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I came, I saw, I got kicked in the butt. I really just fell on it. But reflecting back, this one butt plant may have been the determining moment on how my day was to progress. The good news is that, I still achieved my desired time goal. It just didn't feel that good as I was achieving it. I did finish in 8 hours, 54 minutes and 30 seconds, good for 123rd place. As always, I want to run 50 miles under 9 hours and marathons under 4 hours. Anything less is extra. The days leading to JFK were edgy as long term weather forecasts predicted
When I woke up at 4am on Saturday, it was raining. However, the Weather Channel called for the rain to stop by dawn and then possibly start again in the evening. We drove to Boonsboro and decided to park near the schools rather than near the start about 1/2 mile away. I did my normal 3 stops in the bathroom, lubing and stretching and when I looked outside at 6:45am, no rain. I went back to the car, took off my sweats, changed hats, grabbed a banana and started jogging to the new start line. I arrived at the start with about 30 seconds to spare and the gun went off when the bank clock still read 6:59 (41 degrees). We were off and running East on Alt 40, ready for what was to come. My goals were, 3 hours off the AT, 7:20 off the C&O and what ever it takes to finish. Within the first four miles, the entire pack took a wrong turn on the AT and probably added 1/2 mile to their day of fun. So, when I got to my first checkpoint at Crampton Gap, I did not know if I was doing better or worse than last year. I was about 4 minutes behind. The leaves and rain made for slippery The second section of trail is where I found the ground. My feet slipped out to the side of me on one flat rock and I hit hard on my back side. I still have a scrape and bruise near my tailbone. However, I got up and continued reaching the end of the AT by my desired 3 hour cutoff in 2:55. After a shoe change, I was off on the C&O Canal trail. What can I say about the C&O? It's long, no change of scenery and mucky. I usually try to run the C&O two miles at a time, walking when I reach every even number mile post to maintain any even pace. But on Saturday, I was having a hard time concentrating and remembering if the next mile post was going to be even or odd. In marathons, you hit a wall and usually never have time to recover. In Ultras, you hit a bad spell and try to work a plan that will allow you to recover. Last year, I had a bad spell from 23 to 27 miles and recovered. This year at 23, I started having a bad spell and was not able to recover ever. Food stopped looking appealing at 23 and I stopped asking for food from my crew at 30. I went from attempting to run 19 minutes for two miles at 23, to 20 minutes for two miles and then later at 34, 11 minutes per mile. And my backside ached most of the way. Also at 34 miles, I promised my legs that I would not run a hard 5K at this Thursday's Turkey Trot. I did get off of the C&O at 7:23 and it was time to hang onto whatever I had left. At 8 miles to go, I had about 1 hour and 30 minutes before my 9 hour deadline. That's less than 12 minutes miles and I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to do it. Now, I can walk hard at a 12 minute pace. But, my walking form left me miles behind. The butt still ached and as soon as I hit the road, I realized that I had developed either shin splints or a stress fracture in my left leg. By 5 miles to go, I had 58 minutes and at 2 miles to go I was down to 24 minutes. I felt one more strong mile in me and I was overjoyed to see that main road into Williamsport. With one mile to go, I was down to 14 minutes, I had 8 people I could see in front of me and one breathing down my neck. I hit the right tangent on the divided highway (a tricky crossing when you are tired) and probably picked up 30 yards by taking this route. I start up the last road and I'm running as hard as I could. I ended up passing 4 people in the last mile and held off the runner coming from behind. My last mile was a 8:24, exactly the same as my first mile. But, the first one sure felt better. Last night, I went for my normal post race 30 minute run. My back and calf are very sore. Right now, I can walk faster than I can run. And, I did receive a lot of strange looks. So, its recovery time. I hope that I don't get too fat. As for the Turkey Trot this Thursday, I'll be on the roads at the back of the pack fulfilling my promise, no racing flats no matter what. But, it's one of those streak things. Vic Culp Fredericksburg Area Running Club Fredericksburg, VA vic@farc.org |
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