We've been to the Promised Land!

What a weekend! We went to VA to run the Promise Land 50K, the toughest 50K in the country! (at least that's the claim) We drove down with Marie and Tony and because there are no hotels very close to the start of the race and it starts at 5:30 AM we decided to camp at the start along with most of the other runners. Yes, we pitched a tent!!! We got the tent up without too much fanfare and then the rain came. What can be worse than camping? Camping in the rain. We made the most of it and fortunately the rain stopped well before our 4:30 AM wake up call. Neither Frank nor I slept much but we were "rested" and ready to run a tough 31+ miles! A few words of encouragement from the race director and we're off! The course starts uphill and then you reach some downhills and that seems really fun until I realized that I would have to go back up! The hills were brutal but usually followed by a rewarding downhill! Not too bad I thought, I can do this. Then I got to what is called "The Falls! This is a very beautiful section about 3 miles and you're surrounded by several sections of waterfalls with a spectacular falls near the end. It took me 1 1/2 hour to cover that 3 miles! I could not believe how tough it was. Straight up, sometimes stairs, sometimes rocks but you were always climbing. At one point I didn't think I could continue moving forward and wondered how I'd be able to get out and finally concluded I'd have to be air lifted out! I dug deep and somehow managed to get to the top! I was so happy although that did not last. I thought I only had 3 miles to go and then realized I had 5 or 6 miles to go. This was a Horton race and he prides himself on Horton miles which are never what he says they are. The race is always longer and this one was no exception. The conclusion is that it's about 34 miles instead of 31. The good news was that the remaining course is almost all downhill, the bad news is that its probably 6 more miles and even running downhill hurt. Again I sucked it up and ran/walked until I reached the finish. I was actually able to pass a few more people on the way so I felt good that I hadn't slowed as much as I could have. There was hope! Finally after 9 hours and 10 minutes, my adventure was over. I was greeted by cheers and tears at the finish and soon was eating and celebrating a great accomplishment. Frank had a tough day out there as well and thankfully he has no desire to do that one again either. It was a very hot day out there which didn't help but at least the rain held off. Shortly after I finished the skies opened and it poured. I felt bad for the runners still out there as well as the volunteers. I was so happy I was not caught in that downpour. The rain subsided and we were ready to go home. We took the tent down and everything was pretty wet. We just threw everything in the back of Marie's van and would dry it out at home. We were exhausted! After a 4 hour car ride, we were finally home. It was a great weekend and we had lots of fun but in the words of Dorothy, "There's no place like home". It was great to be home with our little "Chico" and in our own bed, an air mattress just doesn't quite do it. Sweet dreams!

Going to the Promise Land!

Yep, We're going to the Promise Land. Promise Land is a very challenging 50K that everyone says it's worth it for it's beauty. I even bought a new camera to capture it's beauty so be sure to check it out.
It's been almost 3 weeks since we ran our first 100. I haven't done much running since due to recovery and commitments and now tapering for this weekend. I'm pretty much recovered and feel great. I'm looking forward to getting back to training and on more consistent schedule. It's fun taking time off but I do like have a routine!
I did run 17 miles with Frank last weekend and I felt great but probably ran a little harder than I should have the week before a tough 50K but I just decided to go for it and train a little harder. I hope to do that more often. I certainly am learning that I run much slower when on my own. Hopefully Frank won't mind me tagging alone with him on his "easy" days! Plus, with Frank's success in his running of late, I probably need to take a page from his book! Now that he's not working his training is really consistent and he's added weights and yoga to his routine.
Well, gotta go get ready for our trip! Oh yes, we're camping! Need I say more!

Umstead 100 MIle Endurance Event

After months of training for the 2008 Umstead 100 Mile Endurance Run it was finally here. The weather reports were dreadful predicting severe weather all day and night during the race. Experience has taught me that the weather reports are often incorrect here so I didn't let it get to me. We awoke in the morning to a light rain and then it stopped. It was warm and muggy but we seemed to have dodged the bullet. We got to the start around 5:00 and saw lots of our MTC friends getting ready to run the 100 and we knew that we'd have a great day. Jean was there to crew and pace me so all was going well..

The gun went off at 6:00 and our journey began. Frank stayed with me for the first couple of miles. It was dark and important not to start out too fast. I had my heartrate monitor on as well as my GPS however, it was dark and I had no idea how fast I was going or how high my heartrate was. I felt good however so I was pretty sure that I was not going out too fast. I ran the first loop in 2:45 which was exactly the same as we ran it last year. I was really surprised and had thought I might have gone out a little too fast yet I wanted a slight cushion for the second half. The next 2 laps were each 2:52 (not including time in the lodge getting food) and the 4th loop was 3:13. I had not been keeping track of my total time as I'd been starting each lap at 0:00 so I as surprised that I ended up running the first 50 miles under 11:30. I was a little concerned but felt good and thought, oh well, I've got over 18 hours to complete the next 50 so that was reassuring. I could crawl if I needed to although as it turned out, I wouldn't need to crawl.

My friend Jean was here from NJ to pace me for the 2nd half and I was really looking forward to that. We ran the second half in a little over 15 hours although I'm waiting for the final results to figure out my splits. I thought I would get really tired but amazingly I didn't. The toughest loop was lap 6 and it was a struggle to think about doing 2 more laps. I was having trouble eating and getting enough calories. All that candy and sweets that I love and I just just couldn't get anything down. Everything I ate was contributing to my having diarhea. I got some chicken soup down and felt renewed. I guess I got that second wind that everyone talks about. Running at night was a challenge and it got old after a while and I was looking forward to daylight. You couldn't really think about what time it was and time just sort of stood still. It didn't matter what time it was, you just had to keep moving forward until the journey was done. Daylight came along with some colder winds and rain but it wasnt' too bad. I picked up my rain jacket at the aid station and was comfortable for my last loop.
My only issue during the whole run was a bout of diarhea. I have no idea how many pit stops I had to take but it was more than I care to remember. I'll have to figure out what to eat or more importantly what not to eat during future ultra attempts.
We ran into Frank as we were coming out of the bathroom at the lodge around 1:30 in the morning. He was just finishing his 7th loop and I was finishing my 6th. He was on track to come in under 24 hours. Amazing! He was thrilled but very tired. We got him a pacer and he finished in 23:23! Incredible. When I came in after my 7th lap, he was done!!!!! Literally! He was starting to feel sick and we got nurses over to attend to him. We couldn't stay long however, as I still had to finish my last lap and there was a chance that I'd be able to break 28 hours. I couldn't do much running in that last lap as everytime I tried to run, I'd get diarhea so I pretty much just walked really fast. I was able to pass quite a few stragglers and it felt great to still feel so good. I never had any real downtime out there. I didn't know what to expect but I never expected to have such energy for the entire 100 mile trek.
I still don't think that I'll do another 100 mile event but never say never. I do want to keep doing ultras and hopefully 50 milers and 24 hour events will be enough to challenge me. I certainly learned that I am capable of more than I thought I was so who knows what I'll attempt in the future. Stay turned!

I ran all night!

I DID IT!!!!!! I still can't believe it but I completed the 100 mile run in under 28 hours in spite of myself. After a week of not being able to run and visiting my chiropractor several times to "fix" my hamstrings, I actually was not only able to run but I ran 100 miles. It was so much fun and I will write more tomorrow to recap the event. Jean and Mary were here with me and that made it so special and important for me to be able to complete the run. Having friends around to cheer you on and support you is an incredible incentive to really dig deep and give it your all so I did. Jean came down to NC just to support me and the enormity of that is overwhelming and is just sinking in. I was so scared of not being able to run the 100 miles that I did not fully appreciate her sacrifice to come to NC and run the last 50 miles (from 6:00 PM until possibly noon the following day!)with me after supporting me from the sidelines for the first 50. Pacers are certainly unappreciated and I now have an enormous respect and appreication for them and hope that someday I will be able to pay it forward for another runner tackling the 100 mile challenge. Friends are wonderful and I'm so happy to have friends like Mary and Jean that are always there for me. Also, our new friends from the MTC running club were there and it was so much fun seeing them and having them support us and cheer us on as well. It was truly a wonderful weekend. I never thought it would be such a great time.
I plan on posting a detailed report of the weekend but will wait until tomorrow when I'm totally rested and can focus on that. Be sure to check it out! Photos and all!