2011 TNT (In Retrospect)

March 2011

I crashed down the trail searching for the bright orange flag that would signal my next turn.  It didn't make a lot of sense that the sky should be so dark at one o'clock in the afternoon, and where did all this fog come from.  Through the trees I could see an opening and it looked like my last aid station.  Thank Heaven.  I needed a drink of...or maybe a...my thoughts faded in and out like a badly tuned radio.  Something pushed me on.  Just make it to the table and figure it out from there.

I was 28 miles into my first 50K (31miles) race.

I pulled through the trees and into the open.  Well, semi open, I think. I was having trouble focusing my vision on anything.

"Hey, Babe, how are you doing?" 
I know that voice.  Mindi.  Mindi was there at the aid station, my mind told me.  That was very sweet of her.

"He doesn't look so good.  Are you OK?"
I didn't know that voice but I didn't like the tone of concern I heard.  The race directors instructions were clear - if aid station attendants thought you were too far out of it, you would be pulled from the race.  And there was NO way I was going to pulled.

"I'm fine," I stammered, clasping the table to prevent me from falling backwards.  How could anyone stand while the world was spinning so violently?

"Babe?" Mindi sounded concerned now and I felt an unusual amount of attention turning toward me.

No way are they pulling me, I told myself.  Not unless it's in a hurst.

"I'm fine," I lied again.  "Just..." I lost focus as my concentration was diverted to the effort of not falling down.

"I can help you but you have to talk to me," the attendant said helpfully.  "Do you hurt?"

I stared blankly at her.  Well, I just did 28 miles through jagged rocks, thorns, trees, and I was pretty sure I jumped over a copperhead a few miles back.  "No, I'm fine."

"Can you breath okay?"

Was I swimming?  I inhaled deeply and tried to think of some reply.  More blank stares.

"Are you dizzy?"

Dizzy!?!  The word sounded right.  Isn't that where it feels like the world is spinning violently out of control and you want to fall to the floor but everyone else seems to be just fine walking around and such...

"Yeah...I'm dizzy," I declared like it was the answer to world hunger.  "Dizzy."  What a concept.

I guess I should interject here that if you've never run (or worked) the equivilant of 28 miles this may sound silly.  You're brain interprets things differently at that point.  It's a lot like trying to have a conversation when you're more asleep then awake.  Some really stupid things may come out, but at the time it seems perfectly logical.  (And if you've never had experience - you'll just have to run yourself silly to understand!).

"Ok." The attendant said.  "Get him some Dr. Pepper.  Your blood sugar level is really low - that's what makes you dizzy.  This will help."  She handed me a cup.

Almost instantly the violent spinning slowed.
I drank anothe cup. The fog cleared and the sky brightened.  It was actually a pretty day!

"That's better, isn't it?"

It was better.  Much better.  I thanked her and thanked God for knowledgeable aid station attendants and caffinated Dr. Pepper and took off.  I still had 3 miles to go!

This was the T'N'T (Toughest 'N Texas) trail run.  TNT gives you the option of 5 miles, 10 miles, 20 miles or 50K (31 Miles) through the technical trails of Cameron Park in Waco (You can see a video of some of the easier trails here).  It's not that the trails are steeper or longer or more difficult then any others.  It's just that you are almost NEVER running on flat ground.  You climb like a fireman or drop like a freshman physics major.

I had never done a Marathon before...much less an Ultra, but I learned a lot from that race - mostly the hard way.
1.  It's worth repeating, Thank God for Dr. Pepper and Knowledgable aid station attendants.
2.  Band aids, nipples and chaffing (Do the math)
3.  ALWAYS carry a hand held waterbottle on long runs.
4.  Toe nails are over rated.
5.  Vitamin I.
6.  When you finish an insanely intense run, EAT some real food as soon as possible. 

It sounds odd but if you don't eat almost immediately after finishing, you will get sick and hope to die.  After finishing the race I remember laying on a bed (not at the hopsital, thank you very much), my legs quivering, hands shaking and stomach rejecting everything I tried to get in it and thinking...well, come to think of it my brain may have shut down at that point. 

But the moral of this story is: If you could go back would you do it all over again?
I just signed up for 2012.

New Years Eve...

December 31.  The majority of the sane world is sleeping late in preparation for the upcoming parties.  That seems like a perfectly good idea to me as I choke down as much home made granola as I possibly can.  Don't get me wrong--this stuff is awesome--I just don't usually care for food before 10:00am.  It's a little earlier than that right now.  Like FIVE FREAKIN' HOURS earlier to be precise. 

5:00am
"Why does anyone in their right mind get up at 5:00am on New Years Eve?" I ask myself in that pessemistic/sarcastic voice that those who know me hear so often. 
"They don't." I respond.  "You're pretty much insane." 
"Shut up and eat your granola!" I reply.  It probably isn't a good sign to be arguing with myself at this point.  I'm pretty sure that before the day is over I will tell myself several more times that I've lost it.

6:30am
I meet Brandon, AKA Superman, at the rendevoux point and we head off.  My wife's cousin's husband (he's cool) gives us a ride to the park and drops us off with a sadistic "Have fun!" before leaving us to our own devices.

7:00am

Packet Pick up.  Number 243 - my identity for the next 4 hours or so.  Superman is 244. The sun is starting to come up on the horizon and it promises to be a beautiful day but right now, I'm freezing.  I give Brandon my gloves because he left his sweatshirt at the bag drop and is in just his t-shirt and shorts.  I at least have my longsleeve technical shirt on.  We pin the bibs on and walk around to keep the blood flowing and make several stops by the restrooms.

Best Cheering Group Ever!

8:00am

The voice over the PA calls out, "All marathon and half marathon runners to the starting line."  Superman and I line up in coral B.  The super fast runners toe the line ahead of us in coral A; the speedwalker behind us in coral C.  We're right in the middle.  I'm ok with that.  It really is a miracle that I am here at all, but that is another story.  I can see the excitement building behind Superman's eyes.  This is his first marathon and he has a keen sense of the obvious, "We're going to run a marathon!" He exclaims with a little jump.  Yeah, he'll be fun to have around for the next 26 miles.  I'm glad that we are in this together.

8:16am

"Coral B...GO!!!" shouts the voice on the PA.  And just like that, we're off.  These runners aren't stupid; there is not big surge off the starting line like you see in most 5k's.  These races are never won in the first couple miles.  In fact, if you try to win in the first few miles you're likely to end up on the dreaded DNF list.  Superman and I start out slower than most of the folks in the coral.  "Don't worry," I tell him.  "They'll be back."

1:05:17

Time has lost all meaning.  The $200 watch I'm wearing doesn't tell time.  All I know is that we just completed our first lap in 1 hour five minutes and 17 seconds.  We are a little slower then we expected.  I know that's my  fault but Superman is a good sport about it.  We started this together and we're going to finish together.  The crowd has thinned out some but there are still a lot of people.  Before it's all said and done we will complete 4 loops of this course, each loop being about 6.6 miles long.  We are both feeling great and decide that it is time to pick up the pace a bit.  There some poor girl behind us that sounds like she desperatly needs a tank of oxygen.  I feel bad for her because there is still a LONG way to go...but I guess you live and learn.  Her breathing is so loud it is annoying.  "Ok," Superman says.  "Let's ditch her."  I agree and we take off.  Not super fast but fast enough to break her heart, I'm sure.  The poor thing was trying SO hard to keep up with us...then we just...vanished.  It was for her own good, really.  If she had tried to keep pace for the rest of the race she would have died for sure.  That was the last time we saw her.

2:09:40

We go through 13.1 in two hours, nine minutes.  Almost 40 minutes behind Superman's PR (personal record).  Mine is a little slower.  For having run 13 miles I'm feeling pretting well but the hard part hasn't really started yet.  My feet are a little sore, not bad.  I can feel some lactic acid creeping into my legs - I figure I have maybe another lap before they start rebeling.  My stomache is a little upset.  I think I might have to stop at the next portapotty--Won't that be fun?

Superman is flying like a champ.  Aid stations have taken to calling us The Heroes.  We call out, "Up up and away!" every once in a while.  It seemed funny at the time, but I think your sense of humor gets a little screwed up after running for a couple hours non stop.

3:01

I've been here before.  This is where the race really starts.  This is why I was up at 5:00am choking down granola and chugging water like a freshman at fraternity initiation.  I suck on a GU pack and it helps a little but not much and not for very long.  Once you hit the wall there's nothing to do but dig deep and keep putting one foot in front of the other.  Superman has picked up the pace (He actually just kept steady when I wanted to slow down) and I am forced to choose between talking and breathing.

Our conversations now go something like this:
Superman: You okay?

Me: Ugh.
Superman: Cool.  Let's catch that group there.  Ready?
Me: Ugh.

(We speed up and pass the group)

Superman: Good job.  Need some water?

Me: Ugh
Superman: Here you go.  (Hands me the waterbottle)
Me: Ugh

Superman: You're welcome.

3:15:11

We are starting our last loop.  Six Freakin' miles left.  The mile markers that we've seen all morning now actually apply to us but somehow it is no consulation that we have gone 20 miles when there is still six more.

"Drop your shoulders," a voice calls to me from behind.  "You're wasting energy holding them so high."  I know he's right but the muscles in my back are cramped so tight that I can't relax them.  I chose to follow Superman instead and we drop the Shoulder Guy instead.

I can see the 26 mile marker ahead.  Just over 300 yards to go.  0.2 miles.  Superman is ready to fly; he has held back a lot to help me but he needs to blast through these last yards to feel complete.  I understand that.  "No one finishes between us!!!  You hear me?" He says as he sprints off.  "No one passes you!"  And with that he is off.  What a guy, I think.

I am digging deep.  My legs are like jelly; my feet are numb;  I'm so dizzy that I have to keep going forward just so I don't fall backwards.  But I'm almost done.  Point two miles, I tell myself.  No one passes me...Except maybe her.  And her.  And her.  And Shoulder Guy.  Three girls and Shoulder Guy...What happened?  Where did they come from?

We turn into the parking lot, which is slightly down hill.  I've got nothing left but heart.  Is it enough? 

I take one more mouthful of water and command my legs to run on energy they don't have.  I pass Shoulder Guy.  "You got it!!!" He calls after me.  I feel him match my step for a few yards before falling behind.  The girls are coming back quickly.  I doubt they have anything left either.  They fall behind as I make the turn out of the downhill portion.  Normally I wouldn't even consider a slope so subtle to be a slope at all but after 26.1 miles even stepping up onto the curb feels like you're climbing Everest.  I'm sucking wind as fast as I can but don't slow down.  Hold it hold it hold it! I scream at myself.  One more turn.  Through my cloudy vision I see Superman cheering.  He has a Finisher's Medal around his neck.  I let the water bottle drop from my hand.    It's just me and finish line now. 

Book Review: What I talk about when I talk about Running

Recently we drove to Texas to visit family and had to spend much more time than is healthy sitting in a car.  Because I was the primary driver of the vehicle and hoped to not fall asleep while performing this important duty, I checked out some books on CD from the library.  Wanting something about running, I did a search on the library's website and reserved the first thing that looked somewhat interesting:  What I Talk about When I Talk About Running, by Haruki Murakami.  He's a Japanese novelist who happens to run marathons and decided to write a book about his experiences.
I'll do this review based on the same criteria Jason used in his book reviews a while back...

1. Entertaining: is it a page turner?  Is it hard to put it down?
2. Informative: Does the book give good advice?  Is the advice (in my experience) accurate? 
3. Inspirational:  When I finished a chapter, did I get my butt off the couch and onto the trails?

Before I get into the formal review I'll give some "background" info on the book.  First of all, this book is more of a memoir than anything.  It reads like his personal journal.  The back cover states that it is centered around his training for the NYC marathon; that is partly true but not completely.  The first chunk of the book is written in context of his NYC marathon race prep but then he runs the race and the book continues, talking about triathlon training and other stuff for quite a while.  So while it is a major theme in the book, it is not the "central thesis" if you will, like the back cover suggests.  There isn't really a central thesis, its just a collection of thoughts, memories and experiences.
Another important thing to mention is that running is NOT the exclusive topic of the book.  It's basically this guy's journal and running is not his life.  He talks a lot about writing (because he is a novelist), a bit about triathlons (mostly swim training) and some about his life story - how he got to where he is now.
OK.  If there end up being more caveats I'll mention them in the formal review section.  Here goes.

• ENTERTAINING - 7
• While this book doesn't sound like the most riveting story (and it really isn't) there is something about the way he writes that makes you want to keep reading (or listening).  I don't think he meant for this book to be anything like the novels he usually writes.  To be honest I got a little tired of it at the end because he focused on swimming - for triathlon training - and I'm not really into swimming or triathlons right now. But the running parts were entertaining enough for me.
• INFORMATIVE - 4
• The informative material in here wasn't necessarily about running.  He really didn't say too much that I didn't already know.  He even omitted some key components like nutrition; he never mentions eating anything during a run or drinking anything other than water.  The cool things that qualify under "informative" in my book are the locations.  He gives detailed descriptions of running all over the globe.  It starts in Hawaii, goes to Massachusetts, a few places in Japan, Greece, Colorado, and of course, the NYC Marathon.  He ran the original marathon course in Greece on his own in the middle of summer - how cool is that.  It was informative (and entertaining and inspiring, too I guess) to "experience" all these new running settings for me through this book.
• INSPIRING - 6
• Nothing really earth-shattering here.  It's kind of like the entertainment section; just something about it made me want to run more.  I didn't pull over the car to search for a trail to run, but I did come away thinking to myself, "I really do want running to be a lifelong thing for me."  It did not inspire me to become a novelist or take up swimming...but for me and running, I'd call it moderately inspiring.
• OVERALL - 5.67
• It really is a  pretty good book and definitely worth reading.  The reason the score seems low here is because this is a running blog and I my evaluations are done in the context of running.  I do think most runners would enjoy this book, not because it teaches some new technique or lights the fire under them to hit the trails, but because they can relate to the experiences the author relates.  He makes it clear that he considers himself an average runner at best...but he writes about running because it has become part of him.  I think there are a lot of runners who can relate to this sentiment, myself included.