I'm a husband, a father, a blogger and a runner. I play my music in the Texas sun.
This is the story of my running adventures, marathons and ultra marathons on road and trail, and the people I've met who make it all worthwhile.
"What do you mean I have another two loops to go?"
Found one of your passports in Sumatra, missed you by about a week in Fiji. But I knew you wouldn't miss the fifty year storm Bodhi.
- Johnny Utah
Have you ever seen the movie Point Break? It's a semi-cheesy but very enjoyable early 90s hooha in which Patrick Swayze plays Bodhi - a kind of zen master surf dude who dresses up like Ronald Reagan and robs banks to finance his "endless summer". At one point in the movie he tells FBI agent Johnny Utah (Keanu Reeves) his theory about the 50 year storm.
Everything moves in cycles, so twice a century a winter storm comes out of Antarctica tearing up the Pacific. It sends a huge swell North 2000 miles, and when it hits Bells beach it'll be the biggest surf this planet has ever seen.
- Bodhi
At the end of the movie, after a suitably dramatic showdown Utah finally apprehends Bodhi on a tsunami threatened Bells beach in the middle of the 50 year storm ("death on a stick out there mate" warn the grizzled locals - yes, I own this movie on DVD). In a stunning moment of pure cheese, he realizes Bodhi would never survive a cage and lets him go so he can paddle off and meet his destiny in the killer surf**.
What's that got to do with anything? Well, I guess yesterday was my 50 year storm. But it's blown itself out - today the waves are lapping gently on my seashore, skies are blue, seas are calm, fluffy ducks are quacking away and I'm feeling just a teeny weeny bit silly :-).
Last night we took Gavin and Dylan down to the playground with some friends from the neighborhood and their kids. While Gavin played with them I took Dylan on the swings for the first time. I sat him on my lap, swung gently back and fore, and he smiled up at me. And just like that everything was alright with the world again.
Later I read Gavin a bedtime story and he wanted me to lie down with him "for 5 minutes". We both ended up falling asleep - it was just the kind of evening I needed and I woke up this morning refreshed and invigorated.
So to sum up, the crisis is over and Cactus Rose is back on the radar. Let's meet back up and have another one in about 50 years - give 'em hell at the sunshine rest home!!! Huge thanks to all my family and friends who left supportive comments on my blog, posted on my Facebook page, emailed me privately or called to check on me.
You know who you are, and I appreciate it.
** about 15 years ago, my brother and I went to Newquay in Cornwall for a surfing weekend. One night a National radio station set up a gigantic screen on the beach and showed this movie. After a good many beers, we put bets on whether the local surf dudes would cheer at this part of the movie. They did.
My ultrarunning has always been based on having the mental chops to hold it together and push through when the going gets tough. It's something I've always been able to rely on, and compensates for the fact that I'm really not a very good runner. So when I came up short at the "Karl's Kanoe" 60k last night it made me question everything.
The course was six 10k loops of Inks Lake state park. The terrain was very technical, but we were blessed with cooler weather than of late. The first few loops were fine, but somewhere on the third loop I had a moment of complete clarity. I thought "my wife, my little boy and my beautiful new baby are at home asleep, so what the f#%k am I doing here?" This was followed with absolute certainty by "I don't want to run anymore". And I didn't. I pulled up and flat out quit.
It's not something I'm proud of, and the only redeeming factor was that I was still stubborn enough that I wouldn't accept a DNF. So I walked. I walked the remaining 20 miles in a death march (my legs were fine - I just had no motivation). From time to time I considered running, but each time the same thought overrode that urge - "I don't want to run anymore". I was passed by folks I am usually hours ahead of and found I really didn't care.
20 miles of walking through the night is a long time to think. I looked at myself in the mirror and wondered if I liked what I saw. I knew I did not - I have never ever thrown the towel in before, at anything. This was a new experience and I didn't know how to handle it. We all have an image we project to the world, and reconciling that with this unexpected reality was hard. I was ashamed of myself, angry at what I was doing, and frustrated that I couldn't do anything about it. I wondered what Gavin and Dylan would think if they knew their dad quit. It wasn't a nice thought.
I wondered if I still wanted to run ultras, or even run trail any more - it hasn't been fun for some time (though I'm really enjoying my road running of late). I wondered what made me think I could run three 60ks in the hottest August on record on about 3-4 hours sleep a night. I wondered what made me think I could run Cactus Rose, or if I even wanted to anymore. That's still an unanswered question.
Yes, this is a pretty pathetic pity party. The only thing I can say in mitigation is that I'm really tired, and I'm sure everything will seem different after a good night's sleep. But I've always made it a point to be brutally honest in this blog, about both the good and the bad. And that's just how I feel right now - warts and all.
I apologize to anyone who was on the wrong end of my bad mood last night. Naresh was really kind and tried to pull me out of my funk every time I saw him, but it just wasn't happening.
On the plus side, at least I finished. And I did get a nice buckle for completing all 3 races in the Darkside series.
And finally, I'd hate for anyone to be put off these races just based on my experience (which is more to do with me than anything else). Brad is a super nice, genuine guy and he, Joe and everyone else put on really great races. And it's all for a good cause - I was glad to turn out and help support the charity.
Yes Eddie, I too love a rainy night. We finally got some rain last night, along with an impressive lightning show. It wasn't much, but it was good while it lasted and right now we're grateful for anything - I ran Walnut Creek on Monday evening and it was a dustbowl!!!
This August is officially the hottest ever in Austin, and we've already had 66 days of 100F+ heat this year - in just a few more days we'll set another record for that too.
While I haven't broken any speed records this month I've been steady and consistent, and if I finish my third 60k of the month this weekend, I will comfortably break 200 miles since August 1st.
Part of the reason for that consistency is that I've been spoilt with plenty of friends to run with early mornings, but my luck ran out this week and I did all my midweek runs solo. It's not all bad though - sometimes it's good to run by yourself and disappear into your head.
One trend I've noticed since Dylan was born is that I've tended to switch my running back to early mornings - it's just more convenient, and if I want to go longer I just get up earlier.
This morning's run started off with a limp - my left achilles and right knee were sore, but the pain faded within the first mile and it turned into a really nice run. I finished it off with a good strong climb up Lavaca and around the capital, and felt good.
As an added bonus, the 8 miles took me over 1300 miles for the year - still on target to break 2000 by year end.
Hopefully it will be somewhat cooler by then!!!
*** Update : I wondered this morning why a section of Congress was being cordoned off as I ran through. Turns out they were filming part of the new Robert Rodriguez movie "Machete". Didn't catch a glimpse of Robert de Niro though.
Back when we lived in Manchester, England, in the late 1990s I used to travel to our client's office in Liverpool once a week. Sometimes Nancy would go with me and explore the city. She loved Liverpool - took in the culture and history of an old port town - and enjoyed shopping and wandering around the charming Albert Dock (complete with floating weather map, as used by Fred from the "This Morning" show - what a character he was!!!). Some of her favorite places were the Beatles museum, the Liverpool Tate and the Merseyside Maritime museum (which was also my favorite).
Sometimes we'd meet up for lunch and explore the coffee shops around the marina. Our favorite haunt was Lucy's - they served a wonderful lunch special of turkey breast sandwich with cream cheese and avocado alongside a cream of mushroom soup and the quintessential British cup of tea. The absolute highlight of lunch was the soup - it was wonderfully rustic, comforting, flavorful and warming - especially welcome on those winter days when the cold winds blew in off the Mersey, chilling you to the bone.
Ever since we moved back to the US I've been trying in vain to recreate that dish. I've tried and failed many times.....until tonight. I finally found a base recipe that looked promising, tweaked it in several places, and suddenly the memories came flooding back.
So after countless failed attempts here's (drum roll please) my take on.......
Lucy's Liverpool Cream of Mushroom Soup (serves 8-10) 5 Tbsp butter 1/2 yellow onion 2 celery stalks 1 small leek 1/3 cup all-purpose flour 1 cup chicken broth 7 cups skimmed milk 12 to 16 oz button mushrooms 1/2 tsp dried sage 1/2 cup heavy cream 1 tsp lemon juice 1 tsp salt 1/2 tsp pepper
1. Wash the leeks and celery. Chop the green top off the leek, leaving the base. Dice the leek, onion and celery - this combination is your white mirepox and forms the base of the soup
2. Melt the butter in a large saucepan or stockpot over low heat. Once melted, add the onions, leeks and celery to the butter
3. Keeping the heat at medium-low, sweat the mirepox, stirring occassionally until the onions are translucent. This should take about 5 minutes.
4. Add the flour to the pot and mix well. Continue to cook for another 5-10 minutes then slowly add the chicken stock. Continue to stir until there are no lumps.
5. Slowly add the milk a little at a time, stirring constantly to prevent any lumps forming. Bring the soup to a boil and simmer for 45 minutes.
6. While the soup is simmering, finely dice the mushrooms
7. After 45 minutes, throw the sage and mushrooms into the pot. Stir until they are well mixed in, then simmer for another 10 minutes.
8. Turn off the heat and stir in 1/2 cup of heavy cream. Add the lemon juice, salt and pepper (to taste).
Serve with some crusty bread and (if you really want to recreate the experience) a good old British cup of tea!!!
It's no secret that I was a big fan of the Sunmart 50k/50 mile race. It was probably my favorite race - I ran my first ultra there back in 2007 and set my 50 mile PR there last December. The unforgetable experience of running through the "mystic forests" of the East Texas piney woods is the major reason I fell into trail running.
For the past two years, we made it a big family trip - the park was always decorated for Christmas and it signaled the start of our Christmas season. Yes, I have great memories of it and was very sad when they announced last year's race would be the last.
But there is hope. According to the Houston Chronicle the race will be back this year, but with several changes. For one, Sunmart will no longer be the sponsor which probably means no more of the legendary goodies bag. The race will be called simply "Texas Trail runs", and there will be no 50 mile distance. Instead there will be a 50k and a beginner's 12.5 mile run (one loop of the course).
Still, I love running in Huntsville State park - it is an enchantingly beautiful place, and Lake Raven is so peaceful. The course is a fast one – your feet are carpeted by a bed of pine needles, and there are plenty of out-and-backs where you can greet and encourage your fellow runners. The only thing to watch out for are the hidden roots (which are the “root” cause of many spectacular falls - hahaha).
Yes, I may well be tempted by the 50k - watch this space!!!
Oh, and happy birthday Welshrunner blog - this is my 300th post. There have been quite a few adventures contained within those 300, so here's to the next 300 and all the adventures that will be contained therein.
I did an 8 mile recovery run this morning. I took it nice and slow but I still felt pretty sore after the weekend, which is unusual for me. Still, after seeing some friends throwing up repeatedly after the race, telling horror stories of dehydration and cramping, or being unable to walk the day after, I'll take my little bit of soreness!!!
This morning's route headed through UT, into downtown and across the river before looping around and climbing back uphill for the last 4 miles. I don't know what happened to the nice cool early mornings we had last week because it was 83F when I started at 5am and humid as all hell. I am definitely jealous of friends who are enjoying cooler climes this week!!!
On the way home I heard the most bizarre commercial on the radio from a company that specialized in "discreet dating" for married folks. Yes, we all know what that means - how nice that we now have a company dedicated to serving the needs of rotten cheating spouses. WTF???!!!!! I am not going to link to them or even mention their name because it's too sleazy for words - I'll just turn up my nose, hum "Rule Britannia" and ponder on whether we should put y'all back under British rule (though God knows, we're not much better)!!!!
Even the radio hosts who would sell ice to Eskimos if they could seemed embarrassed.
"Captain crazy showed up and started saying his usual repertoire of random and increasingly socially awkward things".Anyway, let's turn away from the craziness of the world in general and put the focus back on one particular crazy dude from the weekend. Turns out it wasn't just me because I keep hearing more and more stories about this guy, and I think almost everyone had the "pleasure" of running across him (or being stalked by him) at some point. My favorite story came from one runner who reported that "crazy dude" kept joking that he'd peed in the ice at the aid station.
Last night was the second race in the dark side series - the Timber Knoll 60k. And as a bonus I actually remembered my headlamp this time!!!
I got to the the park and wandered around visiting with friends. Now many ultra runners can be a little "eccentric", but I had yet to meet a really crazy one...until last night. Some guy latched onto me and claimed to know me from somewhere. He started coming out with the craziest stuff, most of which centered around what a world class runner he was and how many women were chasing him. He asked me if I was fast, and when I said "no" he informed me that I probably wouldn't be seeing him for the rest of the night - fine with me. Thankfully some friends rescued me from his clutches.
The race consisted of a 3 mile out and back, followed by four 8.5 mile loops, adding up to 37 miles. We lined up at the start, Brad set us off and I headed out with the lead group of Ryan, Larry, Naresh and Derek. I wondered where the crazy guy was, and it soon became apparent he wasn't as fast as he had claimed.
I accelerated to the front for a few seconds, just to say I'd actually led a race, before settling back into my usual niche behind the front runners. I was feeling a little pain from my achilles, so I played it conservatively and eased into a much more relaxed pace.
The first loop was hot - around 102F at the start. I fell in with Deanna, a really nice lady from College Station, and we ran and chatted together for a time. It helped take my mind off the heat and my achilles and settle into the race. It was getting dark by the end of the loop and I had to turn my headlamp on for the last few miles.
I started adding walk breaks into loop 2. It seems that I don't have my ultra long distance running legs on yet, but that's ok - looking back at last year, I was at about the same place. I think it's a good thing to ease off for a few months before peaking for a goal race, which in my case is Cactus Rose.
Halfway through the second loop I caught up with Naresh who was suffering severe leg cramps. The poor guy had been sick all week with fever, but he's kind of like an Indian terminator - he just keeps going!!! I walked with him to the mid-loop aid station and then took off. Typical Naresh, he chased me down again and we ran together for a while, but the leg cramps were hindering him and he told me to go on. Mad props to him - he gutted it out and finished despite cramping for the rest of the race.
The sky had been amazingly clear all night - an incredible mosaic of stars - and on the third loop a beautiful orange moon rose. I turned off my light for a few minutes and enjoyed the quiet beauty of the night.
Somewhere on this loop I got talking to another runner who I kept flip-flopping with. His name was RT, and this was his first ultra. He was obviously a good runner, and probably had the legs on me, but my aid station strategy (quickly in and quickly out) kept me pretty level with him for most of the race.
The third loop also contained a lot more walking, as did the first half of the fourth loop and nothing in particular stands out. But that changed as I approached the mid-loop aid station on that final loop.
As I got close, I heard voices.
"Please God, don't let that be the crazy guy" I whispered to myself.
But it was. He was sitting in a chair babbling away to RT, and when he saw me coming he greeted me with a "hey, do you have any weed?"
I wasn't in much of a mood to humor him, so I just replied that I didn't do weed and tried to ignore him while I filled my bottles with iced water. He was on loop 3 and told me that since he ran ultras every week, he was going to stop at 3 loops and claim a 50k finish.
I debated whether or not I should goad him. My bad angel won, and I pointed out that he'd have to add on an extra 2 miles if he wanted to DNF at 50k. He told me that it "didn't work like that", and that he'd calculated it out and he took off.
This was the motivation I'd been waiting for - I sure as hell didn't want to have to listen to him for the last 4 miles, so I fired up the afterburners I'd kept in reserve and took off. Amazing what a bit of motivation will do - here were the gears that had been missing all night. I sped past him and heard him call out "hey, how do you do that". I yelled back "with practice" and his reply was lost in the night because I was gone.
I saw RT ahead plodding up a particularly nasty hill, and I accelerated and powered up it. As I passed him, I nodded back behind me and said "he's crazy, let's put some distance on him". RT agreed and broke into a run, but I was in the groove, and damn it felt good. Soon his headlamp too faded into the distance behind me.
I wondered how long my newfound speed would last - turns out it lasted right to the finish line, which I crossed in 8 hours and 26 minutes, good for 7th place overall.
After the race, I sat around with a bunch of fellow runners and had a great time laughing and joking. I met a lot of new people, made a lot of new friends and was able to watch a lot of old friends finish. I swapped emails with RT with the view to doing some runs together in Austin, and sampled some of Brad's genius post-race food - cake. Boy, was it good!!!
I really enjoyed myself, and hated to cut it short, but I had to go into work. So I said my farewells and headed off back to Austin.
I got back home to discover Nancy had had adventures of her own - the car had died at a gas station the other side of Austin the night before. It was 102F, she had the two kids with her, was unable to even close the windows, and I had the cell phone. Being the resourceful person she is, she managed to get everyone home (even the car).
Before I left I'd taken Gavin aside and told him I expected him to look after his mum and brother, and he really came through for me. He's such a sensitive and kind boy that when he saw she was upset, he went right over to her, put his arms around her and cried with her. He soothed her, told her everything was going to be fine and made her feel like a million dollars.
Something has happened. For the first time in this long hot summer I'm feeling good, really good. Maybe I've gotten used to the sleep deprivation that a new baby brings, maybe I've just rediscovered my mojo, but my runs over the last week have been excellent - I've felt strong and fast, and have regularly hit sub-8 minute miles with very little effort.
This morning I met up with David, Shawn and Erin for a fast 8 miles, with the added bonus of a cool front. The temp was 75F, which felt great - it really does make a huge difference.
And maybe I have uncovered a bit of motivation. After my poor performance in the last all-nighter, I have a chance to redeem myself this weekend with the second 60k in the series - the Timber Knoll at Pedernales Falls State park. I did well in this race last year and finished 4th overall (partly because most people quit when we were hit with torrential rain), so I'm hoping for a better run.
Got an email today from Joe, the race director of the "All Nighter" I ran a few weekends ago. He said that a number of folks had complained (and no, I wasn't one of them) that the course was long so he went back and remeasured today. He had originally measured each loop at 6.2 miles. My Garmin reckoned 6.85. Turns out we were both wrong as it was actually 7.33 miles. So nice bonus - I ran 44 miles, which makes this the longest 60k I've ever run :-)
I don't really care (though it does show what a classy guy Joe is). In fact, I'm pretty pleased to have gotten bonus miles in and to have "outlasted" 60% of the other runners on what was a "head down and gut it out" training run for Cactus Rose.
Does make me feel a bit better about my awful time though.
There's something about combining a run with breakfast that really hits the spot. First it was the "Danish run", then this morning Clea and I invented the "Kolache run". We met up at Walnut Creek and got in a very pleasant 8 miles - the time flew by and we had a great time exploring the trails and chatting away.
Then we retired to Lone Star Kolaches for breakfast and met up with Nancy, Gavin and baby Dylan. Gavin was at his charming best - he claimed his little brother "cried all the time because he had no teeth" and Clea looked "much younger than daddy", who was "old as dirt". Charming :-) We all sat outside taking advantage of a lovely cool breeze and enjoying a relaxed breakfast. The saying "easy like Sunday morning" should include a picture of us.
It's always good to remember that running is not all about training and racing - it's at its best when you can just enjoy it for what it is. Sharing miles and trail time with friends, enjoying the morning sunshine and the rhythm of the run leaves you invigorated and refreshed. So hooray for friends.
Kolaches also help - hooray for them too!!!
Tomorrow I'm going to run an early morning 15 miles and then we're headed off to Brownwood for the day to visit the outlaws. I'm sure Grandpa Tom will enjoy showing off his new grandson.
Gavin takes his role as a big brother very seriously. The other evening a friend came to visit and see the new baby. While she was here, Dylan got hungry and started crying. Gavin marched up to her, prodded her in the chest and announced "my baby is hungry. Get your antlers out!!!"
I opened it up this morning and ran a hilly 8 mile route around downtown in just about an hour. I kept the pace a consistent 7:50 and it was easy - I always felt I had extra gears in reserve and never felt like I was pushing it, maybe because I got a good night's sleep last night (hooray Dylan). I ran with a friend who's a really strong runner, but I could tell that I was pushing him for those last few miles - a very good sign that I'm starting to gear up for the season.
It's been a good running week all round, one I really needed after last weekend's 60k.
Last night was the Round Rock Fit coaches meeting at the Main Street Grill. The food was excellent as always, and it was good to catch up with all my old friends. I was in two minds about coming back for another year, but I'm glad I did. I find that it really gives me the focus and discipline I need to push myself on my long runs.
The season starts in a few weeks and I'm excited about the challenges it will bring.
This morning I had a "waffle" disaster when the nonstick surface of my trusty waffle iron failed. So for plan "B" I took the rest of the batter I'd made, added a few extra ingredients and made pancakes out of them. They came out so well that I may have found a new favorite breakfast and my waffle iron might find itself retired for a while.
Light, fluffy and full of flavor, these pancakes beat the pants off anything you can get at IHOP. You can omit the blueberries and/or strawberries for variations or expediency, and I think I'll experiment with other flavor profiles such as raspberries, blackberries, nutmeg, pumpkin, cardamom etc. Some may work and some may not, but it'll be fun trying them all out.
Note that the main ingredient for the pancakes is my homemade sourdough starter. You can always substitute your own pancake batter, but for me the sourdough makes this dish stand out. If you're local to Austin and want to try this recipe but don't have any starter, I would be more than happy to let you have some of mine. The cool part is it only takes a very small amount of an established starter, and after a few days of feeding you'll have your own thriving colony.
On the other hand, if you have the patience and want to grow your own from scratch do what I did and follow this link.
Ingredients (makes 2 large pancakes) 1 cup proofed sourdough starter 1 extra large egg 1 TBSP olive oil 1 TBSP sugar 1 tsp baking soda 1/2 - 1 cup blueberries (or to taste) 2 TBSP butter Maple Syrup
Strawberry Sauce Topping 1/2 cup strawberries, chopped (or to taste) 1/2 TBSP sugar 1 tsp lime juice
1. To prepare the strawberry topping, add all ingredients to a small saucepan and simmer on medium-low heat, stirring occasionally until the strawberries break down
2. Preheat a nonstick 12" skillet on medium high
3. While heating, combine the starter, egg, olive oil, sugar and baking soda in a plastic bowl and mix until fluffy. Use plastic or wooden utensils, not metal.
4. Spray (or oil) the skillet, then pour on half the batter and swirl around to cover the entire surface area. Scatter as many blueberries as you want across the pancake (if desired).
5. Cook until bubbly, the edges pull away from the pan and the top is no longer runny, then carefully turn (or if you're brave, flip it) and cook about 30 seconds to a minute more on the other side
6. Turn out onto a plate, spread with butter, drizzle with maple syrup, then roll up and transfer to another plate.
7. Cook the second pancake while rolling up the first. When they're done, top with the strawberries, add some maple syrup and enjoy.
Last night I bought a small tripod for my camera, and since we had a wonderful full moon I wandered outside to play with it. The advantage of the tripod is that I can use much longer exposures without worrying about camera shake, which makes night shots much easier. I tried for some "moody" silhouettes, played with various manual settings and did some black and white shots. I'm not a very good photographer and I have a lot to learn, but I had a good time. Here are some of my favorites.
My Garmin Forerunner officially died in the rain at Mule Shoe Bend on Saturday night. It will be interred in a padded envelope and sent back to Garmin for burial. Believe it or not, this is the fifth Forerunner I've destroyed in the past few years. GPS units warn their naughty kids about me - "you'd better behave or Welshrunner will get you"!!!
Garmin customer support are really good though - for each of the other four units I've had I managed to sweet talk the really nice ladies into comping me a replacement, even though I was mostly out of warranty (and once I even got them to pay for me to ship it back to them). I called this morning and got a guy, so I knew I probably wasn't going to be able to swing it. I did try though, and fair play to him he knocked the price of an RMA replacement down from the standard $69 to $30. I swear I'm channeling my dad - the older I get the cheekier I get!!!
And the delayed effects of running all night finally hit me this morning and I blew off a hill run I had planned with friends and stayed in bed.
Nothing whatsoever to do with all those beers I had at the Draught House last night.
I took Dylan for a diaper change the other night and a friend of ours gave me a quizzical look and commented "American guys don't change diapers. Must be a European thing".
My first thought was that she was way off base, but I did get a few similar comments when Gavin was a baby (and my father-in-law flat refuses to change diapers for the same reason). So it left me a little curious - is this another oddball American cultural thing I am happily ploughing over, or is she crazy?
Any of my American readers have a position on this?
Last night was the first race in the Capt'n Karls series - the "All Nighter" 60k at Mule Shoe Bend. It didn't get off to a great start, as I was half way to the park when I realized I'd forgotten my headlamp - whoops. A quick call to Nancy and my amazing wife agreed to drive out to the park and hand it off to me after the first loop.
I didn't really have a plan for this race - I haven't done a long run for weeks and I'm not really in race shape, so I figured I'd just take it slow and treat it as a training run.
The race was six 10k loops along the tough and technical trails of Mule Shoe Bend park. We set off at 7pm and I settled into the "pelaton". The pace was a little slow, but that didn't worry me. On the other hand, the humidity was 100% and it was hot with no breeze - not nice. I tried to space out, but there was a really loud dude behind me who figured everyone wanted to hear his opinions. He very quickly got on my nerves, so at the first opportunity I broke away and accelerated to find my own space - much better.
I figured out that the loops were more than 10k. According to my Garmin they were 6.85 miles, which made the 60k a 41 mile race rather than 37 (update : they were actually 7.33 mile loops which made it a 44 mile race). As this was a training run, I wasn't bothered. Rather I was happy with the extra mileage.
I finished out the first loop and immediately saw Nancy, Gavin and Dylan. Gavin ran up to me with the headlamp and was so excited - he wanted to go run with me. I took some time to go over and visit, play with Gavin and show off Dylan - it was fun. Dylan needed feeding, and Joyce took them under her wing and took them over to their RV. Joe eventually shooed me 0ff up the trail and said he'd look after Gavin. That's full-service race directors right there.
As I headed back out, I realized that what I really wanted was to go home with Nancy and the boys. I wanted to cuddle up with Gavin, I wanted to rock Dylan to sleep, I wanted the fun little chats with Nancy during overnight feedings. In short, I missed my family and I so did not want to do another 5 loops.
But I also knew I would never quit - it's just not in my personality. Thank God for the good old British stiff upper lip - if you want someone to plod on through the night in a sufferfest, I'm your guy. I want to be a role model for my sons and show them they can do anything they want as long as they never ever give up.
Besides, I sure as hell wasn't going to surrender my zero DNF record on a 60k (albeit a long one).
So off I went.
Loop 2 was still humid and hot, and I started taking walk breaks. It got dark about half way through and I struggled to find motivation to run until a friend came up behind me and we ran and chatted for a while.
During loop 3 it started raining - torrential, pouring, driving "can't see more than a few inches in front of you" rain. And I loved it. It refreshed me and made me think of home. I ran hard and enjoyed the sensation of running through it. The frogs loved it too as they were partying all over the trail.
Unfortunately it also turned parts of the trail into a muddy swamp, and running soon became a risky business as I found myself slip-sliding around or sinking into it, and clumps of mud started attaching to my shoes.
On loop 4, my Garmin started playing silly buggers. At first it completely froze, then it turned off. Half an hour later it came back on and asked me if I were running, cycling or swimming. But it was still frozen. Then it turned off again. I guess it doesn't like the rain. So I had no idea how far I'd gone, how long I'd been running and what time it was. Oh well, I just shrugged my shoulders and plodded on.
The second half of the race was head down, slog through, slipping and sliding through a mudfest. I knew my time was going to be bad, and I alternated walking and running (though I have to admit there was a lot more walking than running). I got a few blisters on my heel where I missed taping, and my shoes got heavier and heavier the more mud adhered to them.
I eventually crossed the finish line in 10 hours and 40 minutes with a wry grin on my face - I've run a 50 miler two hours faster than that. But what I didn't realize was that everyone struggled. I finished in 14th place and Joe told me that the finish rate was 40% (53 started, 21 finished). I don't know if it was the rain, the mud, the humidity or all three, but that's a lot of folks dropping.
But the true highlight of the night was watching a friend finish the gutsiest run I've ever seen. Sharpie paced her for virtually the entire race, and really pushed her. She left it all out there, and watching her cross that finish line was truly inspiring.
(updated Thursday 2/12) Today 6 miles Week(Sat-Fri) 6 miles Month 6 miles 2015 20 miles 2014 196 miles 2013 490 miles 2012 1165 miles 2011 1468 miles 2010 1506 miles 2009 2030 miles
