I was more emotional when I left work for the final time than I thought I'd be; I figured I got that all out of my system the week before. At least I held it together till I was in the car. I think it was realizing that I wasn't going to work with this wonderful, interesting little group of people again. It really was a great place to work.
I'd packed my running clothes thinking I might have time to stop at the Brad, but I did have lots of errands to run. As soon as I was driving away, I knew I needed Brad. He worked his magic. I did another five on the mountain side. There was one bad ankle twist, but after a bunch of swearing, and a quarter mile of ginger running, it felt fine. Today, I know I twisted it, but it isn't an issue.
Thanks, Brad; you're always there when I need you.
Friday, August 31, 2012
Thursday, August 30, 2012
1/3 BBU
Wednesday afternoon I met up with Xar at the Brad. We tried to figure out if it was the first time we'd seen each other since the VT100. We decided probably. Xar's schedule has been crazy. She only had a little window of time for this run so we opted for the portion of the BBU that is only on the mountain side totally in the park. We started where the course comes back from the east side. That put us headed up the Ski, down Northern Loop to the Boundary. Then, instead of heading out the Connector, stay on the Boundary till the Reverse Mindy. From there we took the Tote back up to the Summit, on down Lunch Break. Then back up Lunch Break to the Summit and down Terrace. It made for a very nice 5.2 miles. We did lots of catching up.
Wednesday, August 29, 2012
Hill Repeatlets
I feel like I'm cramming for a test (something I actually loved doing). Virgil is coming right up. My longest run since Peaks is 18 miles. So, I plan on doing all the fatass miles this Saturday. I know running the BBU loop is good training for pretty much anything, but felt like I should get some hill repeats in. So Tuesday I did a whopping three repeats of up Terrace, down Ski then ran up Northern Loop to Tote up to the summit and took the long way down to get 5 miles in.
I'd seen Emma's car in the lot when I started and hoped to see her on the trails somewhere. She was still there when I left. The Gnarly girl was off on bigger hill repeats of Lunch Break. Look out Punisher!
I'd seen Emma's car in the lot when I started and hoped to see her on the trails somewhere. She was still there when I left. The Gnarly girl was off on bigger hill repeats of Lunch Break. Look out Punisher!
Monday, August 27, 2012
BBU Tour
Rick and I made sure to get to the Pownal Elementary School early; since the TMs were hosting a tour of the Big Brads, we guessed we should be there for our guests. On the way past the park, we saw gIANt heading to put the water out at the Brad aid station. Yahoo! There were non-TM runners there :D Rick also pointed out that George must be out getting in some pre-tour miles; his car can be identified by the coffee cup on top.
Some introductions, some faces I recognized, some names quickly forgotten :( By the end of the day, I'd remember all in our group. I think there might be a few in the lead group I can't recall, but hopefully I get to learn them race day.
Oh, I guess I got ahead of myself. George came in from the not-cold. Nathan, Mindy and Ian arrived. Ian handed out some maps, at the same time assuring people we would not lose them, explaining we'd likely run in two pace groups (Ian's and S&S's), but all start out together. And that's how it worked out. I think, besides Matt, the consensus was the start's a bitch :)
S&S were joined by Rick, George, Kevin, Jim, Curt, and we picked up Mike at the park and Dora on the beginning of the east side trails. I loved hearing comments about the course; who wouldn't love Brad?! Rick did a perfect roll out to save himself from getting hurt somewhere on GinnWest or Ragan.
After a quick pit stop at the aid station/ out houses we began the mountain side of the course. It's fun to have the ski trail immediately to reinforce this is not the east side. The group did really well, but I think everyone was happy to finish. Most of them had a good long drive down to Southern Maine/NH area. At least race day should have none of the humidity we dealt with.
Only two things I didn't like about the day. We saw a Great Pyrenees that seemed to be lost. I tried to get him/her to come, but they are known to be wary of strangers. I hope its person was nearby or it found its way home. What a beautiful creature!
The other thing that was a little disconcerting, E&Ls was closed. Yeah, we missed out on yummy food, but we were more concerned about them, especially since they're scheduled for vacation next week. Hope everything is ok.
Some introductions, some faces I recognized, some names quickly forgotten :( By the end of the day, I'd remember all in our group. I think there might be a few in the lead group I can't recall, but hopefully I get to learn them race day.
Oh, I guess I got ahead of myself. George came in from the not-cold. Nathan, Mindy and Ian arrived. Ian handed out some maps, at the same time assuring people we would not lose them, explaining we'd likely run in two pace groups (Ian's and S&S's), but all start out together. And that's how it worked out. I think, besides Matt, the consensus was the start's a bitch :)
S&S were joined by Rick, George, Kevin, Jim, Curt, and we picked up Mike at the park and Dora on the beginning of the east side trails. I loved hearing comments about the course; who wouldn't love Brad?! Rick did a perfect roll out to save himself from getting hurt somewhere on GinnWest or Ragan.
After a quick pit stop at the aid station/ out houses we began the mountain side of the course. It's fun to have the ski trail immediately to reinforce this is not the east side. The group did really well, but I think everyone was happy to finish. Most of them had a good long drive down to Southern Maine/NH area. At least race day should have none of the humidity we dealt with.
Only two things I didn't like about the day. We saw a Great Pyrenees that seemed to be lost. I tried to get him/her to come, but they are known to be wary of strangers. I hope its person was nearby or it found its way home. What a beautiful creature!
The other thing that was a little disconcerting, E&Ls was closed. Yeah, we missed out on yummy food, but we were more concerned about them, especially since they're scheduled for vacation next week. Hope everything is ok.
Steve Day 5K
Saturday, Mindy was in our driveway bright and early to carpool to Rumford with us. Rick was the logical driver. We headed up to run the Steve Day 5K. I had sort of thought I'd never do another 5K and certainly not a road one, but this was just too compelling of a cause. As much as I normally hate 5Ks, that's how much fun I had at this one. The atmosphere was exactly what it should have been. Steve must feel wicked loved cause it was evident from the turnout and energy. Rick kept running into people he knew from the mill. We met up with Jamie and Ian. Rick, Mindy and I ran the race exactly as planned, just for fun. We kept up a training run pace while Rick pointed out the different places they run at lunch time. It was during the run I think that Mindy told us that this was her first ever 5k! I was amazed. Lucky Squirrel ;) After the race, S&S did and easy mile cool down with Jamie and Ian. Rick did more visiting.
Jamie won the race! At the awards, Mindy let out a surprised squirrel sound when she learned she was 3rd woman :0 They took home yummy looking cupcakes as rewards. Oh! And Kate turned in a really good time on no training and sore knees. Ian was up with the leaders, but I don't know how much he pushed it since he was heading back to the Brad to pace NJ Dave on the last miles of his monster 53-mile training run (still astounded by that feat).
Jamie won the race! At the awards, Mindy let out a surprised squirrel sound when she learned she was 3rd woman :0 They took home yummy looking cupcakes as rewards. Oh! And Kate turned in a really good time on no training and sore knees. Ian was up with the leaders, but I don't know how much he pushed it since he was heading back to the Brad to pace NJ Dave on the last miles of his monster 53-mile training run (still astounded by that feat).
Thursday, August 23, 2012
Thursday Equipment Fiasco
The plan was to stop at the Brad after work to get in 5ish miles. I was really looking forward to it. I took my running clothes into my work bathroom to change only to find I had two sports bras and no shorts. Shit. I wonder if the sports bra would have worked almost like a thong. With my tender, chafe-prone skin, I shouldn't even think about that.
So instead, I just ran 4 in the fields at home. I was excited when I approached the Davis's fields; they'd hayed!!! I figured I'd get in some extra miles on ground I hadn't seen in a while, but, when I crested the hill, there was a huge, unattended dog at the base of the hill. Nah.
So instead, I just ran 4 in the fields at home. I was excited when I approached the Davis's fields; they'd hayed!!! I figured I'd get in some extra miles on ground I hadn't seen in a while, but, when I crested the hill, there was a huge, unattended dog at the base of the hill. Nah.
Lucky Wednesday Run
I had planned to run at the Brad after dropping Sam off at WPI. Well, as things usually go, it took longer than anticipated, so no run. Looking at FB later that night, there was a message from George's secretary. He was wondering if I might be heading to Bradbury in the morning. Yes!
When I drove in to the parking lot, I didn't notice George's car, but the time I got out of mine, George had run in out of the woods. Huh? Turns out I was looking for Ann's car; George drives a Honda. He'd gotten in about 20 minutes already. Ever the easy going guy, George let me pick the route. We did most of the BBU mountain side with a few little modifications. The air was beautiful, the sky was beautiful, the run was near perfect. The couple deer flies that were out didn't seem to wake up till we over half way done our run.
I'm not sure all the topics we covered, but certainly Virgil. I guess I'm gonna find out if under training makes all that much difference. My guess would be yes, except, with the crew I'm running with, we'll just laugh our way through!
Oh, guess I should say the reason I was able to do this delightful mid-week run, is I'm taking my vacation days before I'm done with my current job. Unfortunately, as my company becomes it's own independent company, separate from it's parent, it can't support me full time. They hoped I could stay on part time with some potential for extra consulting until they could have me back full time again. I was really sad for a short time because I would love to stay with these people (it's the best folks and a great work environment), but we need at least what I'm making now. So. I'm adding to my resume and looking again. Sigh. Still, I will look for something with less travel so there will be more time for running, the house, and the animals. Virgil Crest is gonna be good medicine.
When I drove in to the parking lot, I didn't notice George's car, but the time I got out of mine, George had run in out of the woods. Huh? Turns out I was looking for Ann's car; George drives a Honda. He'd gotten in about 20 minutes already. Ever the easy going guy, George let me pick the route. We did most of the BBU mountain side with a few little modifications. The air was beautiful, the sky was beautiful, the run was near perfect. The couple deer flies that were out didn't seem to wake up till we over half way done our run.
I'm not sure all the topics we covered, but certainly Virgil. I guess I'm gonna find out if under training makes all that much difference. My guess would be yes, except, with the crew I'm running with, we'll just laugh our way through!
Oh, guess I should say the reason I was able to do this delightful mid-week run, is I'm taking my vacation days before I'm done with my current job. Unfortunately, as my company becomes it's own independent company, separate from it's parent, it can't support me full time. They hoped I could stay on part time with some potential for extra consulting until they could have me back full time again. I was really sad for a short time because I would love to stay with these people (it's the best folks and a great work environment), but we need at least what I'm making now. So. I'm adding to my resume and looking again. Sigh. Still, I will look for something with less travel so there will be more time for running, the house, and the animals. Virgil Crest is gonna be good medicine.
Tuesday, August 21, 2012
TNRwT, WNR in Fields (now with the weekend, too)
OK, I started this post almost a week ago. Briefly, I had a great TNR with the Squirrel, but also with the returning Tim. It was really good to have the two of them to run with; it was a day that required friends. WN was just in our fields. I got poison ivy the last time I ran them, so wore my soccer socks for protection. Either is worked or I didn't run through any this time.
I didn't run again till Saturday. Rick and I headed to the Brad. Rick planned to run the Bruiser. I thought I'd stick with him till the O. From there, I wanted to get in enough miles to make 16, but pick them up on the mountain side.
There was a great TM crew set for the run. George was there for the 2nd weekend in a row!!! We all set out on the Bruiser course and stayed together longer than I expected. There were pockets of happy conversation. Single track makes it so you can basically talk to the person directly ahead or behind. You also can pick up the conversation of most of those behind.
Somewhere before we began to splinter into pace groups, George asks me about running VC100. Oh! Not this year. I'm thinking 2013 for my first one. A little more talk, then, "What about running a easy, fun 50 with me?" Or something very close to that. YES! Oh, Yes, I want to do that!!! Soon, George is putting the bug into the Squirrel's head. Let's see how many TMs we can get doing a 50 as a fun run :)
After the splinter, Rick, Mindy, George, and I finished the O-less Bruiser with good conversation, a few stumbles, lots of sweating (oh, humidity, not at all sad this was the last of it...knock wood;), and laughs. We headed across the street. Rick kept going while Mindy, George and I stopped at the cars. From there we ran out the Connector, back, to the summit, then down the ski trail. My total ended up to be 17.5. Good thing, since I am now training for a 50 in a month!
Sunday I could only fit in four miles before Rick and I headed out to visit friends in MA.
I didn't run again till Saturday. Rick and I headed to the Brad. Rick planned to run the Bruiser. I thought I'd stick with him till the O. From there, I wanted to get in enough miles to make 16, but pick them up on the mountain side.
There was a great TM crew set for the run. George was there for the 2nd weekend in a row!!! We all set out on the Bruiser course and stayed together longer than I expected. There were pockets of happy conversation. Single track makes it so you can basically talk to the person directly ahead or behind. You also can pick up the conversation of most of those behind.
Somewhere before we began to splinter into pace groups, George asks me about running VC100. Oh! Not this year. I'm thinking 2013 for my first one. A little more talk, then, "What about running a easy, fun 50 with me?" Or something very close to that. YES! Oh, Yes, I want to do that!!! Soon, George is putting the bug into the Squirrel's head. Let's see how many TMs we can get doing a 50 as a fun run :)
After the splinter, Rick, Mindy, George, and I finished the O-less Bruiser with good conversation, a few stumbles, lots of sweating (oh, humidity, not at all sad this was the last of it...knock wood;), and laughs. We headed across the street. Rick kept going while Mindy, George and I stopped at the cars. From there we ran out the Connector, back, to the summit, then down the ski trail. My total ended up to be 17.5. Good thing, since I am now training for a 50 in a month!
Sunday I could only fit in four miles before Rick and I headed out to visit friends in MA.
Monday, August 13, 2012
Yes!
The weather over the weekend was still horrendously humid, but a little less hot. I have had such a bad stretch of runs lately, I was beginning to question my conditioning and/or health. I have felt like shit more in the last month running than in all my previous years, I think. Still, I was looking forward to Saturday's run; We planned on hosting a "tour" of the BBU loop. Even if no one else showed, a loop of BBU with Squirrel and gIANt is good runnin'.
Unlike my normal pulling-into-the-park-at-the-last-second self, I figured I should show a little early in case we had non-TM takers on the tour offer. I pulled into the school parking lot to find George and Mindy already there!!! We chatted a bit before NJ Dave and Jordan showed up. More chatting, then Ian and Zak showed, quickly followed by David and Julia. Julia was just dropping David off before heading to the Brad for some fast running.
We all stayed together for most of Lunch Break, but then splintered into the two groups we figured would happen. Ian and his group were gonna run the 3.5 mile start of the 50 miler before running the rest of the non-east-side loop. The S&S group was gonna stick with the main 15.5 BBU loop. We were George, Jordan, NJ Dave, and the esses, till Dave and Jordan realized we were heading to the east side; they wanted hills. Heading past the parking lot, we noticed Sara with Sadie, oh, and Nathan. We decided to see if anyone else wanted to join the BBU already in progress. Sara and Sadie were waiting for Mary and Ruby to show. Nathan eventually decided to join us. So, S&S&TT&George (needs a trail name :) headed across to the east-side portion of the loop.
We chatted and enjoyed. Yup. Running felt good. Ian had given me some S-caps at the start. I considered if I would take them. Would it be too late if I decided I needed them? Hmmm. I felt good and my shorts weren't saturated and dripping 6 miles in.
More talking, laughing, swatting of bugs. Have I mentioned it was a good run? Yes. a. good. run. I love Brad. I didn't take the S-caps, but felt like having them with me was my power. I had a waffle and a HappyTot for food and about 50oz of cola nuun during the run. We talked about various ultras to come. If George gets into Hardrock, he's got Scout and Squirrel for pacers. I am gonna start looking for my 100 for next year. I just have to find one that occurs not in heat.
By the time we reached the summit, ready to head down Lunch Break to finish, I was totally dripping from every drippable surface, but still feeling good. Nathan headed back to Brad's parking while the rest of us headed back to the school. Mindy still had more miles to do and drove to Brad to run them on the east side. Before George and I headed out, Jordan and Dave finished up. Nice timing. I finished at E&Ls where Nathan was already placing his order. Mindy came in before we left. BLTs!!!
Sunday was a little hotter and just as humid. Rick wanted to get in 10-12. We started with 2.6ish on the mountain before heading to the east side to run Mindy's 40 loop backwards. I got soggier quicker, but never felt that bonking feeling. In fact, by the last few miles I was feeling better than the start. It was also good to see Rick's miles starting to creep up again. A good day for the Abradis at the Brad :D
Unlike my normal pulling-into-the-park-at-the-last-second self, I figured I should show a little early in case we had non-TM takers on the tour offer. I pulled into the school parking lot to find George and Mindy already there!!! We chatted a bit before NJ Dave and Jordan showed up. More chatting, then Ian and Zak showed, quickly followed by David and Julia. Julia was just dropping David off before heading to the Brad for some fast running.
We all stayed together for most of Lunch Break, but then splintered into the two groups we figured would happen. Ian and his group were gonna run the 3.5 mile start of the 50 miler before running the rest of the non-east-side loop. The S&S group was gonna stick with the main 15.5 BBU loop. We were George, Jordan, NJ Dave, and the esses, till Dave and Jordan realized we were heading to the east side; they wanted hills. Heading past the parking lot, we noticed Sara with Sadie, oh, and Nathan. We decided to see if anyone else wanted to join the BBU already in progress. Sara and Sadie were waiting for Mary and Ruby to show. Nathan eventually decided to join us. So, S&S&TT&George (needs a trail name :) headed across to the east-side portion of the loop.
We chatted and enjoyed. Yup. Running felt good. Ian had given me some S-caps at the start. I considered if I would take them. Would it be too late if I decided I needed them? Hmmm. I felt good and my shorts weren't saturated and dripping 6 miles in.
More talking, laughing, swatting of bugs. Have I mentioned it was a good run? Yes. a. good. run. I love Brad. I didn't take the S-caps, but felt like having them with me was my power. I had a waffle and a HappyTot for food and about 50oz of cola nuun during the run. We talked about various ultras to come. If George gets into Hardrock, he's got Scout and Squirrel for pacers. I am gonna start looking for my 100 for next year. I just have to find one that occurs not in heat.
By the time we reached the summit, ready to head down Lunch Break to finish, I was totally dripping from every drippable surface, but still feeling good. Nathan headed back to Brad's parking while the rest of us headed back to the school. Mindy still had more miles to do and drove to Brad to run them on the east side. Before George and I headed out, Jordan and Dave finished up. Nice timing. I finished at E&Ls where Nathan was already placing his order. Mindy came in before we left. BLTs!!!
Sunday was a little hotter and just as humid. Rick wanted to get in 10-12. We started with 2.6ish on the mountain before heading to the east side to run Mindy's 40 loop backwards. I got soggier quicker, but never felt that bonking feeling. In fact, by the last few miles I was feeling better than the start. It was also good to see Rick's miles starting to creep up again. A good day for the Abradis at the Brad :D
Wednesday, August 8, 2012
Amazing TNR Mileage
 | |||||||
| Surprising data |
I was surprised to learn that Mindy and I had done over 77 miles for TNR. No wonder I had low battery for this evening's run! Yeah, I must have forgotten to turn off the device. Oh, well.
Mindy and I actually ran 6 miles. Mostly we talked about me: some job-related stuff and some virus/hydration/stitch stuff. Mindy is always good for sorting things out.
This evening's run was not one I was looking forward to. I haven't run our fields in a long while. Heading back past the moto-cross track, I was disappointed to see that the farmer hasn't hayed his fields. Bummer. That meant my field course was going to be pretty repetitive. I ran what there is on this side of the street and headed across the street for the hill. I was psyched to find that the mowed section now includes the path down to the beaver swamp! I had shade and the potential for a beaver sighting. My feeling about this run changed. No beaver, but it was still good. Running back, I realized I hadn't even noticed the hill; the running was going that well. Go figure! Just a nice 4.5.
Monday, August 6, 2012
Tough Weekend
I was looking forward to a long run at the Brad with Squirrel. It seemed like a long time since our last one. We were aiming for 16-18 miles. Since the weather called for even more heat and humidity, we decided to start at 7 a.m. Unfortunately, I didn't feel right when I woke up. I had a weird rash on my chin, my eyes were unhappy, my throat was scratchy, and my stomach was, um, not right. Ever the perfect running partner, the Squirrel said something to the effect we'll play it by ear or do what I can. I said I was planning to run it out of my system. Well, it does work sometimes.
We did a short loop on the east side, planning on seeing who was in the parking lot for 8 am. There was a good group of TMs, but they were all marking the Breaker course for Sunday's race. Then Mike showed up, someone just starting out on TM runs. I'm sure he could have run at a much faster pace, but he seemed right at ease running with us and kept up his share of the constant conversation.
S&S had planned on doing various loops on the east side to get in all the miles. Since Mike plans on running one of the BBUs, we decided to run the east side portion of the race as one of our loops. It all went well. We went back to the cars to refill/repack our fluids/fuel. From there, we decided a loop from Mindy's 40 for 40. Though I wilt/melt in heat, I felt semi-ok. My stomach had a couple crampy issues, but nothing I couldn't run through till about 15 miles (total) into our run. I decided to walk to see how if it got better. Though I told Mike and Mindy they didn't need to, they both walked without hesitation. Just a little stretch. As we approached the little loop off of Ginn West, I sent M&M off on it, knowing that by the time they returned to Ginn, I'd be OK to run it back in with them. It worked. Unfortunately, I felt horrible back in the park. It seemed more lower GI, but still overall lousy.
We all hung out a bit at a picnic table. Mike decided he'd add a couple more mountain miles to his total. I told Mindy there was no E&Ls in my future :( I headed home. I drank some water, but couldn't eat for a while. Finally I ate a couple of pieces of toast. I managed a shower, then just lounged/slept/watched the olympics. Supper was some pasta. Not much after 17.5 miles in the hot, humid weather.
Sunday, I woke feeling a bit better. The Breaker would change that. I felt horrible. My stomach was an issue, but it was more my lack of any reserve of energy. I tried to stay positive and keep moving. It was hard not to walk off the mountain. I shamed myself after witnessing the courage of the 100 milers just two weeks earlier. I finished. I wanted to recover and enjoy the wonderful atmosphere that all the Bradbury races have, but instead my stomach got worse. Some bright notes were the wonderful races of lots of TMs and great volunteers (including Steve Day!).
We did a short loop on the east side, planning on seeing who was in the parking lot for 8 am. There was a good group of TMs, but they were all marking the Breaker course for Sunday's race. Then Mike showed up, someone just starting out on TM runs. I'm sure he could have run at a much faster pace, but he seemed right at ease running with us and kept up his share of the constant conversation.
S&S had planned on doing various loops on the east side to get in all the miles. Since Mike plans on running one of the BBUs, we decided to run the east side portion of the race as one of our loops. It all went well. We went back to the cars to refill/repack our fluids/fuel. From there, we decided a loop from Mindy's 40 for 40. Though I wilt/melt in heat, I felt semi-ok. My stomach had a couple crampy issues, but nothing I couldn't run through till about 15 miles (total) into our run. I decided to walk to see how if it got better. Though I told Mike and Mindy they didn't need to, they both walked without hesitation. Just a little stretch. As we approached the little loop off of Ginn West, I sent M&M off on it, knowing that by the time they returned to Ginn, I'd be OK to run it back in with them. It worked. Unfortunately, I felt horrible back in the park. It seemed more lower GI, but still overall lousy.
We all hung out a bit at a picnic table. Mike decided he'd add a couple more mountain miles to his total. I told Mindy there was no E&Ls in my future :( I headed home. I drank some water, but couldn't eat for a while. Finally I ate a couple of pieces of toast. I managed a shower, then just lounged/slept/watched the olympics. Supper was some pasta. Not much after 17.5 miles in the hot, humid weather.
Sunday, I woke feeling a bit better. The Breaker would change that. I felt horrible. My stomach was an issue, but it was more my lack of any reserve of energy. I tried to stay positive and keep moving. It was hard not to walk off the mountain. I shamed myself after witnessing the courage of the 100 milers just two weeks earlier. I finished. I wanted to recover and enjoy the wonderful atmosphere that all the Bradbury races have, but instead my stomach got worse. Some bright notes were the wonderful races of lots of TMs and great volunteers (including Steve Day!).
Briefly Briefing
So, runs since the VT100:
TNR - Two laps around the Back Cove with the Squirrel to share our VT100 experiences
ThNR - A lap around the Boundary with a piece of the Connector to get in a nice evening Brad run
Sat.am - 5.4 on the Eastern Trail with Rick and Squirrel before the pool party.
Sun.am - 10.1 Mountain portion of BBU with Mindy and Danielle
TNR - Celebratory 4.7 miles at the Brad with Squirrel and Pete (Yay! Squirrel)
WNR - Surprise Back Cove run with some TMs had to run out at lunch to buy running clothes!
ThNR - 4.5 soupy miles at the Brad
TNR - Two laps around the Back Cove with the Squirrel to share our VT100 experiences
ThNR - A lap around the Boundary with a piece of the Connector to get in a nice evening Brad run
Sat.am - 5.4 on the Eastern Trail with Rick and Squirrel before the pool party.
Sun.am - 10.1 Mountain portion of BBU with Mindy and Danielle
TNR - Celebratory 4.7 miles at the Brad with Squirrel and Pete (Yay! Squirrel)
WNR - Surprise Back Cove run with some TMs had to run out at lunch to buy running clothes!
ThNR - 4.5 soupy miles at the Brad
Friday, August 3, 2012
VT100 - Getting It Done
OK, where are we? After dawn. That still leaves about 5 hours. Incredible! As much time as we were out there, it didn't feel long. Time seems irrelevant in ultras. Normally, I think in mileage. The time spent always surprises me. Though this time we were focused on time because of the deadline, I still had no sense of it in real terms. I can't even explain it. Go run a long, long way and see if you can explain it to me, please.
Oh! I forgot to say that, even in the dark, I recognized so many places because of all the places Xar and I drove trying to get to the B&B. At one point, seeing the police lights (around 2 or 3 am?), I knew just how close we were to the start/finish. Wow, that's cruel. Dumb me told George, but I think it had no meaning other I think he took in I knew where we were. Also, just for follow up, I was instantly too hot even walking with my hoodie. I tied it on my waist not 1/4 mile in. I unloaded it into George's first drop bag. I can't emphasize enough how much I love the sleeves. I didn't take them out till late at night when a breeze made this sweaty body chilly. They were perfect. From then on, I'd pull them up/push them down. It was the perfect temp control. Later, towards the end of it all, they would become my fly swatters. I <3 p="p" them.="them.">
Lets see, somewhere after dawn, Scott and his energetic pacer passed us again. What the hell? I thought they were long ahead. Again, I was made to take note of how effective not stopping at aid stations was. They put some distance on us as Scott seemed to be running well again. A few long hills later, we'd be passing them again. George. He just keeps keepin' on. Pain? Fuck it. Maybe with 5 miles left we'd see them pass us for the last time. Yay Scott!!! No DNFIT this year :D
So, Mary Lou and her pacer....Turns out (damn, damn, damn! I should remember his name. I mispronounced it twice so it should be stuck in my head. so much for my good memory) her pacer was a high school cross country kid. His longest run ever was 16 miles. No wonder he looked sore. She and George exchanged thoughts about 100s and this one in particular. They'd both done much harder races earlier this year. I think they both had the same number under their belts. They agreed this one was deceptive and cruel. The non-technical nature of about 80% it made it much more runnable than most. People ran too hard, too early. for too many miles. She was struggling with blown quads. Yet she was, similar to George, pretty upbeat and non-complaining. She was a little worried that her husband had been at the finish line for so long. He would be tired and grouchy. I felt a little sorry for him till I learned he was just crewing for her; he had NOT run it himself. I'd talk to him if I ever saw him. Mary Lou, she is defended (for fans of the new Dr. Who).
We'd see them again later. For now they went ahead. Did George have another spasm? I think maybe. Hmmm. As the sun got higher, it got warmer. It was getting hot. We were joined by a clan. Yay! It was a runner that George had known for a long, long time. He was being paced by 3 of his boys! They were big boys. I think one was 6' 6". They traded snippets of their stories. I think they'd been together earlier. George asked the dad if he had any ibuprofen. I thought he might be feeling things more. Luckily, dad produced a couple of pills. It's a good thing George doesn't have much trouble taking pills; he couldn't tip his head pack at all. We stayed together for a bit, but the boys were pulling their dad along. We let him go, but not the good vibes that he brought to George. They lasted a while.
We came came up on Mary Lou and pacer again. George asked if she was having trouble with her right calf. How did he know??? From how she was walking. He offered Biofreeze. You'd think he had stock in the goo. She was thankful. We stayed together for quite some time. A woman in a jeep(?) yelled at us. Did we want Gatorade? Hell, yes! Pacer and I made sure the runners kept going as we hung back. The woman rooted through tons of stuff in the back (maybe it was a truck with a cap). We let her know how appreciative we were. She said she knew how we felt; she'd been crewing for a horse. Finally she produced a quart. She kept looking but then shooed us off. As we were running the fluid to our runners, I said to him, "Doesn't this feel wonderful?!" He commented that he never thought walking would be hard. Yes, running was just what was needed. Just as we delivered the payload, we heard the woman cheer; she'd found more. Instead of waiting for her to come to us, we ran back to the truck/jeep just to run more. She gave us two more quarts! We all drank our fill. The pacers carried what wasn't finished.
We separated again. I'm not sure who was ahead this time. George was feeling the need for speed. He felt us getting nearer? Or was it the heat building in. I could see him try to run on the start of the downs. I decided to point out we should walk until that mailbox, where it was less steep. He accepted that. Walk fast then some running. OK, that would be my tactic; judge if it was OK for him to run. If not, suggest a good place to start. He really was faster power walking, but I think running was important to the spirit.
We were coming into an aid station. Was it the last one? I'm not sure. Wherever it was, there was Ryan, the Snowman, Triffitt!!! I wish everyone could have seen George's face. I love how simple support can mean so much. As Ryan came towards us, I went into protector mode. All I could picture was Ryan slapping George on the back or hugging him. Don't you dare! Do. Not. Touch. The. Runner. On. Penalty. Of. Me. Seriiously. Of course, everything was fine. The boost Ryan gave George probably could have counter-acted any slap on the back he might have given (if the body guard screwed up). Much happiness. Finally, we were leaving them behind. Ryan asked if there was anything else. Oh! Fill my Nathan pack? He ran back, filled up, and ran it out to me. Our buoyed spirits let George put on a spurt.
Hey George! You've got this. Damn straight! We knew it, but still there was no letting up. We were moving faster. OK, somehow we were with Mary Lou and Pacer again. I mentioned "time to shine" girl. Mary Lou was excited. Did you see her, too? She was so sweet. :D :D :D I let them in on our calculations. They didn't have a garmin. I said 97 miles. Can you announce every mile? I'll try. I wasn't looking that often, but then it became my job. Pretty soon, we'd put too much distance between us and ML. Still, I think we knew they'd finish on time.
We were close. A young girl came running toward us. I asked her where the finish was. She said, " you follow the signs." Kids. Still we were close. George kept a run going. Soon we heard finish-line type cheering. GEORGE!!! You have this. As we approached the finish, George told me I was finishing with him. He grabbed my hand. I gasped. That's your sore side! I am tearing up now, because I know what it cost him to take my hand. We saw his Annie! We saw TMs. We heard TMs. As we crossed the line, so many emotions. I wanted everyone to know what he had done. I caught Xar's eyes.
The next minutes are probably the most blurry. I think the first comment I remember most was Emma saying doesn't it make me want to do it. HELL. NO. Not this one. Pineland is to the 50 what this one is to the 100. Nope. Never. 100. Maybe. Probably?
So then there was finding out the great times of our fellow Monsters, Jeremy, Ian, and Joe. The devastating, though guessed at, news that Zak had dropped. His knee had blown up. Still not sure what that means, but we'll know soon. Xar's runner could not go on passed the 95.5 mile aid station. After seeing the distorted shape she'd become, I'm amazed she made it that far.
There was to be a BBQ and awards. Xar and I were riding back to my car, still at Ten Bear, with Ann and George. We hoped they wanted to leave, but, it was their event and their call. Phew. Leave. We gave Ryan our BBQ ticket and words like, "You are awesome", because, well, he's awesome. And that was before I'd heard the entire story of his day.
Um, when George got behind the wheel, I offered to drive. But you know what, George had been in the driver seat since he came into Ten Bear. OK. I just hoped his legs wouldn't spasm when trying to apply brakes on the curvy, steep dirt roads. No problem. They dropped us at my car. We drove back to the B&B to shower. I had the first; Xar napped. Then she showered, we said our good-byes, and headed out. I knew I needed food. Back to the general store from the night before. I took the first driving shift. I ate my wrap and got us onto the highway. After an hour or so, I knew I was too tired to drive much further and planned to get off at the next exit. Not sure how much longer I drove, but I woke up to find me doing about 40mph. I was still in my own lane at least. Xar! Wake up. I need you to make sure I don't fall asleep till we get off the highway.
We got off just after crossing back into NH. There was a shopping mall. We tried parking in the lot to sleep. It was just too hot and noisy. I spied an industrial park type drive. We went down it looking for some shade. Finally, we found a large, if scarily-stacked, pile of pallets. It cast a nice shadow. We parked in the welcome shade with our windows down. A quick, "Please don't fall on us" to the pallets, and we were both out. I startled awake maybe a 45 minutes later. It was enough to wake Xar, too. She took over at the wheel. About 1/2 hour in she said she was going to try to last another xx minutes, but needed to stop soon. We wondered how long it would take us to get home, with these little stints. Where she pulled off, there was a McDs. I bought a large ice coffee and pounded it. That was all I needed to get us the rest of the way home. Wow.
Xar drove off in her pretty red car. I was sad the event was done. By the time I got to sleep, I'd been awake almost 41 hours (just the 45 minute cat nap). I slept 9 hours straight that night. Since then, I've only had two bad nights of sleep. Mostly, I have been falling asleep before Rick. Who knew all it took was 30 miles of pacing and 41 hours of awake time?
So many amazing, inspiring people in those hours.
Oh! I forgot to say that, even in the dark, I recognized so many places because of all the places Xar and I drove trying to get to the B&B. At one point, seeing the police lights (around 2 or 3 am?), I knew just how close we were to the start/finish. Wow, that's cruel. Dumb me told George, but I think it had no meaning other I think he took in I knew where we were. Also, just for follow up, I was instantly too hot even walking with my hoodie. I tied it on my waist not 1/4 mile in. I unloaded it into George's first drop bag. I can't emphasize enough how much I love the sleeves. I didn't take them out till late at night when a breeze made this sweaty body chilly. They were perfect. From then on, I'd pull them up/push them down. It was the perfect temp control. Later, towards the end of it all, they would become my fly swatters. I <3 p="p" them.="them.">
Lets see, somewhere after dawn, Scott and his energetic pacer passed us again. What the hell? I thought they were long ahead. Again, I was made to take note of how effective not stopping at aid stations was. They put some distance on us as Scott seemed to be running well again. A few long hills later, we'd be passing them again. George. He just keeps keepin' on. Pain? Fuck it. Maybe with 5 miles left we'd see them pass us for the last time. Yay Scott!!! No DNFIT this year :D
So, Mary Lou and her pacer....Turns out (damn, damn, damn! I should remember his name. I mispronounced it twice so it should be stuck in my head. so much for my good memory) her pacer was a high school cross country kid. His longest run ever was 16 miles. No wonder he looked sore. She and George exchanged thoughts about 100s and this one in particular. They'd both done much harder races earlier this year. I think they both had the same number under their belts. They agreed this one was deceptive and cruel. The non-technical nature of about 80% it made it much more runnable than most. People ran too hard, too early. for too many miles. She was struggling with blown quads. Yet she was, similar to George, pretty upbeat and non-complaining. She was a little worried that her husband had been at the finish line for so long. He would be tired and grouchy. I felt a little sorry for him till I learned he was just crewing for her; he had NOT run it himself. I'd talk to him if I ever saw him. Mary Lou, she is defended (for fans of the new Dr. Who).
We'd see them again later. For now they went ahead. Did George have another spasm? I think maybe. Hmmm. As the sun got higher, it got warmer. It was getting hot. We were joined by a clan. Yay! It was a runner that George had known for a long, long time. He was being paced by 3 of his boys! They were big boys. I think one was 6' 6". They traded snippets of their stories. I think they'd been together earlier. George asked the dad if he had any ibuprofen. I thought he might be feeling things more. Luckily, dad produced a couple of pills. It's a good thing George doesn't have much trouble taking pills; he couldn't tip his head pack at all. We stayed together for a bit, but the boys were pulling their dad along. We let him go, but not the good vibes that he brought to George. They lasted a while.
We came came up on Mary Lou and pacer again. George asked if she was having trouble with her right calf. How did he know??? From how she was walking. He offered Biofreeze. You'd think he had stock in the goo. She was thankful. We stayed together for quite some time. A woman in a jeep(?) yelled at us. Did we want Gatorade? Hell, yes! Pacer and I made sure the runners kept going as we hung back. The woman rooted through tons of stuff in the back (maybe it was a truck with a cap). We let her know how appreciative we were. She said she knew how we felt; she'd been crewing for a horse. Finally she produced a quart. She kept looking but then shooed us off. As we were running the fluid to our runners, I said to him, "Doesn't this feel wonderful?!" He commented that he never thought walking would be hard. Yes, running was just what was needed. Just as we delivered the payload, we heard the woman cheer; she'd found more. Instead of waiting for her to come to us, we ran back to the truck/jeep just to run more. She gave us two more quarts! We all drank our fill. The pacers carried what wasn't finished.
We separated again. I'm not sure who was ahead this time. George was feeling the need for speed. He felt us getting nearer? Or was it the heat building in. I could see him try to run on the start of the downs. I decided to point out we should walk until that mailbox, where it was less steep. He accepted that. Walk fast then some running. OK, that would be my tactic; judge if it was OK for him to run. If not, suggest a good place to start. He really was faster power walking, but I think running was important to the spirit.
We were coming into an aid station. Was it the last one? I'm not sure. Wherever it was, there was Ryan, the Snowman, Triffitt!!! I wish everyone could have seen George's face. I love how simple support can mean so much. As Ryan came towards us, I went into protector mode. All I could picture was Ryan slapping George on the back or hugging him. Don't you dare! Do. Not. Touch. The. Runner. On. Penalty. Of. Me. Seriiously. Of course, everything was fine. The boost Ryan gave George probably could have counter-acted any slap on the back he might have given (if the body guard screwed up). Much happiness. Finally, we were leaving them behind. Ryan asked if there was anything else. Oh! Fill my Nathan pack? He ran back, filled up, and ran it out to me. Our buoyed spirits let George put on a spurt.
Hey George! You've got this. Damn straight! We knew it, but still there was no letting up. We were moving faster. OK, somehow we were with Mary Lou and Pacer again. I mentioned "time to shine" girl. Mary Lou was excited. Did you see her, too? She was so sweet. :D :D :D I let them in on our calculations. They didn't have a garmin. I said 97 miles. Can you announce every mile? I'll try. I wasn't looking that often, but then it became my job. Pretty soon, we'd put too much distance between us and ML. Still, I think we knew they'd finish on time.
We were close. A young girl came running toward us. I asked her where the finish was. She said, " you follow the signs." Kids. Still we were close. George kept a run going. Soon we heard finish-line type cheering. GEORGE!!! You have this. As we approached the finish, George told me I was finishing with him. He grabbed my hand. I gasped. That's your sore side! I am tearing up now, because I know what it cost him to take my hand. We saw his Annie! We saw TMs. We heard TMs. As we crossed the line, so many emotions. I wanted everyone to know what he had done. I caught Xar's eyes.
The next minutes are probably the most blurry. I think the first comment I remember most was Emma saying doesn't it make me want to do it. HELL. NO. Not this one. Pineland is to the 50 what this one is to the 100. Nope. Never. 100. Maybe. Probably?
So then there was finding out the great times of our fellow Monsters, Jeremy, Ian, and Joe. The devastating, though guessed at, news that Zak had dropped. His knee had blown up. Still not sure what that means, but we'll know soon. Xar's runner could not go on passed the 95.5 mile aid station. After seeing the distorted shape she'd become, I'm amazed she made it that far.
There was to be a BBQ and awards. Xar and I were riding back to my car, still at Ten Bear, with Ann and George. We hoped they wanted to leave, but, it was their event and their call. Phew. Leave. We gave Ryan our BBQ ticket and words like, "You are awesome", because, well, he's awesome. And that was before I'd heard the entire story of his day.
Um, when George got behind the wheel, I offered to drive. But you know what, George had been in the driver seat since he came into Ten Bear. OK. I just hoped his legs wouldn't spasm when trying to apply brakes on the curvy, steep dirt roads. No problem. They dropped us at my car. We drove back to the B&B to shower. I had the first; Xar napped. Then she showered, we said our good-byes, and headed out. I knew I needed food. Back to the general store from the night before. I took the first driving shift. I ate my wrap and got us onto the highway. After an hour or so, I knew I was too tired to drive much further and planned to get off at the next exit. Not sure how much longer I drove, but I woke up to find me doing about 40mph. I was still in my own lane at least. Xar! Wake up. I need you to make sure I don't fall asleep till we get off the highway.
We got off just after crossing back into NH. There was a shopping mall. We tried parking in the lot to sleep. It was just too hot and noisy. I spied an industrial park type drive. We went down it looking for some shade. Finally, we found a large, if scarily-stacked, pile of pallets. It cast a nice shadow. We parked in the welcome shade with our windows down. A quick, "Please don't fall on us" to the pallets, and we were both out. I startled awake maybe a 45 minutes later. It was enough to wake Xar, too. She took over at the wheel. About 1/2 hour in she said she was going to try to last another xx minutes, but needed to stop soon. We wondered how long it would take us to get home, with these little stints. Where she pulled off, there was a McDs. I bought a large ice coffee and pounded it. That was all I needed to get us the rest of the way home. Wow.
Xar drove off in her pretty red car. I was sad the event was done. By the time I got to sleep, I'd been awake almost 41 hours (just the 45 minute cat nap). I slept 9 hours straight that night. Since then, I've only had two bad nights of sleep. Mostly, I have been falling asleep before Rick. Who knew all it took was 30 miles of pacing and 41 hours of awake time?
So many amazing, inspiring people in those hours.
Thursday, August 2, 2012
VT100 - Part Two
So, we were at Ten Bear. It was a bustling place. Not only was it an aid station, it was one with a medical check and, now, where runners could pick up their pacers. It was light when we got there, but not for long. Standing got old. I had one chair in the car, but we worried that our runners would come and we wouldn't be ready. Nope, we needed to sit. I fetched the chair (yeah, the car wasn't right handy, part of our concern). We took turns sitting in it for a short time, but we both were too worried about timing. So put it back in the trunk. Then I got chilly. Hmmmm....go back for a sweatshirt? But what about when the runners come through? OK, too cold, plus the sleeves would help ward off bugs. As the night wore on, I began to think my shorts, short sleeves, and compression sleeves might not be enough. I knew there was likely to be good stretches of walking. My dress was based on running. OK, I'd keep the hoodie (It was Badass!). I had to pee a couple of times, but ducked into the bushes to avoid the well-used port-a-potties.
We saw 9pm come and go. Hmmmm. We saw 9:30 come and go. Now both our runners were past their estimates. We worried a bit, but we also hoped that we'd see them come in together and could go off as a group. Every headlamp heading at us, might be them. 10pm. Next thing I knew, Xar recognized her runner and was off to tend to her. I thought they were long gone, when I saw them at the food table. I went to give a few words of encouragement. They already seemed to be working together. I remembered that Ann had commented that M looked like she had a weird bend that Ann had seen when someone was really dehydrated. Looking at M, I believed she must have some structural deformity. I couldn't imagine that a sideways bend like that could be explained otherwise. I also noted how fit M looked otherwise. I would never have guess her age as late 50s. I cheered as they headed out and turned back to watch for George. With every headlamp that came and wasn't him, my heart sank a bit. What if something had happened? I wandered over to the food table to grab some M&Ms. The pacer coordinator had made it clear that we were to eat and drink. The aid stations would tend to us, too, since we were to be concentrating on our runners.
Back to stare at the blackness. Then! I saw George. I yelled. I went to greet him. "Val, were dealing with some issues. Can you fill this (his water bottle)? I'll get weighed, then I'll fill you in." Fill his water bottle. Done. He was ready almost as fast. We started off at a walk as he filled me in on the "issues". He'd hurt his neck at work a couple of weeks ago at work, then re-tweaked it after the Scuffle. Unfortunately, just after 50-someodd miles his neck chose to spasm. Judging from what I saw, that seems like such an understatement. He told me how he stood in the middle of the road unable to move. I think he feared he was stuck there. He told me he'd taken like 5 advils. His stomach was shot because of that. He was choking down caffeinated GUs to keep him going, but they weren't helping the stomach.
Then I saw a spasm. He stopped dead. I could tell from his face that he was in extreme pain. I just waited it out with him. It seemed forever. His face relaxed a bit and he started walking again. He put his straight, left arm slightly behind his back so he could put down on it with his right. The tension helped relieve his neck a bit. That was to happen pretty frequently in our first miles. Then it seemed George had more time between spasms. He even offered hope that maybe, maybe it would subside.
Shit. I think he felt like he'd jinxed himself just voicing hope. A couple of times, we'd both have hope that he'd turned a corner, but, I we knew he was probably dealing with it for the rest of the miles.
I didn't start my Garmin right when we headed out. It's not like anyone says go. It's not like I really knew we were starting when we started. I know I'm making excuses. I started it when I realized. I had to check my distance versus where an aid station said we were to figure that I was about 1.5 miles off. It gave me one more thing to add in with all the calculations George and I would be doing. And we did some calculating! How much time was left? How many miles? If we continued at this pace could he make the cut off?
When he felt good, he would overtake people on the hills. His power walk is fast. I had to work to keep up with him. But, when he wanted to run, when he should be rewarded by gravity, he could not. The downs, even nice gentle ones caused to much jostling. It would cause my chatty champion to go silent. More spasms. Ugh!
When he wasn't seized, George was pretty talkative. I learned a lot about his love of running, rekindled by the joy his puppies had running. I learned about his interesting approach to 100s training. I loved it when he'd tell me some plan he had to do something for "my Annie".
I told him what we knew about the other TMs. Mostly it was good, but we were a little worried that Ann hadn't seen Zac at all. That worried George more than a little. We'd bring him up every now and again.
OK, some details. It amazed me how much George gained by not stopping at aid stations. He'd tell me what he needed - mostly nothing, maybe a water refill. Then I noticed the bottle didn't need refilling. George, are you drinking enough? He had grabbed a Mountain Dew. When we came up to an aid station that had drop bags. He prepped me for my duties. He described his bag, that he had another Nathan vest just like the one he was wearing. I'd get that and help him change it out. Everything worked like clockwork at aid stations. He might not be running, but he was not wasting any time.
Calculations, always calculations.
When George was asked how he was doing (other runners, pacers, volunteers), he always say something like, "Gettin' it done". He never complained. I think the closest he ever came was when he said to me, "I knew I was going to war, but I never expected this."
I think I set a record for the number of times peeing over a 30 mile run. I'm not sure if it's cause I had the time to drink or what, but I really needed to pee. When I discovered how good it felt to squat (my legs/body is not conditioned for power walking), I decided there was no reason to try to stretch out the time between. It was pitch black, so, turn off your headlamp and you pretty much could pee wherever. I also loved that I could then run to catch up with George. Ah, running felt very, very good.
We wondered about Xar and M. We started having runners that we'd leap frog with. Not like leap-frogging in a short race. We'd pass them, they might pass us an hour later and so on. Scott, who had DNF last year (not really, he DNFIT - did not finish in time. he'd done it in 30:15:XX) and who had an, hmmm, energetic(?) pacer. Mary Lou and her pacer (at first I couldn't tell who was the runner and who was the pacer; coming up behind them, both looked equally gimpy) who I knew I'd be friends with was the ones we talked with the most.
I'm not sure if it was at Cow Shed or Bill's (aid stations) that we heard that someone had been asking if George had been through and that they had just headed out. Xar??? It's amazing how something can lift someone's spirit. The thought of catching up with Xar certainly gave George new zip. Man, that guy is strong!
We were talking up a storm. Did Xar recognize our voices and yell back to us? Did we see two people that we thought might be them and yell ahead? I have no idea. It's amazing to me how much it all runs together. Is it caring for someone else? I have lots and lots of memories (obviously) of it all, but not with the usual detail. At any rate, we came upon Xar and M. M was having a lot of back pain. Evidently, she does not have any deformity. The run was somehow distorting her, which was aggravating her back. George whipped out his bottle of Biofreeze (his own packaging) and offered it to M. He'd been applying it periodically. He told her it doesn't last long, but gives some relief. Xar was left to the application (teehee!).
We kept moving. Again, I learned a lot from this experience. Next ultra, I'm not taking my usual time at the aid stations. Keep. moving.
Calculations. Calculations. We were OK. You've got this George. Yup.
Somewhere in there, I asked George about peeing. I knew I was doing my part. I wanted to make sure he really was getting enough fluids. I worried about his kidneys with the ibuprofen. Well, on my watch (no, not literally), he peed twice. I figured that was enough?
OK. I have confessions. As beautiful as this course is, I hate it. I would never have told George, but my feet hurt worse than they had in any of my own events. My big toe joints were on fire. My hip flexors were pretty sure they hated me. I had to remind myself not to comment on the state of me. I had enough inspiration to know that the pain was irrelevant. Have I mentioned that George was inspirational?
Oh, Xar made mention of telling her runner to look up to see how beautiful the stars were. M said something to the effect that she didn't need to look up, she was seeing plenty of stars looking down. George asked me if the stars were out. He couldn't look up. He couldn't straighten up. Yes, there were still stars; it hadn't clouded up.
Pretty soon, though the sky showed signs of dawn. We had heard roosters earlier. Dawn. George felt that he'd get the boost that dawn brings. Unfortunately, I think there were more spasms around dawn, but our calculations gave us hope.
Then there was someone coming from behind. I could tell female voices. Xar? George and I hoped. Then, I wondered if I was hearing someone counting. It was very rhythmic. As it got louder, I looked back. Here came a young (30ish) runner and her pacer. The runner looked great in a pretty pink running skort. She wasn't counting, but chanting a mantra, "Time to shine, time to shine, time to shine..." And she was!
I'll try to finish in the next installment.
We saw 9pm come and go. Hmmmm. We saw 9:30 come and go. Now both our runners were past their estimates. We worried a bit, but we also hoped that we'd see them come in together and could go off as a group. Every headlamp heading at us, might be them. 10pm. Next thing I knew, Xar recognized her runner and was off to tend to her. I thought they were long gone, when I saw them at the food table. I went to give a few words of encouragement. They already seemed to be working together. I remembered that Ann had commented that M looked like she had a weird bend that Ann had seen when someone was really dehydrated. Looking at M, I believed she must have some structural deformity. I couldn't imagine that a sideways bend like that could be explained otherwise. I also noted how fit M looked otherwise. I would never have guess her age as late 50s. I cheered as they headed out and turned back to watch for George. With every headlamp that came and wasn't him, my heart sank a bit. What if something had happened? I wandered over to the food table to grab some M&Ms. The pacer coordinator had made it clear that we were to eat and drink. The aid stations would tend to us, too, since we were to be concentrating on our runners.
Back to stare at the blackness. Then! I saw George. I yelled. I went to greet him. "Val, were dealing with some issues. Can you fill this (his water bottle)? I'll get weighed, then I'll fill you in." Fill his water bottle. Done. He was ready almost as fast. We started off at a walk as he filled me in on the "issues". He'd hurt his neck at work a couple of weeks ago at work, then re-tweaked it after the Scuffle. Unfortunately, just after 50-someodd miles his neck chose to spasm. Judging from what I saw, that seems like such an understatement. He told me how he stood in the middle of the road unable to move. I think he feared he was stuck there. He told me he'd taken like 5 advils. His stomach was shot because of that. He was choking down caffeinated GUs to keep him going, but they weren't helping the stomach.
Then I saw a spasm. He stopped dead. I could tell from his face that he was in extreme pain. I just waited it out with him. It seemed forever. His face relaxed a bit and he started walking again. He put his straight, left arm slightly behind his back so he could put down on it with his right. The tension helped relieve his neck a bit. That was to happen pretty frequently in our first miles. Then it seemed George had more time between spasms. He even offered hope that maybe, maybe it would subside.
Shit. I think he felt like he'd jinxed himself just voicing hope. A couple of times, we'd both have hope that he'd turned a corner, but, I we knew he was probably dealing with it for the rest of the miles.
I didn't start my Garmin right when we headed out. It's not like anyone says go. It's not like I really knew we were starting when we started. I know I'm making excuses. I started it when I realized. I had to check my distance versus where an aid station said we were to figure that I was about 1.5 miles off. It gave me one more thing to add in with all the calculations George and I would be doing. And we did some calculating! How much time was left? How many miles? If we continued at this pace could he make the cut off?
When he felt good, he would overtake people on the hills. His power walk is fast. I had to work to keep up with him. But, when he wanted to run, when he should be rewarded by gravity, he could not. The downs, even nice gentle ones caused to much jostling. It would cause my chatty champion to go silent. More spasms. Ugh!
When he wasn't seized, George was pretty talkative. I learned a lot about his love of running, rekindled by the joy his puppies had running. I learned about his interesting approach to 100s training. I loved it when he'd tell me some plan he had to do something for "my Annie".
I told him what we knew about the other TMs. Mostly it was good, but we were a little worried that Ann hadn't seen Zac at all. That worried George more than a little. We'd bring him up every now and again.
OK, some details. It amazed me how much George gained by not stopping at aid stations. He'd tell me what he needed - mostly nothing, maybe a water refill. Then I noticed the bottle didn't need refilling. George, are you drinking enough? He had grabbed a Mountain Dew. When we came up to an aid station that had drop bags. He prepped me for my duties. He described his bag, that he had another Nathan vest just like the one he was wearing. I'd get that and help him change it out. Everything worked like clockwork at aid stations. He might not be running, but he was not wasting any time.
Calculations, always calculations.
When George was asked how he was doing (other runners, pacers, volunteers), he always say something like, "Gettin' it done". He never complained. I think the closest he ever came was when he said to me, "I knew I was going to war, but I never expected this."
I think I set a record for the number of times peeing over a 30 mile run. I'm not sure if it's cause I had the time to drink or what, but I really needed to pee. When I discovered how good it felt to squat (my legs/body is not conditioned for power walking), I decided there was no reason to try to stretch out the time between. It was pitch black, so, turn off your headlamp and you pretty much could pee wherever. I also loved that I could then run to catch up with George. Ah, running felt very, very good.
We wondered about Xar and M. We started having runners that we'd leap frog with. Not like leap-frogging in a short race. We'd pass them, they might pass us an hour later and so on. Scott, who had DNF last year (not really, he DNFIT - did not finish in time. he'd done it in 30:15:XX) and who had an, hmmm, energetic(?) pacer. Mary Lou and her pacer (at first I couldn't tell who was the runner and who was the pacer; coming up behind them, both looked equally gimpy) who I knew I'd be friends with was the ones we talked with the most.
I'm not sure if it was at Cow Shed or Bill's (aid stations) that we heard that someone had been asking if George had been through and that they had just headed out. Xar??? It's amazing how something can lift someone's spirit. The thought of catching up with Xar certainly gave George new zip. Man, that guy is strong!
We were talking up a storm. Did Xar recognize our voices and yell back to us? Did we see two people that we thought might be them and yell ahead? I have no idea. It's amazing to me how much it all runs together. Is it caring for someone else? I have lots and lots of memories (obviously) of it all, but not with the usual detail. At any rate, we came upon Xar and M. M was having a lot of back pain. Evidently, she does not have any deformity. The run was somehow distorting her, which was aggravating her back. George whipped out his bottle of Biofreeze (his own packaging) and offered it to M. He'd been applying it periodically. He told her it doesn't last long, but gives some relief. Xar was left to the application (teehee!).
We kept moving. Again, I learned a lot from this experience. Next ultra, I'm not taking my usual time at the aid stations. Keep. moving.
Calculations. Calculations. We were OK. You've got this George. Yup.
Somewhere in there, I asked George about peeing. I knew I was doing my part. I wanted to make sure he really was getting enough fluids. I worried about his kidneys with the ibuprofen. Well, on my watch (no, not literally), he peed twice. I figured that was enough?
OK. I have confessions. As beautiful as this course is, I hate it. I would never have told George, but my feet hurt worse than they had in any of my own events. My big toe joints were on fire. My hip flexors were pretty sure they hated me. I had to remind myself not to comment on the state of me. I had enough inspiration to know that the pain was irrelevant. Have I mentioned that George was inspirational?
Oh, Xar made mention of telling her runner to look up to see how beautiful the stars were. M said something to the effect that she didn't need to look up, she was seeing plenty of stars looking down. George asked me if the stars were out. He couldn't look up. He couldn't straighten up. Yes, there were still stars; it hadn't clouded up.
Pretty soon, though the sky showed signs of dawn. We had heard roosters earlier. Dawn. George felt that he'd get the boost that dawn brings. Unfortunately, I think there were more spasms around dawn, but our calculations gave us hope.
Then there was someone coming from behind. I could tell female voices. Xar? George and I hoped. Then, I wondered if I was hearing someone counting. It was very rhythmic. As it got louder, I looked back. Here came a young (30ish) runner and her pacer. The runner looked great in a pretty pink running skort. She wasn't counting, but chanting a mantra, "Time to shine, time to shine, time to shine..." And she was!
I'll try to finish in the next installment.
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