Post Race Thoughts, Comment Replys, next Race!

A few things I saw in the comments sections of the recaps.

Gourmet Red Bull's.. haha, nothing more than a regular Red Bull, maybe cold, just became something Antonette nicknamed to make it sound better.

Speed Racer commented about the Euphoric feeling and wonder if a cyclist can enter that zone. I'm not sure a cyclist can get that tired and not fall over so not sure it would be the same but I do think that dazed and confused could be acquired, especially, if your cycling the Furnace Creek 508!

The darkest hours, literally!! It was seriously dark back in that canyon and with 18* all I could see at night was my cold steam breath blowing in front of me. I am super glad I purchased that jacket as it would have been trouble if I had not had it and may have been my demise as I did not have anything that would protect me from the cold/wind/snow.

I wore Injinji toe socks with a thin Balega sock over it, this has always worked for me in the past trail or road and my feet did really well. I did start to feel a little hot spot on the ball of my left foot sometime after 55 miles and stopped to change my socks at this time, (I had only changed shoes earlier) and I added BlisterShield Powder to both socks this time and the hot spot went away. I had used the BlisterShield at HURT back in Jan and it worked great there too. So overall I had no, Zero, Blisters or Hot Spots at the finish! Thank you God.

Nutrition wise I tried to use Gu's for a while but I was just over them in a hurry so I switched to Succeed Ultra and later I switched out with Amino and Clip2. I would rotate with these but mostly used Ultra. I think for Jemez 50k and Wasatch100 I am going to work on taking in more of the Amino and Clip2 as they have the amino acids/proteins and seemed to work good later in the day and night when I did take them. Otherwise, I ate some solid foods, like Pizza!! Bread Sticks!! Cookies!! Chicken Noodle Soup!! Crackers!! Snickers!! some various brownies, chips at the aid stations. Also I took some Red Bull's, one dose of No-Doze and a Mental Performance drink I experimented with called Neuro1 from Nutrition53. I have used this before from Stretch to Win when we were in certification and wow what a focus kick, so I wanted to see how it would hold up under sleep, tired conditions. When I took it about mile 62 it worked good for about 2 hours and I should have taken more but I didn't. I liked the fact of this working with neurotransmitters for the brain and focus instead of just a straight Jolt like effect. It does have caffeine, about 100mg, or 1 cup of coffee but the other ingredients are awesome and hey if Bill Romanowski, founder/ceo thinks its good, I'm in! haha, really more like if my peeps from Stretch to Win are on board then I'm in too!

After thinking back over the whole race what could I have done or will do different:

1. Ran faster! haha.
2. Be more efficient with the Neuro1 to control the sleepiness.
3. Practice staying awake later in the night leading up to the race event. Simple but true, I am usually asleep by 9-9:30pm so preparing my body/mind to stay awake till 12am-1am will I think help the night situation.
4. I am going to try and use two hand held bottles at Jemez 50k with my small waist carrier. I think Big B has validity to the fact that carrying a waist pack over time can upset the lower GI and being as I experienced this early on in this race vs. never in training of 20+ miles I want to try something else.
5. Enjoy the race more. I was so focused on moving that I had head down focus and didn't really stop to enjoy the overall race. I did take a little time when the Sun was going down because there is something about that time of day that I really like when I am out there. I also enjoyed the Sun rise, mostly because I knew it would wake me up.
6. Continue my No Whining Modo! Strong Mind, Strong Body and saving the whining for my running partners during training! ha!!

Recovery: I pretty much have taken off from anything the last 9 days. My feet were swollen the 2-3 days after so I wore my CEP Compression socks on and off, elevated my legs and took ibuprofen. I stretched some but probably not enough! I also used lots of Traumeel on my lower legs and ankles. I did do one Epsom Salt bath, not really sure how much it helped though. I also took the Recovery packets from Succeed for 5 days, I actually took 2x day for the first 2 days, along with extra Emergen-C. I also ate a little more protein than normal the week after but my hunger didn't actually kick in till about 4 days after.

I ran last night, 4 miles!! It was an easy start but about a mile in I could feel my lower legs still sore. I walked a little more than usually on this route but I kept moving and took it easy. I would say I am about 85% recovered but with the lower legs and glutes still sore after the run I still need some time. Which, I don't have too much of because for some crazy ass reason I had signed up for the Jemez50k and it's in 4 weeks, all trail, High Elevation. This will be a good effort come back after the 100 and back to the trails where I will enjoy this race, even through a lack of O2, because its in a great part of the country, Los Alamos, NM and I haven't been back there since I was a kid and my dad took me hunting.

rockon'

LOL100 ..To the Finish!!

Lap 4 - Mile 66-88: When we left I was completely out of it. I mean I couldn't tell you which way was up, my only focus was to keep moving down the road as fast as I could. I know the temperature was colder but it would get warmer in the early miles of the course and then colder at the back end. Up till this point my legs were pretty tired. I have some soreness in the lower quads which I knew was going to happen because of the long gradual and some short roller sections that the quads would take a beating over time so I was careful not to all out blast the downhills. I learned this at Javalina100k last year. My shoulders/neck and arms were just tight and I would my circle arm motions to and neck motions to try and stretch them out. At times I would even just stop and stretch my upper body and then it started to be the same with my lower body. My hip flexors were seriously tight and early in the day I could lift my leg up and stretch but as the night set it and long into it I would have to balance while hanging on to the shoulders of Antonette or Molly and then I would have to physically grab my hamstring from behind the knee and lift it to stretch! I did this several times through out the night and then I would massage my quads which seemed to help for a while.

Antonette was doing a great job keeping me moving, carrying my water bottle and anything else that seemed to weigh more than 1 oz! She would stay just a step ahead of me on my right side and I would basically just keep walking with her. At some points I would stop, bend over at the waist and cuss!! I knew I was so sleepy and my mind wanted to shut down, shit I have been moving for 18+ hours in Snow and cold and now its had enough, but good positive mantra would take hold.

I knew coming to this 100 it was going to be tough, period! Its a 100 miles and that is no easy task, on any course. I knew there was going to be hard times, fun times, bad times and times I couldn't even catagorize but before I even started, before I even showed up on race day I told myself one thing: STRONG MIND, STRONG BODY. This would be the fail safe positive reinforcement phrase for any negative thoughts or feelings that I came across. When I bent over to cuss and I realized what I was I doing I quickly stood up and started moving repeating to myself in my mind.. Strong Mind, Strong Body, Strong Mind, Strong Body.. It worked. My other goal coming into this race was no Whining, No Bitching, just get it done, I don't recall too many times I bitched or whined but I know I did and would quickly change my thoughts.

As we made it down Biatch Hill for the 4th time and approached the RV I decided I did not want to stop as I was simply too tired and in fear of becoming too comfortable I told Antonette I would keep walking and grab some much needed No-Doze, Red Bull and anything else to wake me up. Molly would be jumping in at this time and soon taking over at the far turn around when Antonette was done with her 22 miles. As I approached the aid station my hands were so cold so I stopped to warm them up on the heater they had there. I saw Jim Freeman and Ron, who I have know from other local races and they were manning the aid station. I talked briefly and then kept moving. Once I started moving I knew I had to move just a little faster because stopping had cooled me down and now I was even more cold so I just started going!

In the back of my mind I actually wanted to see how far I could get from Antonette and Molly before they caught me so I guess we could call this burst of energy. I'll take what I can get at this point and just kept moving at a fast pace than I had been moving in the past 2 hours. I was all alone. No other lights ahead of me and I could not see theres behind me. The cold was pretty strong as I could clouds of my breath when I breathed out. I kept this up for a while and then I noticed I started to slow down so I would turn around and look to see where the girls are and I could barely see there lights coming from afar. Damn!! I got too far away from them and now I would have to hold out solo until they caught me. I felt alone at this time and realized how much Antonette had been helping me and the value of a pacer. As my thoughts began to wonder I noticed I didn't really feel my body, no soreness, no pain in my toe, no cold. I just felt like I was there. I could see the cold, I knew it was cold but no feelings. Maybe because I was so sleepy I was sleep walking, ha!

I finally slowed down and knew I was wondering back and forth on the road. I would feel myself start leaning to one side and then I would see the dirt or the ditch and go oh shit! move over.. so I would get back to the center of the road and then I pull to the right, same thing! Back to the center. I felt like a wobbling idot out there swaying back and forth on the road and still no Antonette or Molly. I really thought a couple of times I was going to fall over and they would find me there on the sleeping on the ground. I knew I could not fall down because as sleepy as I was I would truly just smack the road most likely without any bracing and if I did happen to catch myself falling it would be too late and I may break a wrist or something so falling over was not an option! I finally heard Molly and Antonette behind me and so I stopped and waited the last couple of steps for them. They quickly said that I was on the move and that it took them a couple of miles to catch to me. Antonette handed me some PB&J and I quickly ate the whole thing, guess I was hungier than I thought. Then I took some No-Doze and chased it down with a Red Bull. Okay I thought I have about 20 mins and this shit will kick in!! Thank God!

As we continued to walk I still had my swaying back and forth on the road and they would both make sure I stayed in the center. Molly on the left, Antonette on the right. I remember continuously stopping and being so frustrated with not being able to wake up!! I know I stopped one time and just stood there like Superman, with my hands on my hips, my eyes closed and thinking just for a couple of minutes, but it only lasted about 10 seconds as Antonette would grab my arm and tell me to open my eyes. Then she would start pulling me a little just to get me moving. By now I realized it was super cold and breathing air in was actually hurting my teeth so I would cover my face with my running buff and then I would be okay, well, kind of. It would make my face nice and warm and then I would feel even more sleepy, so I then I would take it off below my chin, a shot of Cold Air and this game went on for a while or until the Sun would come up.

As we approached the back of the turn around I must of really started to slow down because Molly soon told me that she was going to walk in front of me and for me to follow her foot steps, to keep pace with her. At first I was like slow down!! (in my mind) but I knew they were trying to speed me up so I didn't really mind. They wanted me to speed up because I was going to slow and I would become cold and since the early morning hours were approaching it was going to get colder! As I followed Mollys feet I would would have my eyes down toward the ground and this only made me want to close them more but at least it gave me something to focus on for a while. Soon we were at the turn around and I gave Antonette a big hug and thanked her for helping and getting through some tough night/morning hours. As were at the aid station the aid station volunteer said I hope you dont want any liquids because everything is Frozen. The water, the pepsi, all liquids were frozen. I was basically okay and just wanted to get moving again so I started walking off and Molly tended to the water bottle stuff and soon caught up to me.

Just after we left the aid station Antonette came driving by and I remember looking at her car, it was covered in snow and frost and I knew it was seriously cold. I could feel how cold my hands were even with my gloves and I remember pumping my fists just to try and warm them up more by increasing blood flow. At some point, either then or a little bit later Antonette brought some soup and the cup was nice and warm but didn't last too long warm and I was able to drink and eat it all. Molly and I were on a little faster pace and I seemed to be a little more awake and focused. The Sun was soon be rising and I kept looking over the mountain to see if I could see it. This was a good focus for this time because I was starting to wake up and Molly said just hanging in there till that Sun comes up and you will be alright. As we approached the RV I had to grab my Garmin charger again as I wanted to make sure it didn't die out and a couple of other things, change of shoes back to the ones I had started with and I was out to finish lap 4.

It was still dark out and climbing the Biatch Hill was still no fun! I just put my head down and after what seemed like forever and still no Sun I was at the top of the damn hill. The last 4 miles the Sun finally started to come up and I was waking up. Molly and I started to chat more about the night and other random things and soon the pace was much quicker. My legs were throbbing now that I was awake and more alert to the fact of what was going on. I had noticed that my hand held bottle was not working or something was messed up on it and I kept examining to see WTF! I just couldn't seem to get water out of the top, like it was plugged or something. At one point we stopped at an unmanned aid station and I needed more water so I unscrewed the top and looked underneath the lid. Ohh, no wonder, I told Molly. Look at this, as I showed her the lid. The water had frozen under the lid and was like slush! Yes, it was still cold out and the damn water bottle had started to freeze over, and enough so that it froze the bottom of the lid and that's why I could not get water out of it. I banged the lid on the table and the ice/slush came out, refilled the bottle and off we went with a great working water bottle. Finally we were approaching the end of lap 4 and I told Molly I had to use the bathroom and I needed to sit down and stretch my quads at the station.

Lap 4 completed, 25 hours 6 mins @ mile 87.52.

After a couple of mins we were back on the road and the Sun was shinning and feeling good with a little warmth. It was actually quite a bit warmer this morning and I knew I wanted to keep moving so I would not be in the "heat" after all that cold. By this time I was back at the last decent of Biatch Hill and stated to go down, we had a couple of run times leading up to the Hill which was nice as this meant I had totally made it through the night and I was still able to run a little. As we went down hill Bill had approached and was checking on me and Molly had said she was going to go to the RV and get some food being as I had not eaten a while and I still needed energy for about 8 more miles. She said she would be back in a few minutes and it was my job to keep moving down the hill and being as I was awake I was okay by myself.

As I was walking alone I just started thinking about how far I come since yesterday at 7am and all the elements that I went through. I was looking around and thinking, Holy Shit, I can't believe I am doing this. I noticed that with every step I could feel my whole body pounding, the vibrations of every foot step running up my leg. My shoulders were sore and achy, my feet achy, my body just hurt but in a different way from pain, it just hurt. I remember the time when Antonette and I were running Headlands 50miler and at one point she started to cry and I asked how she was and she said everything hurt, even her ear lobes, just everything, this was the exact same thing she described, I knew what she meant. I was a pretty emotional moment, I was over whelmed with emotion and I just started to tear and cry. I was happy, proud, hurting, and mostly for those few moments I felt helpless because after all that have done and experienced over the last 25 hours, Dez had gone through and is still going though so much more (if your new to my blog, Dez was diagnosed with Breast Cancer in Oct). I could only think about her as I walked with every step and although crying I knew I still had to be strong for her. I saw Molly and Bill driving back up the hill and I tried to compose myself and I was okay for a short time. Molly jumped back on the course with me and I guess I had not done a good job composing myself as she gave me a little pat on the back and of course this was the consoling I guess I needed because I started to tear/cry even more. She reminded me of how great I was doing and offered me crackers which I really didn't even want but I took one and next thing I know I ate the whole package! By the we were coming up on the aid station at the RV and I was not going to stop just a quick grab of some snacks and water and off I went to the turn around. Bill was waiting at the turn point and soon it time to High-Five that damn ass sign I had passed 4 other times! Once I made the turn around it was a nice little downhill slope back to the RV where Dez, Tim (who finished and won the overall in 20 hrs 17 mins and Catherine) were still all standing outside by the road and cheering me on. I grabbed some more snack, told Dez when to expect me at the finish and off I went to tackle the last of the Biatch Hill!!

As I started back up the hill I was in a good walking pace and feeling much better than hours past. Just before my turn around there was another runner ahead of me heading back up the hill, he was about 15 mins ahead and walking pretty slow. I remember Tim telling me I needed to catch him but my mind was in no place to chase anyone down, just finishing was the main focus. As Molly and I continued on the hill I could no longer see the guy ahead of me so I happened to notice my watch and time and based on my pace and my distance to finish I was going to finish after 29 hours. Hummm, that just didn't sit right in my mind and I wanted to be under 29 so at I started to walk a little faster trying to calculate how fast i needed to go to break 29 but it was taking me too much effort to do so, so when I caught up to Bill, who was now on mobile crewing duties till the finish line, I asked him what my pace needed to be to break 29 hours. He had replied and said he thought my pace was too slow and I wouldn't be able to. As I passed him, I raised my hands in the air and yelled, Come On!!! What's the pace? As he pulled up next to us he said he would drive a little farther ahead and figure it out and let me know. He drove about 1/4 mile ahead, just before Biatch Hill started to get really steep. By this time it clicked in my head, GAME ON!!! I was gonna break 29 hours and it was going to start with this freakn' ass hill! I kicked it in gear and went into super power walking mode!! I started attacking the hill and walking as fast as I could, I knew that on this hill you can lose time and I was not going to give it any more than so now it was turn to take some back. I quickly caught up to Bill and he yelled out I needed 17/min pace to just break 29 hours, I was still over 4 miles out. I said Okay and kept walking as fast I could. Arms pumping. Breathing out hard with ever other step. I heard Molly pass Bill and she said she couldn't keep up with me! I had just done a Big B to my pacer, I dropped her at mile 96. I didn't bother to look back to see how far she was but I tried to go faster and harder to get more space between us, I knew she would catch me once at the top but I wanted to get up that damn hill for the last time. Finally, I made it to the top and I turned around to see where Molly was and she was not too far behind. She pulled up next to me and then we started to run. I told her I was going to try and run 4/1's and although it was not a true 4/1 it was close! As we approached Bill again, who was keeping track of the pace said I was running way too fast and way ahead of breaking 29 hours, he said I covered that last mile, 97, at a 12 min pace and now only needed like 21 min miles to break 29. I said thank you again as I passed and I kept running as much as I could. I had also asked Bill to drive back down to the RV area and tell Dez she needed to get to the finish line because I was way ahead of the finish time I had told her or she would miss me. A couple of times I would glance at my garmin and see 11-13 min avg pace so I knew I was doing good and approaching mile 98 I was about 15 mins ahead of 29 hours but now I quickly calculated what I needed to break 28:45!! About this time Dez passed me and I gave her a quick smile and way and said see you in a few minutes, so I kept running!

As the last mile approached and on a walking breaking, Molly stopped me and said that this was it for her. She was done and I didn't need her anymore, it was all mine to take to the finish. I said, no you have to keep running, she said no, you've got this and I will see you at the finish line, this is all yours! I gave her a big hug, big smiles and off I went. As she and Bill drove past they pulled up just a little ahead of me and waited to keep an eye on me. I ran as much as I could and finally they said, We'll see you at the finish! and drove off.

I actually hit 100 miles on my Garmin before the actual finish line and was pretty happy about that but it was not the finish line, I had about 1/2 mile to go. I ran as much as possible and kept looking at the time. As I rounded the corner I could see the finish line, the trucks and the aid station, I never caught or saw the guy in front me from way back when, but if I had I would have tried to run him down. I ran up the last little small incline and I could see the clock and it was ticking!!! I saw Joyce with her clip board and her watch and waving me in and I looked at the clock and picked up the pace the last 50 yards crossing the finish line at 28 hours 42 mins, 58 seconds!! I had finished!!!!! Dez was standing right there by the line and I ran straight to her with a big hug/embrace and yes, tears. Tears of accomplishment, Tears of Happiness, Tears of Success! It was a great moment as I got my 100 belt buckle. I gave Molly another hug and thanked her and Bill several more times!

What an epic adventure! I am so lucky to have had a great pacers/friends Izaac, Antonette and Molly! They all had a part in dealing with me on the course at very different times. The weather was truly crazy, so much so that it caused others to drop. I later learned that at night when Antonette finished her pacing at the back aid station it was 18*!!!! I knew it was cold but I had no idea it was that cold and I am glad I didn't know because it could have played with my mind. I also finally realized that any race with Molly Sheridan is an adventure as she bring the best in all cases of weather so I shouldn't be surprised it snow, was 18* and sunny warm the next morning! haha! Love you Molly! I wouldn't have it any other way than the way this race went down. I give a HUGE BIG LOVE YOU to Dez for being out there all night and worrying about me, at one time I didn't want to go in the RV because I didn't want her seeing what I looked like because I am sure it was not a pretty site and that just makes loved ones worry more, again, I love you.

I will talk more about tid bits of things over the next few posts and other memories and stories I will hear about from Antonette and Molly and fun sleep walking episodes! Until then.. thanks so much for reading my recap and sorry it took just about as long to write it as it did to run it! ha!

rockon'

LOL100 part 2.

Lap 3 - Mile 44-66: As Formulaic and I started off he was quick to point out that my transitions times at the check points were super fast, which is what I wanted on every check point so I was doing in that area. He had checked in with me on several nutritional items and just trying to figure out where and what I had been up to the last 10 hours, the required duties of a fresh pacer. I would imagine that the 2 or 3 pacers have it a little easier than the 1st because the others can get a debriefing from the 1st, but poor Form basically had to go everything he could think of to ask me to get a report.

My focus at this point was to keep moving and keep the pace as fast as I could. Being as we were on the Out section I had already told him it was going to be slower and expect mostly walking. After a couple of miles and the debriefing report I started to go into a funk zone in which I could feel my body wanting to rest and simple chat from Form was hard to focus on and reply. I noticed that after I entered the Funk Zone I started to become a little dizzy or more like a euphoric feeling but either way it wasn't something I wanted to feel and I chopped it up to being tired so I ignored it as much as possible and just kept moving. I remember at some point Form asked how I was doing and I said I was dizzy/euphoric feeling and had been that way for a while. He double checked with my in my nutrition and I was okay and I was still drinking although I do remember at times not wanting anything. Somewhere in this zone I had to put my head phones on and just focus on the music and keep moving, it helped me run at times in short bouts.

Formulaic had never been out to the LOL course so he was pleasantly introduced to the gradual ascent of the course and then the wonderful Biatch Hill, of which he would experience the downhill. As we started to get close to the RV, which you could see from the top of Biatch Hill, we started talking about the planned stop, its mile 49.5 and its time to get some food going, just then about a mile out, Antonette is driving towards us to see where I am at. She will be pacing later on from the 55 mile point but she is here to see about food and stopping. We discuss eating some soup and I guess some other things but I don't really recall. When I got to the RV the heater was cranking like the a Bikram Yoga studio, my soup was ready and I sat down to eat. I also ate some pizza and bread sticks I had brought and cooked the night before. Then it was cookies and grab some food for the road and off I went. The stop was less than 10 mins as I remember telling myself.. This ain't no rest home, so make it quick!!!...

As I left I said my see-ya laters to Dez and off I went. The RV was parked about 15 yards from the road and by the time I got to the road I was immediately freezing!! I knew the RV was too hot but I wasn't going to complain to my crew/pacers as they need to be comfortable too in there long wait sessions but I stopped at the road thinking I need more layers and if I am that cold I am going to freeze as soon as the Sun full sets, as it is, it is already going down and the back of the canyon will be colder. As I stopped Form immediately asks me what's wrong? I said I am freezing already I need more layers. He asks what to get me and I tell him which ones to grab. He quickly runs back to the RV and tells me to keep moving. I did but I didn't want to get to far ahead as it would just take longer to get my extra layers. He was really quick though and soon enough I was warming back up. As the Sun continued to set it was time to turn on the head lamps and soon this was the only thing I would see for the next 9-10 hours.

I remember just keeping my head down and moving as fast as possible and soon enough we were getting close to the 55 mile turn around. Antonette had passed us driving to the end to meet us and take over and Dez would soon be driving past to pick up Form and give him a ride back to the start/finish where he started.

Once arriving at the 55 mile make it was business as usual with a quick in and out, bathroom break and quick snack from the aid station. I always tried to thank them for helping out even if I didn't need anything from them, they are the best for being out there for us runners! I do remember asking Antonette if she had her Gourmet Red Bulls and she said no she had left them back at the RV.. Booo!!! Pacer #2 Check-Mark! haha. and we haven't even started. j/k.. I was feeling tired and wanted to start getting some boost going but without any it was just keep moving. As I left the aid station Dez was not there so Form kept moving with us and being as this is the Back portion I started running a little. Soon we saw Dez and she stopped to pick up Form, I remember she had the cooler in the back of my car and it had Red Bulls so I grabbed one, downed it as I kept moving. Once Form left it was now all in the hands of Antonette and she would have a tough section to deal with.

As we approached the RV I had given her some things that I was in need of, my Neuro1 that would help mental focus and wake me up, change of socks as I had been feeling a small hot spot on the bottom of my left foot while walking before the turn around and just wanted to change them as I didn't change socks when I changed shoes at mile 38.5 and this time I wanted to use the BlisterShield powder in my socks. As I rolled up to the RV Antonette had done a great job and everything was set to go. Changed the socks, grabbed my garmin energizer charger and my smaller ipod, some more food and off I went, Again.

This time the Bikram RV didn't seem to bother me as much and I just started moving because it was 3rd time up Biatch Hill. Once at the top I had some Neuro1, which was now renamed SmartWater because of my great way of explaining it to Antonette. I also just remember walking and starting to get really sleepy. I would talk randomly about things and then silence for what seemed like to me for hours. I was no longer experiencing the euphoric feeling and now it was plain sleepiness! I do remember chatting about how I was about to break my longest running record, as 62 miles was the farthest I had run at Javalina 100k, and now approaching mile 62 again. I told Antonette that this Lovell Canyon course holds a few of my running records... I was first introduced to ultra-runners here volunteering at an aid-station when she and Cynthia ran the 50k three years ago; I completed my first 50k training run here; last year when I ran LOL50k I won my age group!; and now, not only was I pushing past 62 miles I was going to run 100 here!

The 63rd mile came and went as I approached the start/finish at mile 65.64 I checked in at 17 hours 36 mins or a pace of 16:06/mile. This was more realistic and I figured I was losing about 1 mile per lap, but this was the start of lap 4 so I was doing good, I think, as I was pretty much out of it by this time, 12:36 am.

The morning/night only get worse...

rockon'

Labor of Love 100 Mile..part 1

After the HURT100 fell to pieces (no pun intended) I was in a bit of down slope because I was looking to break into the 100 arena or at least at HURT get farther than 27 miles. After coming back and resting up in Feb, I decided to train up my road legs for the local Labor of Love 100, by Calico Racing. It's located in Lovell Canyon, about 40 mins West of the strip, matter of fact I passed it many of times when commuting to Pahrump to work with the other doctor in the fall and I have run the LOL50k the last two years, did a solo marathon training run there for Old Pueblo 50 and volunteered for an aid station on the 50k course 3 years ago when I first moved into town and met Antonette and Cynthia who eventually recruited me into the Ultra running environment and I later ran Headlands 50m with all of them.

I was very familiar with the race course for the 100, which consisted of 4.5 out-back loops or 11 miles out, 11 miles back and a shorter 6 out/back on the last .5 loop. I had been asked to join a couple of course training runs from others but opted not to because I knew 4.5 times was plenty of that course and being as I knew it, there was no need for more enduring agony. The course is all on asphalt but it's an old forest type road and basically they used the cheapest asphalt mixture they could to build the road, so that consists of larger type rocks which in my opinion makes it feel like running on concrete compared to regular city asphalt roads and another reason not to partake in the training runs. Also the start/finish line is at the main highway about 4200ft and then gradually climbs to about 5600ft at the 11 mile turn around, and at mile 4 there is a nice ugly long (1.25m) steep pain in the ASS decent or climb depending on which way your heading, aka Biatch Hill from here on out and Yes, this is run 4.5 times. The last .5 loop you basically have to run to the bottom of Biatch Hill and then turn around and head back up, its mile 95 but once you top it at mile 96 its more gradual downhill all the way in.

The weeks leading up to this race I totally switched to all road surface and with the help of The Great One, aka Sweet Baboo or recently Big B (this guy has some great aka's) we talked about the training and mileage that I needed heading into this race. For the most part I was on track but towards the end, taper-ish, my left knee was not happy and gave me some patella tendinitis which I listened to and backed down my training immediately and entered taper on full cut back. This totally worked even though I felt like a lazy slug 2 weeks before the race and even the two or 3 days before the start.

I was busy the week before the race, moving, painting, packing, and working at an expo event the day before the race for 5 hours stretching people but I managed to get to bed at a decent time and being as I had race packed all week, I was ready to go come 3:45am when the alarm went off. I jumped in the shower, got dressed and ate some food before loading the last few things in the car. I checked the temperature at the closest spot available for the race and it said it was going to be 30* so I made sure to wear my Lululemon running pants I got a couple of years ago on a demo and have only wore about 3 times and been way too hot in them for the temps at those times of running. Dez was on duty for crewing later in the day so the morning time she was just dropping me off and I would see her later. One of the things we had to do was pick up Tim Duffy, a good friend who I have come to know from his wife, Catherine, who was on my TNT Tri team last year. Tim has entered the ultra world himself with a couple of 50ks and was looking to run the 50 miler but really put down the training time and miles and signed up for the 100 miler as well. Tim also owns a 37' RV which he decided to bring and set up shop at the half way point which was allowed for crews/aid station, so we basically had a mobile hotel at mile 5.5 on the course! Thanks so much to the Duffy's! it really made crewing for his wife and Dez so much more enjoyable and also helped from a running aspect at times (more on the not so much at times later) but now that I have experienced the RV crewing, Tim basically has to run all the races I running for the rest of my life, haha!

After picking up Tim, we all drove back to the start/finish line and it was about 6:45am which was perfect timing because the road was closing then and we didn't have to stand around too long in the cold to wait for the start. Tim quickly made his way to the portable heaters that were supplied and I said my see-ya-laters to Dez as she was going back into town and would come out later in the afternoon. At 6:33am the temperature out at the race was 21* and as you can see from the picture the heater was set to 85* ha!

START- Lap 1, Miles 0-22: Once standing with all the runners, the 100's had green race numbers and the 50s had orange numbers. I quickly saw Connie Dockendorf from NLV, a 2010 Badwater Finisher, 2010 Brazil 135 finisher, a great person so I always make sure to chat with her, I will be seeing her all day. I also chatted with a couple of newbie first timers as well and then it was the count down to the gun. Bang!!

I clicked my watch and off we went, all 33 One-Hundred competitors and the 50 milers. I was talking with a guy named Eric, his first 100 as well, and Tim came along side of us to join in the chat for a while. This would be the only time I ran with Tim other passing him going the opposite direction and lapping me! After a few miles it really started to warm up and all the layers I had put on really were over heating me and I was only at mile 3. I thought I could hang in there till mile 5.5 and drop the clothes at the RV but it was just too long of a wait so I peeled off layers. On Thursday at packet pick up I saw there was some cold weather in store for the race so being as I was at REI I bought a North Face Cipher Hybrid jacket. I was hesitant on spending $150 for the jacket but I was in no mood to freeze so I sunk the cash, little did I know it was more than worth it. This jacket has a Gore-Tex Windstopper layer and was completely amazing! It also has two zipper front panels on the chest that I would open to let more air in and later on use as a "kangaroo pockets". At this time I simply just took it off along with another long sleeve shirt and tied it to my waist and then dropped them at the RV come mile 5.5. Once I dropped the clothes at the RV, bathroom break and I was off again, the pack of runners had pretty much strong out as the long ass biatch of a downhill strung everyone out even more. I was okay with it and just put on the music and ran till the 11 mile marker where by this time I had seen many of the 50's and 100's make the turn around, (there was also a marathon group and they had pretty much the same course with a double turn around at the back end of the course, so I saw them too) I made the 11 mile mark, checked in, as all 50/100 were manually timed and off I went. I was feeling pretty good, weather was warmer and now it was all gradual downhill back to the start/finish expect for Biatch Hill. On the way past the RV I had to stop again to use the bathroom but it was in and out and I rolled into start/finish mile 21.88 at 4hrs 46 mins, with avg. pace of 13:04/mile. I knew this was too fast overall but I enjoyed it and thought just bank as much time as possible because the later miles will slow down. I quickly did my in and out and off I went for lap number 2!

Lap 2 - Miles 22-44: My overall plan was to transition in and out of the two turn around points and use any time I needed at the RV so no time could be wasted at the other two points. It was simply state my number in/out and refill my water bottles. My nutrition game plan was use Ultra, Amino, and Clip all by Succeed, PB&J's I had made, some other random things like chips, pop tarts, crackers and soup for the night. I also had Red Bulls and my Nuero1 for the night time. I did use some Gu's but overall only about 6 because they just got to me, ughh, and I ate a few Luna bars but those also got to me after a while. Paydays were good at times and frozen snickers hit the spot at one point. Around mile 23 I started having some slight cramping in my lower GI and pressure, I figured it was from the waist belt I was carrying but never had this problem in training but I knew it was somehow bothering me now. I have spoke to Baboo about waist belts and this is one reason he opts to not use them, I NOW KNOW WHY! I removed my belt and carried it for a while but I got tired of holding it so I finally made it sash like and slug it across my chest/back. It was annoying to run with it like that but I made it work till I got back to the RV come mile 28.5, by then I had dropped one of the bottles and cracked the lid so it was worthless and I used one bottle for about 2 miles. When I got to the RV I switched to my hand held and used it the remaining time, a smart move and will probably only race that way from now on. I reloaded my nutrition supplies in my other waist type carrier which was much more flexible and didnt bother my GI. Once I removed that waist belt I had no further problems but I did have to fight with my GI to settle down as it was quite disturbed and cramped for about the next 3 hours but finally went away. I won that Battle but it was totally uncomfortable.

Before I got to the RV I noticed that the weather was looking bad at the back end of the course and the clouds looked dark. Being as its higher in elevation 5 more miles from where I was at I decided to pick up my Cipher jacket, gloves and ear cover again. I figured worse thing is I have to carry it around my waist for a while. Well when I left the RV about 20 minutes later, the temperature dropped and it started to snow flurry. I was like, Cool, Snow flurries! but then it quickly started to just down right snow! I mean the kind of snow that sticks to you, that you can build a snow man with! I was quickly covered in snow on the front of my whole body and kept knocking it off so it wouldn't melt and make me wet. Luckily the Cipher jacket is water repellant. It was snowing so hard that I had to put the hood on to cover my face, pull my hat down so low, like a cholo, to keep from covering my face. I saw many other runners without jackets and just totally got caught in the snow and nothing they could do but run, they were freezing! This lasted for about an hour!! I kept moving and knocking snow off my body this whole time and finally just as my pants and shoes were starting to get wet it stopped. I was just about to the back end turn around and thank goodness it was done and the sun was shining back there. I made the check in at mile 33 and out I left refilling my water bottle.

Heading back to the RV was again nice because of the gradual downhill but it was windy and that was not too fun, once again I was so glad to have the Cipher as it had just paid for itself and the race wasn't even over. I stopped at the RV this time because Dez was now back and so was Tim's wife Catherine. I quickly chatted with them and as I was getting ready to leave I see Tim coming to door, so I quickly sit back on the couch and act like I am chilln'.. Tim see's me and says What the Hell are you doing here, get out there and run! haha.. we quickly chatted and off we both went, he is now 11 miles ahead of me! Round 2 with Biatch and I was cruising into start/finish and looking forward to picking up my first pace, Mr. Formualic! at mile 44. He had drove out from the start/finish area to see where I was and I was pretty close, about 2 miles, so he returned to get ready for his 11 mile pacing duties. I rolled in to mile 43.76 (start/finish) at 10 hours 37 mins, now on a 14:33 pace (still feeling too fast for my own good but I'll take it as once again the night is coming)

Miles 44-66 and the night to follow..

rockon'

3 days left..

With just 3 days to go till I am running forever!!! Fun! Can't Wait!! Excited!

The last week has been busy painting a house, climbing on ladders, etc. and actually felt like running an Ultra! ha! but with the remainder of the taper till I have been trying to relax and mentally prepare for LOL100. I have a work event on Friday, the day before, so I will be on and off my feet for most of the afternoon, eeks!

I am ready for the run! As I said before in another post, since HURT I am ready to get back out there, even though its all on road, I will take it. The weather is looking to not be the greatest but than again, whoever said these 100s are supposed to be easy!

Wish me luck and see ya on the next post!!

rockon'