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Tim Preble (@TimPreble) – UltraRunner and Endurance Athlete

Tag: Ultra

  • Light 2 Light 50 – Race Report

    tim

    Race Name: Light 2 Light 50 Miler
    Distance/Type: 50 Miles
    Race Location: Currituck Beach light Station Corolla, NC
    Climate Data: 25 °F at the start warming to 36 °F
    Race Date: 03-Feb-2018 6:00AM

    Finish Time: 09:36:52
    Finish Place 17 overall, 9th Male
    Race Stats: Garmin

    Race in 1 paragraph: 
    Signed up for this race untrained as a gauge for how bad off I am.  Since everything about this race was in my favor (Location, Distance, terrain & Weather) I went down there with a fairly aggressive  goal of finishing in 9Hours & 30Min. Race didn’t go exactly as planned, as few do, but good weather and a chasing spirt helped me walk away with a new 50 mile PR of 9Hours & 36 Min!

    Pre-Race
    The wife & I loaded up in the car early Friday morning to make the 10 hour trip from Tn to the far reaches of the outer banks.  Drive went well & the time flew by quickly.  We arrived at the Comfort Inn for packet pickup right on time & met up with Pat & Michelle.  We socialized for a little while grabbed a photo with Henry then decided to go and get dinner with our weekend house mates at the amazing Kill Devil Grill. Dinner was fantastic as expected and we retired back to the beach house for the night to get ready for the next day’s adventure.  The house was very a nice 4 bed room house via air bnb and had everything that you could as for. The wife & I ended up with the bedroom with a twin & a set of bunk-beds that cuddled together in on the bottom bed.  Before bed Pat & I went out and got our February 2 kilometers in & then it was time for bed.

    Race

    Wake-up came early as I traditionally like to shower in the morning before the race so when the alarm went off at 4:30AM i quietly slipped out to the shower and got ready.  While in the shower one of the house mates was nice enough to make us coffee & drive us to the start so the wives could sleep.

    Once we got to the start it was a hurry-up and wait situation, the wind was blowing and it was about 25 °F which made me worry about being cold so I ended up starting in pants which is very unlike me.  Most of the ladies were piled into the female bathroom to keep warm.  Pat & I walked around for a little bit then it was to the start line.

    With my aggressive goal I lined up at the front of the line & the count down started….. 3-2-1 and we were off!  My overall anticipation for the race was that everyone would start out fast & quickly fade around the marathon so Pat & I took off trying to put some distance between us and the majority of the pack.  There were about 4 people ahead of use and we were a little unsure of running 8 1/2 but we were doing it anyhow …. typical, hahaha.  The miles were clicking off quickly and Pat & I were enjoying the run, about mile 8-9 I decided that I had to use the bathroom and there was an actual beach access bathroom I could use.  I told Pat that I needed to go and I would catch up to him in a bit, DUDE WAS I WRONG!  I went and had a long bath room break, shedded my pants & and it was back on the road in shorts.  It took me a mile to get back into the swing of things and I started my chase to catch pat, as I figured that he would have slowed down a little to wait for me.  I pounded the next 11-12 miles trying to catch him until I reached out beach house where the wife was waiting for me with my stuff.  She said that he had just left so I hurried, got rid of my pants & some other items and I was on the road again, chasing…  I had noticed that my legs were getting very tired and I was sweating a lot but my fluid intake was good and I had urinated a couple of times already so I decided to keep the chase up.  This would go on

    At about 35 miles my legs had decided that they had enough of the asphalt pounding and really started hurting.  This pain was not something I had experienced before.  Both leg I.T. bands felt like rubber bands and each time i stepped it felt like I could collapse at any moment. At some point, in one of the low moments before I got to the check-in at Jennett’s pier, I called the wife asking here if she could find & bring my an avocado wrap.  Within minutes she was flying by me cheering & screaming for me.  They had found wraps and avocado for me, it was one of the saving graces of the day.  Before she left I asked if she had any gum, which she did, and this was the other saving grace; I really need to pack gum in my race bag.  Along the way i was playing leap-frog with a man & woman in the race.  As I was reaching into my vest for my Tylenol they asked me if I had any pain relievers … I looked in my ziplock and there were only two Tylenols, I said well all i have are these two, Great he woman said he’s in pretty rough shape … I handed them the two tablets and wished them well as I paused for a few moment to get my pack back in order.  Dang I thought I wanted those and they are my last two, but the guy looked to be pretty rough and needed them more than I did so I shook that off and got back to ‘running’.

    From here the next stop would be the Bodie Island lighthouse, the last aid station before the finish. 2is miles from the light house, about a mile before the turn into the lighthouse, would be the only time I would see pat until the finish.  You see my friend was feeling great & instead of slowing down he actually speed up and was 4 miles ahead of me!  HOLY SMOKES GO PAT!!! I cheered for him and continued down the road.  At this point the best I could do was the Proble-Wobble with and occasional shuffle thrown in.  The Bodie lighthouse aid station was good & the only place I took a picture I took along the way.  On the way out I got to see Lauri & she snapped a couple of photos of us running however my focus was the finish 7 ish miles to go & I suffered in good style those last 7 miles.  Around 5 miles to go my music died, now I was all alone, In massive pain & once again questioning if I could hit my goal.  I kept moving for a little and finally got a little motivation back and got into some hard-core “Pain Cave” run / walking when out of nowhere I see my wife!  What are you doing,  I asked all confused?? She said that someone told her I was struggling and wanted to come out here to help!  Oh my gosh this was the most selfless thing she could have done that day.  We walked and chatted for a moment but she could tell I was on a mission and sent me on my way to the finish.  Not to worry She called her friend to come

    and get her and they cheered & yelled at me as they passed me by.

    That was just the motivation I needed 3 miles to go!  I sucked it up the best I could and ran what I could but it was a very futile attempt my legs were not going to allow it.  After what seemed like an eternity I could hear the finish but could not see it …… where was it?? Was I ever going to get there?? My mind was playing tricks on me ….. THEN finally there it was the parking lot to Jennette’s Pier, YES !!! I made the turn into the parking lot and hobbled as fast as i could to the finish line.  Everyone was there yelling & cheering, I crossed the line at 8 hours & 36 minutes and was ecstatic!  Pat, his wife, Shanda & some other running friends (racers) were there to congratulate me.

    Post-Race
    Right after I finished the only thing I wanted was a seat.  My poor legs and feet were soooo sore.

    I sat, we all laughed and hung out for a little while, I had a cup of chili & enjoyed the race atmosphere for a little while before we left and headed back to the beach house.

    That night the girls had planned on a steak dinner to celebrate our victories.  WE ALL FINISHED & ACHIEVED OUR GOALS!

    Then next morning we all awoke, hung out for a little while then Shanda & I had had to get on the road quite early for what would end up being a long day of Rain, Fog (foam) and accidents as we made the 11 1/2 hour (that’s right 1.5 hours longer) trip home.  Tired for running & tired from driving we finally made it home.  Proud & Satisfied

     

    What Went Right
    Stomach & weather was perfect, avocado wraps were amazing.  Must pack gum in my running vest & need to bring backup music for longer races however the wal-mart mp3 player with my single earbud was great for 8 hours.

    What Went Wrong
    Nothing went really wrong except for my lack of Base miles & training. My legs were shredded after the 50k

    Conclusion
    Great race & much faster than expected.  If you like flat, road & the Outer Banks, this one is definitely for you!

     

     

    IMG_5271

  • Holston River Endurance Challenge

    admin

    Full disclosure: I started this post in Aug-2015 and never finished it.  Now in 2018 upon the resurrection of this blog I found this report & have decided to fill in what I remember & post it. -Tim

    Race Name: Holston River Endurance Challenge (100, 6, 12, 24, 36)
    Venue: Holston River Brewing Co & Thunder Mtn Campground
    Facebook: Event & Page
    Distance/Type: 100 Mile or Timed
    Race Location: Bristol, TN
    Climate Data: 83-85 Deg With Lower Humidity
    Race Date: 8/1/2015 12:01:00 AM Start Through 8/2/2015 12:00 PM (Noon) Finish

    Finish Time: N/A
    Finish Place: 63 Miles
    Race Stats: Garmin

    Photo Gallery: Holston River Endurance Challenge – Photos

    Race in 1 paragraph:

    I went into this race with the hopes of 100 miles in sub-24 but settled with a learning 100k.  Nothing went terribly wrong and I was able to work through some issues while battling heat and a midnight start. Amazing 1st time event, great venue & Better people.

    Pre-Race
    Work 1/2 Day.

    Worked until 12:PM then went home & loaded up the Ultra-Van with the car topper for everyone’s stuff and the club essentials.  Shortly after I got all my stuff ready the others showed up.  We got all the gear loaded and hit the road.  4+ hours we finally arrived in Bristol, TN.

    We drove the campground and picked out a spot to setup our base camp.  The 10X10 & folding camp chairs came out and we were set on go……. time to EAT!

    Lucky for us the brewery (Holston River Brewing Co) had arranged for a food truck to be onsite that night.  We hung out & listened to some live music, had some drinks & feasted on the best food-truck food I have ever had.

    As the night went on we wrapped it up at the Brewery and decided to go back to the van to get ready for the race, remember it started at midnight.  I was tired so I changed into my shorts, singlet and proceeded to climb in the back of the van with my USB Fan & to take a nap.  Before I knew it Shaw & Pat were in a panic trying to wake me up…. I had crashed and the race was about 5Min from starting.  I rolled out of the van, put on my shoes & socks and made my way to the start.  GO !!!

    Race
    About the course ….
    Dr. Enff …. Best stuff in the world !
    Heat ….. dang it was hot.  So hot the RD made a special trip to the store and got everyone popcicles & walked to the course in the reverse direction to make sure that everyone who wanted one got one.
    Resting .. this was funny.  since the race started so late we were VERY tired come mid afternoon.  I convinced Shawn to stop for a little bit and rest.  He said he refused to sleep, however I caught him sound asleep sitting straight up.
    Shawn Mad … after we woke up from our little nap,it really wasn’t but 5 min or so,  Shawn was so angry with me that I slept for 1-2 hours before the race that he refused to speak or run with me for the rest of the race.
    Pat continuing …. once I threw in the towel to get some sleep Pat & Lauri kept going.  Pat was moving really slow & Laurie’s feet hurt so bad she ended up do somewhere around 30+ miles in flip-flops.

    Post-Race

    What Went Right

    What Went Wrong

    Conclusion

    HREC Start/Finish

  • 2014 Bad Marsh 50K Race Report

    admin

     

    LogoI came, I ran, I puked, I walked, I slept, I puked, I ate, I puked…….and I finished.  My longest 50k ever.

    That, in one sentence was my latest 50K experience!  Wow, what an deceptively hard race Bad Marsh 50k was!

    Since I DNFed this race last year I was not going to try it again this year however finding out that this was the last running of this race I felt like I had to go back and try to redeem myself.

    As race day came upon me I was quite calm about the whole thing knowing that I had been heat training and putting in some good miles; I felt confident that this year was going to be different however it year was going to turn out to be more brutal than the previous year!

    On race day I decided to sleep in a little bit and just enjoy the morning.  When I finally got up I had some work to finish on the van so I rode up to the auto parts store to get the fuse I needed to put the radio back together and apparently in the whole repair operation I lost track of time and It was about 12:15 when I finished up.  Beauford, SC is about 4.5 hours away and I wanted to leave before 12 so I could spend some time hanging out with people whom I have not seen in quite a while.  So I very quickly showered threw my gear in the van and off I was.  The drive was long but uneventful.

    Arriving at the race 15 min after it started all i could do is pick up my packet, change and get to running, 30 min late…..UGH!

    Bad Marsh has always been a hot race but this year it was going to throw somethingimage different at us.   That morning there was a heat advisory issued and 45 min before the race started the temps were at 97 degrees!  Wow, with the humidity that pushed the heat-index to a blistering 108!  But the race will go on 🙂

    Lap1

    My main focus for the 1st 3 laps was to maintain a very moderate pace around 9:45 – 10:00 min miles.  Hopefully this was going to keep my stomach open and absorbing liquid so I would not become dehydrated like has been the results of the previous couple of races.

    However this race I made the decision to try a new hydration product that is promising big things.  It was recommended that I pre-hydrate an hour before I started running and then the box instructed me to drink 1 every 1-2 hours until hydrated so I took another bottle of it with me on this loop.

     

    The course was exactly like I remembered, very flat and grassy with that 1 darn hill that every race seems to have, and was absolutely enjoying it.   I was alone but had my music and was just chugging along at my predetermined pace…feeling good.  Shortly after I started the front-runners  started passing me and let me tell you how HARD it was to not speed up and pace with them, but I stayed the set pace.

     

    BadMarsh50K_ShortsLap2

    Just about like lap one, very consistent pace and I was happy with where I was.  I was passing lots of people at this point , which made me happy, but It did not alter my plan.  Keep it slow!

    This lap I carried plain water and drank about ¾ of my bottle still feeling good but was getting hot.

     

    Lap3

    At this point I decided to switch back over to my electrolyte to try and prevent my typical muscle spasms.  I have been very conscious of my pace, heart-race & fluid intake.  Towards the end of the lap I noticed that my mouth was really dry from all the salt in the electrolyte and I was REALLY thirsty so I did not finish the whole bottle. However I was still feeling good with no stomach or muscle issues.

     

    Lap4

    Back on water for this lap and I had noticed that I was absolutely drenched from head to toe and my shoes had been squishing for about ½ of the previous lap and were really bad now.  I figured with all this fluid loss now would be a good time to slow down and walk a lap.  Towards the end of the lap I started having the swimmy feeling in my head.  I Still super thirsty ,drank all of my water and ran out when I was still about a 1 ½ miles from the s/f line, not good I thought.

     

    Lap5

    Now feeling really bad I decided to take a “Short” break and try and cool down in the van.  I chugged 1/2 bottle of water, turned on the van, got the A/C cranking and ended up falling asleep…….ya for an hour and ½….THIS WAS NOT IN THE PLAN !! Dang-it but on the good side I woke up feeling lots better…..So I thought

     

    About ½ mile into this loop the vomiting started.  Same ole story I ejected what I would approximate about ¾ gal of fluid however the one thing that was different from the previous races was I did not have any muscle spasms.  Feeling better I picked up my walking pace to about a 13 min mile and figured I would be ok if I just walked it out.  I was wrong, things quickly went from bad to worse as it would seem my body was overheating.  I was the hottest I think I had EVER been.  My heart was racing, and I was not sweating very much at all….just not well.

    image

    Lap6

    Starting this lap I asked the RD how much time we had left in the race, to my surprise they told me 1.5 hours left.  That means that I had to do 45 min loops to finish within the time limit of the race.  There was no way this was ever going to happen!  So we discussed it and they encouraged me to go out and do another loop and as long as I started the final loop before the race was over it would be ok and my time would still count.  So out I went, BRUTAL is all I have to say.  Walk-stop…..repeat for the entire 4.5 mile loop…..ugh……so tired, so hot!

     

    Lap7

    This is the final lap and had to stop and talk to the RD about what to do.  The previous loop took me 1:15 min!  Oh my gosh!!!  The race directors had to talk it over and finally agreed to let me go out with the knowledge that the S/F line would be broke down and there would be nothing when I finished.  That was ok to me, I had come this far and have fought through the sickness, tiredness and heat that I really NEEDED to do these last 4.5 miles and conquer this race.  So back out I went….I would go a couple of miles and would have to stop. Then I would go a little bit more and dry heave go some more and would have to rest.  It was awful but I was going to finish!  At one point I took a wrong turn but quickly figured it out, back tracked and got back on course.  I was so happy to see the spot where I had been using as my last rest stop ,about 1.5 miles from the finish.  At this point I knew I had this race locked down and was going to finally finish.  I pushed on around the final turn just in time to see some brake lights turn the corner leaving the race HQ.  Right before the S/F line someone asked me if I was running the race I told her that this was my finish!!!  She sounded so sad for me and told me that they had just left, but her and the people that were with her cheered for me.  Very thankful for them!!!!!

    image

    I went directly to the hose that the race was using to fill the coolers and doused myself for 3-4 min just trying to get my core temp down.

    Finally I made my way to the van, dried off and crashed!  I had done it, I finished this race.  The 2nd race I had EVER DNFed, my nemesis had been defeated.

    OH MY Gosh !!
    OH MY Gosh !!

    What went right

    I think the new electrolyte is really going to help. With some tweaking on how much and when to take it I think this is going to be a winner.

    I’m not sure that the low carb eating plan is doing me any good so thinking about mixing that up.  I do not think I will ever go back to a “regular” diet with wheat and grains but I am considering slowly adding back in some select Fruit & Vegetable carbs.

    Glad I started at a slow pace, I’m sure that’s what allowed me to finish.

     

    What went wrong

    Still facing the stomach / absorption problem.  I have to get this figured out.

    Not mentioned in the report above but I tried a new nutrition (uCann) product.  Nothing wrong with it but I think I should have eaten more and more often.

    Heat, nothing I can do about that.

     

    Notes: ate the meat from 5 arby’s jr roastbeef sandwiches + 2 packs of may about  2 hours from arrival

    Drank water on the way down

    Drank 1 16 oz btl of Drip Drop about 1 hour from start of race.

     

     

     

  • Bethel Hill Moonlight Boogie – DNF Race Report

    admin

    Full disclosure: I started this post in June-2014 and never finished it.  Now in 2018 upon the resurrection of this blog I found this report & have decided to fill in what I remember & post it. -Tim

    Race Name: Bethel Hill Moonlight Boogie
    Distance/Type: 50 Miles / 30 Miles
    Race Location: Ellerbe, NC
    Climate Data: HOT 86 deg 67% humidity
    Race Date: June 7th, 2014

    Finish Time: DNF
    Finish Place
    Race Stats:

    Race in 1 paragraph:
    Once again started great, reserved and hydrated and ended up dnfing due to stomach & muscle spams. 

    Pre-Race
    The day started out like any other race.  Except for today I was going to be the 2 Hour Pacer for the Race 13.1 N. Hills 1/2 Marathon. (Race Report Here).  After i was finished with the half I showered, ate and rehydrated.  Following all that I was able to get in about a 3 hour nap before it was time to get up and go.

    This year I had agreed to drive to the race with Pat and we would hang out to the end.  The previous night he came over and load some of his stuff so we be able to just hop in the van and go. As 3:PM rolled around Pat showed up so we finished loading the van and off we went.

    When we arrived in the middle of no where, I mean Ellerbe, NC, it was to our supprise that there already a bunch of people there and someone had even took our spot from the previous year.

    Race

    Post-Race

    What Went Right

    What Went Wrong

    Conclusion

     

     

  • Weymouth Woods 100k – 2014

    admin

    Full disclosure: I started this post in Feb-2014 and never finished it.  Now in 2018 upon the resurrection of this blog I found this report & have decided to fill in what I remember & post it. -Tim

    Race Name: Weymouth Woods 100K
    Distance/Type: 100 K
    Race Location: Weymouth Woods Nature Preserve, S. Pines
    Climate Data: 44 during the day, 34 at night
    Race Date: January 18, 2014

    Finish Time: 12:48:29.15
    Finish Place (Age Division & Overall): 13th out of 76 starters
    Race Stats: Garmin

    Race in 1 paragraph:
    Finally, a fantastic event!  The day was beautiful, the course was in great shape and the body felt good.  I ran solid & finished with a huge P.R.

    Pre-Race
    I decided that I wanted to get there early this year to secure a spot on the sidewalk, right next to the course so I convinced my friend to meet early at my house and we would ride together.  Since the gates opened at 6:AM we left the house at 5:15 and arrived early enough to be the 2nd person inline.  We drove in and secured the exact spot I was hoping for, it was shaping up to be a good day.

    Next we went to packet pickup only to meet a familiar face, the RD Marie Lewis.  While getting our packets together she asked my name, looked at me twice and said “I have something special for you” and then pulled out a shirt from last year’s race.  You see I had my destroyed in an incident at my house and we could never finalize the details to get me another one……Score #2!

    We went back to the truck and prepped all of our racing stuff on the back of the truck and just hung out for a while until it was time to walk to the starting line.

    The staring line was cold but full of excitement, I got to spend a little time with my friend Dan talking about the cold and how we were going to run today and just tried to stay warm.  Then the  count down 3….2….1…..GO! and we were off, like a herd of turtles!

    Race
    Lap 1 I got to spend some time with my buddy Shawn, he and I crused down the course just chit-chatting about how running is dumb and how it is too early to be doing dumb stuff like this, just enjoying life.

    Lap 2

    Post-Race

    What Went Right

    What Went Wrong

    Conclusion

     

     

  • Maysville 2 Macon – Race Report

    admin

    Full disclosure: I started this post in Aug-2015 and never finished it.  Now in 2018 upon the resurrection of this blog I found this report & have decided to fill in what I remember & post it. -Tim

    Race Name: Maysville2Macon
    Distance/Type: 50 Miler
    Race Location: Maysville, NC
    Climate Data: Cool –> Fierce Rain Storms
    Race Date: Sat. Feb. 8th 2014 at 12:01 AM

    Finish Time: 11:48:09
    Finish Place (Overall): 13/22
    Race Stats: Garmin

    Start Video
    Beach Video

    “Mr. February Himself, a.k.a. Upchuck” – Will

     

    Race in 1 paragraph:
    What started out to be an enjoyable run turned into a epic battle of will against the forces of nature and spontaneous purging of stomach contents.  Where else can you have all that plus rain, wind then throw in a touch of snow and sleet to top it all of!  Only at a RacENC event!

    Pre-Race
    Work, leave early, short nap
    Paul to here
    Here to Fayetteville
    Drive down, nothing special, eat at subway
    Arrive at diner, hang out pic with andy and guitar guy
    Get changed, pictures
    Go !
    Left will to work out some details with Brandon

    Race
    feeling good, plan to run 9:30s for the first 20 miles.
    will caught up at about 2.6 miles in.  ran until the 1st aid station 10 miles out.
    AS1 – The gas station
    Stretch and on my way.
    Next water stop not feeling so well.
    Paul to come out at mile 18 and walk with me.
    Puke brown stuff mile 19
    walk over the bridge.
    Meet up with CH walk run to the beach the to AS1 together

     

    AS2 – the Hotel room
    Sit down and try to recover, still not feeling good.
    Lay down then find a conor….give me 10 min.
    Still not feeling good, took some drink go outside and puke.  time to roll
    walk / run the next strech with paul

    AS3 – A Car

    AS4 – A SUV
    Snow, Sleet
    Catching up & passing lady
    Will with soup & Hot Chocolate
    Give Hot Chocolate to Lady when passing her.

    AS5 –  Final Instructions
    Instructions
    2 in the distance
    Pole 1
    Passing the 2
    Pole 2
    Up the trail
    2 More in the distance
    1 catching up
    Run up the hill, leave the 1
    Pass the 2
    On to the finish
    The finish

    Post-Race

    What Went Right
    My will and determination to finish and once again having the right support for the job.  My crew was instrimental to me finishing this race.  Other than that almost nothing went right, however my feet did not hurt.  I ran in those darn Saucony Kinvara 2’s again, Love those Shoes, for the entire race.  I don’t know what I’m going to do when I run holes in them 🙁

    What Went Wrong
    Stomach issues & Weather

    Conclusion
    This was a fun race and if you in the market for something the just might challenge you I would highly recommend it!  Thank you RacENC for an event that I will not soon forget.

     

     

    M2M

  • Weymouth Woods 2013 – Race Report

    admin

    Event Info
    Date: January 19, 2013 8:00 AM
    Location: Weymouth Woods Nature Preserve
    Event Distance: 100K
    Hosted By: Mangum Track Club & RFH
    Series: Original 4 MTC events
    E vent Website:  http://www.etinternet.net/~runrbike/weymouth-info.htm

    Weymouth Woods 2013, a Western States 100 Mile Endurance Run Qualifier

    DSCN2571

    The Short Story:
    Completed the race in 14:49:45.15, qualified for WSER and got my tail handed to me.  Could WOULD not have completed this without the support of my friends, crew and pacers!  Finished 31st out of 77

    Leading up to this event I was a little nervous, not about making the distance I thought I had that in the bag but was nervous about the goals I had rolling around in my head.  At some point in the week prior to this race I got the silly Idea that maybe I could do this race at a 12 Min / Mile pace.  Yes, even though I had gone down to Weymouth 2 weeks previous…Man was I in for a surprise!

    DSCN0460Night Before:

    The night before the wife and I met with several of the runners at the Mellow Mushroom in S. Pines, We enjoyed each other’s company, swapped stories & made new friends.  This would be the 1st time that my wife would get to meet other ultra-runners but I will have to save that for another post, :-).  Once we finished dinner we all went our separate ways to start getting ready for the task at hand.  I personally had not done any packing so it was off to put all my gear together and get in the bed….It’s going to be a long day tomorrow.

    Race Day:

    Pre-race – Got up nice and early loaded my gear into the truck and off I went with little fanfare.  Arrived at Weymouth Woods Nature Preserve around 6:30 to find my friend Rachel and Paul had already set up base camp & Rachel’s own personal aid station.  As planned from the night before I tossed my gear box next to their table, mulled around for a little while then headed inside for the pre-race meeting.

    Meeting-Inside the nature preserve’s auditorium was very warm  and with 75-100 people packed in there for the race meeting it was getting even warmer.  Marie proceeded to tell us some information about the race and how the timing would be done.  Then her husband spoke and the both emphasized that there are plenty of medical personal available if someone needed attending.  They wished us a great race, directed us to the starting line and requested that we be there in about 10 min.

    Race:

    Lap 1:
    Lap         Time                      Pace                     Distance               Total Time
    Lap 1     43:05.40              9:38/M                               4.470                    43:05.40

    Will and I went out and just enjoyed the trail.  We were mindful of our speed but not really concerned about out.  I was dressed very warmly and by the end was VERY happy to take of a couple of layers.  The trail was in great condition and today looked like it was going to be a FAST day.  We go back to our personal aid station, removed some clothing, I grabbed my Nathan’s race vest and off we went.

    Laps 2-9
    Lap 2      47:36.45              10:39/M               8.940    1:30:41.85
    Lap 3     47:43.85              10:40/M               13.410  2:18:25.70
    Lap 4     52:16.30              11:42/M               17.880  3:10:42.00
    Lap 5     55:58.40              12:31/M               22.350  4:06:40.40
    Lap 6     1:00:03.05           13:26/M               26.820  5:06:43.45
    Lap 7     1:04:33.30           14:26/M               31.290  6:11:16.75
    Lap 8     59:11.30              13:14/M               35.760  7:10:28.05
    Lap 9      55:12.60              12:21/M               40.230  8:05:40.65

    IMG_1627On the start of lap 2 we were feeling great and on top of the world.   We ran this lap and I kept telling Will that it was a little too fast and I needed to slow down.  Thankfully we slowed some.  The next couple of laps Will fell into a little bit of a funk and through encouraging each other we pushed on through.  We were keeping up with our food and hydration and felt really good.  Not much changed through laps other than me getting worn out.  At some point around miles 40 & 50 I had to stop and use a bathroom (#2) break and that put us quite a bit behind.

    At the start of lap 9 my wife showed up to crew me for the rest of the race.  She teamed up with Rachel’s husband & her pacer to help figure out what I needed.  It was wonderful to have here there and I am so very thankful for all the help everyone gave her!

    Lap 10-11
    Lap 10  59:03.35               13:13/M               44.700  9:04:44.00
    Lap 11   1:05:13.20           14:35/M               49.170  10:09:57.20

    Here’s where things started to break down.  My pacer Shawn showed up at the start of lap 10.  Not feeling so great and quite tired we still took off down the trail head like rockets.  Shawn proclaimed that we were running a whole lot stronger & faster than he expected us to be running by now.  I told him I would like to keep a sub 12 Min pace while running be we are walking ALL the ups.  LOL, even the flats looked like ups at this point.  The more we continued on the worse I felt.  Somewhere around lap 12 I gave in and had to sit down.  At this point Will had come out of his funk and was looking pretty good.  I figured that there was no reason for both our times to suffer for me not feeling well so, since I had Shawn, I sent Will on his way.  Glad I did he ended up having a GREAT Race, Way to go man!!  After that initial sit down it was like I was doomed.  I felt like I was in and out of consciousness and was without a doubt walking / hiking with my eyes closes.  I tried to eat, and everyone keep telling me that I need to drink but I just couldn’t bring myself to do it…. At each of the aid stations I would try to eat something, Grits, Saltine Crackers, Ginger Snaps.  The last time around at the main aid station I asked Shanda to get a cup of soup cool off for me so I could down it when I came in before Lap 12.

    Lap 12-13
    Lap 12   1:41:48.80           22:46/M               53.640  11:51:46.00
    Lap 13   1:41:42.25           22:45/M               58.110  13:33:28.25

    As I came into the station I was in ROUGH shape, I was sick to my stomach, dehydrated and was death marching…..It was not a good scene.  As requested Shanda had my soup and some other food stuffs for me.  I barely managed to get the soup down and started off to the 12th lap.  All through the lap I would tell Shawn..”I have to sit down for 5 min”.  He would agree, then the next think I knew he was saying, “Ok, get up, time’s up”…little did I know that the 5 min. I requested he actually only gave me about 2.  Good for him, that was just what I needed!!   About 9/10th of the way through the lap it happened.  Explosive / projectile vomiting!  UGH, I hate pukeing.  Never mind puking in front of people AND in the middle of the race on the race course.   After that I felt much better and we proceeded to finish the rest of laps 12 & 13.

    Lap 14
    Lap 14   1:16:16.90           17:04/M               62.580  14:49:45.15
    IMG_2551Final lap: As I sat at Rachel’s personal aid station trying to get down some vitamin water that Paul had suggested I couldn’t help but thinking I’m not going to make it. Starting to really crash again my wife knelt down in front of me and told me how proud she was of me and that I could do this.  Well that must have been just what I needed, I gathered Shawn and off we went.  Shawn was on a mission to get me finished under the 15 hour mark as we power hiked the course.  All along the way he would ask “You ok back there”, my response “NO!” , in return he would say “GOOD, Tough Love…Let’s keep going”.  There would be no resting on this lap.  Nothing but the power hiking and sipping on some NUUNS.  We proceeded down the last hill to the really rooty section and I knew I was done.  As soon as we cleared the roots I did what I thought was a run to the finish (all 100ft or so)……and I was done! YAY I did it.  Not what I expected but I finished and I qualified.  On my heels the whole time was Rachel, as soon as I heard them chanting and screaming from the woods on their preparation to the finish I would start yelling for her to run.  Very excitedly she finished under the 15 hour time mark; we all hugged, told each other how great we did.  I gathered my finisher’s pottery bowl and poured myself into my truck and the wife drove me home.

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  • 1 Day out – Weymouth Woods

    admin
    WW100K Pre Dinner
    WW100K Pre Dinner

    Well it’s here, Weymouth Woods 100k is tomorrow.  I think I have done everything right.  I have stretched, I have Carb Loaded and I have rested.  I think I have settled on a secondary goal of 12 hours for the race with the primary goal of finishing under the 15 hour time limit to qualify for Western States 100 lottery.  I know that is a large difference in time and I’m not sure why I chose 12 hours.  Maybe because last year’s top 10 were all inside of 12 1/2 hours.  WOW, what would it be like to be in the top 10 of this race!  Anyhow, off to bed I go with dreams of the perfect day ahead of me.  At dinner tonight with a bunch of friends that are also racing tomorrow they were telling us how the trails were in great condition after last nights wash-out / torrential  down pour.  Still, the only thing that is giving me any trouble are the bridges.  They are going to be wicked slippery.

    Race report to come soon…..I hope.  Sleep well friends !

    #NoFear

  • 5 Days out – Weymouth Woods

    admin

    Well I am 5 day out from my 1st 100K race distance.  Sure, I have done 62 GPS miles before in a 24 hour race (Crooked Road 24) but this is the 1st time I have run an official 100k.  So in prep there was no running today only some stretching & foam rolling.  Tomorrow will be our regular BCRT club run but not sure how much or how far I will go.

    Rest well friends, the race will be on before we know it!!

     

    Daily Training:
    As usual we hit the gym at lunch and did

    Dumbbell presses 35 W/U, 55, 60, 65
    Incline Dumbbell Presses 55, 60
    Incline Barbell Presses Bar + 25 X 10 2 sets. Working on form

    Bicep Curls with ez curl bar
    Bar + 30, 35 & 40, 45

  • Reflections

    admin

    Just sitting here thinking.  Last year on December 26th I ran my 1st “Technical” ultra-marathon Boxing Day Madness with a crushing distance of 26.6 Miles! LOL  Well it may have been an ultra but it was a distance P.R. to me.  This was my 1st distance over 13 miles and I was going to pay for it.  I remember spending the next 4 hours in bed sick as a dog.  You see, I knew nothing about hydration, electrolytes, eating & running….nothing!   I was a long-distance noob.

    1 Year later, I am signed up and ready for Boxing Day Madness Part II.  I still may no nothing about those same topics but I have developed what we will call a “Style” for them…hahaha.  This year promises to be diffrent in all  aspects.  We have a huge weather system moving in that is guaranteed to dump lots of rain and thunder on us.  So I will have to update soon on how it goes.

    Let’s just hope that i’m not in the bed sick again!!

    BoxingDay_2011 Splits_BoxingDay_2011

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