I find that while my body is plenty ready to stop at the end of a long, and long trained for, ultra, that my mind keep going, keep processing the events, trying to learning, to generate meaning, to reveal meaning, to make sense of the accomplishment and also the sense of loss that comes with a significant endeavor completed. That's a lot of things to think about... it's a lot to process when you're a bit sleep deprived and you really should be getting back to your studies... back to the "daily grind"...
I've cleaned the house. I've put away all the gear and bins. There's no reminder left of the past weekend except the itchy, unkempt thoughts bouncing around my mind. So I'm going to let them out. I'm going to tell the story "out loud" so I don't have to keep telling and retelling it to myself. If anyone chooses to read it... well, that's up to you.
The NJ One Day is about as different from my previous 4 hundreds as you can get, 3x Western States, plus Vermont 2012. Just a quick drive over from CT. No big trip, no pre-race meals, talks, sponsored athletes wondering around. No crews driving around to different aid stations. Arrived 45 minutes before the start, checked in, found a place to set up, got dressed, kissed my wife and boy and then it started... 100 tilted laps... through the cool morning, the sunny warmish afternoon, the blustery evening and the chilly night. Only about 50 people in the 24 and I was guessing about 3-5 would be "like me" meaning hoping to run fast-ish.
I promised myself a few things:
1) You're not allowed to lead the first few laps
2) you're not allowed to run under 9 min/mile including walking breaks
3) hit 19 miles for 3 hours and 38 for 6 and then take it from there
4) trade seconds to save minutes and trade minutes to save hours.
Some laps of note:
10 miles (1:34:23)
19th lap... fastest of the race ~8:50 with 1:45 walking
20 miles (3:06:50)
25 miles (3:53:33) I kiss my wife and boy for the last time and they drive home :(
31 miles (4:50)
6 hours (38.5 miles!)
40 miles (6:17 [3:06:50 / 3:10:10])
47th lap: 10:03... first lap over 10 min!! Getting difficult
50 miles 7:57:45 New PR... but first on road... so pretty much expected. Things are getting a LOT tougher... a long stretch break... I regroup.
62 miles (~100k ish) 10 hours 10 min (4:50 [9:25 min/mile], 5:20 [10:25 min/mile])
At this point things are getting a little rough... 11-12 minute miles are starting to get more common.
64th lap. I take an Alieve... which I usually resist doing...
68 miles... my overall average creeps over 10 min/mile... Aaron Mulder, laps me for the first of several times while coming back from a down patch... he's running 9 min/mile while I'm running 11-12 min/mile... crushing it.
12 hours: 71.5 miles.
75 miles in 12:40... I see Julian the guy who's been leading the race the whole time, two laps ahead, getting into his truck and going home. Rick McNulty confirms this.
78th mile. Aaron passes me. FLYING.
80th mile. I realize that if I can maintain 13 min/mile (which is now an effort) that I can break 18 hours. That means no long breaks, no screw ups. I focus on this goal and promise myself not to ask about anyone else's splits or progress.
85th mile. I take a 2nd Alieve. By doing this I have essentially said that I'm stopping at 100 miles. I've never taken a 2nd Alieve in a race before. It's not good. It's bad.
100th mile: This is the first and ONLY lap where I run every step. I don't sprint but I run "solid". This "solid" lap... at 2:50am when it's 35 degrees and windy... a speedy 11:35... wow :)
So I stop the "clock" at 17:52. I get to stop and that's fine with me. Frankly, I was lonely and a little bored. I envied the other people who had friends to run with. I ran about 97/100 miles totally alone. I could hear them talking and laughing as I drifted up from behind them... and hear it quiet as I moved beyond them. And while there were lot of people saying "good job" etc, it was... yeah, it was lonely. And that was fine for 18 hours, I just didn't want to do that any more, just for the sake of doing it. At trail 100s you get a pacer for the last 30-40 and spend all night talking and laughing and hurting and that's awesome. Earlier in those races you often match up with people for long periods of time... paradoxically... in this race you drifted in and out of phase with people, always saying hi and good job... but rarely anything of substance or quantity. I stopped so I could stopped hurting. But I also stopped so I could just stand there and talk with the wonderful volunteers at the aid station and talk with some of the nice crews with whom I'd traded 100 hellos. This isolation was unexpected in what is otherwise a tremendously casual and social race. I have to think about what that means and if I want to do another. Perhaps at 3 Days which is much larger I would spend more time with people during the race... I don't know.
But I stopped. And ate. And talked to lots of nice people. And bundled up. And ate some more. Then took a good nap in a sleeping bag and then woke up... and 4 hours later people were still running and walking around in damn circles. God they were tough and determined!! So much respect. In the end 11 people went over 100 miles. Maybe one day I'll bring the mental game to run for all 4 quarters of the contest. This time I talked myself into stopping.
Well, it's neither poetry nor drama. But there it is none the less. 100 miles in circles in New Jersey. Okay, now on with life.
