Fort Clinch Race Report

Fort Clinch 50 miler sounded like a good idea when I saw somebody post something about a fun race in June. It would keep me motivated to run my planned races of the year. I could have fun and get experience racing on a real trail. I have hiked and I have mountain biked single track. Many years ago I paced Andy on Wasatch 100, and I died at an 8K at Snowbird three years ago. Other than that I have not run on a trail that doesn’t mimic a dirt road. Why not try on a 50 miler?As a warning, if you don't like long winded race reports read my summary instead. I talk a lot here.

Since this race was not one of my pre-planned races, financially we took it to the minimum. We camped at the campgrounds close to the starting line. It was only $5.00 a person and it was beautiful. I think I would have done the camping method even if the choice of a hotel was available. Within the first ten minutes we where there setting up the tent, I had two ticks crawling up my legs. Scared me enough to run to the car and cover myself in two types of bug spray. Tick collection on the neck was avoided. The tent went up just in time for a lightning storm.

The first person I met at camp was Brooke while Brad was out testing the trails for a couple days before the race. There where there three days early. I loved chatting with her and her two little ones. Kenny made me a delicious chicken, white sauce, pasta thing. After eating, we drove to the starting to get to know where everything was the next day. We came back and everybody else at the camp site starting showing up. I got to meet a guy Matt that was running this race as he was moving. I met JJ and his girls. JJ explained how easy it is to trip on a stick once you get tired, and how suddenly it will hit at mile 40. I also met Ashley. Ashley was the first to head to bed and the rest of us followed at about 9:30 for a good night sleep, as the morning was going to start at 4:00am.

Race morning started and I was feeling pretty good. Not too nervous and full of energy. I was excited for a trail run. Met some more friendly runners that where just happy to be there. The race director was up and ready with everything a good hour before the race. The bathroom was nearby. Somebody left the sink running all night, they’re not very water conservative. I must have been a bit over hydrated, or more nervous than I thought. I can never tell the difference. Three bathroom breaks later with the final one being my monthly horror. Oh well, at least I will get experience racing with cramps because I’m not into having ibuprofen during a long race.

Three minutes to go so I made sure my watch was ready and my pack was on, then we where off to a slog. Second ultra event and I still don’t understand the whole delayed start and sure why not go the clock has started. Everybody starts off at an 11:00 pace for the first couple seconds then we settle into about 8:45 where I felt comfortable. I kept this for another two miles with Kellie and Ashley. Ashley pulled back about a mile and half into the run to a more intelligent pace. Once we hit the trail Kellie pulled back a tiny bit, and I kept about the same pace as the road. I caught up to two runners in front of me. I then remembered my coach saying keep it at 10:00 so since I got stuck at that pace I figured it was best for me to stay there instead of asking somebody to pull to the right and stop. About 15 minutes into the first trail there was a log in the middle of the trail. I was tempted to move the log because I didn’t see myself wanting to move it later nor wanting to walk over it later. I continued without moving it. This was a good choice because the race volunteers moved it before I hit the section on my second lap. The five mile water stop everybody stopped to refill. I was carrying enough for my 10 miles so I was back in front of this small pack of runners. I kept this spot for the remainder of this lap and the next lap. Everybody reassured me that they didn’t want to go in front and my jog was just right. I have the feeling they were thinking what I was thinking before. In others words, yes it feels too slow but it is probably the right thing. My problem was it didn’t feel slow for me. I would say it was more of a comfortably hard. Kenny greeted me at the end with a new pack all ready to go. He let me know that the other runners are carrying half the weight as I am carrying. I assured him that I wanted the water full but it was okay to drop the extra Hammer gel. The first lap was completed in 1:39:03 which puts me at a pace of 9:54/mi. This is exactly where I wanted to be on pace. Except, not what I wanted it to feel like. It was not the easiest 10 I have ever done. I was ready for my 5 hour energy shot to get my second lap in, and at this point I knew the 8 hour goal was not going to happen. Sorry coach, my legs just aren’t going to have it today.

Second lap in and we get to skip the pier. I was glad we only had to do on the first lap. Ten minutes into the lap and the 5 hour energy is doing its tricks. I could run fast and it would feel like a piece of cake. I lost a bit of energy trying to get my electrolyte pills out of my pack then swallow the four, but figured it was worth staying hydrated. Every time after this I will be taking my electrolytes from the aid station. Shortly after taking off on this lap Kellie and I realized that Krystle was behind us. We knew we didn’t pass her, so we came to the conclusion that the turnaround was wrong and we had to go further down the road to a second sign, and that we would make that up on this lap. When we got to the turnaround that said turn around we concluded that we didn’t need to go further. We didn’t cut the course, Krystle added to her course. I got to spend a lot of time with Kellie as we were still chatting during the second lap. We had a couple of entertaining chats, especially when she got to see me almost eat it several times. Yes, I tripped quite a few times even during my first lap. Being naturally clumsy I have the catching myself in my nature. I never fell to the ground. I didn’t even get to the point where I had to put my hands out. My foot always came around to catch myself. Sure enough every trip was my left foot and every catch was my right foot. I found my weak foot. My left foot big toe nail will be missing in another two weeks. At least they grow back. Hopefully, I didn’t affect the matrix (Brooke knowledge). Kellie and I also talked about how nice it was for Caleb to section off and groom the trail just for us. Running the first lap we made a note to walk down a steep section of cobbles, especially if it was raining. It looked rather dangerous to run down when tired. I walked it on the second lap as planned. Nobody fell. My excitement about not doing the pier was quickly smashed at the end of the lap. We had to do it twice in a row. Once for lap two, then right after for the beginning of lap three. Not cool. The completion of the second lap was much slower as I expected I finished it in 1:48:35 which is a pace of 10:51/mile. I guess you can call that running, but I wouldn’t. Kenny was again there to greet me with a new pack. I only drank 40 oz on the first lap and just 60oz on this lap.

I realized how badly my last lap went and knew that it wasn’t going to get any better. I also knew that Jen was going to be pacing me on the two laps after this one. I gritted my teeth and ran to the half way point. My head went through a bit of shock at the half way point. I thought no way can I do the second half faster, and I know I am not going to get any slack once this lap was finished. I did what I should not have done. I added walking into the steeper uphill sections. I needed to recover on this lap so I could pound out the last two with Jen. I knew I didn’t have any other choice in my future. I took advantage of my recovery moments. I walked in a 50, what a shame. Kellie was running with her pacer and was doing a great job. I was a little jealous that she had a pacer during the third lap. She stayed in front of me during this whole lap. I didn’t catch up until the end where I stayed right behind her for the last 2.5 miles. I got to run a section with Brad. He said Kellie thought I got lost. I informed him that it was just me going a lot slower and I haven’t gotten lost. Just thinking about me going slow made continued on my running and went through the hard section. I think the hardest section of the race is the last bit on the counter clockwise section. The hill sections are steeper and long enough to where my run real fast down doesn’t push me up the hill. It haunted me on my last lap. I should have never put this in my head. The completion of my third lap was 1:53:33 with a drastically slower pace of 11:21/mile. I did feel recovered and ready to run my fourth lap with Jen. It was nice to know two things. First, I knew Jen would be a great pacer and I would run just to avoid the embarrassment of lameness. Second, I already did the pier for this lap.

Start of the fourth lap began and not only did I have Jen, but I downed my second 5 hour energy. My magic potion was ready for use. I had another load of energy. The beginning of the lap I was in the lead (female 50) by 3 minutes or so, and I could tell that Jen was getting excited. I fell in love with the trail on this loop. I felt like I was riding a mountain bike, and got really into running. I didn’t look down at my watch for my pace because I wanted to feel like I was going fast, but I knew in reality I wasn’t even going fast enough for it to count as a jog. I think I only tripped once during this lap. I even had a squirrel moment. I think every time I see a squirrel it will always make me laugh. If you have ever seen UP, I am sure you are in the same boat. It is also funny if you have seen that utube video of horrible parents that let their kids play with a dead squirrel. I was exhausted before I started this lap. I couldn’t believe I was actually running at this point. Had it not been for Jen pacing me, I am positive I would have been walking by now. The end of the trail was coming and I was barely keeping up my slog. I was feeling really bad for Jen. I was destroying any attempt of a workout for her, but extremely grateful to have her there with me. I am sure she appreciated it, but since I was worked my talking was almost nonexistent. So I may have ruined her workout, but at least she didn’t have to listen to my chatter mouth. She alternated between being in front of me and behind me. It is pretty amazing how in tune she is with things. She quickly found that I did better with her behind me, without me saying a word. By the time we hit the end of the trail I was back to my third lap mentality. I started doing a walk run/ but not wanting to run. Jen again helped me focus. She had me keep my feet moving regardless of the pace. I settled into an easy pace. I even continued to run (pace of walking) on the uphills with my tiny baby step runs. It kept me from mentally having to start and stop. Everybody talks about how hard it is on your stomach to start and stop. I still haven’t gotten to the point where the stop wasn’t worth it. It is more of a mental issue for me. Once I stop I want to keep stopping. Starting again seems to be just fine. Or at least I will keep telling myself that so it never is an issue. I was able to keep this slow for another mile and half. Getting my mileage down was good because I ran out of water a good two miles before the aid station, which was at mile 36. I am still at this point trying to figure out how I ran out of water when I should have been starting with 70oz. I could easily have 70 oz last me two and half hours in hotter weather. Then we got on the road to the aid station, and I was told that I get to run the pier twice. Jen stayed back at the aid station with Kenny to get everything ready for my final lap. By the time I hit the aid station I had made a gain and was now over 6 minutes ahead. However, running the pier by myself didn’t work as planned. I walked. I didn’t speed walk. I slowly walked. My last mile was a stupid pace of 15:00/mi. This got rid of my lead completely. I was now in second and I didn’t care. Lap 4 done in 2:01:56 with an average pace of 12:11. There goes that fast pace I did at the beginning.

Final lap to go and I am in second, and again I didn’t care. I was toast and Krystle looked awesome, especially for having getting lost during the first lap for a good amount of time. I think she added like 3-5 miles to her first loop. As I was leaving my “I didn’t care” quickly changed. Kenny knew how upset I got when Ryan Hall would lose by like two seconds. I didn’t get it why he didn’t just push. At the aid station Kenny shouted out “two seconds”. That reminded me that I didn’t want to lose by two seconds, or lose by one lap. I start running to catch her. Then Brad was coming in from his fourth lap and he said something like “now this is getting interesting”. I interrupted that as yeah Krystle is going to win and you are going to lose. I quickly responded to him with foul language. Sorry about that again. Except, if you ever want to motivate me, be mean, or put me down. It will always get me going, and you never have to worry. Even if you do completely offend me and piss me off. I will be over it by the next day. I will come for anybody in the angry mental state regardless of how tired I am. I now cared. I was going to win. Second mental issue which got me going again is Jen wanted to get me out of the aid station as quickly as possible so she took off with my pack. I followed because I wanted more water. She was booking it fast, and I was thirsty already. I knew I would have to catch her if I wanted to drink. I got my pack back shortly after leaving the parking area, but I really thought she was going to make me chase her the entire lap for every drink. I was too tired to complain so I just went with it. I didn’t want to tell her that I was thinking that she would do that, because then when I got my pack back I thought she would take it back so I would chase her down for a drink. Off to the final lap with ambition.

Jen ran ahead to help me gauge my required performance. I would encounter a couple mountain bikers. After realizing she was gone for a very long time, I realized that Krystle must be way ahead of me and I was losing ground. I asked the next group of mountain bikers how far ahead the previous run was located. They said she was a good 100 yards ahead and that I would have to run fast if I wanted to catch her. I booked it as fast I could at this point. In other words, we are seeing some 11 minute miles going down. I got to the section where we are running along the beach and I could see Krystle just ahead of me with Jen running with her. If I ran for 30 seconds I could catch her. They then both turned around and realized I was just behind them. I was speed walking at this section because it was fully exposed to the sun and running this section seems to drain my energy the most, and since it was flat I could speed walk at a 12:00/mi. I deemed this as the best use of my energy. I know knew I was close to her and needed to push 100% at this point. I started getting wonderful calf cramps shortly after this. However, a couple seconds of running on it without caving to a limp would get rid of it quickly. Then I would start getting random dizzy spells. I drank more Hammer gel, and ate several peanut m&ms. The m&ms seems to revive me the most. Then I could not eat them anymore, they were disgusting and tasted like powder. We then got to a section where you cross the street to the trail. I looked down the road and Krystle was running off path. I shouted down because she was going the wrong way. I felt horrible. I wanted to stop and wait for her. Jen got me going forward on the right path. I was now in front and she was right behind me. Not only was she right behind me, but I knew she had a better finishing sprint than I could have. If it came down to a sprint finish I would lose. I had to create a pad. I ran as fast as I could. We then got to the half way point. I knew my water was almost gone at this point and that I should refill. However, I also knew that it would take time. I decided to try and make it last at least until two miles to go and I would start reducing my drinking. I should have handed Jen my pack and just go the one mile stretch without water and be greeted with a full pack passing the mid aid station again. However, that thought process came a little too late. I was still thinking go. Sure enough mile 6ish into the trail I was out of water, but this time four miles to go. I continued to drink my Hammer gel when I wanted water. My dizzy spells where no longer going away because I couldn’t drink it away. My vision was also not that cool. There was a tree that I loved going under. Every time I would laugh thinking about how others have to duck and I can run without ducking. Except this time it looked like it was going to hit me right in the face. I went with my mental state and decided not to duck. It was hilarious. This tree went from about to hit my face to over my head instantly. I started laughing and couldn’t really stop. This led to me a little hyper ventilating. It went away but kept coming back. Jen kept trying to tell me to control my breath. Take deep breaths instead of shallow. Yeah, I didn’t do a very good job at listening, but really I tried, except deep breath just led me to hold my breath.

Then my brain took over. Just as I saw the section in the road where you go down the road and back, you then have to enter what my head was telling me was the hardest section of the race. I decided I needed a break. I wasn’t getting a break from walking. I needed to sit for just a second. I have now learned that sitting is not a good thing when you are dizzy and out of breath. I later found out that I passed out and Jen had to slap me in the face to bring me back, then I passed out again and she dumped my ice on my face and brought me back again. Then she just told me to keep talking. My race was over with 2.5 miles to go. I officially suck. So what if I passed out. I still consider this giving up. I know what my mind was thinking. It was thinking about that hardest 2.5 miles of the race and I didn’t want to do it. It was going to be hard.

The rest of my evening and the next day where spent in the hospital getting 8 bags of IV into my arm. I ran myself into rhabdomyolysis and kidney failure. I pretty much felt like that as well. If you are ever curious, you can have these issues without being nauseous nor have any pain in the back. I would think that if my kidneys where failing I would at least feel kidney pain. This isn’t true. Today is day nine after the race and is officially the longest I have taken off running in years. It sucks. It is worse, because I feel fine now and want to be running. However, what I want more than running now is being fresh for pacing Jen at Badwater. I can’t wait to be part of the best race with the best racer.

Pre-Race dealings

My training has had two focuses. Get ready for the heat and stay free of injury. I have been fighting an IT Band/something weird with my knee since beginning of May. Nothing that stopped me in my tracks, but don’t touch the knee, straighten completely, or bend all the way or I would get shot with a stabbing pain. No big deal I could run on it just fine as long as I was running at least a 9:15 pace. I even ran sections in the Keys relay on my bunk knee. Then one day after a self massage when I was attempting to self diagnosed something popped. That was good bye to knee pain. Whew. Except now that it was gone I was going to baby it and keep it happy. In other words reduce my mileage. This meant about 3 or 4 days off, then back to training. Except the timing of the days off was about two weeks before a 50 mile race. The fear of 50 was non-existent in my head, so no big deal.

Heat training for Badwater was going really well. I knew how much water and electrolyte pills I needed to take. The Everglades in the middle of the day could not be better training for the heat. I would take four pills every hour. I would drink 70 oz every hour and half and two 10oz Hammer Gel/water mix. I drank 90 oz plus my Hammer Gel once and I didn’t know you could puke that much water out. Beats stomach acid puke. Okay so 90oz is too much and 70oz is just right for an hour and half period. I went out one day in the afternoon and the guy that mans the airboat rides gave me a long lecture that I shouldn’t be running out there today because the temps where going to be above 92 degrees without any cloud cover and that ground temps will get above 120. I told him not to worry I was dumb enough to do this every day. Out of curiosity I took his ground temperature thing. Tested the ground and it was a nice cool 88 degrees and my head was 90. About an hour into running the ground temps went up to 126 degrees. I thought that was pretty cool. They stayed around this during the course of my run. My head got up to 94 degrees. I started feeling a decrease in energy right about 93. Too bad they don’t have ice chests in the middle of the everglades. I got home and bought myself the same cool heat thing. My other runs the temps routinely got to around 136F, and I could still run a 9:15 pace. Heat training has been a success.

Biggest deal breaker for training. Nothing to do with running, but can destroy your running. I encountered a personal issue with bladder malfunctions. I got a UTI. I am all about curing something naturally, which I attempted for a good three weeks. I finally caved a week before my race and went to the doctors for a urinalysis. He put me on Sulfameth/Trimethoprim 180/160, which is also known as Bactrim (antibiotics). I was to take them for 10 days. This was five days before my race. I checked with the doctor and the pharmacy chick. They both said it was okay to run while taking them. However, they said be extra careful and wear more sunscreen as I would be more sensitive to the sun. They also warned me that I would feel muscle fatigue and would not be able to run very well. I went on three different runs and agreed with the muscle fatigue. A 45 minute run at a 9:15 pace hurt. I guess I won’t be running Fort Clinch as fast. The thought never crossed my mind that it could cause kidney issues.

In summary, my injury was gone and I was ready for the heat, but I may have to run a little slower. The slower would be for two reasons. My daily trail running has the difficultly of none. I have even run it several times with my eyes closed when the training requires a bit of pushing. There is nothing to trip on and nothing to navigate. If you want to make it a little harder you can run in the sand areas on the edge, except be aware of startling a snake on the edges.

My first 100K

I am officially an ultra marathoner as of yesterday, and it was well worth it. I finished the 100K as the first female and second overall. I missed my A goal, but hit my B goal. This is generally the case, as my A goal is set at an almost impossible level. B goal is cause for celebration to me as a job well done. I would like to say that if it was 10 degrees cooler like the weekend before I might have had a better chance at the A goal. Near 90 degrees is not the time to hit an A goal, or my goals are messed up and I would be required to call myself a sand bagger.

One of the significant keys to my success was my crew and pre crew. The set up was perfect and they were perfect. Kenny spent the week before with one of his big lists of stuff. I say stuff, because I don't do the list thing. When I go on long runs my time spent pre-preparing is about 10-15 minutes. All this list stuff magically ended up in the back of my truck. I think he did a set up for every runner. I didn't have my gels. I had boxes and boxes of gels. Except it was my favorite flavor. I didn't have a big cooler. I had three coolers and one of them, which were the size of the back of the truck, was odd. We (by we I mean Kenny) put the cooler with ice in the back of the truck the day before. I freaked out there thinking. That is going to be water in the next two hours. Nope, two days later everything is still solid ice. I am going to use this ice for an ice bath later today. I learned that they make ice coolers which keep ice solid for five days. Another note was everything I used for the race, we got duplicates. This would make it so I wouldn't have to wait for refilling or packing time.

The race crew was Seth, Jill, and Vickie. During the race I had a list for them by hour and what I wanted in my water belt. I showed up to the aid stations and they handed me the new belt, which contained whatever I was suppose to have. Once the temperature got hotter I then had ice under my hat, which was refreshed. The stops where under 30 seconds each. Until the last stop, because I needed a bit more of relaxation time. More details later in my novel, I mean post. I liked my crew’s style, because it matches mine. Kenny was the one to set everything up, and we talked about what we were going to do about 15 minutes. They did everything perfectly. I didn't have to think about time. If there was something in my pack, I knew I was supposed to eat or swallow it. My watch broke, and they had my next one set up and ready to go on the next aid station. They didn't stress or freak out. They made me feel awesome. Not just awesome. They made me feel really awesome, because they were awesome. I loved my crew.

My coach Scott D'Angelo was another significant part of my success. He had prepared me very nicely for the race. I was ready for the heat. I was ready for walk/run plan. I was ready for straight running. I never did very much of the straight running though. I was ready for the full collapse at the end and could still speed walk the final section in semi reasonable time.

The course started off with my broken watch. No freak out here, because this has been a regular occurrence since I got it. I bought it just for this race and I was determined to use one watch for the entire race because that would be cool stats. I kept a nice easy comfortable pace. I would run for nine minutes and walk for one minute. Nothing else worked on the watch, but at least it started my workout and vibrated and beeped at me for my required intervals. I am not sure if the heart rate monitor was accurate. The nine minute sections my heart rate ranged from 170-173bpm. During the walk it would go back down to 160bpm. It felt about right. This is low for me. When I do a marathon my average heart rate for a race is close to 190.

Everyone made the first turn in the race. The second turn, I was right behind the pack leaders and they all skipped the turn. I tried shouting to inform them, but it didn't work. This was about mile five. I was tempted to just go straight. However, I remember the race rules, and I was determined to follow them. Just because other runners are doing it, it doesn't give you the excuse to cheat. Besides, I knew they didn't do it on purpose. They just missed the sign. I knew to turn there even if the sign wasn't posted. I remembered it from when I did the course two weeks prior. I also knew there was check in and aid stop from the map. My crew would be waiting for me. If I skipped it and they didn't realize I missed it, I would have been crewless. This means I get about a half mile longer than the other runners. It was the shortest distance for cut ins. This was a very lonely area. It was dark, there where strange drunks wandering around and I didn't see anybody in front of me. Then it dawned on me. They are going to hit the bridge from their pace. If you went out any faster than 9:18/mi, you will hit the first bridge. My guess of pace put them going out pace at about 8:30-9:10's. In the end; I found my crew, got my refills, and missed the bridge that they all hit. It worked out.

After the turn and before the bridge I saw my friend Tina from the Keys100 relay. Tina does police patrol and was patrolling the area on her bike. I told her Jen and Scott unknowingly missed an aid station and check in. She went back down to the aid station and informed them. Tina and I chatted for about 12 minutes. It was great to see her there. I can't wait to do the relay with fun people again. The Keys100 relay is still my favorite race.

The next eventful moment was just as we were coming into Deefield. Ah-oh, what I ate didn't work with my bowels. I had the runs and started eyeing down all the bushes. I would like to believe that it was from eating too much at this time in the race. I ate breakfast, then had a pb&j 10 minutes before the start, then had another pb&j at 8:00 (2 hours into the race). Instead of finding a bush and having burning butt syndrome for the next 50 miles I held it in. I knew I was less than a mile away from the boardwalk section in Deerfield. This section I was going back and forth with my coach as he was running straight and I was doing a run walk. It was cool to see him so focused. I made it to the bathroom. I kindly asked the next person in line if I could cut. There were very nice and didn't make me wait. I cleared everything out, and only took 45 second off my time. I made it up by pacing 8:45/mi and skipping the next walk break. Oh by the way my watch magically starting working again about two miles before this. I couldn't see my overall pace because it was showing as over 30/mi. I could only see my current lap pace. I was happy with that.

The aid station between miles 13 and 14 was missing for all the uncrewed members. I was lucky to have my crew. I am pretty sure that the uncrewed members assumed I was cheating here because there was no aid station visible, but I was getting crewed at the location of the aid stations. The aid station vehicles were not there. Nothing was set up. I think they thought I was cheating, but honestly I am hoping they know I wasn't. Maybe I am wrong here, because there were other runners getting crewed at non aid stations.

The next section was the Bayan road loop thing, which was yet another unorganized thing in the race. The signed pointed one way when everybody was telling me I was supposed to go the other way. I knew the map. I knew I was suppose to turn right and do the little numb, do the loop, get my page, then go back to the aid station. I turned left because too many people yelled at me when I tried to force the right turn. During the pre-race expo somebody brought up that there would have to be two books because if you have a number 9 and number 10, then the first run is going to take the second runners number. He assured us that there would be two pages. When I got there of course there was only one book. Good thing I was there before number 10. Too bad number 10 won't have a number. Hopefully they just grab any page. This is the worst. This area is where everybody was told they would have their drop bags for the highly dependent nutrition. It was horrible. They didn't have anybodies drop bag. They didn't lose one. They had none.

Things went really bad with the race organization. I would not recommend for anybody to run the Palm100 Individual 100K if they think they will have anything supplied. You have to have a crew. Drop bags where lost like I just said before and aid stations where not set up for the first 10 runners for the entire first half of the course. I had a huge advantage. I had the best crew in the world. Every aid station. Well where every aid station was supposed to be, they handed me a new belt, covered me in ice, and filled my pack with exactly what I told them it should contain by time of day. I had exactly what I needed. I know I have already said this, but really I appreciated it the most. Everybody else was left with nothing. When I say nothing, I mean nothing. Some aid stations that actually where set up offered coke instead of water. What is wrong with them? This isn't a 5K. This is 100K. You could kill somebody out there making these kinds of mistakes. My crew had enough stuff to help everybody within 10 minute front or behind me. Nobody would take anything because they planned on items being available by the race volunteers, and you can’t accept when you are not running as crewed. I wasn't doing anything out of regulation as I was running crewed. You were only allowed to crew at the aid stations. My crew was offering other runners what they needed only where the aid stations where suppose to be located.

Other runners where talking about runners that where getting crewed incorrectly. I thought that was stupid for them to cheat because I didn't see why they wouldn't just follow the rules. I was really happy to see my friend Jason out there on the course saying hi. If I had known everybody else was getting crewed everywhere I would have taken that drink of water he offered when I was dry.

I was in the lead from mile 37 until 6 miles to go. The 10 minute or so loss from the last bridge didn't help me. It gave the runner up a good 10 minutes of running to catch up to me while I was just there standing and waiting. It was either wait or push an 8 minute mile, and that wasn't going to happen. Instead I walked to avoid stopping, but still had to stop for 7 minutes. I think I should have pushed for the 8:00 minute mile, as it may have avoided the hamstring cramping. The winner was also a much better runner. I knew this before the race started. He proved it during the race. He was also one of my favorite runners that I encountered today in the race. I am happy that he caught up to take the title of first overall.

I first met up with Craig Lozowick somewhere in Delray and we chatted while keeping our pace going well. At least I think it was him that I was talking to in Delray. I lost him at an aid station, and then he got stuck at the Boca Inlet Bridge shortly after. I regret not seeing him because I mapped out the bridges to aid stations and paces to avoid hitting any of them. I brought my pace up a bit to miss the Boca Inlet Bridge. I hit the Hilsboro Inlet bridge with full knowledge that I was going to hit it, but couldn't speed up to the planned pace. I would have had to make up 5 minutes within three miles. I also didn't realize the bridge takes 10 minutes. I put it at five minutes at each bridge, as that was the typical time when I watched the bridges the weekend before. My loss in time was the same as his, since he also got stopped on the bridge before. Bridge for Bridge.

Before he caught up, it was fun to meet up with some of the 50K runners. They said they were all rooting for me to take first overall. I knew I didn't have it, and would respond with, sorry that isn't going to happen. I knew the mile lead was going to be collapsing. But thanks you guys for the cheers.

After the stop my hamstrings cramped up, which caused me to slow my pace down. Craig caught up a mile or two after the bridge. When he caught up. He again became a great running partner. If I walked, he cheered me on saying "Come on, let's finish this together. We both get first". He did this for the next four miles. He stopped, when I stopped even if he didn't need to stop. He was looking strong and in control.

The last aid stop Craig had my crew give me an ice bath even though I didn't want to stop. I wanted to keep walking. I limited each stop to 30 seconds, until this stop. This stop was also the stop that I peed the second I stopped. I didn't even realize I had to pee. So I wiped with the towels my crew had ready every stop. Yep, it was covered in bright red blood. I didn't have traces of blood. It was red flowing blood. Jill was an EMT and her face screamed, you need to stop now. Her mouth said, that can't be good. Seth reminded me of the googling I had done prior to race where that has been known to happen. This is when I decided to take advance of the great coaching skills of Scott D'Angelo from the Doghouse Performance Cycling Center. He is a great ultra marathoner, triathlete, surfer, climber, and all around fitness expert. He trained me for all sorts of back up plans. I could keep a speed walk of 13:00/mi for the remaining five miles. I forced Craig to go forward, and I think the death look on my face he knew I didn't have any more running left. He booked it to the finish line and I did some nifty speed walking. It actually made me really enjoy the last part of the race. The beach was to the right and there were a lot of strange people to watch. When you are not dieing, it is easy to see the site around me. Well the truth is, even when I am dieing I am looking at everything around me anyways. Focusing on one thing for longer than 30 seconds doesn't happen. I'll one of those that see the pretty flowers, birds, unpulled weeds, and anything else that is around me. This occurs even during speed workouts. I think it actually helps with my ability to shut off pain, because it isn't constant. It seems to just go away.

I felt great for the first 50 miles and I was enjoying the view, the run, and my crew. Things were going better than planned. It was

Things that went bad

I can now say that I can do the 100K completely off feel. The first 2 1/2 hours the Garmin310XT couldn't find any Satellite's. I was left without any distance or pace knowledge. There wasn't a cloud in the sky and I was completely in the open. If you are ever thinking about buying a watch, avoid this one. It is the worst watch, if you expect it to be accurate or work. I am crossing my fingers that Garmin lets me return it. I hate it so bad I wouldn't even try a new one if they replaced it for free.

I stopped thinking and missed one station of electrolytes and ran out of water for three miles. This was the why the crash occurred after mile 50. When I say missed. I had it in my pack, but just didn't take it. The next stop so happened to be another missing aid station, which is what added the extra 3 miles of no water.

Next Races

I think I am going to avoid the local ultra's in Florida. Well, that is after I do the local Oleta park races. They look too fun to pass up. I am glad the next two races are in my happy place. I will be doing the Speedgoat 50K in July and in September Bear 100 as my first 100 miler. I am pretty sure I am more nervous about the upcoming 50K then the 100 miler. I ran an 8K a year and half ago in July that was on the bottom, easier section of this course. All I can remember is being handed a new one. That was an 8K. Instead, let’s do the same thing on a 50K. It will be so much fun.

I am going to leave my ultra running as a fun adventure. I am going to avoid Palm100 repeats. I loved the running. I loved the actual course. I am happy with how it went, well not really, but I will keep telling myself this. I learned what I did wrong, kinda. I won't repeat my mistakes. I loved some of the runners like Craig, Brad, and Mohawk guy.

Race Day Ready

Today is two weeks until my race day, and I am ready to conquer the ultra distance. I have made it injury free. I have run the last half of the course at the time of the day I expect to be on the last half of the course. I love the course. I can see that it will be easy to get into my grove. The course is an out and back so I should not get lost during the race. I am talking about the Palm100 Individual 100K. I have a great coach, Scott D'Angelo from Doghouse Cycling, which has pushed me beyond what I could have done myself. This included a lot of miles, even a seven hour run, and the extra motivation to bring up my confidence. Did I say no injuries? I still can't believe this because prior to now I didn't think my body would handle over 40 miles in a week without getting injured. My rest weeks are still over 50, with some weeks over 90 miles.

I would like to go over my goals for the race, as this makes it easier to me push when the going gets tough. Since my blog really isn't published or read I am not reveling anything that will get me beat in the race. Yes, I would like to take first. The reality of this is slim, but for now it is a dream. Beyond my dream are my realities, which will also be a dream.

Finish Time Goal: 9:57:47, which is a pace of 9:37/mi for just over 62 miles (100K).

If you asked me what my goal was a month ago I said sub 12:00:00. I would still be happy with this, but my training has caused me to adjust my race goal. Basically it comes down to sub 12:00 I will be satisfied. Sub 11:00 I will be happy. Sub 10:00 I will be ecstatic.

My last long run before race, which was on Saturday, was perfect and is the culprit for the 10 hour dream. I put the race mentality on. I ran the pace I was going to run, ate the food, and watched the timing with lights and bridges. I ran 32.24 miles in 5:00:47, which puts me at a pace of 9:19/mi. I started my training run with a run/walk at a pace of 9:45/mi for the running sections. After an hour I changed the run/walk to a 9:20/mi pace and kept that for an hour and half. I then kept the run/walk at 8:45/mi up until the last hour. I was able to keep a pace of 8:45/mi for the last hour straight.

I got stuck at one light for an extended time. I will have to speed up in one section to avoid missing this light. I missed it by 45 seconds, which I can add to my speed walking area. I also got stuck at the Hillsboro Inlet bridge. I was two minutes off from hitting the bridge. I am thinking about adding a walk in one section before the bridge so I don't stop at the bridge and instead get an extra walk. I want to avoid stopping that far into the race as it may be hard to start back up again.

It isn't the run itself that caused this crazy sub 10 dream, as I know running for 5 hour is nothing like running for 10 hour. Instead it is how I felt after the run and Sunday. I finished running 32.24 miles feeling fresh. I am talking the kind of fresh that you generally feel when running 10 miles during a marathon training program. I really could be half way and keep going. The next day, nothing. I did all the yard work that has been lacking during the 12 weeks of training all in one day, and spent some well needed time with my two girls. I ended the day with a new WII and Guitar Hero to help keep me busy during my taper period. I have issues with the taper period. The stronger I start feeling the more I want to do. I can only imagine a taper where I felt strong before going into the taper. This will be new for me.

Longest 7 day mileage at 91.45 miles

Last week I hit my record high in the number of miles logged, which was 91.45 miles. The running week had a few fun stories. I ran the Miami Half Marathon with my brother Seth on Sunday. He did great and finished in 2:20. Seth came with me for the Disney Goofy challenge and realized how much fun racing can be, especially when everybody gets a medal for finishing. That day I got three spectacular medals. He decided he wanted to run a race, and liked the Miami medal the best. This only gave him about three weeks to start running and get ready to run 13.1 miles. Anyway, during Seth's race we would run for ten minutes and walk for one. I gave him one of my Hammer gels at mile 10 to jump some energy into him for the final section of the race. It ended up being that they do not have the same affect on him as they do on me. Let's just say he crashed and burned and extended the one minute walk to three minutes. He was determined to walk the rest of the race. Then the best cheering section of the race came up. He started running, because he said he couldn't walk with so many people. This was great. He wasn't just running but he started running a minute per mile faster then the rest of the race. This converted the run 10 walk 1 down to run 3 and walk 1. We now had about two miles to go and he saw the pacer with the 2:10 tag. This got him really excited and was determined to stick with them until the finish. They he saw the separation of the marathon and half marathon race and thought it was the finish line. He booked it by going about 8:00/mi. That was destroyed a bit when he realized it wasn't the finish and instead he had about a half mile to go. We ran the rest of the race, and crossing the finish line with my brother was a great experience. I was proud of him, and he was proud of himself, and to top it off I had a new pretty medal to add to my collection.

The Half Marathon was over and the rest of my training run was ready to begin. I jumped back onto the course with my own water. I felt guilty drinking the water because I would hate for the marathon walkers to run out of water because the calculation of water didn't include an unregistered marathon runner. My original idea was to use the course water, but I couldn't do it. The part of the course I jumped on was a group of backward runners, joggers, and the fastest being a 11:00 runner/walker. I felt bad passing people because I didn't want to make them feel slow. I found an opening to cut the course by crossing the street and jumped since I wasn't doing the full marathon and only needed 20 miles. The timing was perfect for the pace I wanted. Most where going about 9:00 to 9:30 with stranglers dropping here and there. It was mile 22 in the course. Whenever I encountered somebody on the course that was walking I would grab their arm and make them run. Most appreciated and only one refused. I believe I got about 10 runners to continue on their merry way. About mile 24 there was one guy that was a bit more tired because his goal was 3:30 and the heat took more of a toll then expected. Instead of sticking to my 10:00 on the dot I slowed down a bit and stuck with him. He wanted to ensure that he still got 4:00 hours which mean he still has to run to the finish. He called me his angel, and that made my day for the second time. I had to let him go at mile 26 because I couldn't cross the line twice. He made it in 4:00:30, so I am not sure if that was 30 short of 30 within is second goal. I am going to call it a goal maker, because according to Boston standards it is a goal maker. That was the start of my high mileage week.

Monday was a rest day. Tuesday and Wednesday where back to back two hour runs on a trail. Tuesday was a learning experience. Once you start running on a trail you cannot just stop running and fix a problem. You are stuck in what ever situation you have created for yourself. I didn't remember to bring socks. I knew this before I started running as I thought about wearing the sock I had on at work or no socks. I have run without sock numerous times, just nothing more than five miles. I chose the no socks methods. Do not do this in Brooks Ghost as the back is high and is not sock free friendly. Both feet ending up with blisters on the back and one blister on the bottom of my right foot. The blisters on the back did not keep the skin in tact, instead they bleed out. During the run this didn't really hurt until I walked for a couple of minutes at the end. Running in pain is easy. Walking in pain is not. This was Tuesday. I knew the next day was going to be an interesting experience. I left my mole skin at work and couldn't use it on the run so I used band aids. They do not help with pain, but could keep more blood from ruining my socks. It took me about 30 minutes before I could shut off the pain. Then I was all good, because instead of the pain I was dealing with a very hot day in the everglades.

Thursday was a rest day, which was plenty of time for healing to occur. Blistered fixed. Friday was an easy hour run. Saturday was my first run longer than the distance of a marathon. This was exciting because I get to cover more area on my newly found trail run. I wanted to go as far as I could, which meant I had to find a way to carry as much water as possible. Drinking for the everglades is not recommended. There is one stop at Atlantic and a second stop at Markham park. I new I would hit Atlantic, but I did not know what kind of water would be available as it was end of the road and I didn't see any buildings. Markham Park was out because I would not reach that far and keep my run at five hours. When I hit Atlantic I realized there was not way to refill. I was left with what I had. I had my camel pak, Nathan belt with 20 oz, and a hand held 20 oz. I should be good. I starting drinking less water because I wanted to make sure I was good. I had plenty left. An hour later I met up with other runners and they said Markham Park was only about 4 miles away. That meant water was only adding a mile and half to my run. Well worth it, so I knew I had plenty of water to drink as much as my stomach could handle. It was gone by the time I hit Markham park. I refilled and made returned to trail for my return. Cool new people. I don't remember their names though, I forgot before I even finished our conversation. Maybe they will remember mine. The return was fun and I was still full of energy. For an hour I got to do 1 minute running at 7:30's and four minutes running at 10:00 no walk breaks. I like no walk breaks. Then after an hour I started my running for 15 minutes at 9:00 and walk for one minute. This was to be the next hour and the end of the workout. I made the first set, and didn't like it. The second set I slowed down and won't say where I went because it wasn't running. The walking for a minute even got slower. It started getting hot and I was sunburned. Instead of wearing sunscreen I decided to absorb more vitamin D. You hear a lot of runners that wear sunscreen so much that they lack vitamin D and get stress fractures. I was just looking out for my future. Just kidding, that was another bad idea. I am wearing sunscreen tomorrow. Anyway, I committed to running the extra mile and half and I was going to run the rest with 10/1. This changed as soon as I finished the workout. I walked and jogged to keep my average at 13:30 for the last two miles. This Saturday was my first thought that I was screwed on race day. I didn't like the end and keeping a slow pace was difficult. I did not see myself wanting to add another 30 miles in more heat then what I was experiencing that day. Maybe food will help next time. So for tomorrow sock, sunscreen, and food.

Saturday was 18 miles

Saturday I did a nice 18 mile slog. I can't get myself to think that averaging 9:45 a mile can be considered anything other than a slow jog (in my head known as a slog). The beginning was cake walk but at exactly mile 10 I felt like I forgot how to run. It must have been the temperature and humidity, well I wish. The very end of the run I did my little finish sprint to see if it was my muscles that caused the slowness, but they felt perfectly fine. My heart rate was also perfectly fine, it averaged 15 beats per minute slower than an average run. If it wasn't the heat, it was my head; which means I have officially become a baby. The only other excuse I have created is that my watch must have been broken that day.

Today is the day after, and I can't feel a thing. Am I really out of shape, or is it in my head? I have come to the conclusion that it is in my head. Today marks the final week of working out, then my taper of two weeks begins. My goal is to get 50 miles in this week and finish with a 20 mile run on Saturday. During my runs, I am going to try and remember the excellent half marathon July 10th. I also have to remember all the hill training I was able to get in while in Utah during June and July. This may decrease my chances of failing on October 2nd. If my body isn't in shape I may be able to trick my mind. Mind over body right?

FAU Stride Workout marks my turn around

The last two weeks have been a sad excuse for my running abilities. Saturday I ditched my long run completely. The Saturday before I only did six miles, of which I walked multiple times after just two miles. The Saturday before that I only did 11 and was suppose to do 16. Okay that makes the last three weeks a sad excuse. But I did get a PR in a half marathon 1:39:52 July 10th. This put me with an expected marathon time of 3:30. Except I think that expectation is slowly going away. I have been sleeping about 3-5 hours a night for the last three weeks. I gave up on my tasks and starting sleeping this week and everything is making a great turn around.

Yesterday I met up with Junior at the FAU track for my 8 sets of 20 second strides after a two mile warm up and finished with a two mile cool down. The workout felt easy, and this morning my body feels great. I am ready for a 10 mile run after work today and even did my Monday easy run. Things are turning around for the better, and I hope my body can make up for the three weeks of improper training and still hit the 3:30 I would like to see.

Boston for the first time

Two weeks have passed but I can still remember my thoughts....

The week prior to the race I did my typical taper. I ran 10 miles the Saturday before, five miles mid week, then five miles on the Friday before. Basically I didn't do anything. I watched what I ate to avoid gaining a good five pounds just before the race. I only gained two. Most of my body felt great, except I had this weird side stitch. It seems to be there all day. My Friday run I became afraid of this weird side stitch, as I realized I couldn't take a full breath without it feeling like somebody was stabbing me in my ribs. This is the just the thing you want just before a race. I thought o'well at least I made it to Boston. I decided to try and help things out a bit I took 800 mg of ibuprofen for breakfast lunch and dinner. Yeah I can finally breath again, but it still hurt.

I was excited that the race didn't start until 10:30. Except, then I read through all the driving instructions. The roads to get to the race closed at 7:30 in the morning and I was staying an hour away. Okay fine, I will wake up at the regular race day 4:00 in the morning. Off to bed at 9:00pm. I slept great the night of the race. Went to bed early, and only woke up twice during the night.

No nerves, I thought this was really cool. I didn't have an exact pace goal, except it would be pathetic if I couldn't get at least 3:40. I just wanted to have fun and give a high five to all the kids cheering on the side. I couldn't wait to see what it was going to be like. Also, it will be kind of cool to bonk on heart break hill, maybe...

I get to the race and I figured I must have gone to the wrong location. Nobody was there, not even volunteers. Wait found one. I was in the right place. When they said athlete's village I was expecting a warm place to be waiting for a couple hours. Nope it was on the grass. Good thing I came early. I quickly took up on the opportunity of being early and grabbed the plastic that surrounded all the water bottles and used it as a water barrier between the grass and my buttocks. It was perfect. Until I saw that everybody else was bringing blow up beds. I'll remember that for next year. They should put it in the all the documentation they had out before the race. Or at least put "Note: you will be in the weather during your stay at the athletes village, a bed is recommended". I met a really cool girl, Kendra. She also came before all the buses. We chatted for a couple hours.


One more porta potty stop, then the race begins. Wait the race is starting in 8 minutes and I still have to go and run .7 miles to the start. Ran to start while dressing after my bathroom break. I got good practice running through a bunch of people that seems to think that a 20 minute walk was fast enough to the start. I don't want to start at the end so I decided a warm up is a good thing. Ditched to the side walk outside the gates and ran up to the corral for 15's (second coral for the second wave). Everyone was running as I got in. I just kept running and wondered when it started. Little did I know it already started and I just crossed the starting line. Whoops I better start my watch. O'well my watch usually says 26.5 by the end of the race anyways, maybe the distance will be accurate this time.

And the Race Begins!

I couldn't believe all the spectators at the starting. It was like we were at a finish line. I figured it was everybody that dropped somebody off, but it was families with kids. There we all out there to cheer everyone one. I instantly moved to the right and started giving the little kids a high five. About two minutes into the run my sweater became a new grass ornament it officially warmed up. The weather was perfect. I still kept my gloves thinking about mile 16 when the winds change it becomes cold. I also kept my ear covers on. I was happy to have Kenny's sunglasses it was bright outside. I was so excited to be there it almost brought tear to my eyes. Well not tears, but I was excited.

There was a guy running in front of me holding his gloves in his hands. He had pockets in his shirt, why would be by caring the gloves. I offered to put them in the back for him and he said yes. He said he didn't want to stop and can't seem to put them in back pocket. That was exciting.

I met two other girls as I was running along. They had GO UTAH on their shirt. I started talking to them because I am hoping to get into the lottery for the St George marathon. They got in because they lived in Wasatch County, lucky them. That was their qualifying race.

I hit the first, well maybe the second, small random hill. It was easy, I wasn't too worried about heartbreak hill. Then the first water break came. I grabbed my water and did my little walk while drinking at the water stop at mile 1. Then after I took the sip of water I took a deep breath. Dang that hurt, oh no, no more deep breathing. I remembered my side issue. Okay short shallow breaths, and you know what, I am not stopping for water. All running, this isn't some Jeff Galloway running event.

About mile seven I hit this, oh no I have only gone seven miles. I have about twenty to go. I don't think I am going to make it this time. I haven't even done the hills yet. I didn't care about my speed I might as well slow down....nah, I don't care about my speed who really cares if I hit the wall. It will be fun. Just keep running.

I continued with the method of running through the water stops. I would get the Gatorade cup and pour it on my face and get about a sip. The pouring wasn't intentional, but I haven't learned how to drink like a man. In other words I can't just continue drinking. I have to close my mouth to drink more. I didn't want the after taste of Gatorade so I followed each Gatorade splash with a gulp/face splash of water. It was fun to listen to everybody's feet sticking to the ground. I then just realized that for the first time I was not running by any foot pounders. This is cool. The foot pounders in races are really annoying I always get sympathy pain.

There was a crossing for picture taking at mile 12. I though ah, I am finally at the half marathon mark. Nope, that was just mile 12. I couldn't tell if I was tired or worried about the start of the race. I hear the start of the race is mile 16 when you see the Newton hills. After about an hour later I finally got to the half marathon mark. By an hour, I mean eight minutes and seven seconds. I thought I would be excited that I was halfway done. This was my first peak at my pace. I am in big trouble my pace puts me at an average of 8:03 a mile. I ran a half marathon two months ago and got a PR just under that. What am I thinking that is going out way to fast. I check my heart rate, nope that is good it is averaging in the 170's I can't really run slower then that, this is just a training run according to my heart rate. Keep up the pace.

Around mile 14 there was an older guy running. He was going rather slow for being in front. He said, boy you guys are all running too fast, see you on the hills later. I thought for a minute to myself thinking he was right. O' well I'll find out later. Right now I will just keep on going.

Mile 15 comes along and I am confused. This is a steep downhill, not an uphill. Since the hills are coming soon and I have already passed the halfway mark I might as well go fast. I bring my speed up a bit. The first Newton hill comes. It is at the end of mile 15. Not sure why I thought it was 15, because it is really mile 16. So I climb this little hill. Then it starts to go downhill again, for a while. I thought, was that really the first hill. Not to bad, I'll take it. Granted I slowed my pace a bit to avoid any mental collapse. I heard if you go slow on the first you are good. The second hill comes along quite a bit later. I take this easy too, and well it was easy. It was a little steeper but a lot shorter. The break after this is even longer. Then you get the third hill. Also, no big deal. I am happy about this. Finally, another hill. However, it was close enough to the third that I was thinking that maybe it was still just the third hill. I see at the top a bunch of posters that you have just conquered heart break hill. Surely I thought they were kidding. I start talking to everyone around me and I say, really that was it. I think they wanted to shoot me and said I must be from around here. I informed them that my only hill training consisted of counting a windy day as a hill day, as I was from Florida. I probably should have just said yes. I check my watch my averages changed from 8:03 to 8:09. Not too bad for hills. I was excited that I was actually pacing under 8:10's and the hard part was over. At least I thought it was.

Five miles left to go and I don't have to save anything for anything. I am in the home stretch all down hill from here. I book it. I checked my watch for the last .8 mile I was averaging 7:15 a mile. This was sweet and I felt great. I have never felt this great for the last 5 miles. By never, this is just my third marathon, so that doesn't go very far back. Then I thought 5 miles that is my whole block run. I better wait to sprint until the 5K to go. I backed down a bit. Then this horrible thing happened. There was a big hill, and it sucked. More than all the other hills. Why didn't anybody talk about the hill after heart break hill. This is just cruel. After I got put back in my place I was too worried about any new hills on this the rest is flat part. I slowed down to about an 80% effort. That thought lasted about 10 second. I looked at the elevation changes after the race, and really the worst hill is barely noticeable. This was my head speaking.

Go Tube Socks was the next thing I heard. They were talking about me, this is cool. They are watching me. I better get these tube sock of mine running faster then they are now. I got running again. Well, I was running before just not as fast. They were not really tube socks. I testing out wearing compressions socks for the first time and don't regret it. I also got some new shoes, and only put a ten mile run in them. Brooks Launch. I love the socks and the shoes. I guess avoiding new things on race day isn't for me. It worked out perfectly fine.

Next thing I know I hear everybody yelling two miles to go to everyone. Cool, I like that. Then I swear I was running for the next 10 minutes and looked down and a two miles to go marked on the road. Apparently the crowd thinks that when you are 1/2 mile away from the 24 mile mark you have two miles to go. In reality that means you have 2.75 miles to go. That was devastating, but that thought didn't last long.

I was running up yet another hill, but I was high in spirit, I was feeling good. There was a girl walking on the uphill. I tried to cheer her up and get her running as she wasn't limping it was just her will that was having a hard time. She said she couldn't so I grabbed her by the shoulders and said yes we can. Her will quickly changed and she speed up ahead of me. I almost regretted it for a second because I felt a quick twinge in my calf. Whew, nothing really happened. I just get going.

One mile to go. The longest mile of the race. I had to keep thinking, just eight more minutes, just eight more minutes. It wasn't because I was tired. I do this just because I think I am almost done. I have tried convincing myself it isn't the last mile but that doesn't work very well. The crowds are great. I love it. This is the coolest race I have ever run.

Last section. I turn the corner and I can see the finish line. It is much further than I thought it would be turning the finishing corner. And wow, where did that head wind just come from. It was the biggest head wind of the race. I was really grateful that we didn't have to deal with it the entire race. I took off my ear cover and sunglasses. I wanted to look pretty for the finish photo. I don't think the photo is going to be good. I had one of those cheesers on my face, and I couldn't get rid of it. I just finished my marathon in 3:34:44. I just set a Personal Record(PR) at my first Boston Marathon. Nothing could make me happier. I couldn't believe it. Not only did I PR, but I felt great. Everybody else that was finishing had that typical I am going to die now. I was feeling great. I am doing it again, and again, and again.

Oh and the socks, rock. Never even felt sore after the race finished. After the race, I traded the pair I wore for recovery socks and slept in them. :)