I havent had too much time to reflect on my (I was home for 48 hours and then left for a vacation-Im still on it) but I wanted to write a little and she are some photos. Getting to this race has been a 3 year plan-during a chemo treatment with my mom, she asked what crazy thing I was going to do when I turned 50. This was it. My coach, Chris Draper, had me ready. I was I. The best shape of my life with no injuries leading up to the race. I usually visit Kevin Rausch, at Rausch PT, but not this time. Here are a few pix with a little explanation for them. This is a 320 mile race with no aide stations. Its just you, your crew (actually its also the other racers and their crews-everybody helps each other because its a big family), and many miles to get finish the day. I needed my crew, Tom Van Tuyl and Erik Van Tuyl, saw to it that I got what I needed each day. I realized, I like riding my bike and climbing hills. Day 2 was 171 miles and 10:08 of doing that. It was a good day. The funny running pic. Well, that first marathon was the best/funnest run Ive ever done in my life. I talked to other racers, I looked around, I enjoyed it, it was easy, and most of all... I was grateful to be able to do this race. The next two pix are from the second marathon. This wasnt fun. I asked a guy, Brad Sawa if he would pace me (run with me/keep me going) to the finish. He did...in his underwear. At 40 miles in, the day started to turn ugly. I started to get low leg cramps. We kept going and so did cramps. These 3 guys did everything they could to get me to the finish. The cramps became full leg and then full body cramps. With about 1 1/2 miles to go, Brad and Erik carried me this way to the end. When I saw the clock read 12:06, my heart sank. I didnt finish inside the 12 hour time limit. But, you have 15 minutes to finish on your own before you have to get a ride. I only needed 7 minutes. As you can see from the last pic, I was exhausted. Brad took me to hell and back-Id often thought on LONG training runs how much it would hurt, or much suffering I could take, I imagination only scratched the surface. So, if youre still reading, lets recap. I swam, rode, and ran 320 miles, when I came in 7 minutes past the official time, I was a little sad...only for a moment. Because I left it ALL out there (I needed IVs and a trip to the ER) and WE finished together. Id thought of crossing the finish together, holding hands, not being carried. But we finished and I am an UltraMan.
Posted on: Thu, 21 Aug 2014 12:54:51 +0000
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