(If you're new, or haven't read my other posts on ultra running, you might want to check out this post first... go here! There are many others, but that sums up the whole concept)
This year's AC100 was extra exciting for me because I DIDN'T HAVE TO DRIVE BACK TO TEXAS after it was over. And I mentioned that several times over the weekend!! It made a HUGE difference and made me VERY happy!!
Dad had been in Sunland dog-sitting for a week when AC rolled around. Slugger and I were still based in Big Bear, though a house existed in our name (yay! - but that's another post). So on Saturday morning, Slugger and I made our way to Sunland. Slugger would spend the night with the rest of the pack there while Dad and I did our radio thing at Millard. Dad would go back and feed them all late Saturday night and early Sunday morning. It was a good plan! It worked too :)
We arrived to Millard a little later than usual this year. Dad had talked to Bob so we knew he was also running late. There's really no point in getting there before Bob since he has the key to the gate. I do remember carrying all the stuff up one year. Let's not do that again!
The campground actually had campers in it!! Not sure why it was so popular this year. Pretty sure the majority of the folks were more or less living there though. There was a tent where we usually set up. We set up there anyway. The new camp host, Steve, said he hadn't seen the guy in a few days. Turns out that doesn't mean much as Steve is also not seen much! Shane, the owner of the tent came back before dark. He was very understanding and didn't seem to mind our presence. We warned him we're up all night and aren't quiet. He said he had earplugs :) He woke up looking refreshed so I guess he really did sleep through it all!!
One of the other "residents" was an odd fellow whose name I can't remember! About 8pm (totally making that up, I just know it was before runners), he "cleaned" the bathrooms. The bathrooms are portapotties with walls... yup, mop, cleaner, etc. He was really actually kinda my hero - those bathrooms have never ever smelled GOOD before! And they did, for most of the night!! Then he got high and just became creepy. I will always remember him for his cleaning ability though :)
Some words about the new camp host, Steve. He was pretty cool!! He is young and seemed interested in what we were doing there. He helped us out several times and hung around and watched some runners come through in the middle of the night. He also went to get a milkshake at about 2am and didn't come out of his trailer the next morning until we were starting to wrap things up! Guess he has a different schedule than I'm used to.
Let's see... what else? Our first runner wasn't until about 12:30am. All day, it seemed 3 guys had been hopping back and forth for the lead. OUR first runner was Jerry Garcia (hehe). He had passed Brandon on his way to us. They were about 2 minutes apart. Dom was behind them by 15-20 (?) and asked who was leading. He said that Jerry REALLY wanted it. I already assumed this - I knew he'd run it several times and never won. This year, he DID!! They finished in the order we saw them actually. Well, those three anyway.
Later, the first female came in. She had slowed down from her earlier pace, but she'd led the whole way (as far as I remembered from Twitter that morning). She was running "solo" but ran with Jorge Pacheco. When they got there, he said he wasn't having a good day and I encouraged and thanked him for taking care of the #1 female. He seemed to appreciate that I appreciated that. Jorge has won the race several times; this was her first race so I'm sure she was grateful for the company of someone who knew every detail of the trail and such!
The night wore on. Not too much excitement. Only 9 runners finished in under 24 hours. Jorge and Rachel (above) were the only 2 "sunrise to sunrise" finishers (they get a special buckle for finishing before the sun came up on day 2). We had SEVERAL "slow" runners according to the system. As always, they showed up, walking but able to go on.
We got down to the last few runners. I was radioing them to the station before us as they'd already broken down their computers. Yay for radio time :) We knew who we were waiting for and in what order we might expect them. Sure enough, it didn't happen in that order! I can't remember his # of course, but the Texas guy moved to last, well behind the others, apparently with blisters. We started to warn the aid station folks that they might want to think about how to transport him out since he probably wouldn't make it in time (according to the system's algorithms), not to mention being in blister pain. Sure enough, he came running in. And out. He then passed someone else and finished with 8 minutes to spare!! Go Texas!! The system was lagging at the finish line so I actually thought at the time that he'd passed several people. I was so excited I cried (note, I'd also been up all night). I still think it's AWESOME that he found the oomph to obviously RUN the last 5 miles!!
In the end, all 114 runners who came through Millard finished the race within the allotted 33 hours. That always makes me feel like we did our jobs well.
Oh yeah, the AC100 REALLY likes to make me cry. Here's this year's tearjerker story:
Runner #10 was Andy and Runner #12 was George. Andy was actually running with both bibs because George was in a hospital bed kicking cancer in the butt. Yes, BOTH #s were recorded at each aid station. George got his 10th finish. THIS IS THE HEART OF ULTRARUNNING!!!! I LOVE THESE PEOPLE!!!!
Sunday, August 6, 2017
Tuesday, July 25, 2017
My First Trail Run!
Okay, technically, I have run on trails before. Sometimes on purpose! When I was a teenager, I would run anywhere that I could. For like a year, I was a runner. I so don't count that!! And then there are those hikes that I ended up running because Slugs was dragging me or it was easier, or something!
One of the myriad reasons for moving back to/near Big Bear was so I could explore trail running. It's kind of a part of who I am, you know!
So this morning I set out on my real, true first trail run! As readers should know, I've worked my way up to a 10k on roads. Of course, right now, I'm running about 2-3 miles, if I'm lucky. Partly time, partly route. Mostly me ;)
Dad and I had discussed where to go. I was thinking flat; he suggested somewhat hilly since that's what trails are. We had been hiking several times on a trail with the puppies that I decided was just right - a little of everything. To get there, you drive to the Lutheran Church parking lot, and the trailhead is at the end opposite the church building. It then heads up slightly on decent trail, but there are some rocky spots. I started out running but soon found that I was walking almost as much as I ran and I couldn't run as long as usual before walking. Let's blame the uphill-ness!
I chose to fork left up the very rocky, steep portion. I did this because it was an excellent excuse to walk for a ways :) Once I got to the top, I turned right onto some pretty nice trail. I ran and felt like this was my first actual real running of the outing. I ran for about 3 minutes, probably a third of a mile until I came to a road. There I turned around. I more or less new my plan, but I had thought it was further to that road. Oh well.
I ran almost all the way back to the fork that'd take me back down (if I'd forked right on the way up). I ran most of the way down, walking only in tricky (rocky) sections.
When I say "run", by the way, think lope/jog. I was NOT fast!!
All in all, it was a good outing. Only 1.4 miles though. Next time I'd like to go longer. Maybe a different trail. It seemed like a lot of effort (including having to drive over there) for not very much time or distance. But I will definitely try again!
One of the myriad reasons for moving back to/near Big Bear was so I could explore trail running. It's kind of a part of who I am, you know!
So this morning I set out on my real, true first trail run! As readers should know, I've worked my way up to a 10k on roads. Of course, right now, I'm running about 2-3 miles, if I'm lucky. Partly time, partly route. Mostly me ;)
Dad and I had discussed where to go. I was thinking flat; he suggested somewhat hilly since that's what trails are. We had been hiking several times on a trail with the puppies that I decided was just right - a little of everything. To get there, you drive to the Lutheran Church parking lot, and the trailhead is at the end opposite the church building. It then heads up slightly on decent trail, but there are some rocky spots. I started out running but soon found that I was walking almost as much as I ran and I couldn't run as long as usual before walking. Let's blame the uphill-ness!
I chose to fork left up the very rocky, steep portion. I did this because it was an excellent excuse to walk for a ways :) Once I got to the top, I turned right onto some pretty nice trail. I ran and felt like this was my first actual real running of the outing. I ran for about 3 minutes, probably a third of a mile until I came to a road. There I turned around. I more or less new my plan, but I had thought it was further to that road. Oh well.
I ran almost all the way back to the fork that'd take me back down (if I'd forked right on the way up). I ran most of the way down, walking only in tricky (rocky) sections.
When I say "run", by the way, think lope/jog. I was NOT fast!!
All in all, it was a good outing. Only 1.4 miles though. Next time I'd like to go longer. Maybe a different trail. It seemed like a lot of effort (including having to drive over there) for not very much time or distance. But I will definitely try again!
Thursday, July 13, 2017
Easterly Wanderings 2017
It seems to have become my tradition to see how much I can fit in to a few hours in our nation's capital. There is SO much to see and I've seen almost all of it. Of course, exhibits change within the museums so there's always something new. This year the new African American Museum was on my list. However, it's hard to get in to. One has to get up very early and reserve a ticket, with an assigned time. That was just more than I could handle on my last day of the trip! BUT the friends I stayed with on Sunday night mentioned the American Indian museum. I didn't know such a thing existed! And so that's where I began.
I rode the metro into town and got to the museum a little after 11am. I wandered around an exhibit about the various Indian nations while waiting for the "intro" movie to begin. Honestly, I wasn't impressed with the movie. It was interesting but I don't think it was very organized. Yeah, that makes no sense so just trust me, you don't have to watch the movie to enjoy the museum! The museum had some interesting artifacts and if I weren't tired (now and at the time), I'd be able to remember some of the things I read about! I took these two pictures though...
Next stop was next door to the Air and Space Museum. Because, well, it's my favorite and I always stop there! Last summer I read a book on the Wright Brothers (actually, it might've been 2 years ago) and a book about Charles Lindbergh so I figured even if there wasn't anything new, things might mean more to me. But there WAS a new/temporary exhibit. And it was PHENOMENAL. Not sure what it had to do with Air and Space, but whatever. It was called Artist Soldiers and displayed artwork done by soldiers during and after World War 1. The art was not only well done but also had extra oomph because it was so real. I'm not saying that well. Every piece told a story, many not happy, and the emotions came across so alarmingly well. I took only one picture. I actually went back to this painting after going through the whole exhibit. And I just realized it's used as the backdrop for the webpage (click link above). I stared at it for some time. So moving.
Then I went to visit the Wright exhibit.
 |
| Me and the boys |
 |
| Me and the plane |
 |
| One of only 5 original Wright bicycles in existence. |
 |
| It's hard to pick out the plane since the wall is the same color! |
I bought that visor for $5! A bargain!! And my hair was driving me nuts!! Also, I love the selfie feature on my new phone. I feel like I can actually take a halfway decent selfie!! These were all taken in the same spot. I zoomed into the buildings :)
Then I went to the Archives. Yay for Declaration and Constitution and Magna Carta. I also saw the Emancipation Proclamation. Fun! I left there for the Navy Memorial. On my short walk, I noticed how varied and pretty the architecture is in DC.
 |
| The Archives |
 |
| announcing the memorial |
 |
| the lone sailor (statue in middle of plaza/memorial) |
 |
| plaques of all the various naval contributions to the world |
 |
| a close-up of one of the plaques |
 |
| my first ever attempt at a panorama picture - a quote about sailors |
By this point I was exhausted so I headed back to the metro and my rental car. I had plans to hang out with my friend Becky for dinner. She was happy to welcome me a little earlier than planned. I was back to my car by 4pm. So, yet another whirlwind 5 hour DC visit! So fun!!
PS the formatting is all wonky when I look at the actual post. I promise it's all pretty on my edit view. I don't know enough to fix it. Sorry.
Wednesday, July 5, 2017
Turkey Travel
On my drive from BWI to see Ma in Roanoke (275 miles), I saw many things.
I thoroughly enjoyed my Dodge Charger V6 AWD rental car. It was nice and zippy around all the idiots on the road.
I learned that my phone's GPS (google maps) will take me around an accident, if it's faster.
I saw an interesting van. It was like a Sprinter van but I want to say it was a Mercedes version? Anyway, it had signs on it about veganism. One encouraged readers to watch specific movies (it listed them based on their meaning - save animals, health, etc). Another was a comic. I thought the whole thing was interesting. I'm not sure that someone is going to go vegan because of a van they passed on the interstate, but maybe!! Or maybe they'd at least remember one of the movies and watch it when they get home. Who knows!
Then I saw the truck that has stuck with me. It was a hauler of turkeys. At first, when all I saw was feathers, I thought chickens, but they were turkeys. Here's a picture I found online that is very similar to what I saw.
A truck load of them. I cried. The poor things! One of them had his beak sticking out the wire like he was trying to catch his breath. The image will forever be embedded in my brain.
I don't write about this trying to make converts to veganism. Just sharing what I observed because it was very meaningful to me.
I thoroughly enjoyed my Dodge Charger V6 AWD rental car. It was nice and zippy around all the idiots on the road.
I learned that my phone's GPS (google maps) will take me around an accident, if it's faster.
I saw an interesting van. It was like a Sprinter van but I want to say it was a Mercedes version? Anyway, it had signs on it about veganism. One encouraged readers to watch specific movies (it listed them based on their meaning - save animals, health, etc). Another was a comic. I thought the whole thing was interesting. I'm not sure that someone is going to go vegan because of a van they passed on the interstate, but maybe!! Or maybe they'd at least remember one of the movies and watch it when they get home. Who knows!
Then I saw the truck that has stuck with me. It was a hauler of turkeys. At first, when all I saw was feathers, I thought chickens, but they were turkeys. Here's a picture I found online that is very similar to what I saw.
A truck load of them. I cried. The poor things! One of them had his beak sticking out the wire like he was trying to catch his breath. The image will forever be embedded in my brain.
I don't write about this trying to make converts to veganism. Just sharing what I observed because it was very meaningful to me.
Monday, June 26, 2017
Western States 100 Miler 2017
First, read this. It's last year's story. Especially read it if you haven't read any of my other race entries. Also, I'm going to refer to it in this year's story. Go ahead. I'll wait...
Back? Here we go!
As is our tradition, Slugger stayed with Cousin Earl and Tuck stayed with the food lady while Dad and I drove and drove to Auburn. Okay, Dad drove. I rode. It's our norm ;) We did get to stay in Auburn this year which just meant less driving on Saturday, and we got to sleep a little later without worrying about getting to where we were going.
This year we were at a new aid station. Not because we changed - the actual location of our station changed! As I've talked about, the road into Brown's Bar aid station was atrocious. Well, between those driving it complaining, and some pretty bad storms last winter that made it even worse, there is no longer an aid station at the curve in the trail. Last year, if you recall, I walked down the hill to a dirt road, in search of the missing runner. Well, that dirt road is where the new aid station is! It is called Quarry Road so our station name was, can you guess? Quarry Road!! Except now we were closer to the actual Brown's Bar (like bar in a river?)
Since we weren't really sure what to expect in terms of getting there or what we'd find there, Dad and I did our Auburn business (breakfast, Rally's, Net Control) and headed on over. First, we had to persuade the nice state park girl that we were not parking in her parking lot but just driving through and she didn't need to charge us. We won. I think our knowing the combo for the gate helped convince her :) We drove past the gate and several miles up and down a decent dirt road (compared to the old road especially). We got to where the horses stop on their version of the race (google Tevis Cup) and kept going. The American River was flowing heartily to our left. We finally went around a curve and saw a turnout of sorts with a bunch of plastic tubs of stuff. Yup, we were here! And the aid station folks had been there. No one was around at the moment. We were WAY early!!
Now, besides wanting to make sure we got there and to get the lay of the land, we needed to be there because, just like last year, Jim Walmsley was hustling down the course toward us. Supposedly his goal was to finish by 6:30 (I heard 4:30 too but that's just stupid - less than 12 hours?! not on this course!! - the record is 14:45 ish). But we were WAY early, so we got out the chairs and sat in the shade for an hour or so.
Short story about that hour. I needed to tinkle. There was no outhouse (yet?). We'd always had one at the station before. I was VERY hopeful that the aid folks would be dragging one in. But until then, it was good old-fashioned bush time. I decided to walk up the trail instead of the road. Seemed more private - we'd already seen several folks out for a hike/run on the road. Now, I knew from the previous year that the trail went straight up and stayed straight up for a good ways. I didn't remember that the sides of the trail were straight down to the stream and straight up to whatever is up there. I walked about 200 yards and found no where to go off the trail. So I finally gave up and stepped just off trail and did my thing. As I was walking back down, here comes a very nice lady who was putting up trail markings for the race (more on those later). Luckily, she was far enough behind me!! But this 1200 step activity left me HOT!! SO hot!! So hot that I almost dipped in the stream. Except that it was in the sun and I didn't want that! So instead I dipped my hat and t-shirt in the stream :) In the shade, wet, it wasn't too bad!!
Have I mentioned that CA (and the rest of the world?) are in a massive, horrible, record-setting heatwave?! No? Oh, well, it's HOT here. H.O.T!!!
Anyway, about 3:30, maybe almost 4, the aid station folks finally showed up. We'd given up and gone ahead and laid claim to a spot (we totally moved some of their bins to claim it!) for our table and easy-up and radio. We used to track runners as they came in but this time we were set up on their way out. We only record an in-time so it really doesn't matter. The aid folks took up all the rest of the space with their water jugs, food stuffs, cooking apparati, etc. It was nice for them because they were able to have more than one vehicle there.
It was about this time that we asked the Net Control folks if they could tell us about where Jim (#35 this year) was so we'd know how long we had to get completely ready. They said maybe 1-1.5 hours in that he was almost to Green Gate (2 stations before us, but the last one we get radio info from). Okay!! I went to monitoring the radio and the station folks hurriedly did their thing (seriously, if you didn't read last year's blog, go do it now - you might start getting confused cuz I'm not repeating a lot of the details). By about 5:30 we were ready!
I don't remember how the next information came in and in what order, but here's what happened... Runner #46 got to Green Gate aid station just before 5:30. They called it in. And we all went, "HUH?!!??!". Where'd Jim go?! Did anyone know?? Was anyone concerned? Someone else radioed that question to Net Control. There wasn't really an answer, like they didn't know or didn't understand that maybe someone should find out! Jim had lead ALL day. By at least 30 minutes!! Now, all of a sudden (at least to us who'd been in the boonies for a while) he wasn't?? Before #46 (Ryan Sandes) got to us, or maybe right after, we got an answer of sorts. Jim had dropped at the river - the aid station right before Green Gate. I learned the next morning that he'd been violently ill, unable to stop throwing up and finally gave up trying to make it any further (yes, he'd been ill since at least one station prior!).
From the time we saw Ryan, we saw runners for the next 14 hours or so. We never had more than 20-30 minutes down time and only a couple times did we have that. It was like every time one of us thought we had time to grab a bite or go visit the outhouse (oh yeah, the aid folks DID bring one!! YAY!!), we had to hustle cuz there was already another runner coming down the hill!! Fortunately for us, a lot of them went pretty slow down that hill - it was STEEP!.
We saw a total of 254 runners, with 252 going out on their merry way down the road toward the finish. We had two drop. One was runner #116 who had hurt himself - looked like a ham pull or something. He could barely stand on it. Now, remember, there are cars here this time but they're all about to be full of stuff and people after we close up. We never have room to take out runners! Not to mention the fact that the runner wanting a ride will have to wait for all of us to be done, cleaned up, etc. But this guy had no business continuing on. So one of the aid guys unfurled his truck from the piles of stuff and drove him and his pacer to the gate. The crew then picked them up apparently.
While the truck was gone, we had a radio call that perhaps there was a runner down (lying across the road?) out of our station. Runners report these things when they get to the next station so that something can be done to help. Well, I was about to head down the road with a radio to check it out, but the radio was almost dead. And oddly, Dad hadn't brought another back-up. But we all surmised that the truck would HAVE to see said runner and would be able to do something. About the time the truck returned, we got radio that the runner in question had walked in to the next station. Never did find out what had been wrong with him. And the truck never saw him but agreed that he WOULD have!
If for some weird reason you still haven't read last year's report, go at least read the part in the middle about getting to meet the baseball player. I'll wait... no, really, go.
Sometime in the middle of the night, - no, it might have been almost light - I noticed our resident celebrity, Hal (okay, now you might want to go read the 2015 story), talking to a pacer about baseball and running and stuff. I looked at him and he did look familiar. I looked at his runner. Sure enough! The runner was "not Lance" and the pacer was Eric Byrnes!!! I didn't say hello, but mostly because they were gone before I was completely sure I wasn't just seeing things.
I had been waiting for another runner all night. A celebrity in my book though no one else seemed impressed by him. John F. (can't pronounce it, can't spell it) #398 is a Barkley Marathon finisher. The Barkleys are an insane "race" in Tennessee where in some years, NO ONE finishes! Usually just one or two do. There is a documentary on Netflix about the 2012 race when THREE people finished. John was #3! He was also the last (or second to last?) person who got off the wait list to run Western States this year. He didn't know until THURSDAY that he'd actually be running! Luckily, he knew he'd be next if a spot opened and had already flown out (he lives in VT) and was at the ready. He got in because the legend who started the race in 1974 gave up his spot for him. So, anyway, I was anxious to see this guy!! He happened to sit down in a chair across from me, so I quickly stepped away from the radio and told him what an inspiration his Barkley run was, and all that other fan-girling stuff :) I later read that he'd decided to go slow and enjoy every mile since one never knows when/if they'll get another chance to run WS.
Another runner we were ALL waiting for was #337. Craig is the race director of this race. It is RARE for an RD to run his own race. I never read why he decided to do it. But he did!! He wasn't fast but he looked like he was having fun :) He, of course, knew EVERYONE.
Oh, another memorable runner was #26. She wasn't really memorable while she was with us. But 3 hours later, we got a radio call that she had apparently turned around and was coming back toward us and we should go get her. I tried to get across that this was an absolutely silly idea and perhaps Net Control could find someone somewhere else to head toward where she might be who could actually HELP her and get her somewhere safe. We didn't have medical and couldn't get her out until late morning (it was about 3am while this was all happening). Finally, the next aid station - Pointed Rocks, often referred to on radio as PointY Rocks, got some more info from somewhere that she was being picked up on the road by her crew, taken to another station to get her armband cut off (the official designation that a runner has dropped out) and then taken home. I tried SEVERAL times through the rest of our time to get this confirmed because technically she was OUR runner and we'd have to stay until she was sorted out!! To make a long, frustrating end less annoying to you, my awesome reader... her situation actually made Pointy Rocks' #s off but they sorted it out and I eventually, in person at Net Control, got confirmation that it all happened like it was supposed to and she was safe and with her crew.
Our last runner expected was #236. She came in on horseback with the sweep team. She wasn't doing well. The heat had knocked down SO many people!! Somehow, the aid folks made room for her and her pacer (I think two of the aid ladies walked out), the horses continued on and the aid station folks left. Dad and I had to stay until Pointed Rocks had reconciled and the horses had reached their "point of no return" or halfway in between. It seemed like forever because at this point we were sitting in the car ready to go and I had visions of getting to see Slugger in 8-10 hours! FINALLY, they said good bye. Which is always funny cuz we leave the aid station and go back to see them in person to deliver our lists of runners. We did, gave them some thoughts on the event, and brushed our teeth at their bathrooms. I changed my clothes too. Cuz it'd been a LONG 26 hours since I'd put them on!! I know TMI. You love me.
Dad, as always, did an EXCELLENT job getting us to Kresse's where he stayed, and I left to go get Slugger. I encountered ZERO traffic and was at Dave's in just about 2 hours. Slugger was VERY happy to see me, as I was him. We came home, I showered and changed, and went to bed.
And now we're all sitting on the front porch enjoying the beautiful BB weather. Blue sky, some wind, bright sun. Heaven :)
PS I took no pictures. I was busy.
PPS On MANY of these race recaps, I have finished by remarking that I would never be one of those running. However, now that I'm calling myself a runner, it doesn't seem so impossible. I told Dad this weekend (in the middle of the hot afternoon) that if I ever did WS, I'd need to run SO fast in the morning and night that I could just sleep during the hot part of the afternoon. We eventually decided that it made no logistical sense unfortunately due to station cut-off times. So I just have to get in on a cold year :) In like 10 years...
Back? Here we go!
As is our tradition, Slugger stayed with Cousin Earl and Tuck stayed with the food lady while Dad and I drove and drove to Auburn. Okay, Dad drove. I rode. It's our norm ;) We did get to stay in Auburn this year which just meant less driving on Saturday, and we got to sleep a little later without worrying about getting to where we were going.
This year we were at a new aid station. Not because we changed - the actual location of our station changed! As I've talked about, the road into Brown's Bar aid station was atrocious. Well, between those driving it complaining, and some pretty bad storms last winter that made it even worse, there is no longer an aid station at the curve in the trail. Last year, if you recall, I walked down the hill to a dirt road, in search of the missing runner. Well, that dirt road is where the new aid station is! It is called Quarry Road so our station name was, can you guess? Quarry Road!! Except now we were closer to the actual Brown's Bar (like bar in a river?)
Since we weren't really sure what to expect in terms of getting there or what we'd find there, Dad and I did our Auburn business (breakfast, Rally's, Net Control) and headed on over. First, we had to persuade the nice state park girl that we were not parking in her parking lot but just driving through and she didn't need to charge us. We won. I think our knowing the combo for the gate helped convince her :) We drove past the gate and several miles up and down a decent dirt road (compared to the old road especially). We got to where the horses stop on their version of the race (google Tevis Cup) and kept going. The American River was flowing heartily to our left. We finally went around a curve and saw a turnout of sorts with a bunch of plastic tubs of stuff. Yup, we were here! And the aid station folks had been there. No one was around at the moment. We were WAY early!!
Now, besides wanting to make sure we got there and to get the lay of the land, we needed to be there because, just like last year, Jim Walmsley was hustling down the course toward us. Supposedly his goal was to finish by 6:30 (I heard 4:30 too but that's just stupid - less than 12 hours?! not on this course!! - the record is 14:45 ish). But we were WAY early, so we got out the chairs and sat in the shade for an hour or so.
Short story about that hour. I needed to tinkle. There was no outhouse (yet?). We'd always had one at the station before. I was VERY hopeful that the aid folks would be dragging one in. But until then, it was good old-fashioned bush time. I decided to walk up the trail instead of the road. Seemed more private - we'd already seen several folks out for a hike/run on the road. Now, I knew from the previous year that the trail went straight up and stayed straight up for a good ways. I didn't remember that the sides of the trail were straight down to the stream and straight up to whatever is up there. I walked about 200 yards and found no where to go off the trail. So I finally gave up and stepped just off trail and did my thing. As I was walking back down, here comes a very nice lady who was putting up trail markings for the race (more on those later). Luckily, she was far enough behind me!! But this 1200 step activity left me HOT!! SO hot!! So hot that I almost dipped in the stream. Except that it was in the sun and I didn't want that! So instead I dipped my hat and t-shirt in the stream :) In the shade, wet, it wasn't too bad!!
Have I mentioned that CA (and the rest of the world?) are in a massive, horrible, record-setting heatwave?! No? Oh, well, it's HOT here. H.O.T!!!
Anyway, about 3:30, maybe almost 4, the aid station folks finally showed up. We'd given up and gone ahead and laid claim to a spot (we totally moved some of their bins to claim it!) for our table and easy-up and radio. We used to track runners as they came in but this time we were set up on their way out. We only record an in-time so it really doesn't matter. The aid folks took up all the rest of the space with their water jugs, food stuffs, cooking apparati, etc. It was nice for them because they were able to have more than one vehicle there.
It was about this time that we asked the Net Control folks if they could tell us about where Jim (#35 this year) was so we'd know how long we had to get completely ready. They said maybe 1-1.5 hours in that he was almost to Green Gate (2 stations before us, but the last one we get radio info from). Okay!! I went to monitoring the radio and the station folks hurriedly did their thing (seriously, if you didn't read last year's blog, go do it now - you might start getting confused cuz I'm not repeating a lot of the details). By about 5:30 we were ready!
I don't remember how the next information came in and in what order, but here's what happened... Runner #46 got to Green Gate aid station just before 5:30. They called it in. And we all went, "HUH?!!??!". Where'd Jim go?! Did anyone know?? Was anyone concerned? Someone else radioed that question to Net Control. There wasn't really an answer, like they didn't know or didn't understand that maybe someone should find out! Jim had lead ALL day. By at least 30 minutes!! Now, all of a sudden (at least to us who'd been in the boonies for a while) he wasn't?? Before #46 (Ryan Sandes) got to us, or maybe right after, we got an answer of sorts. Jim had dropped at the river - the aid station right before Green Gate. I learned the next morning that he'd been violently ill, unable to stop throwing up and finally gave up trying to make it any further (yes, he'd been ill since at least one station prior!).
From the time we saw Ryan, we saw runners for the next 14 hours or so. We never had more than 20-30 minutes down time and only a couple times did we have that. It was like every time one of us thought we had time to grab a bite or go visit the outhouse (oh yeah, the aid folks DID bring one!! YAY!!), we had to hustle cuz there was already another runner coming down the hill!! Fortunately for us, a lot of them went pretty slow down that hill - it was STEEP!.
We saw a total of 254 runners, with 252 going out on their merry way down the road toward the finish. We had two drop. One was runner #116 who had hurt himself - looked like a ham pull or something. He could barely stand on it. Now, remember, there are cars here this time but they're all about to be full of stuff and people after we close up. We never have room to take out runners! Not to mention the fact that the runner wanting a ride will have to wait for all of us to be done, cleaned up, etc. But this guy had no business continuing on. So one of the aid guys unfurled his truck from the piles of stuff and drove him and his pacer to the gate. The crew then picked them up apparently.
While the truck was gone, we had a radio call that perhaps there was a runner down (lying across the road?) out of our station. Runners report these things when they get to the next station so that something can be done to help. Well, I was about to head down the road with a radio to check it out, but the radio was almost dead. And oddly, Dad hadn't brought another back-up. But we all surmised that the truck would HAVE to see said runner and would be able to do something. About the time the truck returned, we got radio that the runner in question had walked in to the next station. Never did find out what had been wrong with him. And the truck never saw him but agreed that he WOULD have!
If for some weird reason you still haven't read last year's report, go at least read the part in the middle about getting to meet the baseball player. I'll wait... no, really, go.
Sometime in the middle of the night, - no, it might have been almost light - I noticed our resident celebrity, Hal (okay, now you might want to go read the 2015 story), talking to a pacer about baseball and running and stuff. I looked at him and he did look familiar. I looked at his runner. Sure enough! The runner was "not Lance" and the pacer was Eric Byrnes!!! I didn't say hello, but mostly because they were gone before I was completely sure I wasn't just seeing things.
I had been waiting for another runner all night. A celebrity in my book though no one else seemed impressed by him. John F. (can't pronounce it, can't spell it) #398 is a Barkley Marathon finisher. The Barkleys are an insane "race" in Tennessee where in some years, NO ONE finishes! Usually just one or two do. There is a documentary on Netflix about the 2012 race when THREE people finished. John was #3! He was also the last (or second to last?) person who got off the wait list to run Western States this year. He didn't know until THURSDAY that he'd actually be running! Luckily, he knew he'd be next if a spot opened and had already flown out (he lives in VT) and was at the ready. He got in because the legend who started the race in 1974 gave up his spot for him. So, anyway, I was anxious to see this guy!! He happened to sit down in a chair across from me, so I quickly stepped away from the radio and told him what an inspiration his Barkley run was, and all that other fan-girling stuff :) I later read that he'd decided to go slow and enjoy every mile since one never knows when/if they'll get another chance to run WS.
Another runner we were ALL waiting for was #337. Craig is the race director of this race. It is RARE for an RD to run his own race. I never read why he decided to do it. But he did!! He wasn't fast but he looked like he was having fun :) He, of course, knew EVERYONE.
Oh, another memorable runner was #26. She wasn't really memorable while she was with us. But 3 hours later, we got a radio call that she had apparently turned around and was coming back toward us and we should go get her. I tried to get across that this was an absolutely silly idea and perhaps Net Control could find someone somewhere else to head toward where she might be who could actually HELP her and get her somewhere safe. We didn't have medical and couldn't get her out until late morning (it was about 3am while this was all happening). Finally, the next aid station - Pointed Rocks, often referred to on radio as PointY Rocks, got some more info from somewhere that she was being picked up on the road by her crew, taken to another station to get her armband cut off (the official designation that a runner has dropped out) and then taken home. I tried SEVERAL times through the rest of our time to get this confirmed because technically she was OUR runner and we'd have to stay until she was sorted out!! To make a long, frustrating end less annoying to you, my awesome reader... her situation actually made Pointy Rocks' #s off but they sorted it out and I eventually, in person at Net Control, got confirmation that it all happened like it was supposed to and she was safe and with her crew.
Our last runner expected was #236. She came in on horseback with the sweep team. She wasn't doing well. The heat had knocked down SO many people!! Somehow, the aid folks made room for her and her pacer (I think two of the aid ladies walked out), the horses continued on and the aid station folks left. Dad and I had to stay until Pointed Rocks had reconciled and the horses had reached their "point of no return" or halfway in between. It seemed like forever because at this point we were sitting in the car ready to go and I had visions of getting to see Slugger in 8-10 hours! FINALLY, they said good bye. Which is always funny cuz we leave the aid station and go back to see them in person to deliver our lists of runners. We did, gave them some thoughts on the event, and brushed our teeth at their bathrooms. I changed my clothes too. Cuz it'd been a LONG 26 hours since I'd put them on!! I know TMI. You love me.
Dad, as always, did an EXCELLENT job getting us to Kresse's where he stayed, and I left to go get Slugger. I encountered ZERO traffic and was at Dave's in just about 2 hours. Slugger was VERY happy to see me, as I was him. We came home, I showered and changed, and went to bed.
And now we're all sitting on the front porch enjoying the beautiful BB weather. Blue sky, some wind, bright sun. Heaven :)
PS I took no pictures. I was busy.
PPS On MANY of these race recaps, I have finished by remarking that I would never be one of those running. However, now that I'm calling myself a runner, it doesn't seem so impossible. I told Dad this weekend (in the middle of the hot afternoon) that if I ever did WS, I'd need to run SO fast in the morning and night that I could just sleep during the hot part of the afternoon. We eventually decided that it made no logistical sense unfortunately due to station cut-off times. So I just have to get in on a cold year :) In like 10 years...
Thursday, June 15, 2017
Farewell to Texas
On June 9, Dad and I loaded a U-Haul truck (with help from awesome teenagers Kerry and Carlton) and headed off for California. It was a long trip, made longer by UHaul, but that's not what this post is about. I want to say a proper goodbye to the state I called home for almost 12 years.
Here are some of the highs and lows:
* I drove to Houston and got to see "my boys" play in a playoff game at home - one of the most incredible experiences of my baseball loving life!
* Bought, and sold, a house - checked off the "I'm an adult" list, don't feel the need to do it again
* I found a career that I LOVE and seem to be made for - teaching high school math is the best thing ever!!
* I survived the hottest summer ever. Anywhere. Really, hottest summer on record anywhere ever. It was HOT for a LONG time.
* My sweet baby George knew Texas as her last mortal home. She lives on in my heart and in a pretty box which is currently on my "dresser". She LOVED going out into our backyard and rolling around in the grass or dirt. She'd look for insects, I guess, and do her adorable little pounce move. Her last summer was the hottest one from above. She spent most of her time looking out the front window from her little perch.
* I brought home my gigantic lapdog, Slugger! We assume Slugger was born in Texas but he seems to like CA okay. We visited every summer and he was also reluctant to go home. Okay, not really. He'll go anywhere I go!!
* I made some amazing friends!!!!
There are so many more friends to add here but these are the ones with which I had fun pics that I could find!! Thank goodness for social media and texting to stay in touch!!!
After twelve years, the heat got me. And the flatness. Texas is gorgeous in its own way, but I need my mountains. Even if I won't be living on one (yet), I can see them!! It was time to come home. For good. When I told a friend here in CA last summer, that I was thinking about making this move, I was asked what I'd miss. All I could come up with was the people. Texas is a friendly place. That's what drew me to it way back in 2001 when I first started talking about making the move from DC. Texas is friendly and laid-back. And huge. And hot. I will always hold the entire state, but especially particular places and people, close to my heart.
I did eventually come up with a few things I'd miss...
*the rain - but not the storms!
*the jets flying over (not the airplanes, the F16s and such!)
*AHS - not perfect but I learned a LOT about myself and being a teacher
*ice days - not the ice but the days off :)
*Whataburger (for my non-vegan cravings)
SO SO SO many memories of my time in Texas that I will cherish forever. Thank you to everyone who was a part of "when I was a Texan"!!
Here are some of the highs and lows:
* I drove to Houston and got to see "my boys" play in a playoff game at home - one of the most incredible experiences of my baseball loving life!
 |
| This is actually from the following trip to celebrate NLCS champs! |
* Bought, and sold, a house - checked off the "I'm an adult" list, don't feel the need to do it again
* I found a career that I LOVE and seem to be made for - teaching high school math is the best thing ever!!
* I survived the hottest summer ever. Anywhere. Really, hottest summer on record anywhere ever. It was HOT for a LONG time.
* My sweet baby George knew Texas as her last mortal home. She lives on in my heart and in a pretty box which is currently on my "dresser". She LOVED going out into our backyard and rolling around in the grass or dirt. She'd look for insects, I guess, and do her adorable little pounce move. Her last summer was the hottest one from above. She spent most of her time looking out the front window from her little perch.
 |
| on her perch |
* I brought home my gigantic lapdog, Slugger! We assume Slugger was born in Texas but he seems to like CA okay. We visited every summer and he was also reluctant to go home. Okay, not really. He'll go anywhere I go!!
* I made some amazing friends!!!!
 |
| teaching buddies! |
 |
| teaching buddies! |
 |
| prayer sisters! |
 |
| girlfriends! (from church) |
 |
| Megan (left) got me through 2nd grade; Mere (right) got me through TWU |
 |
| The group who helped me celebrate turning 40!! |
 |
| church, game night, transplant holidays, oh so many adventures! |
 |
| Sheila - all around awesome! |
There are so many more friends to add here but these are the ones with which I had fun pics that I could find!! Thank goodness for social media and texting to stay in touch!!!
After twelve years, the heat got me. And the flatness. Texas is gorgeous in its own way, but I need my mountains. Even if I won't be living on one (yet), I can see them!! It was time to come home. For good. When I told a friend here in CA last summer, that I was thinking about making this move, I was asked what I'd miss. All I could come up with was the people. Texas is a friendly place. That's what drew me to it way back in 2001 when I first started talking about making the move from DC. Texas is friendly and laid-back. And huge. And hot. I will always hold the entire state, but especially particular places and people, close to my heart.
I did eventually come up with a few things I'd miss...
*the rain - but not the storms!
*the jets flying over (not the airplanes, the F16s and such!)
*AHS - not perfect but I learned a LOT about myself and being a teacher
*ice days - not the ice but the days off :)
*Whataburger (for my non-vegan cravings)
SO SO SO many memories of my time in Texas that I will cherish forever. Thank you to everyone who was a part of "when I was a Texan"!!
Saturday, April 15, 2017
Stockyards Easter 10k
Oh my. My first organized 10k event. Glad that's done! I really need to figure out how to not get so hot!! Moving to Big Bear will help :)
I'm really not a fan of organized races. I hate having to get there but then just stand around. And this one had the porta potties too far from the start. They were actually at the finish. But anyway.
The race started under the iconic Stockyards sign, went down the brick road and then made it's way to the Trinity Trails. I was tired. My calves were tight. That was new. Not sure if it was from standing around or what. They loosened up eventually but by then everything was tired. And hot.
This was an out and back race. There was a 5k as well. Just before I got to mile 2, I saw the first 5k turn around guy. No maybe it was mile 1. I don't remember now. But it seemed way too early. He was going very fast and made me feel slow. But, I also didn't resemble his physique in any way. So I just kept running :)
I got here:
And kept going!! I was between mile 2 and 3 when I saw the first 10k turn around guy. Again, I do not look like him and therefore did not let myself get beat up about it. He was tall, young and had 0% body fat.
I got to the 10k turn around and doused my head with cold water. Felt good! Didn't last long. Most of the run was in the sun with intermittent shade. Every once in a while the sun went behind a cloud but never for long. It was maybe 70 out but I felt like it was 100 at least. It looked pretty though.
The biggest excitement of the day happened at about 5.9 miles.
I should've taken another picture once I got up to it. That's a train. Stopped across the road. The road I was supposed to go run down to get to the finish line. Once I got there I realized that it was stopped at it's own flashing red light to allow another train (that I never did see) cross in front of it. There were about 10 of us eventually standing around waiting, wondering what to do. I'd been there about 7 minutes when several folks went around the front of the train (it was maybe .1 out of their way). Once they got in front of the train, another lady and I went under the train. I realize this was stupid. However, I knew it'd take me about 5 seconds. And I knew that train wasn't going anywhere cuz the arm thing was still down for him. Sure enough! For all I know that train is still there. This lady and I then ran all the way to the finish together! We agreed that if we'd been alone we never would've run that far without walking. So maybe there is something to be said for having a running partner!
The clock said 1:31 when we crossed. I was SURE it was much longer than that!! I had paused my watch at the train so technically my actual time was 1:23. A PR though nothing says that cuz of the stupid train incident. Oh well. I know!!
Here are the before and after pics.
Next on the bucket list is a half-marathon!! Aiming for the Big Bear Half in September. Big brother is race director, dad does communications. It'll be a family affair :)
I'm really not a fan of organized races. I hate having to get there but then just stand around. And this one had the porta potties too far from the start. They were actually at the finish. But anyway.
This was an out and back race. There was a 5k as well. Just before I got to mile 2, I saw the first 5k turn around guy. No maybe it was mile 1. I don't remember now. But it seemed way too early. He was going very fast and made me feel slow. But, I also didn't resemble his physique in any way. So I just kept running :)
I got here:
And kept going!! I was between mile 2 and 3 when I saw the first 10k turn around guy. Again, I do not look like him and therefore did not let myself get beat up about it. He was tall, young and had 0% body fat.
I got to the 10k turn around and doused my head with cold water. Felt good! Didn't last long. Most of the run was in the sun with intermittent shade. Every once in a while the sun went behind a cloud but never for long. It was maybe 70 out but I felt like it was 100 at least. It looked pretty though.
The biggest excitement of the day happened at about 5.9 miles.
The clock said 1:31 when we crossed. I was SURE it was much longer than that!! I had paused my watch at the train so technically my actual time was 1:23. A PR though nothing says that cuz of the stupid train incident. Oh well. I know!!
Here are the before and after pics.
Next on the bucket list is a half-marathon!! Aiming for the Big Bear Half in September. Big brother is race director, dad does communications. It'll be a family affair :)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)