This is not a post I really look forward to write. The good part is--it will be a short one!!
I was confident of finishing the Arkansas Traveller, or maybe I am such a good liar I actually believed myself. My ankle seemed like it was gonna behave. I had an issue of back spasms the Thursday before, but usually running helps my back pain, not vice versa. The couple of short runs preceding the weekend had went well.
The elastic wrap-around brace seemed to make running with a gimpy ankle seem comfortable and safe. Running Wednesday night for four miles on the trails with this brace, I felt strong and comfortable, running over rocks with authority. All seemed well.
We tried to get out of town Friday early, but as almost always, work was hectic and we did not hit the road until 11:30. We did not make the pre-race briefing, but I have heard the rundown before. No worries.
We weighed in, picked up my packet, and ate our fill of pasta. My wrist band reveals my weight!! (See, I AM a Clydesdale!!) Then headed out to locate the major aid stations to put them in the Jeep's GPS. It's a long drive from the start/finish to the Powerline, especially when you take the good paved roads. We drove nearly a hundred miles there and back--would have rather had that time for sleeping. I got my usual pre-race 5 hours of sleep, and 4:00 came way to early!!! Still, we made it to the race in plenty of time. I had my coffee, my Vespa, and my poopie time. All was going great! My new camera was lost--temporarily. Dana was using the iPhone to take pics, and it does not do pictures in the dark at all. After the race was over, we found my camera in plain sight in the Jeep. It was just as well, because taking time for photos would have hurt my time.
So here's a nice picture of Lake Sylvia taken after the sun came up while Dana was waiting for me to finish my 16 mile loop.
I started near the back of the pack. I was running 10-12 minute miles for the first 5, and reached the first aid stop for my treat of crispy salty bacon and pancake wedges. Amazing!!!! Then, we had about a 3 mile climb to the top of Flatside Pinnacle. Then, my favorite part of the race--8 miles of sweet single track with about a 3 mile downhill to start with. I had averaged 13 minutes per mile for the first 8, despite the last 3 being a long climb. But instead of speeding up on the downhill trails, I slowed down. I was very tentative running over the rocks, and I swear I never remembered that section being so technical. Ten or more people passed me on this section. I wasted no time at all in the first three aid stops, taking less than 60 seconds total between the three. Still, I slowed down more and more. Checking my splits, I had some 16 minute miles, 18s, 19s, and a 21. I was sure I must have been in last place when I trotted into the Lake Sylvia crew station.
The bottom of my bum foot felt like someone had beat on it with a hammer for a week. Running was just not fun. (I have since read that besides a slightly sprained ankle, I have Peroneal Tendonitis--an inflamation of the tendon the side of the foot that connects to the fifth metatarsal.) I decided to try to tape instead of wearing the brace, and broke one of my rules by taking off my shoe during a race. Dana taped it with some duct tape--all the aid station had--and I headed back out. Ouch. I ran a little and walked a little, and decided to take my shoe off again and take off the brace and tape to see if I could manage running without it. No such luck. Then, Dana drove up behind me and had the tape we used last week at FlatRock. I ran just a hundred yards and had to stop again. Either the tape was too tight, or my foot was swelling. This time, we tried just putting a couple of stirrup-like straps and wrapping the top way above the ankle. That was not really any better. By now, my average pace had slowed to 17:10 minutes per mile, and I doubted I could even manage an 18 minute mile on a flat smooth trail--and I had 83 more miles to go. Crap!!! I pulled the plug, climbed in the Jeep, and quit. DNF in my last four 100s!!
Dana was was geared up to crew all night, and was as disappointed as I was. She puts as much into crewing as I do in running, and having an anti-climatic stop like this just seems so sick to both of us. But really, I'm not beating myself up on this one. There was just no way it was going to happen.
So that nice belt buckle in the previous post....Nope.
So, what to do. We called our pacers and told them the news. Fortunately, we saved them from driving all the way from Tulsa to the sticks of Arkansas. We went back to the motel, and got there just in time to shower and check out without paying another day. Then, we headed home, but not before checking out some really nifty trails to come back to run!!! No, I did not go out on them, but we drove by and I drooled.
I was confident of finishing the Arkansas Traveller, or maybe I am such a good liar I actually believed myself. My ankle seemed like it was gonna behave. I had an issue of back spasms the Thursday before, but usually running helps my back pain, not vice versa. The couple of short runs preceding the weekend had went well.
The elastic wrap-around brace seemed to make running with a gimpy ankle seem comfortable and safe. Running Wednesday night for four miles on the trails with this brace, I felt strong and comfortable, running over rocks with authority. All seemed well.We tried to get out of town Friday early, but as almost always, work was hectic and we did not hit the road until 11:30. We did not make the pre-race briefing, but I have heard the rundown before. No worries.
We weighed in, picked up my packet, and ate our fill of pasta. My wrist band reveals my weight!! (See, I AM a Clydesdale!!) Then headed out to locate the major aid stations to put them in the Jeep's GPS. It's a long drive from the start/finish to the Powerline, especially when you take the good paved roads. We drove nearly a hundred miles there and back--would have rather had that time for sleeping. I got my usual pre-race 5 hours of sleep, and 4:00 came way to early!!! Still, we made it to the race in plenty of time. I had my coffee, my Vespa, and my poopie time. All was going great! My new camera was lost--temporarily. Dana was using the iPhone to take pics, and it does not do pictures in the dark at all. After the race was over, we found my camera in plain sight in the Jeep. It was just as well, because taking time for photos would have hurt my time.
So here's a nice picture of Lake Sylvia taken after the sun came up while Dana was waiting for me to finish my 16 mile loop.I started near the back of the pack. I was running 10-12 minute miles for the first 5, and reached the first aid stop for my treat of crispy salty bacon and pancake wedges. Amazing!!!! Then, we had about a 3 mile climb to the top of Flatside Pinnacle. Then, my favorite part of the race--8 miles of sweet single track with about a 3 mile downhill to start with. I had averaged 13 minutes per mile for the first 8, despite the last 3 being a long climb. But instead of speeding up on the downhill trails, I slowed down. I was very tentative running over the rocks, and I swear I never remembered that section being so technical. Ten or more people passed me on this section. I wasted no time at all in the first three aid stops, taking less than 60 seconds total between the three. Still, I slowed down more and more. Checking my splits, I had some 16 minute miles, 18s, 19s, and a 21. I was sure I must have been in last place when I trotted into the Lake Sylvia crew station.
The bottom of my bum foot felt like someone had beat on it with a hammer for a week. Running was just not fun. (I have since read that besides a slightly sprained ankle, I have Peroneal Tendonitis--an inflamation of the tendon the side of the foot that connects to the fifth metatarsal.) I decided to try to tape instead of wearing the brace, and broke one of my rules by taking off my shoe during a race. Dana taped it with some duct tape--all the aid station had--and I headed back out. Ouch. I ran a little and walked a little, and decided to take my shoe off again and take off the brace and tape to see if I could manage running without it. No such luck. Then, Dana drove up behind me and had the tape we used last week at FlatRock. I ran just a hundred yards and had to stop again. Either the tape was too tight, or my foot was swelling. This time, we tried just putting a couple of stirrup-like straps and wrapping the top way above the ankle. That was not really any better. By now, my average pace had slowed to 17:10 minutes per mile, and I doubted I could even manage an 18 minute mile on a flat smooth trail--and I had 83 more miles to go. Crap!!! I pulled the plug, climbed in the Jeep, and quit. DNF in my last four 100s!!Dana was was geared up to crew all night, and was as disappointed as I was. She puts as much into crewing as I do in running, and having an anti-climatic stop like this just seems so sick to both of us. But really, I'm not beating myself up on this one. There was just no way it was going to happen.
So that nice belt buckle in the previous post....Nope.
So, what to do. We called our pacers and told them the news. Fortunately, we saved them from driving all the way from Tulsa to the sticks of Arkansas. We went back to the motel, and got there just in time to shower and check out without paying another day. Then, we headed home, but not before checking out some really nifty trails to come back to run!!! No, I did not go out on them, but we drove by and I drooled.
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