The week before my race started off poorly. I came down with some type of stomach bug that kept me knocked down all week. I took the entire week off from running, which was already a taper week, but a little running would have been good. By Friday, the tummy was feeling better but not perfect. Oh well, that wasn't going to stop me.
Woke up at 4:30am, guzzled down an Ensure and a cup of coffee, and we were off to the starting line. Lori dropped me off, and I immediately got in the porta-potty line. Then we all headed over in complete darkness to the starting line. I met up with some of my group, and before you knew it, the horn blew and we were off.
The first 27 miles of the race are on a paved bike trail, and are very uneventful. There were aid stations along the way to get snacks and fill up water bottles. In the first 20 miles, I had to stop twice to "go", and I mean "go". I was feeling okay, keeping a good 9 min mile pace. The most exciting part of this stretch was near William Land Park, there were 3 ducks sitting right by the side of the trail, and it looked they were just there to watch the race.
Then somewhere about mile 20, I suddenly started getting achy. My legs turned into lead, my ankles hurt, I felt like I had totally run out of gas. In my head, I started saying "There is no way..." Lori and my crew (Moki, Emmy and niece Catherine) were waiting at the first major aid station, Beals Point. This is also where the course changes from paved trail to very hill, rocky single track dirt trail.
There is a big hill leading up to Beals. I walked for more than a mile, just feeling terrible. Then Hawaii Mike caught up and I told him I was stopping at Beals. Then Paula caught up, and I told her. Then Ed caught up, and I told him. So now I had fully convinced myself that it was over. As I approached Beals, I ran it in. I found Lori and started to tell her that I was done. "No you aren't!" Then Coach Nikon was suddenly there telling me exactly what I needed to do. He said that the legs will bounce back after I get on the dirt, that I needed to stop eating the solid food and switch to Cokes and GU for the rest of the race. I'm not sure what really happened, but I had hit the first serious Wall in my running career, and Lori and Coach pushed me up and over it.
From Beals, the course quickly turned to beautiful trail, and my attitude and body did a complete 180. It was like I started a whole new race. My pace picked up considerably and I fell into a nice groove. It's difficult to pass people on these trails, so you end up in conga lines. These proved to also be lifesavers, because they forced me to keep a slow but steady pace, and to keep walking the hills. At each Aid Station from here on out, I just had Coke. I also ran a number of these miles with Partner Jim. He was hurting, but it's not a run with Jim if he's not hurting in someway. It was nice to have someone to run with for a while. Jim is a horse, he just keeps plowing forward even though you know he's in pain.
My next goal was to get to Rattlesnake, because I knew Lori, the Crew and Nikon were going to be there. I couldn't wait to get there to let them know I was running a new race. I could hear the cheering as I came down the hill, and saw my Cat waiting on the hill. She ran down with me, and this aid station was a completely different experience. I got all emotional because I was so happy that I hadn't quit, and I knew it was because of support team! Coach took one of my bottles to lighten my load and I was off again. 9 miles to go.
9 miles seems doable! Especially if you don't count the last 3, which are all uphill (which means I'd be walking). The next 6 miles turned out to be pretty tough. My quads and calfs were on fire at the point. Whenever I stepped funny on a rock or root, It felt like I could pull a muscle. I ended up walking/shuffling more of this than expected, because my legs were really giving out. Then I finally got the bottom of the hill. And there was a familiar face, Kathy, taking pictures! 3 miles to go. I knew I'd walk a lot of this, and I did. I just couldn't get the calves to stop biting! Then close to the top, there was Coach taking pics, then right after that, with .5 miles to go, Cat was waiting for me again. Together, we ran in the last .5 miles. Crossing that finish line and getting my jacket was really unbelievable. We worked so hard for the moment.
We left early after the race because I had 2 tired dogs, 1 tired niece and 1 super tired pregnant wife. Got home and had a little pizza, 2 beers and fell asleep on the floor watching "Cloud with a Chance of Meatballs". I got a terrible nights sleep though. Woke up often so sore I couldn't believe it. Got up to pee at one point and felt like I was going to get sick and got kind of dizzy. But I got up early, ate a little for breakfast and a little more for lunch, and actually ran a few errands. But now it's 3 and I'm ready for bed.
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Monday, March 15, 2010
Ultra numero uno!
The race started at 8am, and we were instructed to get there by 6am to avoid the parking jam. I left home at 5:40, a little later than expected, then realized I needed gas. After filling up, I got back on the freeway and was immediately pulled over by a cop. Turns out, my registration was expired! So after all that, I got on my way, arriving at the race around 7:15.
The temp at 7:15 was 35 degrees, but the sun was coming out and we were expecting a big warm up. So I started with just a t-shirt and my arm bands. This turned out to be perfect clothing choice, because it did get hot later.
So the gun goes off. The first 3 miles are on paved road, and the lead guys took off FAST. I kept an okay 8 min pace, doing my best not to get caught up going out too fast. The first 7 miles were uneventful, other than a ton of mud. It had poured all day Friday, so the trails and streams were overflowing with water and mud, and then having 575 people tromp through it, it got pretty mucky! The first aid station was at 7 miles, and because I had my own GU and 2 water bottles, I didn't stop. This wasn't a great decision, because by the time I got to the 16 mile station, my bottles were empty.
Around mile 13, I had pretty much stayed dry and was cruising along at about an 8:30 pace. I was running with a small pack and having fun. Then I took my eye off the trail for a second, and clipped my foot on something and did a full tumble, landing smack in a pretty good size stream of mud. But I was okay, got up and kept going. There were 2 good size hills in the first 16 miles, and in my head, I mistakenly thought that these two the two huge hills, Ball Bearing and Goat Hill. So I was feeling good, because I thought the major hills were out of the way. Ha!
Around mile 15, I got a coach boost from old Coach Bob, who was out in the boonies cheering people on. This gave me a 5 mile boost of good thoughts.
The second aid station was a relief. I filled my bottles and was craving sweets. Rice krispie treats and Paydays bars did the trick. Then it was off running again.
The next section was Dead Truck Trail, which we had never seen on out training runs. This was the first of two really large river crossings. (See pic) There were plenty of smaller creeks that still required full dunking of your feet, but these went "balls deep" if you know what I mean. But they felt good, the icy water seems to help my sore knee.
This was around mile 20, and the fatigue was starting to set in. Next came the real Ball Bearing Hill. Nearly a half mile of straight up climbing. The mud was so deep and slippery that it felt like one step forward, two steps back. I had many bad words slip out of my mouth as we climbed this beast. But then at the top, another aid station. This one at about mile 22, and I was so thankful.
At the aid station I accidentally contaminated the GU Brew of everyone behind me by tossing a used GU wrapper into the Brew. :P It looked like a garbage can! I got scolded for making a rookie mistake. This aid station, sweet was out and all I wanted was salt. I had a handful of potato chips and my new found best thing, boiled potatoes dipped into salt. Sounds gross, but that's what I needed! Then off running again.
It's really hard to get going again after stopping at the aid stations, even though you are only there for about 3 mins. The next section was Goat Hill, which is actually steeper than BB, but not as long. I was thankful to finally get there, because you are forced to walk. So even though its hard, it's sort of a mental break. There was another AS at the top, at mile 26. This was another welcome station. This time, just ate potatoes. This was also a good one, because it was the end of marathon, and now ultra marathon. I was now running further than I had ever gone.
I had 5 miles to go, but these were brutal. This was about the only time I was getting passed on a regular basis. I walked more than expected these last few miles. I was trying to play games, counting down the miles on my watch. I was also trying to make it in in less than 5:30, but realized here that that wasn't going to happen. So i trucked along, ate my final GU (3) and sort of walked/ran/shuffled. I was only doing about 12 min miles at this point, but it felt like a sprint.
One last AS at mile 29, but I didn't stop. You can hear the finish line from here, but that still wasn't enough to keep me running. I ran/walked until I saw the one mile to go sign, then ran the rest of the way in. My coaches had finished 40 mins and 30 mins ahead of me, and were there cheering on at the end. It was a big adreneline rush crossing that mudding finish line at 5:39.
Then I hosed off a ton of mud, at some lunch, got a 30 min massage, drank a beer, then went home. The whole time out there, I kept saying "how am I gonna do 50 miles next month?" But now that it's over, and other than being pretty sore, I can't wait for the next one!!
Food eaten:
1 pack of Powerbar gels
3 GUs
2 very small rice krispie treat
2 chunks of Payday bar
3 small red potato halfs with salt
handful of potato chips
lots of water
The temp at 7:15 was 35 degrees, but the sun was coming out and we were expecting a big warm up. So I started with just a t-shirt and my arm bands. This turned out to be perfect clothing choice, because it did get hot later.
So the gun goes off. The first 3 miles are on paved road, and the lead guys took off FAST. I kept an okay 8 min pace, doing my best not to get caught up going out too fast. The first 7 miles were uneventful, other than a ton of mud. It had poured all day Friday, so the trails and streams were overflowing with water and mud, and then having 575 people tromp through it, it got pretty mucky! The first aid station was at 7 miles, and because I had my own GU and 2 water bottles, I didn't stop. This wasn't a great decision, because by the time I got to the 16 mile station, my bottles were empty.
Around mile 13, I had pretty much stayed dry and was cruising along at about an 8:30 pace. I was running with a small pack and having fun. Then I took my eye off the trail for a second, and clipped my foot on something and did a full tumble, landing smack in a pretty good size stream of mud. But I was okay, got up and kept going. There were 2 good size hills in the first 16 miles, and in my head, I mistakenly thought that these two the two huge hills, Ball Bearing and Goat Hill. So I was feeling good, because I thought the major hills were out of the way. Ha!
Around mile 15, I got a coach boost from old Coach Bob, who was out in the boonies cheering people on. This gave me a 5 mile boost of good thoughts.
The second aid station was a relief. I filled my bottles and was craving sweets. Rice krispie treats and Paydays bars did the trick. Then it was off running again.
The next section was Dead Truck Trail, which we had never seen on out training runs. This was the first of two really large river crossings. (See pic) There were plenty of smaller creeks that still required full dunking of your feet, but these went "balls deep" if you know what I mean. But they felt good, the icy water seems to help my sore knee.
This was around mile 20, and the fatigue was starting to set in. Next came the real Ball Bearing Hill. Nearly a half mile of straight up climbing. The mud was so deep and slippery that it felt like one step forward, two steps back. I had many bad words slip out of my mouth as we climbed this beast. But then at the top, another aid station. This one at about mile 22, and I was so thankful.
At the aid station I accidentally contaminated the GU Brew of everyone behind me by tossing a used GU wrapper into the Brew. :P It looked like a garbage can! I got scolded for making a rookie mistake. This aid station, sweet was out and all I wanted was salt. I had a handful of potato chips and my new found best thing, boiled potatoes dipped into salt. Sounds gross, but that's what I needed! Then off running again.
It's really hard to get going again after stopping at the aid stations, even though you are only there for about 3 mins. The next section was Goat Hill, which is actually steeper than BB, but not as long. I was thankful to finally get there, because you are forced to walk. So even though its hard, it's sort of a mental break. There was another AS at the top, at mile 26. This was another welcome station. This time, just ate potatoes. This was also a good one, because it was the end of marathon, and now ultra marathon. I was now running further than I had ever gone.
I had 5 miles to go, but these were brutal. This was about the only time I was getting passed on a regular basis. I walked more than expected these last few miles. I was trying to play games, counting down the miles on my watch. I was also trying to make it in in less than 5:30, but realized here that that wasn't going to happen. So i trucked along, ate my final GU (3) and sort of walked/ran/shuffled. I was only doing about 12 min miles at this point, but it felt like a sprint.
One last AS at mile 29, but I didn't stop. You can hear the finish line from here, but that still wasn't enough to keep me running. I ran/walked until I saw the one mile to go sign, then ran the rest of the way in. My coaches had finished 40 mins and 30 mins ahead of me, and were there cheering on at the end. It was a big adreneline rush crossing that mudding finish line at 5:39.
Then I hosed off a ton of mud, at some lunch, got a 30 min massage, drank a beer, then went home. The whole time out there, I kept saying "how am I gonna do 50 miles next month?" But now that it's over, and other than being pretty sore, I can't wait for the next one!!
Food eaten:
1 pack of Powerbar gels
3 GUs
2 very small rice krispie treat
2 chunks of Payday bar
3 small red potato halfs with salt
handful of potato chips
lots of water
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