Race Report: Ice Age 2

No, not THAT Ice Age. Last year's Ice Age could have easily been titled The Meltdown for me. I had originally planned on the 50 mile, but I did the 50K because I knew something was wrong. It turned out that I was severely anemic and didn't know it. My meltdown occurred very early during the event, but I still managed to go 31 miles. Looking back, it felt like I ran that entire race in a tunnel. Truthfully, I don't remember a lot of it. That combined with the fact that I had not run an ultra since last year's Ice Age made me a little nervous for this year's 50 mile attempt.


This year, the woolly mammoth was back on the buckle, and I was back in Wisconsin to run the 50 mile.

My good friend, Don, was also back to continue our once a year ultra running get-together tradition for run #5.  It all started back in 2007 when I decided to run a trail marathon, and he ran the entire thing with me even though he had only trained for a half.  This would be Don's first 50 mile race.

When I arrived into Wisconsin in my shorts and t-shirt the first thing I noticed was BRRRRRR!  Ice Age was right. Wow! It was 60+ in Ohio ad 44 with cold winds here. The forecast called for temps between the 30s and 50s on Saturday, and that works just fine for me when it comes to distance running.  I'd much rather see those temps than 90-100 degree temps we dealt with at Brew To Brew in 2011. There was a little bit of rain predicted as well, which I could happily do without. Dirt + water = mud, and I've had more than enough of those runs thank-ya-very-much.

"Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. ~ Ephesians 3:20" K-Love Verse of the Day 5/11 and some very great news considering I was about to try and run 50 miles.

The ~10.5 mile Nordic loop is a beautiful, wide trail covered with pine needles. During this section, we had plenty of company and ran quite a few miles with a fellow from Wisconsin named Brandon who was running his first 50 mile. The Nordic Trail seemed to be over almost as soon as it had started, and the day was turning out to be beautiful.

Section 2 of the race changes things up quite a bit. The trail turns into a lot of single track, and rocks and roots begin to get your attention... or else. This section also begins an out and back portion on a very narrow trail, and this is where my trouble began without me even realizing. Blissfully ignorant, I kept mostly to the right side of the trail jumping up onto the right section to move out of the way of runners coming back from the opposite direction. This meant my right foot was constantly running at a cant which becomes important in later miles. No matter at this point. The 3rd runner I saw coming the opposite direction was David Riddle, who won this year's 50 mile race. He was flying down the trail with ease and grace. It really is amazing to watch.

My plan had been to take a gel every 45 minutes or so which worked well for the first 4 gels as I was carrying peanut butter Gu. This was the same strategy that had worked for me in my first 50 miler. Unfortunately not all aid stations had gel so I got a little off schedule. It was around this time I started feeling a bit tired.  Hmmmmm.  The aid station at the Section 2 turnaround point (~21 miles) had a plethora of Montana Huckleberry Hammer Gel. I grabbed 3 for the return trip back to Confusion Corner.

Montana Huckleberry: the only flavor of gel available during the entire event. Don joked that they had Huckleberry Pie at the finish.   I did mix it up with some oranges. I had my Garmin set to alert me every 45 minutes to take a gel, and as the miles went by, I begrudgingly obeyed its command. Even though I was over the flavor, the energy it delivered kept me going. Don and I finished the first 25 miles in 5 hours which put us well ahead of the 12 hour cutoff. I was thankful to have energy at the marathon point as last year my pace had turned into a walk because I just had nothing to give.  I was thankful for my running buddy. I was thankful for the beautiful day that we were given. I was thankful for no mud!

Running long distances has its stages. At first, things feel great. Then, after a bit, your legs get tired. A little later, your legs are really starting to get grumpy. Eventually they yell at you. Then, after that, I can only assume the legs either get tired of complaining or your brain gets tired of hearing it. That means things are going well.

When things aren't going well, it takes every ounce of energy you have just to get up that hill at a snails pace or something or other locks up completely and won't let you take another step. We were at the 50K point, and I was amazed to find walking up the smaller inclines was more annoying than running up them. The legs were feeling it, but life was still good.

We headed out on the third and final leg of our journey to Emma Carlin for the last 19 miles. Don and I had tried to fall numerous times but were unsuccessful. Based on the amount of folks I saw with scraped knees and dirt covered clothes, the roots and rocks got in a few good punches. The last leg seemed to be the hilliest portion of the course. I thought maybe it was because I was getting tired. The truth is that the highest point on the course does occur during the 3rd section. I managed to get a few more peanut butter Gus I had put in a drop bag at mile 37. It's the little things that can bring happiness on the trail. We finally found ourselves at the 10K remaining point.  Things were really going well, and I was surprised to find myself still wanting to run the smaller inclines. Everything changed around mile 45 including the weather. Running on a canted trail finally caught up to my right foot when a sharp pain stopped me in my tracks. Ouch!  My foot no longer allowed me to run on anything with a slope. I was worried I was going to have to walk the last 5 miles. Luckily the foot was okay with flat sections. Don had been dealing with a large blister for a while; although, he's not really the type to complain much so I'm not exactly sure when that started. It was around the same time that it actually started hailing. It was so surprising and fitting (it is the Ice Age after all) that I knew that was just the way it was supposed to be. That didn't make it any less cold, though. 10 minutes later, the sun was out.

We ran through the finish and received our very nice buckles. The after party consisted of a live band, soda, beer, hamburgers, some awesome vegetable lasagna, a rain shower, and a lot of limping.

I should mention the beautiful sections of pine on this course. The trail is soft, and beautiful, tall pines create inviting tunnels that feel very much alive. These areas were my favorite sections of the trail. Overall it is a beautiful course. It was very well marked which is something that should never be taken for granted. Bonus miles can be okay but not during a 50 mile run.10 aid stations on the course meant a lot of volunteers. Not only did they give us water and food, but they cheered when each runner was coming into every station. They stood outside on a cold day to keep us moving forward, and they helped other people reach their goals.

It feels good to feel good again. Now it's time to rest and give my wounded foot a break. I wonder what's next?

Ice Age 50 Course

Elevation Profile

5 Days and a Wakeup...

...a very early wakeup, I might add. It's been almost a year since my last ultra. Where has the time gone?

50 miles?! Geesh, what was I thinking? Sometimes I can't help but wonder why in the world I sign up for these things. Well, I did, so I guess I might as well run it.

This time last year, I was severely anemic without knowing it. I had just had my first and only root canal. I had been taking a ridiculous amount of antibiotics. I still somehow managed to make it 31 miles. So... I should make it 50 this year, right?

Hokas? Check. Dirty Girl Gaiters? Check. Gels? Check. Water belt? Check. Training runs? Yeah, mostly. Running buddy? Heck yeah!

Am I ready? It's hard to say. I've struggled with a few injuries here and there. I would have liked to have put in more training miles, but I opted to listen to my body when it cried uncle. Well, I mostly listened anyway. Motivation has been lacking a little, but I think that has more to do with a nagging hip that never seems to get completely well. I've been feeding it a daily dose of the foam roller and two Myrtl's twice a day. That seems to be making a difference.

Speaking of... I hear that foam roller calling.

If you are sitting around wondering what to do with a minute or two over the next week, send a prayer my way. I will take all of them that I can get.

Happy Running!

Do you not know? Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
    the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary,
    and his understanding no one can fathom.
He gives strength to the weary
    and increases the power of the weak.
Isaiah 40: 28-29

Road Trip!

It was time to take a trip down to Fort Benning for work so I thought a road trip would be fun. After a quick search for races, I discovered the Knoxville Marathon was happening the weekend before so....

I decided to drive to Knoxville, hang out for a night, run a marathon because it was on the way :-), and then head to Georgia. After a week in Georgia I would travel to Alabama to spend a few days chillin' with Major Mary.

After checking in at the hotel, I headed over to the expo. I was shocked to discover how small the expo was. The marathon itself had only 700 or so people registered. I headed over to the Team 413 booth, talked to Chris and Kiki, and bought a few more shirts.

It was then time to find some dinner. The woman at the front desk suggested Market Street which was just a few blocks over. When I arrived, I found an art festival.


There were a lot of chalk art drawings on the sidewalk and even more people. In the middle of the excitement was a tent for a local brewery. Since I was planning on taking this training run very seriously (ha), I decided to try a local brew. I bought the souvenir cup, and the fella told me that he expected me to drink at least 5 beers to get the full discount on the refills. I planned to run 26 miles in the morning so I'd only be having one. He'd let it slide this time.

Plenty of people and chalk art...

My hotel was very close to the start so after a short walk, I was in the start corral. Knoxville does have a few hills, and I was expecting that. The first 13 miles went smoothly with plenty of foot traffic along the course as those miles were with the 7000 or so half marathoners. Since I had been having some IT band issues, I knew I could bail at the half if necessary.  Luckily the IT band was not an issue after previous trip to the ART doc and a lot of foam rolling.  Shortly after the half I started talking to Jason from Nashville. He told me we had already gone up the hill that was the course was known for during the first half. He was training for the Country Music Marathon by running the Knoxville marathon. After some good conversation, I was once again solo. It was around that time that I noticed how incredibly hot it was down in Tennessee.  I had brought along my S Caps, but that didn't help as much as I had hoped since I had been training in 40 degrees and the marathon temp was now 70+ and in direct sunlight. I was tired of water, and my body wasn't doing a very good job of processing it. It just kept telling me how thirsty I was. Just when I started thinking I really needed something.... ANYTHING... other than water, I entered the Island Home neighborhood. There was reggae music, the people of the neighbor hood were incredibly nice, and they gave me oranges. I seriously love oranges during a long run. I had four slices of oranges in those 2 miles. Those wonderful souls made my miles 21 - 23.

It was time to run my least favorite part of any big city race: the last few miles into the city. It is usually not shaded, is uphill, and is in a big city.  I normally avoid big city races unless I'm running with friends who want to run them.  This was a well done event, but I don't think these big city races are for me. This revelation happened around mile 24. Maybe I was just delirious. After the finish, a nice lady handed me a medal and a finisher's cap. It was a great start to an awesome road trip.

One of my favorite sections of the path

It was now time to travel to Columbus, Georgia, for a week of work. The next day my IT band gave me a little limp, and the foam roller made me want to cry, but two days later I was running along the Chattahoochee River Walk. Although, it had rained the entire week before I arrived, we were blessed with a gorgeous work week. That was a pretty big deal since we would spend the week working outside and in large tents.

Another day at the office. Or not.

 

I should have brought my trail shoes to work

I work with some great folks so it was a great week. I even got to pet a red tailed hawk courtesy of one of my coworkers. Cool, huh?

At the end of the week, I headed to Alabama to visit with my best friend from college. She is stationed at Fort Rucker and is a battalion XO. (Gee, Mary, how did we get so old?!)


We had dinner at a local place called The Rawls which is a historic bed and breakfast as well as a restaurant.  It also happens to almost have my last name. In our usual fashion, we decided to turn the next day into an adventure. We planned to drive south to Panama City, Florida, for breakfast, kayaking, and hanging out on the beach. It could not have been a more perfect day for it. It was 80 and beautiful. We took a boat over to Shell Island and then kayaked around the island to the beautiful Gulf side. The ocean was a little rough for kayaking, and I'm a wimp when it comes to water. I've kayaked in rivers, and in lakes, but never in the ocean. Thanks to Mary keeping me calm as a large wave picked us up and surfed us into Shell Island; I lived to tell about it. We paddled by a dolphin and the Blue Angels flew over while we were relaxing on the beach.

Breakfast in Florida

Mary on the boat to the island

Shell Island

Das Boot

After our island adventure, it was time for dinner: shrimp, crab cakes, and tuna dip. On the way into the restaurant we met the fellas on the left. I'm very happy to report that it was bird week for me rather than shark week. As the day drew to a close, we journeyed back to Alabama.  On Sunday, it was rainy and cold most of the day. That made it a prefect day to start the morning at a truly awesome coffee shop, Boldly Going. This coffee shop serves as both a place to put some pep in your step and a place to lift your spirit.

After spending most of Sunday relaxing, on Monday it was time for a long drive back to Ohio. It had been a great 9 days, and I am very thankful for those days. On the way home, there was a wreck that caused a standstill on I-65 for 45 minutes. There was a big fire and life flight was called. A long drive home was much smaller inconvenience than what those people were going though.  Unfortunately during the drive home, I heard about the bombing at the finish of the Boston Marathon.  Someone went out of their way to try and destroy people. Beyond tragic. That is in the realm of cruel and evil. After checking email upon my return, I learned that a former boss had a major heart attack, and the prognosis was bad. He has since passed away. All of these things cause me to feel even more thankful for my road trip and my life no matter what tomorrow brings. I have found that giving thanks to God extinguishes both anger and sadness when my life is difficult. When life is good, it amplifies that goodness a million fold. I just wish I could always keep my focus on being thankful.  Until that day comes, I'll just keep on working at it.

"If we have thankful hearts we are untouchable." - Ryan Hall

Blue Skies

Do you ever have those days that go perfectly even if the details aren't perfect?

When I signed up for the Air Force Half, I had no idea how much I was going to look forward to running it nor did I know how much I would enjoy it. This wasn't my first time at the Air Force Half. I ran it two years ago. Mostly I remember the beginning, a huge crowd of people along the course through the first 4 or so miles, the hill at mile 8, and the end. I also remember breaking 2 hours for the first time ever on the half marathon. I liked to tell people that the only good things about the Air Force Half were the beginning and the end. The beginning includes a fly over of some awesome plane and the end has you running through an airplane lineup and receiving a medal from a high ranking air force officer. Last Saturday, I ate those words. I am very happy about that.

I had not run an event in a couple of months as I was building my way back to being healthy after figuring out my body was running way too low on iron. I was a little nervous because my last two half marathons were terrible. I had no energy and running hurt. I was afraid of a three-peat despite the fact that my training runs had been getting faster, and my endurance had been getting back to my before anemia levels. I really had no idea of what the day would bring, and I was excited and little nervous to find out.

Pre-Race
I decided to enter the base from Harshman Road this year rather than Colonel Glenn. The traffic was decidedly better, and I highly recommend doing it this way if you plan to travel to Dayton for the event. I got out of my car and looked up. There was the B2 flying overhead. That was amazing! It glided through the skies like no plane I had ever seen. Two years ago, a jet flew over before the start and the pilot hit the afterburners. Awesome :-) That was the beginning I had spoken of.

I checked the verse of the day before heading to the start:
2 Timothy 4:7 "I  have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith."

The weather prediction was a start in the lower 50s and the low 60s by the time I finished. Perfect. The skies were blue, and the grass and trees were a beautiful green.  The Air Force museum looked as lovely as it always does. I headed over to the start to put myself near the 2 hour pace group. I wasn't planning on a half PR, but I was hoping to break 2 hours if everything felt okay. I saw my friend Carolyn over by the pace group. Her plan was to run her first sub-2. Carolyn and I began the race together.

Miles 1-4
The first 4 miles flew by quickly. Running felt easy and good, and I was very happy that the beginning did not resemble the beginning of my last two events. Around mile 4, there was a glitch. The group we were behind took a wrong turn. A minute or so later, people ran by us and yelled that we were all going the wrong way and that we needed to turn around. This gave us a bonus of about a quarter of a mile. I was little surprised as my past experience with the Air Force event was that everything went like clockwork. Apparently this happened to other groups too. (After the event, I heard that some people went as far as 4 miles out and some even had two wrong turns.) This certainly wasn't my first event with bonus mileage. Since I wasn't shooting for a PR and only went a little off course, this didn't really bother me. It did, however, put a little fire in my belly to move a bit faster. I didn't feel annoyed; I felt energized. Really, I was just happy to be running at a decent clip while still feeling good.

Miles 5-7
At the mile 5 mark, Carolyn looked at her Garmin which showed we had traveled about a quarter of a mile more with the misdirection. Around mile 6, Carolyn and I lost track of each other at a water station. I was thankful to have the first 6 miles go by very quickly with good company, and she was keeping the pace right on target. I turned on my music, but I must have been doing a lot of thinking. I barely remember hearing any of the songs except for David Crowder Band's Open Skies. At mile 7, I took my peanut butter Gu which gave a nice energy boost. It was good timing.

Mile 8 brought the first hill of note during the half. It is an overpass, and it slows down many a runner. I remembered this incline from last time. I also remembered the nice downhill that comes after. On the way down the other side, a fellow runner who looked to be a retired military officer of the army or marine variety said something. I'm not exactly sure what started the conversation, but we chatted for a minute or so. He disappeared as quickly as he had appeared. I'm not sure if he wound up behind me or in front of me, but it was nice to have a brief conversation with someone who was smiling and obviously enjoying the run.

Miles 9-11

What I didn't remember from last time were the next hills that followed. I was starting to feel tired, but my lungs felt strong and my legs felt bouncy. I'm not exactly sure what was feeling tired, but something was. The temp was rising and this portion of the course had more ups and downs than the first 7 miles. It could have been my own doing. I had no idea what my pace was, but I am pretty sure I had sped up. By mile 11, I was confident I would break the 2 hour mark so I made the decision to slow down a little when I reached the final stretch. I wanted to enjoy running between the airplanes rather than gasping for air.

Miles 12-13
Flat. Almost there.

The last .1 and the Finish
I did enjoy the jaunt through the planes. :-) As I was crossing the finish, the clock showed 1 hour 59 minute and some change. The announcer was cheering everyone on to push to break the 2 hour mark. A 2 star Air Force General put my medal around my neck. As I was walking through the finish area, there was a woman with a very serious expression who was trying to keep us moving forward. I said to her that I was trying as I made a running movement with my arms and gave her a cheesy grin. "This is about as fast as I can go!" She lit up with a huge smile and told me how great it was to see someone smiling.  This year the end was even better than last time.

I grabbed something to eat and drink and then sat for a few. As I headed out of the race area, I looked down at my medal. The Air Force provides really nice bling. I thought about how I would take that medal home and throw it in a drawer never to see daylight again. That didn't sound like the best use for this beauty. As I walked, I asked for help in finding a good home for my prize. A few steps later, I saw a young boy who looked like he could use a smile. I got the go ahead from the adults accompanying him and placed it around his neck. I know it made my day even better. I hope it did the same for him.

Final Time: 1:57:14

Looking back, I bettered my course time by over a minute even with an extra quarter mile. Based on pace, I would have run around 1:55 without the bonus mileage. It was a beautiful day. Running felt good again. The best part about this race was the entire experience.

Summertime and the Living is Easy?

After the Ice Age, it was time to warm up a little in Destin, Florida! Mom, Mona (Major Mary's mom), Jen, Mary, and I had made plans to meet in Destin at the end of May for a relaxing 4 day weekend of fun in the sun. The weather was perfect. The beach was beautiful. The food was yummy. We all had an awesome weekend!

Mona, Mom, Jen, Mary

Mom, Me, Jen, Mona

Mom in the Gulf

We didn't make this, but I still took
a pic of it. Love the white sands of
Destin

Mona, Jen, and Mary preparing a shrimp feast

Lunch with Mary's grandpa.

After a great weekend in Florida, I jumped on the plane to New Jersey for work. I did manage to visit the boardwalk on the Jersey shore which meant seeing two beaches in one week! Nice!

Upon my return it was time for me to start to my final core course in my PhD program: Linear Signals and Systems. At West Point, everyone referred to this class as "red death" because the book for the course was red.. and well, it wasn't an easy course. I had planned for this summer to be less about running and more about taking a break and focusing on math until the end of my class. That meant spending some time brushing up on calculus which I had not touched in over 15 years. Ouch.

In the meantime, I had also signed up for the West Milton Tri (canoe, run, bike) with the encouragement of Vickie who needed a teammate. With very high temps and very low water level, it was one very tough day.

Before the start of a very long and difficult 3.5 mile canoe trip,
90+ degree 5 mile run in the sun, and a nice 17 mile bike ride.

Two days later, I found myself running a 1 mile run at the Dash for Cash. My friend Jen ran as well, and it was her very first time ever running a complete mile in a race! She did great! I also won $5 at the race, and it didn't cost me anything to sign up. That meant it was the first time I had ever made money on a race. :-)

The amount of energy it took me to run that 1 mile, and the amount of energy all my runs have been taking finally prompted me to call my trail running doc. Since Peru, running has been extremely tiring. I have also lost 7 or so pounds despite increasing the amount of food at meal time and decreasing my running. While some might think this to be the ideal situation, it isn't so ideal when it isn't the norm and is accompanied by fatigue. There have also been other things that aren't exactly quite right, but I'll spare you on the details.

Trail running doc did a complete blood (CBC) workup on me, and the results showed anemia.  Apparently my level should be above 12, and it registered as 8.5.  He said it was no wonder I had been feeling so tired during my runs. Now, I've never been anemic in my life, and I didn't have this issue until Peru. So with the weight loss and anemia, my guess is that I brought back a few friends with me from South America. 

So begins the search to figure out what exactly is causing the anemia and to replenish my iron levels and red blood cell count (which can take up to 3 months).  In the meantime, I have ordered a home blood test meter that tests hemoglobin levels. Not sure how accurate it will be, but I'm always up for a good experiment. I'm really a scientist at heart. :-) By the end of August, I should be a mathematician. Hopefully in a few more months, I'll be back to being a runner again as well.  Of all that I choose to be, my complete joy comes from knowing Jesus. 

Onward to my favorite month of the year... July!

Then he said to him, "Follow me!"

John 21 ...     Lead the way!

When I found out I would be traveling for work to Fort Benning, Georgia, for two weeks in February, I felt like it was most certainly a gift. Firstly, Ohio is COLD in February. Secondly, I was excited about the work we would be doing. It was a multiday experiment, and I love experiments.  It also helped a great deal that I have great coworkers. It also didn't hurt that I was staying in an awesome hotel near the 15 mile Chattahoochee Riverwalk.  The weekend I would be in the South also happened to be the same weekend I needed a long run. After a quick search, I found the 26.2 with Donna Race to Finish Breast Cancer and signed up. 2.5 miles of the event were actually on the beach! Does it get any better?  Yup. I dropped an email to college bud, Major Mary, who happened to be stationed in Georgia and told her about my plan to spend the weekend in Jacksonville, Florida. She had a free weekend and met me in Jacksonville. I had enough frequent traveler points that I wound up paying very little for a nice place close to the beach. Bonus! A gift? Oh yeah.

I picked the run because the timing and location were right. When I signed up, it didn't really dawn on me that there was a lot more to the event.  On the bus to the start, I spoke with a woman who was a cancer survivor. She told me her husband was a retired Navy pastor, and it was her third time doing the event. She was running the half with her son. The first few miles of the race I was surprised that my thoughts were of my granny who passed away from cancer when I was 10. Running and crying aren't so easy to do since it makes it hard to breathe so I choked back some tears. One of my favorite parts of the course was running 2.5 miles along the beach. It wasn't long before I was grinning from ear to ear.

Seeing the survivors was inspiring. Seeing all the people who care about others who have lost the battle and those who are enduring the cancer struggle really made me think about how wonderful people can be. Many of the runners had the names of others on the backs of their shirts. Mary joined me at mile 20 for the last 10K of the run so we both managed to get in a great training day.

It was a beautiful course, and the entire thing was really a gift. I didn't know that I would get to run this, and I am thankful. God had a better plan than I.

Thawed at the Frostbite 5 Continued

This past Sunday at 1:45 I was prepping for a four mile walk through a Centerville neighborhood. I was sitting on a bench stretching when a man walking by paused and addressed me. “You’re going to need to replace a lot of fluids,” he warned, “not just beforehand, but throughout the race.” The concerned man proceeded to describe his experiences with another bird like me: a severely dehydrated, overheated dancing turkey. I didn’t exactly heed his warning. I should have.

Now, not even a mile into the course,  I stood before the course marshall as he questioned me  “Chicken, you’re not going as fast as you usually do. Are you okay?” I didn’t think I could make it. I felt beyond miserable. I so wanted to make it. That was the plan. That was success. Quitting now would be failure and I hadn’t worked so hard for weeks to get to this point and fail.

I also hadn’t worked so hard to get to this point, pass out, and be carted off to the hospital. I turned and left the course. The surprising warmth of that day was just making it too dangerous for this chicken.

So, I stumbled along the west side of the high school toward the finish line. I meandered like a drunken rooster towards the part of the parking lot where I left my car. Inside I had stowed an emergency cooling pack and an extra bottled water. Only problem was the heat truly was affecting me. I can’t tell you how long I roamed about before I found my car (it was pathetically long). I was at the point of hitting the car alarm button on my key chain when I finally spotted it in the distance. Clearly the weather was not jiving with me. I flung myself into the car, promptly guzzled water, deposited my Yoda backpack, and grabbed the cooling pack. I then plodded to the finish line and decided to perch on the concrete base of a light pole. I slumped back against the pole, activated and smacked the cooling pack against my neck and wrists, all the while gulping water feverishly.

I reflected on the past fifteen minutes. Yes I had planned to complete a four mile course and had failed to do so, but maybe there was still success to be had. I could have just jumped into my car and gone home to roost but that wouldn’t have been any fun. Here at the finish line I could be a part of the success of so many different people; I didn’t have my own success but I would help to celebrate theirs!

That is how I passed the afternoon, cheering on those runners who did complete the course. I felt better about my decision after one of the faster runners went out of his way to seek me out for a post-race high five and after a mother and child walked past and the boy smiled at me, not knowing or caring whether I had finished, just because he was glad to see me. :)

This over-baked chicken didn’t crawl into the nest at the end of that day with sore leg muscles, but since I clapped so hard for so long I ended up with sore arm muscles. In the end, I bore witness to so many different kinds of inspiring finishes that I’ll have plenty of motivating memories to drive me to be better prepared for the conditions of my next event.

Follow Dayton’s Charity Chicken on Twitter @CharityChicken

Guest Blog: Thawed at the Frostbite 5

Cluck! Hi, I’m Dayton’s Charity Chicken, and I’m acting as a guest blogger on Enjoy the Journey. I’m a walker: strictly short distances. Hey, I’m a chicken. Chickens aren’t exacly known for embarking on long distance journeys. Crossing roads? Pecking the ground? Sure. Ultramarathons? Migrating to the equator? Not so much.

I normally walk for health charities, but this past Sunday I was going to walk strictly for my own health, and for fun, at the Ohio River Road Runners’ Club’s Frostbite 5 at Centerville H.S. It’s your choice of a 5 mile run or 4 mile walk. I’ve completed the 4 mile walk twice before and that was my goal this year: complete the four mile course. Nothing fancy, but a big step after struggling through back and lower leg difficulties at the Jingle Bell 5k for Arthritis in December. I trained seriously for the Frostbite since it is my longest event. As the day approached, my confidence was high.

The Frostbite is always on Super Bowl Sunday. Aptly named, it’s always frigidly cold, well below freezing. But not this year. Sunday it was a balmy 44 degrees Farenheit. The sky was perfectly clear and the sun was strong.

I joined the throng of racegoers entering the high school’s gym and proceeded to engage in my typical pre-race routine of registering, posing for some photos, waving at lots of people who call out to me, drinking lots of fluids, holding up my sign so people could read it easily, stretching, socializing, and accepting compliments for my accessories (this time it was my stylish Yoda backpack that caught everyone’s attention). I tried to hang out in the gym for a while, since I do enjoy hanging with my peeps, but it was getting too hot for me.

I had been worried about the warm temperature before I arrived, but I was feeling okay when I was lining up at the starting line. There was a cool breeze.

There were a number of dogs also lining up at the starting line, but one particular one stood out. I heard this doberman pinscher vocalizing to my left. It wasn’t barking, it was whining, moaning, and declaring “Ahr ahr AHRRRRR!” I should have heeded that doggy’s words of warning!

The gun fired, the runners burst forth, and I started clucking along okay, but by the time of the first big left turn something wasn’t right. As I continued up the east side of the high school I was hyperventilating, wheezing something awful, and fighting to push ahead. I was getting passed by all the other walkers. I fell to last place. I was struggling to keep up and was failing miserably as the last of the walkers pulled further and further away. I was circling around the front of the school and the gaping hole between me and the walkers ahead had grown considerably. The hole was big enough for me to know I would end up on the course with no one in sight and only a vague idea of how to get to the finish line.

As I was about to leave the high school grounds, the very nice course marshall at the high school’s entrance was starting to move the cones from the start of race position to the end of race position (the course is a big loop through residential streets that returns everyone to the high school). He looked up as I approached and said “Chicken, you’re not going as fast as you usually do. Are you okay?” I slowed down to a stop and said “I don’t think I’m used to this heat and I don’t think I can make it.”

To be continued …

Will the chicken dance its way to glory, collapse in feathery despair, or be abducted by a horde of chicken wing loving Super Bowl fans? Come back tomorrow for the dramatic conclusion!

Wet Monkey: Flying Monkey Marathon

As RD Monkey Trent says, "I ran it the year it rained." This was my first time running the Harpeth Hills Flying Monkey Marathon. I had heard great things about it. I had heard terrible things about it. Bad news first: 7200 feet of total elevation change. 3600 feet up. 3600 feet down. The good news was everything else about the race.

Me, Kristen, Troy

As I drove into Nashville, one of the first things I noticed other than the "Bat" building was that it was hot.  It had been 50 degrees all week in Ohio, and Nashville was closer to 70. Ouch. Shortly after walking into packet pickup, I bumped into Kristen and Mike. I had met these super speedy and super nice folks before the Pittsburgh Marathon at an awesome pasta dinner they hosted. What a great start to the weekend! After chatting for a bit, I picked up my bib, said howdy to Trent and John, and met Elly (the monkey shooter). One thing about this race that I was really looking forward to was seeing a bunch of familiar faces.

The pasta dinner was more awesomeness. I saw Troy as soon as I walked in. The last time I had seen Troy was when we had run Mountain Mist in January 2010. Troy and I had worked together for a couple of years when I lived in Tennessee, and I was happy to hear he had signed up for the Monkey as well. I had dinner with Troy, Mike, and Kristen. I chatted with Robert whom I had met at the Brew to Brew 44 miler earlier in the year. He had run the Dizzy 50s that day and was a looking a little tired. This would later be dubbed as The Dizzy Monkey. I also met lots of other folks including Jill, Anne, Drew, Russ, Candice, and Ben and chatted with John (one of the best ultrarunners I know).

The forcast for the next day included rain. A lot of rain. Honestly, I was happy. I wasn't looking forward to running a muggy 70 degree marathon. I had forgotten how humid it gets in Tennessee. Before the start of the race, I bumped into Karl. I worked with Karl at both Square D and Gibson, and last time I had seen him was Mountain Mist. Turns out he was running The Dizzy Monkey. He started out running with Rick whom I had met at Mountain Mist as well. It was a lot like old home week.

The first part of the race was uphill. Go figure. At the top of the first hill, a sign said "300 Feet.3300 to Go". My lungs were not happy with the humidity but luckily Monsoon Monkey began shortly after that hill. My goal for this race was to finish. I had recently come off of a foot injury that put a snag in my training. Trent said you cannot train for Monkey anyway. I just wanted to take the hills as they came and enjoy the park. The park, by the way, was absolutely lovely. There were nice winding roads, plenty of trees, and plenty of hills. There were aid stations every couple of miles with brave volunteers who stood out in the rain, handed out water and gatorade, and encouraged the runners. Trent had taunting encouraging signs along the course and every once in a while you would get a glimpse of a wet monkey. At one point on the course, there was a sign that indicated you could go either direction around a loop. Since everyone was going right, I headed left. As one runner passed by me going the other direction, he smiled and said, "There's always got to be one." I grinned back and resounded a proud "Yep!"

Kristen and her Monkey
Prize

The rain was falling at a pretty good clip for the majority of the race. I was thankful.  During one section of the second half of the run, I was running on blacktop with a mirror water overlay. Leaves were sprinkled all along the path. It was easy to imagine I was actually running down a dark, leaf-speckled stream in the middle of a forest.

Me, John, and Mike
John ran a 3 hour Monkey! Amazing!

The finish was a mudfest. The day of rain had turned the finish and field area into muddy mess.  That didn't stop everyone from hanging out and partaking in all of the yummy foods at the end or the free Yazoo beer.  The Flying Monkey is a top notch event, and I had an absolutely wonderful weekend.

Think Monkey. :-)