I was in no state of mind to be blogging at the end of last week and when I got to our condo on Lake Canandaigua there was no internet access anyway so I will write this entry to recall everything as best I remember.
I spent the whole week hydrating and “carbing up.” I was definitely fidgety all week long at work and the trips I made to the bathroom from all of the hydrating failed to settle my nerves at all. Thankfully I took Thursday and Friday off. Thursday evening we went up to my father-in-law’s in the Pocono mountains. The group included me, my wife, Liz, my sister-in-law, Laura, her boyfriend, Steve who would be running the ultra with me and my two kids, Emily and Will.
Friday – touring the course:
I slept well. Friday morning we were off at about 8:30am. The kids, Liz and I in our busted up Toyota Forerunner and Steve and Laura in Steve’s new red GTI. It was a 4 hour drive from the Poconos. I went to Syracuse University so I’m familiar with long drives to upstate New York in the autumn. The weather was perfect, in the 60’s. All along the way were rolling hills and mountains with the leaves all changing color… just beautiful scenery.
When we finally made it to the lake area there were little towns with fruit stands and vineyards. I was relatively relaxed considering the run was happening the next day. Then we hit Bopple Hill which I knew from the “Can Lake 50” web site that I would be running up the next morning at about 14 miles in. We came from the south so when we hit it we were at the top of the hill. It’s a very steep 0.8 mile incline which isn’t so bad. I would have to go up this hill and then run another 35 miles afterward. I then caught my first good look at the lake…
I felt my first wave of terror. There were mountains!!!... All around it! My stomach sank and I thought, “What in God’s name did I sign up for?!?!”
We continued our drive going down the hill and then up another incline for another mile or so. Then it leveled off and we quickly came to the resort where we were staying. A picturesque golf resort at the absolute perfect time of year. I tried to calm my nerves as we unpacked the truck.
It was around 1:30pm and Liz needed to run 18 miles because she’s training for the Philadelphia Marathon in November. We thought it would be a good idea for her to go out and act as a “scout” giving us an idea of what it was like. It was also nap time for the two kids so I asked Laura (who was the unsung hero of the weekend) to stay with Will while he napped and while Liz was running. Steve and I would take the truck with Emily who would fall asleep and we could tour the course. I figured it would take us about an hour and a half… I was wrong about that.
Our directions to the starting line were vague as Steve was looking at them and trying to program my uncooperative GPS. It took us about 45 minutes to actually get to the start and then to figure out where we were going to run. It was at a small community college on the lake that is presently under construction so navigating the campus was a little confusing. This wasn’t really settling my nerves. But after a 9 mile wrong turn we made it to the course. I was really getting nervous.
Then we drove it. The first 10-11 miles weren’t so bad, relatively flat. Then some long inclines passing our resort, then down again until Bopple Hill at mile 14. There’s a graveyard right at the top. Perfect for those of us runners who like corny, dark humor. Up that, turn left, up again for another half mile or so and then a huge meandering decline that lasted about 3-4 miles. My mind was digesting everything it saw. The road flattened out and we came upon some small fishing towns. We were checking off where the aid stations were… There was mile 22, next one mile 27…
Miles 20 through 27 were relatively flat as well. Then it began a very slow and rolling incline that would last another 5 miles until I hit a much steeper incline that would last until about mile 33 and a half. The road just seemed to go on and on out in the middle of nowhere. The next aid station was mile 38. It was at the bottom of a steep decline. There was a small dock and a port a potty.
From there the second worst hill went up pretty steeply for about a mile and a half. The last 10 miles looked digestible enough… Long stretches of road with long gradual inclines and declines. The race ended back at the community college.
Back home for dinner:
Emily woke up at around mile 31 of our tour so I entertained her by playing her Lightning McQueen CD and pointing to all of the cows and ponds from there on along the way. We sang and played games. She remained in good spirits.
When we made it back I realized that it had taken us 3 and a half hours to tour the course which meant poor Laura ended up baby-sitting Will after he woke up which I really wanted to avoid happening. But she was very good about it as she always is. That’s why my kids love their Aunt Laura.
Finally Liz returned from her 18 mile run and the look on her face failed to settle my nerves. I knew what she was thinking because she’s terrible at hiding her emotions. She later admitted that she was scared that I was going to kill myself up and down those hills.
Laura and Steve ended up taking off to get our race bibs and to swing by the grocery store for food. They came back and cooked a nice pasta dinner… more carbs. I admitted that I was scared and Steve said that he wasn’t. I believed him. I must say that I was excited as well. I had nervousness that I don’t usually get prior to runs. I never got nervous before either of the marathons I ran. I took this as a positive omen.
On TV the Phillies were beating up the Reds in the National League Divisional series… something that would normally have me enthralled and had me very excited. But the gravity of running 50 miles the next morning was weighing on me and I couldn’t get into the game though I watched it until the end.
Time for bed:
Before bed Liz gave me some words of encouragement and that settled me down a bit. I took a quick shower, brushed my teeth and got everything together… Camelback hydration pack full and ready to go, Chomps electrolyte cubes, other snacks as well, sneakers, socks, shorts, long sleeved shirt, the list of donators that I would bring with me, the course directions (don’t want to get lost out there)… yup, that’s everything! Now all I have to do is sleep… not happening. I laid there for about an hour and a half all wired up. They said this would happen to me. Finally I went out. I woke up at 4am to go to the bathroom and I was up for good looking at the clock until 5:00 which is when we said we were going to wake up.
to be continued...
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