Getting Ready for the Big Dance

Since Old Dominion, I've backed off and let things heal and strengthen. I've been running fewer miles and taking rest days. I've been using the sauna several times a week. I can tell I'm getting more heat trained. I can stay in longer each time, but it still takes a toll. I can't get up early the next morning to run, I have to take the day off or run in the evening. I just feel like I've taken a beating. It's like coming down with the flu, that achy all over, tired feeling.
Part of the adaptation is teaching the body to sweat more and to use salt (electrolytes) more efficiently. For a while, I was pouring salt on my food. Now I use a lot less. I have been drinking 2 liters of water in a half hour and still losing weight in the sauna, as much as a couple pounds. That is a lot in a half hour, especially considering I drank 4 pounds of water in that time and still lost weight.
I did take a couple afternoons off to run on the hottest days we've had here. I felt guilty running on a weekday afternoon when I had work to do. I'm sure I'll make it up. I ran 11 miles on Route 49. It was 85 degrees and 50% humidity, not especially hot by most standards. I was out 3 hours and drank 90 ounces of water. The often quoted medical texts say humans can only process 20 ounces per hour. I came back 5 pounds lighter than I left. I lost a total of 180 ounces of sweat in that 3 hours. I needed 60 ounces of water an hour to keep hydrated.
Today I ran in the afternoon. It was only 80 degrees today. I made a real point to keep taking in water. I drank 120 ounces in 3 hours and came back in at the same weight I left with.
It takes some adjusting to drink that much and not feel full. Mostly I have to pay attention and realize what I did in the past isn't enough.
I have assembled a box to send to Melinda. She can bring those things so I don't have to fly quite so much out. Extra shoes and some clothes I won't need before I go.
Things will move even faster now. I can't believe it's only 2 weeks and one day till race day. I leave in 12 days.

Old Dominion Training Run

I went to Woodstock, Va to run the OD 100 last weekend.Old Dominion is the second oldest 100 miler in the country. Only Western States is older. Like States, OD started as a horse event. The horse and runner events have separated since then. This was the 30th running of the event.

I had run Keys 100 May 16, then Denny's BFT Boogie, 42 tough miles with 8,000 feet of climbing, just last weekend.

Most wouldn't have even attempted another 100. I'm not sure what that says about me. I felt good by the end of the week and had rested as much as I could all week. I drove down in 6 hours. It is about 300 miles. About 30 miles away, I still didn't see the mountains we were supposed to run over. That area has unique geography. The mountains popped up just in time and they were for real.
The race headquarters is at the Shenandoah County fairgrounds. The grounds are visible from the exit of I81. There are motels and places to eat within sight of the race start.

I checked in at the fairgrounds and got my number, 58. I intended to camp, but the grass was almost knee high and soaking wet. They had received 5 inches of rain in the last 3 days. I was allowed to sleep on the floor of the building that was the headquarters. I had foam pads and didn't mind the hard floor. I just didn't want the wet. The race briefing was on time and not lengthy. There were 39 runners, about the usual number for this event.

I went out for some pizza and came back to a dark and empty building. I was able to turn in before 9:00. I slept well and the first of the race crew coming in at 3:15 woke me up. That was about right timing. I got dressed and ate a bagel and only had to wait around 10 minutes before the start.

The morning was comfortably warm and foggy. I felt good and started off in the main pack. We ran some streets to get out of Woodstock and then some paved roads to the George Washington national forest. The roads there were a mix of pavement and gravel. Some parts were steep so that was plenty of walking. The aid stations were 4-6 miles apart. I felt good and kept a comfortable pace. I could tell I was moving plenty fast, but it felt good. There were a couple nice trail sections, but the first 25 miles were mostly roads. I was out of the 25 mile station at 4:40 into the race.That works out to a 11:15 pace per mile,which is faster than I sometimes run.

I felt good, no sign of the quad soreness that I felt at Keys and on the BFT. The BFT had a lot of downhill running, so I wasn't sure if I had done more damage. Apparently not.

What did grumble was groin muscles. I had torn them badly in martial arts class almost 2 years ago. They were not right all last summer. I thought they were healed this spring, since there hadn't been any soreness there. I kept going, paying attention to what I felt.

At 32 miles, I took a good break. I ate a can of chili and a hard roll from my drop bag. I have learned I need real food and not to rely on aid stations. If I had anything to say about this race, the aid station food was spare. Pretzels, Pringles, and chocolate chip cookies were the choices. At the last couple stops there had been orange sections.

I felt I could ease out another dozen miles, since the trail came back to that same place later. I headed out and took it easy. This time I saw some more trail sections. Nasty trail, with lots of rocks and water running down it. I don't know how anybody could ever run this part.

The day was getting warm. It must have reached 85 degrees. I walked along and got passed by lots of runners.

I got to the 42 mile point. That was a medical check. We had been weighed at check-in.

I thought I had been doing good with my drinking and S-caps. I did get a bit behind on eating. A few yards before the medical check, I crossed another stream.

I weighed 2 pounds over my earlier weight. Considering I now had wet feet, I called that dead on. That was good to know, considering how things went at Keys.

I told the folks there I was dropping out. They agreed with my assessment and gave me an ice pack.

I was given a ride to the next station where there were more crews and I might get a ride back to base. There wasn't a ride there, so I got driven to another station and did finally get a ride to the fairgrounds. I needed to check out with the race timing official. That point had been repeated several times in the briefing. I couldn't find him. I ate and waited and he finally came back a couple hours later. He showed me a sheet he had left on the table in case anybody needed to sign out. This race is small, and quite different from any other I've been in. Not bad, it just thinks differently. Definitely old school.

I loafed around the parking lot until dark, then put out my sleeping bag on the grass. I intended to cheer in runners as they finished. The runners would have to pass right in front of me. The last bit was a lap around the outside of the horse track to the finish line.

I didn't hear a runner all night. I didn't wake up till 4:00 am. By that time most of the runners were done. I did get to cheer in 2 runners.

I stayed for the awards presentation and breakfast. The most amazing story was Dan Brennan. He got off course by 9 miles. He ran back to the course and finished the race, 118 miles, within the 28 hours allowed. And Dan is no kid. He's 58 years old.

"Tough as nails" was the description that summed it up.

I felt I had a good weekend. I know that is a monstrous amount of running in a short time. I wanted to see how much I could do. I had paid the registration fee. It cost me around $100 to drive down. Old Dominion is usually a hot and humid, tough race. I hoped for a run in the heat. It was actually the nicest weather in years. I stopped early before I did any serious damage. I have too much at stake in July to blow it now. I'm not sorry I went down. I may well try this one again. It is sometimes disparaged as a road race. It is not, there are some absolutely nasty trail sections. And the 24 hour finisher's buckle is very classy. Being old school, the awards are men and women's winners, then 24 hour finishers. No age groups, no finisher's plaques for completing the distance.

Keys 100

I hoped to write a full report. It has been almost 3 weeks now and I'm losing the details.
Here is the short version;

Airlines got us into Miami 3 hours later than planned. We missed the mandatory pre-race meeting while we were getting supplies at Walmart. Director Bob Becker gave us a quick briefing when we did get there. We turned in for a short sleep, the second in a row for me.

I didn't feel stressed at all by the heat. It was 85 degrees, with a breeze. Denny had mobile internet and said the humidity was only 50%. That sounds very low for there. I would have expected 85%.

I started off well, maybe a bit fast. My hands started to swell. That was new for me and I didn't realize how serious it was. I did change shoes at mile 30 or so, but too late. I had blisters by then. I didn't bring oversize shoes because I've never had this happen. I expect it in DV, but not here.

I also developed some tightness in front of my thighs. That eventually limited and ended my running. I walked the last 30 miles. I did walk 15 minute miles, including breaks, so I still made time and didn't lose place by it. At mile 5 or so, Route 1 splits and I took the wrong turn for a half mile. That cost me a place.

I finished in 25:05, Not a bad time. Looks like 13th of 27 finishers of 70 starters.

Mostly this was a crew training run. They did very well, so I feel this was a successful weekend.

We did get to dive Monday afternoon on the reefs. We ate quite well after the race.

I'd rate this a 8.5.

Gettysburg to DC Relay

Last weekend I was part of a 12 runner team that took part in the American Odyssey Relay. I was part of the "Whalen Good Time" team. It was a family team mostly made up of Whalen's. A couple extras filled out the roster. The Whalen's had been athletic and on their track teams in their high school days. For some that was 30 years ago. There were 3 Whalen teenagers who were now on teams. Nobody had done this type of event before. The furthest anybody else had run was a half marathon. It was a family event, not a race.
The start was according to our reported previous 10k times. Slowest teams started first. We were #35 of 105 to start.
The morning was cool and a bit overcast, just nice for running. I was the #4 runner. I had legs 4, 16, and 28. Each leg was around 6 miles. Some were easier or harder. The race handbook had ranked the legs for difficulty to allow the team captain to place runners in the appropriate slot.
We had 2 vans, 6 runners each. Van 1 took off, meeting runners at change points and sending out the new runner. Van 2 had the morning to kill and met us at point 7, where their man took over. Then we, van 1, went to eat and get some rest.
The course was mostly on secondary paved roads. It went through the Gettysburg battlefield and Antietam. This area is great for running. It is mostly rolling with enough short steep parts to make it interesting. I noticed how the grass was more grown and the trees were more leaved out than at home. It is only a couple hundred miles south, but must be 3 weeks ahead of us.
Van 2 carried on through the afternoon into the dark. We met them at the Boonsboro high school. This was a major transition point and arrangements had been made to open the school gymn and showers for us. It looked like a disaster center with people wandering around, sleeping on the gymn floor, talking on cell phones.
I had an out and back leg here. I ran from the parking lot to the edge of town and back. The 2 runners following me in rotation did similar loops. When we turned it over to van 2, we went to the Amtietam Battlefield Visitor Center. We got some sleep here and soon it was our turn again.
In a couple legs, we were on the C and O Canal path. This historic path led us more directly toward DC. It was gently downhill and packed dirt. My section was well shaded. I was grateful because the day was warming fast. Van 1 turned over to van 2 around noon. It was well into the 80's and humid, quite nasty for running.
After loading up on pizza, we headed to Washington to the finish area to wait. I hadn't been there in many years. I'm glad someone in our crew knew their way around the expressways. We went to the national mall, a grassy area on the Potomac river within sight of the Washington, Lincoln and Jefferson monuments. We drove around and were fortunate to get a parking place within sight of the finish line. We lay in the shade and watched and cheered other teams as they finished. A couple more family members joined us to see the finish. Soon our runners came along. They had run in the hottest part of the day and were quite beat. We all joined in for the run under the banner. Pictures and medals were in order. Then we loaded up and out for a needed meal together.
This was my first relay race. The format is quite different than a trail run. The run, get stiff and then run again, is quite a change. Also, the legs were short to me. I'm used to 40 or 50 or 100 miles at a stretch and I pace myself accordingly. 6 miles is a sprint to me. The others on the team found that very funny. They are used to a 10k as a whole race.
These relay races are apparently popular and numerous. I think this group may run another one. Some members won't run again, some family members had commitments this time.
In all, I had fun and would do another one.

Rail Trail Ride

The Venture Crew wanted to do an interesting event and needed a fund raiser. They came up with the idea of a bike-a-thon. The logical place was the Pine Creek Rail Trail. It is 65 miles of fine scenic riding through the Pa. Grand Canyon and is known as one of the best rides in the east.
We loaded up Saturday morning and headed to the north end at Wellsboro.
We rode about 30 miles to our campsite. There are campsites along the trail. They are basic with fire rings and picnic tables. This one was between the trail and Pine Creek. We had the place to ourselves.
We had a parent drive a truck with our camp gear, so we carried it into the campsite and set up in relative comfort. We had coolers of food, camp chairs and cooking gear.
The Crew members had energy enough to play frisbee and run around before supper. Nobody stayed up late, though.
Breakfast was cooked by volunteers who got up at 6:00. When else do teenagers get up that early on Sunday? They made pancakes and bacon and scrambled eggs to order. We had a youth led Scouts Own Service since it was Sunday.
Then on the bikes again. Only 35 miles to go. The group I was with stopped for ice cream at 11:00. We need to keep our energy levels up to pedal.
The group had set a finish time of 4:00 pm. Be at a road crossing then to be picked up. Since some were getting donations based on mileage, everybody wanted to ride as far as possible. I followed the last rider in to the south parking lot at 3:40. The first few had arrived at 2:00 or so.
We all had sore butts and were pleased with the weekend. We stopped on the way home for pizza and recounted the trip. Another fine adventure.

Strategic Planning

I decided to withdraw from the McNaughton race. I iced my knee for a couple of days and it felt better. I ran gently on it Sunday and Tuesday. I just don't dare subject it to 150 hard miles right now. I don't want to risk the whole season being lost to an injury. I have too much at stake here to blow up now.
That means I will get a decent training week in and be able to ride with the Venture Crew on their bike-a-thon next weekend. They want to ride on the Pine Creek Rail Trail as a campout and fund raiser. We will start Saturday morning at Wellsboro Junction and ride to our campsite below Blackwell. We'll camp overnight and Sunday everybody will ride as far as they are able. Some might do all 65 miles. Some probably won't. We have lots of adults going along and it should be a lot of fun. I have encouraged them to get on their bikes and get some miles on. I don't think anybody has. I have not ridden since last fall either.

More Spring

Things are looking better. There are more signs of the new season. Local folks are making maple syrup. I heard turkeys gobbling this week and saw a gobbler puffed up and showing off one day. I saw a bear when I was coming back from class one night. The ospreys are back to their nest at the high school. A pair have nested there for 7 or 8 years now. Their nest is on a pole a few feet off the track.
I have been running well the last couple weeks. I have a road run that is 26 miles with almost 2,000 feet of climbing in it. There are a couple of stores where I can get something to eat and drink. Doing this twice a weekend is good training. Combined with weekday morning track work, I'm aiming at 80 mile weeks. I have started doing some speedy laps in the mornings. If I can keep this up and not injure myself any more, I'll be ready for the season.
I did smack a knee a month ago on a jackhammer I was using. It was pretty well settled down, but I bashed it again today in the shop. I'm taking the afternoon off and icing it. I need that knee for McNaughton. I think it will be OK. I'll decide by Tuesday. No sense tearing it up this early in the most important running season of my life.
My Badwater crew has a new member, Niki. She has done some interesting outdoor adventures and will fit right in.
Gotta go tend my knee now.