Wow, last weekend hit hard with so many races and many were forced to not complete the race or they gutted it out with sheer determination. The drop out rate was not due to not being ready of being in shape it was due to hot and humid, mud, snow, sleet, hail, rain, freezing temps.,
thunder, lighting, tornadoes!!!!
I sit in awe as I read the many race reports from the weekend.
All the way from San Diego Cailf. to Wisc. things were a real mess.
The good news is there will be other races and you will have another chance at your 50 or 100 miles!!! The Tetons waits for you the end of Aug. the field of runner's is getting exciting!
Here is an email from a student who did the WORLD OLYMPIC DISTANCE TRI. THIS PAST WEEKEND...CRAZY STUFF!
Dear Lisa,
Thank you so much for your help and advice.
It was an amazing event. It was super well organized.
However it was cold and rainy.
The water was 59 degrees and super high swells and white caps.
Right after my wave took off they canceled the swim. The water was too
rough and cold.
One girl suffered hypothermia and had to be life lighted to the
hospital.
Some had to be lifted into boats.
I felt really bad for the men; none of them got to do the swim.
But I loved the swim. After my hands and feet and forehead went
completely numb I didn't feel anything any more.
The swells were a blast to go up and over them. I was laughing under
water.
I was 10th for the US out of the water.
Anyway I feel really good about the whole thing.
However I was really happy with my performance. I did the best I could.
I ended up placing 12th for the United States and 28th in the world in
my age group!
Cheers,
Julie
Thank you so much for your help and advice.
It was an amazing event. It was super well organized.
However it was cold and rainy.
The water was 59 degrees and super high swells and white caps.
Right after my wave took off they canceled the swim. The water was too
rough and cold.
One girl suffered hypothermia and had to be life lighted to the
hospital.
Some had to be lifted into boats.
I felt really bad for the men; none of them got to do the swim.
But I loved the swim. After my hands and feet and forehead went
completely numb I didn't feel anything any more.
The swells were a blast to go up and over them. I was laughing under
water.
I was 10th for the US out of the water.
Anyway I feel really good about the whole thing.
However I was really happy with my performance. I did the best I could.
I ended up placing 12th for the United States and 28th in the world in
my age group!
Cheers,
Julie
NEXT: Our Jim Simone who is riding his bike across the USA...wow..last weekend and now they have had some weather issues as well. Go Jim Go!!!
Lisa,
I'm currently in Great Bend Kansas- tomorrow we are heading off to McPherson Kansas- than to Abiline- and a rest day-
So far we have raised $15,775.00- but the fund raiser continues- so people can still donate their tax deductable contribution to Harbor House at www.harborhousedv.org
We have had a lot of head winds- we are in the 20th. day of this ride and we have had headwinds everyday except 3- in the mts. we had winds 35-40 mph with gusts up to 60mph- but at least this makes for interesting days-
The desert (Mojave) was beautiful- the Mts. stunning-the Plains (Tx., Oklahoma and Kansas-) are flat and windy-
This trip really is about team work- many times I've felt like bagging a day and taking the ride- when someone would reach out and get me going again-
A great example was today- as I pproached the 2nd. SAG stop at mile 50 I really was feeling beat p- after 50 miles of headwinds, avg. ride speed 11 mph- I was ready to bag the day- I ran into Rich and Darell- now I'm not a very experienced bike rider- I had never rode in a pace line- they taught me how to ride a pace line and draft and we just burned up the final 36 miles-
Physically I feel pretty good- my butt is a little sore- but mostly I feel good- the psychological aspect- just like any ultra- is the toughest- to get up day after day and do it again- to have those tremendous.
Thanks for the great coaching.
Jim
IT WOULD be so great if all of you who are reading this would post your race story from this past weekend!
Mine..well I was in a can driving for 2 days while many were going through all of this!
We are now back to the Tetons and thrilled. We were met by good friends when we arrived with dinner and they helped us un-load the truck. Its good to be back, really good.
Much love
Lisa
6 comments:
Welcome back to the Tetons, can't wait until i am back there. It will be sooner than i think and i cannot wait! 8 days out there is like heaven :)
The weather this weekend was just pitiful and kudos to everyone who toed the start line of their races.
Lisa-
Weather was a major factor for the Squaw Peak 50 in Utah. Rained the first few hours resulting in heavy, slick mud followed by a blizzard @ 7200'. Times were much slower than normal but the experience was absolutely surreal!
Congrats to all who endured.
Aric
Lisa
China looks nice. When is this race?
We need some warm and sun around here and you forgot to bring it with you!
The China race is in May and it is a very hard marathon with many, many steep stairs to climb!
It is sunny over in Driggs but very windy and cool. We are thrilled since being in the heat for a long time. But..we are going to pray for summer and warm sunny Teton days ahead.
Thanks!
Lisa
or I should have gone with Lisa to Driggs Id or with Leigh to Squaw Peak 50(rated 3rd hardest 50 in America).
SD 100 looked easy on paper.new course not as hard as the orginal.31 hours (reason for that.) For a west coast mountain trail run very runnable.rolling ups and downs. 81 starters. 43 finished 38 did not I was one of them but I DID NOT QUIT. I got cut for not making the 70 mile cut off. For a fast course only 11 people broke 24 hours.Winners men time 19:26 (it took Tom 2 hours longer on the second loop) womens finisher 25.44. To Ginas credit only her 3 ultra ist 100.
My fault that I made so many rookie mistakes.Never too old to learn. First mistake I did not take my wally world glasses. I misread the 70 mile cutoff to be 3:30 in the morning when it was actually 3 in the am. My bladder broke so my butt cheeks were chafed so bad I was bleeding along with my loose 2 in 1 compression shorts made it worst.(Bad DNA spores on that one)I love montrails but with injii socks my blisters were just these quarter size inch high full of blood.I had the new sock liners.I think something is wrong with my left foot it grew,(I know Jay feet dont grow they swell.)Maybe my brain is in there.I only have 3 live toes out of the 10 that are there.My hardrocks were too tight.At 50 miles I changed into my MDS montrails and smartwools socks,the shoes were then too loose but some releif but not on the downhills.Later on during the race i discovered my mosquito repellant bottle had broke and I had bug juice
all over my hammer gel and
sharkies.I had to laugh as I downed my gel and got the bug juice on my lips....later I discovered I had a nathan two bottle holder in my jeep but i would have looked too fat in it and would not carry the Armyy-Navy surplus store I carry around
Ate very well and was well hydrated.The first twenty miles are very easy but the last 30 were hard.Everyone took off fast which was a mistake. Plus its cooler on that side.It was predicted to be 72 but I think it was closer to 82.40at the start but with a wind chill of about 35. got to 20 miles at my time.after that it got hot and the big climb. i was following E Kim Not realizing it was his first time he was going the wrong way.. We got back on course. Lost some time. Also a certain person well know in Az and ID was behind me and I was running hard so he would not catch up to me.A Paul P of the Badwater Solo fame. My projected time to get to 50 mile cutoff was slipping away. The longest stretch most exposed part of the run is just before the 50 and 100 mile station. I ran my heart out here Lisa.went for it.Plus it was getting dark and i wa s thinking of my mistake at Rocky Racoon not planning for a light.It was long
long way. Finally I made it.half an hour to spare.I took up most of that time working on my feet changing and I just gave up and took off.Out of the aid station down the road and sat in the street and tried to get it together. Checked on Yen and Kirk who I had been helping earlier. Good to go.I hobbled down the road.Had i realized the cutoff for 70 was 3 am and not 3:30 I would have gone faster. It was night and you forget you go slower.I was meeting all the fast people coming back to their 70 mile station and I greeted them all.I was a half hour off my mark at the sunrise aid station and it really fell apart for me there.It was a good 20 degrees cooler there. I saw Gabor there,he had been down for 3 hours. I begged him to go with me but he dropped. I saw Kirk there who I stayed with and walked earlier in the day when he was having a bad spell.He was foaming at the mouth shaking and had a glazed look.A little chilly. Maybe early stages of hypotherimia.
Little did I know that 7 miles down the road I would be the same way.he was put into a warm trailer. Robbi came up and quit. It was her first 100 she did as a result of Leigh and I doing MDS and seeing us run with our packs on.I had encouraged that if i could do a 100 anyone can.To be honest I wanted a blanket,get warm and stop.So i took off. On the highway before the drop I looked off to see the lights of san deigo.I texted Leigh knowing she had finished and left her a message.Not looking good but I was not going to quit. I had felt sluggish all day.Maybe all the junk food Lisa? I just took off,fell a couple of times.Somewhere down here Yen got lost.She was hurting.Everyone was walking down here.The chance of making the 3 am cutoff was sparse. As I came around the cornor to the aid station the cold air from the lake just brought mt temp down.I could not stop shaking. Glenda helped into the trail I could not get up by myself but I kept half my body out
not to get too tempted.A blanket and some grilled chesse. I started to unload, about her race not making the cutoffs, im too old for this Im not racing next year I am just going to be a volunteer all the middle of the night blues.We discovered Yen was still out there. I left.I was a liitle selfish and was going to finish the race and not look for Yen.(later I heard Kirk staggered out of the last aid station and tried too.) I knew I had to sprint to make it. I was the last person out there.My low point.the middle of the night blues. I got the squaw peak blues.Hit the only rock out there and went down. Took out my left big toe.(You notice I never go barefoot or wear flip flops). Just felt sorry for myself and reflected on my life the good and the bad,,again Im too slow too old Im letting people down.How could I make so many mistakes. This was I think my 30 0r 32nd 100 mile start.The old gray mare(stallion) was not what he used be.How could I do MDS and
not finish these 50s and 100s.
Then I realized I was having the time of my life. I was alive and I was going through all the emotions of life you go through.I am grateful for what I have and all my wonderful friends.Maybe not my day but I knew many friends here at the race and Leigh and Eric, Brad.and Elaaina were having their day at SQ 50 and others at the upcoming WS 100 and Bighorn were going to have there so shut up and run.Or hobble and stumble drunkly in my case.So I stumbled along in the dark laughing and crying like a girl when I hit a rock.Who was going to hear me?Many miles to go before I sleep which is my mantra which I am going to tattoo on my head or butt(whats the difference)in Latin.
I knew I was not going to make it at a certain point.I had been here earlier sat,it was now sun.If I did i was going to have to run every step as the 2nd 30 miles was so much harder and it had all the climbs.I was so cold and I was shaking like a dog dropping peach pits.Finally i came to the camp.almost crying I had let all my friends dwon.I was a little ashamed so I turned off my light so no one would see me come in.No one cared as the people camping out were either the fast people or those who had dropped earlier. Came in told them who I was and gave them my number. They were not worried as I am experienced and always finish maybe just not in the alloted time.
Took the screaming shower.Went back to the camp site and tried to sleep. Took a call from my pals Lisa,Leigh.and Dina.Stop with the pity party. Got up and went to the finish and cheer my friends in.The last 3.All good runners one a Hardrock finisher,They all struggled and they all finished.Vinnie,Robert,and Esup Kim.It felt good,Even Catra struggled. All the bad thoughts went away. Everyone is going to Bighorn,Wish I was,Maybe next year.
In all San Deigo is a good run.Typical southern Calif rollingup and downs.Fire roads. Some single track.A little dry and exposed. If its hot not nice. Not as scenic as others.Old course was a little prettier.Course picks at you.Very runnable.You need to follow Lisas advice and take it slow at first.The hardest part is the last 30 of the two loops.It is so easy to crew because all the aid stations for except one and you can walk to it are on Highway 79.Food is excellent.Start finish you are there 4 times. I thought of Lisa,Jay and lorrie you guys can so easily do 20 hours here. You too Ted.I thought of you leigh because your family can so easily crew you here. I know the course now and where you would have warm clothes and where I would listen to you cry.I will be back.
Jorge
Kettle Moraine 100 Mile Endurance Run. I'm thinking of suing the RD's for false advertising. I'm certain that course was at least a billion miles! And I'm sure I came very close to meeting my maker about a dozen times out there.
Just a bit of info on the course, before I tell you about my experience out there. The 100 miler and 100K racers begin concurrently and all runners do an out-and-back loop of 62 miles ending at the start point. All runners are told in advance that 100 mile runners stopping at that point will be credited with a 100K finish (very bad idea!). 100 milers continue on to do a different 38 mile loop. Total elevation change is a little over 12,000 feet, all of which come as an endless series of 'little' hills. There is only one flat part of the course, an open field several miles long and wide--more about that later.
OK, I actually followed directions this time. I put in an easy 30 minutes (11 min pace) and then dropped into an 8:2 pattern on my way to the turn around point at the 31 mile marker. I'm not sure what the heat-humidity index was, but I was soaking wet after about 3 minutes. I only had a 16 oz handheld water bottle, and that wasn't nearly enough to get me from aid station to aid station, even though we averaged about 1 every 45 min. The course finally flattens out into an open field at mile 26, and stays that way until the 31 mile turn around. The footing was very soggy from recent rainfall, and it was so hot that it seemed like steam was oozing up out of the ground. I reached the turn around pt at 6:45, or a 13:06 pace. That was about what I was looking for.
Then it felt like the world was coming to an end. It got so dark out that I would have turned my headlamp on, but it was in a drop bag 14 miles away. First came the rolling thunder, then the lightning (so close and so often that I didn't need the headlamp after all), then came the rain ... and then came the flood! Remember I mentioned the course only had 1 flat area. Well, that's where I was, in the 5 mile long open field, when the lightning came. I don't know what you're supposed to do in those circumstances, but it was mighty scary. In the end I just kept slogging ahead in hopes of reaching the next aid station before getting smoked by a random bolt. Since I'm writing you this email, you guessed rightly that I dodged all of that and made it to the checkpoint where I huddled (now shivering) with a dozen other runners. After about 45 minutes with the rain continuing without any hint of letting up, one guy took off, heading out on the trail which now went back into the hilly wooded section of the course. I was so cold I decided to follow him just in the hopes of warming up. That was about 12 1/2 hrs into the race, and I must have only been at the 49 mile point.
So this was the really fun part. The trail, when dry, is a rocky, rooty, single track that traverses the meandering wooded hills like a roller coaster on steroids. Except now it was flowing like rapids, anywhere from 3 to 6 inches deep. If I was heading uphill, it was coming right at me; and just the opposite on the downhills. The guy in front of me was just running thru it, because there was no place else to put your feet. So I did the same. What a wild experience--never knowing what your foot will land on. Rocks and ankle-twists, or mud and slip-sliding away. All kinds of interesting debris collecting in your shoes. Needless to say, we weren't going very fast, but we must have been doing better than most because we didn't see a single runner for several hours. So a year or two passed and it finally stopped raining, and I finally said hello to this guy. He says, "Hi, I figured I'd leave you alone since we've been running for 2 hrs and you didn't say a single word!" So I lied earlier, this was the fun part. We spent the rest of the time getting to know each other, and what a great guy. We'll see him at BW where he's crewing for another runner. He's a veteran of 20+ ultras, and his feet were totally trashed from the conditions. He was just hobbling along trying to make it back to the 62 mile pt so he could call it a night (he had signed up for 100M but knew he couldn't make it). Somewhere along the line I did the math and realized there was no way I could make it by the 30 hr cut, and made my mind up to stop then too.
We arrived at the 100K finish at 10PM, 16 hrs into the race (15:31 pace), and I thought they were setting off fireworks for us. But no, it was just the next line of thunderstorms about to hit the course. They turned out to be just as violent as the earlier ones! And I was wondering how the runners who were still out there could keep their headlamps from shorting out. So I got an official 100K finish, and a nice little bronze kettle (Kettle Moraine 100 - get it?) for my prize. So it seemed in a way to not be a DNF--my first since joining this ridiculous fraternity of ours. But let me be clear here: I quit on the race, and I'm really $@#%ed off (sorry Sr MB) at myself for doing it. George's approach was the right one--he kept going till someone or something other than him made him stop. I don't care how much adversity I had to face out there, I could have kept going. But I quit, and that's not what this is all about for me. I can accept that sometimes I won't reach my goal, but I can't accept that I stopped. 37 out of 123 did make it. I might not have made the cutoff, but I could have tried. NEVER AGAIN! I might have plenty of DNF's out there waiting for me, but never another one that was still within my control to keep going--to keep trying.
And of course I feel perfectly normal today. Feet fine. Legs hardly stiff at all. Back hurts a bit--but nothing that tomorrow's Bikrum yoga class won't fix. I was plenty strong enough to keep going.
I always learn so much at these events, no matter what the outcome. And this was no exception. In fact, I might have learned more in disappointment, than I have in success. Oh, I knew the dangers of allowing myself to even consider stopping before. But now, I'm fighting mad enough to not let those thoughts get a foothold next time.
That's it--done. I'm officially 'letting it go' and moving on. After all, life is very, very good today. Look at the wonderful friends we have (each other), and look at the great opportunity we have in front of us to help a bunch of kids who have to deal with a heck of a lot more adversity than I couldn't handle the other night. So let's get to work and do some good for them. T.
Post a Comment