I was actually planning on hitting a trail marathon in Virginia for Veterans Day. Unfortunatly, Jamey found this one and it seemed interesting. It seemed like I can perhaps break 24 hours for a 100. Maybe anyway. At worst, it's a tune up for the hundo next month. So, there are the pros. The cons? Simple. It's a 1 mile loop. A 1 mile loop. Yes - a 1 mile loop. And they don't give partial credit for loops so it's an entire loop or nothing. Still, as usual I jump the gun.
A week before this, Rabbi Klein, the Rabbi at Merrick Jewish Center where Jamey works, had this brilliant idea to use Jamey as a fund raising tool. No pressure right? That also got Jamey a little more of spousal consent or at least understanding as he was doing a good deed. I wasn't fund raising and well, I didn't get any good credit for it. Still, this prompted a talk I was dreading. It actually went well. I told Elizabeth about this and about the hundred I am doing next month.
For those who know the wife and her thinking should be astounded that it went well. To recap, her concerns are sleep deprivaion and the effects it has on the body. She looked up the race and suggested I do the 12 hour race. She then noticed that all races end at 9am Sunday morning so that wouldn't help. I also read it that way. Turns out you could start the 12 hour either at 9am to 9pm or 9pm to 9am. Oh well.
So, I actually researched the topic. I looked it up. I sent out feelers. Talked to people. Ultimatly "The Google" was the answer. Researching it, tells you how awful it is. Unfortunatly for me, at first glance, it said all the usual Balogna... It's bad. It can kill you. It will kill you. Can't make up for loss sleep. Everyone needs at least 8 hours of sleep at night otherwise you're gonna die immediatly a truly horrific death. Blah blah blah... Then I found what I was looking for. There are studies showing that you actually can make up some sleep if done as soon as possible. Can't make all of it up, but you can make some. Lots of studies, once again, confirming that the 8 hour a night is an average and that there are outliers out there or in plain english: not everyone needs 8 hours a night. There are plenty of studies discussing a certain gene mutation that causes 1% of the population to only need 4 hours. Now, was I ever tested? No... But I'm pretty sure that I am one of those cases. About 6 months or so, I was getting 2 hours a night for a few months. No one knew. I didn't tell anyone. I did what needed to be done. I was still working out. I was still working. I was still a father and husband. I still did what was required of me. I was still on top of my game.
The other issue that came up with my research was that in trying to catch up sleep, some people over do it and throw there rhythem off causing further sleep loss. Fortunatly for me, the weekend before something very strange happened. It was a Saturday. I woke up early and ran. I also then picked up a lifeguard shift while Jessie swam. I got home and I was tired. Very tired. After lunch, I laid down on the couch knowing that I will be taking a nap. Immediatly, I fell asleep. Jeremy got back home and Elizabeth woke me up. I fell right back asleep. My mom got there and again, I could not really be roused. She tried. It didn't work. She really tried. It really didn't work. Long story short, I napped for 4 hours. I only woke up then because I had to do stuff. Still, I went to sleep at 8pm that night and woke up at 3am to eat breakfast before my run. That's a 7 hour sleep after a 4 hour nap. I had no problem falling asleep. I could of slept more but the plan was to run. This was strange. It did prove tho, that taking a nap for me, does not disrupt anything.
Well, I told her my research. I told her about the 2 hours a night. I told her my plan to recoup sleep. I reiterated the 4 hour nap thing. Things went well. She's still not happy about it but is accepting of it. That's a positive in my book.
The week leading up to the race found me trying to a "good boy". I tried to get to bed as soon as possible. I tried to rest whenever I got a chance.
As it happened, something happened which really sucked but kinda helped me here with my trying to get more sleep endevors. Usually my sleep is largely affected by my working out schedule. I haven't biked at all since the last Ironman so that wasn't an issue. I do swim in the AM and the PM and that would affect things. As is, I broke my left meta-carpal in my left hand at Krav Maga. That sucked. Very long story short, My hand swelled up quite a bit and turned black on both the palm and the other side. I also had tenderness and pain. One of the positives, in my opinion, is that you get used to pain and in so perhaps my pain tolerance level has increased. To put it bluntly, I did not know I broke my hand. There was some pain but I shrugged it off. Still, 2 days later I went to my Doctor with a walk-in hour at 8am. I told them I need an Xray and they gladly took my co-pay and in a few minutes took me in. Then I was told that they don't do Xrays anymore. Why could they not have told me that before I paid?!? I won't bore you with a cynical comment. Still, the doctor wanted me to see an Ortho. I tried to make an appointment but couldn't find one that was open. Oi.
Twelve days passed. My hand was still swollen. Still some pain. Still badly discolored. I bandaged it and continueed my life. Running would start with me holding my hand up right against my chest otherwise it would hurt. Swimming was only possible if I did fist swim or if I held my fingers tight together. Diving was out of the question. If I wasn't careful, my pinky would be pulled and great pain would ensue.
My co-worker "forced" me to see a doctor who took xrays and pronounced it broken. He also informed me that the 12 days I was without brace would not hurt me. Only amazing news here. Still, this made swimming a no point as yardage was very low.
This meant that I didn't swim in the morning, providing me with an extra hour of sleep. At night, it also helped. I still lifeguarded on Wednesday so lost some sleep there but overall I was maxing my sleep. It got to the point where being in bed was boring. That's English for I slept enough.
The weather for this race initially looked awful. Lots of rain. Still, as we got closer to the day, things turned better. No rain.
Before I get into the guts of the race, I would like to mention that I made a very bad mistake which caused 2 things to happen. I was stupid and paid the price.
Jamey and I left at 6:15 Saturday morning. I wasn't sure what exactly to bring so I did my best. Here's my list starting from bottom to top:
The course itself was a 1 mile loop and except for one area was adequatly illuminated at night so no lights were neccessary. Also they had 1 aid station so food/drink was always available.
We got there early and checked out the lay of the land. We met this beautiful black dog named Tucker which we saw during the race a lot and I always yelled hello to.
On the drive there, we saw a Camaro with a license plate that read "LUV2RUN". Wonder where he's going...
Even though it was cold, I knew it would warm up so I did not wear the wind breaker, the medium gloves and the warmer pants. I did put on chemical hand warmers in my light gloves tho. Otherwise all was good.
When I ran, I could not wear the brace and fit a glove on it so I would use one of Jessie's old leg warmer. Now that my hand was officially unbroken, I was able to actually use a glove. Still, I was worried at night about it but as usual I am jumping the gun.
Parked next to us was a woman with her 2 kids. They were plugged into an outlet and charging devices. At one point, I noticed a beast of Burden bumper sticker and we started talking. Ella Lombardi ran Beast the year I did it AND we are Facebook friends AND she remembered my last name as soon as I said my first name AND she escorted Julia for part of hers. She was also there when Julia got yelled at at the aid station to "just F***ING go". How awesome is that?
While waiting for the start, walking and exploring the course and making indoor plumbing breaks we ran into Albert Lionne who I met at the Yonkers Marathon. Turns ot the Camaro was his. More on him later.
We eventually started. Albert took off. I'm not sure why but he was always a little ahead even tho I know him to be either my pace or slower. Being a mile loop, we saw the same people over and over. We either passed them or they passed us.
We spoke to Ella who told us that she escorted Julia. She actually got in to Arrow 135 miler, she's not sure how, and is now training for it.
We on/off were with Albert.
Emmy Stocker, a kick ass ultra runner in her 60s I think, showed up late. She originally was going to run the 6 hour I think but woke up with a sinus something and hurting. She contacted Rick and he let her change it to the Marathon level and she could start whenever she wanted. She then immediatly went running with her dog for 4 miles and then came over. She started the marathon late and we ran a little with her.
It is awesome that they were so flexible about start times and such.
The loop itself was mainly flat but there was some wind which sucked. There was a hill right at the aid station so I designated that as a feeding hill. Otherwise there was another small hill which later would hurt. It was also where the lights weren't working which also sucked later.
We made sure to drink and eat. I kinda was hoping to break 24 hours for a 100 but it was NOT my goal at all. This was really a tune up race for the 100 and if nothing else a practice run for Jamey whose longest run was the JFK 50 Miler which hurt him.
I'm going to shorten some TMI moments into the following score. Jamey had to use indoor plumbing 4 times during the race. I had to use it once followed by a port-a-bush moment which led me to take my second immodium pill of the day. He also vomitted once.
I started talking to 2 guys who looked like they knew what they were doing. In fact, I started the conversation with "when someone wears a shirtlike that, they better be awesome". Guy was wearing a gang like shirt. They were cool. One was local while his friend came from afar to run a race with him. The local guy's girlfriend was there with a tent to cheer them on.
One really awesome thing worth mentioning is that we found out that this was a qualifier for the national team going next year to Worlds in Ireland. What does that mean? There's a 24 hour race that people would compete in. How does one get into such a team ie qualifications? Well, they just need to be able to run 135 miles in 24 hours to get the 6th place or in plain english a 3rd alternate position or in even plainer english, the last guy on the bench. Seriously!!! Because of this, these guys came to kick butt. One guy's goal was 151 miles. He ended up with 150. Lead female I think did 140. These guys were awesome and their crews were even more so. These guys had tents set up near their cars or trucks with tables set up with everything that could be conceivably needed under the sun.
They had drinks and bars and gels and food and more food and heaters and some had small cooking stoves. It was nuts.
Some of the crews ran from one point of the course to the other cutting straight through finding out what their people needed. This dedication was nuts. I joked with the guy supporting the 151 miles goal guy that I'll get his number and he can crew for me later. Yeah, right...
We met Kevin whose brother was coming later with a goal of running a 3:15 Marathon. The brother showed up with his family and his brood of kids ran with him a loop which was awesome even though it highly distressed their dog. Their dog, a labrador retriever, was whining very loudly. He was upset and worried about those kids. Wow...
We met Andrew who ran with just a t-shirt and shorts. I was freezing just looking at him. He was a little overweight but out there doing the 12 hour race. Awesome.
We did eventually hook up with Emily. She looked familiar but I couldn't place her. Her crew guy was sitting next to another crewer who had these 2 beautiful beagles named Homer and Marge. Boy were they cute. My plan seemed to be getting them used to be called puppies. They were adorable. The guy with the beagles was supporting a woman trying to get on the national team as mentioned earlier. The other guy, Ryan, was there to support Emily.
Emily was cool. We ran with her. We walked with her at the feeding hill. We hit the indoor plumbing together it seems. Anyway, as the run went on, we talked and she mentioned that she also is trying to get on the national team (WHAT?!?) but was hurting. She also mentioned that she did the JFK 50. Hey, Jamey and I did that too... I start thinking "maybe that's where I saw her?" but I still wasn't sure. More miles go on. We talk more. Finally she mentioned that she is crewing Ryan on JFK 50 the next weekend. This is still nagging me... Where do I know her from?!? Finally the final piece of the puzzle. She mentioned that last year when she did JFK, that was our year too, she was supposed to pace someone the next day at Philli but that it didn't go well. BOOM! That was it!
I finally realized who she was or is. I do remember her! JFK 50 miler starts with a 2-3 mile trek up, up into the mountains to thin out the herd. Then you go into the Appalachian Trail (AT) and then from to the canal for a long time and then the last 7-8 miles on the road. When Jamey and I came out of the AT, we started talking to a girl. She was running well and I told Jamey that I need to slow the pace a little. So, we let that girl go. That girl was Emily! Well, this time she was suffering and eventually finished out at 64 miles I think.
We continueed.
Martin "Bodie" Bodek eventually came with his friend Ari Platt. Being religious guys meant they could only at most do the 2nd 12 hour race. So they would start at 9pm. They got there early and got ready. Eventually, as we were about to finish a lap, they started. It was nice to see them there. They had both done the NYC Marathon the week prior so that was cool too. Ari finished NYCM with a 2:47. He eventually would do 64 miles and get 2nd place for the 12 hour males.
At mile 70 my big mistake finally hit me. I was over the stomach issues so that wasn't it. So, what was it? I didn't respect the weather. I knew I suffer. I also "knew" it should only get to 35 degrees. Well, that's very cold for me. As is, the open space and the wind made it seem worse and I got very cold.
Quick tangent here: There are 3 really nice things about this race. Since it is a mile loop (YUCK!!!), aid is never too far away, indoor plumbing is never too far away and the indoor kitchen doesn't hurt either. They had volunteers willing to make almost anything you want. That day/night I had Quasadillias, pizza, fruits, chocolate, hot just made burn your tongue chocolate chip cookies etc. I did NOT have a burger or cheeseburger or the triple bean (cheese) burger.
That being said, I got cold and instead of dealing with the weather by putting on more layers, I tried to fight it. I asked and got a hot chocolate. Here's the problem... Tea and apparently hot chocolate puts me to sleep and while the hot drink went down awesome, I found myself sleep walking the next mile. I was literally drunk walking, swaying from side to side. I may have also talked in my sleep. It's a miracle I kept upright. It's a bigger miracle that I didn't fall and re-injure my hand.
That was no good! That is NOT me. I then continueed my mistake by drinking chicken soup with white rice. That woke me up but I was worried about my stomach. Meanwhile Jamey was hurting mentally and decided to take a 20 minute nap. He said he would set an alarm. I continuued on.
I got progressivly colder and finally did what I should have done earlier before the trouble started. I switched to my medium gloves and a new batch of chemical hand warmers. I should have had my heavy duty gloves but whatever. This girl that came in for the 2nd 12 hour, left in tears. She couldn't regulate her temperature and was cold. She gave me her chemical hand warmers. I asked for a big garbage bag and wore it. Shoulders to ankles. I also got 2 small bags and tied them around my hands. I also asked some girl to help me with my warmer pants. As she was helping me put them on, I remarked that "here's a story for my wife... I asked a stranger to help me put my pants on!". We laughed. I thanked her.
I finally did wake him up. He was in the car for a long time. He got out, hit the indoor plumbing and continueed on. His goal was 80 miles. I was going slower at that point. The soup was weird in my stomach and I was worried. I also did the math and realized that I would at best do 94-96 miles at 24 hours and didn't see a point. I decided to stop when he hit 80. I had nothing to prove. It was just a tune up and my 100 miler is next month anyway.
We both decided to stop and leave at 22 hours. We both felt good. We left it like we could do more. Jamey ran a little with Ari and then finally gave up on that. Ari, obviously, lapped us quite a few times.
My plan on geting home was to take the quickest of showers and then to drive family to Manhattan. Since we left early, I actually took a longer shower and then an hour nap which I think made Elizabeth a little happier.
I got chafed a little on my behind, specifically in an area that is not that reachable. A wifes job apparently is never done. A little lotion there and it did the trick.
A few interesting things happened as a result of this race... In no particular order...
One last awesome thing to mention was that the prior week Donald and Andre did Paine2Pain I believe where they started talking to a guy wearing a 200 mile race shirt. They musy have mentioned my name because turns out that the guy, Stephen Bandfield, knew me. I met him at TGNY 100 where he did the 100K and later again at the Naked Bavarian. He came and volunteered at night at the 24 hour run.
Also, part of the night run, I came up with song snippets for one of the food volunteer to try to guess. Game to keep us both occupied.
Bodie also PRed distance and went on to do the Brooklyn Marathon the following Sunday.
One more very important lesson learned... I can deal with 6 hour races. Although I hate loops, the "short" time span really works for me with the loops. It plays to my strengths. On the other hand, I will NEVER do a 24 hour race again. Such a short distance loop for 24 hours is mind blowing. Yes - We saw a beautiful super moon. It was huge. Yes, I met great people. But, no, Never again!
By the way, a day or 2 later, I forget now, I am going up the escalator in Penn Station and there's a guy next to me. I look to see who it is and... Bodie is right there... Cool.