Hello Blog, have you missed me?
Let’s go ahead and dispense with the formalities. It rained. It was muddy. It was fun! The official results not posted yet.
Arrival at Huntsville State Park Friday at around 1:30 pm found Chris and Miles working hard at getting the aid station set up. My plan was to help them, so pitched in and helped wherever they directed me, including stringing strand after strand after strand of Christmas lights and hauling supplies from the lodge. Oh, and testing said Christmas lights while a torrential downpour was in progress… interesting, but stupid. We did everything we could so that all they really had to do was unload the perishable food in the morning and start cooking. I missed the pre-race briefing, but I ALWAYS read the race document so felt I was well prepared for the race the next day.
I am so lucky to have friends like Deborah Sexton! She organized the hotel room for the weekend and the Friday night pre-race dinner at the Farmhouse Café on 14th Street in Huntsville. As usual the NTTR group was very friendly and we had a nice chat (newbies and ultra veterans alike) before going back to the hotel to get our things ready for Saturday morning.
There were 5 ladies in one hotel room and there were no problems with everyone taking their turn in the restroom. LOL. As usual, I showered and put on my base layer and my socks before going to bed. I put my timing chip on the ankle strap, drank some water and went to bed. When we woke up Saturday morning, the storm going on outside was EPIC! That had been the forecast all week, and we paid to play, so let’s get this show on the road! The 100 mile race started at 6 am, and I arrived at the park in time to see them head out through the woods in the downpour. There were some friends who offered to crew for me because another one of their friends was running his first 50, so I found them and headed to the start at around 6:50, in plenty of time for the starting gun. It is customary to check in with the timing people prior to the start of this race, so I asked where the check-in table was located. When I was told that the timing chip was the check-in as we crossed the mat… I felt a huge pit in my stomach. I had forgotten my chip at the hotel. The stream of expletives that escaped my mouth was another EPIC occurrence at Rocky Raccoon 2012! I never thought to ask for another chip, so I RAN the half mile back to where my car was parked and DROVE back to the hotel to get my chip. It was the DUMBASS runner move of the day.
When I got back to the start line, I threw my car keys at the crew and headed out to the trail. As I passed the timing tent I said, I guess we can start when we are good and ready, right? I was so angry, I think I started with 16 or 17 minutes on the clock, and I had a pretty serious time goal as far as I was concerned, having emailed a pace chart for a 13:20 finish to all my friends with a note that stated “no Crazy outfits this time, I am serious.” Starting the race late does not really qualify as serious, right? As I headed out to join 700 other crazy folks on the trail, I just tried to forget how stupid I felt and focus on the task at hand. I don’t usually run much, but planned to run/walk this race. The 50 mile course is 3 16.67 mile loops and the plan was to finish each loop as close to 4:26 as I could, that would give me an average pace of 16:00 per mile. My finish time for the previous two 50 milers I completed was around 16:45, for an average pace of 20:06; so, if I completed this one according to plan, the PR would be another EPIC occurrence at Rocky Raccoon 2012. Since I don’t have official results and splits, the part of the story where I talk about my loop times will be estimated.
Back to the story – It was not long before I encountered the first of many mud pits on the trail. No worries, the rain had slowed down by the time I started, and I expected the mud, so I just plowed right through it. Trying to go around would just slow me down, and I had some lost time to make up. When shooting for an average pace of 16:00 per mile in a trail race with an aid station every 3 to 5 miles, you need to move faster than that in order to take a minute or two to stop at the station, refill your water bottle, use the potty if necessary and then get the heck out again. I was not fooling around, just refill and run on. The mud… did I mention the mud? 700 other folks had already plowed through the mud pits once before I got to them. Every one was sloppier than the one before. The spot I was most worried about was right after crossing the dam. There was lots of slipping and sliding going on there. I almost sat down and used the hill like a sliding board, but chose to ski on my running shoes instead. I was hitting most of my miles in the 13:00 to 14:00 minute range, so totally making up for the time I lost at the start! Of course, my bad attitude for starting late was catching up with me and my back was tightening up causing my sciatica to kick in. I know, you’re not supposed to talk on the cell while you are in a race, but I called Melissa, my friend and ultra-massage therapist. She gave me some tips on how to release my lower back, which I planned to do at the end of the first loop, or risk having to drop due to the sciatica. I kept powering through and finished the first loop somewhere around 4:00, giving me plenty of time to clean the mud out of my shoes, clean my feet and put on dry socks, and lay on the ground to fix my back.
Headed back out on the trail for loop 2, right on schedule, and very proud I had made up for lost time. Aid stations are packed with ultra fare, which I am not sorry to say, is mostly JUNK. Since starting the Paleo diet a year ago, I just don’t eat ramen noodles, cookies, crackers, pretzels, candy, quesadillas and pancakes. I also don’t drink soda or Gatorade. So, I brought along my pre-mixed ultra fuel (pureed sweet potatoes, dates, pineapple juice, egg white protein powder, coconut oil, cinnamon, ginger, and a little sea salt all blended together and poured into my fuel belt bottles) and some home made pemmican bars. I did use some Hammer gel and Endurolytes too; it IS a race after all. The nutrition and hydration went pretty well, though I did need to pee twice during each loop. The good thing is I never had any cramping during or after the race, and I knew what to do if my hands started to swell. This time right after passing the dam, I encountered a huge tree that had fallen across the trail sometime after I completed the first loop. The conversation that resulted was hilarious. Most folks thought they just forgot seeing it the first time around. I am just thankful no ultra runners were injured when the tree fell! About half way through the second loop, my back loosened up and I was really able to embrace the raccoon and the mud! A couple of times, I shouted… “I’m five years old!!!” There was one good thing about the mud: the water was cold, so it was like a built in ice pack every 30 minutes or so, so no foot problems. Second loop finished in about 4:30, including the stop to change shoes at the end… still right on schedule.
Almost left for loop #3 without the water bottle… thanks again, crew!!! Headed out, knowing I was going to meet my second goal of finishing the race in fewer than 14 hours! My back was better, there was no more pain in my left IT band, calf and hamstring, I had my music back and charged up for the last loop, and I had my headlamp ready for when darkness fell! Nothing could go wrong from here! The best thing of all was approaching the Park Road Aid station in the dark and seeing those Christmas lights that I had helped string the day before! I knew my friends from Houston would be there to cheer me on to the finish! They even had a true Paleo snack for me: almond stuffed, bacon wrapped dates! They made my day and when I asked the time of day because I couldn’t see my Garmin anymore, I took off for the finish in high spirits! The crew expected to see me at about 9pm, just making my 14 hour gun time goal, but when I saw the clock as I sprinted to the finish; it read 13:38 hours (8:38 pm). OH, MY GOD!!! If I had started the race at 7 am along with everyone else, I would have finished at a clock time of 13:21 or 13:22, just a minute or two over my “blue sky” time goal. I never really dreamed I could do 50 miles in those tough conditions that quickly! I know in the grand scheme, and compared to fast runners my age, it’s not a big deal, but to PR by 3+ hours in a 50 mile race – well that’s freaking HUGE! So, I finish, and my crew is nowhere to be found… they are off cooking pork fajitas so their friend and I will have some hot protein to eat at the finish. I got my medal and my hugs (thanks Deb and Janice), and headed out to hot food and to revel in my personal win!
Back to the hotel, shower, sleep a few hours and prepare to work the aid station Sunday morning so I could help the later 100 mile finishers see their way down the trail with some hot food and words of encouragement.
What a great way to spend the weekend!
Music notes during the race:
At 10 miles – Sublime “40oz to Freedom” No - 40 miles to freedom!
At dusk – Opeth “Harlequin Forest” (They are the trees, rotten pulp inside, never well)
Sorry so long for a measly 50 miles, but they are my thoughts to share if you wish to read them. Thanks… malvs2walk (and sometimes she runs!)
Showing posts with label headlamp. Show all posts
Showing posts with label headlamp. Show all posts
Monday, February 6, 2012
Sunday, February 14, 2010
During the Rocky Raccoon 100/50 Mile Trail Race
I ate my usual breakfast of peanut butter and jelly on whole wheat bread and a banana and drank several cups of coffee. Hilde and I met Joni in the lobby and we headed out to the park. It was a beautiful clear morning, and not as cold as the weather people had predicted. So, I only needed the one pair of tights, my two long sleeve shirts and a light jacket.
We checked in at the start and as we were waiting in line, we were talking to a guy named Paul who had flown in from Florida and had no support crew like Hilde and I. He set up his gear near my chair and used it as a pit stop along with Hilde and I. The funny thing… it turns out that he would be taking Steven back to the airport after the race. Now, what are the odds that I would offer a stranger a ride from the airport, and out of 700+ race entrants, the stranger that offered him a ride back would be the guy in line with us at the pre-race check in? Joe gave a few pre-race instructions and we were off to a good start! It was dark at 6am so we were out either with our headlamps or hand held flashlights. Even in the early morning dark, and all day… I was getting comments on my polka dot tights. Running Funky rocks!!!
20 mile loop #1 completed in 5:10:13, yes, that was a lot faster than I trained for. Aren’t we supposed to be a little faster during a race? Anyway, I did not waste any time at any of the aid stations which was my plan from the beginning. I was carrying enough water, Perpetuem, Hammer gel and Clif bar to get me through the loop with minimal aid station stops. My right knee started hurting at about mile 17 or 18. I was hoping that this would not happen so early in the race, but we take what we get on race day. It only hurt when I walked down hill, so I planned to gut it out for as long as I could before the leg actually started to lock up. I only took 5 minutes in the start/finish area to ready myself for the second loop and I was off with 45 minutes in the bank for the night hours on the course.
20 mile loop #2 completed in 5:30, this was my training pace and just right, even with the pain in my knee. I must have been about 6 miles into this second loop, or at about marathon distance when I figured out a way to get down the hills without knee pain. I simply turned my right foot outward at 90 degree angle when I walked down hill. The Hammer plan was working beautifully! Every two miles I would take one ounce of pre-mixed Perpertuem, and then the next two miles I took a slug from the Hammer gel flask. I was drinking plain water, and taking an endurolyte when I noticed my fingers swelling. I also had the aid station volunteers put Heed in one of my water bottles, just in case. And speaking of Hammer, I saw Amanda McIntosh working the Nature Center aid station through at least the first two of my loops! The only thing I picked up to eat at the aid stations was an orange slice or a piece of banana. I cruised into the start finish area at 10:42:03, cleaned my feet, changed my socks and shoes, and headed back out right at 11:00:00, now with a whole hour in the bank for the night hours.
20 mile loop #3 completed in 6:06:39, a lot slower than the last loop. The pain in my knee was getting worse, and was beginning to migrate to other places… the right groin, top of right foot, lower back… but I was still determined to walk this 100 mile race. As long as I could still move, I was going to continue. A couple of people offered me ibuprophen, aleve, etc. I politely refused. Those of you who know me well also know I don’t take anything for pain before or during an event. I may take it after to help with the inflammation, but only do so if absolutely necessary. My nutrition/hydration plan was still working well, but I was getting hungry. I ate one of mom’s fig cookies (AWESOME), and asked for hot coffee and a spoonful of plain peanut butter a couple of times at aid stations. The peanut butter on a spoon was a great idea and really hit the spot. Things began to get interesting on this third loop because it got dark at about 5 miles in. So, I was out there mostly by myself in the woods in the dark for about 15 miles. I stopped at Dam Road and got a clean pair of socks out of my drop bag because I didn’t have my gloves and it seems like it was in the high 30’s at this point. There was one other walker who traded places with me several times during the first 3 loops, and we had conversation for a while. It kind of takes the mind off of what you are going through when there is someone out there to trade stories with. When I walked in to the start/finish area, Kate was waiting for me. She refilled my water bottles while I put my thermal camouflage tights on over my polka dot tights put on two warmer long sleeve shirts and a light jacket and found my gloves. As soon as I put on those camouflage tights, I became invisible on the course… the folks at the Dam Road who had been razzing me all day about seeing spots didn’t recognize me until I showed them my dotted tights under my thermals. LOL Anyhow, Kate and I discussed my knee problem and I told her under the circumstances I knew at that point I would not be able to finish this 4th loop in 7 hours. I was simply hurting too badly and did not want to do any permanent damage. I called Richard, my 5th loop pacer and told him I knew I would not make the time cutoff to start loop #5, but I was still planning at that time to limp the miles from 60 to 80, and Kate was there to back me up. We took off for the 4th loop after I threw my watch in my drop bag.
20 Mile loop #4 would prove to be very interesting. It was getting colder and the first part of the 20 mile loop goes right down to the lake shore. The frogs seemed to be laughing at us in the dark… I mean, the frogs really sounded just like humans laughing. It was the strangest thing I have ever heard. We would go a few yards down the trail and wait for it… wait for it… there, they are REALLY laughing at us.
I was still in full control of my mental state, but at that point began to wonder. Kate and I were cracking up! We heard others commenting about the laughing frogs as they passed us, so we knew it wasn’t only us. On down the trail we go, and I commented how it was really funny that I had not fallen all day even though I had tripped really hard a few times. Next thing I knew, I was face down in the dirt. Kate offered me her hand and I told her just a second, let me make sure everything is still in tact. I got up and we kept going. I was getting progressively slower and apologized to Kate a couple of times, because I don’t want to be that sissy on the trail pissing and moaning about how this hurts and that hurts. The only time I would wince in pain was when I would hit the outer side of my right heel on a root. I always get a blood blister there after walking a lot of miles. It didn’t hurt at all as long as I didn’t bump it. That was my only blister… Smart Wool rocks!!! I didn’t do anything to my feet… no Body Glide, no taping or anything else and no blisters save that one that is most certainly caused by the insole of my Adidas Trail shoes, and only on the right foot. I still did not have any stomach issues, and knew when I needed to drink some Perpetuem and when to take some gel. We met Melanie, the 50 mile winner working the Nature Center aid station. I was so impressed to see her out there volunteering after winning her race earlier that day! We headed out to our first pass through Dam Road and the mud seemed to be multiplying on the trail. I know for sure there were more bogs than the last time I passed through. I ate some leftover lasagna (just what I needed at the moment) and Kate and I headed out for the 10k loop that would take us back to Dam Road for the second time. We were still having fun, but I was getting slower and finding it more and more difficult to bend my right leg. The more stiff legged I became, the more the rest of my body started to hurt. Top of right foot, right groin, right hip, lower back, etc. and the right knee would just not bend any more. Kate asked if I wanted her to push me to get to 80 miles and I told her I was finished.
The Dam Road volunteers thought otherwise. I still looked great… was having NO stomach issues, and was not too cold. I just could not move my right leg any more. The volunteers told me I would just have to sit and wait for them to break down the aid station to get a ride back to the start/finish if I didn’t just get moving and walk to the next stop 3.4 miles ahead. When they realized I was on my 4th loop and not my 5th, and it was already 4am, they relented and I sat in a chair, waiting for a ride. There were others there who were in worse shape than I was, so as rides materialized, I waited. Another injured runner and I were finally taken out with the trash run at about 9am. It was the perfect end to the race, being hauled out from the Dam Road aid station with the garbage. So, there it is… 72.22 miles, though the official results show 60 miles. They were not recording actual splits at each aid station, and I know where I was when I threw in the proverbial towel. I turned in my timing chip and race bib to let the race officials know I was out of the race. It was a real challenge gathering up my drop bag and chair and carrying it to the car. As I was limping through the wooded area close to the finish, there were a couple of folks looking about as bad as I did and they offered me a hand stepping down off that 16” high curb! I saw lots of folks walking like Frankenstein that day!
still to be continued...
We checked in at the start and as we were waiting in line, we were talking to a guy named Paul who had flown in from Florida and had no support crew like Hilde and I. He set up his gear near my chair and used it as a pit stop along with Hilde and I. The funny thing… it turns out that he would be taking Steven back to the airport after the race. Now, what are the odds that I would offer a stranger a ride from the airport, and out of 700+ race entrants, the stranger that offered him a ride back would be the guy in line with us at the pre-race check in? Joe gave a few pre-race instructions and we were off to a good start! It was dark at 6am so we were out either with our headlamps or hand held flashlights. Even in the early morning dark, and all day… I was getting comments on my polka dot tights. Running Funky rocks!!!20 mile loop #1 completed in 5:10:13, yes, that was a lot faster than I trained for. Aren’t we supposed to be a little faster during a race? Anyway, I did not waste any time at any of the aid stations which was my plan from the beginning. I was carrying enough water, Perpetuem, Hammer gel and Clif bar to get me through the loop with minimal aid station stops. My right knee started hurting at about mile 17 or 18. I was hoping that this would not happen so early in the race, but we take what we get on race day. It only hurt when I walked down hill, so I planned to gut it out for as long as I could before the leg actually started to lock up. I only took 5 minutes in the start/finish area to ready myself for the second loop and I was off with 45 minutes in the bank for the night hours on the course.
20 mile loop #2 completed in 5:30, this was my training pace and just right, even with the pain in my knee. I must have been about 6 miles into this second loop, or at about marathon distance when I figured out a way to get down the hills without knee pain. I simply turned my right foot outward at 90 degree angle when I walked down hill. The Hammer plan was working beautifully! Every two miles I would take one ounce of pre-mixed Perpertuem, and then the next two miles I took a slug from the Hammer gel flask. I was drinking plain water, and taking an endurolyte when I noticed my fingers swelling. I also had the aid station volunteers put Heed in one of my water bottles, just in case. And speaking of Hammer, I saw Amanda McIntosh working the Nature Center aid station through at least the first two of my loops! The only thing I picked up to eat at the aid stations was an orange slice or a piece of banana. I cruised into the start finish area at 10:42:03, cleaned my feet, changed my socks and shoes, and headed back out right at 11:00:00, now with a whole hour in the bank for the night hours.
20 mile loop #3 completed in 6:06:39, a lot slower than the last loop. The pain in my knee was getting worse, and was beginning to migrate to other places… the right groin, top of right foot, lower back… but I was still determined to walk this 100 mile race. As long as I could still move, I was going to continue. A couple of people offered me ibuprophen, aleve, etc. I politely refused. Those of you who know me well also know I don’t take anything for pain before or during an event. I may take it after to help with the inflammation, but only do so if absolutely necessary. My nutrition/hydration plan was still working well, but I was getting hungry. I ate one of mom’s fig cookies (AWESOME), and asked for hot coffee and a spoonful of plain peanut butter a couple of times at aid stations. The peanut butter on a spoon was a great idea and really hit the spot. Things began to get interesting on this third loop because it got dark at about 5 miles in. So, I was out there mostly by myself in the woods in the dark for about 15 miles. I stopped at Dam Road and got a clean pair of socks out of my drop bag because I didn’t have my gloves and it seems like it was in the high 30’s at this point. There was one other walker who traded places with me several times during the first 3 loops, and we had conversation for a while. It kind of takes the mind off of what you are going through when there is someone out there to trade stories with. When I walked in to the start/finish area, Kate was waiting for me. She refilled my water bottles while I put my thermal camouflage tights on over my polka dot tights put on two warmer long sleeve shirts and a light jacket and found my gloves. As soon as I put on those camouflage tights, I became invisible on the course… the folks at the Dam Road who had been razzing me all day about seeing spots didn’t recognize me until I showed them my dotted tights under my thermals. LOL Anyhow, Kate and I discussed my knee problem and I told her under the circumstances I knew at that point I would not be able to finish this 4th loop in 7 hours. I was simply hurting too badly and did not want to do any permanent damage. I called Richard, my 5th loop pacer and told him I knew I would not make the time cutoff to start loop #5, but I was still planning at that time to limp the miles from 60 to 80, and Kate was there to back me up. We took off for the 4th loop after I threw my watch in my drop bag.
20 Mile loop #4 would prove to be very interesting. It was getting colder and the first part of the 20 mile loop goes right down to the lake shore. The frogs seemed to be laughing at us in the dark… I mean, the frogs really sounded just like humans laughing. It was the strangest thing I have ever heard. We would go a few yards down the trail and wait for it… wait for it… there, they are REALLY laughing at us.
I was still in full control of my mental state, but at that point began to wonder. Kate and I were cracking up! We heard others commenting about the laughing frogs as they passed us, so we knew it wasn’t only us. On down the trail we go, and I commented how it was really funny that I had not fallen all day even though I had tripped really hard a few times. Next thing I knew, I was face down in the dirt. Kate offered me her hand and I told her just a second, let me make sure everything is still in tact. I got up and we kept going. I was getting progressively slower and apologized to Kate a couple of times, because I don’t want to be that sissy on the trail pissing and moaning about how this hurts and that hurts. The only time I would wince in pain was when I would hit the outer side of my right heel on a root. I always get a blood blister there after walking a lot of miles. It didn’t hurt at all as long as I didn’t bump it. That was my only blister… Smart Wool rocks!!! I didn’t do anything to my feet… no Body Glide, no taping or anything else and no blisters save that one that is most certainly caused by the insole of my Adidas Trail shoes, and only on the right foot. I still did not have any stomach issues, and knew when I needed to drink some Perpetuem and when to take some gel. We met Melanie, the 50 mile winner working the Nature Center aid station. I was so impressed to see her out there volunteering after winning her race earlier that day! We headed out to our first pass through Dam Road and the mud seemed to be multiplying on the trail. I know for sure there were more bogs than the last time I passed through. I ate some leftover lasagna (just what I needed at the moment) and Kate and I headed out for the 10k loop that would take us back to Dam Road for the second time. We were still having fun, but I was getting slower and finding it more and more difficult to bend my right leg. The more stiff legged I became, the more the rest of my body started to hurt. Top of right foot, right groin, right hip, lower back, etc. and the right knee would just not bend any more. Kate asked if I wanted her to push me to get to 80 miles and I told her I was finished.
The Dam Road volunteers thought otherwise. I still looked great… was having NO stomach issues, and was not too cold. I just could not move my right leg any more. The volunteers told me I would just have to sit and wait for them to break down the aid station to get a ride back to the start/finish if I didn’t just get moving and walk to the next stop 3.4 miles ahead. When they realized I was on my 4th loop and not my 5th, and it was already 4am, they relented and I sat in a chair, waiting for a ride. There were others there who were in worse shape than I was, so as rides materialized, I waited. Another injured runner and I were finally taken out with the trash run at about 9am. It was the perfect end to the race, being hauled out from the Dam Road aid station with the garbage. So, there it is… 72.22 miles, though the official results show 60 miles. They were not recording actual splits at each aid station, and I know where I was when I threw in the proverbial towel. I turned in my timing chip and race bib to let the race officials know I was out of the race. It was a real challenge gathering up my drop bag and chair and carrying it to the car. As I was limping through the wooded area close to the finish, there were a couple of folks looking about as bad as I did and they offered me a hand stepping down off that 16” high curb! I saw lots of folks walking like Frankenstein that day!
still to be continued...
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
ET Extraterrestrial Full Moon Midnight Marathon
I had been anticipating this trip to Las Vegas and the race for a long time. Since I did not do so well at Mohican, but got a lot of hill practice done there, I felt I could do pretty well at this marathon. I had not really considered the effects of higher altitude and dry air to a coastal plains dweller like myself. So, it was a slow marathon, but still a lot of fun and finishing is the goal, after all.
Now I must return to the beginning of the tale. My bags were mostly packed by Thursday because I had to work out of town on Friday and my flight was scheduled to leave Houston at 6:20 am on Saturday. I live about one hour away from the big airport, so that meant getting up at 3:30 am for the drive. I did not get to sleep until after 1am. Remember that this is a midnight marathon. It starts at midnight. Did I say that the race started at midnight Saturday??? I arrived in Las Vegas (after a short layover in Denver) at around 10:30 am Saturday. I called the hotel to see when the free shuttle would be arriving to take me to the hotel. They said, oh, about 10 minutes. There was a couple waiting before I walked outside the airport, and in my usual manner, I was having a conversation with them in no time. I found out that they were staying in the same hotel and had already been waiting at least 10 minuets before I walked outside. The hotel is 5 minutes from the airport and I was finally in the hotel room by noon.
Mellody and Jean-Maria were already in the room the three of us were sharing. I was starving at this point, so the three of us walked across the street to eat at Lucky’s in the Hard Rock Casino. It was nearly 12 hours from race time, so I carb loaded on blueberry pancakes and also ate a little bacon for protein. We walked over to CVS, and I bought a gallon of water to mix my electrolyte drink for the marathon. I finally tried to get a little nap (maybe 90 minutes) and it was time to pick up the race packet. We met another friend at packet pickup, WalkingDonny, who was walking the half marathon. The shirts are awesome, with little aliens and a space shop on the front! We go back upstairs and start getting ready for the race. We boarded the charter buses for a 2.5 hour ride to the starting line at the black mailbox on the Extraterrestrial Highway. It is a good thing it was dark outside. I don’t think it would have made me feel better to actually see the mountain we had to climb before the race. It was bad enough seeing it while riding the bus back from the finish line to Las Vegas. I am really glad I brought the long sleeved race shirt with me in a drop bag because it was cold and windy and I ended up wearing it under my crazy shirt for the whole race. We picked up our glow necklaces and used the dreaded port-a-potties, posed for some pictures and visited with new found friends.
I think the race started on time at midnight, although I can’t be sure because I lost my reading glasses somewhere out there. Everyone was either wearing a headlamp or carrying a flashlight and we were all wearing reflective clothing. We were off, and as usual, I started out too fast. I got stuck with a couple of groups of beeping Galloweenies that I kept trading places with. The worst thing about a group of Galloweenies is the fact that they pass you jogging, then stop to a snails walking pace RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOU, every time they pass you. It was especially irritating to me during this race because at this point, I am going on 3.5 hours of sleep. So, that made me pick up the pace even more so that I did not see them again until much later in the race when I started to slow down. Anyway, the aid stations at this race were about 3.5 miles apart, so you had to carry a water bottle. Not a problem for me, I always carry at least my fuel belt on shorter walks and both the fuel belt and a hand held on longer walks. I was feeling great, but with the climbing (not so steep in the first few miles, but steadily climbing) and the higher altitude (over 4,500’at the starting line) I thought I was moving much faster than I really was. By the 9 mile mark, I noticed that my breathing was becoming labored and shallow, so I consciously reminded myself to belly breathe like when doing yoga. I was tired, so I had to keep reminding myself to breathe deeply so that my muscles could get the oxygen they needed to keep moving forward. It was so nice to turn off the lamp and walk with the moonlight in the desert. I turned it on only when I saw that a car was approaching in the distance. A few times I looked down at the road surface and saw what appeared to be scorpions scurrying across the road. During this first half of the race, I also saw numerous shooting stars. I kept glancing to the south, into Area 51, looking for signs of the unknown, but sadly I saw no aliens or unidentified objects.
The last part of the climb over Coyote Summit, between mile 9 and mile 13 was progressively steeper, but I kept concentrating on my breathing and pressing forward. It was, however, not the smartest thing I have ever done, because by the time I crested the summit and headed back down the other side; I had run out of steam. Maybe the fact that I finally got to see my time at the half marathon point (3:09:??) also took some of my steam.
I felt something over head and it turned out to be some kind of small bird. I have not seen too many kinds of desert creatures, but when I turned toward the bird as it landed on a rock by the far side of the road, its eyes had a strange orange glow when it looked back at me.
Well, now the hard part was supposed to be over and it was all downhill from here. I passed a young man who had just been passed by another woman. He said “So What, So What!” I thought he was mad because he had been passed by a girl, then he sings another line from the song. Oh, my goodness… how funny! I knew what he was singing along with, and man was it vulgar! I had to turn around and tell him I knew he was singing “So What” from Metallica’s two disc set called Garage, Inc. I thanked him for the laugh and continued on.
Now that I was fully aware that I was going to have a crummy finish time, I planned to just have fun and finish. I ended up walking most of the rest of the race with a lady I offered a sample size body glide to when she said her shorts were wet, and she was surely going to have problems later in the race. We walked and talked and looked at the stars and talked some more. She was very interesting.
I have been studying hydration issues more fully lately because I have begun to have problems with swelling hands, even on shorter walks. It seems like I am starting to get it under control, because my fingers did not swell until much later in this marathon. They also did not swell as much as they have been swelling lately. The next issue is the bathroom issue. We were warned well in advance that there would only be porta potties at the start, then maybe 3 more along the marathon course. I passed the first 2 course potties because I just did not have to go. As I passed the 18 mile marker, I started to feel the need for a potty break. I could have just walked off to the side of the road and pottied in the moonlight, but I just kept telling myself I could wait until mile 20. That is when I had the hallucination. There was more and more traffic on the road as the night went on, so I had to keep the headlamp on most of the time. Everyone who walks at night knows that there is a tunnel vision effect after wearing a headlamp for long periods of time. This is a two lane highway with a very narrow shoulder on each side, so there is really no place to go if cars are zooming past rather quickly. One of the zoomers was a bus. I nearly got blown off the road. We were walking toward traffic and as I looked to my right I could have sworn there was a concrete barrier on the yellow line in the middle of the road. I kept looking over to make sure I was not seeing things. I also needed to get to the potty at the 20 mile mark in a really bad way. The lady I was walking with also needed to get there in a hurry. This was the actual finish line of the race where we had a 10k out and back to do, and then the race is over. As we got closer to the potty, I was still convinced that there was a concrete barrier separating the lanes of the road. The lights of the little town of Rachel started to illuminate the road, and the concrete barrier just kind of disappeared. (My friend Mellody had the same hallucination in about the same location although she was about a mile behind me) Luckily my race companion had relieved herself earlier so she let me go first. What a relief! One of the aid station volunteers was wearing a Sunmart ultra jacket, so I had a short hello, look at my cap moment. I wore my Sunmart cap during the race.
Now the last and toughest part of the race because we had to walk past the finish line and still had 10k to go. I don’t remember when the sun started to come up, but we were finally able to turn off the headlamps and saw lots of jackrabbits! We also saw a dead rattlesnake on the road. Thankfully that was the ONLY rattlesnake we saw. I was able to walk a 14 minute mile one time during the last 10k, but it took all I had to make it across the finish line. I received my medal which is really awesome. It is an alien wearing running shoes, chasing his spaceship on a black background with the Calico Racing emblem on it.
There was a nice breakfast buffet at the Little A’lien Inn that consisted of pancakes, biscuits, eggs, hash browns, gravy, and fresh fruit. Everything was really good and the staff appeared to be genuinely happy to see us! Mellody and Jean-Maria finished in that order and after we had eaten our breakfast and bought a few souvenirs, it was time to board the bus back to Las Vegas. We went back over the mountain we had to climb from the start, and since it was now daylight, we were really able to see the beauty of the countryside we had passed through in the darkness, oh, and the steep climb that we had made during the night.
This was a fantastic race with a great RD and lots of wonderful volunteers who stood out in the desert all night to make sure we were alright. Thanks to everyone involved with putting the race on!
One thing, I had no idea that the altitude would bother me so much. It is for that reason and that reason ONLY that I would not consider repeating this event, though I will highly recommend it to anyone who asks me. From now on, altitude will be one of the factors that come into play when I choose future races.
Thanks for reading! (stories from Las Vegas to follow soon enough)
Oh, and yes… malvs2walk!
Now I must return to the beginning of the tale. My bags were mostly packed by Thursday because I had to work out of town on Friday and my flight was scheduled to leave Houston at 6:20 am on Saturday. I live about one hour away from the big airport, so that meant getting up at 3:30 am for the drive. I did not get to sleep until after 1am. Remember that this is a midnight marathon. It starts at midnight. Did I say that the race started at midnight Saturday??? I arrived in Las Vegas (after a short layover in Denver) at around 10:30 am Saturday. I called the hotel to see when the free shuttle would be arriving to take me to the hotel. They said, oh, about 10 minutes. There was a couple waiting before I walked outside the airport, and in my usual manner, I was having a conversation with them in no time. I found out that they were staying in the same hotel and had already been waiting at least 10 minuets before I walked outside. The hotel is 5 minutes from the airport and I was finally in the hotel room by noon.
Mellody and Jean-Maria were already in the room the three of us were sharing. I was starving at this point, so the three of us walked across the street to eat at Lucky’s in the Hard Rock Casino. It was nearly 12 hours from race time, so I carb loaded on blueberry pancakes and also ate a little bacon for protein. We walked over to CVS, and I bought a gallon of water to mix my electrolyte drink for the marathon. I finally tried to get a little nap (maybe 90 minutes) and it was time to pick up the race packet. We met another friend at packet pickup, WalkingDonny, who was walking the half marathon. The shirts are awesome, with little aliens and a space shop on the front! We go back upstairs and start getting ready for the race. We boarded the charter buses for a 2.5 hour ride to the starting line at the black mailbox on the Extraterrestrial Highway. It is a good thing it was dark outside. I don’t think it would have made me feel better to actually see the mountain we had to climb before the race. It was bad enough seeing it while riding the bus back from the finish line to Las Vegas. I am really glad I brought the long sleeved race shirt with me in a drop bag because it was cold and windy and I ended up wearing it under my crazy shirt for the whole race. We picked up our glow necklaces and used the dreaded port-a-potties, posed for some pictures and visited with new found friends.
I think the race started on time at midnight, although I can’t be sure because I lost my reading glasses somewhere out there. Everyone was either wearing a headlamp or carrying a flashlight and we were all wearing reflective clothing. We were off, and as usual, I started out too fast. I got stuck with a couple of groups of beeping Galloweenies that I kept trading places with. The worst thing about a group of Galloweenies is the fact that they pass you jogging, then stop to a snails walking pace RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOU, every time they pass you. It was especially irritating to me during this race because at this point, I am going on 3.5 hours of sleep. So, that made me pick up the pace even more so that I did not see them again until much later in the race when I started to slow down. Anyway, the aid stations at this race were about 3.5 miles apart, so you had to carry a water bottle. Not a problem for me, I always carry at least my fuel belt on shorter walks and both the fuel belt and a hand held on longer walks. I was feeling great, but with the climbing (not so steep in the first few miles, but steadily climbing) and the higher altitude (over 4,500’at the starting line) I thought I was moving much faster than I really was. By the 9 mile mark, I noticed that my breathing was becoming labored and shallow, so I consciously reminded myself to belly breathe like when doing yoga. I was tired, so I had to keep reminding myself to breathe deeply so that my muscles could get the oxygen they needed to keep moving forward. It was so nice to turn off the lamp and walk with the moonlight in the desert. I turned it on only when I saw that a car was approaching in the distance. A few times I looked down at the road surface and saw what appeared to be scorpions scurrying across the road. During this first half of the race, I also saw numerous shooting stars. I kept glancing to the south, into Area 51, looking for signs of the unknown, but sadly I saw no aliens or unidentified objects.
The last part of the climb over Coyote Summit, between mile 9 and mile 13 was progressively steeper, but I kept concentrating on my breathing and pressing forward. It was, however, not the smartest thing I have ever done, because by the time I crested the summit and headed back down the other side; I had run out of steam. Maybe the fact that I finally got to see my time at the half marathon point (3:09:??) also took some of my steam.
I felt something over head and it turned out to be some kind of small bird. I have not seen too many kinds of desert creatures, but when I turned toward the bird as it landed on a rock by the far side of the road, its eyes had a strange orange glow when it looked back at me.
Well, now the hard part was supposed to be over and it was all downhill from here. I passed a young man who had just been passed by another woman. He said “So What, So What!” I thought he was mad because he had been passed by a girl, then he sings another line from the song. Oh, my goodness… how funny! I knew what he was singing along with, and man was it vulgar! I had to turn around and tell him I knew he was singing “So What” from Metallica’s two disc set called Garage, Inc. I thanked him for the laugh and continued on.
Now that I was fully aware that I was going to have a crummy finish time, I planned to just have fun and finish. I ended up walking most of the rest of the race with a lady I offered a sample size body glide to when she said her shorts were wet, and she was surely going to have problems later in the race. We walked and talked and looked at the stars and talked some more. She was very interesting.
I have been studying hydration issues more fully lately because I have begun to have problems with swelling hands, even on shorter walks. It seems like I am starting to get it under control, because my fingers did not swell until much later in this marathon. They also did not swell as much as they have been swelling lately. The next issue is the bathroom issue. We were warned well in advance that there would only be porta potties at the start, then maybe 3 more along the marathon course. I passed the first 2 course potties because I just did not have to go. As I passed the 18 mile marker, I started to feel the need for a potty break. I could have just walked off to the side of the road and pottied in the moonlight, but I just kept telling myself I could wait until mile 20. That is when I had the hallucination. There was more and more traffic on the road as the night went on, so I had to keep the headlamp on most of the time. Everyone who walks at night knows that there is a tunnel vision effect after wearing a headlamp for long periods of time. This is a two lane highway with a very narrow shoulder on each side, so there is really no place to go if cars are zooming past rather quickly. One of the zoomers was a bus. I nearly got blown off the road. We were walking toward traffic and as I looked to my right I could have sworn there was a concrete barrier on the yellow line in the middle of the road. I kept looking over to make sure I was not seeing things. I also needed to get to the potty at the 20 mile mark in a really bad way. The lady I was walking with also needed to get there in a hurry. This was the actual finish line of the race where we had a 10k out and back to do, and then the race is over. As we got closer to the potty, I was still convinced that there was a concrete barrier separating the lanes of the road. The lights of the little town of Rachel started to illuminate the road, and the concrete barrier just kind of disappeared. (My friend Mellody had the same hallucination in about the same location although she was about a mile behind me) Luckily my race companion had relieved herself earlier so she let me go first. What a relief! One of the aid station volunteers was wearing a Sunmart ultra jacket, so I had a short hello, look at my cap moment. I wore my Sunmart cap during the race.
Now the last and toughest part of the race because we had to walk past the finish line and still had 10k to go. I don’t remember when the sun started to come up, but we were finally able to turn off the headlamps and saw lots of jackrabbits! We also saw a dead rattlesnake on the road. Thankfully that was the ONLY rattlesnake we saw. I was able to walk a 14 minute mile one time during the last 10k, but it took all I had to make it across the finish line. I received my medal which is really awesome. It is an alien wearing running shoes, chasing his spaceship on a black background with the Calico Racing emblem on it.
There was a nice breakfast buffet at the Little A’lien Inn that consisted of pancakes, biscuits, eggs, hash browns, gravy, and fresh fruit. Everything was really good and the staff appeared to be genuinely happy to see us! Mellody and Jean-Maria finished in that order and after we had eaten our breakfast and bought a few souvenirs, it was time to board the bus back to Las Vegas. We went back over the mountain we had to climb from the start, and since it was now daylight, we were really able to see the beauty of the countryside we had passed through in the darkness, oh, and the steep climb that we had made during the night.
This was a fantastic race with a great RD and lots of wonderful volunteers who stood out in the desert all night to make sure we were alright. Thanks to everyone involved with putting the race on!
One thing, I had no idea that the altitude would bother me so much. It is for that reason and that reason ONLY that I would not consider repeating this event, though I will highly recommend it to anyone who asks me. From now on, altitude will be one of the factors that come into play when I choose future races.
Thanks for reading! (stories from Las Vegas to follow soon enough)
Oh, and yes… malvs2walk!
Friday, May 22, 2009
Friday, May 22
I had a good walk this evening. I was planning on starting a little later, but I have to work tomorrow. So, I set out at a little before 8pm for 15 miles. It ended up being a very good, fast LSD. I even got in a little racewalking, and got to practice getting used to the tunnel vision caused by the headlamp. 15 miles 3:35:06, average pace 14:20, HR monitor cut in and out this walk, so I am going to change the battery tomorrow. I didn't seem to get hungry at all while walking after dark. I hope this isn't a problem at Mohican.
Funny thing... my friends and I are going to do the ET Midnight Marathon put on by Calico Racing in August. We have been having fun with the idea about spotting aliens because the marathon route is on the Extraterrestrial Highway that borders Area 51... I was doing the last 6 miles on the track and some of the back lights were on. The stars were out, and I was looking up at the sky, it was a nice night. There were some lights moving around really fast and erratic above the school building. I stopped in my tracks and watched them for a few minutes. Then I heard the birds screaching.. The lights must have been reflecting off the bottom of the birds that were flying around eating the bugs that were attracted to the lights. To tired eyes and from the other end of the track, they looked like UFO's.
Funny thing... my friends and I are going to do the ET Midnight Marathon put on by Calico Racing in August. We have been having fun with the idea about spotting aliens because the marathon route is on the Extraterrestrial Highway that borders Area 51... I was doing the last 6 miles on the track and some of the back lights were on. The stars were out, and I was looking up at the sky, it was a nice night. There were some lights moving around really fast and erratic above the school building. I stopped in my tracks and watched them for a few minutes. Then I heard the birds screaching.. The lights must have been reflecting off the bottom of the birds that were flying around eating the bugs that were attracted to the lights. To tired eyes and from the other end of the track, they looked like UFO's.
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