8.4 to go: JFK Part 3

As we got off the towpath I don't think it really hit me that I had less than 9 miles to go. I was astonished that I beat the reflective vest and was still hooting and hollering in disbelief as I approached a monster hill and started walking up.

I was next to a male runner with a long pony tail here and we struck up a conversation. I sucked down a gel with caffeine to make the hill more productive. This was his 4th or 5th JFK I think and he definitely knew what he was doing. He gave me lots of encouragement up the hill and I said I would stick with him until we got on the flat and he had to pull back due to his quads seizing. I wished him luck and trucked on catching a young man with a huge camelback on.

I remarked that he was much more hard core than I was with my handheld and he replied that he was worried with the handheld he'd leave the race with one bicep larger than the other and not be able to bend his arm the next day. This got me thinking and I realized I probably wouldn't be able to bend my arms the next day and especially my right one since I really hadn't switched it back and forth as often as I should've. (luckily I was wrong, my arms were about the only thing that wasn't sore after JFK)

We ran together and walked up the hills and eventually I saw a sign that said 7 miles on it. I asked him if that meant 7 to go and he said it did. I think I muttered some more "Holy craps" here and talked with him about how surreal it was to be running this part of the race in the daylight. I had imagined the last 8 miles in darkness and it was completely unreal knowing I would finish before sunset.

I started running up any small hills and ditched the 20 minute run 1 minute walk plan for a plan of run everything but inclines and aid stations.

I started to do some more math now that I was closing in on the finish and realized I might finish under 9:30. I had a secret goal of beating an ex friends JFK time and I knew then that I just might pull it off. At some point I also realized I could walk and finish under 10 and was just so elated.

I mostly ran by myself through the last 8 miles, passing many runners with orange bibs and only getting passed by a few runners from my start. I stopped for chicken noodle soup and cola at every aid station and watched as the mile markers counted down.

It was getting harder to start up after every walk break so I tried my best to run everything. I kept estimating my time left using 11 minute-13 minute miles and kept chugging along at 10:20/mile pace. I ended up next to the man with the "Size Matters" shirt for awhile and he asked how I was doing. We traded PR stories and he asked me if I had ever run the Steamtown marathon and highly reccommended that I do it. He said I would be treated like a queen and could probably win it. I must say that sounds awfully tempting to me ;) He said it was a fast course and pretty much a guaranteed PR. I thanked him for the tip and pulled ahead just before the second to last aid station.

I got some cola and headed for the portalet and then made my way to the finish. With 2 miles to go I stopped for a cola and started watching for the 1 mile to go sign. I prepared mentally for the finish as my goal was to finish pumping my fists and having a good time. No bewildered race finish photos for me!



I passed the mile to go sign, then turned a corner where volunteers informed me I had less than a half mile to go, just over the next hill and I would be able to see the finish line. Sure enough I climbed a small hill and there less then 800 meters away I could see an RV and a finish line with people lined up on the left cheering runners in. As soon as I neared the spectators I started screaming and raised my hands in the air. I smiled for the cameraman and as I received my medal I shouted "Hell Yeah" then promptly apologized for my language as the volunteers handing out medals were about 10 years old (oops!)



I walked backwords through the crowd to cool down and found some of the fun spectators I had seen at every aid station along the way. They told me I was the best finisher all day and proceeded to offer me hot cider which I gladly accepted, and I also took them up on the rum that they offered to put in it! Yay for awesome spectators!

I found RootsRunner and Dr.Louis and we waited to see B50 finish. She came in with Steph who I didn't see at all out on the course but I must have gone by at some point or perhaps multiple times. Eventually I made my way inside and called my husband and family. I had plenty of calls to make so I grabbed a slice of pizza and phoned everyone. I found Steph and we took some photos and chatted about our races. I finally got my butt to the food table and then into the showers.



I took off my shoes and found that I had stuffed a whole forest of leaves in there along with a few blisters. I finished my hot chocolate and then headed to the shower. I have never seen so many naked runners in my life! The showers were in the middle school locker rooms and bless that school they were hot showers! I laughed as the lady beside me sang "I'm in heaven" and danced around in the shower.



Eventually I found all the friends I came with and we headed out for some festivities. We stopped to pick up some beer and then went to a hotel party where I was greeted by my spectator friends with the cider! We all talked shop for a few hours before hitting the hay.



Before tucking in for the night I managed to get in an ice bath while reading LOTR and then finally went to sleep for the first time in over 24 hours. I thought for sure I would sleep until noon but surprise surprise I woke up at 4AM.

I didn't know what to do with myself so I had just decided I would have to sit in the bathroom and read when my roommate (B50) announced that she was up and hungry. Thank goodness! So we lounged around and got dressed then hobbled the 2 miles in the dark to Bob Evans for a small feast. Our ride was at a hotel across from Bob Evans and we headed over there after our breakfast to find Rootsrunner and friends eating in the lounge and Dr.Louis fast asleep. I quick logged into their free internet for a blog update before getting ready to head back to our hotel to pack.

We made the long trip home with Dr.Louis at the wheel, and I could already tell I was paying the price for my lack of training as everyone else seemed much more limber than me on all of our rest area walks. Dr. Louis and B50 even raced to the rest stop once with a gimpy Rootsrunner and I lagging behind. I finally arrived home that night and my husband and I headed out to dinner to celebrate.

I know this post has not flowed well at all and I guess that is kind of appropriate. I think doing something this big on less than ideal preparation leads to some chaos afterwards. I feel like I am still recovering physically from the race and I never really had a chance to just soak it all in. Hopefully now that I have it all typed out I will be able to reflect better on it and accept my accomplishment for what it was, quite an amazing feat.

A short jaunt on the towpath- JFK Part 2

As I started onto the towpath I looked around. Runners were a bit more spread out now. I had been passed by a large group while I was changing shoes so these were mostly new faces, and a few ones I had seen earlier on the trail. I tried to settle into a comfortable pace as SP told me to run my own race now. I saw B50 back and forth for quite a bit through this section. We just weren't running the same pace and taking the same walk breaks.

There were a few people I noticed more than others. One was Conrad. He was wearing red and we had chatted briefly earlier on the trail. We were both running at a decent clip so we decided to hang for a bit. He had a sub 10 goal as well. My plan for the towpath was to run 20 minutes/walk a minute and walk through all aid stations. I think Conrad was on more of a run to each aid station and wait for his friend plan. I had to lose him a few times for my walk breaks but would see him at the next aid station where he would be stretching and waiting for his friend while I snagged some potato chips, a cookie, and more gatorade. I would have liked to keep the permanent company but I felt like this "easy" pace wasn't quite easy enough and that I needed it to feel like I was holding back a bit. Conrad went on to finish in 9:35!

There were stone mile markers along the towpath. I knew that we got on somewhere around 58 and we got off at 84ish but I didn't pay any attention to the mile markers for the first 15 miles or so. I really didn't want to be thinking about how far I had gone or how far I still needed to go. Instead of looking at actual miles I would occasionally glance at my watch every two markers to see my pace, knowing that if I had crossed one at 21 minutes and the next at 41 I was averaging around 10 minute miles. I feel like a big part of mentally surviving extreme endurance events is just staying in the moment.

The towpath seemed to be more dirt than gravel which was nice. It felt more like a trail than the towpath in Cleveland does. The Potomac was raging until we hit the first dam where it suddenly became calm. I have always loved running along the river and tried to enjoy the chaos of the rushing waters. The views of West Virginia across the river were beautiful too. There were a couple places where you just had to slow and soak it all in.

The wind was a bit fierce for a few miles early on and I threw my jacket back on just in time for a photo. Luckily I found that one in the lost and found.



During each one minute walk I would try to eat some sports beans and drink. For awhile the 20 minute intervals seemed pretty long. I would glance at my watch thinking it must be close to time for a walk and it would only have been 4 minutes from the last walk.

I thought it was so funny how you would see the same people over and over again because of the difference in run/walk plans. I ran with another lady for a mile that seemed a good pace for me but then it was time for her walk break. Everyone was very friendly, runners and volunteers alike. Always commenting on how well I was doing for my first time or cheering for the "pink lady" and "Wild Bill." I saw the same cheering crowd at almost every station along with a man holding a sign for Ray.

Since the healthy aid station stop I had made at 15.5 for orange slices and bananas I made a switch to foods with more sugar and salt. I was taking a handful of potato chips and a cookie at every stop. (Who knew those little half vanilla half chocolate with cream filling cookies were such a great fuel?)

Around 22 miles I accidentally tried to take chips at the same time as another man, Travis. I apologized and we both got our food and walked on. I noticed his shirt said North Country Trail Marathon and I commented that I loved that race and was planning on doing it again next year. We started to chat and decided to run together for awhile. I convinced him to switch over to my 20/1 plan so we would both have company and hopefully run at a slightly faster but still safe pace. This was his second JFK and his goal was to break 10. His wife was also running and he estimated that she was about 30 minutes ahead of us. He was looking forward to seeing their family at the aid station at 30.

What feels like a few miles into our run now but must have only been a mile or so thinking back I saw B50 up ahead and watched as she bit it, Hard on the path. I jogged up to her and Travis said goodbye to me. I looked at her in the eyes and asked if she would be ok. She looked back at me and nodded. Two men had already stopped to take care of her so I decided to catch Travis and keep running. Thankfully one of the men that stopped with her caught us and let us know that she was just fine and that she had just knocked the wind out of herself but was more in shock than hurt. From that point I thought of her often and wondered if I had made the right decision to keep moving along.

I chatted with Travis every now and then but for the most part we just kept each other company. Even if you aren't talking it is nice to know you have a friend along for the ride with you. Around 24 miles we picked up one of my friends from Cleveland, BH. BH had a huge year this year, running well in several marathons and ultras. He was walking and he recognized me as we passed and picked it up to stay with us. He said he had gone out a bit fast on the trail, and just wasn't feeling it. He said he was ready to drop and was just trucking along until the next aid station which he thought his wife would be at.

I was disappointed he wasn't going to keep running, it would have been nice to run with someone I knew. But we enjoyed the miles that we did get in together. Somewhere through here we passed the local legend Leo Lightner who I had been lucky enough to run with earlier this fall at West Woods. I think this was his 10th JFK in a row at age 78! As we passed a towpath marker Travis remarked that we must be halfway done. I looked at my watch which was around 4:58 and thought "No way!". I expressed my joy in being right on pace for a 10 hour finish. I didn't think I would be so close to pace yet, feeling that I would slowly make up the slow trail miles over the course of the towpath marathon. Travis wasn't quite as happy mentioning that he would like to have a bit more of a time cushion. The three of us stuck to the 20/1 plan and I continued on with Travis as we left BH at the aid station around 27 miles.

These miles are blending together in my mind which is probably due to the good company. I honestly can't remember but swear there was also an aid station at 25. Seems like a lot of aid stations in a small space though.

At the 30 mile aid station Travis found his family and I ran ahead. I saw a few runners that had blazed by us early on the trail and overheard one of the girls say "I thought running was supposed to be fun, this isn't fun." Thankfully I was thinking just the opposite as I headed for the food. I think this was the first aid station with soup and I gratefully sipped on that while walking through this section. I grabbed three salt pills and took one with some water, storing the others in my fanny pouch thing. I ate a cookie and moved along. A few minutes after the aid tables I hear "Go E-Speed" and see Rootsrunner and his friends sitting at the side of the trail. I stop to chat and he asks if he can get me anything. I blank a bit but then ask for electrolytes. I tell him about B50 and BH and he offers me some gum which sounded good so I took a piece and headed on my way.

During the next 4 miles the trail became a bit more shaded and I spent most of the time just moving forward. I found TB and we ran together for a bit. I would run ahead and make a pit stop and then find him ahead of me again at the next aid station. This happened twice over 8 miles and made me laugh both times as TB commented that it was awfully nice of me to keep making the pit stops so he could catch up to me. (I swear a portalet would magically appear every time I needed one on the towpath, the ultra gods were definitely smiling on me)

During this section after one of my pit stops I got out my carbo pro in a baggie and dumped it into my gatorade. Well I must have somehow got the baby wipes on that bag and every sip I took tasted like baby wipes and made me want to hurl. I thought maybe I just got it on the mouthpiece so at the next aid station I thoroughly washed the cap with water and moved along. Unfortunately somehow I had gotten the baby wipe flavor in the bottle so I had to dump the whole thing and wait for another refill until the next aid station. I was ticked because that was about 300 calories I had to dump but I figured I must be getting enough in at all the aid stations, and that it was better to have less fuel than to get sick off baby wipe flavored gatorade.

Around 34 miles I stopped to empty my shoe and saw a possum ahead running along the towpath towards the runners going the other way. Not sure what he was up to but it was a nice distraction from the task at hand. Later I found out that B50 stopped for him and tried to share her cookie but that he kindly turned her down and said he was headed for the aid station and better grub. :)

It was somewhere before the 38 mile special that the snotting incident occurred causing me to laugh out loud and exclaim that "You Got Me!" Turns out the snotter had sold me my JFK bumper sticker the night before and was very friendly. I saw him back and forth for the rest of the towpath and he would often encourage me and remind me that I was going to finish. To which I replied that at this point finishing was a sure thing, now it was time to think about finishing under my secret dream goal.

I eventually made it to the 38 mile special station and was elated to find jolly ranchers there waiting for me. I took a handful and grabbed a cup of chicken noodle soup. I walked along slurping my soup. Grabbed a P&J sandwich but it didn't taste good so I stuck with the noodle soup and laughed as a lady passed me with soup too but she had managed to find spoons and was doing much better with hers. I laughed but kept on slurping.



This section of the towpath was pretty well lit and I really noticed the fall leaves as I sucked on my jolly rancher. I noticed a runner about my pace and decided to stick with him for awhile to pick up my pace a bit. The miles were starting to slow down and I wanted to get back in a groove. I hung with him for a bit and we picked up others and passed some more of the AM starters. I always tried to pass along a "great job" to anyone I went by. It was such a treat to see so many groups of runners together laughing and having a good time, and thinking of how most of them had already been out there for two more hours than I had.


Check out this Flickr Page for some more fun JFK 2006 Photos

Through this section I started to feel a bit tired, never depressed or like I wouldn't finished, but a little less peppy. I slowed for a walk break. Somewhere after mile 38 I started trying to do some math. It wasn't going so well. I kept running the numbers but they weren't coming out right and I finally decided that I actually had an extra 2 miles more than what I thought was left on the towpath which may have also contributed to the slightly more tired feeling.

Despite those feelings this was the section of the race where I really started to realize what an amazing accomplishment the day was. I had made myself a pact to be happy with whatever the day gave me and I was so excited that it was going so well. During this section I made a lot of self reaffirmation. This is where I truly realized that it didn't matter if I took one more step, I had proven to myself that I was a good runner and that I had earned the title of one.



Luckily I was just really bad at math and shortly after the mile 84 marker I saw an aid station and stopped to get some cola (deciding the poor math skills and lack of peppiness warranted some caffeine!), chips, soup, and a cookie from some very under enthused teenage volunteer's (perhaps they hadn't chose to do this ;)) I followed a taller man I had seen back and forth since before the possum off the towpath with a shirt that said "Size Matters" on the back, and he turned to me and said "We beat the vest." I looked back at him in disbelief and replied "No freaking way!" and then I started hooting and hollering and proclaiming "We beat the vest!" while pumping my fists in the air. I heard a few comments from behind about how I shouldn't get so excited "The hardest part was yet to come." I honestly didn't care one ounce! I looked at my watch which said 7:56 and realized I could walk in and finish under the cutoff and was elated.

I had finished the towpath marathon (26.3ish) in 4:40.44 and was super pumped up for the last section of the race to begin.

C & O Towpath pictures from this site

We've only just begun- JFK Part 1

Friday morning I rushed around hauling all my packed stuff downstairs and making a last minute CD for the trip. I was riding with three Cleveland runners, Rootsrunner, Dr. Louis, and B50. We made really good time with Dr. Louis at the wheel. We were all pretty excited for the next day and discussed all the little intricacies of our planned wardrobe, pace, etc. I provided my friends with pace charts for 10, 11, and 12 hour finishes. We arrived a bit early so we went straight to Boonsboro to check out the first few miles of the course. Gulp!

The first 2 miles or so are up a monster hill. You start in Boonsboro on US Route 40 and head uphill about 2 miles to jump onto the Appalachian Trail. We drove up the hill then hopped out and checked out a bit of the AT. Not too many rocks right there so I wasn't too worried and we headed out to pick up our packets.

I ended up purchasing a bumper sticker and a hoodie and figured that was my motivation to make it to the finish line. You can't wear race memorabilia if you don't finish the race right?

We headed to the hotels and laid out our stuff for the next morning and then it was off to dinner. I scarfed down a small pizza, a bottle of gatorade and carbo pro, and a beer and was getting extremely tired and figured I would get a good nights sleep.

Hmm not so much. I laid in bed all night tossing and turning and never drifted off. So it was no surprise to me when we got our wake up call at 4:45. I jumped up and made some coffee. Took a quick shower then body glided everywhere! I did not want any chafing this time around. 26.2 miles is one thing with chafing, 50 miles with chafing is quite another! Downed another bottle of gatorade and carbo pro and got dressed.

On the way over we all pumped up our tunes. I chose "I can't get enough" by the Infadels to get me ready. I managed to get down a banana and an apple but food didn't really sound all that appetizing.

Found a short line for the portalets outside the high school and I partook then it was off to the gym for the pre race chat. I searched for SP's friend and his wife who were so kind as to offer to take my road shoes to mile 15 so I could wear my trail shoes on the AT. I found them and shortly after found SP. We decided we would all try to run together on the AT since we all wanted to finish around 10 hours.

I had hydrated a bit too well and had to make a pit stop at a gas station on the way over but made it to the start line in time to realize it was pretty warm and tied my jacket around my waist. I wanted to keep it in case it got cold later. If I were to finish in the dark I knew I would want it.

The group starting was huge, over 1100 runners. Nothing like the 100 or so that had done North Country and YUT-C. The race started and we all jogged up the road. I wanted to jog up the hill.,I didn't want to go too fast, but I also didn't want to walk and risk having to try and pass on the single track AT.




My shins were on fire instantly but this has been common lately and I knew it would subside in 30 minutes or so. I also noticed my left contact didn't want to sit right in my eye. We all laughed and joked as we made our way up the hill. I spotted a man having trouble keeping his shorts on and nicknamed him assman. Unfortunately for him that is awful early in the race to have your shorts falling off! I commented to SP that we need to beat assman to the AT because frankly I didn't want to stare at this mans posterior for 15.5 miles!

We managed to jog most of the hill but some places were too steep and we power walked. We made it to the top in about 20 minutes and headed onto the trail. This section passed quickly as we cruised along the trail passing a few people and being passed by a few others. SP's friend TB was sailing on the down hills while we were a bit slower. After about a mile or so of trail it was back to the pavement and a huge incline.

I knew about the pavement and I knew most of the elevation gain was in the first 5 miles but shit this hill was not what I had envisioned! We power walked up the hill with about 100 of our friends. We chatted with a Reston Runner named Jim and awed at a very tall runner who was walking up the hill about twice as fast as us. He claimed it was all in the turnover but I started taking my steps in time with him and still couldn't keep up. I noticed another Cleveland runner I had seen at YUT-C and figured I should keep behind him since he had run about 30 minutes faster than me at YUT-C.

We finally hit 5.7 miles at around 60 minutes and it was back onto the trail for the next 10 miles. After the pavement it was a quick downhill with some technical rocks. A few runners came flying by down the hill but most of us were running around the same pace. We came to a point where if you had kept running straight you would have went straight off a cliff. The view was awesome and a few runners stopped for a picture. We turned to the right and continued down the trail. I spent the next few miles following SP and keeping track of her foot placement. This was her 4th or 5th 50 miler so I figured she knew what she was doing!

That plan worked out great for me and we hit 9.3 miles pretty quickly. After a steep descent we exited the woods to loud cheering and a huge crowd. It was surreal to come out of the solitary woods and the rocky trail to this huge crowd of spectators and volunteers. I grabbed two pretzels and waited in line at the portalet. I ate a handful of sports beans while waiting and SP said she would walk until I caught up. After the short wait I headed up the trail.

I tried to jog to catch up but this was a steep incline and there was a long trail of runners walking. I would jog a bit then walk a bit until I finally caught SP. I felt bad because I didn't want her to slow down for me. But it worked out fine and we began to run at a good clip again after the hill. This section was rockier than the first miles on the AT but most of it was runnable. My mantra became "Stay Upright." I had visions of face planting on one of the pointy rocks and that wasn't how I wanted to end my day. I only saw one man fall here and he hit his knee pretty hard but seemed to be okay. We stayed in this group of 4 or 5 for quite a ways and SP and I would trade leading on the trail.

At some point a young man came running by and we chatted a bit. This was his 2nd or 3rd time at JFK and his plan on the AT was to walk the downs and run the ups. It must of been working well for him because he predicted we would be off in 3 hours which was faster than I had planned. Well he cruised along and probably did get off in 3 hours. My body was starting to get sore so I took 2 ibuprofen as we walked up another hill. I had 6 pills with me (the max allowed in 24 hours) and hoped not to have to take all of them. We talked with the man who had fallen and he asked what our plan was for the marathon on the towpath. I said we were hoping for 5 hours, he was hoping for the same. Other than those few small conversations we didn't talk much. The trail was pretty technical in areas and I really just wanted to focus on getting off the trail in one piece.

We started passing some 5 AM starters with a mile or 2 to go on the trail. The sweeper was walking behind a young woman in her orange bib and we joked that he wasn't doing a good job of sweeping as the trail was still covered in leaves (insert chuckle here).

After we passed the sweeper the downhill started. I encouraged any orange bibs I passed as I tried to make my way down the rocky hillside. I had to slow a few times to find a safe place to pass and to let those behind me through but for the most part I was able to run my own pace here. I let SP go as she was much better at the downhill. Someone informed us we were almost to the switchbacks.

The switchbacks were not as bad as I thought they would be and for the most part were runnable. The rocks here were larger, mostly boulders so you could run on top of them (thank goodness for trail shoes!). I made my way down without any trouble although my stomach had began to rumble and I realized I was starving! The photographers were waiting for us as we descended the switchbacks (they had also been waiting on the downhill at mile 9) so I smiled but kept my eyes on the path. I didn't want to be caught slipping on the hill on photo!

We ran off the trail at what I thought was 15.5 and found TB's wife waiting with our shoes, she had them set out with our fresh socks ready to go! What a Saint! As I am switching my shoes out I hear Rootsrunner behind me ask what I need. He was supposed to be well on his way along the towpath and caught me off guard. Turns out he sprained his ankle really bad and was done for the day. He went and got me water to refill my bottle which had been empty for a ways and then gave me one of his gels. I stretched and headed on my way.

My left contact had been moving around in my eye the entire time on the trail. Apparently it didn't get the memo that in order to avoid rocks you need to see them. Well on this little section before the towpath it finally fell out and landed on my cheek. I stuck it in my mouth as I tried to follow those around me up and down a few narrow trails before finally coming to an aid station. I stuck the contact back in and grabbed a banana and an orange. A man told me this was 15.5 so I hit my watch split again and was happy because this was more in the range I expected than the 3:09 we had coming off the trail. B50 came up right behind me and we all headed onto the towpath. SP told me to go ahead so I began my marathon on my own after stopping to ask some ladies if they could throw away my orange peel and in return they asked for my number. My split at 15.5 was 3:15 and I was told the next aid station was 6 miles away.

I was off the trail and was happy for it but mostly because that meant I was closer to the finish line. The AT was rough but because I envisioned the whole trail being like the worst parts I think it was easier for me. My right ankle was a little tender from a few near twists and my left hamstring was tight but I felt pretty good starting the marathon.