Badwater part 2

As the race continued, and our routines established, Hung was moving along nicely it was time for some pacing. Dave paced for a few miles at first, then I took over. I think it was about 2 or 3 pm. Certainly it was hot. It wasn't pacing, exactly, we had to follow behind the runner, carrying a spraybottle filled with ice water and keep him wet so that evaporative cooling could take place.

Pacing

I think at this point, I paced for an hour or two. The next stint was after Townes Pass, which we hit somewhere arond midnight. It started off with a 10 mile downhill run. Can anyone say fried quads? I managed to find the only rock on road and rolled my ankle pretty badly. Visions of finding an ER filled my mind as I honestly thought I may have broken my foot, there was certainly a loud pop when it rolled. I told Hung to keep running while I limped for a few minutes. The pain did ease off as I kept moving, so it seemed just a slightly worse than typical ankle roll. I paced around 20 miles this time, which included the bulk of the climb to Father Crowley's point.

Hung struggled through the night, it was a hotter night than last year and perhaps he had also put in too much effort during the heat of the day. Either way, we just kept him moving. Approaching the summit though, he was done and needed a rest. I think he slept for about 30 minutes while I repaired a blister. We were parked by a gorgeous canyon, and the sunrise was quite spectacular.

Dr. Jimbo works on a blister

Once rested, Hung started running again, and for the next few hours, 10 minute naps became quite common (maybe once an hour). These little breaks did Hung wonders and he started picking up the pace.

Around 100 miles, Hung really picked it up - a combination of starting to wear the ice water soaked hood again plus probably a sense of "let's just get this thing done". No one was pacing, we crewed at half mile intervals, and time was starting to go by quickly. This second wind lasted all the way to Lone Pine at mile 122. I got a cheeseburger and a chocolate milkshake. Yum.

As we climbed out of Lone Pine to the finish, we had a cheerleading squad following us up. Amy Palmeiro-Winters (who had unfortunately dropped earlier) and her awesome "Girl-Power" crew (aka - The Pink Chicks" were a lot of fun, and certainly helped make time fly for the last few miles.

Hung and the Pink Chicks

Finally, after 35:56:xx, Hung was finished. The whole thing was an amazing experience, and one that I look forward to repeating. Would I want to run it? Not sure, there is a little piece of me that would, although the costs are scary. I know for a fact that if I was running, I would be more than happy to have "Team Hung" as a crew. Considering none of us really knew one another at the start of all of this, it is great how we all bonded, and I now have four new friends.

Great times.

Team Hung and the Pink Chick at the finish

How hot is Death Valley?? Badwater part 1

It's hot, very hot. But it's a dry heat.

It was an interesting journey to say the least. One day a few weeks ago, I received a text from my friend Shannon, "Hey do you want to crew at Badwater?" A quick glance of the calendar and I realized that it may just work out - you see a few days after Badwater, I would be running a race at Tahoe..... Hmmmm. I sent a message back, "sure". Unfortunately, that particular opportunity didn't pan out. By the time I had learned that, I did have a desire to crew. So, I posted to the Badwater blog, that I am willing, and would do anything for a beer ans a t-shirt.

Next thing I knew, I was being emailed by Hung Ng to see if I wanted to be on his team. Hell yes.

So, here I was with four random souls in a mini-van. I had met one of them briefly before Umstead - that was Rico. There was also Dave, Aubrey and of course our runner Hung.

It was quite astonishing how we all bonded quite quickly really - and by the end of it all, I had four new friends.

So, what does a crew do? In no particular order, drive the van, resupply, cool off the runner, pace the runner, blister repair, keep the runner hydrated, motivate, etc etc etc. It is tiring, at times quite intense, and very rewarding when it all comes together.

Before the start, Aubrey coats Hung with Sunscreen

The heat for the first part of the run is incredible - I believe we had temperature in the range of 120F - the road temp was over 160F. But it's a dry heat.

Dave soaking Hung's hood

Rico and the van

Jimbo and the van

The scenery is, well, scenery. Bland yet beautiful. The vastness is hard to describe. All you can see is desert, mountains, runners and crew, and a shimmer rising from the ground. It certainly reminds me of those pictures that came from the Mars Rover

It took a few miles to get our routine together, but after a while, it went something like this: Dave would grab Hung's hood and soak it in iced water. Rico would make Hung step into a shopping bag so that his feet would remain dry, Aubrey and I would spray him with iced water while offering up water and sportsdrink. And he would start to run on, and we would prepare for the next stop half a mile later...........

More to follow........

Bad Blogging, Bolloxing The Boogie and Badwater

I've not been too good on the blogging front have I? I know why too, it's because I "Bolloxed The Boogie". Yeah, I hosed that one up.

Let's think about what I said leading up to the race, things like "I'm going for a PR", or after the successful Enoree Passage, "I hope this doesn't give me unrealistic expectations".

Basically, I dropped after 26 miles. A little while later, I added 0.2 miles to make up the marathon. The heat gave me some problems - not the heat on its own of course, but add in a few fast miles at the start (first 3 miles in 27:xx), and I think I overheated and didn't give myself an opportunity to cool down, plus I had stomach problems which meant a few emergency dashes into the woods where the energy (literally and figuratively) drained out of me. Just a rough rough night.

As last year, the race was wonderfully well organized, friendly people (Susan at the main aidstation did a great job cheering me up afterwards).

Such is life I suppose - I am cross at myself to be honest, I needed to respect the distance more. I will in futire, I promise.

Badwater - well, whaddya know? Next week, I will be heading to California to crew for Hung Ng in the 135 mile race across Death Valley. Wow, what a privelige. Hung came 19th last year. It will be a great experience for me, then of course after Badwater, I will be heading up to Tahoe for the TRT. It looks like it will be a great vacation for me!

Race For Awesomeness

The “Race for Awesomeness” – appropriate name.


So last Saturday, I had an interesting day to say the least – it all started when I read on Facebook that my friend Shannon was heading to the South.


An innocent, “Oh, where are you heading?” from me was when I learned that Shannon was heading from NJ to NC to run a race near Asheville, (3-4 hour drive from home).


A couple of text messages later, and the next thing I know, I am washing my running clothes (I had just got home from a 8.5 mile trail run) – and getting ready to head west to participate in the 12 hr “Race for Awesomeness” with Shannon and we would also meet Ray K there. The race was a 24 hr race, with a daytime 12 hr run and a night time 12hr run, which started at 10pm.


Once I had arrived, met with Shannon and her parents, I set up my tent and pretty soon we were getting ready to run.


The race was a relatively flat loop (not entirely flat though), mixed trails – some single track, some wide grassy trails, and some trail covered in wood chip. Very pleasant trail, generally great running surfaces all around.


Once we started, it became apparent that the best plan was to have no plan – and we did well sticking to that plan. It was just fun. After each loop, took a break (not entirely deserved, but we rested anyway) – and each time our breaks got longer and longer. For a while, we ran with Robert, who was running his first ultra (he did well, and ran a double marathon in the 24 hr run) – I think between Ray’s stories of ultras past, Shannon’s last minute decision to go and 10 hr drive to be there, and my diet (I fuelled on fried chicken, watermelon and Robert even gave me a beer after 21 miles) –he will either be totally hooked to this crazy sport, or scared off for life! (I predict though he will be researching 100 milers by the end of the week).


So, bottom line, we got in 27 miles, and then went to sleep for a while – but above all, I had fun, hung out with some great people, and did nothing that would "bollox up the Boogie"

The Boogie - prep and goals.

The Boogie 50 is just a little over three weeks away

I am wondering if this is wise to go public with my aims for the run- as can often happen, I may set a goal and fail spectacularly, and look like an idiot.

That being said, I am prepared to look a fool - so here goes:

I want a 50 mile PR.

I see no reason why I can't do it - I know the distance, I know the course, and I know and appreciate the weather conditions. That is about as close to 'being in the comfort zone' as it can get. My current PR is 11:26 - which is what I ran on my way to my first 100 mile finish at Boulder. Next best time is 11:32, on my way to a 100 at Umstead at the end of March. I have only done two 50 mile races - one was Umstead 2009, my time was 11:48, and the other was Zane Grey, where I DNF'd.

I am going to go one step further - sure, a PR is one thing, but based on the way the Enoree Passage 40 went, I am going to raise the stakes some - yep, I would like a sub 11 finish.

So there you have it. I have said it. Sub 11.

Of course, I reserve the right to adjust the target as I am going along, and as always, finishing alive is always the first target - and if I can finish with a smile, regardless of the time, I will still be happy.

So, what have I been doing in order to help me with those ambitious times? Speed work. Yessireee, speedwork. Fartlek, tempo and just plain trying to run faster than normal.

Heat training - NC is hot in mid June, so I drive home with my heater on full blast. I have a little temp gauge - it gets to about 110 in the car. No idea if that will help or not, but we will see. I also plan to sit in my attic a few times when it is really hot outside. At a guess, it gets to be 120 or more up there. Who needs a sauna when you have an attic in NC eh???

Finally, my last long run will be tomorrow night where I plan to run at least 40 miles at the American Cancer Relay for life in Pittsboro.  10 easy, 20 pushing, 10 recovery is the goal. It's a good cause too. Here is my page http://main.acsevents.org/goto/JustJimbo

Enoree Passage 40 miler - The anatomy of when it all goes right.

Short version:

Beautiful course

Comfort Zone

Nice People

Holy crap, didn't know I could run that fast.

Slightly longer version

Some days things just go better than planned. When I arrived in South Carolina, I had no particular goals in mind, but as I stood at the start line, I figured, "9 hours would be a good time, but whatever.......". If I translate the pace of a 9 hr finish into a 50 miler, then that would give me a PR for 50. As I left, I set my "secret dream time" to 8:30.

As usual, I walked the first half mile or so, with just the occasional jog - but after Zane Grey, I was really happy to be back in my comfort zone. The single track was very much like I train on at Jordan Lake, and weather was just about as perfect a day as the Carolinas can offer.

For the first 10 miles or so, I was really happy plodding along toward the back, I was in no hurry, the RD, Terri Hayes promotes "No Cut Off Times", which given my experience at Zane Grey, really made me happy.

Somewhere around mile 10-12, I hung out with a Marathon Maniac, Rae, and her dog Rita for a while. Rita was incredibly impressive, she was off leash and just the perfect trail running dog - I don't think she got more that 20' from Rae's side. I chatted with Rae for a while - and wished that Wilbur and Sarah were just as well behaved as Rita.

Somewhere around mile 14???? I found myself hanging out with Psyche. Except at the time, I didn't know it was her - she had posted here just before the race. I really enjoyed chatting with her - to me it was obvious  that she "got" ultras and trail races - this was her first I believe. On her blog, she even called me a "gentleman". Last time I was called that, it was preceded with "Last Call Please....."

Sometime after the 15 mile aid station, maybe mile 16 or so, I got a second wind that almost took me to the finish line. I deserted Psyche (sorry my friend, nothing personal :)), and found myself running alone. It was at this point I made a decision that I was going to race this thing, and push hard - it seemed I was venting some of the pent up frustrations that had haunted me since ZG - I needed to prove to myself that I can do this UltraRunning stuff, and that I do have the endurance to run long distances. I figured the worst that  could happen is that I blow up, and I death march home. I found myself running miles under 11 minutes, I even found myself  running up hills.... crazy or what!! Each aid station was a quick turnaround, no sitting down, then GO JIMBO GO!! I was fuelling on Hammer gels, Clip2 and water - no solid food at all.

Of course, this kind of crazy pace can't go on forever, shortly before the 35 mile aid station, I ran out of steam, I always felt sure that this was going to happen, but to be honest, I am pleasantly suprised at how long my second wind lasted.

Finally I was finished, at 8:21. Let me say that again. 8:21. Holy crap Jimbo. Translating that into a 50 mile time, I would have take about 45 minutes off of my PR. Of course, now I am worried that I will set myself unrealistic expectations for the Boogie.

So, to conclude......... loved the trails, enjoyed meeting new people (and dog), and I signed up for Terri's race in September. Very happy. Very.

It was on trails like this that I really picked up the pace - this was probably at about 23 miles or so.

Typical - just like I am used to at Jordan Lake

Done. really could have done with a beer at this point.......

Quick Update - Enoree Passage 40 miler

Great race, well and truly in my comfort zone. Time was 8:21 - way faster than I anticipated.

I will write more in a day or two.