Savage circles
Well, I fell way short of my goal for this weekend’s
race. I had a great big goal of 140 miles
and ended up quitting at 118 miles. The weather this year at the Aslinger 12/24
hour race was very tough! Earlier this
week I watched the weather bounce around from 10% to 20% to 30% to 20% to 40%
in a roller coaster of emotions. A few
days before the race the forecast looked awesome with 40-50 degree temps, light
wind of 4-7 mph and a 10-20% chance of rain.
The day before it was clear we were in trouble.
We got there a little after 6pm to unload and set up my
spot. I paid some extra money for a very awesome VIP spot. Marcy helped me strategically placed my coolers,
clothes, electronics, changing tent, and nutrition. We had cups with a concoction of Ucan, chia
seed, coconut oil, and almond milk with an option of homemade chicken bone
broth.
We had a few minutes after setup to chat with some friends
and fellow runners from around the area and far away. 6:50PM and the lineup came very quick. I toed the line with my usual crew, but
everyone else seemed to be afraid of the start line. Kelpe got everyone moved up and the
hampsterfest began! It was a little
cold, the wind was picking up, and the clouds had moved in, but no rain
yet. The last time I checked they said
7pm was when it would hit, so I got to thinking maybe my prayers had been
answered! Woo Hoo it was going to pass us by!
Well, that’s not what happened.
We started off like every other year taking off like
greyhounds after the fake rabbit. We did
our usual chit chatting, joking, and catching up. All the regular running talk about goals,
training, previous races, and upcoming races.
We group up and move back and forth within groups talking to different
people and catching up. I really do love
this part of the race! Lots of quotes
and one liners I wish I could remember, but never do. We all settle in to our
paces and spread out. Now it will be 12
hours of loops with this group of folks all running their own race.
Each lap I start to learn the other racers that I will be
passing and will be passing me. It wasn’t
long before it started sprinkling, but it didn’t seem so bad. I was holding a good pace and feeling good. The wind was much harder than it was
forecasted earlier in the week and directly in our face ½ of every lap. I knew early on this was going to be a killer. A couple hours in the weather hit and things
got real for us all. I spent hours in rain
ranging from sprinkles to hard downpours and always with those dadgum
winds. I don’t know the official wind
gusts, but I do know they were at least 20mph at some points. There were so many points I felt like
quitting! It seemed such a daunting
task! In the early hours of the morning I
asked one of the volunteers, Chris Crossett, what the forecast was and he told
me that it looked like it would be out by 4am.
4AM!!! Holy crap is what I was thinking!
That was many more hours of misery away.
I changed shoes and socks, but kept my wet clothes on. My wool t-shirt and light water resistant
wind jacket were working well together.
I had a coating of water resistant diaper rash cream under my shorts
that seemed to be working well, so I decided to leave things as they were for
now. I noticed other runners
dropping. Several guys I really didn’t expect
to drop left. There were injuries and
guys just not feeling well. The field
was dropping down, which always makes me think about why I am sticking it out.
Dawn finally came and with it was sun and dry weather. My spirits started to pick up, but I also
could feel the toll of the night’s weather.
7Am rolled around and I was 67 official miles and 68 ran miles into
it. This was 5 miles under where I
expected to be at this point. I was
feeling down but not out. I was running
my bad runner math in my head. Could I
still do it? What would my pace need to
be? Could I make that pace? I had some confusion on whether or not the
counters missed a mile or if it was the difference in tangents on the measured
course and my actual ran. It is hard
during a race to work these things out in your head. 12 hours of hard running in bad weather doesn’t
leave you thinking clear. Through the
day I was able to see the mile creep on each lap and clear up the issue of a
missed lap. I figured out that I was
with each lap running extra. If you are
a walker you should pay attention to this.
I gained over 3 miles in 24hours going around walkers and not hitting
tangents.
The current batch of 12 hour runners expelled a huge sigh of
relief the turned the wind back for a moment and the new batch of 12 hour
runners took off. Several fast and
highly watched racers were in this group!
I felt like kicking them all in the shin as they sprinted by me all smiles
and fresh. This is always another upturn
in attitude as new friends hit the course and lift your spirits. Matt Miller joined me for a few laps and
spurred me on with humor, pork rinds, and promises of special beer at the end.
18 hours in I knew that I would only hit 130 miles at
best. The guy in second place was
hurting, but still going and on my heals.
John Polihan amazed me! He looked
like he was on deaths door, but any time I walked he would lap me and like the
terminator he never quit coming. I was
on the edge of quitting at this point.
My dreams of 140 crushed, my spirit broken by wind and rain, and only
the same windy lap over and over to look forward to. My beautiful bride would not let me
quit. She said let’s just walk it out a
little and see what happens, then let’s run a little and see what happens, and
then many laps later I was back at it and looking forward again. Behind every good man is a better woman. It is very true in my case.
20ish hours Joe Windeknecht and Mike Burnett joined me for
some laps. This gave me another big
spirit boost which got through several more hours. Joe is a very good friend that just never
lets a guy quit. He will always bring
out the good and help you dig deep. His persistence
and positive attitude are a blessing.
Mike always cracks me up and I am very happy he chose to come back and
use his talent of humor to take my mind off the difficulty I was facing.
23 hours in I called it at 118 miles official and 121 miles
ran. I was tired, cold, and had the
overall cinched. It was time for a warm restroom, whatever food I could handle,
and as much beer as I could handle.
24 hours gives you a lot of time to think about why you are
running an ultra. There is no one reason
I guess. If I could bring it to one word
it might be achievement, but it also might be community. Is it personal achievement or being part of
something bigger where people strive to reach new heights as part of a
community supporting each other in the great adventure? I think I might be to delirious to figure it out
right now.
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