Dec. 13, 2013 started like any other Friday. I got up and went to work. After getting off work, I prepared for a new adventure that I was excited about, crewing for Todd, Alexis and Kevin as they ran a 100k.
Time to start at the beginning now. Blake and I talked about doing this a couple months before because the race was on my birthday. I knew if we going to do it, then we would crew as a couple and we were not able to crew for Todd for Grindstone 100 mile because of the government.
Blake informed them of our decision and then the planning began. Blake made a table and winds screen to heat up food with a single propane burner before the race day. He even tested it out one night to see how everything would work.
So , Dec. 13th came. I prepared by wearing my running clothes as I was unsure of if I would go for a run of some sort on Saturday. Blake and I got food items together and any other items such as a book to read. We meet everyone at the Thomas' house before 4pm on Friday. Kevin arrived a minute or two after we did. Once he was there, Todd, Kevin, Blake and I talked in the kitchen/dining area for a bit before Alexis came down stairs. Once she came downstairs, it was time to load up the surburban with the gear and to head to Camp Bethel near Roanoke, VA.
We chit chatted on the way to the camp for the pre-race briefing and dinner. We made a stop at Wal-Mart to get some last minute items and then at a Subway to get some subs. Once at the camp, Kevin, Todd, and Alexis checked in and received their race numbers. Then we waited and picked up two people (another runner and another crew member, Jamie). We waited for the start of the race. At 10:50pm, it was time. Everyone at the camp loaded up the vehicles and traveled to the starting line. At this point, I had no idea where I was going. I am glad that Blake was driving. Then we waited again. This time, for the start of the race at 12:01am on Dec. 14th.
The race started on time in the cold. Only to get colder as the day went on. Everyone who was crewing left the start line to go to the second aid station. The car we followed went right instead of left so we arrived a minute or two behind some of the other crews. Blake, Jamie and myself tried to sleep some before Alexis, Todd, and Kevin came through aid station two. We got everything ready and set up with the table and burner to heat up ramen noodles for them as well as get their running packs for them. Kevin and Alexis left Todd behind at this point in the race as they did not to eat the noodles but just drink the broth.
We packed up the gear and then travel to the next aid station which was number 5. Jamie, Blake and I tried to sleep for a couple of hours as they were on their way. I was able to get a couple of hours of sleep. I think I was able to get 4-5 hours. Then it was back to setting up gear for the runners. Blake and I could not find Kevin's second running pack at aid station 5 before he came though. We had no idea were it went and thought it may have fallen out of the car at aid station 2. Todd came to aid station 5 before Kevin and Alexis, which was not what we expected. Todd looked like he was having fun and he was. Soon after Todd, Alexis and Kevin came. Kevin was not upset over not having switching his packs outs. This was a relief as Blake and I were freaking out over where it could be. Before leaving the fifth aid station, Jamie found Kevin's second running pack in the car.
Alexis wanted to stop and ride with us but the crew said no. She was doing great and we knew she could make it. Alexis was not too happy with us at this point in the day.
The sun started coming up as we left the fifth aid station. However, the weather became gloomy with rain, sleet, and snow. I really enjoyed the snow. We then traveled to the seventh aid station. This is where Blake was going to pace Kevin in to the finish. I was nervous because I would then be driving the surbuban. Todd came in before Alexis and Kevin again. This time, his lead was extended from roughly 30 minutes to roughly 45 minutes. Todd was enjoying the race and doing his thing. Kevin also looked like he was having fun and enjoyed himself until towards the end. Alexis had a pacer join her at this point as well. So leaving the seventh aid station, Alexis, Kathie, Kevin, and Blake.
Jamie and I then packed up the gear and some what organized the gear so we knew which items belonged to which runner. She and I left the seventh aid station followed by Kevin's wife and daughter and went to the eight aid station. Todd arrived at the eighth aid station an hour before Kevin and Alexis and the pacers (Blake and Kathie). He was doing great! Jamie and I decided not to set up the table and burner since the aid station had roman noodles and broth as well as other items. Jamie and I sat in the car for a bit in between the time Todd left and Kevin and Alexis arrived.
I am glad Jamie was with me. I enjoyed talking with her and getting to know another runner.
As Kevin, Alexis, Blake, and Kathie got food at the aid station, Jamie and I left to go to the finish line. We decided not stop at the ninth/last aid station because of the gap. We arrived to the finish line before Todd did. I was really proud of myself with driving the suburban. I was anxious about driving it just because of how big it is. Jamie and I both thought we would run at some point during the day but the weather made us changed our minds.
Jamie and I talked with other people at the finish line as we waited for everyone to come across the finish line. Todd was the first of the three runners to come in. He finished in 13 hours and 50 minutes. He did great and just chilled until everyone else came. Once Kevin's wife and daughter arrived at the finish line, I knew that Alexis and Kevin would not be that far behind. Kevin's daughter and I ran out to meet the group of four to run with them as they got closer to the finish line. They all were soaking wet from the rain/sleet.
Kevin and Alexis kept each other company through the whole race. They were able to encourage each other and kept each other going.
They all seemed happy to be done, get somewhat warm showers, and food. After awhile and several trips to the car, they sang Happy Birthday to me and we celebrated with cake. It was sweet that they got me a cake to help celebrate the day.
Now, I am at home relaxing and enjoying the warmth of my house. I know this is an unusual way to celebrate a birthday but I definitely enjoyed the day to see my friends and husband run through the mountains. I know that one day, I could be doing the same thing. I know that this type of race is not for me but I would like to complete one ultra at some point. Blake, Alexis, Todd, and Kevin are role models who have shown me running can be fun and difficult at the same time. I hope that one day, I can be able to run with them.
Now time to get some sleep!! :)
Saturday, December 14, 2013
Wednesday, March 27, 2013
Terrapin 50K Race Report
I went into the day with fairly high hopes of possibly getting a PR at Terrapin. After getting a PR at Holiday Lake by a fairly wide margin I thought beating my 2009 time of 6:23 should be within reach. I had been sick when I ran it in 2011 so that time I did not think was a good reflection on what I could do. I was not too sure if I could break under the 6 hour mark, but I thought I would be right around it.
I ate my usual pre-race location at Hibachi Choice and ate mostly chicken and rice. I did try a different breakfast item for the morning of the race. I thought it filled me pretty well. I was sure to have plenty of GU's on me given the lack of having a crew this race since there are only 2 aid stations they would be allowed at.
Kristen and I got to the start in plenty of time. I had checked in before 6:30 and found some of my friends to chat with before the start. I talked some to Kevin, Jeff, Grattan, Chelsie, Sam and really quickly before the start I saw Todd and Alexis and got a little conversation in with them. The race actually started before my watch had actually got a fix on me. I enjoyed chatting the opening mile some with Grattan and Kevin as Todd started to pull away. As we started the climb to Camping Gap Kevin and I settled into a pretty similar pace. The sunrise looked awesome, but we didn't have the elevation to fully enjoy what had to be a spectacular view for anyone at Camping Gap. After some more climbing I saw Chelsie up ahead and Kevin and I were catching her. I was a bit surprised given that she was doing the half. I kept on getting close, but didn't pass her until we were around 3 miles in after the hard right turn switchback. We actually swapped spots a few times as we came into Camping Gap. I wished her well as she went to the summit and I went left to head down the hill. I looked at my watch and had about 52 minutes, which was funny because it was my fastest time in the 50k to here. I also laughed at the thought of fact Todd had blazed ahead after saying he was going to take the climb easy. Kevin and fallen a little bit behind me at that point.
As I started down Hunting Creek Rd I was thinking of the waist deep snow drifts that were up here just two weeks ago. They had now melted just an inch at most in places, but mostly clear. I was staying in the tire tracks made by cars when I got to snowy spots. I was going over one of these spots and the ground looked to be clear in the tire track. I put my left foot down and it sailed out from under me. I hit the ground with a thud and must have slid down it some too. I heard someone ask if I was ok. As I slowly got up I wasn't too sure. I started to walk to see how I felt. I quickly knew that this fall was a pretty serious one. I looked down and saw a fair amount of blood on my shin and knee. I looked my left arm and saw more blood there. I just walked until Kevin caught me. I started to run with him. I felt a real pain higher up on my leg near my butt and I looked down to see my shorts with a hole torn in them and blood soaking through the shots. I knew that wasn't a good sign. I kept talking with Kevin and said I think I had a great shot at best blood with what I was seeing.
We kept on the downhill and I was trying to take it easy to not kill my legs too early and I was still trying to figure out how serious this injury was too. After about 3 miles of downhill Grattan came rolling past me. I wasn't shocked in the least. I said he was looking good as usual on the downhill. I was getting a bit bored of the downhill when it leveled out. I finally got to the aid station and grabbed some chips and filled up the water. I afterward would question the idea of the chips given they were a bit greasy. I reached for a GU in my back pocket to discover my fall had exploded a GU. I pulled it out and ate what I could out of it. It had some blood on it too...not the best sign. It wasn't too long until Kevin caught me again. We kept each other company on the run walk until we saw my mom and dad. I showed them my injuries and they seemed a bit concerned. They said Todd came through in 41st and we were about 110. After heading up the hill I joked with Kevin that I thought they were saying we were slow.
I wasn't too long on the single track before I looked a saw a familiar face coming up fast behind us. Alexis had caught us and I knew once we saw her that there was no chance of keeping in front of her. We chatted for a bit as I told her of Todd's good pace and the fall I had. She went around us and started pulling away. My stomach had started feeling a bit uneasy after those chips and GU. Kevin had mentioned he had some toilet paper in his pack that he was willing to give me. After a little bit I asked if I could have it so we stopped briefly while I got it out and zipped his pack up. We were going down the narrow section when I heard Andrew and some friends of his coming up from behind. We chatted a bit in the switchbacks as we came back out onto Hunting Creek Rd. After a few slices of OJ and topping up the water we all started the long climb back up to Camping Gap. We did the run walk for while, but Andrew's crew started to put more distance on us. Kevin and I stayed together with the run walk until we got around a mile to till Camping Gap. He slowly started to pull away.
I came into Camping Gap and was happy to see some baked potatoes and salt at the aid station. I got my water filled up and shoved as many potatoes that I could fit in my mouth. I passed Dr. Horton in his truck who made a comment about my fall as well as my over stuffed mouth. I tried to respond, but again I was trying to choke down all those potato hunks. I saw some of the front runners coming back from the WHOR loop. I was happy to see Jordan Whitlock doing well and wished him well. I caught glimpses of Kevin ahead at times. My stomach was getting worse on how it felt. I knew I would have to stop before too long. A bit before I started the actual loop I stubbed my foot on rock and it sent me to ground for the second time for the day. Thank the Lord it was at least on the right side and it was a more graceful fall. It did scratch up my MP3 player and had a button stuck on it so I just took it off and put it in my pocket. This fall didn't draw any more additional blood. This was one of my low points. This fall felt like salt in my wounds honestly and I just wanted to be done at this point.
I started the actual loop part and was half surprised I didn't see Todd because I felt like I was just dragging and figured he might be that far ahead of me. At one point my stomach gave a final warning shot that caused me to actually walk because there was just no good place to go. At this point Mike Dunlop caught me and I quickly showed him my wounds. He didn't have any immediate worries so that was good to hear. After I made the sharp right to continue the climb I found a somewhat decent spot to use the tree. I wish there was a faster way, but my shorts were tight so all the GUs wouldn't pull them so I had to untie them. Kevin's toilet paper was very handy and in a bit I was back on my way. I was so happy to have my stomach feeling better I ran a good bit expect for the steeper parts.
I did the punch at the top and headed down. Around this point I think my watch had 4 hours and I knew a finishing time of near 6 hours was pretty much toast. I did run back to Camping Gap fairly well I thought. Topped off the water and stuff my mouth with more potatoes and some orange slices. I had a decent pace on the way to the summit. I was holding pace with the two guys around me. I got to the turn for the summit and saw Kevin coming out. I told him I wasn't dead just yet. I think he said he was starting to feel like it. The punch at the summit was broke and the few there couldn't find it. The view was very nice as the sun had come out. It was one of the best race day views I have had from it. I wanted to stay, but being a race that isn't an option. I took the steep downhills easy over the snow because I didn't want a third fall. I got to Fat Man's Misery and very very gently got in. Given it leans to the left and that side was already beat up and I couldn't let it bear my weight like usual. The ground seemed extremely slippy as I near fell, but luckily was able to stay vertical and got my bib punched. I was worried about getting out the other side as my legs were just shot. I thought I was going to need a push, but had just enough to make it out thankfully.
I then went along the ridge line and I love the view on this part. You can see a marvelous view on both sides, but the foot is tricky so I could only admire it to a point. I started the steeper section and left a few faster people by. I got to the rock garden and very carefully made my way down it. I was getting close to the out and back to the last aid station when my stomach again demanded my attention. I couldn't believe it. I had to find a big rock this time and use some leaves. I saw Kevin come back from the aid station and somewhat jokingly yelled if he had any more toilet paper. I had hoped to possibly catch Kevin and run the rest in with him, but this pit stop torched that idea. I finally was able to get going again and ate some oranges at the last aid station and topped off the water. I hiked to the turn off and say Wade coming down and said Hi to him. I walked the first climb. The GU gels had been upsetting my stomach some too and the act of running was starting to upset my stomach too. I knew this was going to be hard, but I knew I had to run the flats and downhills.
This was a low part even though it was getting close to the finish. I looked at my watch as I saw 6:07 pass and knew my bet with Chelsie was over. I looked down later and saw 6:23 and said there went a PR. I knew all this was going to happen based on my time coming into the last aid station. It still didn't make it any easier. I saw Cheslie and her dad coming back and I was happy to see a friendly face. I was soooo happy to hear the roaring water of Reed Creek. I start across it trying to stay dry and not wash any of my hard earned blood off. A person was standing across the stream and the voice sounded like Todd, but I didn't remember him wearing that some color of clothing earlier. As I got across the creek I was sure it was Todd. He said he had been doing an ice bath in the creek as he was half shivering as he had been there for about 30 minutes. I jokingly told him he wouldn't have that problem of being cold now if he was slow like me. He said I looked to have a good shot at best blood. I told him of my woes of the day. I heard he had a really great day and so did Alexis. He said Kevin was running it in with Mike when he saw them. I was really happy to have Todd keep me company those last little less then two miles. I looked at my watch again and saw my previous worse time pass...oh well I thought. I was doing a 9:30 mile pace and given the day I was ok with that. I just wanted to finish the race. I saw the finish and Todd peeled off as I entered the wooden gate at the road. I crossed the line in 6:47:35. It was five minutes slower than my previous worse finishing time, but after the beating I had take that was fine. I was happy to see Kristen and my parents along with my other friends at the finish. I told Clark I wanted to enter my candidacy for Best Blood. I showed him my arm, my lower leg and I said if those didn't do then the upper leg was the clincher. I saw it good for the first time and it was a pretty big would and had swelled up pretty badly.
I saw Kevin and congratulated him on his finish. I talked to Grattan and found out he had a great day too. He got a solid PR and a sub 6 finish. I was finally able to wash some of the blood off in the shower there, but a lot of it was pretty well stuck it seemed, but washing some off was nice. I was able to talk to Mike about bandaging everything up and was happy to get his advice. I was able to see Jeff Martin finish and Cheyenne a bit later. I did not stay to the finish to hear if I won Best Blood for sure, but found out later that I did! I was happy to win something at an ultra. It was a painful way to win though. I did get a nice blanket commemorating the beating I received.
Looking back I see a number of things I plan to do differently. The fall on the ice was a bit of an unforeseen incident so that I cannot do much about. However, I plan on eating pasta before my next ultra instead of doing Japanese food. I plan on taking pepto the night before and the morning of the race. I will be sure to carry tums along with pepto for the race too. I will try a different breakfast food next time. I think a bread item is still the way to go. I am thinking bagels or something along that line. My stomach tacked on at least 10 minutes it felt like between the two stops. I know my stomach was no friend of mine for the race and the fall I know beat me up more than I might be able to fully know. One of these times I pray I will figure out how to put together a solid race on this course. Prayerfully next year will be a chance to better my time. At the end of the day I was thankful for the finish because I had times I really didn't want to keep on in the race, but the Lord gave me the strength and stubbornness to keep on going.
Below are the pictures of my wounds after having a shower and the award for Best Blood.
I ate my usual pre-race location at Hibachi Choice and ate mostly chicken and rice. I did try a different breakfast item for the morning of the race. I thought it filled me pretty well. I was sure to have plenty of GU's on me given the lack of having a crew this race since there are only 2 aid stations they would be allowed at.
Kristen and I got to the start in plenty of time. I had checked in before 6:30 and found some of my friends to chat with before the start. I talked some to Kevin, Jeff, Grattan, Chelsie, Sam and really quickly before the start I saw Todd and Alexis and got a little conversation in with them. The race actually started before my watch had actually got a fix on me. I enjoyed chatting the opening mile some with Grattan and Kevin as Todd started to pull away. As we started the climb to Camping Gap Kevin and I settled into a pretty similar pace. The sunrise looked awesome, but we didn't have the elevation to fully enjoy what had to be a spectacular view for anyone at Camping Gap. After some more climbing I saw Chelsie up ahead and Kevin and I were catching her. I was a bit surprised given that she was doing the half. I kept on getting close, but didn't pass her until we were around 3 miles in after the hard right turn switchback. We actually swapped spots a few times as we came into Camping Gap. I wished her well as she went to the summit and I went left to head down the hill. I looked at my watch and had about 52 minutes, which was funny because it was my fastest time in the 50k to here. I also laughed at the thought of fact Todd had blazed ahead after saying he was going to take the climb easy. Kevin and fallen a little bit behind me at that point.
As I started down Hunting Creek Rd I was thinking of the waist deep snow drifts that were up here just two weeks ago. They had now melted just an inch at most in places, but mostly clear. I was staying in the tire tracks made by cars when I got to snowy spots. I was going over one of these spots and the ground looked to be clear in the tire track. I put my left foot down and it sailed out from under me. I hit the ground with a thud and must have slid down it some too. I heard someone ask if I was ok. As I slowly got up I wasn't too sure. I started to walk to see how I felt. I quickly knew that this fall was a pretty serious one. I looked down and saw a fair amount of blood on my shin and knee. I looked my left arm and saw more blood there. I just walked until Kevin caught me. I started to run with him. I felt a real pain higher up on my leg near my butt and I looked down to see my shorts with a hole torn in them and blood soaking through the shots. I knew that wasn't a good sign. I kept talking with Kevin and said I think I had a great shot at best blood with what I was seeing.
We kept on the downhill and I was trying to take it easy to not kill my legs too early and I was still trying to figure out how serious this injury was too. After about 3 miles of downhill Grattan came rolling past me. I wasn't shocked in the least. I said he was looking good as usual on the downhill. I was getting a bit bored of the downhill when it leveled out. I finally got to the aid station and grabbed some chips and filled up the water. I afterward would question the idea of the chips given they were a bit greasy. I reached for a GU in my back pocket to discover my fall had exploded a GU. I pulled it out and ate what I could out of it. It had some blood on it too...not the best sign. It wasn't too long until Kevin caught me again. We kept each other company on the run walk until we saw my mom and dad. I showed them my injuries and they seemed a bit concerned. They said Todd came through in 41st and we were about 110. After heading up the hill I joked with Kevin that I thought they were saying we were slow.
I wasn't too long on the single track before I looked a saw a familiar face coming up fast behind us. Alexis had caught us and I knew once we saw her that there was no chance of keeping in front of her. We chatted for a bit as I told her of Todd's good pace and the fall I had. She went around us and started pulling away. My stomach had started feeling a bit uneasy after those chips and GU. Kevin had mentioned he had some toilet paper in his pack that he was willing to give me. After a little bit I asked if I could have it so we stopped briefly while I got it out and zipped his pack up. We were going down the narrow section when I heard Andrew and some friends of his coming up from behind. We chatted a bit in the switchbacks as we came back out onto Hunting Creek Rd. After a few slices of OJ and topping up the water we all started the long climb back up to Camping Gap. We did the run walk for while, but Andrew's crew started to put more distance on us. Kevin and I stayed together with the run walk until we got around a mile to till Camping Gap. He slowly started to pull away.
I came into Camping Gap and was happy to see some baked potatoes and salt at the aid station. I got my water filled up and shoved as many potatoes that I could fit in my mouth. I passed Dr. Horton in his truck who made a comment about my fall as well as my over stuffed mouth. I tried to respond, but again I was trying to choke down all those potato hunks. I saw some of the front runners coming back from the WHOR loop. I was happy to see Jordan Whitlock doing well and wished him well. I caught glimpses of Kevin ahead at times. My stomach was getting worse on how it felt. I knew I would have to stop before too long. A bit before I started the actual loop I stubbed my foot on rock and it sent me to ground for the second time for the day. Thank the Lord it was at least on the right side and it was a more graceful fall. It did scratch up my MP3 player and had a button stuck on it so I just took it off and put it in my pocket. This fall didn't draw any more additional blood. This was one of my low points. This fall felt like salt in my wounds honestly and I just wanted to be done at this point.
I started the actual loop part and was half surprised I didn't see Todd because I felt like I was just dragging and figured he might be that far ahead of me. At one point my stomach gave a final warning shot that caused me to actually walk because there was just no good place to go. At this point Mike Dunlop caught me and I quickly showed him my wounds. He didn't have any immediate worries so that was good to hear. After I made the sharp right to continue the climb I found a somewhat decent spot to use the tree. I wish there was a faster way, but my shorts were tight so all the GUs wouldn't pull them so I had to untie them. Kevin's toilet paper was very handy and in a bit I was back on my way. I was so happy to have my stomach feeling better I ran a good bit expect for the steeper parts.
I did the punch at the top and headed down. Around this point I think my watch had 4 hours and I knew a finishing time of near 6 hours was pretty much toast. I did run back to Camping Gap fairly well I thought. Topped off the water and stuff my mouth with more potatoes and some orange slices. I had a decent pace on the way to the summit. I was holding pace with the two guys around me. I got to the turn for the summit and saw Kevin coming out. I told him I wasn't dead just yet. I think he said he was starting to feel like it. The punch at the summit was broke and the few there couldn't find it. The view was very nice as the sun had come out. It was one of the best race day views I have had from it. I wanted to stay, but being a race that isn't an option. I took the steep downhills easy over the snow because I didn't want a third fall. I got to Fat Man's Misery and very very gently got in. Given it leans to the left and that side was already beat up and I couldn't let it bear my weight like usual. The ground seemed extremely slippy as I near fell, but luckily was able to stay vertical and got my bib punched. I was worried about getting out the other side as my legs were just shot. I thought I was going to need a push, but had just enough to make it out thankfully.
I then went along the ridge line and I love the view on this part. You can see a marvelous view on both sides, but the foot is tricky so I could only admire it to a point. I started the steeper section and left a few faster people by. I got to the rock garden and very carefully made my way down it. I was getting close to the out and back to the last aid station when my stomach again demanded my attention. I couldn't believe it. I had to find a big rock this time and use some leaves. I saw Kevin come back from the aid station and somewhat jokingly yelled if he had any more toilet paper. I had hoped to possibly catch Kevin and run the rest in with him, but this pit stop torched that idea. I finally was able to get going again and ate some oranges at the last aid station and topped off the water. I hiked to the turn off and say Wade coming down and said Hi to him. I walked the first climb. The GU gels had been upsetting my stomach some too and the act of running was starting to upset my stomach too. I knew this was going to be hard, but I knew I had to run the flats and downhills.
This was a low part even though it was getting close to the finish. I looked at my watch as I saw 6:07 pass and knew my bet with Chelsie was over. I looked down later and saw 6:23 and said there went a PR. I knew all this was going to happen based on my time coming into the last aid station. It still didn't make it any easier. I saw Cheslie and her dad coming back and I was happy to see a friendly face. I was soooo happy to hear the roaring water of Reed Creek. I start across it trying to stay dry and not wash any of my hard earned blood off. A person was standing across the stream and the voice sounded like Todd, but I didn't remember him wearing that some color of clothing earlier. As I got across the creek I was sure it was Todd. He said he had been doing an ice bath in the creek as he was half shivering as he had been there for about 30 minutes. I jokingly told him he wouldn't have that problem of being cold now if he was slow like me. He said I looked to have a good shot at best blood. I told him of my woes of the day. I heard he had a really great day and so did Alexis. He said Kevin was running it in with Mike when he saw them. I was really happy to have Todd keep me company those last little less then two miles. I looked at my watch again and saw my previous worse time pass...oh well I thought. I was doing a 9:30 mile pace and given the day I was ok with that. I just wanted to finish the race. I saw the finish and Todd peeled off as I entered the wooden gate at the road. I crossed the line in 6:47:35. It was five minutes slower than my previous worse finishing time, but after the beating I had take that was fine. I was happy to see Kristen and my parents along with my other friends at the finish. I told Clark I wanted to enter my candidacy for Best Blood. I showed him my arm, my lower leg and I said if those didn't do then the upper leg was the clincher. I saw it good for the first time and it was a pretty big would and had swelled up pretty badly.
I saw Kevin and congratulated him on his finish. I talked to Grattan and found out he had a great day too. He got a solid PR and a sub 6 finish. I was finally able to wash some of the blood off in the shower there, but a lot of it was pretty well stuck it seemed, but washing some off was nice. I was able to talk to Mike about bandaging everything up and was happy to get his advice. I was able to see Jeff Martin finish and Cheyenne a bit later. I did not stay to the finish to hear if I won Best Blood for sure, but found out later that I did! I was happy to win something at an ultra. It was a painful way to win though. I did get a nice blanket commemorating the beating I received.
Looking back I see a number of things I plan to do differently. The fall on the ice was a bit of an unforeseen incident so that I cannot do much about. However, I plan on eating pasta before my next ultra instead of doing Japanese food. I plan on taking pepto the night before and the morning of the race. I will be sure to carry tums along with pepto for the race too. I will try a different breakfast food next time. I think a bread item is still the way to go. I am thinking bagels or something along that line. My stomach tacked on at least 10 minutes it felt like between the two stops. I know my stomach was no friend of mine for the race and the fall I know beat me up more than I might be able to fully know. One of these times I pray I will figure out how to put together a solid race on this course. Prayerfully next year will be a chance to better my time. At the end of the day I was thankful for the finish because I had times I really didn't want to keep on in the race, but the Lord gave me the strength and stubbornness to keep on going.
Below are the pictures of my wounds after having a shower and the award for Best Blood.
Blake E.
Sunday, March 10, 2013
Asheville Marathon Race Report
This race started off as being a great way for Kristen to see her parent and me to run a race that is different from the norm. Being only my second actual marathon and with Terrapin 50k closing in the I didn't want to run this race as hard as possible, but to have fun with it. I wanted to take it easy and enjoy it.
Well as the race weekend got close I kept on eyeing the weather forecast. I was hoping for a race in the 40s at least so I could enjoy it a bit and not worry about it being too cold. Well as the race got closer my hopes and chances at that were not looking good. The forecast was 25-32 and by the time you add in the 10-20mph wind the wind chill was 15-27. I have run in those temps before, but usually not for so long and certainly not with the wind usually. I usually overdress so I knew I was going with just shorts, but on the top I went with a short sleeved shirt and a long sleeve one over top of that along with gloves. I had run in that clothing on Candlers Mtn before and even in the snow and felt fine. I thought it would work and keep me warm after I got going.
Race day was here and the temps were just what they were calling for. The water stops were suppose to have GU gels and GU chomps so I only brought one pack of chomps and 4 gels. We were a little late to the start, but we weren't alone and they had pushed the start to 7:15. I used a nice looking spot for a last minute pit stop since the lines to the porta johns were pretty long. I got in line at the start and got my watch ready. I said a quick prayer for the race and we were off!
I hung with 4:00 pace group starting off, but had no intention of really hanging on to them. I wanted to get warm more than anything else. We climbed up a bit to the pace where Kristen had her prom years ago. It was the first building we saw that day. It was as we descended down the hill that I saw a sight that just put me in my place. I got passed by a guy who must have been at least 60 or better. He was in some fairly short shorts and had on running tank top. I just watched as he pulled away down the hill. I half expected the guy to be wearing the old school waffle pattern shoes. How he wasn't frozen is beyond me.
As I started to climb up the gradual hill at mile 3 I came upon another runner and we had a little chat. He was running his second marathon like me, but he had run 3 50k's. The bombshell he dropped on me was he was running a 50 miler that coming Saturday. Just 6 days away! I wished him good luck and to take today a bit easy. We parted ways as we topped the hill and started running through the water stop at mile 5. This water stop was pretty neat because they read names off the race bib and cheered you on by name. Just got some water and it wasn't long until we took the right turn to the Biltmore house.
I was sure to stop for a second to get an honest picture here as this is what made the race very unique. The guy in the red shirt is the person I had been talking to the last bit. As I made the turn in front of the house I was coming up on mile 6 and I had about 58 minutes on my watch for the opening section. I made my way through the gardens, but they weren't exactly in bloom yet. It was at this point my stomach sent a warning shot across my bow basically. I knew this wasn't going to get better. Being an ultra runner I began to be on the search for a tree or porta john. Either works just as well in my own view. I went past the Bass pond and it is a nice view along with the waterfall at the end of it. I kept on thinking that these views would be really perfect if I were on some dirt single track.
Around mile 7 we got on a gravel road with some horse in the middle as we ran around where they were. They looked like they were mocking us by running from one end to the other. After we turned at the end we started down a long straight section that I knew would have to last for 3 miles. It was at this point that we were totally our from behind any trees and the wind finally tore into us full strength. It was a head on wind for the next 3 miles. Any idea of warmth was stripped away.
As I neared the bridge and mile 10 my stomach warned that bad things were on there were if I didn't heed the warning. I pasted porta johns, but all had a line of a few people. Call it stubborn or whatever, but I wouldn't wait in a 3 person deep line just yet. I saw Kristen, my parents and her's as I crossed the bridge to do what would be the next 10. My stomach was now screaming to find a spot to stop or else. I saw what would have been a perfect spot only to see the local security for the grounds with a car parked near by. As I neared mile 11 I saw two porta johns at the water stop and no line. I knew this was my chance. I only had to wait for the person in it and I finally was able to get relief. I came out to hear my watch beep 11 miles soon after. That mile had take 13 minutes. I knew it was time to make up for it.
This was the turning point in the race in many ways. This was a run that was suppose to be a nice fun run, but I was pretty cold and it didn't look to be getting any better. I also wanted to make up some of the spots I lost at my pit stop. I knew there was a long way yet to go, but I figured I would try to reel in one person at a time from there on out. From here the course hit some hills. I had to grin a bit as hills are what I see week in and week out on Wednesday nights and most weekends. I started to gain and pass groups. We had a section of out and back to get to the halfway mark. It was downhill to it and it was a one lane gravel road which made passing hard at spots. I came into halfway around 2:08. I passed people up the hill and realized I might want to eat something. I had eaten a gel, but needed some chomps now and I got them down before getting back to the water stop so I could wash them down a bit. The fun part was the water in the cups were freezing.
The course wound its way around to another lake and the vineyard along with another hill. I kept on catching and passing people. Another water stop and another frozen cup. At times I thought the wind was going to blow me off of some of these hill tops. I ran across the dam and snapped a quick picture or two and as I came up Dam Hill I happened upon the guy from earlier in the day who had his 50 miler coming up. I passed him as we topped a kind of steep, but short hill. We had a few words in the passing and I kept on moving. I had some people who were on the 2nd inner loop pass by me a times and I would hold pace with them for a bit. They had roughly a 2 mile lead on me at that point. I went past the bridge from earlier and started the inner loop. This one had another nice steady climbing hill to the water stop at mile 19. I was really catching and pass people on these climbs. I admit I loved every bit of it. I had tried to open a pack of the chomps, but the small sample sizes at the water stop had no tear open spot on them. I had even tried using my teeth on them, but to no avail so I was just able to keep doing gels instead. I went back across the dam again and was soon going past mile 20. I crossed this at about 3:15. My first 10k of the day was about 58-59 minutes. I had 20 miles on my legs now and they were starting to remind me of that fact.
I crossed the bridge back to the other side for what would be a 10k out and back more or less. I saw Kristen and her parents again. I asked if they had a knife to cut open the GU Chomps I had been trying to open. No luck so off to finish the race. I was still feeling pretty good since I was catching and passing people. Some that I remembered passing me at the start of the race. All of sudden a pain shot up my right leg. It originated from my the right side opposite of where the ankle bone is. I changed my stride and fast to what looked very awkward to anyone near me I'm sure. After about 20 steps I went back to my regular stride and it didn't shoot the pain so back to the run. Around now at mile 21 the 4:15 pace leader passed me. I figured I would fall in and keep his pace. He slowly but surely kept pulling away. I was trying to hold him, but it just wasn't happening. His average mile needed to be 9:40ish to get the finishing time. I looked down to see 9:10 pace on my watch. I was still catching and passing people, but just wasn't closing the gap to this pace guy.
As we neared the turn around at about mile 23 I figured I would keep up my pace and not worry about the pace guy. I wasn't going to let up on my pace, but wasn't going to worry about him. I got my last cup of water for the race and 2 slices of an orange. I bit into the slice and it was half near frozen. I made the comment to the crew at the water stop, "Hmm.. frozen OJ". It was at least something in my stomach for the last 5k. I was going hard and was catching people by the truck loads. As most I'm sure did the 20 mile training run, they were nearing the end of what they were willing to run. I past packs of 4 and 5 people at a time. As I neared mile 24 I saw mister 4:15 pace guy getting closer. At this point I felt like a shark that just got the scent of blood. The wind was blowing and I was frozen, but I put my head down and I pushed hard. A little before mile 25 I caught and passed mister 4:15 pace guy. I made a quick comment that he was killing me trying to run him down. This last mile was going to be all I was worth. I kept passing people and I was enjoying that, but I felt close to a block of ice and wanted to be done!
Earlier in the day around mile 4 I had heard some of my newly added songs to my MP3 player. I made a small prayer almost saying I wanted to end the race to my Veggie Tales song I recently put on it by the Newsboys. At mile 4 I said I might even stop to get that song. In that last mile I knew I wasn't about to stop and try to find the song not to mention I don't think my hands had the feeling in them to get the song playing. Lo and behold with about a half mile to go, the Veggie Tale song comes on! I was pumped even more. I reeled in and past a few more people on the way to the finish. I saw Kristen and my parents as I made the last turn to the finish line. 4:11:20 chip time. 237 out of about 1000.
It was nice race all in all. The wind had made it unbearable at points and the temps combined to really make it a hard day. I am not sure if I have run that long and been that cold. They gave a finishing blanket to go along with a finisher's medal (piece of wood in this case). I wanted to get warm more than anything. I went to the massage tent, but the line wasn't worth the wait. I went to a heated bathroom and finally was able to change and start to warm up. The warm shower afterwards was the best feeling I felt all day! Had the weather been a bit more cooperative, it would have made for a more enjoyable run. However, it was still a pretty neat run and was nice that it wasn't all asphalt. The out and back section at the end was the only part I didn't care much for. The views were nice on the rest of the course. The other fun note was my parents were tired from getting up that early and then being in the cold so about 45 minutes into the drive back to Lynchburg the guy that ran the marathon got tapped to be the driver...The Lord was merciful helped me get us back and in good time. I did the barrage of caffeine along with water so between that and my bladder I had something to keep me awake. I was tried for sure and I was actually in the bed by 10 something that night, which nearly never happens. I slept like a rock. Fun weekend and glad to be warm again!
My YouTube video of the race is here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0flSuODHFxo&list=UUDRXE9v_w4tn3ffL1G3LSRQ&index=1
Blake E.
Well as the race weekend got close I kept on eyeing the weather forecast. I was hoping for a race in the 40s at least so I could enjoy it a bit and not worry about it being too cold. Well as the race got closer my hopes and chances at that were not looking good. The forecast was 25-32 and by the time you add in the 10-20mph wind the wind chill was 15-27. I have run in those temps before, but usually not for so long and certainly not with the wind usually. I usually overdress so I knew I was going with just shorts, but on the top I went with a short sleeved shirt and a long sleeve one over top of that along with gloves. I had run in that clothing on Candlers Mtn before and even in the snow and felt fine. I thought it would work and keep me warm after I got going.
Race day was here and the temps were just what they were calling for. The water stops were suppose to have GU gels and GU chomps so I only brought one pack of chomps and 4 gels. We were a little late to the start, but we weren't alone and they had pushed the start to 7:15. I used a nice looking spot for a last minute pit stop since the lines to the porta johns were pretty long. I got in line at the start and got my watch ready. I said a quick prayer for the race and we were off!
I hung with 4:00 pace group starting off, but had no intention of really hanging on to them. I wanted to get warm more than anything else. We climbed up a bit to the pace where Kristen had her prom years ago. It was the first building we saw that day. It was as we descended down the hill that I saw a sight that just put me in my place. I got passed by a guy who must have been at least 60 or better. He was in some fairly short shorts and had on running tank top. I just watched as he pulled away down the hill. I half expected the guy to be wearing the old school waffle pattern shoes. How he wasn't frozen is beyond me.
As I started to climb up the gradual hill at mile 3 I came upon another runner and we had a little chat. He was running his second marathon like me, but he had run 3 50k's. The bombshell he dropped on me was he was running a 50 miler that coming Saturday. Just 6 days away! I wished him good luck and to take today a bit easy. We parted ways as we topped the hill and started running through the water stop at mile 5. This water stop was pretty neat because they read names off the race bib and cheered you on by name. Just got some water and it wasn't long until we took the right turn to the Biltmore house.
I was sure to stop for a second to get an honest picture here as this is what made the race very unique. The guy in the red shirt is the person I had been talking to the last bit. As I made the turn in front of the house I was coming up on mile 6 and I had about 58 minutes on my watch for the opening section. I made my way through the gardens, but they weren't exactly in bloom yet. It was at this point my stomach sent a warning shot across my bow basically. I knew this wasn't going to get better. Being an ultra runner I began to be on the search for a tree or porta john. Either works just as well in my own view. I went past the Bass pond and it is a nice view along with the waterfall at the end of it. I kept on thinking that these views would be really perfect if I were on some dirt single track.
Around mile 7 we got on a gravel road with some horse in the middle as we ran around where they were. They looked like they were mocking us by running from one end to the other. After we turned at the end we started down a long straight section that I knew would have to last for 3 miles. It was at this point that we were totally our from behind any trees and the wind finally tore into us full strength. It was a head on wind for the next 3 miles. Any idea of warmth was stripped away.
As I neared the bridge and mile 10 my stomach warned that bad things were on there were if I didn't heed the warning. I pasted porta johns, but all had a line of a few people. Call it stubborn or whatever, but I wouldn't wait in a 3 person deep line just yet. I saw Kristen, my parents and her's as I crossed the bridge to do what would be the next 10. My stomach was now screaming to find a spot to stop or else. I saw what would have been a perfect spot only to see the local security for the grounds with a car parked near by. As I neared mile 11 I saw two porta johns at the water stop and no line. I knew this was my chance. I only had to wait for the person in it and I finally was able to get relief. I came out to hear my watch beep 11 miles soon after. That mile had take 13 minutes. I knew it was time to make up for it.
This was the turning point in the race in many ways. This was a run that was suppose to be a nice fun run, but I was pretty cold and it didn't look to be getting any better. I also wanted to make up some of the spots I lost at my pit stop. I knew there was a long way yet to go, but I figured I would try to reel in one person at a time from there on out. From here the course hit some hills. I had to grin a bit as hills are what I see week in and week out on Wednesday nights and most weekends. I started to gain and pass groups. We had a section of out and back to get to the halfway mark. It was downhill to it and it was a one lane gravel road which made passing hard at spots. I came into halfway around 2:08. I passed people up the hill and realized I might want to eat something. I had eaten a gel, but needed some chomps now and I got them down before getting back to the water stop so I could wash them down a bit. The fun part was the water in the cups were freezing.
The course wound its way around to another lake and the vineyard along with another hill. I kept on catching and passing people. Another water stop and another frozen cup. At times I thought the wind was going to blow me off of some of these hill tops. I ran across the dam and snapped a quick picture or two and as I came up Dam Hill I happened upon the guy from earlier in the day who had his 50 miler coming up. I passed him as we topped a kind of steep, but short hill. We had a few words in the passing and I kept on moving. I had some people who were on the 2nd inner loop pass by me a times and I would hold pace with them for a bit. They had roughly a 2 mile lead on me at that point. I went past the bridge from earlier and started the inner loop. This one had another nice steady climbing hill to the water stop at mile 19. I was really catching and pass people on these climbs. I admit I loved every bit of it. I had tried to open a pack of the chomps, but the small sample sizes at the water stop had no tear open spot on them. I had even tried using my teeth on them, but to no avail so I was just able to keep doing gels instead. I went back across the dam again and was soon going past mile 20. I crossed this at about 3:15. My first 10k of the day was about 58-59 minutes. I had 20 miles on my legs now and they were starting to remind me of that fact.
I crossed the bridge back to the other side for what would be a 10k out and back more or less. I saw Kristen and her parents again. I asked if they had a knife to cut open the GU Chomps I had been trying to open. No luck so off to finish the race. I was still feeling pretty good since I was catching and passing people. Some that I remembered passing me at the start of the race. All of sudden a pain shot up my right leg. It originated from my the right side opposite of where the ankle bone is. I changed my stride and fast to what looked very awkward to anyone near me I'm sure. After about 20 steps I went back to my regular stride and it didn't shoot the pain so back to the run. Around now at mile 21 the 4:15 pace leader passed me. I figured I would fall in and keep his pace. He slowly but surely kept pulling away. I was trying to hold him, but it just wasn't happening. His average mile needed to be 9:40ish to get the finishing time. I looked down to see 9:10 pace on my watch. I was still catching and passing people, but just wasn't closing the gap to this pace guy.
As we neared the turn around at about mile 23 I figured I would keep up my pace and not worry about the pace guy. I wasn't going to let up on my pace, but wasn't going to worry about him. I got my last cup of water for the race and 2 slices of an orange. I bit into the slice and it was half near frozen. I made the comment to the crew at the water stop, "Hmm.. frozen OJ". It was at least something in my stomach for the last 5k. I was going hard and was catching people by the truck loads. As most I'm sure did the 20 mile training run, they were nearing the end of what they were willing to run. I past packs of 4 and 5 people at a time. As I neared mile 24 I saw mister 4:15 pace guy getting closer. At this point I felt like a shark that just got the scent of blood. The wind was blowing and I was frozen, but I put my head down and I pushed hard. A little before mile 25 I caught and passed mister 4:15 pace guy. I made a quick comment that he was killing me trying to run him down. This last mile was going to be all I was worth. I kept passing people and I was enjoying that, but I felt close to a block of ice and wanted to be done!
Earlier in the day around mile 4 I had heard some of my newly added songs to my MP3 player. I made a small prayer almost saying I wanted to end the race to my Veggie Tales song I recently put on it by the Newsboys. At mile 4 I said I might even stop to get that song. In that last mile I knew I wasn't about to stop and try to find the song not to mention I don't think my hands had the feeling in them to get the song playing. Lo and behold with about a half mile to go, the Veggie Tale song comes on! I was pumped even more. I reeled in and past a few more people on the way to the finish. I saw Kristen and my parents as I made the last turn to the finish line. 4:11:20 chip time. 237 out of about 1000.
It was nice race all in all. The wind had made it unbearable at points and the temps combined to really make it a hard day. I am not sure if I have run that long and been that cold. They gave a finishing blanket to go along with a finisher's medal (piece of wood in this case). I wanted to get warm more than anything. I went to the massage tent, but the line wasn't worth the wait. I went to a heated bathroom and finally was able to change and start to warm up. The warm shower afterwards was the best feeling I felt all day! Had the weather been a bit more cooperative, it would have made for a more enjoyable run. However, it was still a pretty neat run and was nice that it wasn't all asphalt. The out and back section at the end was the only part I didn't care much for. The views were nice on the rest of the course. The other fun note was my parents were tired from getting up that early and then being in the cold so about 45 minutes into the drive back to Lynchburg the guy that ran the marathon got tapped to be the driver...The Lord was merciful helped me get us back and in good time. I did the barrage of caffeine along with water so between that and my bladder I had something to keep me awake. I was tried for sure and I was actually in the bed by 10 something that night, which nearly never happens. I slept like a rock. Fun weekend and glad to be warm again!
My YouTube video of the race is here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0flSuODHFxo&list=UUDRXE9v_w4tn3ffL1G3LSRQ&index=1
Blake E.
Tuesday, February 12, 2013
Holiday Lake 50k
Well for this past month or so every run has been gearing up for Holiday Lake 50k. Three training runs on the course itself and one of which we ran that entire race distance. The long runs on Wednesday nights up and down Candlers mountain had boiled down to this day, February 9th. I had my goal time of 5 hours 30 minutes. Two times I had tried to get under this time and come oh so close, 5:34:48 in 2011 and 5:34:32 in 2012.
The alarm clock sounds at 4:30 and I get up and eat a bit of a different breakfast than usual. Instead of cereal I eat some bread items to hopefully avoid the usual sloshing of my stomach for the first 8 miles or so it feels like. We arrive to the start at 6:00, I check-in and I find my friends and we have a little chat and wish others there good luck. Then off for a last minute pit stop before going to the starting line. I find some of my friends as we huddle in the pre-sunrise cold and the we're off.
For the first opening few miles I fell in behind Chelsie Viar going around the lake. One of the uphills I passed her for the moment. Around mile 3 the guy behind me had a watch alarm go off and I jokingly asked him if that meant it was time to go. I had gotten hot in the opening miles and the long sleeve shirt that was over my short sleeve one had gotten very hot. I pulled it off on the uphill getting near aid station 1. I tossed it towards Kristen as I came through the aid station.
I knew going into the day that these next 8 miles needed to be pretty good ones as the trail is nice and the legs are fresh. I went at a nice and reasonable pace I thought. I ran with a rather large group at that point it seemed as we clicked off the next miles beside the road. Shortly after the turn as we headed down to the first creek crossing Chelsie comes scorching past me. I wondered if I had a parachute on my back she went past so fast. I didn't think my pace had changed that much so I kept going at my speed. Going through the second creek was a nice wake up call and the water was nice and chilly. As I neared aid station 2 Horton was driving back towards us cheering us on. I stuck to my plan at the aid station of getting water only. I had eaten my first GU on the way up to the aid station. My plan was to eat the chomp blocks between each aid station and a GU as well. I was able to eat on the nice long downhill after the aid station and entered the shot section through the woods. I always like that little section from the road until we cross the asphalt road to the power line. It has a nice secluded look to it. I made it onto what I like to call the backstretch of the course. It is nice and blinding as you are running perfectly into the sun. Around mile 9 or 10 I finally gave into my stomach and found a friendly pine tree to use. After last year I figured it was better to bite the bullet earlier this year. I felt a lot better and got back to it.
As I neared aid station 3 on the downhill I heard a familiar voice coming up from behind. I turn to see Grattan Garbee and we chat as he pulls ahead on the downhill. I see Kristen and grab some GU and chomp blocks while my water bottle gets filled. I grab it and go and I catch back up to Grattan as we enter single track again. I pull ahead as we go on and I break out a GU on the way up the hill and walk for a bit. As I near the lake I always like seeing the leaders and how far the front runner is out in front by. This year he wasn't as far along as the past year, but still a nice lead. It wasn't long until I saw Frank Gonzalez and Sam Dangc in a nice train of about 5 runners. I started counting the females as I wanted to have an idea of where Alexis Thomas was at. Seeing the other runners and my friends is always a big energy boost. I knew eating going around the lake wouldn't likely happen, but the energy from seeing and cheering them on makes up for it. It wasn't too long before I saw Todd in a nice group. He was a decent distance from the dam crossing and I thought to myself he had a scorcher of a first lap. I was trying to count females, but lost count a little before crossing the dam. Right after I crossed I finally saw Alexis. I cheered for her, but at the same time I wanted to kick her in the rear to go run down Todd and those other females. I knew she was flirting with a top 10 at the moment. I then saw Chelsie a bit closer to the turn and thought there was still hope at maybe catching her. I came into the aid station for halfway and looked at the clock 2:35 and change. My heart skipped a few beats at the sight. I have never seen a number that fast on any lap I've run around this course. I seen Kristen as she is cheering for me and grabbed some more GU and chomp blocks while my water bottle gets filled and I grabbed two hunks of potatoes and dunked them in salt and and a hunk of orange for the road. I saw Jennifer Captain who was cheering me on too as I went back out for lap 2.
It was long in the second lap I come upon Kevin who was walking and looking a bit hurt/sore. I encouraged him to keep on going as I went by. I saw Mike at the dam crossing and cheered for him and then some more friends a bit further around the lake. At this point I was behind 2 older runners and while there pace at times was good, in some of the more technical parts I felt faster, but couldn't easily get around them. I was starting to get hungry and knew that waiting for steep hill near the end of lake would be the best spot to eat. Our group hit the hill and started to climb up it while I started eating my chomp blocks. I hadn't even finished before I was at the top and ate the last few on the run. I at a GU after the little hairpin on the way down the hill. I come into aid station 3 and again pickup some GU and more blocks from Kristen. I got the water topped off and an orange slice for the road again. I started walking up the hill and at some more chomp blocks because I knew this was a good opportunity since I was walking although I hadn't been that long since I ate. As that hill levels off a bit it is still a bit of a climb, but I saw a girl up ahead and she started running it and I thought if she can run it, so can I. I passed the guys that she was going past that were walking. I think I passed about 5 people through there. Shortly after I crossed the road to the backstretch again (power line section) I see Andrew Charron walking. As I caught him and asked how he was doing and he said he was really hurting. I said to keep at it and my legs didn't like me much at the moment. He told me to keep on pushing and I did just that. I found another person up ahead of me that was running and I was slowly reeling in. My legs were getting pretty sore by this point. I thought about turning on my music, but just didn't. By the time we crossed the road to my little fun secluded section of trail I had nearly caught the person I was chasing. At this point I kept on trying to see people up ahead and slowly catch them. At the start of the uphill back to aid station 2, now 6. I ate some more chomp blocks and walked while eating them. After I finished them off I ran the rest of the way to the aid station. I got the water topped off and grabbed a few hunks of orange again then I was off.
This section was another part I knew I needed to hold a solid pace as it was an easier section given it was a bit downhill for a bit. I ate a GU as they were giving me the energy where the blocks were more for my hunger pains my stomach would send out. I was heading down the hill and the closer I got to the creek crossing the worse the mud got. I was going from edge to edge of the road trying to find the best spot that had the least amount of mud. I could feel it weighing down my shoes. I even slid down the road in a few spots it was so thick. Again, I saw a familiar face come from behind on the downhill, Grattan and caught me again. I even turned and said to him "You again." It was getting funny at this point that we kept on ending up together. When I got to the creek I knew that plowing right through the middle was going to numb my feet a little and clean off all that mud. I did just that. Afterwards I walked a little bit of the hills, but tried to run more than walk. My legs were really starting to sting. I passed Grattan on the uphills as I had a feeling it wouldn't be long before he would find me yet again. After the 2nd creek crossing I powered up the hill as best as I could and ate pack of chomp blocks before hitting the section that feels like it takes forever beside the road. I make the turn that starts it and at the first road crossing I see Kristen and Debbie there cheering me on as I said to have some GU and blocks ready for the last aid station. Soon after crossing the road it was Grattan coming by me yet again. He pulled away for a bit and then I started to pull him in just a bit. My legs were killing me now. My calves and hamstrings were just dying. Having Grattan ahead helped though as it took my mind off the pain a bit and away from this long forever feeling section of trail. I just kept trying to catch him little by little. We finally crossed the road, which meant aid station 1, now 7 wasn't too far ahead. I was almost beside Grattan as we came into the aid station. He totally blew threw it and kept on running. I did the norm and got GU and blocks from Kristen as the crew at the aid station topped off the water for the last time today. I grabbed an orange hunk and pulled off my mp3 player in half confused state I tried to communicate to Kristen to take it.
I looked down at my watch 4:43 and change. I told the aid station worker I was going to have to push to make a sub 5:30 I thought. I left the aid station and ate the orange fast. My brain set to work on trying to figure out the figure out what times I needed to average to get that sub 5:30 goal. This usually wouldn't be too hard of a task, but the pain was taking over and my brain was trying to shut down a bit in order to block it out some. I figured around an 11:00 minute mile would do the trick. This thought horrified me because the twisting trail combined with 2 steep uphills and my legs great desire to not function meant this was not going to be a walk in the park. Through out the day I had been praying for for my friends race and praying they would do well. At this point my thoughts shifted a bit as I started praying and more begging sound to God to let me finish in a sub 5:30. All the training that been done to come so close. I flew down the hill as fast I thought I could. I saw Chelsie's dad, Craig, and he said Grattan was about 30 seconds ahead of me and Chelsie was about 1min 30seconds ahead of me. I appreciated the updated, but at that point I didn't care about a position, I had a time goal. I made my mind up that it was sub 5:30 or bust. I hit the bottom of the downhill and pushed till the uphill. I did walk on this steep one and used the time to eat a GU as I knew I would need it these last 3 miles. I caught Grattan again around 3 miles to go. I said I was running for all I was worth for my time goal. He assured me we had it in the bag. I said at the 1 mile to go I'll cue the fat lady, but not until. He said he was just going to take a reasonable pace from there so I went around and said maybe I might even catch Chelsie in the process. I ran up the hills that I have walked in past years. I was pushing for all I was worth. I got to the beach and looked down at my watch as I passed someone. I saw that the goal was looking more likely, but again I wasn't backing down yet. I ran hard and passed another person as we went back to single track. I finally got to the steep hill and powered up it as best as I could. As soon as it leveled out I started running again. It was really fast, but kept pushing until one of the people I passed caught me at the 1 mile to go mark. I let out a cheer of happiness. I looked down at my watch and I saw 5:14. I knew at this point that I could likely walk it in and get my goal. The short single track seemed to take forever as my aching legs were dying to stop. I had one other guy pass me through here as I wished him well on his finish. I dumped out to the road finally. I looked as far ahead as I could and for the first time since the turnaround I saw a quick glimpse of Chelsie up ahead on the road. She had a fairly decent gap and even if I ran my guts out I didn't think I could close the gap. The two guys that had passed me in the last mile were going hard and weren't gain that much ground on her. I had a good pace going, but wasn't a dead sprint by far. I then neared the bend in the road and looked behind me for the last time and not a soul in sight. I knew I had no one that could catch me from behind and no one to really try to catch ahead so I kept a fairly fast, but somewhat comfortable pace. At about .40 to I looked at my watch to see 5:19 something. I just started to take it all in and knowing that I was going to finish in under 5:30. I got tear or two in my eye even. I so wish I could bottle that feeling up. I just started grinning ear to ear and giving praise to God thanking him for that race. I knew I had laid out all I had on that course and pushed my body hard. I could hear the cheers at the finish line and Kristen's voice along with my friends. Todd was a little in front of the finishing line saying Chelsie had just beat me. I said I had sub 5:30 in the bag and just didn't care and she had run better that day. I crossed the line in 5 hours 22 minutes and 14 seconds. I was soooo happy! To come so close before and to finally get my goal time very convincingly was great. I got my long awaited handshake from Dr. Horton and then gave Kristen a big hung followed by a kiss. Mom and dad were right behind her as well congratulating me.
My legs were shot and my calves and hamstrings were screaming and my quads weren't much better as I got my finisher's shirt and slowly made my was over to see Todd, Alexis and Chelsie. They congratulated me and I in-turn asked them how it went for each of them and heard they both had a sub 5:00 finishing time with Alexis getting 9th female. I told Chelsie she ran a heck of a race. Grattan was true to his word of a sub 5:30 and came across at 5:27 and change. I then got to cheer in my other friends as they finished. I love the time after the race is over in a way more than the race. That is partly because all the hard part is done. It is always great to hear the conversations of each others race and trails we each had and overcame throughout the day. The race was a great result for many of my friends and we all enjoyed it.
The race went about as best as I could have asked. My plan of my pre-race food went well along with my fueling plan during the race. I stayed a minimum amount of time at the aid stations and the training that went into the race paid off. Thanks to all the running friends and all those group runs. Along with Kristen for crewing and cheering me on. The aid station workers who help us along the way. Lastly to thank God for the great weather for the race and the ability that he has given me to run when it doesn't seem that long ago that I couldn't even run a mile.
Blake E.
The alarm clock sounds at 4:30 and I get up and eat a bit of a different breakfast than usual. Instead of cereal I eat some bread items to hopefully avoid the usual sloshing of my stomach for the first 8 miles or so it feels like. We arrive to the start at 6:00, I check-in and I find my friends and we have a little chat and wish others there good luck. Then off for a last minute pit stop before going to the starting line. I find some of my friends as we huddle in the pre-sunrise cold and the we're off.
For the first opening few miles I fell in behind Chelsie Viar going around the lake. One of the uphills I passed her for the moment. Around mile 3 the guy behind me had a watch alarm go off and I jokingly asked him if that meant it was time to go. I had gotten hot in the opening miles and the long sleeve shirt that was over my short sleeve one had gotten very hot. I pulled it off on the uphill getting near aid station 1. I tossed it towards Kristen as I came through the aid station.
I knew going into the day that these next 8 miles needed to be pretty good ones as the trail is nice and the legs are fresh. I went at a nice and reasonable pace I thought. I ran with a rather large group at that point it seemed as we clicked off the next miles beside the road. Shortly after the turn as we headed down to the first creek crossing Chelsie comes scorching past me. I wondered if I had a parachute on my back she went past so fast. I didn't think my pace had changed that much so I kept going at my speed. Going through the second creek was a nice wake up call and the water was nice and chilly. As I neared aid station 2 Horton was driving back towards us cheering us on. I stuck to my plan at the aid station of getting water only. I had eaten my first GU on the way up to the aid station. My plan was to eat the chomp blocks between each aid station and a GU as well. I was able to eat on the nice long downhill after the aid station and entered the shot section through the woods. I always like that little section from the road until we cross the asphalt road to the power line. It has a nice secluded look to it. I made it onto what I like to call the backstretch of the course. It is nice and blinding as you are running perfectly into the sun. Around mile 9 or 10 I finally gave into my stomach and found a friendly pine tree to use. After last year I figured it was better to bite the bullet earlier this year. I felt a lot better and got back to it.
As I neared aid station 3 on the downhill I heard a familiar voice coming up from behind. I turn to see Grattan Garbee and we chat as he pulls ahead on the downhill. I see Kristen and grab some GU and chomp blocks while my water bottle gets filled. I grab it and go and I catch back up to Grattan as we enter single track again. I pull ahead as we go on and I break out a GU on the way up the hill and walk for a bit. As I near the lake I always like seeing the leaders and how far the front runner is out in front by. This year he wasn't as far along as the past year, but still a nice lead. It wasn't long until I saw Frank Gonzalez and Sam Dangc in a nice train of about 5 runners. I started counting the females as I wanted to have an idea of where Alexis Thomas was at. Seeing the other runners and my friends is always a big energy boost. I knew eating going around the lake wouldn't likely happen, but the energy from seeing and cheering them on makes up for it. It wasn't too long before I saw Todd in a nice group. He was a decent distance from the dam crossing and I thought to myself he had a scorcher of a first lap. I was trying to count females, but lost count a little before crossing the dam. Right after I crossed I finally saw Alexis. I cheered for her, but at the same time I wanted to kick her in the rear to go run down Todd and those other females. I knew she was flirting with a top 10 at the moment. I then saw Chelsie a bit closer to the turn and thought there was still hope at maybe catching her. I came into the aid station for halfway and looked at the clock 2:35 and change. My heart skipped a few beats at the sight. I have never seen a number that fast on any lap I've run around this course. I seen Kristen as she is cheering for me and grabbed some more GU and chomp blocks while my water bottle gets filled and I grabbed two hunks of potatoes and dunked them in salt and and a hunk of orange for the road. I saw Jennifer Captain who was cheering me on too as I went back out for lap 2.
It was long in the second lap I come upon Kevin who was walking and looking a bit hurt/sore. I encouraged him to keep on going as I went by. I saw Mike at the dam crossing and cheered for him and then some more friends a bit further around the lake. At this point I was behind 2 older runners and while there pace at times was good, in some of the more technical parts I felt faster, but couldn't easily get around them. I was starting to get hungry and knew that waiting for steep hill near the end of lake would be the best spot to eat. Our group hit the hill and started to climb up it while I started eating my chomp blocks. I hadn't even finished before I was at the top and ate the last few on the run. I at a GU after the little hairpin on the way down the hill. I come into aid station 3 and again pickup some GU and more blocks from Kristen. I got the water topped off and an orange slice for the road again. I started walking up the hill and at some more chomp blocks because I knew this was a good opportunity since I was walking although I hadn't been that long since I ate. As that hill levels off a bit it is still a bit of a climb, but I saw a girl up ahead and she started running it and I thought if she can run it, so can I. I passed the guys that she was going past that were walking. I think I passed about 5 people through there. Shortly after I crossed the road to the backstretch again (power line section) I see Andrew Charron walking. As I caught him and asked how he was doing and he said he was really hurting. I said to keep at it and my legs didn't like me much at the moment. He told me to keep on pushing and I did just that. I found another person up ahead of me that was running and I was slowly reeling in. My legs were getting pretty sore by this point. I thought about turning on my music, but just didn't. By the time we crossed the road to my little fun secluded section of trail I had nearly caught the person I was chasing. At this point I kept on trying to see people up ahead and slowly catch them. At the start of the uphill back to aid station 2, now 6. I ate some more chomp blocks and walked while eating them. After I finished them off I ran the rest of the way to the aid station. I got the water topped off and grabbed a few hunks of orange again then I was off.
This section was another part I knew I needed to hold a solid pace as it was an easier section given it was a bit downhill for a bit. I ate a GU as they were giving me the energy where the blocks were more for my hunger pains my stomach would send out. I was heading down the hill and the closer I got to the creek crossing the worse the mud got. I was going from edge to edge of the road trying to find the best spot that had the least amount of mud. I could feel it weighing down my shoes. I even slid down the road in a few spots it was so thick. Again, I saw a familiar face come from behind on the downhill, Grattan and caught me again. I even turned and said to him "You again." It was getting funny at this point that we kept on ending up together. When I got to the creek I knew that plowing right through the middle was going to numb my feet a little and clean off all that mud. I did just that. Afterwards I walked a little bit of the hills, but tried to run more than walk. My legs were really starting to sting. I passed Grattan on the uphills as I had a feeling it wouldn't be long before he would find me yet again. After the 2nd creek crossing I powered up the hill as best as I could and ate pack of chomp blocks before hitting the section that feels like it takes forever beside the road. I make the turn that starts it and at the first road crossing I see Kristen and Debbie there cheering me on as I said to have some GU and blocks ready for the last aid station. Soon after crossing the road it was Grattan coming by me yet again. He pulled away for a bit and then I started to pull him in just a bit. My legs were killing me now. My calves and hamstrings were just dying. Having Grattan ahead helped though as it took my mind off the pain a bit and away from this long forever feeling section of trail. I just kept trying to catch him little by little. We finally crossed the road, which meant aid station 1, now 7 wasn't too far ahead. I was almost beside Grattan as we came into the aid station. He totally blew threw it and kept on running. I did the norm and got GU and blocks from Kristen as the crew at the aid station topped off the water for the last time today. I grabbed an orange hunk and pulled off my mp3 player in half confused state I tried to communicate to Kristen to take it.
I looked down at my watch 4:43 and change. I told the aid station worker I was going to have to push to make a sub 5:30 I thought. I left the aid station and ate the orange fast. My brain set to work on trying to figure out the figure out what times I needed to average to get that sub 5:30 goal. This usually wouldn't be too hard of a task, but the pain was taking over and my brain was trying to shut down a bit in order to block it out some. I figured around an 11:00 minute mile would do the trick. This thought horrified me because the twisting trail combined with 2 steep uphills and my legs great desire to not function meant this was not going to be a walk in the park. Through out the day I had been praying for for my friends race and praying they would do well. At this point my thoughts shifted a bit as I started praying and more begging sound to God to let me finish in a sub 5:30. All the training that been done to come so close. I flew down the hill as fast I thought I could. I saw Chelsie's dad, Craig, and he said Grattan was about 30 seconds ahead of me and Chelsie was about 1min 30seconds ahead of me. I appreciated the updated, but at that point I didn't care about a position, I had a time goal. I made my mind up that it was sub 5:30 or bust. I hit the bottom of the downhill and pushed till the uphill. I did walk on this steep one and used the time to eat a GU as I knew I would need it these last 3 miles. I caught Grattan again around 3 miles to go. I said I was running for all I was worth for my time goal. He assured me we had it in the bag. I said at the 1 mile to go I'll cue the fat lady, but not until. He said he was just going to take a reasonable pace from there so I went around and said maybe I might even catch Chelsie in the process. I ran up the hills that I have walked in past years. I was pushing for all I was worth. I got to the beach and looked down at my watch as I passed someone. I saw that the goal was looking more likely, but again I wasn't backing down yet. I ran hard and passed another person as we went back to single track. I finally got to the steep hill and powered up it as best as I could. As soon as it leveled out I started running again. It was really fast, but kept pushing until one of the people I passed caught me at the 1 mile to go mark. I let out a cheer of happiness. I looked down at my watch and I saw 5:14. I knew at this point that I could likely walk it in and get my goal. The short single track seemed to take forever as my aching legs were dying to stop. I had one other guy pass me through here as I wished him well on his finish. I dumped out to the road finally. I looked as far ahead as I could and for the first time since the turnaround I saw a quick glimpse of Chelsie up ahead on the road. She had a fairly decent gap and even if I ran my guts out I didn't think I could close the gap. The two guys that had passed me in the last mile were going hard and weren't gain that much ground on her. I had a good pace going, but wasn't a dead sprint by far. I then neared the bend in the road and looked behind me for the last time and not a soul in sight. I knew I had no one that could catch me from behind and no one to really try to catch ahead so I kept a fairly fast, but somewhat comfortable pace. At about .40 to I looked at my watch to see 5:19 something. I just started to take it all in and knowing that I was going to finish in under 5:30. I got tear or two in my eye even. I so wish I could bottle that feeling up. I just started grinning ear to ear and giving praise to God thanking him for that race. I knew I had laid out all I had on that course and pushed my body hard. I could hear the cheers at the finish line and Kristen's voice along with my friends. Todd was a little in front of the finishing line saying Chelsie had just beat me. I said I had sub 5:30 in the bag and just didn't care and she had run better that day. I crossed the line in 5 hours 22 minutes and 14 seconds. I was soooo happy! To come so close before and to finally get my goal time very convincingly was great. I got my long awaited handshake from Dr. Horton and then gave Kristen a big hung followed by a kiss. Mom and dad were right behind her as well congratulating me.
My legs were shot and my calves and hamstrings were screaming and my quads weren't much better as I got my finisher's shirt and slowly made my was over to see Todd, Alexis and Chelsie. They congratulated me and I in-turn asked them how it went for each of them and heard they both had a sub 5:00 finishing time with Alexis getting 9th female. I told Chelsie she ran a heck of a race. Grattan was true to his word of a sub 5:30 and came across at 5:27 and change. I then got to cheer in my other friends as they finished. I love the time after the race is over in a way more than the race. That is partly because all the hard part is done. It is always great to hear the conversations of each others race and trails we each had and overcame throughout the day. The race was a great result for many of my friends and we all enjoyed it.
The race went about as best as I could have asked. My plan of my pre-race food went well along with my fueling plan during the race. I stayed a minimum amount of time at the aid stations and the training that went into the race paid off. Thanks to all the running friends and all those group runs. Along with Kristen for crewing and cheering me on. The aid station workers who help us along the way. Lastly to thank God for the great weather for the race and the ability that he has given me to run when it doesn't seem that long ago that I couldn't even run a mile.
Blake E.
Saturday, February 9, 2013
How we spend some of our Saturdays!!
Saturdays. What do some people want to do? Sleep in considering it maybe one of the few days that they can. There are times that I wish that I could sleep as long as I want to and not have to worry about homework or housework. Not always the case with us.
It is Saturday morning at 4:52 am. I am just crawling out of bed to get ready to get my day started. Blake has been up for a little bit so that he can eat some food and get his running clothes on. I wonder why I am getting up so early on a Saturday. I have gotten up before 7 am most days. I just want to sleep. Then I remember. IT IS RACE DAY!!! The ultra race for Holiday Lake 50K starts at 6:30 am and we need to be there by 6 am so that Blake could check in. When I remembered this, I get excited about seeing him run as well as others that I have become friends. I want to be there to support him in his adventures with running ultras.
We make in time for check-in by 6 am. I was able to talk with Alexis, Todd, Chelsie, Cheyenne, and Grattan before the race started. I knew that they would all do great. About 5 to 10 minutes before the start of the race, Blake and Todd make their way out of the dining hall to the starting line. It's time, time to race!! Dr. Horton does one last check-in for people who signed up but had not checked in with him and then a quick prayer before he tells to GO!
Pictures right before the start of the race. I could upload the video of the start for some reason.
The first person that I saw at the very first aid station was Todd. Then I thought where is Alexis. I figure she would be up there with him. A minute or two later, her she comes. Then I saw Blake! Chelsie and Grattan were not to far behind Blake. I made my way to third aid station to meet Blake there. I plenty of time since Dr. Horton did not want anyone to go the second aid station. So while I waited for him, I was able to do some homework. This is the first time that I was able to do some work while crewing someone. I am able to get work done if I am by myself.
While I was waiting for Blake, I saw the leader come and go. I looked at the time and he was doing great. Then I was like where is Frank Gonzalez. About 5 or 6 minutes later, here comes Frank and Sam. (I know of them because of Blake but they may recognize me if I am with Blake). They both looked good. After awhile, I got out of the car and walked to the aid station with what Blake would need and an extra pair of shoes just in case he needed them. Todd asked about Alexis. She was about 11th female overall at this point in the race. Blake made it to the aid station and I handed him some more chomps and gu so that he would have the energy that he needed. He looked good. Then it was off to the half way mark of the day.
Blake was doing well when I saw him at the half way point. He made it there by 2 hours and 35 minutes. I was excited for him. He was doing GREAT!!!Alexis and Chelsie came through a few minutes in front of Blake and of course Todd was in front of those two. I saw Jennifer Captain there at the half-way point since she was going to run with Cheyenne for the second lap. Then I was off again, back to the third aid station to meet Blake there.
Before meeting Blake at the third aid station to give him more chomps and gu, I had a few minutes to spare so I pulled out a textbook and starting reading again. I thought I saw Blake at one point and started to make way quickly down to the aid station but then saw that it was a different person. However, once I saw this person I knew that Todd would not be that far behind which meant that Blake was on his way. When Alexis came through, she was about 9th at this point in the race and looked good. Todd wanted Alexis to chase him, which she did. I meet Blake up the road a bit from the aid station to hand off the items that he requested. After he got more water, he went up the hill to the second/sixth aid station. I told him that I would meet him before the last aid station to see how he was doing.
Blake and Grattan have been switching spots back and forth at this point in the day. At one point, I would see Blake directly in front of Grattan or it would be other way around. Right before the last aid station, Blake was directly in front of Grattan and Alexis was directly in front of Todd. She did what Todd asked and chased him till she passed him. Once I got to the final aid station, Blake took the last few items he needed and gave me his mp3 player. I took left there so that I could meet him at the finish line. On the way back to finish line, I saw Todd with a couple of guys. I was wondering where Alexis was. Once I got closer to the finish line to park, I saw her. She was going to make it under 5 hours!! I was cheering for her in the car!
I talked with Todd and Alexis for a few minutes at the finish line after they finished. They both meet their goal of running the race under 5 hours and Alexis made it in the top 10! Now, I just had to wait and wonder where is Blake. 5 hours came and went. Then 5 hours and 15 minutes came and went. I was getting anxious at this point. I know how hard Blake has been training for this race. 5 hours and 20 minutes came and went. Then I saw Chelsie! I knew that Blake was close to her, which made me excited. Not even a minute after seeing Chelsie, I saw Blake!! He was going to make it! The race clock said 5 hours, 22 minutes and 14 seconds!!! HE DID IT!! BLAKE FINISHED UNDER 5 HOURS AND 30 MINUTES!! I am one very proud wife!
Not sure if this video of Blake finishing will work or not.
So, the race is over and now it is time to chill and talk with friends. After a couple of hours of hanging out at the finish line, we make our way home. We are both tired. It has been a long day. Long naps are a most and then it was time for dinner. Of course, there are a few things that we both wanted so Blake went out to get Sun Chips since Kroger had them on sale while I stayed home and finished an assignment for a class. Then it is possible time for a movie before we both go back to sleep for the night.
I know that this is a long post but hey, it is a day in the life of an ultra runner and his wife. It is what we do. We both run and have stories to share with our family and friends about our adventures running.
Other pictures can be found on Facebook.
It is Saturday morning at 4:52 am. I am just crawling out of bed to get ready to get my day started. Blake has been up for a little bit so that he can eat some food and get his running clothes on. I wonder why I am getting up so early on a Saturday. I have gotten up before 7 am most days. I just want to sleep. Then I remember. IT IS RACE DAY!!! The ultra race for Holiday Lake 50K starts at 6:30 am and we need to be there by 6 am so that Blake could check in. When I remembered this, I get excited about seeing him run as well as others that I have become friends. I want to be there to support him in his adventures with running ultras.
We make in time for check-in by 6 am. I was able to talk with Alexis, Todd, Chelsie, Cheyenne, and Grattan before the race started. I knew that they would all do great. About 5 to 10 minutes before the start of the race, Blake and Todd make their way out of the dining hall to the starting line. It's time, time to race!! Dr. Horton does one last check-in for people who signed up but had not checked in with him and then a quick prayer before he tells to GO!
Pictures right before the start of the race. I could upload the video of the start for some reason.
The first person that I saw at the very first aid station was Todd. Then I thought where is Alexis. I figure she would be up there with him. A minute or two later, her she comes. Then I saw Blake! Chelsie and Grattan were not to far behind Blake. I made my way to third aid station to meet Blake there. I plenty of time since Dr. Horton did not want anyone to go the second aid station. So while I waited for him, I was able to do some homework. This is the first time that I was able to do some work while crewing someone. I am able to get work done if I am by myself.
While I was waiting for Blake, I saw the leader come and go. I looked at the time and he was doing great. Then I was like where is Frank Gonzalez. About 5 or 6 minutes later, here comes Frank and Sam. (I know of them because of Blake but they may recognize me if I am with Blake). They both looked good. After awhile, I got out of the car and walked to the aid station with what Blake would need and an extra pair of shoes just in case he needed them. Todd asked about Alexis. She was about 11th female overall at this point in the race. Blake made it to the aid station and I handed him some more chomps and gu so that he would have the energy that he needed. He looked good. Then it was off to the half way mark of the day.
Blake was doing well when I saw him at the half way point. He made it there by 2 hours and 35 minutes. I was excited for him. He was doing GREAT!!!Alexis and Chelsie came through a few minutes in front of Blake and of course Todd was in front of those two. I saw Jennifer Captain there at the half-way point since she was going to run with Cheyenne for the second lap. Then I was off again, back to the third aid station to meet Blake there.
Before meeting Blake at the third aid station to give him more chomps and gu, I had a few minutes to spare so I pulled out a textbook and starting reading again. I thought I saw Blake at one point and started to make way quickly down to the aid station but then saw that it was a different person. However, once I saw this person I knew that Todd would not be that far behind which meant that Blake was on his way. When Alexis came through, she was about 9th at this point in the race and looked good. Todd wanted Alexis to chase him, which she did. I meet Blake up the road a bit from the aid station to hand off the items that he requested. After he got more water, he went up the hill to the second/sixth aid station. I told him that I would meet him before the last aid station to see how he was doing.
Blake and Grattan have been switching spots back and forth at this point in the day. At one point, I would see Blake directly in front of Grattan or it would be other way around. Right before the last aid station, Blake was directly in front of Grattan and Alexis was directly in front of Todd. She did what Todd asked and chased him till she passed him. Once I got to the final aid station, Blake took the last few items he needed and gave me his mp3 player. I took left there so that I could meet him at the finish line. On the way back to finish line, I saw Todd with a couple of guys. I was wondering where Alexis was. Once I got closer to the finish line to park, I saw her. She was going to make it under 5 hours!! I was cheering for her in the car!
I talked with Todd and Alexis for a few minutes at the finish line after they finished. They both meet their goal of running the race under 5 hours and Alexis made it in the top 10! Now, I just had to wait and wonder where is Blake. 5 hours came and went. Then 5 hours and 15 minutes came and went. I was getting anxious at this point. I know how hard Blake has been training for this race. 5 hours and 20 minutes came and went. Then I saw Chelsie! I knew that Blake was close to her, which made me excited. Not even a minute after seeing Chelsie, I saw Blake!! He was going to make it! The race clock said 5 hours, 22 minutes and 14 seconds!!! HE DID IT!! BLAKE FINISHED UNDER 5 HOURS AND 30 MINUTES!! I am one very proud wife!
Not sure if this video of Blake finishing will work or not.
So, the race is over and now it is time to chill and talk with friends. After a couple of hours of hanging out at the finish line, we make our way home. We are both tired. It has been a long day. Long naps are a most and then it was time for dinner. Of course, there are a few things that we both wanted so Blake went out to get Sun Chips since Kroger had them on sale while I stayed home and finished an assignment for a class. Then it is possible time for a movie before we both go back to sleep for the night.
I know that this is a long post but hey, it is a day in the life of an ultra runner and his wife. It is what we do. We both run and have stories to share with our family and friends about our adventures running.
Other pictures can be found on Facebook.
Friday, February 8, 2013
Snowy Run
I have to admit, Grattan's Birthday run on Saturday (1/26) was not as bad as I excepted it would be. I wore layers so that I would not be too cold. With all the snow, it did slow me down a bit but I still had a good time overall for the 4 mile run. I actually enjoyed running outside minus the cars that went passed me every so often but otherwise, it was a great run. I kept the main group in sight for about the first mile to 1.25 miles before I could not see them anymore. I kept going on Lawyers Road until my gps watch said that I ran 2.06 miles before I turned around. The last mile was a bit more challenging for me. I had to walk some of it but I tried my best to run the majority of the last mile so that I would have a good time.
Overall, I did have a good time. I ran 4.12 miles in 45 minutes and 46 seconds, which for me is not bad at all. I do think that the snow slowed me down some. I was not sure if my feet or my hands would warm up at all during the run but they eventually did after about 1.25 to 1.5 miles. I am glad that I went out for this run.
Overall, I did have a good time. I ran 4.12 miles in 45 minutes and 46 seconds, which for me is not bad at all. I do think that the snow slowed me down some. I was not sure if my feet or my hands would warm up at all during the run but they eventually did after about 1.25 to 1.5 miles. I am glad that I went out for this run.
Friday, January 25, 2013
Winter Run on Saturday
I have been running inside at Planet Fitness and have done well. I have run 5 miles twice on a treadmill and it felt good! Tomorrow, the plan is to run outside in about 20 something weather. I am really not looked forward to this but know that I need to start running outside some if I want to do a race in February. I do enjoy running outside but only when temps are around 45ish and up. So tomorrow is going to be a challenge. It is also an early morning run starting around 7:30 for Grattan's birthday. Blake and others will be running 14 miles but I plan on trying to get somewhere between 4 and 5 miles. I may be running by myself but there may be a few individuals who run somewhat of a pace that I keep up with. I hope that I can run with someone and hopefully be able to keep a good pace. I have learned that when I have someone who runs besides me then I will keep a good pace and I am able to keep a good pace.
I know that this week I will not get the miles that I would like. I want to be able to run 16 miles a week. I do struggle with trying to get to the gym to run. I have tried to arrange my schedule so that I can meet my goals that I set for each week and month.
I know that this week I will not get the miles that I would like. I want to be able to run 16 miles a week. I do struggle with trying to get to the gym to run. I have tried to arrange my schedule so that I can meet my goals that I set for each week and month.
Wednesday, January 9, 2013
Goal for the week of Jan. 7
I have come up with a goal for this week. The goal is to run a total of 16 miles. I think that is is do able since I have started running 4 to 4.5 miles now. As of today, I am halfway to reaching this goal, which makes me excited. I have done a total of 8.3 miles (4 miles at Planet Fitness and 4.3 miles at Blackwater with part of that being on a trail). I am getting close to reaching my goal for this year, 5 miles. When it gets warmer, I am hoping to do most of my runs outside but for know, I will do half of the mileage at Planet Fitness on Monday evenings and Thursday mornings and the rest on Tuesday and Saturday afternoons at Blackwater. I know that some people do not like running on a treadmill but I don't mind it. It also depends on the weather for me. I just need to take it one day at a time and one run at a time.
Saturday, January 5, 2013
Kristen's Race Schedule
I have been running for a couple of years now but only running 5ks and every so often 4 miles. For this coming year, I have set a goal of running the 5 Miler in July. So I have looked over the race schedule that is Riverside Runner's website and came up with a list of races to run this year.
Feb. 26th- Liberty Mt. 5k (trail race)- still not sure yet
April 6th- Point of Honor 5k
April ? - 4 mile race
June 22- Presybterian Homes and Family Services 5k
August 10th- Lynchburg 5k
September 28th- VA 4 Miler
Oct. 5th- Deep Hollow 5k (trail race) (not sure about the date yet)
I am not sure what my times will be but I am hoping to improve. I have thought about even running some local trail 5ks but I have not fully decided on this yet.
Feb. 26th- Liberty Mt. 5k (trail race)- still not sure yet
April 6th- Point of Honor 5k
April ? - 4 mile race
June 22- Presybterian Homes and Family Services 5k
August 10th- Lynchburg 5k
September 28th- VA 4 Miler
Oct. 5th- Deep Hollow 5k (trail race) (not sure about the date yet)
I am not sure what my times will be but I am hoping to improve. I have thought about even running some local trail 5ks but I have not fully decided on this yet.
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