ADK 46 unsupported FKT - Part 5 - Final Push

ADK 46 unsupported FKT - Part 4

ADK 46 unsupported FKT - Part 3

ADK 46 unsupported FKT - Part 2

ADK 46 unsupported FKT - Part 1

I hiked in from the Garden early in the am. It was cool and dark. I tried to gauge how my legs were feeling, but then I found it best not to worry about that until later. I arrived at John's Brook Lodge just after 6:00 am. My plan to have the hike in stir a bathroom visit worked. I went to the bathroom, ate a snack, and filled up on water all before 6:30. I brought my vest and a hip belt with me. I would take the hip belts on the out and backs starting with Big Slide. I put my Garmin InReach, a few gels, and a small oatmeal biscuit in my hip belt and left the fully loaded vest at the lodge to grab as I passed back through. 
I stood ready at 6:33 under the John's Brook Lodge sign. It seemed fitting to start the hike on an even number, so I waited until 6:35. How did I feel? Anxious, excited, intimidated. I ran down the trail swiftly and then broke out my poles shortly into the climb up Big Slide. The climb is gradual and mild, I made it to the top in 45 minutes putting me three minutes ahead of the previous FKT split. The descent was smooth. In an attempt not to burn out, I took it more cautiously than I felt necessary. Still, I wanted to push myself and see how fast I could go - if that meant burning out and failing, I could always come back and give it another go later this year or next year. I planned to fly as close to the sun as I could. I made it back to JBL with a five minute lead on DJ's splits. I threw my vest on, filled my flask with water, and headed up the mountain. 
I filled up two liters of water near the lean to on the climb. At the junction, I dropped my vest again and took the hip belt up LWJ. I moved well over the rest of the great range. There is plenty of time out there for anyone who can to 3mph or better across that terrain. But, I was moving consistently at a pace that I could manage. The summits came and went. I knew as I descended the Saddleback cliffs that the first crux of the route was in from of me - three steep sustained climbs up Basin, Haystack, and Marcy. I think this is where I began to fall slightly behind on my foot and electrolyte intake. I was forcing food down when I could and I probably should have pounded another tailwind pack after the water stop before Haystack. My goal was the same - keep moving smoothly. I was gaining time on DJ's time and I anticipated being roughly 30 mins ahead as I pushed over Marcy. 
With the Great Range behind me, I started to feel the fatigue in my adductors - the rest of my legs felt pretty solid and I was still moving smoothly on the downhills. After a quick water stop at the four corners, I bagged Skylight and then began the long descent to Lake Colden. I used this descent to eat lots of food and drink lots of water - I needed the fuel. On the west side of Lake Colden I began climbing Boundary and things were going well until my legs started to seize up at the top of the climb. I was hobbling a little and feeling sharp pain with every step in my adductor muscles. I sat down for two minutes to roll out my muscles with a trekking pole before pushing to the break off for Iroquois. This was a slow out and because my legs kept locking up. I took about three minutes on Iroquois to stretch out my legs. I knew I was losing time but I also knew that I would get the record if I could just keep moving. Algonquin went well and I ran down to Wright where my legs froze up again. On the uphills, it was painful and slowed me down a lot. I could still move downhill decently.
I lost time on the descent from Wright, but not too much. I was saving something for the final 700 ft climb up Mt. Jo. I ran through the lot at the LOJ welcome center. I started up Jo gingerly. nearly 30 miles and 15,0000 ft in at this point, I knew that my legs would lock up again if I climbed too quickly. I saw that I was going to get the record, so now I needed to push to get up as smoothly as I could. My legs stayed with me for one more climb before I turned back. I opened up on the final quater mile into a sprint. Surprisingly, I still had it in me to run hard on that final stretch.
I touched the ADK LOJ sign above the entrance, stopped my watch, and fell to the ground. 
I started out feeling strong and as the day wore on, I began to doubt myself more and more. For most of the day, it felt as though there was still so much left in front of me. The vision of running that last quarter mile for the record had run through my head countless times. There I was, sprinting to finish a day that tested my spirit. This is the first time I've gone after an FKT and I am sure the time will get bested before long - this route is incredible and I hope to see more people get after it. Still, I fell in love with pushing myself in this way. Time aside, this is a challenging route that is a true test of Adirondack running. 

Thanks for all of the support y'all <3 and thanks to Dj Fox and Jonathan Zaharek for the encouragement and trail beta. 

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Scott B

Bob Marshall FKT - 11:29:27

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ADK 46 unsupported FKT - Part 5 - Final Push

ADK 46 unsupported FKT - Part 4

ADK 46 unsupported FKT - Part 3

ADK 46 unsupported FKT - Part 2

ADK 46 unsupported FKT - Part 1

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