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Mike said I suckered him into JFK. Nope...
Anyway, we both signed up.
About 2 weeks before the race, Jamey started thinking about it. He was curious about it since he already did Beast 50. I took him to Cunningham for the 3 mile course. Parts of that course are very technical. Small loop. He seemed to enjoy it.
Finally he decided to do it. Only question was what to do about the kids. His wife works every other weekend. Final decision was to bring the kids. They would stay with his sister-in-law and spend time with the uncle, aunt and 2 cousins.
Michael Condella from Beast also said he was going to do it and told me to pick him up. I wasn't sure that was going to happen. I don't really know where he lives and where the race is. I assumed it was on the way.
Meanwhile Mike Fred found out that his hotel was going to have a huge banquet right at that weekend and he started freaking out. Still, he was determined he was going to do it. While Jamey and I wanted to leave around 1pm, he was hoping to leave by 6pm. Nuts. I wanted Mike to come with us so he can be well rested.
Mike finally found out he would be home by 3pm and would be able to leave shortly after that. Jamey and I realized that we would have no room for Michael Condella and I let him know that. He said he would rent a car and would just room with me.
Now, let me just say that I am a pretty social person but a) I don't really want to room with anyone and b) more importantly, no one should have to deal with my stomach which means that they would have to go to sleep early and wake up even earlier. I knew that as a student, money would be tight for him and so I decided in helping a bruddah out. I would find a cheap place and just pay for his room. I didn't tell him. I was going to surprise him with it.
He was very anxious about details but as I was knee deep with my lifeguarding class, I didn't deal with lodging till close to the last minute.
Small tangent: Why was I so "knee deep into the lifeguarding class"? I take things seriously and knowing that if I don't give the class the proper attention, someone could die on my watch. That was NOT going to happen. I took the class. I embraced the class. I studied. I was busy with it. Neurotic much? Maybe. I don't care.
So, just a recap. Jamey and me with his kids in one car. Mike and since it was going to be just him, Maria signed up as well. They were both stressing and I get it. They have never run the distance. There's a very unforgiving clock. Maria also believes that Maryland is her personal Kryptonite. She was signed up for a trail Marathon in Maryland right after a small surgery. She ended up dropping to the half instead. Lot of pressure.
Mike was asking me questions and Maria thought he was bugging me. Nope. Wasn't bugging me. The 2 of them went to REI's and it was like a toys-R-us for them. ;)
Anyway, race day was approaching. Red Roof Inn, approxiamtly a mile away from the finish was set up. I wrote up a cheat sheet of what to bring/carry and passed it along.
Wednesday before the race, after masters swim, I drove to their house and a) brought them my mothers EZpass (who doesn't have an EZpass???) and b) stayed a little to answer questions. They were still freaking but hopefully I helped a little. One thing for sure tho... They bought headlamps just in case and I told them to try them out in advance. Some poeple get naucious. Mike was fine. Maria was not. Good to know.
Thursday before the race, we had parent teacher conferences for Jeremy. Still didn't pack. Plan to pack was on Friday.
Friday before the race, packed my stuff, relaxed, ate a nice sandwich, gave the dog some extra attention and extra walk and waited. I thought Jamey was gonna be there around 1 but the plan got changed. We originally planned on him leaving work early, picking me up and then we go to the kids school. Jessie would go home with a friend (I would still get to see her) and his kids would come with us. Raina was off so she actually went to pick the kids up. Took them all including Jessie to her house. Jamey got home, put all kids in car and drove to my house. Jessie would stay home and I would get into the car. We ended leaving a little after 2pm.
Michael Condella tangent: I spoke to him on Thursday. He still hadn't signed up yet. (What?) I told him when we were planning on leaving and asked him when he was going to leave. He told me that he was leaving around 8am. I was suprised. Since he told me that I was picking him up, I figured he was on the way. I have no idea where Boston is in relation to Maryland. He told me he has an 8 hour drive. It was hard for me. Three times, I started asking why then he expected me to go out of the way to pick him up but I managed to stop. There was no point. But... Seriously dude? My drive is 4.5-5 hours and I need to go out of the way to pick you up? Whatever... Let's think of the positives. I'd get to see him and he is a nice guy and all tho his plan was running sub 9 hours which means I would only see him at the start... Friday morning he sent us a message that something just came up and he has to cancel. Oh well. I believe him tho my gut says it's more related to the fact that online registration was closed and the only way to register was in person and that was a gamble that they still would have openings. I would NOT have taken that gamble...
Anyway, Jamey and I (and his kids) left a little after 2pm. Mike and Maria left around 4pm I believe. The Belt Parkway was a disaster. Combination of Friday traffic, new traffic patterns due to construction and sun in our eyes and it was slow going. Lost time there. Things got better but that sucked.
We eventually got into Maryland and eventually dropped Jamey's kids at the family house. We then went to the Red Roof Inn. Checked in. Room is ok. Nothing special but clean and indoor plumbing. Was getting worried about the Fred's. They weren't answering texts and calls. I went downstairs to get hot water for tea and they were pulling in. Helped them carry all their stuff in. They took a lot of stuff. One race they actually brought a microwave. Not this time but still.
Had a little pow-wow. Decision was to try to leave approx 5am. Take 2 cars. Leave the Fred's car at the finish and for all of us to go with Jamey's car to the start. The Fred's were still (very) nervous and got a little scrambled with what to bring. Packet pickup started at 5:20 and that was our goal. We left. Actually got to the start around 5:35. I got mine and ran to the indoor plumbing. Crazy stuff. The ladies room had no line. The mens room had a line going out the door. Got in line. I finally got to the door but decided to wait out the door. Guy comes over and was about to enter. I asked him "short or long"? He didn't get it and went inside. Ok... I looked and there he was waiting on line. Yeah... That's not going to work. I explained to him that there was no line for the urinals (short) and this WAS the line to the stalls (long). He went short and left. Others around me just gave him weird looks and some laughed. I mean seriously dude...
Went to listen to the meeting. Things were pretty much obvious here. Nothing new. They did mention something about adding 10 minutes to some deadline. I had no idea what they were talking about but people were happy about it. Ok...
OK... Meeting over. We left stuff in the car. Time to make the donuts.
There were approx 1,380 starters. A minority started at 5am but most people started at 7am. The 5amers would have an additional 2 hours but it wasn't an easy extra 2 hours. Things were pitch black at that point and the trails must have been darker.
Anyway, we started. Almost immediatly we were going up hill. The first 2.5ish miles were road uphill. Mike went off to pee and the three of us were still together. Mike rejoined us and the hill became worse. It was more like climbing a mountain. Normally, I would love it. A tough climb when you are going 5 or even 10 miles is cool. It's not cool when you still have 47.5 miles. My shins again were hurting. What the hell? I think it's because I'm starting out too fast. This is new and it's anoying me. Sucks.
This part of the AT was awesome. I really enjoyed it. I was passing people right and left. I would then wait for Jamey to catch up. I guess I probably annoyed people by constantly passing them but whatever. I was having the time of my life here. We suddenly caught up to the Freds. Again, I would run ahead and wait for the three of them to catch up.
We did eventually drop them and we got to an aid station. Got some coke and some cookies and refilled my handheld and we were off.
This part was still fun and we were flying. We dropped older dude and continueed. Eventually we got to a sign that said "Weaverton. Don't take the shortcut". Didn't know what that meant but apparently it signified something to some people. Then we saw the ropes. Yup - it was for the crazy switchbacks down the mountain but it wasn't ropes. It was caution tape like the kind that police uses. My point is is that if you think that will save you or at least cause you not to fly down the mountain, you are wrong.
From this point on, there were signs at every aid station telling you how far was the next aid station and by when we need to get there. I appreciated the "how far was the next aid station" sign but didn't yet fully realize the time factor. This is something to fully understand. I know I mentioned this before but they are VERY strict with time.
We met Emily. She had a hole in her tights and a not really fitting bandaid. She fell. Well, most people fell. She was apparently supposed to pace her friend at the Philly Marathon the next day. Awesome.
Emily was running well. Jamey could keep up with her but I needed to go a little slower. He stayed with me.
I was getting worried about the time factor and voiced it but someone heard me and told me how far they think we had already gone. I was suprised. I thought we went less. He was right. Got to the aid station with plenty of time.
The routine was at every aid station was (for me) to fill up hand held, grab 2 cokes and 2 cookies. Jamey's routine was to fill up, grab food and unfortunatly visit a port-a-pottie. Without too much TMI, he visited 5 such places during the race and indoor plumbing at the end.
The aid stations were awesome. Hell, they usually are at these races but still needs to be noted.
We were moving. I started updating family by text here and there. Also did the same for Raina.
We made friends along the way. We dropped friends. They rejoined us. They dropped us. We rejoined. Some by name, others by face.
We met Kimber from Tennessee. Real nice. She's a FB friend now. Talked a little about the Pistol Ultra. I have a (probably) bad idea. She encouraged me to talk to the RD about it. ;)
I probably annoyed the hell out of 2 guys. One of them had a podcast going outlooud. We kept leapfrogging with them. Oh well. I had fun.
At one point, we were talking to Kimber and I mentioned I might have to use a port-a-tree soon. She understood the difference betweek port-a-tree and port-a-bush. She replied with "we've all seen things. Plenty trees around." My kind of runner. Well, not too long after that, we did see a woman use a port-a-bush. It was weird tho, she was squatting very very little and didn't realize how much she was showing. I mean coming from in back of her, we could see everything... Her face down to her butt. Originally I thought it was a guy... Anyway, Kimber said "see what I mean...". Yup and as we passed this poor woman (you'll understand in a second), we smelled the most vile thing imaginable. And I sped up. Sprinted really. It was terrible. She could have gone a little more out of the path. I mean, she was only 2 inches from it. Still, clearly she was having a GI issue. My worst nightmare. Of course, I would have gone way off the trail but whatever.
Well, later a tree was calling and I also didn't get off the trail but I at least had more discretion. Kimber passed and again remarked. Something like "now it's your turn" or something. I didn't care. People could see my face but not anything else even though it really was just clear water. Gotta water those trees... ;)
We also encountered Mr. Incredible. Actually his name was Paul but whatever. Mr. Incredible was wearing the full suit, riding a bike while blasting 80's music from a huge front and a huge back speaker. AWESOME!!!
We heard "Mambo number 5" (spelling?) and also "Don't stop believing" and of course the "Macarena". Jamey and I and others but mostly only us 2 were singing (screaming) the words out loud. Best segments of the canal right there. He stayed with us for a while and then dropped us and then came back and basically served up good feelings all around.
There was another guy on a bike and he told me the story. Turns out it was his idea for Paul to dress up and do this and to actually take over for him! He used to do it but without the costume. And then there was his story too. I heard this one from him and from his running friends. He was apparently told that at mile marker 85 we leave the canal. Apparently they were wrong. This mild mannered guy almost blew up. He told me this and then his friends did too. Wow.
I made friends with "bashfull 'Becca". That's what was written on her shirt. A fellow NYer. We met another Rebeccah later. Perhaps another one after that. Eventually we met a woman whose initials were JJ (Julia Jackson). I tried to nickname her JJ or double-J but she said she heard it all. A challenge was cast. I took it. I tried all others before I came across an ingenious name. I dubbed her "Rebeccah". I called the race a Beccathon. By the way, her friend Rebeccah was also here doing the race. Funny.
We ran together for a little until her friend's husband came to pace her. I think his name was Scott and of course I yelled out his name right along with her to shock him. Dude is a 2:20ish Marathoner that starts in the Elite wave for the NYCM. Wow.
We were making headway but losing time with the port-a-potties. This on post race reflection. Still, it's part of the race experience.
At one point, we get to an aid station and they told us that the cutoff is 20 minutes behind us. What?!? I started worrying but things are still ok. I got real good at telling pace and where we were at. I used the mile markers on the side of the road and the "distance to next station" to gauge our progress.
Things are a little worrisome but 20 minutes is still hefty. We were moving. Things are ok. Right until we get to another aid station. There's a gate in front of this one. It's open and right next to it is a guy who tells us that "cutoff is 7 minutes behind us and that we need to move it". What?!? How the hell did that happen? No Bueno...
I got real worried. Jamey was starting to fade. I was starting to freak out. Actualy, I was freaking out and basically, I did what I had to do which is pull out the whip. Jamey dealt with it because he wanted to finish and he needed it. I pulled. I cajoled. I made him move.
We started making time again. I kept looking back for the Fred's. I mean if we were 7 minutes back, they must be in real trouble. I knew they got picked up. There was no way they were making it. Sucks...
We were making time. At one point, we got to an aid station that said we must get to the next one by 4:00pm. Tight but doable. Still making time. We got there and the sign read that we actually had until 4:10. Remember the pre-race meeting where they added 10 minutes? Ha... I get it now.
Jamey was fading. At one point, he said he needs a gel but is having trouble. I don't remember if he had trouble getting the gel out or opening it. As I said, he was fading and it wasn't all physical. I told him to stop, deal with the problem and then rejoin me. I would slow down. He didn't think about that option. I'm not sure he was exactly capable of it right there and now. He stopped and dealt with the gel. I continueed on but slower. He was still there. I started whistling and yelling to him to join me. He did. Later he told me that had no will at that point to join. He was willing to stop right there and if it wasn't up to me, he wold have just stopped. Sometimes audiotory cues are all you need... Glad to have been there to do that. We were a team. I didn't want to bail on him. I was still worried tho.
From Mr. Incredible and the other biker, I knew we need mile marker 85. Magical things happen around there. We missed a mile marker and I got worried.
There it was. Magic mile marker 85 and with that, there wa suddenly talk of leaving the canal soon. I liked the canal part. The moving water on our left, the easy trail/road covered leaf for us to trudge on but enough is enough. Soon, we heard that we just need to get to "that" bridge. I asked people if they were serious. I was assured they were.
FYI: Later I read in some race report that having those reflective vests is equivalent to a "walk of shame" because you're that slow. Buh humbug. Whatever. I don't care.
Out of the canal and we now have plenty of time. We have something like 2 hours to do 8.2 miles. Easy, right? But what about those nasty hills? Someone tried to tell me again that those hills are nothing and his best splits are here. Hm... We left the canal and right into a nasty hill. Ha! There were definitly some bad hills here but all in all, this section was definitly runnable.
One of the aidstations had boiled potatoes and they were awesome. I couldn't deal with the cookies or pretzels anymore so that was a relief. Jamey again stopped at a port-a-potty but this time caught back up more easily.
It got dark very very fast and it was real dark. Glad to have had the head lamp.
The miles rolled on. Finally up a highway ramp or something to an aid station. Little after that, we saw the "1" mile marker. Let me explain: The whole race the miles markers were going up. As in you're at mile 18 and then you're at mile 21 or whatever. The last 8.2 miles, the markers were counting down. Here was the 1 mile marker. Yay.
Kimber and friend/pacer passed us. I wanted to finish with them. I increased the speed. Jamey followed. Finally we heard the best news...
Pretty sure, I did an easy sub 6 minute mile. I picked my targets and ran them down and down and down aiming at the finish line. As we got closer to the finish, more and more people started noticing and cheering. That got me moving even faster and faster. I was about 2 blocks away and the cheering was deafening. I can't say I heard anything anyway. I went. About 50 yards away, something fell from me. I didn't know what it was but I managed not to trip over it and increased my pace. I finished.
At the finish, I was stopped. They wanted their vest back and also to rip something off the bib. Newton's law of an object in motion tends to stay in motion applied here and I couldn't stop that easy. Finish line volunteer caught me and stopped me. I held on to him.
About 30 seconds later, Jamey joined me. He also managed a sprint, just couldn't keep up. Cool.
I wanted to go back to figure out what I ended up dropping. Nothing was obvious to me. I guess I was tired. I should have been able to figure it out. One of the most important things to me... Before I got a chance to go back, a woman came over and asked if I was the fast runner. Cool. I dropped my sunglasses. I know it sounds trivial but my eyes are very sensitive to light and the less sleep I get the worst it is. Very grateful for her.
Jamey and I wanted to take a pic but his phone battery was dead and my phone storage was full so couldn't take a pic. Oh well.
I was convinced the Fred's DNFed. They had to have. Still, I figured we should check if their car is still here. In the morning, we dropped off their car here since it is a mile away from the hotel and they are staying an extra night. The car was still there. Hm... There was no way that they didn't DNF so I figured either they didn't get transported here yet or they came to cheer us and potentially give us a lift back to the start so we wouldn't have to wait for the shuttle.
Texted them but no answer. Oh well. Went inside the HS gym to get food. Jamey stopped for indor plumbing. He couldn't handle food. I grabbed 2 slices. We went out and just missed the shuttle back to the start. Oh well. But... Who do I see driving? The Fred's... And they are wearing finishers medals. YAY!!! They did it.... Remember when we heard 7 minutes in front of cutoff? They heard 3 minutes in front of cutoff. Wow.
Anyway, we took a picture and they were going to give us a ride to the start. Awesome. Meanwhile another runner came over asking for a ride to his car. His family will walk but he can't. Seriously cramping. We didn't have room but he was willing to sit in the trunk of the minivan. Cool. Did something like that myself in the Poconos Marathon. Guy had trouble getting in and later even worse getting out. He was seriously cramped up.
The Fred's dropped us off and we were on our way. We had a 50-55 minute drive to pick up Jamey's kids. Plan was to leave right away but I asked if he minded if I take a quick shower. I got chafed again. Badly. I had to take care of it otherwise the drive back would be real bad. The singlet I wore under the warmer top kept riding up. I knew it did. I kept trying to adjust it. Oh well. We got there and I went up to shower. I asked his sister in law if she would be able to help me after the shower. She said no problem. She actually waited upstairs which I didn't realize. Well, I realized it as I dropped my Axe soap container 3 times almost getting my toes. She was concerned that I got hurt. Nice. Anyway, got my lower half dressed and called her in. I assumed the position, front to the wall and back to her and resigned myself to not making noise as her kids were sleeping. I explained to her that her inclination would be to put lotion on nice and easy as to not hurt but that it would hurt me more that way. You really have to be blunt about it. Putting on the lotion strong and fast.
It hurt. I didn't yell. I did wince and move from her a few times but it felt better and better as the lotion was put on. I think this run added to my chafing scars. That's awesome because as we all know "Chicks dig scars". Yeah, right.
Anyway, meanwhile Jamey ate some pizza but didn't want to shower. He had majot salt stains all over his face. He is like Jeff in that he sweats or suffers when it's too hot. Anyway, he was afraid that if he would shower, he would fall asleep.
As we left, I thanked Jamey's family and shook his brother-in-laws hand. His sister-in-law I hugged saying, "anyone who gets to 2nd base with me, gets a hug". That raised an eyebrow. Yeah, I'm a wiseass.
On our way. During the ride back, we stopped at a rest stop. We all needed a restroom and perhaps food and he wanted coffee. They had a Wendy's which of course is my FAV food after a Marathon or longer race. Turns out that they close at 10pm. Such a tease. Settled for 2 egg croissants from Dunkin Donuts. Kids eventuall fell asleep and he an I talked. Eventually another coffee stop but on way to NY.
I was dropped off at 2am and was in bed at 2:15. I woke up at 5:15 and met Jim and Mark at 7am at Alley Pond. Usually I give my GI system more time but I wanted to sleep a little. We ran 7 or 8 miles. I can't remember and we ran at a brisk pace. The run was good. They were shocked. I wasn't. Best part was that I spoke to Elizabeth on the way and we spoke about going to BJ's later on Sunday and I told her that it would be after I get back from my run. This time she didn't even react. I guess after arguing with me about it when I ran right after the Ironman, she realized that it was pointless. Awesome.
As we caught up with the 5 AMers, we encouraged. Well, we got to this 60+ year old woman and I started saying "good job" when I noticed the huge band aid on her nose. Hard not to see it as it was crimson with blood too. I asked if she was ok. She apparently fell in the trails (in the dark!) and broke her nose. She got a band aid and of course continueed to run. Another individual, this time a 70+ year old guy (I think he did this over 30 times) had a huge band aid on the back of the elbow. This was streaming blood as he was running. Unbelievable. Anyone who wants to stop, should just talk to these 2 youngins and then pick their excuses.
When I got back and people asked me how it was, I told them that it "was the most brutal race I have ever done". Since then, I have thought about that description quite a lot. Is that true? Yes and no. Each of it's smaller parts where definitly doable. That first 2-3 mile mountain climb by itself or even within a 10 mile run is definitly doable. Here you had to be smart. The real dangerous trail? By itself, I would have gone "balls to the wall", but it was the whole and not the parts. Everything was related. The slow down on the mountain and on the trail contributed to the time constraints. That caused even more strain.
During the race, I turned to Jamey and told him that we need to face the fact that we might DNF. I also told him that I would be ok with it and wouldn't come back. Is that true? Probably not. I would NOT be ok with it. Still, the idea of coming back scared me. I didn't want to come back. I don't want to come back. It was definitely a well supported race and a fun race but too stressful.
After the race, I talked to quite a few people who asked me how the race went. One of those people was Ed. His response was something like "oh, I was actually thinking about that one". Wow... Didn't expect thosewords ever to come out of Ed. I didn't think he would be interested in anything longer than a Marathon. Hm. Well, this later came up again when we talked about the BUS Fat Ass Trail Mix up race. The continuation of that conversation will be there.
