Laying and waiting to drift off to sleep, and it just won't happen. Over and over I keep following the AT 100 course, remembering every turn and hill, all the dusty roads, the sound of wind in the trees, the glow of an aid station as I round a corner. Nervous? Not really. I feel well prepared, even confident of a fairly good time for a middle aged back-of-the-packer. Here's a few pics from the past two years at the Arkansas Traveller.
This year, I'll wear my Garmin and keep my pace to under 16 minutes per mile except for the obvious places where walking is the most logical mode of movement. I plan to get in and out of the aid stations quite a bit quicker than last year. Wipe the windows, check the oil, and move on out. )Make that fill the water bottle, grab something to eat, and walk out munching and then run.)
A quick sit in a chair to remove crap from my shoes is acceptable,
but vegging out for 15-20 minutes at a time is not. Last year, my combined time in the Lake Sylvia, and Lake Winona aid stations were almost to the minute the time that cost me making the cutoff at the turn-around. (I am still grumpy about that! I felt fine, and I feel sure I would have finished the race, most likely under the 30 hour time limit. There was not a mention of the time cut-off at that aid stop anywhere last year on the website. But such is life.)
My help this year....Kathy will pace me at some point. I will have her doing the slave-driving duties for about 16 miles.
Brian will probably run with me for another 16 miles +/-. I intend to use his pacing duties a lot the next week at Heartland too.
John on the left will run 5-10 with me depending on how his knee is feeling. Jeff will run 10-20 with me depending on what John is able to do.
Dana will be doing the crew babe thing. Probably no pacing this week, but she may run a few miles with me at Heartland.
Roman is coming along, and will help with the crewing, will no doubt keep us awake with his endless conversation, (which is quite beneficial) and may do a little pacing, but I am saving his legs for next week at Heartland.
If it all sounds like a big party, it is.
Hopefully in 25-26 hours, I'll end up here. I won't have the help of Mr. Mike Snyder this year. He was awesome pacing me two years ago, and I hope to run with him sometime in the next few years somewhere on the east coast or in the Smoky Mountains. We miss ya, Brother!
Well, it's back to bed....maybe I can catch some ZZZZs....
This year, I'll wear my Garmin and keep my pace to under 16 minutes per mile except for the obvious places where walking is the most logical mode of movement. I plan to get in and out of the aid stations quite a bit quicker than last year. Wipe the windows, check the oil, and move on out. )Make that fill the water bottle, grab something to eat, and walk out munching and then run.)
A quick sit in a chair to remove crap from my shoes is acceptable,
but vegging out for 15-20 minutes at a time is not. Last year, my combined time in the Lake Sylvia, and Lake Winona aid stations were almost to the minute the time that cost me making the cutoff at the turn-around. (I am still grumpy about that! I felt fine, and I feel sure I would have finished the race, most likely under the 30 hour time limit. There was not a mention of the time cut-off at that aid stop anywhere last year on the website. But such is life.)My help this year....Kathy will pace me at some point. I will have her doing the slave-driving duties for about 16 miles.
Brian will probably run with me for another 16 miles +/-. I intend to use his pacing duties a lot the next week at Heartland too.
John on the left will run 5-10 with me depending on how his knee is feeling. Jeff will run 10-20 with me depending on what John is able to do.
Dana will be doing the crew babe thing. Probably no pacing this week, but she may run a few miles with me at Heartland.
Roman is coming along, and will help with the crewing, will no doubt keep us awake with his endless conversation, (which is quite beneficial) and may do a little pacing, but I am saving his legs for next week at Heartland.If it all sounds like a big party, it is.
Hopefully in 25-26 hours, I'll end up here. I won't have the help of Mr. Mike Snyder this year. He was awesome pacing me two years ago, and I hope to run with him sometime in the next few years somewhere on the east coast or in the Smoky Mountains. We miss ya, Brother!Well, it's back to bed....maybe I can catch some ZZZZs....
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