Brew to Brew, Hawaii, Passion

Hello to you (you being those who read this blog).

I am back to blogging. It has been many days off, probably like 20 or so. There have been a lot of things that have happened:

1) Brew to Brew 44 Mile Ultra

I went down to Kansas City to run this race. It is 44 miles. Or 43...or 42. There were a lot of different things saying different stuff about how long it actually was.

This was my first ultra since September of 2007 (Bohemian Alps...remember that Ben? You thought it was hard running 7...then you ran 75 miles 6 months later! INCREDIBLE! (Speaking of that run, you said that you hallucinated and saw a little kid on the side of the road (which was actually a mile marker)...why do people always see little kids? I would want to see something like a giant gummy bear playing the bongos).

So it was good to be there and running.

MapQuest = Suck. For some reason I used mapquest instead of google maps, and guess what? I got lost driving to the race, and only got there 2 minutes before it started! I got out of the car, got my packet from this guy named Ryan (who I called the day before to pick up my packet...a nice guy to do that!), and then lined up at the start. I was still holding half of the packet there at the starting line. Dylan had the other half. The other half had the number, and I called to him to bring me the number, but he didn't hear or something. I carried my half of the packet for about 3 miles, then threw it in the trash...no way I was going to carry it for 44 miles!

The first half of the race was awesome, in 3:00, a little under my goal time of 6:30. Then, it started to rain. My jacket was manufactured in 1998 and doesn't repel water that great, so the water began to really soak into my skin. Between miles 22 and 32, my pace slowed incredibly as my core temperature began to drop. To make things worse, the course was marked pretty poorly, and at one point I came to an intersection...not knowing what way to go, I went straight...a half mile later was another intersection...but I didn't see anyone in front of me or behind me...so I retraced my steps back to the first intersection...I ran into someone there, and asked which way to go.

Evidently, I had been going in the right direction before I turned around! So, cold, wet, and now cursing the un-markedness of the course, I plodded along, and along, and along.

There was a water crossing. They had rafts. They rafted us across.

My gloves were not water repellent at all, and just standing there in the raft prep and sitting the way across really made my fingers cold...everything was cold! Then I had to climb up a slippery, muddy bank to get back to where the course picked back up...

A half mile later there was a town...and an AID STATION! Dylan was supposed to meet me somewhere along the course to give me dry clothes, and he hadn't shown up yet (the course map was in the part of the packet I had with me at the start), so a volunteer was nice enough to let me use his phone...with a few calls I finally got ahold of Dylan and told him that I needed dry clothes. By this time, I was shivering and my teeth were chattering. The volunteer said I could go warm up in a bar while I waited.

That was the best thing that could have happened at that time, because right then it started snowing a little bit. Actually, it was more like small pieces of ice falling from the sky.

I was in the bar for about 30 minutes before Dylan showed up, but by that time I had given up on meeting a goal time. I changed clothes, then we both headed off down the road.

Those next 12 miles had a lot of walking breaks. At one point I thought my kidneys were hurting, like they were shutting down or something, but then I realized that my abs were sore too...that must have happened because I was clenched up from the cold for those 10 miles while it was raining and windy. Knowing that my kidneys were fine was enough to keep me going.

Reason to run the solo rather than the relay race: you get special treatment. At the last aid station around mile 38 or 39, there was a crappy table with just water on it. I asked where the gatorade was, and they said they didn't have any. I said "what?" sort of harshly, and then they asked if I was a solo runner. When they found out that I was, they led me to a special table that had all sorts of goodies: peanut butter sandwiches, fig newtons, trail mix, gummy things, coke, etc. It was awesome! Running solo is definately the way to go!

The last 5 miles were crazy! For some reason, the trail was built on a levee-type thing that was 10+ feet above the surrounding land...and that meant the wind (probably 35 mph) was always blowing on the runner. To make things worse, the last 5 miles were on a semi-circle...so when we started, the wind was blowing from the side...and then from the front! Walking was almost as fast as running, for the ultra runners, that is. The people running in their teams of 10 were blazing by. Well...when you only run 4 miles, you probably can run fast into the wind.

I finished the run in 7:45...a little slower than my slowest goal pace (7:00), but still good. It doesn't really matter about time, anyway, unless you are going for the win. By the way, a 23 year old kid won in 5:11! Wow!

I don't know if I would run the Brew to Brew again. I almost got lost a couple times, and did get lost once...plus the post-race dinner was not included in the entry fee. So, when looking for a ride back to the car, Dylan and I just had to sit there while everyone else ate and ate and laughed. I sat there hanging my head and wishing that I could have some food.

Looking back, I should have just gone and gotten some food. Yes, it is sort of dishonest, but I should have anyway. I SHOULD HAVE!

2) Hawaii

Now I am in Hawaii. It is grandiose! Ran on a sweet trail a couple times, have gone to the beach...fun times. The running is not as often now, but it is good to take time off. Once May hits, then I am going to start training like no other.

3) Passion

I was scared the other day that I had lost my passion for running. But no! It was just waiting to come back stronger than ever!

A lot of people run the Boston Marathon and think it is the pinnacle of running. Well, for them, it is. But for me, I don't think there ever will be a point where I will feel that there is nothing left in running for me.

I don't care about my times now. Sure, it felt good to go fast two years ago, but now...now I am enjoying running for simply the act of getting out there.

Well, that is all for now...I hope you all have been good since I last read your blogs...can't wait to read them again!

Run on!