? Yeah. But ONLY the 40K. I know... I'm insane but not that stupid to do more next time. I learned.

Video coming later this week.