Amy’s mom offered to fly in to town to watch the kids for
the duration of the race. That sounded great. It offered Amy and me to have a
whole weekend together with no kids. And Amy had a surprise for me (she had already
told me): She was going to be my pacer for 20 miles of the last 25-mile loop. I
guess you could say it was my birthday present for her (and who wouldn’t give a
20-mile run for a present?).We cleared out the back of the minivan including the seats as that was going to be our sleeping quarters. After four and half hours, we arrived in Bandera, TX (actually the state park just outside of Bandera). We had just bought our dinner/breakfast: two pizzas from Little Caesars. We found a spot in the huge field next to the starting line and rearranged the back so we could sleep (it was after 9:30 by the time we got there and we didn’t have any kids to get ready for bed.).
I couldn’t sleep for awhile. I tried to listen to music on
my phone, but that didn’t help (Thanks a lot Garth!). My alarm woke me at 4:00
a.m. After finding some super nutritious race prep food (the leftover pizza), I
walked over to check in and get my race number. Amy was awake and I double
checked to make sure that my drop bags had the correct things in them. I got my
race number on and was finishing some more pizza when I looked at my watch.
4:55! Ok, I have to really get over to the starting line ‘cause I have 5
minutes ‘til starting time. Amy came over with me and took my picture (the race
had just started as I finished tying my shoes). You might think I’d be worried
about not starting right when the gun went off (though there was no gun), but
when you run 100 miles, two minutes of lost time translates to a 1-second time
difference per mile by the end of the race. I had to sport my fire department
shirt because the guys at the station said I needed to better represent them.
And I figured that it’d be a good conversation piece as I met various other
runners on the trail.
The weather was around 46 degrees and cloudy, which I was
more than happy with. Since this race is nowhere near as popular as the other
100-mile race I do (2-300 people are on this course compared with 750 at Rocky
Raccoon), the start was really smooth. There were no huge bunches of people
that slow you down, though I never complain about them as they help keep me
from starting too fast. It’s hard to make sure you go slowly enough so that your
legs aren’t out of energy when mile 75 comes around. So I went at a pace that I
felt was slow enough. I would be in a small pack for a bit and then leave them
and find the next pack of runners until later in the morning I found myself
basically alone for the rest of the race. Back in the morning, I came up on a
runner whose light had died. So I shared my lights with her until we got to the
next aid station (which was only at most a mile away).
Right
after I started, Amy drove to the aid stations and left my drop bags for me and
then went back to bed. I knew could do better than last year’s race (27 hours
and 11 minutes) and felt that if I could run close to five-and-a-half-hour
laps, then I would finish under 24 hours. That was my only goal: sub-24. I felt
fine during my first lap (who doesn’t?) and came in around five hours. It was a
little faster than I wanted, but oh well. What’s done is done and I’ll hope it
doesn’t come back to haunt me later on in the day.
The second lap is backwards from the first lap. I like this
because I quickly finish the 10 miles of the race that I hate the most. Amy met
me at every aid station all day long starting with my second lap. It was great.
She got my drinks ready and had food out of my bag for me and put it away to
save me some time (which adds up after stopping at aid stations all day long).
After those ten not-so-fun miles at the start of the second lap were completed,
I had an “easy” fifteen miles ahead of me.
I was more or less by myself for this lap and for most of
the rest of the day. And at some point (on my third lap) I decided to have a
friend with me. I got my mp3 player and listened to Interview with a Vampire. People frequently ask me how I can run
without listening to music (or at least something).
I used to run with music, but after I drowned an mp3 player numerous times with
sweat (to the point that it no longer worked), I decided to not run with music
anymore. I was free to think about things I needed to get done, how I was going
to accomplish them, what to get Amy for her birthday (or Christmas, Mother’s
Day, etc.), random parts of various songs that continuously repeat (such as
things from Backyardigans, other shows my kids watch, or a song I recently hear
while driving), or just nothing at all. I found that I really enjoyed running
headphone-free and have never thought twice about trying to find a way to make
it work. The only time that I now run with headphones is during our “winter,”
but only because I don’t sweat nearly as much. And I never listen to music; always
audiobooks. 
My
second lap ended in roughly the same time as my first lap—another five hours.
Fifty miles completed in ten hours. Way ahead of pace (by two hours) and still
feeling great. But fifty miles is just that. Fifty miles. There were still
fifty more and those are the miles to be scared about when doing long races. I
never run very long when training for these 100-milers (18-24 miles are my
usual long runs that I do every few weekends when it’s cooler out). So it’s
hard to gauge what pace you should be running at to make sure your body can
still have something in store when you’re 50 miles farther than any of your
training runs. But that’s how I learn—trial and error. Just about everything I know
about my so-called crazy running habit is stuff I discovered by trial and error.
I don’t read running magazines/web sites to see which food to eat or which
shoes to wear. I don’t run with a running club to know how I should best train
for ultras. I don’t anything. I just go. If it works, great. If not, don’t do
that again. I feel I’ve learned quite a bit in the little time I’ve spent
running ultras. And when I’m 60 and still doing this, I know I’ll be closer to
being an expert.
My third
lap continued in the same direction as my first lap, so the first fifteen miles
were “easy” again. When I completed this lap, Amy would be running miles 75-95
with me. I knew we’d be going a bit slower than I’d like, so I made sure to
keep this pace going to leave less energy for my last lap. It didn’t really bother
me that my time with Amy would be slower; I was excited to spend 4+ hours with
Amy (on her birthday) and all the conversations that we could have while
kid-free. 
I was still feeling great as I finished my third lap. In
fact, I didn’t need to use my headlamp/flashlight until well after I got passed
this horribly steep (though short) hill. I did not want to “run” down it in the
dark if I could help it and I was well passed it when night set in and I needed
the lights on. I don’t know why I was feeling so good—maybe I drank more and
ate more this year (compared to last year). I think that’s about the only
difference between the two years. But I finished my third lap around 16 hours.
75 miles complete. Just one more lap. Amy was there waiting for me and we
quickly headed out. “The first 10 miles we’ll just walk fast with a tiny bit of
actually running as it’s rather hilly.” The sun was long gone and even though
we both had headlamps and flashlights, Amy managed to kick a number of rocks
(they’re all over the trails). And somehow she used the same toes each time to
kick the rocks. Funny how that happens. We got to the second aid station on
that loop and completed those awful ten miles. I think I zapped Amy’s energy
though. She usually runs a couple times a week and only 2-3 miles at a time. So
ten miles (though there was plenty of
walking) kinda drained her. And we still had ten more miles to go. The paced
slowed considerably, but I still enjoyed our time together. We don’t get much
time alone anymore and we talked the whole time. Even on the flat parts we
walked and I could tell she was ready to call it quits. But we were getting
sorta close to the aid station at mile 95 and we continued on our way. I don’t
think Amy could’ve been any happier when we got there. I got a quick bite to
eat and a small drink, kissed Amy, and took off for my final five miles. 
Amy
jogged back to the start/finish (a mile and a half up the road) and I could see
her light across the field that separated us. I yelled at her to keep talking with
her, but she couldn’t hear me. Then I cut into the forest (These are the only
pine trees in the area. Everything else is just mesquite trees, which are very
short.). Every succeeding lap the forest grows longer and you’re sure that you
made a wrong turn because it wasn’t this long last lap. I finally made it out
and onto the last mountain. Just a couple more miles, literally. I was feeling
wonderful still and pushed it, running as much as I could. Coming down the
steep hill, there was just one more little steep part and then it was flat all
the way in to the finish. Once again, I found the strength in me to really pick
up the pace on that last mile. When I was in high school, I always figured that
if you had enough energy left in you to have a super fast kick at the end of a
race, you probably ran too slowly for the rest of the race. And maybe I’m still
right but haven’t figured it out yet. In any case, I know I’m getting really
close and the sheer joy of knowing that I’m almost done is really settling in.
Just a quarter mile more and I’m flying. I cross the finish line and Amy’s
there. I look at the timer—23 hours and 26 minutes. Hugs for everyone! I’m
ecstatic. “I love you Amy!” The race director, Joe Prusaitis, and his wife are
there for hugs as well. “Sub 24 on this course. Congratulations! That’s no easy
feat.” “Thanks. That’s all I wanted to do today.” I received my belt buckle,
though there’s not a sub-24 buckle for this race. No problem. I go and change
into some dry clothes before Amy and I go crawl back into the back of the minivan
to sleep. Amy got everything arranged and within a few minutes I was unconscious.
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