This was so well written that I had to publish it:
Last year, a Runner's World feature on trail running started with, "Any idiot can do a marathon, it takes a special kind of idiot to do an ultra". That my friends I wholly concur with...
The following musings comes with this caveat: the next 15 minutes of your life, you can never get back.
Many of you are aware of my curiosity about running a LONG one. I wish to know why anyone would do it. A 50 miler was the obvious starting point. Tackling any distance longer than that just takes the idiocy to another level.
Saturday started at such an ungodly hour - up by 4am, on the road by 4:25. Got to Ancaster at 5:46am. Race starts at 6am. Somebody saved me a spot right in front of the Start (I needed that), hopped out of the car to register real quickly. Had just 'enough' time to go to the washroom, change shirts, take off pants, put on shoes, strap bottles and camera on fuel belt and then, I was off running - together with almost 100 other idiots.
Typically, I have 3 prime directives when I do physically challenging stuff; I had to tack one more for this event:
1) run at or less than 75% of maximum heart rate.
2) don't get hurt (as I would still need to drive myself home).
3) try not to finish last and,
4) try to finish before the cut-off, which in this case is 14 hours, otherwise I will get a DNF. An idiot with a DNF, wow, is there any lower place an idiot could go?
Of course, like the Oracle (Matrix, the Revolutions) Ididn't know that I would finish, but I believed. Ihaven't run longer than 50K and that was almost 8months ago and I have been running quite a tad bitmuch lately. Yes, for a very brief moment, Iacknowledge the possibility of not being able tofinish. In running, I try not to let the unknown scareme. My attitude has always been - bring it on, let'ssee what happens. It might just be great.First loop:I had heard that great camaraderie is the most famous quality of the ultramarathon community. True to form, within 200 meters from the start I was chatting with Scott, from Florida - all ranging topics. Scott gave me a few tips, which helped me a great deal during the race. We had to scramble to avoid some mud puddles andI lost him. Then I heard someone behind me yell, "Hi, Monica". So, I looked back and there she was, the Queen of Ultra marathoning. Sure the Americans would argue, that it's Pam Reed or Ann Trason (both equally great women ultra distance runners, no disrespect) but, since I am Canadian and I am writing this piece,I am going with . And, so it happened, I ran behind her and another runner she was chatting with and they were talking about something I happened to know something about, so I chimed in (ahhh, I was hoping there was a reason why I paid $8 for that magazine 2 days ago). So, for the next 4-5K I was running side by side with the Queen. There is a point to this story, so just bear with me. I asked her if her record (23) of most 100 Milers completed in a single calendar year still stands, she said 'yes, so far'. The other guy said, 'it is a tough one to break'. According to the Queen, there have been several attempts at Monica Slam. We kept talking. We heard countless, "Hi, Monicas" and variations there of.I couldn't hide my groupieness, I told I followed her progress in Badwater last year and she said it was a bad experience. Emotionally, she was a wreck having just lost her beloved dog, Natasha - the reason she took up running in the first place. So, now she said she has a new dog, which she named Tonto. I thought, oh dear, why. Then she laughed, apparently a friend told her that "tonto" means idiot, stupid, or dumb in Spanish. See, I told you there is a point to this story - now why on earth would anyone call their dog a foreign name and not know what it means, unless, hey, they are on that same energy wavelength. I said, yes, it does, but, in Tagalog (Phils.' language) we commonly use it to mean "silly". She liked that - then we talked about Spain, colonization, etc. Then, we came upon a very tricky descent, single file, muddy,very slippery, I lost her. I thought to myself, how are they going to navigate through these parts in the dark later.
Second loop:Okay, so, now I am getting familiar with the terrain, not technical at all. Chatting with someone from Sudbury, attempting the 100 miles. Then, was chatting with a guy who kept on stopping to fix the holes in his socks with the same masking tapes he had on all over his feet. He seemed to know exactly where the benches were. He turned out to be the race director of the Niagara Ultra and has done this race before. Ohhey, there is Monica, she is, hmm, only 400m ahead of me. Wow, she was really going slow. Because of the course design - there are mini-loops within the bigloop. So, you are bound to meet people at various stages.
Hey, there's Greg, all finished with his 25K. I wonderhow he did...
Third loop:Just get through this loop and then you can wing the 4th. Darn, this camera is way too heavy, why do I still have this on. Oh hey, there is Monica, about 1K ahead of me. I couldn't carry a decent conversation, then there was Scott, asking me how I was. And he said something casual that really helped. He said that if at the end my 3rd loop, all I was, was tired, then I should do well. I asked, why, what are the other stuff that I should be concerned about - typical newbie, again, no clue. He said the worst thing is having a 'fried' brain, on top of the physical exhaustion. So,I clued in to that - every time, I would stop to rest,I would focus and ask a series of questions to make sure that I was still coherent.
Fourth loop:Walking the uphills, not so bad, as long as I stop every 10 meters - the burn on my quads and lungs were quite something. Going down hills, ouch, hurt a lot more. I tried many combinations of run/walk - 10/1, way too long, 4/1, 3/2 still too long, then finally settled with 2/1. Oh, there is Monica, about 5K in front. Whoa, just like that - her forte - pacing becomes evident.
Finish: Aptly, they perched the finish on top of a hill. Of course, I thought to myself, I was going to run the last 10 meters even if it kills me. I may never do this again, and so, I wanted to finish strong. Ha-ha-ha. Even just saying that makes me laugh. So, I finished in 11:10:23, yep, that is right, 11 hours, 10minutes, 23 seconds. Then, there was my friend Natalie mere inches from the chip timing mat. Wow, what an amazing sight she was, looking all very, you know Nat-like, while I was sweaty, had Vaseline all over my arms. I gave her a hug. And she said, the event being as huge as it was, she couldn't let me cross the finish line alone. The best part of the day! We chatted a bit, then she had to head back to Whitby to make it to a party. I stuck around to clean up, hose myself done with cold water and gather all my stuff.
Post-race:Accomplished all 4 directives. Average heart rates were, from 1st to 4th loop: 73%, 72%, 68%, 61%. Wow,my effort really went south as was my 4th lap split. Didn't finish last, and well, within the cut-off. As one guy I walked with on my last lap, whose ITB was flaring up said, I could take a 2+-hour nap and still make the cut-off. Not bad sense of humour at his state. Unlike the guy in Aid Station #5 who asked me if I would be pacing someone once I am done. Huh?!?!Is he mad, on top of being an idiot?
Anyway, like I said I didn't finish last - I finished1st in my age group. So, I have a medal that says: 50MILE, 1st PLACE, FEMALE 40-49, 05/27/06. Who knew turning 40 would be this awesome!!!!
GGH
No comments:
Post a Comment