2014 North Coast 24 Endurance Race

Best Laid Plans Gone Awry

This was my goal race, the one I'd been preparing for an entire year since I ran my first ultra here last year. I even took an extra day of vacation so I could take two days to drive up if needed. I took my time packing and double checking everything so I wouldn't leave something critical behind like my charging cord for my Garmin. At last I had everything packed, including some items I remembered at the last minute like my hat. I'm sure I over packed and wouldn't needed half of what I was bringing, but if I left something behind, I know that's what I would need. I was ready to roll by 11:00 am Thursday morning, first stop the ATM to be sure I had enough cash. Traffic was slow getting to the turnpike because of construction, but once on the turnpike I made such good time that I was in Ohio by 5:00 pm of so. At that point I didn't see any sense in stopping for the night, so I continued all the way to Lakewood in the hope that the Travelodge could accommodate me a day early. They could, so I had Friday free to relax, check out the detour to the park, walk around the course, relax in my room before heading back to the park to enjoy an evening of pizza with friends. I met another runner, Pat, at the park as well as our timer, Charles, then met Ed, a 75 year old runner who had run Six Days in the Dome earlier this year. Back at the park that evening we had some returnees from prior NC24s as well as a few new runners in the group. Lori, whom I've known for years but never met in person before, brought two friends, Julia and Anya, down from Canada with her. Angela and her sister Teresa were there. Diana was up from Maryland for her first ultra. We had both run the Endless Summer 6-Hour Race back in July. Chris, Eric, Mary, and her husband Brett, rolled in a little later. Crew chief Laura arrived with pizza and sodas. I hope I didn't forget anyone. Eventually we said our good nights and headed back to our respective hotels.

I had perhaps the worst pre-race night I've ever had. I don't think I slept more than two hours total and most of the time just lay in bed with my eyes closed. I finally got up about 5:10 am, dressed for the race, double checked the bag I was bringing to the race, and finally went out to wait for breakfast at 6:30 am. Much to my delight the coffee was already out as were some of the breakfast items, so I didn't have to wait. I think everyone at breakfast while I was there was connected in some way with the race. Lori, Diana, Anya, and Julia all came in just before I left for the race. Since I would be setting up my tent for the first time, I wanted to be sure I had plenty of time to figure it out. As it turned out Laura and Brett were a big help. I didn't really think I would need it, but I was glad later that I had set it up. We all picked up our bibs and chips. Some of us had two bibs, one for the front with our number, and if we were USATF members, a second with our age group for the back. It seemed superfluous, but it did allow us to see what age group some of the other runners were in and who our competition was, though I don't think that made any difference to anyone during the race. We pose for the obligatory pre-race pictures of runners and crew before walking down to the starting line. We were later getting down there than I thought and missed the national anthem sung by Charles Moman, one of the runners who was making a miraculous comeback from a horrific auto accident last spring. He was quite an inspiration for many of us.

As expected most of us started slowly, some walking. After some consideration I had settled on running 3 minutes and walking one, since that worked well on one of my long runs where I felt good rather than beat up at the end. I didn't adhere strictly to that, but modified it as needed to time walking breaks with arriving at the aid station and on the two mild rises on the course. Once in a while I would deviate from that pattern to walk with runners I knew, otherwise I walked or ran with whomever was near me going about the same pace. Knowing that nutrition had been a problem in the past, I stopped every lap to grab something, sometimes something to eat and drink, sometimes only one or the other, especially if I was feeling a little bloated or full. I stayed with items I tolerated well in the past, mainly Reese's Peanut Butter Cups and PB&J sandwiches, along with almost anything they had to drink, e.g. water, Gatorade, Mountain Dew, cola. I think Laura asked me so many times as I passed our table if I was eating and drinking, that I had runners whom I'd never met before asking me, too.

Since it felt cool before the race, I didn't bother with wearing my hat, but one lap convinced me it was going to be sunny and warm enough that I would want it. Between that keeping the sun off my head and the lake breeze, the warm temperatures didn't really bother me. I could feel it getting warmer, but mild adjustments to my pace and staying hydrated seemed sufficient. I never felt uncomfortable with the heat. The early pace was a little faster than expected, but slower than last year. I felt strong so I kept that effort, eventually settling into a good rhythm. The race was developing well and I had high hopes of meeting all my goals. Of course that's when things started to unravel.

The first hint that all was not going as well as I thought was a sudden sharp side stitch that momentarily doubled me over at about 25 miles. It disappeared in a minute or so, but I've learned not to ignore what seem like minor annoyances during ultras. I was only a few hundred meters from finishing the lap, so a quick stop at the med tent was convenient. While working on the cramp, the staff noticed my leg quivering, a sign of electrolytes being out of balance. Apparently my food and drink choices weren't getting me enough sodium. Fortunately that was easily remedied by switching to Ramen noodles, hamburgers, and more Gatorade. About 8-10 laps later I started getting hot spots on my right foot, so I stopped again to have that taken care of before getting major blister problems. That actually took two stops with a lap between before it felt like we had it under control.

It's getting dark now and we've been running 12 hours plus. I'm passed 40 miles and still feeling pretty good, though I am walking a little more and have slowed down. That's when my left knee began to feel sore, a pain straight across the middle of my knee cap. Since it hurt more running than walking, I increased the amount I was walking in the hope that I could continue and it might eventually go away or at least not get any worse. By the time I reached 50 laps (45.1 miles), it was time to get that checked over as well. With no soreness above, below or on the sides, the med staff ruled out patellar tendonitis. they eventually asked Dr. Lovy to take a look at it. His assessment was that the knee cap wasn't tracking properly and there might be cartilage damage behind the knee cap. In the hope that a short break might ease the pain and I would be able to continue after icing it, I walked back to our site to sit for a while. After about 20-30 minutes I attempted to get up to see if I could continue. That's when I discovered I couldn't place any weight on the leg and I wouldn't be continuing at all. I wasn't sure I could drive at that point, besides I wanted to be there in the morning for the finish, so I crawled into my tent to take a nap. The heavy rains and wind woke me about 2:30 am, but I rolled over and went back to sleep. When it started getting light I crawled out and pulled myself together to I could watch the rest of the crew run their final laps.

Although I was limping, I could get around better to watch the finish, then break down camp and get ready to leave. After saying good byes, I didn't see any sense in staying the extra night, so when I got back to the hotel, I grabbed my other bag from the room and checked out. The drive home was uneventful, though I stopped frequently to stretch and get a few minutes nap since I'd only slept a few hours total.

Monday morning I called my doctor and got the name and number of a sports medicine orthopedist and was able to make an appointment for Tuesday morning. The net result was a diagnosis of patellar chondromalacia and a script for PT to stretch and strengthen the quads and hamstrings. I've also had time to assess where I am and reassess my plans for the rest of this year and next with some good feedback and suggestions from the ultra forums. I have to admit that I've jumped into ultras similarly to how many beginners jump into their first marathon. It was a calculated risk, but I had hoped with all the years I've been running that I could avoid this type of injury. I still enjoy the long ultra races, but will spend some time consolidating my gains and focusing on 50K and 12-hour races, which will also take me close to 50M but without the stress of facing a cutoff time and DNF. If I can continue to make gains, 50K and 100K races are still out there and I can enter 24-hour races to give me more time to cover those distances. While the results were a major disappointment for me, they also brought me back to reality.

2014 Labor Pain 12-Hour (50K)

Overcoming Adversity

The adventure started when I realized about 20 minutes up the road that I had forgotten my printed directions to the race start. If I turned around to get them I would definitely be late to the race. I was pretty sure I remembered the directions anyway, so I continued. Everything seemed fine until I looked for the turn onto Glen Road. That's when my Odyssey began. Eventually it was obvious that I had missed the turn, so I tried backtracking. No luck. Then I got turned around which resulted in driving in a huge circle until I realized I was on U.S. 422 going the wrong direction. When I finally found a gas station open where I could ask for direction, they didn't have a map and the direction they gave were vague at best. When following them started taking me off the beaten path I knew something wasn't right. About that time I saw a woman walking her dog, so I pulled over to ask her. As it turned out, my earlier directions had me turning left when I should have turned right. Her directions were sufficient to at least get me on the right road, but by the time I pulled into the parking lot the race had been underway for quite a while. By the time I picked up my packet, pinned on my number, and got directions to the starting line and course markers to follow, the rest of the field had a 27 minute head start.

The course was well marked. I had no problems following the white chalk arrows and orange ribbons, which was good since I had no runners to follow. I was well past the 2-mile mark before I saw another runner, the leader who was now on his second lap. The trails were typical Eastern Pennsylvania trails, lots of rocks and roots and mostly single-track. Earlier in the year I had some practice running trails at Ridley Creek State Park, but it still took me a while to get used to them again. Picking my way through often slowed me enough that walking was just as quick, but it was the hills that were most daunting. The hills at Ridley Creek were small compared to a couple on this course. Having had some limited experience with how much trying to run the uphills could take out of me, I walked all the larger ones and many of the smaller ones as well, which contributed to the slow pace and time. But it was the final hill leading back to the start that was the real killer. Parts of it were so steep that I had to clamber and use my hands to get up it and my legs felt like jelly walking the short distance from the top to the finish which I would pass 6 times, once for each of the six 5-mile laps. I was very grateful that the 50K finished with a short out and back for the additional 1.1 miles so I would be coming in from the opposite direction.

The first three laps went by pretty quickly. I was able to check my watch against the finish line clock at the end of the first lap, so I knew there was almost exactly a 27 minute difference. What surprised me was that I started catching and passing runners on the second lap. It was obvious a couple were primarily walking, but I was moving along pretty well all things considered. It was a real challenge, especially first starting, not to run too fast trying to catch up to the back of the field. By the fourth lap the high humidity and rising temperatures began taking a toll on me. I'm sure my third and fourth laps were my slowest, but until official split times are posted I won't know for sure. I was doing a lot more walking and beginning to feel miserable, enough so that I considered stopping after 4 laps and 20 miles.

Several considerations helped me override the temptation to stop after 20 miles. Foremost was that the whole point of running this race was as a final tune up for North Coast 24 and facing the challenge of running for 24 hours. Secondly I had publicly announced my intention of running 50K here. Finally I wanted that 50K distance and time so I could check off one of my goals this year, which was to run a trail ultra. I was disappointed that I had to drop after 30K at the Ice Age Trail 50K and didn't want a repeat of that. Managing the heat and humidity now became a top priority and at times I felt like I was on the edge of having to stop. Staying hydrated and cool became my focus. Half the water I grabbed went on my head and I really welcomed the towels soaked in ice water every time I passed through the main aid station. I may have skimped some on eating because I was drinking so much, but I did try to include soda and Gatorade along with primarily pretzels to take in some calories. I think I must have been reasonably successful, because when I did run I was able to keep a decent pace and run for longer sections than at a similar stage in my 12-hour races despite running on trails instead of pavement or hard packed crushed stone.

As I started my 5th lap I still had doubts about being able to finish it, but there weren't any bailout points, so if I started the lap I had no choice but to continue. When I stopped at the mid-point aid station for water and pretzels, I was really having second thoughts about the wisdom of my choice. I lingered there long enough to choke down a few pretzels and a Twizzler along with some water before slowly continuing to walk. What amazed me was that when I could push myself to jog or run I sometimes felt better and could still move along at an 11:00-12:00 minute mile pace. By this time I had run enough laps that I could recognize landmarks and have a general idea of what was ahead and how far to the end of the lap. That actually helped rather than discouraged me. About this time the predicted rain arrived. At first it was just a few sprinkles, then it would stop.

Lap 6 had a deja vu feeling to it, a repetition of lap 5. As I picked up the single track I began to see runners coming back on their extra out and back to complete a marathon or 50K. Seeing this was a boost. I could finally feel like I was getting close to the end even though I still had the lap to complete, then my little out and back to pick up the additional 1.1 miles for 50K. And I was still moving well on the mostly flat or downhill sections. If it weren't for the heat and humidity taking their toll, I would have said I was feeling strong. I think a lot of runners may have chosen to stop after the marathon or 50K distances because I saw a lot fewer runners on this lap. The only thing I dreaded was that last steep hill to finish the lap. I could picture myself standing there unable to walk or pull myself up what began to feel like a cliff and have to wait for another runner to help me up. As usual my imagination and fears were unjustified and not realized. While it was slow going and I had to use my hands and arms a lot more, I made it to the top on my own. Then as I passed the clock, I had to wait in line behind a small group that was finishing and checking in with the timekeeper. If I'd been concerned about my time I would have been annoyed. When it was finally my turn to be sure my lap was recorded, I verified that they did have me down for 6 laps. Now all I had left was running out to the turnaround and back. By this time it was raining steadily, though not hard. That didn't dampen my spirits and felt good as it had a mild cooling effect. I hadn't notice just how much downhill there was to the 50K turnaround until I was on my way back. At that point it didn't make any difference to me. I hiked up to the top and from there where we exited the woods it was 4-5 minutes on grass and road back to the finish.

In putting together a recap to assess my race performance, it's easy to see that I was running way too fast on the first lap which I finished in about 1:05-1:06. I think my second lap was still a little fast, perhaps around 1:15, because the 3rd and 4th laps had to be around 1:40-1:50. I think the last two were closer to 1:30. My final time by my watch was 8:37:22 compared to the official finish time of about 9:04. My Garmin splits turned out to be useless on the trails. The final Garmin distance showed just over 29 miles, so off by about 2 miles from the official distance. As miserable as I felt at times during the race, I was happy at the end and more than satisfied that I was able to override the temptation to stop early and even pick up the pace toward the end. As I sat around and ate after grabbing some soup and a cheeseburger, I was amazed to see other 50K runners coming in as much as an hour behind me. I had no idea that I had made up that much time on some of the runners. I was very glad to have finished when I did because by that time the rain was extremely heavy, though they never developed into thunderstorm in our area.

Only three weeks to North Coast 24 now. With Cleveland in September there's no telling what we'll get in terms of weather, but I feel reasonably certain that I'll be able to handle what we get. This race was a big boost in my confidence, not just another long supported training run. The big boost came from being able to cope with the difficulties in finding the start, the challenging trails and hills, the falls, and the heat and humidity. It's taper time now and possibly a good time to get in a few last minute quality runs.

 

2014 Endless Summer 6-Hour Run, July 26

Return For Redemption

Last year here was a disaster. I completely let myself be upset by the unexpected small hills, then refused to adapt to the heat because I wanted to push to reach a specific distance that was clearly out of reach under the conditions. The result was retiring early after only 3:40 and 16.6 miles. It was the low point in my training and racing during 2013.

I thought I would really be up for returning to Endless Summer and even authored a Loop post about hoping for redemption. Then only a couple days after I posted that, I descended into a funk feeling totally burned out with no motivation to even go out for a short, easy run, much less a long run or race. For two days I did absolutely nothing except read, watch TV, and sit at my computer. A third day I conveniently used passing thunderstorms to take off another day. If I hadn't committed to meeting a friend at the race and posted that entry about hoping for redemption, I might have cancelled the trip entirely. Instead I forced myself out the door on Thursday to run for an hour or so, then finally started packing Friday morning for the overnight trip - after doing laundry I'd put off for days.

The drive down gave me hope that the weekend might actually turn out well. No really heavy traffic and I didn't get lost trying to find the hotel. I checked in, then decided I needed to get in a short shake out jog after the two and a half hour drive. That's when I discovered I'd only brought one running shirt. After brief consideration I decided I wouldn't be out long enough to get really sweaty, so I could run in it and still wear the shirt the next day in the race. After a lap it would be a moot point anyway. That's oops number one. then I set my Garmin to pick up a signal and got a low battery message, then oops number two. I'd forgotten to pack the charger cord. Then oops number three. Not only was the battery low, the screen blanked out less than half a mile into my short run. The Garmin would be completely useless, so I would have to revert to my Timex Ironman watch. Looks like tomorrow's race will be a throw back day when I raced with only a watch and no pace or mileage information - a minor annoyance, but still an annoyance.

My run took me around the shopping center across from the hotel, so I checked out what was available in terms of restaurants for dinner. It looked like my best options were Bertucci's, Panera's, or a Mexican restaurant. After the run I cleaned up and drove over to pick up my packet. I considered myself very fortunate to find a parking space only a block from the Annapolis Running Store. I chatted for a while with the people at pick up and some of the other runners coming in, then headed back to the hotel because the meter was running out of time. On the way back I saw a Qdoba Mexican restaurant. I'd recently read an article that listed them as one of the better fast food places, so I thought I'd try it. Definitely plenty of food for the money, but nothing special. Now relax, get to bed early, try to sleep, and wait for the 5:00 a.m. wake up call.

Surprisingly I was up only once during the night and finally woke up only a half hour before my wake up call. I took my time getting ready and packing up for checkout. One of the advantages of this hotel is that breakfast starts early at 6:00 a.m. All too often traveling for races I miss the hotel breakfast and have to find a 24-hour place because breakfast isn't served until 7:00 a.m. or later and that's when many of the races start. It's also in a convenient location because I hop on the highway and it's a straight drive for 10-15 minutes to get to the race start in Quiet Waters State Park. The park nominally opens at 7:00 a.m. with a 7:30 a.m. race start. I arrived at 6:45 a.m. and got one of the last parking spaces at the pavilion. I met a friend from the RW Geezers group on FB who was volunteering at the race, then looked for my friend who intended to walk the race with a friend. We found each other. Coincidentally they were parked next to me. We took a prerace picture or two, listened to last minute instructions, the singing of the national anthem, then wandered over to the start where we positioned ourselves at the back.

With no Garmin to check pace I had to rely strictly on perceived effort. I felt comfortable on the first lap, but at times felt I may be running too fast. I walked a few of the bigger hills but otherwise felt fine running. On completely the first lap (4.15 miles) I was a couple minutes slower than last year, which was probably good because I started too fast last year. I took my time at the aid station getting something to eat and drink and refilling my water bottles. I still felt comfortable on the second lap and was careful to walk hills and keep the effort reserved. The second lap was about two minutes slower than the first which made sense with walking a few more hills. At this point the humidity and increasing heat were beginning to take a toll. I walked a little more on the third lap and was obviously slowing down. The heat and humidity were also taking a toll, so I chose to begin lap four walking. I ended up walking the entire lap to recuperate some even though that put me well over an hour for the lap and slightly under four hours total, about 15 minutes slower than last year, but this year I was ready to continue. By this time I was going through both 10.5 oz. water bottles every lap between drinking and pouring water on my head to cool down. That's in addition to the Gatorade at the aid stations. The volunteers really stepped up here. Each lap they took my water bottles to refill for me as I entered the aid station and handed me my choice of drink while I grabbed something to eat. They had a cold, wet towel for my neck as well as encouraging words. I was able to run most of the fifth lap and finish it under an hour, though by the time I started my sixth lap there was less than an hour to the end. The heat and sun were now major considerations. Another runner was also walking at about the same pace, so we walked together for about half the lap until reaching the aid station. He continued while I stopped to drink more Gatorade. Over the final minutes I did jog some, but did not push hard though there was a temptation to see if I could still finish the lap before time was up. When the ending horn sounded I think I was about a half mile from the finish. I planted my flag and continued to jog and walk to complete the lap. I estimate a final race distance of about 24.4 miles, almost 8 miles farther than last year. Even more important was that I was able to manage the heat and humidity well enough to complete the entire 6 hours - plus getting back to the finish.

I never did catch up to and lap my friend who was walking, so she must have kept a very good pace. We posed for post-race photos, then she had to leave while I stayed for the food and awards presentation. I was very stiff, making sitting down and standing up again awkward. I was a little concerned about having to make the drive home, but I was moving better by the time everything was over. After getting home I posted a few summations of the race for running friends, but waited until the next morning to compose this report. It gave me more time to reflect on it. Overall it was a success though the final distance leaves me wanting a little more. If I can't cover 25 miles in 6 hours, it's going to be rather difficult (impossible?) to cover 50 miles in 12 hours. I'm currently ambivalent about trying to find a race in August for a final tune up before North Coast 24 in September. If I do it would be as a long supported run, not a race. I'm still hoping that I can set PA resident single age records for 100K and 24-hours at North Coast 24. It will be my last opportunity before my birthday.

2014 Dawn To Dusk To Dawn 24-Hour

Disappointment

This was supposed to be Dawn To Dusk To Dawn, but it turned out to be merely Dawn to Dusk.

This was a late addition to my 2014 racing schedule and I debated for quite a while before finally deciding to add it even though it came only 3 weeks after the Ice Age Trail 50K race. It proved to be a disappointment, but not because of any of the reasons I heard about why running it was not a good idea. I had hopes of setting a couple single-age PA resident records at the race, one for 100K and one for 24-hours. The 100K record should have been a shoo in since there was no existing mark. All I had to do was reach the 100K distance and it was mine. The 24-hour mark was and remains 72 miles, a distance that should have been well within my capabilities. Both will have to wait for another day. I should have one more crack at them at North Coast 24 just a few weeks before my birthday.

Leading up to the race I was finally beginning to feel more comfortable with long training runs. Besides the Garden Spot Village Marathon run in April as a supported training run, I finally managed to complete a 20 mile solo training run. Following that were the 18+ miles run at the IAT50K and another training run of about 16 miles. I topped out my training with a 55 mile week before tapering. My only real concern leading up to the race was the weather forecast. I've had several, actually more than several, bad experiences with heat and heat related issues both at races and in training over the last few years and the forecast was for sunny skies and a high of 77F. Similar conditions were a major factor in my DNF at Ice Age. Thanks to the many good suggestions on the RW and RA forums, I felt I would be able to cope with the sum and heat this time, though it would mean setting aside any attempts to finally complete 50 miles under 12 hours.

Race day started on a less than auspicious note. As I was pulling out the container of blueberries to add to my morning cereal the top popped open spilling blueberries all over the kitchen floor. I finally got that all cleaned up, ate breakfast, dressed, packed the cooler, and carted everything out to the car - then made two more trips inside to add a few things I'd forgotten or overlooked. Then despite having checked out directions earlier in the week, I missed a critical turn and got lost driving to the track. I was not the most relaxed person when I finally found my way, though I had left more than enough time just for contingencies like that. I dropped my cooler and bag on the grass infield not too far from the start/finish and picked up my packet, chatted with my friend Keith and met a few other runners. And of course forgot to apply sunscreen. All told this was not the way I intended to begin the day.

The race was set up starting to run counter-clockwise. There were actually 3 races, a 50K, a 12-hour, and a 24-hour. Every 4 hours we would change direction by completing the lap we were on in the first two lanes where the timing mats were and turning around using lanes 5 and 6 for a wider turn before moving back to lane one giving those who were completing their lap the right of way. With only about 35 of us on the track to start we were pretty spread out quickly. There were some very good runners there so it wasn't long before we slower runners were getting lapped. I was lapped by the lead runner just as I was completing my first lap. Runners were instructed to keep to the inside except when passing or running side by side, though I noticed many moved into lane 2 when walking, but n general crowding and passing was not a problem. Port-a-potties were set up at one end of the track and the aid station was near the start/finish. From what I could tell it was standard fare. One nice feature was water bottles with ours names taped on them that volunteers would refill for us if we left them on the table.

The race started rather informally. As the digital clock counted toward 7:00 the RD said go and we were off and running or walking as was the case a few. I started my stopwatch, then had problems starting my Garmin so I was 5-10 seconds off on that which is insignificant. I just adjusted by first split to compensate. It didn't really matter because there was a monitor just past the timing mat that displayed number of laps, kilometers, and time of last lap so all the information I needed was there. I also knew my Garmin battery would only last 12-13 hours which is why I started my watch as well. With a plan of running 2 laps then walking a lap, mile splits would be erratic and not really show any inconsistencies, so I manually took splits every 5K on my watch. For the first 35K they were reasonably consistent with much of the variation due to stops at the aid station or potty breaks. In any case they were 40:53, 42:18, 42:03, 40:56, 42:09, 44:44, and 43:56. It was approaching noon and so far no problems. The sun was warm but not hot yet. As precautions I was wearing a short sleeve white shirt, a light blue hat, and sprinkling my head with cold water frequently. It was also about this time that I started noticing what was to become the problems leading to my retiring early.

The first symptom was a developing soreness in my right ankle and a feeling that I had little cushioning or support. that probably wasn't surprising because I was wearing a light weight road shoe, the Saucony Ride 6 which already had about 150 miles on them. Somewhere in there I think I may have slightly hyperextended my left knee as well because it was starting to ache behind the knee and feel a little puffy. Just in case some thing like this happens, I had brought along an old pair of Guide 7s. While they did have a lot of miles on them, they also had a little more support which I hoped would help. I started walking a lot more at this point as well, both because of the aches and because it was getting warmer and I didn't want to overheat any more than needed. My next couple 5K splits were 48:15 and 57:34. After that it gets hard to tell what pace I was going because of the breaks. When I finally reached 60K, 150 laps, I took an extended break.

Despite eating frequently I may not have been eating enough because I was feeling a lack of energy. I had slowed to over 20 minutes per mile at that point. The RD noticed me taking an extended break and checked to see if I was okay. He suggested, almost insisted, that I walk down to the building housing the kitchen to get out of the sun and get more food and drink in me. This turned into a break of almost 2 hours as I waited at their suggestion until almost 7:00 p.m. when we had the next direction change and the sun was much lower before returning to the track. Once back on the track I was feeling much better, but after testing my ankle and knee decided I did not want to risk aggravating them anymore and settled into a steady walk about 16:40-16:45 pace and knocked out another 15K. Over the last kilometer or so I could again feel myself starting to fade so I decided to take another break to recover. Once again the RD insisted I come inside, this time to get warm. I really appreciated his insistence since I tend to tell people I'm find and don't need anything because I don't want to be a bother. It wasn't until I got inside that I realized I was slightly chilled despite the temperatures. With being damp from perspiration and the cool breeze, it was easy to get chilled when you weren't moving. I sat and stayed warm for about 40 minutes. While I was feeling better after than as far as energy, I also noted that there was no relief of the aches in my ankle and knee. If anything they had slightly worsened and I could feel the beginnings of a pain in my hip as well. I decided it was best to call it a day and not push myself into a real injury. It's a moot point whether I could have babied myself for another 30K to get that record. At that moment it wasn't important enough to me to make the attempt even though there was plenty of time even walking slowly. In spite of all this, I really did enjoy myself and have fun. Most of the time I was smiling and had some good interactions with the other runners, and the laps went by much faster than many would expect.

Waking up Sunday morning my ankle was a little sore and my knee stiff. I have no doubt I made a good decision, whether it was the best or not I don't know. I expect to have another chance at those records. What concerns me more is whether I'm making a habit of giving up when things get tough rather than persevering through the difficult spots or whether they were really wise decisions. Nutrition and taking in enough calories is still any issue, though hydration seems fine by all criteria or measurements I'm aware of. I expect to learn more about that and about my decision making and perseverance as I plan for long summer runs working toward North Coast 24.

2014 Ice Age Trail 50K

Unrealized Potential

This adventure started two days prior to the race when I broke into a cold sweat and had to lie down to wait for it to pass. It concerned me enough with the upcoming race and the stress that it would place on me, that I drove myself to the ER where I spent the next 7 hours undergoing tests, including an echo-cardiogram stress test, and waiting for results. The good news is that all the results came back normal or as normal as they would be for me. That also meant there was no explanation for what happened. After returning home I called my doctor, who was of course out of the office that day. Regardless of what she said regarding the advisability of me running the race, I was still making the trip. I just wouldn't know if I should run until Friday afternoon after I was already in Wisconsin.

The trip itself was uneventful unless you consider an hour plus delay in departure unusual. Unlike my experience in Las Vegas with street signs and directions, I had no problems finding and following signs to Delavan and my hotel, even though the directions I got off the Super 8 website were useless. I never did see signs for 119W from the airport. Staying at this Super 8 was also a totally different experience from the one I stayed at in Nyack, NY last year. My only regret, and there was no help for this, was its distance from the race start. Apparently there is nothing close to the start of the race. There were some motels closer to packet pickup, including a Super 8 across the street, that would have saved driving some miles, but overall that was insignificant. One welcome feature was that the motel started breakfast at 5:00 am. Usually with early race starts I have to find a 24-hour restaurant to get a pre-race breakfast.

I picked up my packet Friday evening, then decided to stay for the pre-race pasta diner rather than driving back to Delavan and dining at the Perkins across the street. I met a couple, Jack and Lori, and another gentleman, Paul, who looked about my age, at the table I sat at. We swapped stories over dinner. I looked for them at the race Saturday, but never saw them in the crowd. The race did have a record number of runners. After dinner I went back and laid out everything for the morning and turned in early. I didn't bother leaving a wake up call because I expected to toss and turn, waking up every hour during the night anyway. Besides the 50K didn't start until 8:15 am.

As expected I didn't get more than an hour's sleep at any one stretch. I was up by 5:30 am. I dressed and went to breakfast, rather skimpy with coffee and a couple small, pre-packaged cinnamon rolls. After I relaxed in my room checking FB and email until I got too edgy. Since the back road route I worked out only took about 20 minutes, I was at the start well before I expected Mandy or Amanda and Todd. I didn't know when to expect Adam and Becky. Those were the only ones I knew and knew were coming. Amanda found me first and took me over to introduce me to Todd and Roxie. Mandy showed up shortly after that and I appointed her race photographer. As I write this I still haven't uploaded the photos so I have no idea what the pictures look like.

The weather was supposed to be ideal, so I kept on my long sleeve shirt. If it warmed up I was going to change to a short sleeve shirt after the initial 13 mile out-and-back section. I half noticed that I wasn't chilly and that should have been a signal to change into short sleeves before the race started. Even the RD was saying the weather was perfect and he expected a record high completion rate. Those words would come back to haunt him.

I didn't notice any type of signal to start the race, but all of a sudden everyone was moving forward, so I moved with them. Initially we were on a broad, grassy trail with plenty of room to get around runners - or for them to get around me. It was flat and I was lulled into thinking maybe the hills won't be too bad after all. Not so! I haven't been able to work out the mileage to the hills, but as the trail narrowed to single track it got hilly. These were longer than any of the hills I've run on when on trails and every bit as steep as the worse I encountered locally at Ridley Creek State Park. Everyone I saw was walking. I didn't bother to count them, but there must have been at least four major hills and a number of smaller ones, each of which I'd have to negotiate on the way back. At first they really didn't seem to bother me and reached the turn around at about 6.5 miles. I was surprised to see quite a few runners standing around at the aid station taking a long break. I stopped long enough to eat some M&Ms and drink, then headed back. Heading back I started to see what I assume were the lead 50-Mile runners. They were certainly moving fast enough. I wasn't until I was nearing the start/finish area that I began to feel how tired my legs were from the hills. I mentioned this to Mandy when I passed by her.

The Nordic Trail loop, which we were to run twice, is broad and grassy. It is also open to the late morning and afternoon sun. I think this is what finally proved my undoing. While beginning to tire I was still moving well and could finally settle into a regular pattern of running and walking. About two miles into the loop I began to feel a lot more drained than expected and noticed I was beginning to hyperventilate a little. Even the small hills were becoming a problem. While I could still move well on the flat and downhill, I could barely make it up the hills. It got to the point where I was almost pausing in mid-stride up hill because I was too weak to fight gravity. The sun beating down was now a major factor and I hadn't bothered to bring my hat. My race and I deteriorated rapidly after that. Not knowing exactly where I was between aid stations I elected to continue forward and hope that I didn't have too far to go, hopefully no more than two miles. It seemed more like four or five, but I finally almost staggered into the area responding, "a ride back to the start", when they asked what I wanted. I sat for a while and drank whatever they handed me while they decided who could give me a ride to the finish. Jody was elected, and when we got back kindly walked me over to the medical tent. Mostly all I needed was a cool, shady place to sit and imbibe fluids. With the issues I've had with high potassium levels, I've been overly cautious about what to drink when running. I;d been avoiding sports drinks because I wasn't sure of their potassium content, As a result my sodium levels were probably low. I don't think I was dehydrated because I had been drinking water and cola, but I was getting salt caked on my forehead, so I was obviously losing sodium with perspiration.

After I'd been there a while I realized it was getting close to the time when Mandy would be expecting to see me finish the first Nordic Trail loop, so I asked about walking slowly about the area to see if we could find her. One of the medical staff had already tried to find her, but couldn't based on my description which included looking for someone with a brindle colored dog. Mandy found us so they released me into her care. The rest of the afternoon was spent eating, drinking, and chatting with old and new friends. When we finally had to start leaving to get home, or in my case, back to the motel, I inherited the few remaining cookies Mandy brought. I was surprised there were any left, but then the race had a good BBQ with brats, veggie lasagna, pasta, and beer, so maybe people weren't as hungry as I thought they would be.

In many ways this was a rerun of last year's Endless Summer 6-Hour race except I handled the hills better today. The sun beating down on me was the deciding factor and I have yet to discover an adequate solution. I will have more opportunities, though, since I'm running a reprise of Endless Summer in July and I also face the possibility at Dawn 2 Dusk 2 Dawn 24 Hours of similar conditions minus the hills. D2D2D is run on a 400m track. With North Coast 24 also having the possibility of hot direct sun during the afternoon, finding a way to deal with that has to be one of my highest priorities.

2014 Garden Spot Village Marathon

A Supported Training Run

My sole reason for entering this race was to treat it as a supported training run in preparation for the ultra marathons I'll be running later. I've had a serious lack of discipline on my long runs, and generally won't push my self past about 15 miles or three hours or running. This was one solution to that, and had the advantage that I needn't be concerned with the logistics with water stops every 2-3 miles. It was simple enough to stuff some snacks in a belt pouch since I avoid using gels or GU.

My manager gave me race day off so that was taken care of. I hadn't mentioned anything about preferring not to work the closing shift, so I was scheduled for the 7:00 PM to close shift. I figured I would drive out the day before for packet pickup and drive the course. That would also ensure I knew how to get there and how long it would take. That's when I realize I would get only 5 hours sleep, if that even if I had everything I needed laid out the night before. Not the most auspicious start, but not a major issue either. Even being a training run, I figured I wouldn't sleep well anyway just like before any other race. The course itself included a lot of rolling hills. Only a couple looked like they would be an issue during the race, but as I was enlightened on race day, hills look a lot different from the front seat of a car than they do on foot.

My basic plan was to run-walk the course as if it were the start of an ultra marathon. I learned that there would be pace groups and thought that might be a good way to begin and keep my early pace under control. Unfortunately the slowest pace group for the marathon was 4:40, though there were 2:30 and 2:45 pace groups for the half marathon. Starting with the 2:45 half marathon pace group sounded reasonable. What I hadn't counted on was that the pacer wasn't planning on walk breaks except on some of the longer or steeper hills and planned to bank time the first half because of the hills on the return. Running the first two miles about 12:00 pace and reaching 5 miles averaging 12:12 wasn't in my prerace plan.

With my plan to emulate the first part of an ultra shot to pieces, I changed strategies mid-race and decided to run steadily as long as I could, only walking the up hills when necessary or prudent and walking through the water stops. Just after the half marathon turn around I joined up with Chris who was running her first marathon. This was an unplanned bonus and we ran together for the next 10 miles. At that point I realized I would not be able to hold a 5:30 pace to the finish without turning this into a race effort instead of a training run, and that didn't fit my long term plans...or even my short term ones with the Ice Age Trail 50K coming up on May 10th. I told her to continue at her own pace while I switched to more of a run-walk rhythm. I was also becoming concerned about the rising temperatures. There had been not extended period to acclimate to them and I have a history of struggling in warmer temperatures as well. When I saw her again after I finished she was quite happy about finishing under 5:30 and thanked me for getting her through what she considered a tough portion of the course.

Having had company for the first 17 miles, the last nine weren't that bad. There were also other runners in sight and, surprisingly considering I'd switched to run-walk, I was gaining on some of them and must have passed at least a dozen over the next 6 miles. Much of the early miles of this section were undulating but not really hilly, so I limited my walking as much as possible knowing I had at least one very tough, short hill shortly after the half marathon turn around. On the way out going down that hill I had to slow down to control my stride, so I knew it would be a challenge coming back. What I didn't anticipate was that it would slow me to a 22:00 walking pace before I reached the top. I walked for a good 200-300m or more before I my legs felt like I could run again. Running itself wasn't too bad, and when I was running I was keeping a good pace. It was the transition and to running that was hard. My legs just didn't want to make the change. Somewhere around mile 22 the course started up hill. I do not remember running that much down hill in the early stages of the race. It seemed like the up hill would never end. I may have walked almost the entire mile before I reached the top. At least it was the last hill and when I started down there was just over 3 miles left.

With no more hills to face I tried to get into a more regular pattern, running for 90 seconds, then walking for 90 seconds. I still find it odd that I had no problems running sub-12:00 pace, but it was hard to hold that for more than 90 seconds or so without a very concerted effort, one I was not willing to make. Even after I turned back into Garden Spot Village and passed the 26-mile sign, I had to walk once more for a short distance before I was confident I could run to the finish. The clock read just under 5:45 and my chip time would be 5:43:50, near the upper limits of what I had anticipated even though I dispensed with my pre-race plan. Of more importance to me was that I finished and felt reasonably good rather than ready to collapse. Still it was a very welcome sight to see my friend, Joanne, after I finished. She also made sure I had whatever I needed or wanted from the post-race food while I found a place to sit and we caught up on news and rehashed the race. Once I felt recovered we headed to a local restaurant for something a little more substantial. I had a grilled cheese with bacon and tomato, only later discovering that today was National Grilled Cheese Day.

With that out of the way, I'm hoping it will encourage me to be more disciplined about getting out for some 4-5 hour training runs. If I can do this well with my slightly higher mileage without the long runs, that's a good omen that I should be able to run better if I can get in the longer runs. I'm starting to give serious consideration to finding a suitable race with a liberal cutoff time to run a 100-mile race.

2014 Jackpot Ultra 12-Hour

Unprepared For the Distance

My preparation for Jackpot was less than ideal. It's not that I wasn't running consistently or putting in the miles, rather it was how I distributed those miles. My Clearwater Half Marathon demonstrated that my fitness was much higher than last September for North coast, but my longest run since then was only 15.1 miles, a little over 3 hours. This was to prove crucial to both my race strategy and race day execution. Preparation was complicated by high potassium levels at my semi-annual physical which had my primary care physician concerned enough that she asked me to see a nephrologist. Anything that affected my electrolytes would be of concern going into an ultra marathon. I'm not sure whether it was better that I didn't hear anything from the further test results or not before I left for Las Vegas. I still haven't heard anything, so I assume there is nothing critical that needs to be addressed immediately. Still it had me on edge since nutrition, hydration, and my electrolytes were all issues at North Coast.

Thursday when I was flying to Las Vegas brought its own set of stress factors. First there was the 12-14" of snow that had fallen overnight. Digging out my car was not the best taper activity when I was supposed to be resting and conserving my energy for the race. Then there were all the flight cancellations. One after another the flights out of Philadelphia including all the morning flights to Las Vegas were being delayed or cancelled. My flight wasn't scheduled to leave until 6:00 p.m. but at that point I was half expecting not to get away until the morning. I think it was about 2:00 p.m. when I received an automated phone call that my flight was delayed until 8:15 p.m. Even then the instruction were to be at the airport ready to leave at the original time, since it could change again. I did leave early enough to be ready for the original flight time, but I really wasn't surprised that it wasn't until about 8:30 p.m. before we finally took off. Meanwhile I'd made phone calls to be sure my hotel and rental car reservations would be held for. It was a direct flight so it was a little after 11:00 p.m. Las Vegas time when I arrived. Matters got frustrating after that. Highway signage was minimal and not too helpful. I must have made at least 4 wrong turns or missed turns before finally blundering my way to the hotel.

With yesterday's directional issues in mind, the first thing I did after breakfast was Google directions to Cornerstone Park to be sure I'd have no problems getting to the race the next day. It's a good thing I drove there because it was another case of driving around in circles or back and forth because I couldn't find the streets I was supposed to follow. I eventually found the park by trial and error. I don't think the last three streets referenced in the direction even exist. After checking out the paths in the park, I spent some time sightseeing before picking up my packet late afternoon. It was fun to hang around the Red Rock Running Company store talking with other runners, including my friend Katrina, as they checked in. I joined a group of them that were dining at the Cheesecake Factory that evening. Being Valentine's Day it was a long wait for a table that could seat 15 of us. And by the way, I'm having second thoughts about shepherd's pie being a good pre-race dinner.

Race day began with a few hitches. First I had problems getting to sleep, then staying asleep. After waking up almost every hour I finally got up, got everything ready, then headed down to breakfast. I waited...and waited...and waited. It was now 7:20 a.m. by my watch and breakfast was late. The race started at 9:00 a.m. and I wanted to be there about an hour early. So I knocked on the kitchen door to see if I could at least grab a couple muffins and a cup of coffee to go. Much to my surprise I was told breakfast started at 7:00 a.m. and it was only 6:25 a.m. Whoever had set the clock in my hotel room had set it an hour ahead. At least I could relax and drink my coffee while waiting for breakfast now.

When I got to the park I was one of the earlier arrivals. I walked around a bit, found a place to drop my knapsack, and chatted with a few runners and crew. Much to my embarrassment I was persuaded to have my photo taken with two show girls who were there as part of race day entertainment. After dinner last night I could at least look for some familiar faces also. There were also quite a few others taking photos which have been or will be posted on FaceBook. Looking ahead to the race, we would have enough cloud coverage that the Sun shouldn't be a problem and temperatures would be moderated. I think the high reached only 75F if that.

After the national anthem was played by Ed Ettinghausen, one of the better known runners, we gathered for the start and I drifted to the rear expecting, actually hoping, I would be one of the slower starters. I had only a general plan for my walk breaks. Rather than specific timed intervals, I tried to adjust them to the terrain walking the slight uphills. Overall that seemed to be working at first, but the walk breaks, in hindsight, were probably too short, only 1-2 minutes rather than the 3-4 minutes I had initially been considering. Each loop was 2.381 miles, but it was a long, thin loop bent into a horseshoe shape with some parts overlapping like an out and back course. We were constantly in sight of other runners going both ways after only a couple laps. The peculiar shape must have thrown off the Garmin readings because a number of other runners commented that the Garmins were reading short rather than long. Splits have not been posted but my Garmin splits showed be at 1:03:33 for 5 miles, 2:08:18 for 10 miles (1:04:45), 3:14:32 for 15 miles (1:06:14), and 4:27:25 for 20 miles (1:12:53). As you can see I was slowing down noticeably after 15 miles, i.e. after I was beyond my longest training run. I had quite a few minutes banked at this point, but that would change as I moved into the second phase of the race.

By mile 22 or about 5 hours into the race I was reaching a low point. I kept telling myself to think positive thoughts. I reminded myself that I didn't have a specific mileage goal, so as long as I kept walking I was making good, positive progress. I wasn't happy with the prospect of walking for 7 more hours, though. Meanwhile runners are passing me in both directions and almost everyone is encouraging - lots of waving, comments, and the occasional low five. I admitted to Katrina that I was having a tough time, but otherwise I tried to keep any negative thoughts to myself. Those next 5 miles took 1:25:07 and brought me through 25 miles in 5:52:32, my slowest by far to that point. I think I had a few laps that took me over 40 minutes when my benchmark was about 34 minutes. Running 34:17 per lap would give me 50 miles for 12 hours. My cushion was not only rapidly disappearing, by 30 miles it had disappeared entirely. But something happened between mile 25 and mile 30. Whether it was finally benefiting from what I'd eaten at the aid station or I was partially recovering with all the walking I'd been doing, I started feeling better and was able to push myself to jog short sections of the course again. That was something I never got to at North Coast, so I considered it a huge breakthrough for me. With being able to jog again, even if only for a couple minutes at a time, I covered those 5 miles in 1:20:06 reaching 30 miles in 7:12:38. I was perking up and still smiling. While I was still moving slowly, it was faster than I had been and I was able to continue that pace running 1:19:42 for that segment bringing me to 35 miles in 8:32:20. Along the way I got a lift when I passed the 50K mark.

Somewhere around mile 36 or 37 was my slowest of the day. This became the real turning point in the race. The reason it was slow had nothing to do with how tired I was or how I was feeling. The sun had set and it was getting dark. I could probably have continued without a light source as some did, but I stopped to get a small flashlight from my pack. First I had trouble bending down to search my pack, then I had problems finding the flashlight. A couple young women crewing for some other runners offered to help, then once we found it, one of them offered to pace me if I wanted. I wasn't sure how serious she was and cautioned that I was going slow mostly walking. She didn't mind and said she'd like to because it gave her something more to do, so off I went with a new found friend. With the long stop that five mile segment took 1:30:13 and brought me to 40 miles in 10:02:33, but the transformation after the stop was almost miraculous. My pace didn't change much, in fact it was actually a little slower though these next few miles also included a potty break, so maybe I didn't slow down. Subjectively they flew by as the two of us chatted. Among the interesting items that came up were that she grew up near Edgewater Park in Cleveland, so was very familiar with the place where North coast is held. She's now in Columbus and knows or at least knows of some of the RW people from that area. Another 1:22:34 brought me to 45 miles in 11:24:47. At this point it was obvious my Garmin readings were not in sync with the official tally. With 19 laps and 45.239 miles run I made sure to grab my beanbag to mark where I was when the horn ending the race sounded. I did not really expect to complete another full lap. I decided to push the last lap a little if I could, so we started jogging, maybe actually running, more frequently or for longer stretches. Much to my surprise we not only finished the 20th lap, we had 15 minutes left to run. In that final 15 minutes I completed a partial lap of 5263 feet, 17 feet short of a mile. That brought us to just before the area where crews set up their tents and I had my backpack. My pacer angel had stayed with me for almost 5 full laps and when everything was tallied my total was 48.62 miles, well beyond the 40-45 miles I had anticipated.

My pacer, Lillian, continued to minister to me by helping me get my warm-up suit on, then running up to the aid station to get me something to eat and drink. Feeling a little better by then we walked back to the aid station area to cheer runners as they came by and congratulate finishers in the 12-hour race. Katrina was taking a break at the time so I decided to head back to my hotel. I was in no position to pace her at the time anyway, even walking. Unable to sleep, mainly tossing and turning, I finally decided I might as well shower and return to the race. Many of the 6-hour and 12-hour runners and crew had packed up and left, so it was mostly the 24-hour and 100-mile runners left. With not much else going on and few people about, I asked if I could be useful, so I was assigned to keep cups filled for the drinks, a simple enough job that even in my current state I could handle. It also gave me the opportunity to see and sometimes talk to the runners still on the course. I must have been there for 2-3 hours before Katrina returned to the course. I asked to be excused so I could walk a lap or so with her as a "pacer". I stayed with her until her husband arrived to walk with her until she finished.

It would be hard to describe those who completed the 24-hour and 100-mile races. Some of them looked like sleep walkers while others remained bright and cheery. I don't know where they found the energy to leap and cavort to celebrate their finishes. There was lots of cheering for each and the RDs were on top of everything seeing that everyone got their finisher's medal and those who completed 100 miles got their buckle. I wasn't up to staying until 3:00 p.m. and the 100-mile cutoff time. This time when I got back to the hotel, first I grabbed another breakfast, then I finally crashed in bed and slept a good portion of the day.

The quick fade shortly after I passed 15 miles drove home the importance of getting in some longer runs of 4, 5, even 6 hours. It wasn't lack of energy. My legs just didn't want to continue with that activity. My recovery with walking and being able to continue and start running again included both physical and mental components. At North Coast I was afraid that if I made the effort to run late in the race, I wouldn't be able to finish. This time I knew I could finish and it was a matter of whether I was willing to make the effort. Having a pacer, someone to talk with, was a major positive factor. I think I need to learn how to deal with races and situations when I won't have a pacer, but my preference at this point is to have one if at all possible. Much of that is that the time passes quicker subjectively, because I'm focused on something else besides running and how tired or bored I am at the time. With my next scheduled race being the Ice Age Trail 50K, I need to focus on preparing for that with more time running trails as soon as they are passable. I hope to add at least one trail race to my schedule before that. I'm still tempted to add a 24-hour track run to my schedule at the end of May. Even if I only run as far as 100K, it would be another intermediate step up leading to the 24-hours at North Coast this year. I'm recovering quickly again, so I suspect I can do a lot more than I have so far.

 2014 Clearwater Half Marathon

Testing My Endurance

In my first race after North Coast 24, my first ultra marathon, I ran my first 5K of the year to test my fitness and speed over the shorter distance. I had expected to run about 27:30-27:45 though I thought fitness-wise I might be capable of running as fast as 26:30. I also thought that I could be as slow as 28:30, since I hadn't had time to do much in the way of 5K type training. I surprised myself with an exceptionally strong, fast last kilometer and finish for a time of 26:50, my fastest in over three years. This race would test my strength and endurance. I didn't have much to guide me in expectations. My long runs still were a struggle and I included walk breaks in about half of them. Coming into the race rested I was confident of running sub-2:30, but doubtful that a sub-2:10 was possible despite calculator equivalents well under that based on my 5K time. That gave me a wide range of twenty minutes, but something around an 11:00 pace seemed to be most reasonable given the course with its two bridges going out and coming back. I was quite concerned about the last bridge coming as it did only a mile from the finish.

I began race preparations with a 13.7 mile run just 8 days before the race with the intention of cutting back mileage, but including a short progression run early in the week and some one minute pick ups later in the week before a day off for travel and a short, easy warm up the day before the race. That plan didn't last past the first day. Saturday's long run left me more tired than expected, so Monday's progression run was transformed into a fartlek run with walk breaks. After an easy recovery day, Wednesday eased into an unscheduled rest day while I was busy with laundry, packing, and last minute activities getting ready for the trip. It wasn't until Thursday that I finally got in a little pace or tempo work, but limited it just a mile of the short run.

Friday was my travel day and supposedly a rest day. Saturday was looking to be busier than originally intended with a tight schedule, so on a whim I headed out for a mile and a half shake out run just to loosed up and get the travel stiffness out of my legs. That turned out to be a good decision, because I had no time Saturday to run. The drive up to Crystal River for the Manatee Festival and lunch with a friend was longer than expected. After lunch and riding out to Three Sisters Springs to see the manatees, it was late enough that I had no time to even stop at my hotel room before driving to Maggiano's for dinner with more friends from the Runner's World and RunningAhead forums and Facebook including Lara, her son Christian, and Damaris. It was a great day for sightseeing and visiting with friends, but poor preparation for a half marathon the next morning. I spent about five hours in the car and it took a toll on me.

I left a request at the front desk for a 5:30 am wake up call. I didn't need it. I finally gave up trying to sleep around 4:45 am and checked out before the requested wake up call. That at least gave me time to find a place to grab breakfast. Of all the possibilities that I'm sure were available, I ended up at McDonald's for pancakes and coffee. I took the coffee with me and nursed it while sitting in the car after finding a parking spot near packet and chip pick up. It was cold even by my standards for standing around pre-race. The poor Floridians were bundled up like it was sub-freezing. Meanwhile I had an hour before the race was scheduled to start. Now and then I'd get out of the car to jog up and down the parking lot to get the stiffness from yesterday's driving worked out, but nothing resembling a real warm up. With a field of close to 2,000 for the three races, I was pretty sure the first half mile or more would be crowded and slow enough that it would serve as a warm-up.

One of the times I was standing in the parking lot Lara ran by, so I followed her and discovered there were heaters set out. We spent much of the pre-race time huddled there keeping warm until it was time for a last minute trip to the port-a-potties. Meanwhile several other friends discovered us there. Despite what was for me a large field, I was able to find my friends in the crowd. Eventually we wandered over to the start where I was immediately confused, because we were lined up to run the opposite direction I thought I remembered from the course map. Then we waited. As we learned later there were problems with chip and number assignments, which explained the long lines pre-race for picking up chips, and subsequent delay in the start as problems were resolved. That later caused delays with compiling the results as well.

Looking around as we waited for the start, I was dumbfounded by how runners were bundled up. It was like no one ever told them to dress for temperatures twenty degrees warmer than it was. Runners were wearing vests, jackets, hoodies, I think I even saw some scarves, not to mention gloves and ear warmers. I was concerned about being over dressed in shorts and a long sleeve tech shirt. If the temperature reached 70F before the finish I'd be much too warm, though in the early morning chill it felt about right. As I was waiting, I noticed the field starting to move. I never heard a command , gun, or horn to start us off, but that didn't really matter back where I was. I followed the crowd and watched for the starting mats so I would know when to start my Garmin.

In that crowd the early pace was slow. That wasn't a concern, or wouldn't be, as long as it thinned out quickly and I could shift into race pace. We turned a corner or two, jogged up a short slope, then turned another corner to head toward the first bridge for the first time. The street had widened by then so there was plenty of room to run. I haven't made adjustments for the small discrepancy between my Garmin time and distance (13.17 miles) and the official time and distance, but the times are close enough for race report purposes. With the slow start and uphill on the bridge, I was satisfied with my 11:31 first mile. Coming down the bridge I regained a lot of what I lost with the second mile in 10:46. From there I was more concerned with each mile split than I was the running gun time displayed on the digital clocks at the mile markers. As each mile passed I was checking to see if I was cutting into the excess over 11:00 pace based on the gun time. By the time we came off the bridge, even with the marathoners and 5-mile racers still with us, the field was stretched out, which was a good and necessary development as cones set out narrowed our route to a lane on the side of the road.

I settled in to maintain about an 11:00 pace or just under for the next few miles. By the time I realized that the 5-mile runners were on the far side of the road, the leaders had already passed, so I missed seeing Christian. I didn't see Lara either, then all of a sudden I was past the turn-around for the 5-mile race and the field thinned considerably. Mile three went by in 10:55 and that was about when I came up behind Damaris. We matched strides for about a mile, I think, then came to the second bridge. I strode strong up the bridge and at that point Damaris backed off the pace. That mile was slower, 11:19, but I was beginning to pass a few runners who were already slowing down. I don't know if they were half marathoners or marathoners, but it didn't make any difference to me at that point.

As I ran through the middle miles they became a little erratic in pace as I found myself speeding up and passing more runners, then backing off the pace as I felt it was still too early to push the pace. As a results miles five through eight were 10:32, 10:49, 10:43, and 10:37. By this time we had made the turn-around while the marathoners continued. Even with holding back a little I was getting into a racing rhythm and steadily catching and passing runners. Keeping in the back of my mind that I had that final bridge looming with a mile to go, I switched gears mentally and began to race. Miles nine, ten, eleven, and twelve flew by in 10:42, 10:47, 10:31, and 10:39. Keep in mind that included the upslope of the second bridge on the return. By mile twelve I was really beginning to hurt and wasn't sure whether I was holding pace or not until I could read the digital clock.

One mile to go came right near the beginning of the bridge. With the mile markers for the 5-mile race, I could get a split there to see what my last mile was, while still getting my regular splits recorded on my Garmin. If I didn't have the numbers recorded as well as seeing and remembering the clock times as I passed, I wouldn't believe they were possible. Running up the bridge felt like a jog and as I neared the crest there were times when I felt like I paused mid-stride I was going so slow. But I was one of the few people running the entire up slope and passing runners or closing the gap the entire time. Christian was waiting for me at the crest and paced me down the bridge encouraging me to catch and pass as many runners as I could. I think this is the first time anyone has ever paced me to the finish in a race, and I'm really grateful to Christian for doing it. He veered off at mile thirteen with an admonishment to catch those two runners ahead of me. I tried and did, then caught one more after that. That final effort completely exhausted me to the point where I was struggling to maintain my form. I'm hoping no one took a picture as I crossed the finish line, because I had to have looked terrible. I bent over to rest my hands on my knees and thought I was going to fall flat on my face. Some volunteers walked me over to a chair, then fetched the EMTs to check me over. It was another case of pushing myself too hard to the point of exhaustion and near collapse, but that's the way I race. It wasn't until I checked my times later that I saw that mile thirteen was 10:09 and the last .17 on my Garmin was 8:45 pace. My last mile was actually 9:55 from the 4-mile split on the 5-mile course to the finish. No wonder I was tired.

It didn't take too long before I felt well enough to sign off for the EMTs and join my friends. A banana or two, some pastries, a couple cans of Coke, and I was fine. Time enough later for another Coke and pasta. With the earlier issues with the chips and number assignments, I only heard the 5-mile race awards being announced. Results were not posted anywhere, but you could go to the results tent, enter your number, and get your own results, which I did. Gun time was 2:23:17 and chip time was 2:21:30. There wasn't any HM split marker, but my Garmin time at 6.56 miles was 1:11:35, so the second half or 6.61 Garmin miles was 1:09:55, a nice negative split. I'm still a ways from where I want to be, but these results are very encouraging. Even more so was my ability to push up the final bridge and kick into overdrive coming down and into the finish.

I have a lot of work to do to increase my long runs, but my training paces are starting to fall within my target range for my goals this year. Recovery has been quick, also, with no problems running 5 miles the day after and 6 miles a couple days later, all at much faster than my usual recovery pace. Next up is the Jackpot Ultra 12-Hour Race in Las Vegas on February 15th. That should tell me a lot about how my training translates to the longer distances of ultras and their slower paces with walk breaks.