The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly

The pictures on this post are for Ken. He gave me the idea, in our half-crazed, sleep-deprived state as we drove back home from Lone Pine. The title of this post is appropriate, given the fact that so many Western movies were filmed in the Alabama Hills near Lone Pine.

Over the next few weeks and months I'm going to update and add to this post, compiling a list of thoughts on what worked, what I'd change, and what I've learned from my first race at Badwater. I want it to become a reference for anyone thinking about doing Badwater who wants some ideas or advice. Steph and I are going to have "debriefing session" after we get feedback from all the crew members about how things could be improved. I also want to add some thoughts on what I learned during the race, including what I learned about myself.

I'm too tired right now to put anything meaningful on that topic in this post, so check back if you're interested.

At this point, six days after finishing, my feet have been improving. My feet and ankles are now normal size, but the itching under the blisters as the skin dries and separates is driving me crazy! I am not sore, I never did have any muscle soreness except for behind my left knee, my uper left calf and my left hamstring, which all suffered from the way I had to alter my gait due to the pain from the blisters.

Future race plans? I'm not sure. Yesterday I started thinking I want to do Across the Years again. I feel like I ran so much within myself at Badwater, since I wasn't able to run the second day as I'd planned, I have a lot left over.

Yes, I do need to recover from Badwater, but when I race, I want to blow out all the carbon, both mentally and physically. Mentally I know I did that, withstanding the pain of the last 51 miles. But physically, it leaves me feeling like I want more.

I want a chance to get rid of all that excess energy from the training so I can feel I used up all the physical effort I can possibly use. I'm going to see how I feel by September, and over the next week, I'll contemplate sending my entry in for the 48 hour race at Across the Years.

Check back here periodically and I'll add to this post as I process everything.

Ideas for what I could do differently
1. start out in Drymax socks- they might have kept my feet drier early in therace as opposed to Balga socks which I started in.
2. When it was humid that morning I probably was dripping water into my shoes, I should have either wrapped a towel around my waist, or changed shoes and socks as soon as I even suspected I was getting wet feet. I think this is what set me up for blisters later in the race.
3. I paced myself too slowly the first day. Planning to walk all the first day is a good strategy, but I could have done more running than I did.
4. Running the second day, which was my original plan. Since my feet will be better next time, I will be able to do this!
5. Mental preparation for the final stretch up the Portal Road. I'll make at least one trip out there before my next Badwater and run up the Portal Road. I did have a fast split relative to the other runnersgoing up there, I am a strong walker. I think there are parts of the road I could have been more prepared for which would improve my pace even more.

I'll add more as time goes on...