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.