Race Report
National Marathon
Washington, DC
March 25/06
#259
3:54:46
As I mentioned in my last report this marathon was originally not on my 2006 itinerary.
However a few months ago the race director sent me a letter with an ‘offer I couldn’t refuse’ – free entry into the race! Why? Three years ago I had registered for the DC Marathon that got canceled because of the Iraq war. I never did get a refund for the $75 entry fee! So the race committee for this brand new/inaugural National Marathon decided to offer all those runners who got screwed three years ago free entry into their race. A nice gesture – and it only cost me about $1000.00 (air fare, hotels, meals, etc) to accept the ‘free’ offer!
I accepted the offer for 3 reasons:
1) It was free???
2) I needed to run a 2nd marathon in DC as I work my way around the 50 States + DC for a 2nd time
3) I thought it would be a neat idea to run a marathon on my 62nd birthday (the actual day) and I figured I should be able to win my age group and the $100 cash award since I would be in good shape after the Sarasota Marathon.
Turned out that Meatloaf’s words in one of his better songs were so prophetic “Well, two out of three ain’t bad”!!!
As most of you know I had a great race and time in Sarasota – but then my running life encountered some hardships/difficulties. I continued to push my training program to prepare for DC and one week after Sarasota my right hamstring started to tighten and protest during a speed workout. Fortunately I was able to back off before tearing it but had to rest for a few days and run easy miles for the next week. Just when the right hamstring started to feel OK we traveled to Dallas, TX where I did a nostalgic 9-mile run around White Rock Lake with Fast Freddie at an 8-min pace. The left hamstring started to talk to me by the end of that run and two days later when I tried to run an easy 10 miles the hamstring tightened and locked up during the 1st mile. I was forced to stop and limp back to my car and the leg became so stiff and sore that I couldn’t run – could barely walk without pain for 2 days.
I had already decided that I was going to DC no matter what because I wasn’t willing to throw away the $1000 in prepaid expenses and even if I couldn’t run I could still celebrate my birthday in DC with my sports manager! On Thu morning I tested the leg by walking and jogging 4 miles. It hurt – but I figured if it didn’t hurt any worse than that I could walk and jog the marathon? I also managed to get an appointment with my masseuse that day in the hope that she could help sort out the strained/injured muscles.
The leg really hurt that evening but I took that as a good sign as I alternated ice and heat on the aching muscles.
On Fri morning the sports manager and I left for DC. After checking into our hotel we drove over to RFK Stadium to pick up my race package. I had to rent a car because the race started at 7am on Sat but the Metro did not start until 7am? A problem that needs to be looked at because driving around DC is not fun! By the time we returned to our hotel and contacted some running friends for dinner the leg was starting to feel much better. We enjoyed a pleasant pasta dinner with a very close friend from NYC – Edson and a lady friend Admas (from Ethiopia – lives in NYC). As we were walking back to our hotel I started to believe that there might be a slim chance that I could run/jog the marathon the next day???
Sat was race day – and my birthday! I drove Edson and Admas to the start line at RFK Stadium. The sports manager stayed in bed! The forecast called for CHILLY weather and rain/snow flurries and she was not getting out of bed for that! Fortunately the forecasters were only partially right. It was a chilly 38 F but the rain and snow never showed up. In fact we had some sun and temps around 50 F when I finished – it was great running weather! The organizers were hoping/planning on 5000 runners for the two races – a Marathon and a Half but there were only 1000 in the marathon and 1200 in the Half? I think the qualifying times placed on both races reduced the numbers of competitors?
Both races started at 7 am. I had planned to go to the back of the pack and walk/jog the 1st mile to test my leg. However my friends wanted to be close to the start line so when the race started I had to move to the side of the road where I could jog slowly and watch in frustration as more than a thousand runners passed by me in the first mile! I jogged the 1st mile loop around RFK Stadium in 9:28 – my slowest mile of the race! Although the left hamstring sent a slight ‘twinge’ down my leg with every foot plant the pain or discomfort was much less than expected so I continued to jog/run. I caught up to Edson near Capitol Hill at 3 miles and decided I would run with him for the first Half. We ran past the Washington Monument and the Vietnam Memorial and passed mile 5 in 44:26 – just under a 9-min pace and much faster than I had expected/hoped? As we looped back past the Monument Edson made a pit stop and I never saw him again? At that point the leg felt pretty good and I felt strong and full of energy. Maddog was urging me to let him loose! It took all the willpower I had to control/contain him. I reminded him that two days earlier I wasn’t even sure I would be able to walk/jog the marathon. I was doing well and I didn’t have any confidence that the hamstring would hold together for 20 more miles? A 9-min pace represented a sub 4-hr marathon. I would be very pleased with that time! I continued to jog and passed mile 10 in 1:29:33.
The first 10 miles had been flat and fast. If I had been healthy I could have scorched that section of the race. Again Maddog urged me to let him loose. I decided to hold the pace until the Half and then re-evaluate? Good decision! At mile 11 the half marathon runners split off and the marathoners entered Fort Dupont Park – and the hills began! The next 15 miles of the course were mostly hills as we ran through Prince George’s County, MD. I crested a BAH (Bad Ass Hill) at the Half in 1:58:44. I decided that if I could hold my current pace and finish under 4 hrs without screwing up my leg any further I would be pleased with my race. I passed mile 15 in 2:15:54 and maintained a steady pace through the next 5 miles of hills to reach 20 miles in 2:59:37. I was right on a 9-min pace. The leg was OK and I still felt strong. I thought about pushing the pace for the last 10 K but then wisely asked myself - WHY? Plus I was looking at mile 21 that was another BAH! I climbed that BAH in 9:23 and suddenly my right hamstring and knee started to hurt?? I figured that I was subconsciously changing my gait and stride to compensate for the left hamstring injury and was putting too much stress on the right leg! My primary goal for the next/last 5 miles was not time – but to focus on running my normal stride and relieving the stress/pain on the left knee!
I reached mile 23 in Capital Heights, MD in 3:26:29 and re-entered DC for the final 5K. The right knee now hurt more that either hamstring? I was very concerned that I was going through another of those vicious cycles that I went through 18 months ago. Remember? I had pushed the old bod through a stress fracture in my right foot and tore up my left knee requiring surgery. I did not want to go through that cycle again. So I really focused on relaxing and correcting my gait and stride. I passed Admas at mile 26 (she had a great race and placed 2nd in the 50+ age group). I crossed the finish line in 3:54:46 - can’t get much closer to a 9-min pace than that??
As I was cruising along the final 5 K I had thought to myself that if I had been healthy/injury-free I believe that I could have run that course in maybe 3:25 with all the hills? When I checked the preliminary results at the finish line 1st place in my age group was – yes – 3:25. It might have been a good duel/challenge if I had been healthy?
But considering the circumstances I was happy with my time and 5th place in my age group. I had expected to finish much slower. And although both legs were hurting/screwed up I don’t think I suffered any serious injury?
As Admas and I waited for Edson to finish I met several friends and members of the 50 States + DC club that I had not seen for years. After the race and a normal hot soak in the tub back at the hotel the sports manager and I decided to explore DC. Unfortunately we did not have time to visit the Smithsonian or National Gallery so we played tourist and visited all the landmarks in DC. After a few much-needed beers at Mr. Smith’s in Georgetown the sports manager treated me to a fabulous dinner at La Chaumiere –one of the best French restaurants in DC- to celebrate my 62nd birthday.
Considering the circumstances it was a good trip. Like Meatloaf says “two out of three ain’t bad”! I had a nice birthday and I had crossed DC off my list for the 2nd loop without suffering any serious injury.
The hamstrings and knee are still sore but a good massage and treatment with ice/heat and a week’s rest should help them heal enough to let me run the Martian Marathon next weekend? No silly – the race is not on Mars!!
Stay tuned for the next report.
Tuesday, March 28, 2006
Tuesday, March 07, 2006
RR Sarasota Marathon
Race Report
Sarasota Marathon
Sarasota, FL
Sun, Mar 5/06
#258
3:22:11 – 41 OA – 1 AG
Finally - the race of the year – the race that had been the focus of Maddog’s training program for the past 12 weeks – the inaugural Sarasota Marathon - in my hometown!
After five tune-up marathons in Jan and Feb spaced between some good speed workouts I believed I was ready? Only one small glitch. Turned out that a family reunion that had been planned for two years and the one we were hosting in Orlando, FL was the weekend before the marathon. A family reunion – especially a Wallace reunion – where there is lots of partying/eating/drinking is not conducive to good training for a marathon! But the partying took my mind off the race, the medicine (read – alcohol) cured my head cold and the rest from running helped improve the plantar fasciitis/injury in my feet.
When the last Wallace sibling returned to TundraLand (aka Canada) on Thu I locked the beer fridge to begin three days of drying out/detoxification and started eating healthy food in preparation for the marathon. And I carefully watched the weather forecast that changed on a daily basis. I was hoping for cool weather vs the warm/hot weather that was initially forecast.
It had been a long time since I enjoyed the benefits of a hometown marathon – no traveling to another city/state/country – sleeping in my own bed and eating a great pasta dinner cooked by the sports manager. And 75 % of the marathon course was on roads/routes that I use every day for my training runs.
Sun was M-day. There were two races – a Marathon and a Half-marathon. Both races started at 6 am and I was shocked when the sports manager also got up at 4 am to get ready for the race. She planned to watch the start and then walk 10/12 miles of the course. The Weather Gods were kind – it was a cool 57 F and low humidity at the 6 am start and only warmed up to the low 70s by the time I finished. The only negative factor was a slight breeze blowing from the East that sometimes gusted at 20/25 mph.
Both races started and finished on the grounds of the Ringling Museum. There were 500 runners in the Marathon and 1100 in the Half – a great turnout for an inaugural race! There is a large and good running community/club in Sarasota so I expected some good competition. There were runners from 48 states and 15 countries including a Kenyan who decided to enter at the last moment. My goals were: a) to defend my home turf and win my age group and b) finish under 3:30. I figured if I could achieve the 2nd goal it should assure the 1st goal?
The race started on a narrow driveway/road on the Ringling Grounds (one of the few errors of the race organization because the road was too small to handle that large of a start). Because of the congestion I lined up on the start line with the Big Dogs and let them pull me through the 1st mile in 7:32. Two colleagues/runners from the MTC (Manasota Track Club) had asked me if they could pace off me because they needed to run a sub 3:30 marathon and wanted to use my experience to pull them through in that time. I apologized for the quick start and quickly slowed the pace down to 7:50s. By Mile Five I had settled into a smooth and easy 7:50 pace. NOTE - when I tried to recall my split times from my heart monitor/watch I hit a wrong button and deleted the complete race file and now I have to provide my split times based on memory! (Needless to say I was very upset because I really wanted to check and verify my splits over the last 10K!!!) We ran over the Ringling Bridge (the highest ‘hill’ in Sarasota at 65 ft above sea level) at mile 6 and at mile 8 the course headed East on City Island into the wind. I motioned for the youngest runner in our pack to take the lead and dropped behind him to draft for the next mile into the head wind to conserve energy. We passed mile 10 around 1:18. Around mile 12 my two friends started to drop back and by the time I passed the Half in 1:43 I was leaving them behind quickly.
I felt really good/strong but decided that I would be cautious and stay on a sub 8-min pace until at least 20 miles and then do another gut check. Mile 15 was back over the Ringling Bridge into a brisk 20/25 mph head wind and I had nobody to draft behind! It was the toughest mile of the race – and my slowest at 8:30! However when we reached the bay front along downtown Sarasota the buildings shielded us from the wind and it was no longer a factor. At mile 17 I passed my masseuse/friend – Cynthia aka Attila the Huness – whose exuberance and cheering helped shake me out of a slight lull I had fallen into. I picked up the pace and around mile 19 I started looking for a dear old friend/neighbor – Willard - who is 91 years old. The course passed directly in front of his Assisted-Care home and I had asked him to come outside and watch the race. He had driven his electric scooter down to the sidewalk to watch the race and waved and cheered as I passed by. It was a special moment for both of us and provided a big boost to me. When I reached mile 19 in 2:30 I knew that a sub 3:30 marathon was ‘in the bag’. I was still feeling strong and there was no doubt in my mind that I could do whatever was needed to break 3:30.
By that point the course had looped back on itself three times and I was confident that I was in first place in my age group so I had a decision to make. Should I continue to coast at an easy sub 8-min pace to finish under 3:30 and win my age group – or push the pace and see how much faster I could finish? I decided to go for it and immediately lowered the hammer. I don’t remember my split at 20 miles but I vividly recall my surprise/shock when I passed mile 21 in 6:32! That was not possible! One of the last two mile markers had to be wrong. But I continued to push the pace – actually I wasn’t pushing - I was floating. I was so juiced up on adrenaline and endorphins that I seemed to be floating - I seemed to be having an-out-of-body experience – it had to be somebody else’s body because my old bod wasn’t capable of running a 6:32 mile in the final 10K! I passed mile 22 in 6:53 and mile 23 in 6:50! I was so amazed and shocked that I began to question what the Hell was happening? I was going to break 3:25 at this pace? That was not possible. I was running ‘way over my head’ and I felt good???
By mile 24 reality started to set in and I started to tire and hurt but I was still pushing a sub 8-min pace. (I wish I hadn’t screwed up my watch so I could review my actual splits). I recall reaching mile 25 around 3:13 and commenting that I would finish close to 3:20 if I could hold the pace. I was now very tired and hurting but the old bod was still producing adrenaline and endorphins because of the exhilaration and sweet smell of victory and I was able to ignore the pain and keep pushing. I crossed the finish line in 3:22:11. I had left absolutely nothing on the course but I was in such shock/disbelief that I searched out one of the race organizers to question if the course was short. She assured me that the course had been checked and rechecked before it was certified by the USATF!
Maddog advised me to quit questioning my performance and time and to accept and enjoy the fact that I had a good day and great race – “and live with it”! My time placed me 41st overall and 1st in my age group. Since it was an inaugural marathon I have the honor of holding the course record for my hometown marathon – for at least one year!
I waited at the finish line to cheer in many of my running friends including my buddy Frank (the only other sane person in the world – with the quadruple heart bypass) who finished in 4:45:02. I did not stick around for the awards ceremony because the group awards were lame medals! When I got home I immediately checked my running log to find the last time I ran that fast? Other than a 3:20:48 in Podgorica, Montenegro in Oct 03 I had to go all the way back to Aug 95 (Edmonton, Alberta) to find a faster time. It was my 2nd fastest time in the past 11 years and most certainly a PR for my 6th decade!! I still find it unbelievable – but very, very satisfying!!! Home turf had to be a HUGE factor because I still don’t believe I am in peak condition yet?? I need another month of speed work to get there? We will soon see since I have another marathon scheduled at the end of March.
This marathon was unplanned/unscheduled in my race calendar until a few weeks ago when I received an offer I couldn’t refuse. What was the offer and where is the marathon?
Stay tuned for the next race report!!
P.S. A short comment/review on my hometown marathon.
It was an excellent race and very well organized for a 1st time race. All the credit goes to Lisette Riveron, the tireless race director who overcame many obstacles to make the marathon happen. The packet pick up and expo was small but well organized. Traffic control was excellent. There were plenty of water stops and markers at every mile.
Things that can be improved:
-the Start
– needs a bigger road/area to accommodate that many runners
– should have a timing carpet to enable computation of true ‘chip’ time
- could use some more digital clocks along the race
- the timing carpet should be located at the Half and not at 13 miles
- the city needs to get more spectators out but that will come with time
- awards should be artistic/creative items such as a ceramic grouper to represent the city of Sarasota or the race (Grouper marathon)
These small things can be improved with the next versions of the marathon that are already planned.
Sarasota Marathon
Sarasota, FL
Sun, Mar 5/06
#258
3:22:11 – 41 OA – 1 AG
Finally - the race of the year – the race that had been the focus of Maddog’s training program for the past 12 weeks – the inaugural Sarasota Marathon - in my hometown!
After five tune-up marathons in Jan and Feb spaced between some good speed workouts I believed I was ready? Only one small glitch. Turned out that a family reunion that had been planned for two years and the one we were hosting in Orlando, FL was the weekend before the marathon. A family reunion – especially a Wallace reunion – where there is lots of partying/eating/drinking is not conducive to good training for a marathon! But the partying took my mind off the race, the medicine (read – alcohol) cured my head cold and the rest from running helped improve the plantar fasciitis/injury in my feet.
When the last Wallace sibling returned to TundraLand (aka Canada) on Thu I locked the beer fridge to begin three days of drying out/detoxification and started eating healthy food in preparation for the marathon. And I carefully watched the weather forecast that changed on a daily basis. I was hoping for cool weather vs the warm/hot weather that was initially forecast.
It had been a long time since I enjoyed the benefits of a hometown marathon – no traveling to another city/state/country – sleeping in my own bed and eating a great pasta dinner cooked by the sports manager. And 75 % of the marathon course was on roads/routes that I use every day for my training runs.
Sun was M-day. There were two races – a Marathon and a Half-marathon. Both races started at 6 am and I was shocked when the sports manager also got up at 4 am to get ready for the race. She planned to watch the start and then walk 10/12 miles of the course. The Weather Gods were kind – it was a cool 57 F and low humidity at the 6 am start and only warmed up to the low 70s by the time I finished. The only negative factor was a slight breeze blowing from the East that sometimes gusted at 20/25 mph.
Both races started and finished on the grounds of the Ringling Museum. There were 500 runners in the Marathon and 1100 in the Half – a great turnout for an inaugural race! There is a large and good running community/club in Sarasota so I expected some good competition. There were runners from 48 states and 15 countries including a Kenyan who decided to enter at the last moment. My goals were: a) to defend my home turf and win my age group and b) finish under 3:30. I figured if I could achieve the 2nd goal it should assure the 1st goal?
The race started on a narrow driveway/road on the Ringling Grounds (one of the few errors of the race organization because the road was too small to handle that large of a start). Because of the congestion I lined up on the start line with the Big Dogs and let them pull me through the 1st mile in 7:32. Two colleagues/runners from the MTC (Manasota Track Club) had asked me if they could pace off me because they needed to run a sub 3:30 marathon and wanted to use my experience to pull them through in that time. I apologized for the quick start and quickly slowed the pace down to 7:50s. By Mile Five I had settled into a smooth and easy 7:50 pace. NOTE - when I tried to recall my split times from my heart monitor/watch I hit a wrong button and deleted the complete race file and now I have to provide my split times based on memory! (Needless to say I was very upset because I really wanted to check and verify my splits over the last 10K!!!) We ran over the Ringling Bridge (the highest ‘hill’ in Sarasota at 65 ft above sea level) at mile 6 and at mile 8 the course headed East on City Island into the wind. I motioned for the youngest runner in our pack to take the lead and dropped behind him to draft for the next mile into the head wind to conserve energy. We passed mile 10 around 1:18. Around mile 12 my two friends started to drop back and by the time I passed the Half in 1:43 I was leaving them behind quickly.
I felt really good/strong but decided that I would be cautious and stay on a sub 8-min pace until at least 20 miles and then do another gut check. Mile 15 was back over the Ringling Bridge into a brisk 20/25 mph head wind and I had nobody to draft behind! It was the toughest mile of the race – and my slowest at 8:30! However when we reached the bay front along downtown Sarasota the buildings shielded us from the wind and it was no longer a factor. At mile 17 I passed my masseuse/friend – Cynthia aka Attila the Huness – whose exuberance and cheering helped shake me out of a slight lull I had fallen into. I picked up the pace and around mile 19 I started looking for a dear old friend/neighbor – Willard - who is 91 years old. The course passed directly in front of his Assisted-Care home and I had asked him to come outside and watch the race. He had driven his electric scooter down to the sidewalk to watch the race and waved and cheered as I passed by. It was a special moment for both of us and provided a big boost to me. When I reached mile 19 in 2:30 I knew that a sub 3:30 marathon was ‘in the bag’. I was still feeling strong and there was no doubt in my mind that I could do whatever was needed to break 3:30.
By that point the course had looped back on itself three times and I was confident that I was in first place in my age group so I had a decision to make. Should I continue to coast at an easy sub 8-min pace to finish under 3:30 and win my age group – or push the pace and see how much faster I could finish? I decided to go for it and immediately lowered the hammer. I don’t remember my split at 20 miles but I vividly recall my surprise/shock when I passed mile 21 in 6:32! That was not possible! One of the last two mile markers had to be wrong. But I continued to push the pace – actually I wasn’t pushing - I was floating. I was so juiced up on adrenaline and endorphins that I seemed to be floating - I seemed to be having an-out-of-body experience – it had to be somebody else’s body because my old bod wasn’t capable of running a 6:32 mile in the final 10K! I passed mile 22 in 6:53 and mile 23 in 6:50! I was so amazed and shocked that I began to question what the Hell was happening? I was going to break 3:25 at this pace? That was not possible. I was running ‘way over my head’ and I felt good???
By mile 24 reality started to set in and I started to tire and hurt but I was still pushing a sub 8-min pace. (I wish I hadn’t screwed up my watch so I could review my actual splits). I recall reaching mile 25 around 3:13 and commenting that I would finish close to 3:20 if I could hold the pace. I was now very tired and hurting but the old bod was still producing adrenaline and endorphins because of the exhilaration and sweet smell of victory and I was able to ignore the pain and keep pushing. I crossed the finish line in 3:22:11. I had left absolutely nothing on the course but I was in such shock/disbelief that I searched out one of the race organizers to question if the course was short. She assured me that the course had been checked and rechecked before it was certified by the USATF!
Maddog advised me to quit questioning my performance and time and to accept and enjoy the fact that I had a good day and great race – “and live with it”! My time placed me 41st overall and 1st in my age group. Since it was an inaugural marathon I have the honor of holding the course record for my hometown marathon – for at least one year!
I waited at the finish line to cheer in many of my running friends including my buddy Frank (the only other sane person in the world – with the quadruple heart bypass) who finished in 4:45:02. I did not stick around for the awards ceremony because the group awards were lame medals! When I got home I immediately checked my running log to find the last time I ran that fast? Other than a 3:20:48 in Podgorica, Montenegro in Oct 03 I had to go all the way back to Aug 95 (Edmonton, Alberta) to find a faster time. It was my 2nd fastest time in the past 11 years and most certainly a PR for my 6th decade!! I still find it unbelievable – but very, very satisfying!!! Home turf had to be a HUGE factor because I still don’t believe I am in peak condition yet?? I need another month of speed work to get there? We will soon see since I have another marathon scheduled at the end of March.
This marathon was unplanned/unscheduled in my race calendar until a few weeks ago when I received an offer I couldn’t refuse. What was the offer and where is the marathon?
Stay tuned for the next race report!!
P.S. A short comment/review on my hometown marathon.
It was an excellent race and very well organized for a 1st time race. All the credit goes to Lisette Riveron, the tireless race director who overcame many obstacles to make the marathon happen. The packet pick up and expo was small but well organized. Traffic control was excellent. There were plenty of water stops and markers at every mile.
Things that can be improved:
-the Start
– needs a bigger road/area to accommodate that many runners
– should have a timing carpet to enable computation of true ‘chip’ time
- could use some more digital clocks along the race
- the timing carpet should be located at the Half and not at 13 miles
- the city needs to get more spectators out but that will come with time
- awards should be artistic/creative items such as a ceramic grouper to represent the city of Sarasota or the race (Grouper marathon)
These small things can be improved with the next versions of the marathon that are already planned.
Monday, February 20, 2006
RR Gainesville
Race Report
Five Points of Life Marathon
Gainesville, FL
Sun, Feb 19/06
#257
3:29:31 - 31 OA - 1AG
The Five points of Life Marathon – an inaugural marathon in Gainesville, FL with $10,000 in prize money so elite runners who train in Florida would be competing.
This was to be the final tune-up race/marathon in Maddog’s training program to get me ready for Sarasota. I was a wee bit concerned going into the race because I was suffering from a head/sinus cold and plantar fasciitis injury/inflammation in both feet. I figured the head cold would not affect me much but I was worried about causing further injury to my feet!
The sports manager did not want to go to Gainesville so I drove/flew the red rocket (Cadillac Allante) the 160 miles to Gainesville on Sat morning to burn the carbon out of the engine.
After picking up my race packet I explored Gainesville – the home of UF (University of Florida) and the Gators (football, basketball, etc). It is strictly a university town. I toured around the main campus and the downtown area near the main campus. The campus is very nice but the area around the campus is not – typical dumpy, run-down housing and a deserted/dilapidated downtown – not very attractive! I tried to drive part of the marathon course but the map was so bad that I could not follow the course through the city. However I soon discovered that there were a lot of hills in Gainesville! Any marathon course was going to have a lot of hills!
Sunday was M-day! There were two races – a Marathon and a Half. Both started at 7:30 am on the western campus of UF near the soccer fields. There were 750 runners in the Half and 250 in the Marathon – good attendance for an inaugural marathon. On Sat the weather had been sunny with temps in the 80s. But on Sat night a cold front from Canada collided with a warm front from the Gulf of Mexico and the collision was near Gainesville. The result was a temp of 59 F at the start with overcast skies and a light mist/rain that made it feel cool. The temps only changed/warmed up one degree during the race. No need for sunglasses or sun block! The only negative factor was a brisk 20/30 mph wind from the North.
Both races started together but the Half started about 1/4 mile ahead of the Marathon on the same road. That was a bad organizational decision because we caught the back of the Half Marathon pack within a 1/2 mile and spent the next two miles weaving in and out to pass most of the Half Marathon runners. I passed mile 2 in15.22 and the pack thinned out. The first 5 miles were very hilly including three BAH (Bad Ass Hills) so I was pleasantly surprised when I passed the 5-mile mark in 39:25. I noted that if the rest of the course was this hilly it was going to be an UGLY day? The brisk wind could have been a negative factor because it always seemed to be blowing into our faces but thankfully I was able to tuck in behind some Half Marathon runners and draft. There were a few more BAHs before I passed the 10-mile mark in 1:11:26. Around 11 miles we ran through the main UF campus and through the Gator football stadium. At 12 miles I passed a friend and member of the 50 States Club that I hadn’t seen in many years. John Bosung told me that he was close to finishing a major goal: to run 52 marathons in 52 consecutive weeks to celebrate his 52nd birthday. Gainesville was #50. You see – no matter how crazy/eccentric you may think I am – I can always find someone crazier!!
Near mile 13 the Half Marathon split off and I found myself all alone – I ran most of the 2nd Half by myself except for the final 10K where I passed several runners.
I passed the Half in 1:45:04 - right on an 8-min pace. I felt strong but knew that if the 2nd Half was as hilly and tough as the 1st Half there was no way I could /would run another 1:45! I would need to run a negative split to break 3:30! Fortunately the 2nd Half was easier – only 3 BAHs and about 6 miles of the course were on flat, paved bike paths that seemed easier to run on. The other 20 miles of the course were on city streets but I must compliment the race organization for excellent traffic control. They had coned and closed off at least one lane on 20 miles of city roads and the traffic control at the intersections was excellent!
I had decided at the Half that I would continue to push the 8-min pace till 20 miles and then do another gut check. I passed mile 15 in 1:59:39. After cresting another BAH at mile 18 in 2:23:32 I still felt amazingly good and strong and decided if I still felt that good at 20 miles I was definitely going to push for a sub 3:30 marathon. I passed mile 20 in 2:39:30. I still felt good – I only needed to hold the 8-min pace for the final 10K and I could break 3:30! I was going for it!
I started to catch and pass a lot of runners. Mile 23 – 3:03:47 – I had 26 minutes to run the final 5K! The final BAH was at mile 24 and when I crested that hill and passed the mile mark in 3:12:44 (an 8:56 mile) I was very discouraged. If that mile marker was accurate I had blown my sub 3:30 marathon! However I did not believe that I had slowed down that much even with the BAH – the marker had to be wrong! I decided to continue to push hard to mile 25 while hoping/praying that I was right! I reached mile 25 in 3:20:03 – a 7:19 mile! I had been right! It was time to break out the champagne! I had 10 minutes to run/crawl the last 1.2 miles. I was hurting and I was tired – but I was not going to give up! I would/could not fail or be denied because the opportunity to break 3:30 does not happen very often at my age. I begged the old bod to give me one last jolt of adrenaline and endorphins to suppress the pain and carry me through the final mile. It is amazing how much pain the human body can accept/endure when you know it will only last for 10 minutes!
Throughout that final mile I focused on pushing my tired/wasted legs as fast as I could and ignored the flashing/beeping of my heart monitor warning me that I was pushing the old bod at 100% Max HR. I blocked all pain receptors while reciting one of Maddog’s favorite expressions “Pain is only TEMPORARY – Memories are FOREVER”! When I made the final turn into the UF campus and saw the finish clock reading 3:29 + change a HUGE smile broke out on my face in spite of the pain. I crossed the finish line in 3:29:31! I had done it!
The last time I broke the elusive/mystical 3:30 BARRIER was in Minsk, Belarus (3:27:00) on July 3/04. I had just turned 60 so this was only the 2nd time I had broken that difficult/elusive barrier since turning 60! Somehow it seemed much sweeter? Maddog was right!
Needless to say I was extremely pleased with both my time and performance. I had run the negative split needed to break 3:30 and my time was good enough for 31st place overall and 1st place in my age group. Since it was an inaugural marathon I have the honor of holding the course record for my age group for at least one year although I suspect it might hold longer because it was a tough course.
Even though the awards were crappy (the old runner statue on a pedestal) I waited around to collect mine because I had worked so hard for it! (But it will probably end up in the garbage?)
I also proved another of those old proverbs “You don’t get OLDER – You just get BETTER”! Hopefully this story will provide some incentive/motivation for the rest of you old farts? The major criteria for such success are ‘staying healthy and injury-free’ and ‘to work/train hard’.
With regard to these criteria I am optimistic as I get ready for the Sarasota Marathon. The head cold will be gone in a few days and the plantar facsiitis actually seems to have improved since the marathon?
Sarasota Marathon – March 5/06 – inaugural marathon – my hometown – my target – my goal – the focus of Maddog’s training program for the past 10 weeks!
I believe I am ready!
Stay tuned for the next report!
Five Points of Life Marathon
Gainesville, FL
Sun, Feb 19/06
#257
3:29:31 - 31 OA - 1AG
The Five points of Life Marathon – an inaugural marathon in Gainesville, FL with $10,000 in prize money so elite runners who train in Florida would be competing.
This was to be the final tune-up race/marathon in Maddog’s training program to get me ready for Sarasota. I was a wee bit concerned going into the race because I was suffering from a head/sinus cold and plantar fasciitis injury/inflammation in both feet. I figured the head cold would not affect me much but I was worried about causing further injury to my feet!
The sports manager did not want to go to Gainesville so I drove/flew the red rocket (Cadillac Allante) the 160 miles to Gainesville on Sat morning to burn the carbon out of the engine.
After picking up my race packet I explored Gainesville – the home of UF (University of Florida) and the Gators (football, basketball, etc). It is strictly a university town. I toured around the main campus and the downtown area near the main campus. The campus is very nice but the area around the campus is not – typical dumpy, run-down housing and a deserted/dilapidated downtown – not very attractive! I tried to drive part of the marathon course but the map was so bad that I could not follow the course through the city. However I soon discovered that there were a lot of hills in Gainesville! Any marathon course was going to have a lot of hills!
Sunday was M-day! There were two races – a Marathon and a Half. Both started at 7:30 am on the western campus of UF near the soccer fields. There were 750 runners in the Half and 250 in the Marathon – good attendance for an inaugural marathon. On Sat the weather had been sunny with temps in the 80s. But on Sat night a cold front from Canada collided with a warm front from the Gulf of Mexico and the collision was near Gainesville. The result was a temp of 59 F at the start with overcast skies and a light mist/rain that made it feel cool. The temps only changed/warmed up one degree during the race. No need for sunglasses or sun block! The only negative factor was a brisk 20/30 mph wind from the North.
Both races started together but the Half started about 1/4 mile ahead of the Marathon on the same road. That was a bad organizational decision because we caught the back of the Half Marathon pack within a 1/2 mile and spent the next two miles weaving in and out to pass most of the Half Marathon runners. I passed mile 2 in15.22 and the pack thinned out. The first 5 miles were very hilly including three BAH (Bad Ass Hills) so I was pleasantly surprised when I passed the 5-mile mark in 39:25. I noted that if the rest of the course was this hilly it was going to be an UGLY day? The brisk wind could have been a negative factor because it always seemed to be blowing into our faces but thankfully I was able to tuck in behind some Half Marathon runners and draft. There were a few more BAHs before I passed the 10-mile mark in 1:11:26. Around 11 miles we ran through the main UF campus and through the Gator football stadium. At 12 miles I passed a friend and member of the 50 States Club that I hadn’t seen in many years. John Bosung told me that he was close to finishing a major goal: to run 52 marathons in 52 consecutive weeks to celebrate his 52nd birthday. Gainesville was #50. You see – no matter how crazy/eccentric you may think I am – I can always find someone crazier!!
Near mile 13 the Half Marathon split off and I found myself all alone – I ran most of the 2nd Half by myself except for the final 10K where I passed several runners.
I passed the Half in 1:45:04 - right on an 8-min pace. I felt strong but knew that if the 2nd Half was as hilly and tough as the 1st Half there was no way I could /would run another 1:45! I would need to run a negative split to break 3:30! Fortunately the 2nd Half was easier – only 3 BAHs and about 6 miles of the course were on flat, paved bike paths that seemed easier to run on. The other 20 miles of the course were on city streets but I must compliment the race organization for excellent traffic control. They had coned and closed off at least one lane on 20 miles of city roads and the traffic control at the intersections was excellent!
I had decided at the Half that I would continue to push the 8-min pace till 20 miles and then do another gut check. I passed mile 15 in 1:59:39. After cresting another BAH at mile 18 in 2:23:32 I still felt amazingly good and strong and decided if I still felt that good at 20 miles I was definitely going to push for a sub 3:30 marathon. I passed mile 20 in 2:39:30. I still felt good – I only needed to hold the 8-min pace for the final 10K and I could break 3:30! I was going for it!
I started to catch and pass a lot of runners. Mile 23 – 3:03:47 – I had 26 minutes to run the final 5K! The final BAH was at mile 24 and when I crested that hill and passed the mile mark in 3:12:44 (an 8:56 mile) I was very discouraged. If that mile marker was accurate I had blown my sub 3:30 marathon! However I did not believe that I had slowed down that much even with the BAH – the marker had to be wrong! I decided to continue to push hard to mile 25 while hoping/praying that I was right! I reached mile 25 in 3:20:03 – a 7:19 mile! I had been right! It was time to break out the champagne! I had 10 minutes to run/crawl the last 1.2 miles. I was hurting and I was tired – but I was not going to give up! I would/could not fail or be denied because the opportunity to break 3:30 does not happen very often at my age. I begged the old bod to give me one last jolt of adrenaline and endorphins to suppress the pain and carry me through the final mile. It is amazing how much pain the human body can accept/endure when you know it will only last for 10 minutes!
Throughout that final mile I focused on pushing my tired/wasted legs as fast as I could and ignored the flashing/beeping of my heart monitor warning me that I was pushing the old bod at 100% Max HR. I blocked all pain receptors while reciting one of Maddog’s favorite expressions “Pain is only TEMPORARY – Memories are FOREVER”! When I made the final turn into the UF campus and saw the finish clock reading 3:29 + change a HUGE smile broke out on my face in spite of the pain. I crossed the finish line in 3:29:31! I had done it!
The last time I broke the elusive/mystical 3:30 BARRIER was in Minsk, Belarus (3:27:00) on July 3/04. I had just turned 60 so this was only the 2nd time I had broken that difficult/elusive barrier since turning 60! Somehow it seemed much sweeter? Maddog was right!
Needless to say I was extremely pleased with both my time and performance. I had run the negative split needed to break 3:30 and my time was good enough for 31st place overall and 1st place in my age group. Since it was an inaugural marathon I have the honor of holding the course record for my age group for at least one year although I suspect it might hold longer because it was a tough course.
Even though the awards were crappy (the old runner statue on a pedestal) I waited around to collect mine because I had worked so hard for it! (But it will probably end up in the garbage?)
I also proved another of those old proverbs “You don’t get OLDER – You just get BETTER”! Hopefully this story will provide some incentive/motivation for the rest of you old farts? The major criteria for such success are ‘staying healthy and injury-free’ and ‘to work/train hard’.
With regard to these criteria I am optimistic as I get ready for the Sarasota Marathon. The head cold will be gone in a few days and the plantar facsiitis actually seems to have improved since the marathon?
Sarasota Marathon – March 5/06 – inaugural marathon – my hometown – my target – my goal – the focus of Maddog’s training program for the past 10 weeks!
I believe I am ready!
Stay tuned for the next report!
Monday, February 06, 2006
RR Ocala Marathon
From left to right:
Norm Frank, John Wallace & Wally Herman before the Ocala Marathon. A total of 1833 marathons, two World records and one NA record.
Race Report
Ocala marathon
Ocala, FL
Sun, Feb 5/06
#256
3:37:09 - 28th OA - 1AG
This marathon was planned as another tune up or training marathon in my training program to get in peak shape for the inaugural Sarasota Marathon on Mar 5/06. I had one concern during the week – “Would my legs recover fast enough after the Miami Marathon to be able to run a fast race in Ocala?” After a speed workout on Tue that included four one-mile bridge repeats across Ringling Bridge I wasn’t too confident? My legs were tired! On Thu I decided to go to my local torture chamber for a massage in the hopes it would help rejuvenate my legs? The massage did help but the masseuse – Attila the Huness – found a problem I didn’t even know I had? The tendons in both feet were very sore and tender – no doubt the result of wearing racing flats in Miami and the speed workout on Tue. Racing flats are very lightweight but don’t provide much cushion or support! I was on the verge of suffering plantar fasciitis in both feet – a very painful and slow-healing injury! I hope I discovered the problem in time to prevent it from becoming worse?
I will have to wear heavier running shoes with much greater support and cushion and continue to massage the inflamed tendons to get oxygen to them to help them heal faster. Anti-inflammatory drugs are not an option because they eat holes in my stomach! So I now have to balance my need/desire to train hard with the need to rest and give the feet time to heal. Well nobody said life was easy!
And I couldn’t cancel the marathon in Ocala because I had a friend - Dr Dick - visiting from Connecticut who had agreed to run the marathon with me. Dr Dick and his wife Dr Sue are members of the BBR (BookBachRock) – an informal running club we had in Dallas during the 80s & 90s before many of the members started to retire and move away from Dallas. My friend Frank, from Siesta Key also planned to run his first marathon since Boston in 2005. If you recall Frank is the runner/friend I paced through Boston ten months after his quadruple heart bypass. Everyone in the world thinks/says that we are both crazy so Frank and I came to the conclusion that the whole world is crazy and ‘we are the only two sane people left’! However Frank promised me at the end of Boston that he would follow his doctor’s advice and never run another marathon so I am not so sure about him any more?
On Sat morning the East Coast Chapter of the BBR (Frank is an honorary member) drove north to Ocala to pick up our race packets and drive the marathon course. I have run this marathon twice before and remembered most of the course that is on narrow two-lane roads with lots of rolling hills through the scenic horse country of Florida. After our course tour I introduced Dr. Dick and Frank to two of my running mentors who were running Ocala – both are legends in marathon running: Norm Frank (age 74) from Rochester, NY is the North American record holder for the most marathons (905) and Wally Herman (age 80) from Ottawa, Canada has run 670 marathons and is the world record holder for the most countries (98)! They are both very nice gentlemen in addition to being running legends.
After a traditional pasta dinner we retired to bed early – I had upgraded Frank to a hotel suite (much nicer than our roach and mold-infested room in SoBe last weekend!
There were two races – a marathon and a Half – with a total of 500 runners in both. Both races started at 7am on Sun. The weather was much better than we experienced in Miami last weekend as expected – temps of 45 F with a high of 64 F and light winds forecast. It was sunny and 54 F when we finished the marathon. Dr Dick and I planned to go out at an 8 min/mile pace and Frank planned to follow the ‘Galloway method’ – a combination of walking and running. Wally and Norm had started the marathon two hours before the official start because they would take about 7 hours to finish.
Dr Dick and I lined up on the start line with the Big Dogs which was a mistake because they pulled us through the first 2 miles in 15:35. I forgot to mention that Dr Dick is 10 years younger than Maddog and a faster runner when he is in shape so I was concerned about keeping up with him. He, on the other hand, had not run a marathon since last Oct and didn’t think he was in good shape and was concerned about keeping up with Maddog? We decided a sub 8-min pace was too fast so we threw out an anchor and slowed down the pace. A few hills in the next few miles helped and we passed mile 5 in 40:18. Around mile 7 we were joined by two runners from Florida. One was in Dr Dick’s age group and was trying to run a 3:35 to qualify for Boston. We ran together for about 3 miles and passed mile 10 in 1:20:47. We were averaging an 8:05 pace but I knew at that point that the old legs did not have the ‘spring’ or energy to run a 3:30 marathon so I started to slow the pace down and let our new friends pull ahead.
Dr Dick and I passed the Half in 1:46:23 and I commented that I could not run another 1:46 for the 2nd Half! It was obvious that the old legs had not fully recovered from Miami so I slowed the pace down some more because I did not want ‘to hit the WALL’ again in the last 10K. We passed Wally and Norm around 16 miles and I started to struggle around 18 miles. Dr Dick was still running smooth and easy so I told him he should leave my tired old ass behind and try to catch the Florida runner in his age group. I figured that he would win or place in his age group if he beat that runner? He was concerned because his longest training run this year was 20 miles and he would soon be approaching unchartered territory so he preferred to remain cautious and conservative with his pace. We passed mile 20 in 2:44:20 and I knew that even a 3:35 was not going to happen – and I didn’t care! My legs were tired and tight and both feet were hurting but I still felt that if I ran smart (and slow) I could avoid the painful WALL! I slowed the pace to 8:30s, focused on blocking all pain and ignoring the shameful cries from my legs to stop or walk and continued to push through the hills! We reached mile 23 in 3:09:47 and my slowest mile of the race (8:50). I urged Dr Dick to push on ahead and catch his age group competitor but he didn’t think he could do that without draining his legs and he had a home club race next weekend that was more important to him. So he stayed with me and used running pysch tricks to urge me on. I decided it was time to suck it up, hurt a little more and push the pace to get this pain/ordeal over with as quick as possible so I managed to lower the pace to 8:30s for the next few miles and then pushed the pace down to 8:15 for the final mile to cross the finish line in 3:37:09. Dr Dick finished 1 second before me for 27th place overall and I finished 28th! Two women beat us but my time was good enough for 1st place in my age group (2nd place was 20 minutes behind me)! Dr Dick finished in 4th place in his age group – that Florida runner had finished 3rd in 3:33 and qualified for Boston. Dr Dick wasn’t sure he could have taken those 4 minutes off his time?
Since Frank’s goal was to finish under 5 hours we drove back to the hotel for a quick shower and then returned to watch Wally and Norm finish in 4:44 (actually 6:44 with their 2-hr early start) and Frank finish in 4:57! He was very happy to beat 5 hours! I was happy to see him cross the finish line - ALIVE! After a quick shower for Frank we drove back to Longboat Key to enjoy a long HOT soak in the hot tub with lots of beer while I slow cooked a ton of prime rib on the BBQ to provide the necessary protein to help our muscles recover and heal.
We all enjoyed the very scenic marathon and course through Florida’s horse country. The marathon was very well organized – mile markers every mile, water stops every 2 miles and lots of volunteers along the course where needed for traffic control and directions. I will probably run this race again next year.
The only bad news of the day was:
a) my feet were very sore after the race and may slow down my training program as I try to avoid a serious problem with plantar fasciitis
b) The Seattle Seahawks lost the SuperBowl
Fortunately my next marathon/tune up race is not scheduled till Feb 19th so I have a few weeks to recover and hopefully get rid of the plantar fasciitis problems.
Stay tuned for the next report!
Monday, January 30, 2006
RR - Miami Marathon
Race Report
ING Miami Marathon
Sun, Jan 29/06
# 255
3:33:36 - 3AG
I planned this marathon as another training run/marathon in my training program to reach peak shape for the inaugural Sarasota Marathon in March. The Everest Marathon and trip had set my training program back by about two months because of the lack of training during the trip and the illness following the trip. But the good news was that all that rest had enabled me to finish 2005 healthy and injury-free.
Miami was to be the first marathon in the program that I would ‘race’. I had two goals:
1) to run the first 20 miles at a sub 8-min pace
2) to finish in 3:35 -/+ 5 minutes
I set out on Sat morning to drive to Miami. I drove south past Naples and across ‘Alligator Alley’ to SoBe (South Beach). The trip is about 240 miles via Interstate/Freeway and Alligator Alley is a 90-mile Toll way across the Florida Everglades with no cops so I was able to let the Allante/red rocket loose and it refused to go under 100mph on the Toll way. I arrived in SoBe in 3:15! I had booked a cheap hotel in SoBe – the Henrosa! It was located on Collins Ave in the Heart of SoBe and one block from the beach. A bargain at $108/night compared to $300 that a friend paid for a Marriott Courtyard one block from the start line in downtown Miami! And I was sharing the cost with Frank- a friend from Siesta Key who I guided through the Boston Marathon in 2005 after he had his quadruple bypass. He was running the Half. If we overlooked the holes in the wall, the cracked and peeling paint and the mold in the bathroom it was a luxury room in a great location!
After checking into the hotel I drove to the convention center in downtown Miami to pick up our race packets and quickly remembered why I hate Miami. It is too big, too congested, too hard to find your way around and too expensive!
I ran the inaugural Miami Marathon in 2003 and remembered how poorly organized that race had been. Thankfully they had resolved and improved many of the issues. The registration/packet pick up was well organized. The expo had some good exhibits and vendors with good discounts – I spent over $100 on tights and race shorts that I needed.
Loaded down with my goodies it was time to return to our luxury hotel to meet Frank. He had been attending a medical conference in Ft. Lauderdale and drove down from there.
We were to meet another friend and member of the MTC (local running club) for dinner. Gerald’s family lives in the Miami area so he brought his whole family to join us for a traditional pasta dinner at a restaurant in SoBe. We enjoyed a great dinner and wonderful company. But it was time for the two old farts to retire to bed early since the 6am start meant a 4am wake-up call.
Frank was worried about getting a taxi to the start line around 5am. No need to worry! When we left the hotel about 4:45am Collins Ave was buzzing with people still partying or arriving back at their hotels after partying all night. Our luxury hotel was located near the 6-mile mark of the course so it was a short ($18) taxi ride to the start line. That was still a better option than trying to drive into downtown Miami and find parking near the start line. There were two races – a Marathon with 6,000 runners and a Half with 8,000 runners. Both races started at 6am in front of the AA Arena on Biscayne Ave. There were two holding pens/chutes – the marathoners lined up in corals on the east side of the road and the half marathoners on the west side.
It was dark and a typical winter morning in Miami – a temperature of 70F and 70% humidity. The good news was that there was a 20mph wind to make it feel cooler and the forecast called for cloudy skies and a high of 75F so it wouldn’t get much hotter during the race! In the inaugural race 3 years ago there weren’t enough Porto-Johns and I barely made it to the start line and had to jump into the last coral. I was determined not to let that happen this year. I was seeded in the 2nd coral and snuck into the 1st coral with the Big Dogs. Even so when the race started we were boxed behind 1000+ runners and it took 8:30 to reach mile 1. However the course opened up as we crossed the Macarthur Causeway to SoBe and I passed mile 3 in 23:59. The 20mph wind coming off the Atlantic Ocean was in our faces so I tucked in behind a group of runners and drafted until we headed west across the Venetian Causeway back to the mainland. I reached mile 10 in 1:17:49! I was on pace and felt good. At mile 12 I passed two old farts who looked like they were in my age group and I pushed the pace to leave some distance between us and passed the Half in 1:42:59. I knew then that I couldn’t run that same pace for the 2nd Half but decided to hold my sub 8-min pace till 20 miles and do another gut check.
I passed mile 16 in 2:05:54 but by mile 17 my legs started to tire and my pace slowed to 8:10s over the next 3 miles. However I still reached mile 20 in 2:38:40. I had achieved my 1st goal! There was no need to do a gut check – my legs were screaming at me that they were sore and tired and had no more 8-min miles left in them! I figured that if I slowed to an 8:30 pace I could still beat 3:35 so I decided to run easy for the next two miles to see if my legs could recover? That strategy only lasted till mile 21 when one of the old farts I had passed at 12 miles blew by me. Maddog wasn’t ready to accept that crap so he responded by lowering the hammer and catching the guy near mile 22. I ran beside him for about ½ mile and learned that he was a Canuck from Halifax, NS – and he was 68 years old!!! We had lowered the pace to 8 min/mile so I told him that he would win his age group, wished him “Good Luck” – and I am almost embarrassed to admit this – but I dropped back and let him go because I knew I couldn’t hold that pace for another 4 miles.
I decided to try to keep him in sight in case he faded before the finish line. I actually owe him some thanks because I would never have run as fast as I did over the last few miles if I hadn’t been trying to stay with him. My strategy almost worked as he faded and I closed within 100 feet at mile 25. But then – WHAM – I ran into that invisible WALL that many runners talk about. Almost knocked me flat on my ass!
There was absolutely nothing left in my legs! From experience I knew that energy fumes and sheer willpower would carry me the final mile. So I sucked it up and accepted the pain but it was a lonnnnnnnggggggg and painful mile at a 9:20 pace to cross the finish line in 3:33:36. I had to be satisfied with my time because I achieved my 2nd goal but I was not happy with my performance. I was hurting – my legs were stiff and sore – confirmation that I am not yet in peak condition and not yet ready or capable of breaking that mystical 3:30 BARRIER!
There were no race results posted at the finish line (?) but I later learned that I had finished in 3rd place in my age group and I was happy that my Canuck friend had indeed won his age group. Hope I can run a 3:32 when I am 68? My only disappointment came when I checked my past logs and discovered that I had finished the race exactly 20 seconds slower than 3 years ago. Damn – I am getting slower!!!
Frank was waiting at the finish line. He had finished the Half in 2:09:27 and he was not happy either because he got boxed in for the first 3 miles and it took 36 minutes to reach mile 3! We returned to our luxury hotel for a hot shower. I really wanted a hot soak in a tub but our luxury room did not have a tub? After a shower we walked over to Miami Beach for a photo op and to check out the young hot bods and naked breasts. There were some of each! It was time to return home. The red rocket made the return trip to Sarasota under 3 hours so I could jump in the hot tub for a much-needed soak and a few beers.
Now my concern is whether my legs can recover during the next week to ‘race’ another training marathon next weekend in Ocala, FL. The weather should be better/cooler but the course is tougher. I have run this marathon a few times and like the course – narrow, two-lane roads with lots of rolling hills through the horse country of Florida. I don’t believe I am ready to break 3:30 yet and I know I will have to fight for every minute – even ½ minute – as I try to get closer to the mystical barrier!
Stay tuned for the next report!
ING Miami Marathon
Sun, Jan 29/06
# 255
3:33:36 - 3AG
I planned this marathon as another training run/marathon in my training program to reach peak shape for the inaugural Sarasota Marathon in March. The Everest Marathon and trip had set my training program back by about two months because of the lack of training during the trip and the illness following the trip. But the good news was that all that rest had enabled me to finish 2005 healthy and injury-free.
Miami was to be the first marathon in the program that I would ‘race’. I had two goals:
1) to run the first 20 miles at a sub 8-min pace
2) to finish in 3:35 -/+ 5 minutes
I set out on Sat morning to drive to Miami. I drove south past Naples and across ‘Alligator Alley’ to SoBe (South Beach). The trip is about 240 miles via Interstate/Freeway and Alligator Alley is a 90-mile Toll way across the Florida Everglades with no cops so I was able to let the Allante/red rocket loose and it refused to go under 100mph on the Toll way. I arrived in SoBe in 3:15! I had booked a cheap hotel in SoBe – the Henrosa! It was located on Collins Ave in the Heart of SoBe and one block from the beach. A bargain at $108/night compared to $300 that a friend paid for a Marriott Courtyard one block from the start line in downtown Miami! And I was sharing the cost with Frank- a friend from Siesta Key who I guided through the Boston Marathon in 2005 after he had his quadruple bypass. He was running the Half. If we overlooked the holes in the wall, the cracked and peeling paint and the mold in the bathroom it was a luxury room in a great location!
After checking into the hotel I drove to the convention center in downtown Miami to pick up our race packets and quickly remembered why I hate Miami. It is too big, too congested, too hard to find your way around and too expensive!
I ran the inaugural Miami Marathon in 2003 and remembered how poorly organized that race had been. Thankfully they had resolved and improved many of the issues. The registration/packet pick up was well organized. The expo had some good exhibits and vendors with good discounts – I spent over $100 on tights and race shorts that I needed.
Loaded down with my goodies it was time to return to our luxury hotel to meet Frank. He had been attending a medical conference in Ft. Lauderdale and drove down from there.
We were to meet another friend and member of the MTC (local running club) for dinner. Gerald’s family lives in the Miami area so he brought his whole family to join us for a traditional pasta dinner at a restaurant in SoBe. We enjoyed a great dinner and wonderful company. But it was time for the two old farts to retire to bed early since the 6am start meant a 4am wake-up call.
Frank was worried about getting a taxi to the start line around 5am. No need to worry! When we left the hotel about 4:45am Collins Ave was buzzing with people still partying or arriving back at their hotels after partying all night. Our luxury hotel was located near the 6-mile mark of the course so it was a short ($18) taxi ride to the start line. That was still a better option than trying to drive into downtown Miami and find parking near the start line. There were two races – a Marathon with 6,000 runners and a Half with 8,000 runners. Both races started at 6am in front of the AA Arena on Biscayne Ave. There were two holding pens/chutes – the marathoners lined up in corals on the east side of the road and the half marathoners on the west side.
It was dark and a typical winter morning in Miami – a temperature of 70F and 70% humidity. The good news was that there was a 20mph wind to make it feel cooler and the forecast called for cloudy skies and a high of 75F so it wouldn’t get much hotter during the race! In the inaugural race 3 years ago there weren’t enough Porto-Johns and I barely made it to the start line and had to jump into the last coral. I was determined not to let that happen this year. I was seeded in the 2nd coral and snuck into the 1st coral with the Big Dogs. Even so when the race started we were boxed behind 1000+ runners and it took 8:30 to reach mile 1. However the course opened up as we crossed the Macarthur Causeway to SoBe and I passed mile 3 in 23:59. The 20mph wind coming off the Atlantic Ocean was in our faces so I tucked in behind a group of runners and drafted until we headed west across the Venetian Causeway back to the mainland. I reached mile 10 in 1:17:49! I was on pace and felt good. At mile 12 I passed two old farts who looked like they were in my age group and I pushed the pace to leave some distance between us and passed the Half in 1:42:59. I knew then that I couldn’t run that same pace for the 2nd Half but decided to hold my sub 8-min pace till 20 miles and do another gut check.
I passed mile 16 in 2:05:54 but by mile 17 my legs started to tire and my pace slowed to 8:10s over the next 3 miles. However I still reached mile 20 in 2:38:40. I had achieved my 1st goal! There was no need to do a gut check – my legs were screaming at me that they were sore and tired and had no more 8-min miles left in them! I figured that if I slowed to an 8:30 pace I could still beat 3:35 so I decided to run easy for the next two miles to see if my legs could recover? That strategy only lasted till mile 21 when one of the old farts I had passed at 12 miles blew by me. Maddog wasn’t ready to accept that crap so he responded by lowering the hammer and catching the guy near mile 22. I ran beside him for about ½ mile and learned that he was a Canuck from Halifax, NS – and he was 68 years old!!! We had lowered the pace to 8 min/mile so I told him that he would win his age group, wished him “Good Luck” – and I am almost embarrassed to admit this – but I dropped back and let him go because I knew I couldn’t hold that pace for another 4 miles.
I decided to try to keep him in sight in case he faded before the finish line. I actually owe him some thanks because I would never have run as fast as I did over the last few miles if I hadn’t been trying to stay with him. My strategy almost worked as he faded and I closed within 100 feet at mile 25. But then – WHAM – I ran into that invisible WALL that many runners talk about. Almost knocked me flat on my ass!
There was absolutely nothing left in my legs! From experience I knew that energy fumes and sheer willpower would carry me the final mile. So I sucked it up and accepted the pain but it was a lonnnnnnnggggggg and painful mile at a 9:20 pace to cross the finish line in 3:33:36. I had to be satisfied with my time because I achieved my 2nd goal but I was not happy with my performance. I was hurting – my legs were stiff and sore – confirmation that I am not yet in peak condition and not yet ready or capable of breaking that mystical 3:30 BARRIER!
There were no race results posted at the finish line (?) but I later learned that I had finished in 3rd place in my age group and I was happy that my Canuck friend had indeed won his age group. Hope I can run a 3:32 when I am 68? My only disappointment came when I checked my past logs and discovered that I had finished the race exactly 20 seconds slower than 3 years ago. Damn – I am getting slower!!!
Frank was waiting at the finish line. He had finished the Half in 2:09:27 and he was not happy either because he got boxed in for the first 3 miles and it took 36 minutes to reach mile 3! We returned to our luxury hotel for a hot shower. I really wanted a hot soak in a tub but our luxury room did not have a tub? After a shower we walked over to Miami Beach for a photo op and to check out the young hot bods and naked breasts. There were some of each! It was time to return home. The red rocket made the return trip to Sarasota under 3 hours so I could jump in the hot tub for a much-needed soak and a few beers.
Now my concern is whether my legs can recover during the next week to ‘race’ another training marathon next weekend in Ocala, FL. The weather should be better/cooler but the course is tougher. I have run this marathon a few times and like the course – narrow, two-lane roads with lots of rolling hills through the horse country of Florida. I don’t believe I am ready to break 3:30 yet and I know I will have to fight for every minute – even ½ minute – as I try to get closer to the mystical barrier!
Stay tuned for the next report!
Sunday, January 22, 2006
Race Report-Orlando Xtreme Marathon
Race Report
Orlando Extreme Marathon
Orlando, FL
Sat, Jan 21/06
#254
3:42:45 - 13th OA - 2nd AG
The only reason I considered running this marathon was because I needed to run a long, fast training run as part of my training program to get in peak shape by March 5/06 for the inaugural Sarasota Marathon. I had planned to run the Gulf Coast Marathon in Clearwater, FL on the same date but it was changed to a Half Marathon because of road construction. Thus I searched for an alternative race/marathon that I could drive to and found the Orlando Extreme Marathon – described as an ‘off road’ or trail marathon. I really don’t like trail marathons and was not ready to run another one so soon after Everest but it was the only choice available. The decision was cemented when a running mate – Peter Graham - from the 100 Marathon Club (UK) emailed to say that he was running the Rock & Roll Marathon in Phoenix, AZ on Jan 15 and was looking for a Florida marathon to replace the Gulf Coast Marathon that he had planned to run. Peter is one of many Brits attempting to run all 50 States and wanted to run two states on the same trip. We decided to run the Extreme Marathon together.
Peter arrived in Sarasota on Tue night to spend a few days with us. On Wed I asked a running friend from Siesta Key – Frank (the only other sane person in the world) – to guide us on a 6-mile running tour around Siesta Key including Siesta Beach. Unfortunately we were experiencing a cold front so there were no young hard bods on the beach to enjoy. On Thu Peter and I toured Sarasota before visiting Myakka State Park since he had only seen alligators in a zoo. I tried to convince him to wrestle a wild alligator like Tarzan but he refused? On Fri we drove across the state to Titusville. Our hotel in Titusville was the close to the St Johns National Wildlife Refuge and the Orlando Wetlands Park where the marathon was held. Titusville is also next door to the Kennedy Space Center so Peter and I decided to visit the Space Center for a few hours on Fri afternoon. We didn’t have time to do a lengthy tour but did visit some exhibits and toured a replica of the Space Shuttle. The Shuttle is much bigger than it looks on TV!
The cold front had departed and the weather turned sunny and HOT! The forecast called for temps in the mid 80s on Sat! On Fri afternoon we drove out to Christmas, FL where the Orlando Wetlands Park is located to make sure we knew where the race started and determine how long it would take to get there. The race was scheduled to start at 7:30 am on Sat. We arrived at the Park at 7 am because we still needed to pick up our race packets. We figured it would only take a few minutes since it was a small race? Unfortunately the race was poorly organized and the first of many problems surfaced. There was only one race volunteer handling race day registration and packet pick up so we had to wait in line while people registered for the race! We finally got our race numbers about 7:20 am and had to rush back to the car because the start for the marathon was supposed to be about 1 mile from the finish/registration area. We were in such a rush that we couldn’t prepare properly – I didn’t have time to put enough sun block on – I forgot my sunglasses, etc. We did make it to the start line in time – but the race did not start on time. There were four races – a Marathon, Half, 5K and 10K. All four races used the same course – a 6-mile loop around the Park. The races started simultaneously at four different locations on berms around the Park and many runners could not find their proper start location so the common start was delayed. I was already upset because nobody could tell us when the races would start and if we had time to go back to the car for sunglasses and sunblock. The races finally started at 8 am with the sun already up and a temp of 70 F! That 30-minute delay was very bad news. It meant that I would not have time to drive back to the hotel for a shower because the hotel required that we check out by 12 pm. It also meant that we would be finishing later in the day in and the temps would be hotter!
There were about 50 runners in the Marathon. I started out slowly because my legs were stiff from standing around for so long. As I mentioned the course was a 6-mile loop on sand berms around the wetlands. The trails were mainly two tire ruts on the berms – mostly hard-packed sand and grass - and were much better than expected. There were no rocks or tree roots but the tire ruts were uneven and had lots of holes so we had to be careful not to twist or sprain an ankle. The Marathon was essentially four 6-mile loops with the extra 2.2 miles added on to the first loop. I knew that the trails would slow most runners down but I still figured I should/could run under 4 hours. My strategy was to run the first 20 miles as hard/fast as possible - a 20- mile speed workout - and then try to hang on for the last 10K?
I passed the finish line for the 2nd time at 8.2 miles in 1:01:26. I was running a sub 8-minute pace. There were six water stops – supposedly located at every mile along the 6-mile loop. But they were so inaccurate that they were meaningless! The only accurate distance marker was the finish line at every 6 miles so it was essentially impossible to determine and adjust your pace which really upset me! The course was very boring. I had to concentrate on the trail because of the holes and uneven surface but I did manage to see several alligators along the course – not on the course but in the wetlands beside the course. I passed the finish line for the 3rd time at 14.2 miles in 1:53:58 or 52:32 for 6 miles. I had slowed to an 8:30 pace! I tried to pick up the pace but the temps were already close to 80 F! Between 16 and 17 miles the winner blew by me. I had been lapped which was very discouraging! I looked at my watch – 2:08! I figured he should finish the race about 2:30? (he won in 2:36!) I still had another lap to go!
I passed the finish line for the 4th time at 20.2 miles in 2:47:35 or 53:43 for 6 miles. I had slowed down some more but calculated that even if I ran the final lap in 1 hour I would still break 4 hours. If I could hold my pace I could break 3:45? But the sun was beating down mercilessly and the temps were now 80+ F. At each water stop I started to drink one cup of water and pour one on my head in an effort to cool down. At 23 miles there was no water left at the water stop. No problem - I could wait for the next water stop at mile 24. No water there either! Now I was pissed off! Thankfully I had kept hydrated but I was very HOT! I became discouraged and since I couldn’t see any runners in front or behind me I slowed down. Thankfully the final water stop near mile 25 had water and I poured several glasses on my head to cool down. As I started down the final mile that was straight I saw a runner ahead of me. As motivation to pick up my pace again I decided to catch him even though he was about ¼ mile ahead. I closed within a few hundred yards when he noticed me and picked up his pace. I couldn’t tell what age he was but he looked like a youngster and I decided it wasn’t worth hurting a lot just to pass a younger runner in the final ¼ mile so I followed him across the finish line in 3:42:45.
I was happy with my time until I learned that the runner who beat me by 32 seconds was in fact in my age group! We had both beat the old course record for our age group by more than 2 hours but he now holds the new course record because I didn’t believe 32 seconds was worth “a lot of pain”. Moral of this story: “Never back off or give up until you cross the finish line”! But I was really not disappointed because I had achieved – no surpassed- my initial goals. I had run a long, fast training run and had finished well under my target of 4 hours on a trail marathon. It gave me the confidence and encouragement to race the Miami Marathon next weekend (Jan 29). My goal will be to finish in 3:35 -/+ 5 minutes.
Once I consoled myself for being so foolish there was nothing to do but wait around (hot, sweaty, and smelly since I couldn’t have a shower) for Peter to finish. I found the race director and admonished him for the lack of water on the course and advised him to get water out there for the runners who would be on the course for another one or two hours in the horrendous heat! Peter finished in 5:57:22.
I dropped Peter off in Orlando where he will catch a return flight to London on Sun and drove home for a much-anticipated soak in the hot tub with a few microbrews.
I am looking forward to a good, fast race next weekend in Miami on my type of surface – asphalt!
Stay tuned for the next report!
Orlando Extreme Marathon
Orlando, FL
Sat, Jan 21/06
#254
3:42:45 - 13th OA - 2nd AG
The only reason I considered running this marathon was because I needed to run a long, fast training run as part of my training program to get in peak shape by March 5/06 for the inaugural Sarasota Marathon. I had planned to run the Gulf Coast Marathon in Clearwater, FL on the same date but it was changed to a Half Marathon because of road construction. Thus I searched for an alternative race/marathon that I could drive to and found the Orlando Extreme Marathon – described as an ‘off road’ or trail marathon. I really don’t like trail marathons and was not ready to run another one so soon after Everest but it was the only choice available. The decision was cemented when a running mate – Peter Graham - from the 100 Marathon Club (UK) emailed to say that he was running the Rock & Roll Marathon in Phoenix, AZ on Jan 15 and was looking for a Florida marathon to replace the Gulf Coast Marathon that he had planned to run. Peter is one of many Brits attempting to run all 50 States and wanted to run two states on the same trip. We decided to run the Extreme Marathon together.
Peter arrived in Sarasota on Tue night to spend a few days with us. On Wed I asked a running friend from Siesta Key – Frank (the only other sane person in the world) – to guide us on a 6-mile running tour around Siesta Key including Siesta Beach. Unfortunately we were experiencing a cold front so there were no young hard bods on the beach to enjoy. On Thu Peter and I toured Sarasota before visiting Myakka State Park since he had only seen alligators in a zoo. I tried to convince him to wrestle a wild alligator like Tarzan but he refused? On Fri we drove across the state to Titusville. Our hotel in Titusville was the close to the St Johns National Wildlife Refuge and the Orlando Wetlands Park where the marathon was held. Titusville is also next door to the Kennedy Space Center so Peter and I decided to visit the Space Center for a few hours on Fri afternoon. We didn’t have time to do a lengthy tour but did visit some exhibits and toured a replica of the Space Shuttle. The Shuttle is much bigger than it looks on TV!
The cold front had departed and the weather turned sunny and HOT! The forecast called for temps in the mid 80s on Sat! On Fri afternoon we drove out to Christmas, FL where the Orlando Wetlands Park is located to make sure we knew where the race started and determine how long it would take to get there. The race was scheduled to start at 7:30 am on Sat. We arrived at the Park at 7 am because we still needed to pick up our race packets. We figured it would only take a few minutes since it was a small race? Unfortunately the race was poorly organized and the first of many problems surfaced. There was only one race volunteer handling race day registration and packet pick up so we had to wait in line while people registered for the race! We finally got our race numbers about 7:20 am and had to rush back to the car because the start for the marathon was supposed to be about 1 mile from the finish/registration area. We were in such a rush that we couldn’t prepare properly – I didn’t have time to put enough sun block on – I forgot my sunglasses, etc. We did make it to the start line in time – but the race did not start on time. There were four races – a Marathon, Half, 5K and 10K. All four races used the same course – a 6-mile loop around the Park. The races started simultaneously at four different locations on berms around the Park and many runners could not find their proper start location so the common start was delayed. I was already upset because nobody could tell us when the races would start and if we had time to go back to the car for sunglasses and sunblock. The races finally started at 8 am with the sun already up and a temp of 70 F! That 30-minute delay was very bad news. It meant that I would not have time to drive back to the hotel for a shower because the hotel required that we check out by 12 pm. It also meant that we would be finishing later in the day in and the temps would be hotter!
There were about 50 runners in the Marathon. I started out slowly because my legs were stiff from standing around for so long. As I mentioned the course was a 6-mile loop on sand berms around the wetlands. The trails were mainly two tire ruts on the berms – mostly hard-packed sand and grass - and were much better than expected. There were no rocks or tree roots but the tire ruts were uneven and had lots of holes so we had to be careful not to twist or sprain an ankle. The Marathon was essentially four 6-mile loops with the extra 2.2 miles added on to the first loop. I knew that the trails would slow most runners down but I still figured I should/could run under 4 hours. My strategy was to run the first 20 miles as hard/fast as possible - a 20- mile speed workout - and then try to hang on for the last 10K?
I passed the finish line for the 2nd time at 8.2 miles in 1:01:26. I was running a sub 8-minute pace. There were six water stops – supposedly located at every mile along the 6-mile loop. But they were so inaccurate that they were meaningless! The only accurate distance marker was the finish line at every 6 miles so it was essentially impossible to determine and adjust your pace which really upset me! The course was very boring. I had to concentrate on the trail because of the holes and uneven surface but I did manage to see several alligators along the course – not on the course but in the wetlands beside the course. I passed the finish line for the 3rd time at 14.2 miles in 1:53:58 or 52:32 for 6 miles. I had slowed to an 8:30 pace! I tried to pick up the pace but the temps were already close to 80 F! Between 16 and 17 miles the winner blew by me. I had been lapped which was very discouraging! I looked at my watch – 2:08! I figured he should finish the race about 2:30? (he won in 2:36!) I still had another lap to go!
I passed the finish line for the 4th time at 20.2 miles in 2:47:35 or 53:43 for 6 miles. I had slowed down some more but calculated that even if I ran the final lap in 1 hour I would still break 4 hours. If I could hold my pace I could break 3:45? But the sun was beating down mercilessly and the temps were now 80+ F. At each water stop I started to drink one cup of water and pour one on my head in an effort to cool down. At 23 miles there was no water left at the water stop. No problem - I could wait for the next water stop at mile 24. No water there either! Now I was pissed off! Thankfully I had kept hydrated but I was very HOT! I became discouraged and since I couldn’t see any runners in front or behind me I slowed down. Thankfully the final water stop near mile 25 had water and I poured several glasses on my head to cool down. As I started down the final mile that was straight I saw a runner ahead of me. As motivation to pick up my pace again I decided to catch him even though he was about ¼ mile ahead. I closed within a few hundred yards when he noticed me and picked up his pace. I couldn’t tell what age he was but he looked like a youngster and I decided it wasn’t worth hurting a lot just to pass a younger runner in the final ¼ mile so I followed him across the finish line in 3:42:45.
I was happy with my time until I learned that the runner who beat me by 32 seconds was in fact in my age group! We had both beat the old course record for our age group by more than 2 hours but he now holds the new course record because I didn’t believe 32 seconds was worth “a lot of pain”. Moral of this story: “Never back off or give up until you cross the finish line”! But I was really not disappointed because I had achieved – no surpassed- my initial goals. I had run a long, fast training run and had finished well under my target of 4 hours on a trail marathon. It gave me the confidence and encouragement to race the Miami Marathon next weekend (Jan 29). My goal will be to finish in 3:35 -/+ 5 minutes.
Once I consoled myself for being so foolish there was nothing to do but wait around (hot, sweaty, and smelly since I couldn’t have a shower) for Peter to finish. I found the race director and admonished him for the lack of water on the course and advised him to get water out there for the runners who would be on the course for another one or two hours in the horrendous heat! Peter finished in 5:57:22.
I dropped Peter off in Orlando where he will catch a return flight to London on Sun and drove home for a much-anticipated soak in the hot tub with a few microbrews.
I am looking forward to a good, fast race next weekend in Miami on my type of surface – asphalt!
Stay tuned for the next report!
Monday, January 09, 2006
RR Disney Marathon
Race Report
Disney Marathon
Orlando, FL
Sun, Jan 8/06
#253
3:43:40
This was an unplanned/unscheduled marathon resulting from the prolonged illness I suffered after returning from the Everest Marathon in Nepal in Nov/05. I had planned to run the Jacksonville Marathon in Dec but was too sick and had to cancel. Once I recovered from the illness I started to look for a marathon in early Jan but it had to be in FL –or somewhere I could drive- because I am tired of planes!
The best option was the Disney marathon even though I don’t like the race. I ran the Disney marathon 4 years ago and found the logistics to be difficult. The race starts at 6 am and requires all runners to be at Epcot by 5am when it is very dark and cold.
There were some other factors that made it the ‘best’ option:
a) my sports manager and I needed to travel to Orlando to make final arrangements for a family reunion we are hosting there at the end of Feb
b) a group of runners from my old running club in Bishops’ Stortford were coming over from England to run the marathon and I wanted to meet them.
c) two very close running friends from way – back were planning to run the race. The last time we ran a race together and competed for the ‘tres amigos’ award was the Disney marathon in 2002.
So there were many reasons to run Disney even if I don’t like the race! And it was a challenge to get a race number because registration was already closed. Fortunately I was able to find a male member of the Sarasota Running Club who had registered but was unable to compete. He gave me his race number. This is against the rules but done quite often. Even though I was not in good shape I was concerned about placing in his age group and robbing some legitimate competitor of his position. Fortunately this concern was easily and innocently resolved when the runner forgot to give me his timing chip. Therefore I was never timed and given an official time or result!
I had built my weekly training mileage up to 60 miles since recovering from the Nepali cold/cough and had just started speed workouts but I had not run longer than 13 miles since the Bosnia Marathon in Oct. I did not count the Everest marathon since I did more walking than running in that race. So the Saturday before the marathon I did a 17-mile training run. I planned/needed to use the Disney Marathon as a long training run as part of my training program to get in shape to compete in an inaugural marathon in Sarasota on Mar 5/06.
I suffered a wee setback to my plans when I came down with another cold/flu early in the week. I thought it was a relapse of the Himalayan cold but discovered that several people in town were suffering from the same cold/flu. I rested on Monday and on Tue I foolishly tried to run a hard/fast 10-mile run and became so dizzy and nauseous by the end of the run that I almost fainted on the road. I staggered back to the house and laid in bed for two days with a high fever and cold/hot sweats. I figured that I would have to skip Disney but I felt much better on Thursday so did an easy 5-mile run and declared myself fit for the marathon?
Thus the sports manager and I drove over to Orlando on Sat morning to pick up my race number at the Sports Expo and to meet our friends. The Expo is still a big disappointment for such a large event. Because the weather forecast was calling for temps in the low 30s on Sun morning I wanted to buy a pair of running tights. There were none at the Expo?
More disappointments followed. Marty – one of the ‘tres amigos’ called to say that he was suffering from the same flu/cold and had decided not to run. I couldn’t find Edson – the other amigo- even though he was staying at the same hotel. And I couldn’t reach my friends from England? Things were not going well?
Nicole and I did manage to eat dinner at an Italian restaurant in old town Kissimmee that we wanted to evaluate for a formal dinner during our reunion. At least that part of our plan was successful and we made reservations for Feb. I didn’t try to contact our friends Sat night because I knew everyone would be in bed early since they had to be at Epcot by 4 or 5 am on Sun morning!
I drove over to Epcot at 4 am. It was very cold – temps in the low 30s! I had to get out of the car and start making my way to the start line at 5 am. You have to walk about 1 mile from the parking lot to the start line in Epcot. The race is very well organized – typical Disney organization – but the logistics are enormous and difficult to handle 24,000 runners in the park. The marathon had a split start with 12,000 runners in two corrals and they merged at 3.3 miles. My friend had a race number in the first corral of the Blue start. I went to the back of the corral because I did not want to start out too fast. I was wearing four layers of clothes and a garbage bag in an attempt to stay warm. The temp was 34 F at the 6 am start!
I was hemmed in and slowed down by 2,000 runners in front of me and ran the first 2 miles at a 9 min/mile pace. That was exactly what I wanted/needed. I reached mile 5 in 44:08 and had peeled off all my layers of clothes except for running tights and a long-sleeved Polypro shirt and T-shirt. There was frost/ice on the sleeves of my shirt! I was right on pace because my goal was to run the marathon or at least the 1st twenty miles at a 9 min pace. I was very concerned that I would tire or run out of energy by 20 miles because of the cold/flu and lack of long training runs? I passed the 10-mile mark in 1:26:51 as we ran through the various theme parks of the Magic Kingdom. We ran through Cinderella’s Castle about 10.5 miles where Mickey, Minnie, Donald and the other Disney characters cheered us on. I reached the Half in 1:53:49. I felt quite good which was encouraging. I considered picking up the pace but decided to stay with my original plan – at least till 20 miles.
I passed mile 18 in 2:35:39 and an 8:30 pace. I was running easy and relaxed but Maddog was chomping at the bit to lower the hammer. I had to keep reminding him “Patience – continue to run slow and easy”! When I passed mile 20 in 2:53:55 and still felt amazingly good I decided to let Maddog loose for the last 10K! He immediately lowered the hammer to sub 8s. When I passed mile 21 in a 7:45 pace I was a wee bit concerned but decided to just let him go and hang on! I was amazed that he ran the entire final 10K at a sub 8-min pace without any pain or struggles and crossed the finish line in 3:43:40! It was my fastest 10K of the race and resulted in a negative split of 4 minutes on the 2nd Half!
Needless to say I was surprised but very happy with both my time and performance. I would have bet a lot of money before the race that there was no way I could run under 3:45 that day! So I am very encouraged with my progress. I plan to run another marathon in the Orlando area in two weeks. I plan to run it as another long training run and if I do as well I will then race the marathon in Miami at the end of Jan.
Stay tuned!
Disney Marathon
Orlando, FL
Sun, Jan 8/06
#253
3:43:40
This was an unplanned/unscheduled marathon resulting from the prolonged illness I suffered after returning from the Everest Marathon in Nepal in Nov/05. I had planned to run the Jacksonville Marathon in Dec but was too sick and had to cancel. Once I recovered from the illness I started to look for a marathon in early Jan but it had to be in FL –or somewhere I could drive- because I am tired of planes!
The best option was the Disney marathon even though I don’t like the race. I ran the Disney marathon 4 years ago and found the logistics to be difficult. The race starts at 6 am and requires all runners to be at Epcot by 5am when it is very dark and cold.
There were some other factors that made it the ‘best’ option:
a) my sports manager and I needed to travel to Orlando to make final arrangements for a family reunion we are hosting there at the end of Feb
b) a group of runners from my old running club in Bishops’ Stortford were coming over from England to run the marathon and I wanted to meet them.
c) two very close running friends from way – back were planning to run the race. The last time we ran a race together and competed for the ‘tres amigos’ award was the Disney marathon in 2002.
So there were many reasons to run Disney even if I don’t like the race! And it was a challenge to get a race number because registration was already closed. Fortunately I was able to find a male member of the Sarasota Running Club who had registered but was unable to compete. He gave me his race number. This is against the rules but done quite often. Even though I was not in good shape I was concerned about placing in his age group and robbing some legitimate competitor of his position. Fortunately this concern was easily and innocently resolved when the runner forgot to give me his timing chip. Therefore I was never timed and given an official time or result!
I had built my weekly training mileage up to 60 miles since recovering from the Nepali cold/cough and had just started speed workouts but I had not run longer than 13 miles since the Bosnia Marathon in Oct. I did not count the Everest marathon since I did more walking than running in that race. So the Saturday before the marathon I did a 17-mile training run. I planned/needed to use the Disney Marathon as a long training run as part of my training program to get in shape to compete in an inaugural marathon in Sarasota on Mar 5/06.
I suffered a wee setback to my plans when I came down with another cold/flu early in the week. I thought it was a relapse of the Himalayan cold but discovered that several people in town were suffering from the same cold/flu. I rested on Monday and on Tue I foolishly tried to run a hard/fast 10-mile run and became so dizzy and nauseous by the end of the run that I almost fainted on the road. I staggered back to the house and laid in bed for two days with a high fever and cold/hot sweats. I figured that I would have to skip Disney but I felt much better on Thursday so did an easy 5-mile run and declared myself fit for the marathon?
Thus the sports manager and I drove over to Orlando on Sat morning to pick up my race number at the Sports Expo and to meet our friends. The Expo is still a big disappointment for such a large event. Because the weather forecast was calling for temps in the low 30s on Sun morning I wanted to buy a pair of running tights. There were none at the Expo?
More disappointments followed. Marty – one of the ‘tres amigos’ called to say that he was suffering from the same flu/cold and had decided not to run. I couldn’t find Edson – the other amigo- even though he was staying at the same hotel. And I couldn’t reach my friends from England? Things were not going well?
Nicole and I did manage to eat dinner at an Italian restaurant in old town Kissimmee that we wanted to evaluate for a formal dinner during our reunion. At least that part of our plan was successful and we made reservations for Feb. I didn’t try to contact our friends Sat night because I knew everyone would be in bed early since they had to be at Epcot by 4 or 5 am on Sun morning!
I drove over to Epcot at 4 am. It was very cold – temps in the low 30s! I had to get out of the car and start making my way to the start line at 5 am. You have to walk about 1 mile from the parking lot to the start line in Epcot. The race is very well organized – typical Disney organization – but the logistics are enormous and difficult to handle 24,000 runners in the park. The marathon had a split start with 12,000 runners in two corrals and they merged at 3.3 miles. My friend had a race number in the first corral of the Blue start. I went to the back of the corral because I did not want to start out too fast. I was wearing four layers of clothes and a garbage bag in an attempt to stay warm. The temp was 34 F at the 6 am start!
I was hemmed in and slowed down by 2,000 runners in front of me and ran the first 2 miles at a 9 min/mile pace. That was exactly what I wanted/needed. I reached mile 5 in 44:08 and had peeled off all my layers of clothes except for running tights and a long-sleeved Polypro shirt and T-shirt. There was frost/ice on the sleeves of my shirt! I was right on pace because my goal was to run the marathon or at least the 1st twenty miles at a 9 min pace. I was very concerned that I would tire or run out of energy by 20 miles because of the cold/flu and lack of long training runs? I passed the 10-mile mark in 1:26:51 as we ran through the various theme parks of the Magic Kingdom. We ran through Cinderella’s Castle about 10.5 miles where Mickey, Minnie, Donald and the other Disney characters cheered us on. I reached the Half in 1:53:49. I felt quite good which was encouraging. I considered picking up the pace but decided to stay with my original plan – at least till 20 miles.
I passed mile 18 in 2:35:39 and an 8:30 pace. I was running easy and relaxed but Maddog was chomping at the bit to lower the hammer. I had to keep reminding him “Patience – continue to run slow and easy”! When I passed mile 20 in 2:53:55 and still felt amazingly good I decided to let Maddog loose for the last 10K! He immediately lowered the hammer to sub 8s. When I passed mile 21 in a 7:45 pace I was a wee bit concerned but decided to just let him go and hang on! I was amazed that he ran the entire final 10K at a sub 8-min pace without any pain or struggles and crossed the finish line in 3:43:40! It was my fastest 10K of the race and resulted in a negative split of 4 minutes on the 2nd Half!
Needless to say I was surprised but very happy with both my time and performance. I would have bet a lot of money before the race that there was no way I could run under 3:45 that day! So I am very encouraged with my progress. I plan to run another marathon in the Orlando area in two weeks. I plan to run it as another long training run and if I do as well I will then race the marathon in Miami at the end of Jan.
Stay tuned!
Tuesday, December 13, 2005
Everest Marathon Trip Part 3
TRIP REPORT
Nepal
Oct 31 – Nov 28/05
Part 3
Photos may be viewed at www.maddog.smugmug.com
The final chapter! The race is about to begin and the MISERY and ORDEAL is almost over! All 56 runners had passed the medical check and trekked the three miles from Lobuche to Gorak Shep (5200 m/17,160 ft) where the Everest Marathon would start.
Gorak Shep was smaller and cleaner than Lobuche - except for the outhouses that were just as disgusting. Thankfully our Sherpas set up some latrine tents in the huge sand bowl at the base of Kala Patthar. All three camps were set up together near the start line in the desert sand – yes a huge desert of soft white sand at 17,000 ft? There were only two lodges in Gorak Shep – both located on a ridge on the edge of the glacial moraine. Fortunately they were large enough to accommodate all three groups for dinner so that we didn’t have to eat in a cold mess tent. Everyone was instructed (ordered?) to stay in their tents for the final night because it would be difficult to find people in the lodges at 5:30am.
Some runners climbed Kala Patthar for the magnificent view of ‘The Top of The World’ but most of us just rested and waited for a ‘practice’ run of the race start at 4 pm. At 4 pm all the runners (including 20 Nepali runners) gathered at the start line in the sand bowl to listen to instructions about the race and the start. Attila the Hun (the belligerent group leader) gave the lecture/instructions: 1) at 6:50 am on Mon 11/21 all runners would line up at the start line and Attila would shout “#1”. Race #1 would confirm he was present and then all subsequent race numbers would shout their numbers in numerical sequence. We practiced this difficult procedure. However the Nepalis had difficulty with this process because they are shy and don’t like to be loud or flagrant in public. Attila got very angry and I felt embarrassed for both him and the race organization because he made an ass of himself! 2) all runners must carry a minimum survival kit – 3 layers of clothes, a whistle, headlamp, first-aid kit, etc at all times during the race. Failure to do so would result in disqualification from the race! 3) every runner must wear a race number on the front and back and shout out his number at each check point and then verify that the number was heard. This would simplify any search for a missing runner. 4) if a runner came across a colleague that was injured or ill he must stay with that runner and provide assistance until another runner came by who would then go to the nearest aid station for medical help. Failure to do so would result in disqualification from the race. Any time spent assisting another runner would be deducted from the final finish time of that runner.
Everyone understood and agreed that these rules were necessary for the safety and security of all runners!
After the lecture I visited the team doctor because I felt like my ‘Himalayan cough’ was turning into a chest cold and I didn’t want to wake up on race morning with a terrible cold. He offered me some antibiotics but warned that they would probably cause diarrhea so I decided to decline the drugs and risk the cold? I then went back to our tent and changed into my race clothes. It was going to get very cold that night and it would be too cold to change into polypro tights at 6am on race day. I would sleep in my running clothes! Then I joined our team for afternoon tea in the lodge. I learned that we would not get pasta for dinner but fortunately the lodge had ‘spaghetti Bolognese’ (I believe the meat was minced Yak) on the menu so I ordered my traditional pasta dinner from the lodge. Later we were served a light ‘veggie’ dinner by the Sherpas that I passed on except for the desert. After dinner our group leader – a very nice gentleman (Bruce) from Troon, Scotland – read us a poem. Bruce was running Everest for the 5th time (why???). He had a special gift and love for writing poems. He recited a poem that was written by a friend in Scotland who worked in a Hospice for terminally ill patients. I have not yet received a copy of the poem (as promised) to include in this report but the moral of the poem was: nobody knows how long they are on this planet – so if there is something you want to do - or somebody you want to love – then “Seize the Moment”!
After that inspirational poem there was nothing to do except go back to the tent to check on our last-minute race preparations and go to bed. I wanted my running shoes to be warm in the morning so I stuffed them in my sleeping bag – also my water bottle because I needed to mix an energy drink in the morning. I had only two layers of running clothes on so I decided to put my down jacket on and sleep in it too. It got very cold on Sun night. I can’t say I was cold and I can’t say I was warm – but I sure as Hell can say that I was MISERABLE all night as I laid in the sleeping bag waiting – praying for daylight to come so the race could start and put an end to this MISERY and ORDEAL! I believe there were about 55 others in the same state of mind?
Mercifully I dozed off for a few hours and soon I heard the wake-up call (5:30 am) and a cup of hot tea was thrust into our tent. Francisco and I declined hot porridge because we wanted to stay in our warm sleeping bags as long as possible. Reluctantly we had to leave the bags and pack them separately so the Sherpas could carry them down to Namche – we would need them that night to sleep in Namche. The kit bags would probably not arrive in Namche until the following day. By the time we had finished packing we were freezing! I couldn’t even feel my toes! It was about –20C! At 6:45 am we walked to the start line and the race started a few minutes before 7 am!
The big dogs – the fell runners – raced across the desert sand and charged up the hill of glacial moraine (at 17,000 ft) as they ignored the burning in their lungs! The rest of us mortals jogged across the desert sand and struggled to walk up the glacial moraine while sucking desperately for air/oxygen and trying to get our frozen feet to navigate around and over the dangerous rocks! Unfortunately I found myself in front of a pack of about 10 runners so I felt obligated to push the old bod faster than it wanted to go because I didn’t want to hold anyone up on the narrow trails. I was hurting already! Fortunately we soon reached a short downhill section and I stepped aside to let the faster runners go by.
My feet were still frozen as I struggled across (and up and down) the two miles of glacial moraine. I also discovered that the water in my CamelBack was frozen when I tried to get a drink. Finally we reached a section of the trail that was flat and smooth and I started to run – well I use that term loosely. I figured with 20 pounds of survival gear strapped to my back and the thin air at 16,000 ft the fastest pace I could run without going into oxygen debt was about 12 min/mile! I was running with Bruce and told him we would be lucky to reach Lobuche (3 miles) under 1 hour? We reached the first aid station/check point in Lobuche in 57 minutes!
The sun was just starting to come up so I stopped at the aid station and removed one layer of clothes, drank some water and continued on. The next three miles of trail descended 290 m to Dughla (4620 m/15,246 ft). The trail was in good shape and I was able to run most of the flat and downhill sections so I reached Dughla in 1:35:38 – a blazing 13 min pace! I stopped and removed another layer of clothes. The next checkpoint was in Periche (4240 m/13,992 ft) – another 3 miles. That section of trail had a lot more rocks and was more difficult even on the flat sections. I was following a couple of runners from another group when one stopped and asked if we had missed a turn or junction? We were running on a high trail and could see a lower trail and bridge about 1000 ft below us? He thought we were supposed to cross that bridge. If we missed a checkpoint we would be disqualified! I knew Bruce was not far behind and he would definitely know the proper route so we waited on the trail for about 5 minutes and happily Bruce confirmed that we were on the proper trail and the checkpoint in Periche should only be about one mile ahead! We forged ahead and reached the 3rd checkpoint in 2:16:10. I stopped and removed my last layer of clothes – I was now running in polypro tights and a thin long sleeve T-shirt! But my daypack was starting to get heavy with all the clothes. The Camelback had finally thawed out so now I would have water available between aid stations!
The next checkpoint was in Pangboche (3930 m/12,969 ft) – another 3/4 miles with many hills. I walked all the uphill sections and tried to run the flat and downhill sections. As I ran the narrow trails on this section of the course I observed surprisingly that the trekkers on the marathon route were being very courteous and supportive. Almost everyone stepped aside and cheered us on when we met or overtook them. Only the Yaks were discourteous and a pain in the ass! Several times I got caught behind a Yak team and had to walk for 4/5 minutes before I could find an opening to scamper past them on the uphill side of the mountain – always the uphill side in case a Yak charged and tried to knock you off the mountain! Such delays had been expected so I did not get frustrated. Besides another few minutes would not make much difference in my finish time?
I reached Pangboche in 3:19:06. I wasn’t even at the Half yet – any thoughts of a 6-hr marathon were a dream? I pushed on to the next checkpoint at Tengboche at 14 miles. I knew that we would have to climb a very steep hill between Deboche and Tengboche. It was a bitch! I struggled just to walk up that BAH (Bad Ass Hill). I wanted to reach Tengboche (3867 m/12,761 ft) under 4 hrs but couldn’t do it! I reached the checkpoint in 4:02:12! No time to spend with the Monks at the Monastery – time to push on which meant running down the very steep and dangerous descent to Phunki Tenga (3250 m/10,725 ft). As I started down the hill I caught up with Justin (the one who had suffered serious AMS in Machermo but made it to the start line). We ran the descent together which really helped because we were able to push and watch out for each other. When we reached Phunki Tenga we were faced with a very tough section of the course – all uphill to Sarnassa (3597 m/11,870 ft). I pushed on and Jason wished me “Good Luck” and dropped back. I passed at least 8 runners going up that BAH and reached the checkpoint in 5:21:41. Unfortunately the pain was not yet over as the course climbed another few hundred meters before dropping down into Chorkhung (3520 m/11,616 ft) just above Namche Bazaar. I tried desperately to reach the checkpoint at 20 miles under 6 hrs but arrived in 6:01:09!
I was familiar with the last 10K of the course – the Thamo loop! I was pretty confident that I could run that loop under 2 hrs which meant a sub-8 hr race was in the bag! I thought about ditching my daypack so I could run faster but decided that was against the rules and I would probably need water before the next aid station so I kept it and struggled with the extra 20 pounds as I tried to push the pace on the Thamo loop. On the way out to Thamo I passed many of my teammates and other runners on the return loop. One was a competitor in my age group. He had at least a 10-min lead and I knew I couldn’t catch him. But I also noticed that he was not carrying any daypack or survival kit? I reached the checkpoint in Thamo (3446 m/11,371 ft) in 6:54:31. If the return loop took an hour I would be cutting it pretty close so I got worried and decided to push the pace as hard as I could. I crossed the finish line in Namche in 7:43:38!
It wasn’t fast – it wasn’t pretty – but it was finished! And I was alive – healthy – and injury-free!
I waited around at the finish line for a few teammates to finish and then decided it was time for a much-needed shower. Since the race finished in front of our lodge we were able to sit in the dining room, enjoy a beer and some snacks while we waited for everyone to finish. All but 4 runners finished the race! Unfortunately not without some controversy – some of the Nepali runners and one ‘white’ runner had run w/o the mandatory kit! The race organizers had a sad mess to handle and correct? (More on this mess later).
But now it was time to celebrate! The race was over! – the misery was over! – soon we would be back in civilization! – soon we would be back home! Some of the young runners still had enough energy to celebrate and party. Most of us just wanted to go to bed and sleep! And there was another problem – most of us were broke. The trip information had advised us to take about 100 GBP ($200 US) on the trek and leave the rest of our money and credit cards in Kathmandu. Unfortunately that information was outdated and the amount was not enough. As a result most people were broke or only had enough money to get back to Kathmandu. I had to borrow $20 to pay for food and a room in Lukla. Thus I had no money to celebrate or party!
Tue was a rest day in Namche for everyone to rest and recover for the 6 to 8 hour trek back to Lukla on Wed. Most people did that and a few did some last minute shopping – if they had any money left! Everyone was looking forward to going home! Miraculously many of the illnesses and ailments that people had been suffering seemed to disappear now that the marathon was finished and we were back at lower altitudes. Everyone declared that they would not stay in a tent in Lukla (I declared that I would never stay in a tent again for the rest of my life) - we all insisted on renting a lodge room. On Wed morning Francisco and I packed and left early so that we would be first to arrive in Lukla and be sure to get a decent room in a lodge. It would be necessary to stay one night since the planes normally left Lukla in the morning! We trekked the steep descent from Namche to Phakding in 3 hours and then made the climb to Lukla in another three hours to arrive at the lodge in Lukla by 2 pm. We rented a deluxe room with an ensuite bath (western toilet) – what luxury! Then we pooled our money to buy two beers to celebrate while waiting for the rest of the group to arrive!
By 4 pm most of the group had arrived – but not our kit bags? We began to worry because there is a curfew in Lukla. Nobody is allowed in or out of the village after 5 pm and nobody is allowed outdoors in the village after 6pm! Because of the airport and the strategic location of the village the Nepal government is very worried about Maoist rebels capturing the village. There are hundreds of soldiers and machine gun placements all around the airport and village. We were warned that the soldiers would shoot anyone violating the curfew first and ask questions last! Thankfully with our deluxe room there was no need for us to leave our room after dinner!
On Thu morning we had a very early teatime and after our final egg omelet breakfast we walked over to the airport at 6am to be ready for the first flights out. Unfortunately low clouds had moved in to Lukla Valley and no planes could land. However by 10 am we could hear the roar of a turbo prop and the first plane arrived from Kathmandu. Luckily I had a boarding pass for the first flight and soon we were screaming down the ski jump/runway and catapulting out into space. We arrived in Kathmandu 30 minutes later – wonderful/noisy/polluted/congested and WARM Kathmandu! As soon as I got to the hotel I went straight to the bathroom and stood under scalding hot water for 30 minutes and scrubbed the last remnants of Himalayan dust – and Yak shit – off my body! Then it was time to walk over to Thamel and order a hamburger – a real hamburger with real beef – and wash it down with a beer! It was great!
By early afternoon the rest of our group arrived from Lukla. Our team had decided to go to a popular restaurant – Mike’s Place, owned by a British expat – for dinner. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that Mike had a special buffet dinner – Turkey/Thanksgiving Dinner! I must have eaten 5 pounds of turkey and mashed potatoes – it was soooooooo goooooodddd!!!!!!! After dinner I made the mistake of accompanying a group of young runners/mates to some bars to celebrate and then I made a bigger mistake of trying to drink with them! I finally conceded defeat around 3am and staggered to a rickshaw to take me back to the hotel. The resulting hangover was so massive that I missed a 9am excursion/tour of Kathmandu. I think I finally crawled out of bed around 3 pm and began the process of recovery to get ready for the Awards banquet/ceremony on Fri night. The awards and prize money were handed out at the ceremony. The race organizers had ‘handled’ the sticky mess of runners w/o kits by backing off their disqualification policy and assigning a penalty of 10 minutes to all guilty runners. This allowed the Nepali runners to still beat the crap out of all foreign runners and claim their prize money!
The first foreign/white runner was a fell runner from the UK who finished in 4:57:56. My friend from NZ finished second. The first ‘white’ female was a runner from the ‘Cuckoos’. In fact four of the top ten ‘white’ runners were from the Cuckoos – the lazy/no-good/laid-back wimps/misfits and party animals who stayed in lodges??? We were very proud of our lazy selves. The trophy for Super Vet (60+) was skipped/ignored during the Award ceremony? However the following morning as the main group was preparing to depart and I was getting ready to transfer to another hotel the owner of the tour agency/race organization approached me and handed me the trophy for the Super Vet Category. She simply stated “This trophy belongs to you since you were the first Super Vet to cross the finish line according to the race rules”! I accepted the trophy because I felt that if I hadn’t been carrying 20+ pounds of survival kit on my back I would have finished at least 30 minutes faster! So the trophy is proudly displayed in my trophy case!
That evening I decided to go to a popular Steakhouse and enjoy a real beefsteak. It was great - but I didn’t get to enjoy it for long. One hour after dinner I was back in my hotel – very sick. I wasn’t sure if it was food poisoning or just all the germs/illnesses I had successfully avoided during the trek catching up with me – all at once! I had bodily fluids coming out of every orifice in my body – all at the same time! It was not a pretty sight! I was sick all night! I had booked a private tour for the following day and didn’t think I could get out of bed to go. By 9am I started to feel OK so I forced myself to get up and take the tour. I wanted to visit the neighboring cities of Pattan and Bhaktapur. These cities were separate kingdoms in the 15th century and each has its own Durbar Square with royal places and temples. Of the three Durbar squares I liked the one in Bhaktapur the best. It was quieter and less crowded (maybe the $10 entry fee had something to do with that). But I was glad I had taken the tour and seen all three Squares because I knew I was never coming back!
By early afternoon I suffered a relapse and returned to the hotel. I was concerned because I had to depart at 8:30am on Mon and I was facing another 40- hour journey home. It would be a long miserable journey! I started to overdose on Imodium to plug up one end and decided not to eat (only sip water to stay hydrated) until I got back home. On Mon morning I crawled out of bed and dragged my sorry, plugged-up ass on to the first flight in Kathmandu. I was able to buy some medicine at a pharmacy in the Bangkok airport to settle my stomach. Fortunately I was able to sleep for about 6 hours on the 12-hour flight from Hong Kong to LA. I actually felt good enough in LA to eat some greasy fries at Burger King while waiting for a red-eye flight to Dallas. They stayed down!
I met up with my wife at 6am in Dallas since she had taken a red-eye flight from Seattle where she visited the kids for Thanksgiving. We flew the final leg together to Tampa and she drove me straight to our family doctor in Sarasota. I wanted a medical check up and tests to determine if I had picked up some strange parasite or bug in Nepal! I was also hoping that the doc would give me some antibiotics or drugs to make me feel better and speed up my recovery? No such luck! He refused to give me any drugs until he saw the test results. Thus I had to go home and lay in bed for 5 days – coughing and hacking and suffering from a high fever with cold chills/hot sweats and constant hallucinations that I was back in the Himalayans! And all the time never more than a few feet from a bathroom. I forced myself to eat for nourishment. Thankfully it stayed down but I was amazed at how quickly the body can change solid food into liquid waste?
It was one of the most miserable weeks of my life! But eventually I did recover and the test results came back normal. I still haven’t regained my strength and endurance but I seem to get stronger each day as I start back running. I remember writing a brief report during that sick week asking “Was it worth it “? “The Everest Marathon/adventure”?
If I focus on the memories of how cold and miserable it was camping in the tents or that week of illness when I got home the answer might seem obvious. However as those painful memories fade I can still remember the spectacular scenery along the trek – I still remember my pride of climbing two 18ers and the magnificent views of “the Top of The World’ – I still remember the warm, friendly smiles of the Nepali people –especially the children – I still remember the camaraderie and friendship of the many new friends I made during the trek and the fact that I became a member of a special alumni – less than 500 people in the world have finished the Everest Marathon – the highest and toughest marathon in the world!
So my answer is a resounding YES!
But then I will quickly add:
“BEEN THERE - DONE THAT- AIN’T EVER GOING BACK!!!
But when are you going to run Everest? The next race is in NOV 2007!!!!
Nepal
Oct 31 – Nov 28/05
Part 3
Photos may be viewed at www.maddog.smugmug.com
The final chapter! The race is about to begin and the MISERY and ORDEAL is almost over! All 56 runners had passed the medical check and trekked the three miles from Lobuche to Gorak Shep (5200 m/17,160 ft) where the Everest Marathon would start.
Gorak Shep was smaller and cleaner than Lobuche - except for the outhouses that were just as disgusting. Thankfully our Sherpas set up some latrine tents in the huge sand bowl at the base of Kala Patthar. All three camps were set up together near the start line in the desert sand – yes a huge desert of soft white sand at 17,000 ft? There were only two lodges in Gorak Shep – both located on a ridge on the edge of the glacial moraine. Fortunately they were large enough to accommodate all three groups for dinner so that we didn’t have to eat in a cold mess tent. Everyone was instructed (ordered?) to stay in their tents for the final night because it would be difficult to find people in the lodges at 5:30am.
Some runners climbed Kala Patthar for the magnificent view of ‘The Top of The World’ but most of us just rested and waited for a ‘practice’ run of the race start at 4 pm. At 4 pm all the runners (including 20 Nepali runners) gathered at the start line in the sand bowl to listen to instructions about the race and the start. Attila the Hun (the belligerent group leader) gave the lecture/instructions: 1) at 6:50 am on Mon 11/21 all runners would line up at the start line and Attila would shout “#1”. Race #1 would confirm he was present and then all subsequent race numbers would shout their numbers in numerical sequence. We practiced this difficult procedure. However the Nepalis had difficulty with this process because they are shy and don’t like to be loud or flagrant in public. Attila got very angry and I felt embarrassed for both him and the race organization because he made an ass of himself! 2) all runners must carry a minimum survival kit – 3 layers of clothes, a whistle, headlamp, first-aid kit, etc at all times during the race. Failure to do so would result in disqualification from the race! 3) every runner must wear a race number on the front and back and shout out his number at each check point and then verify that the number was heard. This would simplify any search for a missing runner. 4) if a runner came across a colleague that was injured or ill he must stay with that runner and provide assistance until another runner came by who would then go to the nearest aid station for medical help. Failure to do so would result in disqualification from the race. Any time spent assisting another runner would be deducted from the final finish time of that runner.
Everyone understood and agreed that these rules were necessary for the safety and security of all runners!
After the lecture I visited the team doctor because I felt like my ‘Himalayan cough’ was turning into a chest cold and I didn’t want to wake up on race morning with a terrible cold. He offered me some antibiotics but warned that they would probably cause diarrhea so I decided to decline the drugs and risk the cold? I then went back to our tent and changed into my race clothes. It was going to get very cold that night and it would be too cold to change into polypro tights at 6am on race day. I would sleep in my running clothes! Then I joined our team for afternoon tea in the lodge. I learned that we would not get pasta for dinner but fortunately the lodge had ‘spaghetti Bolognese’ (I believe the meat was minced Yak) on the menu so I ordered my traditional pasta dinner from the lodge. Later we were served a light ‘veggie’ dinner by the Sherpas that I passed on except for the desert. After dinner our group leader – a very nice gentleman (Bruce) from Troon, Scotland – read us a poem. Bruce was running Everest for the 5th time (why???). He had a special gift and love for writing poems. He recited a poem that was written by a friend in Scotland who worked in a Hospice for terminally ill patients. I have not yet received a copy of the poem (as promised) to include in this report but the moral of the poem was: nobody knows how long they are on this planet – so if there is something you want to do - or somebody you want to love – then “Seize the Moment”!
After that inspirational poem there was nothing to do except go back to the tent to check on our last-minute race preparations and go to bed. I wanted my running shoes to be warm in the morning so I stuffed them in my sleeping bag – also my water bottle because I needed to mix an energy drink in the morning. I had only two layers of running clothes on so I decided to put my down jacket on and sleep in it too. It got very cold on Sun night. I can’t say I was cold and I can’t say I was warm – but I sure as Hell can say that I was MISERABLE all night as I laid in the sleeping bag waiting – praying for daylight to come so the race could start and put an end to this MISERY and ORDEAL! I believe there were about 55 others in the same state of mind?
Mercifully I dozed off for a few hours and soon I heard the wake-up call (5:30 am) and a cup of hot tea was thrust into our tent. Francisco and I declined hot porridge because we wanted to stay in our warm sleeping bags as long as possible. Reluctantly we had to leave the bags and pack them separately so the Sherpas could carry them down to Namche – we would need them that night to sleep in Namche. The kit bags would probably not arrive in Namche until the following day. By the time we had finished packing we were freezing! I couldn’t even feel my toes! It was about –20C! At 6:45 am we walked to the start line and the race started a few minutes before 7 am!
The big dogs – the fell runners – raced across the desert sand and charged up the hill of glacial moraine (at 17,000 ft) as they ignored the burning in their lungs! The rest of us mortals jogged across the desert sand and struggled to walk up the glacial moraine while sucking desperately for air/oxygen and trying to get our frozen feet to navigate around and over the dangerous rocks! Unfortunately I found myself in front of a pack of about 10 runners so I felt obligated to push the old bod faster than it wanted to go because I didn’t want to hold anyone up on the narrow trails. I was hurting already! Fortunately we soon reached a short downhill section and I stepped aside to let the faster runners go by.
My feet were still frozen as I struggled across (and up and down) the two miles of glacial moraine. I also discovered that the water in my CamelBack was frozen when I tried to get a drink. Finally we reached a section of the trail that was flat and smooth and I started to run – well I use that term loosely. I figured with 20 pounds of survival gear strapped to my back and the thin air at 16,000 ft the fastest pace I could run without going into oxygen debt was about 12 min/mile! I was running with Bruce and told him we would be lucky to reach Lobuche (3 miles) under 1 hour? We reached the first aid station/check point in Lobuche in 57 minutes!
The sun was just starting to come up so I stopped at the aid station and removed one layer of clothes, drank some water and continued on. The next three miles of trail descended 290 m to Dughla (4620 m/15,246 ft). The trail was in good shape and I was able to run most of the flat and downhill sections so I reached Dughla in 1:35:38 – a blazing 13 min pace! I stopped and removed another layer of clothes. The next checkpoint was in Periche (4240 m/13,992 ft) – another 3 miles. That section of trail had a lot more rocks and was more difficult even on the flat sections. I was following a couple of runners from another group when one stopped and asked if we had missed a turn or junction? We were running on a high trail and could see a lower trail and bridge about 1000 ft below us? He thought we were supposed to cross that bridge. If we missed a checkpoint we would be disqualified! I knew Bruce was not far behind and he would definitely know the proper route so we waited on the trail for about 5 minutes and happily Bruce confirmed that we were on the proper trail and the checkpoint in Periche should only be about one mile ahead! We forged ahead and reached the 3rd checkpoint in 2:16:10. I stopped and removed my last layer of clothes – I was now running in polypro tights and a thin long sleeve T-shirt! But my daypack was starting to get heavy with all the clothes. The Camelback had finally thawed out so now I would have water available between aid stations!
The next checkpoint was in Pangboche (3930 m/12,969 ft) – another 3/4 miles with many hills. I walked all the uphill sections and tried to run the flat and downhill sections. As I ran the narrow trails on this section of the course I observed surprisingly that the trekkers on the marathon route were being very courteous and supportive. Almost everyone stepped aside and cheered us on when we met or overtook them. Only the Yaks were discourteous and a pain in the ass! Several times I got caught behind a Yak team and had to walk for 4/5 minutes before I could find an opening to scamper past them on the uphill side of the mountain – always the uphill side in case a Yak charged and tried to knock you off the mountain! Such delays had been expected so I did not get frustrated. Besides another few minutes would not make much difference in my finish time?
I reached Pangboche in 3:19:06. I wasn’t even at the Half yet – any thoughts of a 6-hr marathon were a dream? I pushed on to the next checkpoint at Tengboche at 14 miles. I knew that we would have to climb a very steep hill between Deboche and Tengboche. It was a bitch! I struggled just to walk up that BAH (Bad Ass Hill). I wanted to reach Tengboche (3867 m/12,761 ft) under 4 hrs but couldn’t do it! I reached the checkpoint in 4:02:12! No time to spend with the Monks at the Monastery – time to push on which meant running down the very steep and dangerous descent to Phunki Tenga (3250 m/10,725 ft). As I started down the hill I caught up with Justin (the one who had suffered serious AMS in Machermo but made it to the start line). We ran the descent together which really helped because we were able to push and watch out for each other. When we reached Phunki Tenga we were faced with a very tough section of the course – all uphill to Sarnassa (3597 m/11,870 ft). I pushed on and Jason wished me “Good Luck” and dropped back. I passed at least 8 runners going up that BAH and reached the checkpoint in 5:21:41. Unfortunately the pain was not yet over as the course climbed another few hundred meters before dropping down into Chorkhung (3520 m/11,616 ft) just above Namche Bazaar. I tried desperately to reach the checkpoint at 20 miles under 6 hrs but arrived in 6:01:09!
I was familiar with the last 10K of the course – the Thamo loop! I was pretty confident that I could run that loop under 2 hrs which meant a sub-8 hr race was in the bag! I thought about ditching my daypack so I could run faster but decided that was against the rules and I would probably need water before the next aid station so I kept it and struggled with the extra 20 pounds as I tried to push the pace on the Thamo loop. On the way out to Thamo I passed many of my teammates and other runners on the return loop. One was a competitor in my age group. He had at least a 10-min lead and I knew I couldn’t catch him. But I also noticed that he was not carrying any daypack or survival kit? I reached the checkpoint in Thamo (3446 m/11,371 ft) in 6:54:31. If the return loop took an hour I would be cutting it pretty close so I got worried and decided to push the pace as hard as I could. I crossed the finish line in Namche in 7:43:38!
It wasn’t fast – it wasn’t pretty – but it was finished! And I was alive – healthy – and injury-free!
I waited around at the finish line for a few teammates to finish and then decided it was time for a much-needed shower. Since the race finished in front of our lodge we were able to sit in the dining room, enjoy a beer and some snacks while we waited for everyone to finish. All but 4 runners finished the race! Unfortunately not without some controversy – some of the Nepali runners and one ‘white’ runner had run w/o the mandatory kit! The race organizers had a sad mess to handle and correct? (More on this mess later).
But now it was time to celebrate! The race was over! – the misery was over! – soon we would be back in civilization! – soon we would be back home! Some of the young runners still had enough energy to celebrate and party. Most of us just wanted to go to bed and sleep! And there was another problem – most of us were broke. The trip information had advised us to take about 100 GBP ($200 US) on the trek and leave the rest of our money and credit cards in Kathmandu. Unfortunately that information was outdated and the amount was not enough. As a result most people were broke or only had enough money to get back to Kathmandu. I had to borrow $20 to pay for food and a room in Lukla. Thus I had no money to celebrate or party!
Tue was a rest day in Namche for everyone to rest and recover for the 6 to 8 hour trek back to Lukla on Wed. Most people did that and a few did some last minute shopping – if they had any money left! Everyone was looking forward to going home! Miraculously many of the illnesses and ailments that people had been suffering seemed to disappear now that the marathon was finished and we were back at lower altitudes. Everyone declared that they would not stay in a tent in Lukla (I declared that I would never stay in a tent again for the rest of my life) - we all insisted on renting a lodge room. On Wed morning Francisco and I packed and left early so that we would be first to arrive in Lukla and be sure to get a decent room in a lodge. It would be necessary to stay one night since the planes normally left Lukla in the morning! We trekked the steep descent from Namche to Phakding in 3 hours and then made the climb to Lukla in another three hours to arrive at the lodge in Lukla by 2 pm. We rented a deluxe room with an ensuite bath (western toilet) – what luxury! Then we pooled our money to buy two beers to celebrate while waiting for the rest of the group to arrive!
By 4 pm most of the group had arrived – but not our kit bags? We began to worry because there is a curfew in Lukla. Nobody is allowed in or out of the village after 5 pm and nobody is allowed outdoors in the village after 6pm! Because of the airport and the strategic location of the village the Nepal government is very worried about Maoist rebels capturing the village. There are hundreds of soldiers and machine gun placements all around the airport and village. We were warned that the soldiers would shoot anyone violating the curfew first and ask questions last! Thankfully with our deluxe room there was no need for us to leave our room after dinner!
On Thu morning we had a very early teatime and after our final egg omelet breakfast we walked over to the airport at 6am to be ready for the first flights out. Unfortunately low clouds had moved in to Lukla Valley and no planes could land. However by 10 am we could hear the roar of a turbo prop and the first plane arrived from Kathmandu. Luckily I had a boarding pass for the first flight and soon we were screaming down the ski jump/runway and catapulting out into space. We arrived in Kathmandu 30 minutes later – wonderful/noisy/polluted/congested and WARM Kathmandu! As soon as I got to the hotel I went straight to the bathroom and stood under scalding hot water for 30 minutes and scrubbed the last remnants of Himalayan dust – and Yak shit – off my body! Then it was time to walk over to Thamel and order a hamburger – a real hamburger with real beef – and wash it down with a beer! It was great!
By early afternoon the rest of our group arrived from Lukla. Our team had decided to go to a popular restaurant – Mike’s Place, owned by a British expat – for dinner. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that Mike had a special buffet dinner – Turkey/Thanksgiving Dinner! I must have eaten 5 pounds of turkey and mashed potatoes – it was soooooooo goooooodddd!!!!!!! After dinner I made the mistake of accompanying a group of young runners/mates to some bars to celebrate and then I made a bigger mistake of trying to drink with them! I finally conceded defeat around 3am and staggered to a rickshaw to take me back to the hotel. The resulting hangover was so massive that I missed a 9am excursion/tour of Kathmandu. I think I finally crawled out of bed around 3 pm and began the process of recovery to get ready for the Awards banquet/ceremony on Fri night. The awards and prize money were handed out at the ceremony. The race organizers had ‘handled’ the sticky mess of runners w/o kits by backing off their disqualification policy and assigning a penalty of 10 minutes to all guilty runners. This allowed the Nepali runners to still beat the crap out of all foreign runners and claim their prize money!
The first foreign/white runner was a fell runner from the UK who finished in 4:57:56. My friend from NZ finished second. The first ‘white’ female was a runner from the ‘Cuckoos’. In fact four of the top ten ‘white’ runners were from the Cuckoos – the lazy/no-good/laid-back wimps/misfits and party animals who stayed in lodges??? We were very proud of our lazy selves. The trophy for Super Vet (60+) was skipped/ignored during the Award ceremony? However the following morning as the main group was preparing to depart and I was getting ready to transfer to another hotel the owner of the tour agency/race organization approached me and handed me the trophy for the Super Vet Category. She simply stated “This trophy belongs to you since you were the first Super Vet to cross the finish line according to the race rules”! I accepted the trophy because I felt that if I hadn’t been carrying 20+ pounds of survival kit on my back I would have finished at least 30 minutes faster! So the trophy is proudly displayed in my trophy case!
That evening I decided to go to a popular Steakhouse and enjoy a real beefsteak. It was great - but I didn’t get to enjoy it for long. One hour after dinner I was back in my hotel – very sick. I wasn’t sure if it was food poisoning or just all the germs/illnesses I had successfully avoided during the trek catching up with me – all at once! I had bodily fluids coming out of every orifice in my body – all at the same time! It was not a pretty sight! I was sick all night! I had booked a private tour for the following day and didn’t think I could get out of bed to go. By 9am I started to feel OK so I forced myself to get up and take the tour. I wanted to visit the neighboring cities of Pattan and Bhaktapur. These cities were separate kingdoms in the 15th century and each has its own Durbar Square with royal places and temples. Of the three Durbar squares I liked the one in Bhaktapur the best. It was quieter and less crowded (maybe the $10 entry fee had something to do with that). But I was glad I had taken the tour and seen all three Squares because I knew I was never coming back!
By early afternoon I suffered a relapse and returned to the hotel. I was concerned because I had to depart at 8:30am on Mon and I was facing another 40- hour journey home. It would be a long miserable journey! I started to overdose on Imodium to plug up one end and decided not to eat (only sip water to stay hydrated) until I got back home. On Mon morning I crawled out of bed and dragged my sorry, plugged-up ass on to the first flight in Kathmandu. I was able to buy some medicine at a pharmacy in the Bangkok airport to settle my stomach. Fortunately I was able to sleep for about 6 hours on the 12-hour flight from Hong Kong to LA. I actually felt good enough in LA to eat some greasy fries at Burger King while waiting for a red-eye flight to Dallas. They stayed down!
I met up with my wife at 6am in Dallas since she had taken a red-eye flight from Seattle where she visited the kids for Thanksgiving. We flew the final leg together to Tampa and she drove me straight to our family doctor in Sarasota. I wanted a medical check up and tests to determine if I had picked up some strange parasite or bug in Nepal! I was also hoping that the doc would give me some antibiotics or drugs to make me feel better and speed up my recovery? No such luck! He refused to give me any drugs until he saw the test results. Thus I had to go home and lay in bed for 5 days – coughing and hacking and suffering from a high fever with cold chills/hot sweats and constant hallucinations that I was back in the Himalayans! And all the time never more than a few feet from a bathroom. I forced myself to eat for nourishment. Thankfully it stayed down but I was amazed at how quickly the body can change solid food into liquid waste?
It was one of the most miserable weeks of my life! But eventually I did recover and the test results came back normal. I still haven’t regained my strength and endurance but I seem to get stronger each day as I start back running. I remember writing a brief report during that sick week asking “Was it worth it “? “The Everest Marathon/adventure”?
If I focus on the memories of how cold and miserable it was camping in the tents or that week of illness when I got home the answer might seem obvious. However as those painful memories fade I can still remember the spectacular scenery along the trek – I still remember my pride of climbing two 18ers and the magnificent views of “the Top of The World’ – I still remember the warm, friendly smiles of the Nepali people –especially the children – I still remember the camaraderie and friendship of the many new friends I made during the trek and the fact that I became a member of a special alumni – less than 500 people in the world have finished the Everest Marathon – the highest and toughest marathon in the world!
So my answer is a resounding YES!
But then I will quickly add:
“BEEN THERE - DONE THAT- AIN’T EVER GOING BACK!!!
But when are you going to run Everest? The next race is in NOV 2007!!!!
Sunday, December 11, 2005
Everst Marathon Trip Report -Part 2
TRIP REPORT
Nepal
Oct 31 – Nov 28/05
Part 2
Photos may be viewed at www.maddog.smugmug.com
Now where was I? Oh yes – we were getting ready to leave Namche Bazaar on Tue 11/08 for a trek up the Dudh Kosi Valley to Gokyo. Since the marathon finished in Namche on 11/21 we were advised to leave a clean change of clothes in Namche to change into after the race. I took the opportunity to leave some more clothes behind to lighten the weight of my kit bag and daypack.
We trekked from Namche to Sarnassas (miles 20 to 17 on the marathon route –all downhill which meant a steep uphill during the race) before turning north into a very dense forest and climbing 300 m to Khumjung (3760 m/12,408 ft) to camp for the night. Khumjung is a fairly large village with a school and hospital that serves that area of the Khumbu region. It is dominated by Ama Dablam (6856 m/22624 ft). Although the mountain is not that high it stands alone and looks quite spectacular!
It was expected to get very cold that night so I changed into thermal underwear as part of my PJs before going to afternoon tea. Dinner actually had some meat – Yak curry – to fortify us and get us ready for the cold night. Temps dropped to –5C and my water bottle froze. I became quite skilled at guessing the overnight low temps by how solid my water bottle was frozen each morning.
Wake up/tea time was 6:15 am on Wed. It was so cold that I left my thermal underwear on and pulled my trekking clothes on over them for breakfast. We continued to trek through a forest that blocked the sun and kept the temps so cold that most of the waterfalls we passed were solid sheets of ice! The trails were rocky and covered in ice – very dangerous! We descended to Phorche Tanga where the trail split off to Phortse and Dole and took the fork to Dole. It was a very steep climb up to Dole (4048 m/13,358 ft) where we would camp for the night. Taboche (6501 m/21,453 ft) towers over the village. After we left the forest and started the climb to Dole the sun came out and it got so hot that I had to strip naked on the trail to take off the thermal underwear. I was either too hot or too cold? After another veggie dinner I went to bed early. Expecting another cold night I added a liner to my sleeping bag but actually found it too hot during the night?
After an early tea (6 am) and another egg breakfast on Thu we set off for Machermo (4460 m/14,718 ft) where we were scheduled to camp for two days to acclimate to the higher altitudes. Machermo sits in a large valley that is dominated by three mountains: Machermo (6186 m/20,413 ft), Taboche and Cholotse (6410 m/21,153 ft). There was less traffic/people on this route but the trails were very dusty and covered in Yak shit and this contaminated combination was constantly stirred up by the traffic and ingested by the trekkers so that by the time we reached Machermo everyone was suffering from the ‘Himalyan cough’ – a dry, irritating cough caused by the dry air/dust/Yak shit! For many the cough turned into a chest cold and/or infection. By now many of the runners were also having intestinal problems (vomiting and diarrhea) in spite of our constant attention to hygiene. But we could only take care of our hygiene. I watched a Sherpa in a lodge add Yak shit to a fire and then prepare and serve food to trekkers w/o washing her hands. We were eating Yak shit!!! Thanks to our doctors/medical teams and drugs – they were able to keep all of the runners going in spite of the problems/illnesses. But at 15,000 ft some of the runners started suffering from AMS (Acute Mountain Sickness or Altitude Sickness as we call it in CO). One of our teammates, Justin, got so seriously ill with AMS that he couldn’t walk and had to be carried by Sherpas down the mountain in the dark accompanied by the team doctor. The only cure for AMS is to get to a lower elevation to acclimate so they carried him back down to Dole where he stayed for three days acclimating and waiting for us to pick him up on the way back down. Even some of the team doctors suffered from AMS and had to retreat to lower elevations for additional acclimation.
The doctors and race organizers warned/advised us to rest and acclimate during our two days in Machermo – not to do anything too strenuous! I followed that advice for the first day. Francisco and I did our laundry in a mountain stream – the water coming off the Machermo Glacier was so cold that my hands turned blue within a few minutes of scrubbing! Then I enjoyed a hot shower at the lodge where we camped. The shower was an outdoor stall with a 40-liter bucket on the roof that was filled with hot water heated on the kitchen stove. I stood on an inch of ice covering the concrete floor of the shower stall while the hot water scalded my head and body – it was wonderful as I washed all the dust and Yak shit off my body and washed my hair! All for a cheap fee of $2! Then I enjoyed a Yak steak and chips at the lodge. It was a great rest day! However the next day I figured I ‘needed’ to do a hard training run and ran a fast 10K back towards Dole. The first 5K downhill was OK but on the way back I started to suffer a slight headache - a sign of AMS. After the run Francisco and I climbed up a ridge overlooking Machermo. We climbed to 16,000 ft and the headache got worse – not good! I decided to rest and take it easy for the rest of the day in the hope that the headache would disappear by morning?
Actually found some Yak meat in my dinner that night but the headache still persisted.
It had been very cold the first night in Machermo so I added the liner to my sleeping bag to keep me warmer. Good thing – my water bottle was frozen solid in the morning!
On Sat morning we had to pack up everything to continue the trek to Gokyo. It was a short journey and we only climbed 300 m/1000 ft but my headache came back by the time we reached Gokyo (4750 m/15,675 ft). I was disappointed because I wanted to climb Gokyo Ri but decided it would not be wise to climb another 750 m with a headache/AMS. Instead I joined some teammates to climb a ridge about 200m above Gokyo that overlooked the village and the Ngozumpa Glacier. The glacier starts at Cho Oyu (8153 m/26,905 ft) – about 10 miles north of Gokyo and flows down the Dudh Kosi Valley for about 20 miles. When we returned to Gokyo we learned that the lodge where we were camping could not accommodate all our tents and eight of us needed to volunteer to sleep in the lodge. Being the oldest members of the team Francisco and I volunteered. The lodge rooms are not heated so they are not much warmer than the tent but they are still more comfortable than the tent. However it did cause some problems/confusion because of the rule that lodge guests must eat their meals from the lodge. It makes it difficult for our Sherpas to figure out how many to cook for and who they are supposed to feed. But that night turned out to be the coldest night of the trek so we were happy with our decision.
The next morning I was also happy to wake up w/o a headache so I joined some teammates to climb to the summit of Gokyo Ri (5483 m/18,0893 ft) early in the morning. I have climbed many 14ers in CO but believe me there is no comparison when you start climbing at 16,000 ft and have to climb 2,000 + vertical ft on a very steep ascent. I was sucking air all the way up and had to make a lot of rest stops. But the climb was worth it! Gokyo RI stands all alone and thus offers a spectacular and panoramic view of ‘The Top of The World”. You can see twenty peaks over 20,000 ft – from Cho Oyu (8153 m/26,910 ft) in the North to Everest (8850 m/29,205 ft), Lhotse (8501 m/28,053 ft), Makalu (8475 m/27,968 ft) to Thamserku (6608 m/21,806 ft) near Namche. That was a sight/memory I will remember forever!
But now it was time to end this part of the trek and head back down the Dudh Kosi Valley to the Khumbu Valley. After we descended Gokyo Ri we trekked back down the valley past Machermo and camped overnight in Luza (4390 m/14,487 ft). On the way we passed by the Gokyo Lakes again and sighted some lamagons (look like eagles) playing in the mountain downdrafts. After camping in Luza we continued our trek on Mon down through Dole where we picked up Justin and another team mate who were acclimating there and continued on back past the ice waterfalls to camp again in Khumjung. The lodge in Khumjung now looked like a paradise compared to some we had camped at higher up in the mountains. But the Sherpas still fed us another veggie dinner!
On Tue it was time to leave Khumjung and trek back down to Sarnassas to rejoin the actual marathon route. Francisco and I skipped the usual egg breakfast and stopped at a bakery in Khumjung – the highest bakery in the world- for a good old-fashioned cinnamon bun and hot chocolate. It was wonderful! We then descended to Sarnassas and continued on down to the river at Phunki Tenga (3250 m/10,725 ft). This was the lowest point of the Everest Marathon course – about 17 miles. Then we had to climb 617 m/2036 ft to Tengboche (3867 m/12,761 ft) over 3 miles. We had been warned that this was the steepest/most dangerous section of the marathon course and would be a descent on the actual marathon. The trail was indeed very steep and dangerous and at that point I decided that “my primary goal would not be time but rather to finish the race safely and healthy”! After a few hours of very difficult and strenuous climbing we reached Tengboche. There is a very important Buddhist Monastery in Tengboche and we arrived during a 5-day religious festival so the Monks were blowing their horns and performing some very colorful ceremonies that we watched. I managed to order a chicken burger at one of the lodges – pressed/canned chicken but at least it tasted like chicken. I also discovered a satellite Internet café – the highest Internet café in the world – and emailed an update to my loyal readers.
In the afternoon we continued our trek on and downhill to Deboche (3770m/12,441ft) where we would camp for the night. For a marathon course that was supposed to be mainly downhill there seemed to be a lot of ‘uphills’? The lodge and campsite were not great but we did get some Yak curry for dinner. It was another very cold night in the tent.
On Wed, 11/16 we departed early for Dingboche. There were some spectacular views of Thamserku and Kantega (6685 m/22,060 ft) along the way. I was looking forward to our stay in Dingboche because we camped there for two nights and I needed to wash some more clothes. Dingboche (4410 m/14,553 ft) is surrounded by mountains and spectacular views – Thamserku, Kantega, Taboche, Lhotse, Ama Dablam and Island Peak (6189 m/20,423 ft).
By the time we arrived in Dingboche members of our team (and the other teams) were falling like flies. Nine days of trekking, ingesting dust and Yak shit and bad food and water were taking its toll. Many were very sick and opted to stay in a lodge room instead of suffering the cold and misery of the tents! My teammate deserted me and stayed in a lodge room. I decided to tough it out and stay in the tent which I now had all to myself. About half the team stayed in rooms which really confused our Sherpas.
I did pay attention to the advice about rest during our 2-day stay. I made a few short hikes to explore the area around Dingboche but no running! Instead of freezing my hands doing my own laundry I found a local Sherpa woman who agreed to do my laundry. I sent her many customers from our team and she was very happy with the extra income. I enjoyed another shower – I knew it would be my last until I finished the race in Namche!
I expected the weather to get colder again so added another layer to my PJ ensemble in addition to the liner. I can’t say that I was ever actually cold at night – but I can’t say that I was ever warm either! But I was miserable and I was worried that my ‘cough’ was turning into a chest cold?
Soon it was time to move on and up the Khumbu Valley to Lobuche (4910 m/16,203 ft) for another 2-day camp and more high altitude acclimation. We had been warned that Lobuche was a dump – they did not lie! The village is located in a very small desolate valley and only has a few lodges. The lodges and campsites were filthy, the outhouses were so filthy and despicable that everyone refused to use them and instead found an empty spot on the mountain to ‘do their job”. The lodge where we camped was a dump. The first night they didn’t even start a fire in the stove until we chipped in and bribed them to start a fire – and then they let it go out after a few hours! The 2nd night they had a full house of guests and kicked us out of the dining room so we had to eat in the mess tent. There was one exception. A new lodge had been built on the edge of the village. It was modern and clean. And our team rented every spare room in the lodge! Mainly the members who were sick but also some who were just sick of staying in cold tents! I opted to stay in my tent (by myself again) and stick with the program.
By this time all the teams were sick and had frayed/tired nerves and were edgy. So the other teams (including their group leaders) got angry/upset with the ‘Cuckoos’ saying we were wimps and would have an unfair advantage in the race because we were staying in lodges! One group leader forbid his group from staying in a lodge – “it would not be in the true spirit of the game”? It started to get very ugly and personal until one of our team members – a young British army officer – invited the belligerent group leader to step outside to settle the affair. Good thing he declined because Matt is a champion kick boxer! Finally the group leaders got together to diffuse the situation. It is amazing how quickly a group of total strangers can bond and become a close-knit team when they face hardship and adversity together?
On Sat many of our team members decided to trek 3 miles to Gorak Shep, climb Kala Patthar (5623 m/18,55 ft) for another/different view of ‘The Top of The World” and return to Lobuche. It was a long trek but we decided it would be best to do it a few days before the race and not the day before the race. Some thought the climb was harder than Gokyo Ri but I thought it was easier? But it was worth the effort because the views were much different. Everest and Nuptse are only a few miles away and just tower over Kala Patthar. It is hard to believe that you are standing at 18,000 ft and those mountains still tower 10,000/11,000 ft above you? Other than that great memory the two days in Lobuche were the two most miserable days of the whole trek! I just kept counting the time and hours till we moved on to Gorak Shep, ran the marathon and put an end to the MISERY!
Finally on Sun 11/20 it was time to move on to Gorak Shep where the marathon would start. But first we had to pass a medical check and collect our numbers in Lobuche before we could begin the trek to Gorak Shep. Almost everyone was sick – chest colds/infections, intestinal problems and AMS. All runners would be assigned three race numbers for the race. We had to pick up the first race number which we then took to one of the team doctors. If we passed a medical test the doc would sign the number and we could pick up the other two numbers. The medical test relied mainly on honesty – although nobody wanted to be held out of the race it would be foolish to lie if you were seriously ill with AMS. We also had to perform a toe-to-heel walk forward and backward – much like a sobriety test. Apparently this is difficult to do if you have serious problems with AMS? Thanks to the supreme efforts of our medical staff (and drugs) all 56 runners were deemed fit to go to the start line!
It was a 3-mile trek to Gorak Shep across a moraine field deposited by the Khumbu Glacier. It was not a steep climb but the moraine was very difficult and dangerous to cross. I realized that this 3-mile section and the 3-mile descent at Tengboche were the two most difficult/dangerous sections of the course! It took us more than 2 hours to trek those three miles and we arrived in Gorak Shep (5200 m/17,160 ft) – our final camp - by noon. The marathon was getting close!
I will leave the report on the final preparations and final night of the trek and the actual race for the final chapter of this report.
Stay tuned!
Nepal
Oct 31 – Nov 28/05
Part 2
Photos may be viewed at www.maddog.smugmug.com
Now where was I? Oh yes – we were getting ready to leave Namche Bazaar on Tue 11/08 for a trek up the Dudh Kosi Valley to Gokyo. Since the marathon finished in Namche on 11/21 we were advised to leave a clean change of clothes in Namche to change into after the race. I took the opportunity to leave some more clothes behind to lighten the weight of my kit bag and daypack.
We trekked from Namche to Sarnassas (miles 20 to 17 on the marathon route –all downhill which meant a steep uphill during the race) before turning north into a very dense forest and climbing 300 m to Khumjung (3760 m/12,408 ft) to camp for the night. Khumjung is a fairly large village with a school and hospital that serves that area of the Khumbu region. It is dominated by Ama Dablam (6856 m/22624 ft). Although the mountain is not that high it stands alone and looks quite spectacular!
It was expected to get very cold that night so I changed into thermal underwear as part of my PJs before going to afternoon tea. Dinner actually had some meat – Yak curry – to fortify us and get us ready for the cold night. Temps dropped to –5C and my water bottle froze. I became quite skilled at guessing the overnight low temps by how solid my water bottle was frozen each morning.
Wake up/tea time was 6:15 am on Wed. It was so cold that I left my thermal underwear on and pulled my trekking clothes on over them for breakfast. We continued to trek through a forest that blocked the sun and kept the temps so cold that most of the waterfalls we passed were solid sheets of ice! The trails were rocky and covered in ice – very dangerous! We descended to Phorche Tanga where the trail split off to Phortse and Dole and took the fork to Dole. It was a very steep climb up to Dole (4048 m/13,358 ft) where we would camp for the night. Taboche (6501 m/21,453 ft) towers over the village. After we left the forest and started the climb to Dole the sun came out and it got so hot that I had to strip naked on the trail to take off the thermal underwear. I was either too hot or too cold? After another veggie dinner I went to bed early. Expecting another cold night I added a liner to my sleeping bag but actually found it too hot during the night?
After an early tea (6 am) and another egg breakfast on Thu we set off for Machermo (4460 m/14,718 ft) where we were scheduled to camp for two days to acclimate to the higher altitudes. Machermo sits in a large valley that is dominated by three mountains: Machermo (6186 m/20,413 ft), Taboche and Cholotse (6410 m/21,153 ft). There was less traffic/people on this route but the trails were very dusty and covered in Yak shit and this contaminated combination was constantly stirred up by the traffic and ingested by the trekkers so that by the time we reached Machermo everyone was suffering from the ‘Himalyan cough’ – a dry, irritating cough caused by the dry air/dust/Yak shit! For many the cough turned into a chest cold and/or infection. By now many of the runners were also having intestinal problems (vomiting and diarrhea) in spite of our constant attention to hygiene. But we could only take care of our hygiene. I watched a Sherpa in a lodge add Yak shit to a fire and then prepare and serve food to trekkers w/o washing her hands. We were eating Yak shit!!! Thanks to our doctors/medical teams and drugs – they were able to keep all of the runners going in spite of the problems/illnesses. But at 15,000 ft some of the runners started suffering from AMS (Acute Mountain Sickness or Altitude Sickness as we call it in CO). One of our teammates, Justin, got so seriously ill with AMS that he couldn’t walk and had to be carried by Sherpas down the mountain in the dark accompanied by the team doctor. The only cure for AMS is to get to a lower elevation to acclimate so they carried him back down to Dole where he stayed for three days acclimating and waiting for us to pick him up on the way back down. Even some of the team doctors suffered from AMS and had to retreat to lower elevations for additional acclimation.
The doctors and race organizers warned/advised us to rest and acclimate during our two days in Machermo – not to do anything too strenuous! I followed that advice for the first day. Francisco and I did our laundry in a mountain stream – the water coming off the Machermo Glacier was so cold that my hands turned blue within a few minutes of scrubbing! Then I enjoyed a hot shower at the lodge where we camped. The shower was an outdoor stall with a 40-liter bucket on the roof that was filled with hot water heated on the kitchen stove. I stood on an inch of ice covering the concrete floor of the shower stall while the hot water scalded my head and body – it was wonderful as I washed all the dust and Yak shit off my body and washed my hair! All for a cheap fee of $2! Then I enjoyed a Yak steak and chips at the lodge. It was a great rest day! However the next day I figured I ‘needed’ to do a hard training run and ran a fast 10K back towards Dole. The first 5K downhill was OK but on the way back I started to suffer a slight headache - a sign of AMS. After the run Francisco and I climbed up a ridge overlooking Machermo. We climbed to 16,000 ft and the headache got worse – not good! I decided to rest and take it easy for the rest of the day in the hope that the headache would disappear by morning?
Actually found some Yak meat in my dinner that night but the headache still persisted.
It had been very cold the first night in Machermo so I added the liner to my sleeping bag to keep me warmer. Good thing – my water bottle was frozen solid in the morning!
On Sat morning we had to pack up everything to continue the trek to Gokyo. It was a short journey and we only climbed 300 m/1000 ft but my headache came back by the time we reached Gokyo (4750 m/15,675 ft). I was disappointed because I wanted to climb Gokyo Ri but decided it would not be wise to climb another 750 m with a headache/AMS. Instead I joined some teammates to climb a ridge about 200m above Gokyo that overlooked the village and the Ngozumpa Glacier. The glacier starts at Cho Oyu (8153 m/26,905 ft) – about 10 miles north of Gokyo and flows down the Dudh Kosi Valley for about 20 miles. When we returned to Gokyo we learned that the lodge where we were camping could not accommodate all our tents and eight of us needed to volunteer to sleep in the lodge. Being the oldest members of the team Francisco and I volunteered. The lodge rooms are not heated so they are not much warmer than the tent but they are still more comfortable than the tent. However it did cause some problems/confusion because of the rule that lodge guests must eat their meals from the lodge. It makes it difficult for our Sherpas to figure out how many to cook for and who they are supposed to feed. But that night turned out to be the coldest night of the trek so we were happy with our decision.
The next morning I was also happy to wake up w/o a headache so I joined some teammates to climb to the summit of Gokyo Ri (5483 m/18,0893 ft) early in the morning. I have climbed many 14ers in CO but believe me there is no comparison when you start climbing at 16,000 ft and have to climb 2,000 + vertical ft on a very steep ascent. I was sucking air all the way up and had to make a lot of rest stops. But the climb was worth it! Gokyo RI stands all alone and thus offers a spectacular and panoramic view of ‘The Top of The World”. You can see twenty peaks over 20,000 ft – from Cho Oyu (8153 m/26,910 ft) in the North to Everest (8850 m/29,205 ft), Lhotse (8501 m/28,053 ft), Makalu (8475 m/27,968 ft) to Thamserku (6608 m/21,806 ft) near Namche. That was a sight/memory I will remember forever!
But now it was time to end this part of the trek and head back down the Dudh Kosi Valley to the Khumbu Valley. After we descended Gokyo Ri we trekked back down the valley past Machermo and camped overnight in Luza (4390 m/14,487 ft). On the way we passed by the Gokyo Lakes again and sighted some lamagons (look like eagles) playing in the mountain downdrafts. After camping in Luza we continued our trek on Mon down through Dole where we picked up Justin and another team mate who were acclimating there and continued on back past the ice waterfalls to camp again in Khumjung. The lodge in Khumjung now looked like a paradise compared to some we had camped at higher up in the mountains. But the Sherpas still fed us another veggie dinner!
On Tue it was time to leave Khumjung and trek back down to Sarnassas to rejoin the actual marathon route. Francisco and I skipped the usual egg breakfast and stopped at a bakery in Khumjung – the highest bakery in the world- for a good old-fashioned cinnamon bun and hot chocolate. It was wonderful! We then descended to Sarnassas and continued on down to the river at Phunki Tenga (3250 m/10,725 ft). This was the lowest point of the Everest Marathon course – about 17 miles. Then we had to climb 617 m/2036 ft to Tengboche (3867 m/12,761 ft) over 3 miles. We had been warned that this was the steepest/most dangerous section of the marathon course and would be a descent on the actual marathon. The trail was indeed very steep and dangerous and at that point I decided that “my primary goal would not be time but rather to finish the race safely and healthy”! After a few hours of very difficult and strenuous climbing we reached Tengboche. There is a very important Buddhist Monastery in Tengboche and we arrived during a 5-day religious festival so the Monks were blowing their horns and performing some very colorful ceremonies that we watched. I managed to order a chicken burger at one of the lodges – pressed/canned chicken but at least it tasted like chicken. I also discovered a satellite Internet café – the highest Internet café in the world – and emailed an update to my loyal readers.
In the afternoon we continued our trek on and downhill to Deboche (3770m/12,441ft) where we would camp for the night. For a marathon course that was supposed to be mainly downhill there seemed to be a lot of ‘uphills’? The lodge and campsite were not great but we did get some Yak curry for dinner. It was another very cold night in the tent.
On Wed, 11/16 we departed early for Dingboche. There were some spectacular views of Thamserku and Kantega (6685 m/22,060 ft) along the way. I was looking forward to our stay in Dingboche because we camped there for two nights and I needed to wash some more clothes. Dingboche (4410 m/14,553 ft) is surrounded by mountains and spectacular views – Thamserku, Kantega, Taboche, Lhotse, Ama Dablam and Island Peak (6189 m/20,423 ft).
By the time we arrived in Dingboche members of our team (and the other teams) were falling like flies. Nine days of trekking, ingesting dust and Yak shit and bad food and water were taking its toll. Many were very sick and opted to stay in a lodge room instead of suffering the cold and misery of the tents! My teammate deserted me and stayed in a lodge room. I decided to tough it out and stay in the tent which I now had all to myself. About half the team stayed in rooms which really confused our Sherpas.
I did pay attention to the advice about rest during our 2-day stay. I made a few short hikes to explore the area around Dingboche but no running! Instead of freezing my hands doing my own laundry I found a local Sherpa woman who agreed to do my laundry. I sent her many customers from our team and she was very happy with the extra income. I enjoyed another shower – I knew it would be my last until I finished the race in Namche!
I expected the weather to get colder again so added another layer to my PJ ensemble in addition to the liner. I can’t say that I was ever actually cold at night – but I can’t say that I was ever warm either! But I was miserable and I was worried that my ‘cough’ was turning into a chest cold?
Soon it was time to move on and up the Khumbu Valley to Lobuche (4910 m/16,203 ft) for another 2-day camp and more high altitude acclimation. We had been warned that Lobuche was a dump – they did not lie! The village is located in a very small desolate valley and only has a few lodges. The lodges and campsites were filthy, the outhouses were so filthy and despicable that everyone refused to use them and instead found an empty spot on the mountain to ‘do their job”. The lodge where we camped was a dump. The first night they didn’t even start a fire in the stove until we chipped in and bribed them to start a fire – and then they let it go out after a few hours! The 2nd night they had a full house of guests and kicked us out of the dining room so we had to eat in the mess tent. There was one exception. A new lodge had been built on the edge of the village. It was modern and clean. And our team rented every spare room in the lodge! Mainly the members who were sick but also some who were just sick of staying in cold tents! I opted to stay in my tent (by myself again) and stick with the program.
By this time all the teams were sick and had frayed/tired nerves and were edgy. So the other teams (including their group leaders) got angry/upset with the ‘Cuckoos’ saying we were wimps and would have an unfair advantage in the race because we were staying in lodges! One group leader forbid his group from staying in a lodge – “it would not be in the true spirit of the game”? It started to get very ugly and personal until one of our team members – a young British army officer – invited the belligerent group leader to step outside to settle the affair. Good thing he declined because Matt is a champion kick boxer! Finally the group leaders got together to diffuse the situation. It is amazing how quickly a group of total strangers can bond and become a close-knit team when they face hardship and adversity together?
On Sat many of our team members decided to trek 3 miles to Gorak Shep, climb Kala Patthar (5623 m/18,55 ft) for another/different view of ‘The Top of The World” and return to Lobuche. It was a long trek but we decided it would be best to do it a few days before the race and not the day before the race. Some thought the climb was harder than Gokyo Ri but I thought it was easier? But it was worth the effort because the views were much different. Everest and Nuptse are only a few miles away and just tower over Kala Patthar. It is hard to believe that you are standing at 18,000 ft and those mountains still tower 10,000/11,000 ft above you? Other than that great memory the two days in Lobuche were the two most miserable days of the whole trek! I just kept counting the time and hours till we moved on to Gorak Shep, ran the marathon and put an end to the MISERY!
Finally on Sun 11/20 it was time to move on to Gorak Shep where the marathon would start. But first we had to pass a medical check and collect our numbers in Lobuche before we could begin the trek to Gorak Shep. Almost everyone was sick – chest colds/infections, intestinal problems and AMS. All runners would be assigned three race numbers for the race. We had to pick up the first race number which we then took to one of the team doctors. If we passed a medical test the doc would sign the number and we could pick up the other two numbers. The medical test relied mainly on honesty – although nobody wanted to be held out of the race it would be foolish to lie if you were seriously ill with AMS. We also had to perform a toe-to-heel walk forward and backward – much like a sobriety test. Apparently this is difficult to do if you have serious problems with AMS? Thanks to the supreme efforts of our medical staff (and drugs) all 56 runners were deemed fit to go to the start line!
It was a 3-mile trek to Gorak Shep across a moraine field deposited by the Khumbu Glacier. It was not a steep climb but the moraine was very difficult and dangerous to cross. I realized that this 3-mile section and the 3-mile descent at Tengboche were the two most difficult/dangerous sections of the course! It took us more than 2 hours to trek those three miles and we arrived in Gorak Shep (5200 m/17,160 ft) – our final camp - by noon. The marathon was getting close!
I will leave the report on the final preparations and final night of the trek and the actual race for the final chapter of this report.
Stay tuned!
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