Oh the days dwindle down
To a precious few
September, November
And these precious days I'll spend with you
These precious days I'll spend with you
- Lyrics by Maxwell Anderson,
(I of course prefer the version sung by Willie Nelson)
Whether it was because I hiked/walked/lumbered my way through about 40 miles of the Hawk Hundred (because I was too zapped to run) or I was just lucky, I had no real physical issues to recover from afterwards. Just some minor swelling in my feet/ankles that was gone in 3 or 4 days, and the usual post-race stiffness that lasted just a day or two. I did encounter a few mystery race related ailments. I had a tender left kneecap that turned bright red and swelled up a bit during the race (it looked like I had been stung by a bee) and a split toenail (hard to do while wearing toe socks), which didn't hurt or show any bruising/discoloration, in fact I didn't even realize it was there until a few weeks or so after the race when a bunch of mud got stuck under the nail (blech). After all of the buildup, anticipation, training, and finally the running of the 2018 Hawk Hundred (Sept 8), the rest of September/October sort of felt (running-wise) like an after-Hawk decompression. My runs were fewer/slower/shorter and really just the bare minimum needed for me to finish the remaining three races on my 2018 calendar.
Finish Line, Konquer the Konza 2018
Between the Konza and Randolph's Revenge half marathon on October 20, I took things pretty easy. A few 15 mile runs were the longest, and a couple of 6-7 milers during the week was what felt right, so that's what I did. Randolph's Revenge went well and I had a blast. It is such a great race on a beautiful course! I was able to score some awesome first place hardware (for being the only guy in my age group). I ran well, but after briefly getting off course twice and finding myself at the back of a conga line for a few miles, my time was a bit slower than last year.
Swag from Randolph's Revenge (photo by Caroline Miley)
Nice Shot of the Beautiful Course at Randolph's Revenge (Photo by Caroline Miley)
After Randolph's, there were just 3 weeks till Sanders Saunter (November 10) so I stayed with basically the same training mileage and hoped it would be enough to run a respectable 50k. As it turned out it was, barely. I suspected that I was under-trained, but I also thought, what the hell, it's my last race of the year, let it fly, if I blow up and hike it in, no big deal. I felt good the entire race until I was about 4 miles from the finish. I felt a twinge or two in my hamstrings and realized that likely because it was too cold to sweat much, I hadn't really taken in any salt all day. So, when they asked me what they could get for me at Lands End aid station, I was ready, "Tailwind and Pringles please". About a half mile further down the trail, I had to stop as the cramps locked up my left hamstring. I found my salt caps in my flip belt and downed three of them, then started hobbling down the trail as it began to loosen up. Another runner passed me at that point, and true to the nature of trail runners, he stopped and asked me if I was OK and did I need anything. To be clear, he was moving really well and would've passed me with or without my cramp issues. I was stopped by leg cramps once again about a half mile later, but after a few minutes was able to run without further issues to the finish. I didn't need to stop at the Lake Henry aid station since it's only 2 miles from the finish, so I high-fived Gary, yelled my thanks to the volunteers, and kept running. As I was heading into the woods, I heard Gary yell "sub-six", as in finishing the race in under 6 hours.Yeah right, I thought, more like sub-seven if I'm lucky. I hadn't looked at my watch all day so I had no idea till the finish line clock came into view and read 5:58. A new PR (personal record) for me, but all I could think was, wow, I'm gonna regret that tomorrow. :-)
A Beautiful Sunrise at the Start of the 2018 Sanders Saunter (photo by Mile 90 Photography)
The 2018 Sanders Saunter was ran in honor of Peggy "Chick Hawk" Beecher, who was a very dear trail running friend of mine. I was pretty emotional at various times during the race thinking about her and her wonderful family. There aren't enough words to convey what the Beecher family has meant to me these past 7 or 8 years since I first met them. Aside from their wonderful friendships, they also introduced me to the Lawrence Trail Hawks and the North Shore Trails.
Overall, my 2018 running went very well. Thankfully I had no injuries, aside from the rolled ankle (which I put into the "Accident" category) in April. This was my second year of wearing sandals and I think that they've really helped to make me a more durable runner. I had a few 70 mile weeks and one 80 mile week in the runup to the Hawk and my old friend plantar fasciitis (PF) never flared up at all. I stretched and foam rolled thoroughly at least once a week and that seemed to be what I needed to keep things from getting too tight. Upon finishing the Hawk, my feet felt like they could go another hundred miles (really), everything else, not so much. The theory (my abbreviated version) goes that the muscles and connective tissue (fascia) in your feet get stronger from running in sandals. In short, if you run barefoot (in sandals, with no arch support), you strengthen the fascia in your foot so that your arch can do what it has evolved to do, which is to support your body weight. With the arch doing its part to support the load, there is less stress on the calves. I know that this approach isn't for everyone, but it's really brought another level of enjoyment to my running, not to mention (so far anyway) fewer injuries in the past two years.
To commemorate my first (and possibly only) 100 mile run, I decided to get a tattoo. I've never had or even thought of having a tattoo before, but it seemed a fun way to remember the race, the year of preparing for it, and the entire experience. The tattoo is on the top of my foot, and it looks like someone rolled my Hawk Hundred buckle on a stamp pad and then stamped it onto my foot, with a few exceptions. Instead of the "Sub 32 Hour Finish" text, I substituted the date of the race. As time goes by, I believe that the date will likely mean more to me than the time that it took to finish. I also wanted to acknowledge the people who kept me going after mile 75. Without Deanna, Josh, Miguel, and Sherrie, I never would have gone back out for loop 4 to finish the race, so to show my appreciation, I had the letters D, J, M, and S added just below the buckle. There are 4 hearts between those four letters which are for "my girls". It looks just how I envisioned it, aaaand yes, I realize that it's more than slightly ridiculous for a 54 year old, scrawny, glasses-wearing, tech-writing, happily-married, father-of-three to get a tattoo, but hey, it's cheaper than a Camaro.
This will mess with the nurses in the rest home in a few years
It's now the time of year when I like to rest/recharge both mentally and physically. Until January, I'll likely only run enough during the week so that I can manage a 10 miler or two on the weekends. This is likely the end of Rube Runs for a while (no tears please). I've already signed up for the Rockin' K Marathon next April, so maybe I can write a Rockin' race report with a happier ending next year.
Thanks for humoring me (and my predilection with mid-sentence parentheses),
Rube
