runwithdogs
11-30-2009, 02:20 AM
It is difficult to write down the feelings for a race which one did not finish. I know the ending and it is not a happy one. But it was an ending I chose and I think I chose correctly.
To begin, before anything else is said, I must thank my crew of Christine and Katie. Lord knows how much further short of my goal I would have fallen if not for their efforts to get me on my feet and have everything else I needed. As I mentioned earlier (yes MUCH earlier, like page one of this recap), I feel the ultra community thrives on a lone wolf mentality and being able to do everything without help. This was no more evident than at the pit crew stations. As I copped a squat for a quick breather and one of my crew would give me a banana or fill my water bottle, other crew people for other runners, or loved ones who, I guess, showed up only to say “way to go” as their husband ran by as I never saw them do much of anything, seemed utterly shocked at how much I was being “pampered”. I do not think they were repulsed but surprised. Honestly, I do not see the point of having a crew if they are not going to do the things that the runner does not necessarily have to do. Luckily for me, I was quite adept at picking my crew and they saw it exactly the same way. So, whether it was retying my shoes for me or having the exact food ready for me as I wanted it when I came tumbling in, I knew no matter how tired I was, my crew would do everything they could short of throwing me on their shoulders and running the course for me. Thank you, ladies.
The race started early. 4AM. I now have a race which beats the Cayman Islands Marathon for earliest start ever (it previously held the record at 5 AM). Yet, in spite the relatively little lack of sleep I was raring to go. I had many grandiose thoughts coming into this race with oodles of goals, sub goals and must-haves, and after weeks of waiting it was finally time to run.
I knew I was under-trained for this race. That’s a fact. But I would not have started if I thought I was going to be doing something detrimental to my health. Looking over the field the night before, I only saw a few people that I thought would be problematic to me taking a top slot. One was Keith Knipling who I knew was going to be an issue. Keith is an absolutely amazing ultrarunner we was running his 3rd 100 mile race in 3 weeks. Please read that again. Just astounding. I could only hope he was extremely tired and I was extremely ready and I could be extremely close to him at the end to out-kick him.
But that is getting a little bit ahead of myself. Like 100 miles ahead. As we all milled around before the start, most of our minds were to the weather forecast. With a high predicted of 90 degrees, I knew we were all hoping something would blow in to take that away. Like the scattered thunderstorms predicted for early afternoon. Or snow.
After an impromptu prayer from the starter, the gun went off (I think it was a gun) and away we went. Almost immediately, three runners took off and began to separate themselves from the group. I fell back and saw that I was running with one guy pretty much stride for stride, so I struck up a conversation. Bob Oberkehr was his name and he was a 4-time finisher of this race. I decided to pick his brain for info I could not find elsewhere hoping to glean a tidbit here or there.
The miles ticked by and we passed the first aid station, which consisted of a water cooler. A week prior to the race, I had decided to purchase a Camelback water carrying system to wear on my back rather than rely on the one waist bottle I had worn previously. So instead of the 20oz of fluid the bottle carried, the Camelback had 50. As such, I did not see the need to stop here but continued on. Bob, only carrying a handheld water bottle grabbed a quick drink. While I continued, I did so slowly because I wanted Bob to catch up so I could have a pacer and guide. Sure enough, Bob did and we resumed our running.
Before long we began our gradual ascent of the first big hill of the race, Woodstock Gap. Climbing 1100 feet in under 4.2 miles, Bob mentioned that this portion of the race was where most would walk. Given that I was trying to stick to a solid, run the downhills and straight-aways and walk the uphills plan, I too thought about that. However, Bob continued to run. I found that my fast power walk kept up with him for the most part so we soldiered on together. Almost at the top, we passed an older gentleman named Jamshid who Bob seemed to know. Given his slow gait I was curious how he had gotten so far ahead of us so quickly but Bob said he was a great ultrarunner. We exchanged pleasantries and then passed him putting Bob and me in a tie for 4th place overall.
1st Pit Crew Station (Mile 19.64): Total time: 3:36
Together Bob and I stayed for the next 13 miles until the first time I got to see Christine and Katie at the aid station at mile 20. I felt pretty good here, ate a banana and promised to eat a Gu soon. I really didn’t feel that hungry or thirsty, so after 4 minutes I was out of the aid station and on my way. I guess people often spend about that much time or less at these stations but I did not mind the pause. I was already far ahead of my goal pace for the day so slowing down felt good.
As I kicked out of my chair and got on my way, I made a note to the girls that my trail shoes had started to give me a small blister. I was hoping it would not get worse. I noticed Bob had taken off before me but in a matter of seconds I caught him. He told me the next 13 miles were nothing but road and a strong road runner could make up some time right here. Soon thereafter, almost inadvertently, I began to peel away from Bob. Sad to say this is the last time I would see him as around mile 22 I left him for good and took over sole possession of 3rd place.
Much to my shock, about 2 miles later another runner came into focus. Already running and then walking on the straight-aways was a gentleman I met the day before, Andy Kumeda. We spoke for a bit before he said to go on ahead because he was already ahead of his pace. I obliged and by mile 25 or so was sitting in second place. At one aid station soon thereafter, a nice little family said hello and told me the leader was only about 26 minutes ahead of me. Somehow that sounded ok at the time.
The remainder of Dane Rauschenberg's race report can be read here. (http://danerunsalot.blogspot.com/2007/06/old-dominion-100-mile-recap-my-race.html)
http://www.danerunsalot.blogspot.com/
To begin, before anything else is said, I must thank my crew of Christine and Katie. Lord knows how much further short of my goal I would have fallen if not for their efforts to get me on my feet and have everything else I needed. As I mentioned earlier (yes MUCH earlier, like page one of this recap), I feel the ultra community thrives on a lone wolf mentality and being able to do everything without help. This was no more evident than at the pit crew stations. As I copped a squat for a quick breather and one of my crew would give me a banana or fill my water bottle, other crew people for other runners, or loved ones who, I guess, showed up only to say “way to go” as their husband ran by as I never saw them do much of anything, seemed utterly shocked at how much I was being “pampered”. I do not think they were repulsed but surprised. Honestly, I do not see the point of having a crew if they are not going to do the things that the runner does not necessarily have to do. Luckily for me, I was quite adept at picking my crew and they saw it exactly the same way. So, whether it was retying my shoes for me or having the exact food ready for me as I wanted it when I came tumbling in, I knew no matter how tired I was, my crew would do everything they could short of throwing me on their shoulders and running the course for me. Thank you, ladies.
The race started early. 4AM. I now have a race which beats the Cayman Islands Marathon for earliest start ever (it previously held the record at 5 AM). Yet, in spite the relatively little lack of sleep I was raring to go. I had many grandiose thoughts coming into this race with oodles of goals, sub goals and must-haves, and after weeks of waiting it was finally time to run.
I knew I was under-trained for this race. That’s a fact. But I would not have started if I thought I was going to be doing something detrimental to my health. Looking over the field the night before, I only saw a few people that I thought would be problematic to me taking a top slot. One was Keith Knipling who I knew was going to be an issue. Keith is an absolutely amazing ultrarunner we was running his 3rd 100 mile race in 3 weeks. Please read that again. Just astounding. I could only hope he was extremely tired and I was extremely ready and I could be extremely close to him at the end to out-kick him.
But that is getting a little bit ahead of myself. Like 100 miles ahead. As we all milled around before the start, most of our minds were to the weather forecast. With a high predicted of 90 degrees, I knew we were all hoping something would blow in to take that away. Like the scattered thunderstorms predicted for early afternoon. Or snow.
After an impromptu prayer from the starter, the gun went off (I think it was a gun) and away we went. Almost immediately, three runners took off and began to separate themselves from the group. I fell back and saw that I was running with one guy pretty much stride for stride, so I struck up a conversation. Bob Oberkehr was his name and he was a 4-time finisher of this race. I decided to pick his brain for info I could not find elsewhere hoping to glean a tidbit here or there.
The miles ticked by and we passed the first aid station, which consisted of a water cooler. A week prior to the race, I had decided to purchase a Camelback water carrying system to wear on my back rather than rely on the one waist bottle I had worn previously. So instead of the 20oz of fluid the bottle carried, the Camelback had 50. As such, I did not see the need to stop here but continued on. Bob, only carrying a handheld water bottle grabbed a quick drink. While I continued, I did so slowly because I wanted Bob to catch up so I could have a pacer and guide. Sure enough, Bob did and we resumed our running.
Before long we began our gradual ascent of the first big hill of the race, Woodstock Gap. Climbing 1100 feet in under 4.2 miles, Bob mentioned that this portion of the race was where most would walk. Given that I was trying to stick to a solid, run the downhills and straight-aways and walk the uphills plan, I too thought about that. However, Bob continued to run. I found that my fast power walk kept up with him for the most part so we soldiered on together. Almost at the top, we passed an older gentleman named Jamshid who Bob seemed to know. Given his slow gait I was curious how he had gotten so far ahead of us so quickly but Bob said he was a great ultrarunner. We exchanged pleasantries and then passed him putting Bob and me in a tie for 4th place overall.
1st Pit Crew Station (Mile 19.64): Total time: 3:36
Together Bob and I stayed for the next 13 miles until the first time I got to see Christine and Katie at the aid station at mile 20. I felt pretty good here, ate a banana and promised to eat a Gu soon. I really didn’t feel that hungry or thirsty, so after 4 minutes I was out of the aid station and on my way. I guess people often spend about that much time or less at these stations but I did not mind the pause. I was already far ahead of my goal pace for the day so slowing down felt good.
As I kicked out of my chair and got on my way, I made a note to the girls that my trail shoes had started to give me a small blister. I was hoping it would not get worse. I noticed Bob had taken off before me but in a matter of seconds I caught him. He told me the next 13 miles were nothing but road and a strong road runner could make up some time right here. Soon thereafter, almost inadvertently, I began to peel away from Bob. Sad to say this is the last time I would see him as around mile 22 I left him for good and took over sole possession of 3rd place.
Much to my shock, about 2 miles later another runner came into focus. Already running and then walking on the straight-aways was a gentleman I met the day before, Andy Kumeda. We spoke for a bit before he said to go on ahead because he was already ahead of his pace. I obliged and by mile 25 or so was sitting in second place. At one aid station soon thereafter, a nice little family said hello and told me the leader was only about 26 minutes ahead of me. Somehow that sounded ok at the time.
The remainder of Dane Rauschenberg's race report can be read here. (http://danerunsalot.blogspot.com/2007/06/old-dominion-100-mile-recap-my-race.html)
http://www.danerunsalot.blogspot.com/