Today was day four of
Across the Years. My motivation for
doing marathons each day instead of one of the fixed-time ultras was to run a
quadzilla in Arizona. To do that, I
needed to run marathons on four consecutive days. Today was the day I was completing my
quadzilla, so I wore a T-shirt from the Seattle Quadzilla.
I’ve been waking up
before my alarm every day. Today, I was
up much earlier than usual, so I decided to do a strength training workout
before breakfast. I have a routine that
I normally do three times a week, but I had not done these exercises since
Saturday. I’m always too wiped out after
running a marathon. I thought doing a
workout in the morning might be a good way to start getting some blood flow
into my muscles. It seemed to work. After my workout, my legs felt normal for the
first time since Sunday.
This course has long
sections that are dirt. Even with
gaiters, a certain amount of dust will gradually work its way into your
shoes. I’ve been wearing the same pair
of shoes for the last three days, so today I switched to a clean pair.
The weather was similar
to the last few days. It was upper 50s
at the start with a forecast high in the low 70s. I was once again hoping for clouds in the
afternoon.
I didn’t do any walking
in my first lap, because I was feeling chilly.
I needed to run until I got warmed up.
Starting with my second
lap, I did the same run/walk mix as yesterday.
I walked two short ramps going through the stadium, and I also walked a
section of sidewalk that comes later in the loop. Everywhere else I ran, but at a relaxed pace.
Yesterday, I noticed
early in the race that I was in the lead.
Today, I did my best to avoid looking, so I wouldn’t get too caught up
in competing.
I always start the race
wearing gloves, but I usually take them off after a lap or two. Today, I ran three laps before I was ready to
take my gloves off. It was cloudy, and
there was a bit of a breeze.
One of the cool things
about this race is seeing all of the accomplished ultrarunners who are doing
the 6-day race. Some of them I’ve met
before, like John Geesler and Ed Ettinghousen.
This year, there was a new face.
On Sunday, I saw a woman
moving around the course slowly using a walker.
I didn’t know who she was at first. The next time I saw her, I got glimpse of the
name on her race bib. It was Ann Trason.
Ann is a living
legend. She was winning races and
setting course records when I first started running ultras. Among other things, she won the Western States
Endurance Run 14 times!
Over the last few days, I’ve
noticed that several other runners had their race bibs signed by Ann. Today, I had my opportunity. I happened to reach the aid station when Ann
was there, and a saw a sharpie on the table.
When she was done talking to another runner, I asked Ann if she would
sign my race bib. She said she would
sign mine if I signed hers. She had obviously
made the same deal with dozens of runners.
Her race bib was covered with autographs. We each signed each other’s race bibs, and
then I got on my way again.
Since Monday, I’ve been
eating solid food during every fifth lap.
I started doing that so I would have more than just liquid in my
digestive system. I’ve found since that what
food I eat is less important than the psychological benefit of segmenting the
race and having something to look forward to.
During my fifth lap, I
ate a breakfast burrito. Rather than eat
it while moving, I stayed at the aid station long enough to finish eating it. Because I spent so much time at the aid station,
I skipped my last walking break that lap.
My longest walking break
was on a sidewalk that I call the “Avenue of Flags,” because it’s lined with
state flags on both sides.
In my sixth lap, I was feeling
the cool breeze more, and my hands started to get cold. I considered skipping my walking break at the
“Avenue of Flags.” Instead, I ran about
half of it and only walked the other half.
One lap later, my hand
were still cold, so I had to put gloves on again. I talked to another runner who had the same
experience.
I reached the halfway
mark in the middle of my 10th lap. I was
about one minute slower than yesterday.
When I finished that lap, I finally looked to see what place I was in. I was 11th overall and 7th among men. Yesterday, going at about the same pace, I
was winning. Obviously, today’s race had
a more competitive field.
Toward the end of my next
lap, I was passed by a runner who had already lapped me earlier. I was talking to him before the race, so I
knew he was also doing the marathon. I
sped up enough to stay with him for the rest of that lap, because I wanted to
see what place he was in.
When we each crossed the
line, I looked for his name to come up on the timing display. I was shocked to see he was the 5th place male. He was 2.8 miles ahead of me, yet he was two
places off the podium. At this point, it
was pretty obvious that I wouldn’t come anywhere close to placing in this race.
Knowing that was kind of
liberating. Instead of pushing the pace,
I could just take it easy for the rest of the race, knowing my time didn’t
really matter.
After that, I cruised
through my laps at a slower pace. I wasn’t
doing any more walking, but my running became more of a slow shuffle.
About this time, I started
to feel drops. It was only sprinkling,
and it didn’t last long, but I never had to worry about getting hot today. It stayed cloudy all afternoon.
Besides the fixed-time
and fixed-distance races, there was also a last person standing race. That race started today at noon. The runners in that race needed to run a
1.41-mile lap every 20 minutes. That had
the potential to create some extra congestion near the start/finish line if I
happened to come through when those runners were lining up to start their next
lap.
As it turns out, that
never happened. At first, I was coming
through a few minutes before they started their next lap, so I would see those
runners resting in the heated tent next to the starting line.
My laps were never as
slow as 20 minutes, so I gradually came through farther ahead of their start
times.
Paradoxically, the slower
I got, the more tiring my laps felt.
Maybe it’s because I had no sense of urgency. My brain wasn’t in “race mode.” Without that sense of urgency, I was probably
more apt to notice the cumulative fatigue from running four marathons. It’s also possible I was feeling the effect
of waking up at 3 AM.
It wasn’t until my last two
laps that I started to pick up the pace again.
I skipped my last two walking breaks, not because I cared about my time,
but just because I wanted to get done.
I finished in
5:26:44. I didn’t win an award, but I
earned something else. Anyone completing
a multiple of 100 miles receives a belt buckle.
Most people do in a single race.
I did it by running four marathons.
I also completed my
Arizona quadzilla. Now I’ve run
quadzillas in 10 different states. To
join the 50 States Marathon Club, you need to finish marathons in at least 10
states. I’ve often joked that if I could
run quadzillas in 10 states, I could be the founding member of the 50 States
Quadzilla Club.
Tonight is New Year’s Eve. For runners who are on the course tonight, there will be festivities at midnight. I won’t be staying up. I have another race tomorrow morning, so I need to get as much sleep as I can.
No comments:
Post a Comment