Work Hangover Wednesday: Time to Scramble

Another two crazy days at work. We're so busy, we don't even have enough chairs for all the patients. We're bursting at the seams.

It makes the long day go by fast, and there are plenty of interesting stories, sometimes sad. But the personalities and the attitudes of so many of the patients are what amaze me, their resilience and willingness to do what they need to do even when they feel like they are living in the pit of hell at the moment.

It always helps me appreciate that what's bugging me on any particular day is not so terrible. When you just got done working with a sick, sick patient all day and as they are leaving they want to give you a hug, that is really cool.

I have nothing to complain about, really. Then why do I feel like one big itch, I don't know how to describe it but maybe the ashes I've been breathing are affecting my brain.

Perhaps my general irritation and annoyance is just an extension of my hormonal state of the past week or so. I feel like everything and everybody is getting under my skin. It's nothing and no one in particular, and everything and everyone. My conclusion is that it must be me.

If I were a dog, I would snarl and bite. If I were a Buffalo, I would pout, put my nose to the floor between my paws, and pretend to be ignoring my people.

If I were President, I'd be

Baberaham Lincoln.

NOT!

I do need to get out of town. I probably need a real vacation, the kind where you don't go with a run as the main event. Imagine that. A week at the beach?

Unfortunately for many people around here, getting out of town is not really possible, or they are stuck. This High Park fire, while the growth rate slowed over the past 24 hours or so, could flare up again if the winds and temperatures pick up. It's 44,000 acres and only 5-10% contained. Lots of structures destroyed or damaged, lots of people evacuated or being prepared for it. Visibility is not good in town and it's been raining soot. Ashes everywhere, in the windowsills, doorways, and on every flat surface there's a gritty texture.

I'm also concerned about some friends who have not been evacuated but potentially are the next ones in the path of the fire, depending on which way it moves. It's hard to be away and not being in contact, or knowing what's going on.

And that is the situation for our buddy Dale, who was going to crew for us in the Black Hills, but he lives in an area near here that is vulnerable to fire, and two years ago he and his wife had to evacuate, and they have animals.

Dale has decided it's best for him to stick around given the fire danger and the threat of the High Park fire moving south toward him. It's unfortunate but understandable and we know Dale feels bad about having to back out, but he's doing the right thing because right now anything can happen, and it can happen fast.

Which leaves Ed and I with decisions to make. This is where our creativity will be put to the test. We have the Rocket and we have the weather on our side, it's been cool and even raining in South Dakota. Car drops, out & backs, and piecing the trail together might all be necessary. We'll have to be on our toes and use our brains.

So that's the challenge. We'll be on the phone this evening discussing the plan. I'll post updates to the blog as we go. I'm not sure what this will look like, but we'll make the best of it.

Cornbelt 24 Hour: Short Version

I've only had 3 hours of sleep since the post-race breakfast, and I will start driving home tomorrow, so I'll do a full race report once I get home. I hate to wait because blogging is time sensitive.

So the short version is, I went into the race to accomplish one thing: finally, after 22 years of running ultras, to run 100 miles in less than 24 hours. I've run lots of 24 hour races as training runs in the past, but usually as training runs, unless you count the 1994 Across the Years run, which was my first 24 hour, where I blew up from going too fast. I won it anyway, but only got 84 miles that year.

I also hoped to have some good competition and maybe do a little chicking and sharpei-ing along the way. That's the fun part, that comes only at the end, when you find out what the standings are going into the final few hours and honing in on your targets. It's what drives you to work your hardest, dig deep and run your best performance.

Well I succeeded on almost all counts: Ran 101.31 miles in humid, warm weather, got a 100 mile split of 23:47, and chicked almost all the field except for my friend Doug Nash from Fort Collins, who won the race overall, but I was the one who got sharpei-ed. Double sharpei-ed. Doug has 10 years on me, and Bonnie Busch from Iowa, the local star whom I know from Badwater, has 6 years on me. Doug finished first in 108+ miles, Bonnie finished 2nd in 104 miles, and I was 3rd.

I'll provide details later, but basically the race went pretty well for me except the stretch from 50 miles to 100 K. It took me 3 hours to cover those 12 miles, because I was bonking and couldn't get enough calories in- nothing looked good, and I had to eat small bites for a while until I got enough calories in to "re-boot". After that I moved really well.

I had a blast, and the race was one of the better organized and orchestrated races I've seen. No frills, but all of the runners' basic needs were met. It's definitely on my list for a repeat visit. I highly recommend it. As Wayne would say, "Excellent!"

I'm going to leave this here and work on a lengthier blogpost, because it was a fun-filled day. I'll post the full report sometime this coming week. Right now my priorities are sleep, food, and lowering myself onto chairs, toilets, and other low objects that require knee bending and quad work, using my triceps.

Iowa: Like Wayne's World, Only Different

Remember in Wayne's World when Wayne and Garth are fantasizing about becoming famous on TV, and they do this bit about being in Delaware?

"I'm in....Delaware."

That's how I felt today in Iowa. There is definitely too much of a good thing.

First thing out of Omaha, I crossed the Missouri River into Iowa.

I expected it to look like more of Nebraska.

More new and old windmills here, too.

I was wrong in my assumption. The state is more scenic than Nebraska, in my opinion, with more windmills, hills, farmland, trees, and old agricultural buildings. But after driving across Nebraska yesterday, 300 miles of Iowa was over the top. I'm ready to look at something else, anything else, even if it's the lanes of a track for 400 or more laps.

Never too far from home.

Fortunately I arrived in Eldridge, Iowa, site of the Cornbelt 24 Hour Run, at 1:30 this afternoon. The drive from Omaha was shorter than I anticipated, only 5 1/2 hours. Things are slow in Iowa. The speed limit is slower, people move slowly, and everything seems to go at a geared-down pace. That's okay with me, I can afford to slow down a bit.






The signs kept reminding me that I was definitely in the Midwest.

Assville?

There were a couple of billboards along the way that I wasn't able to photograph fast enough. One said, "Pork. Be inspired." Don't worry, I am soooo inspired.

But the winner? The "Really?" billboard of the day: A big ad by Monsanto, claiming 23 million jobs depend on farmers. With American Gothic-like couple on the billboard. Gag me with a genetically modified corncob. Shameless corporate scum of the earth.

Upon arriving in Eldridge, I turned off the highway and immediately saw the hotel that is hosting the race, and the town is so small that everything is within walking distance. Not if you're getting ready for a long race, though. But driving from the hotel to the track will take about 2 minutes. That's good- I need all the sleep I can get!

The pre-race meal is at a place called Lancers Grill. Hmm. I guess it's better than Lunkers (Okeechobee, Florida).

I parked at the local grocery store and did a tour- seems like they have just about everything I'd need, minus the variety. I think I'll make a trip to Walmart tomorrow in Davenport for my race supplies, just about 15 minutes away. I bought some ice to start cooling down all the drinks in my cooler. I drove around town, checked out the track, and the town is cute, Americana-like. Picket fences, green lawns, quiet.

There's also an eerie-ness to it, hair standing up on the back of my neck, like I kind of get the feeling that I shouldn't be asking if they have matzoh ball soup, hummus, or baba ganoush. I did infuse the Iowa air with electronic Persian music though, I listened to some Niyaz on the drive. It felt like Iowa needed it.

People were friendly at the grocery store and gas station, but they definitely look out the corner of their eye at you after you look away, seeing this stranger in their midst. Yeah, I know. A little ethnic-looking. I won't hurt you.

I took a walk for a mile or so on a bike path near the town park, called Dennis, and stretched my legs. It's warm and humid here. Just the way I like it. It feels like walking through the mist from a shower, like I'm in a cloud,and the sky looks hazy all the way down to the ground. The Mississippi River is east of here, just a few miles.

When I got to the hotel to check in, they were very friendly and asked me questions about running. The hotel is sold out for tomorrow night before the race. It's a pretty good-sized place for a town this size, but it's the only hotel in town.

Now I just need to relax and stretch out until tomorrow when the pre-race activities begin. Doug and Marji should be arriving in the afternoon tomorrow. I'll probably go to Davenport in the morning, maybe check some things out, stop at Walmart, and then come back to Eldridge.

Not a lot of exciting stuff, but it's what I need now.

Race day forecast: High 80, low 60, high humidity, isolated thunderstorms, chance of rain 30%. Whatever that means. I'm ready to rock n' roll!

When The Best Laid Plans Hatch...

...sometimes there are rotten eggs.

Since I've been on the topic of spring, and peeps, the best laid plans can hatch something unexpected. I was definitely WAAAAAY too ambitious in my running plans this week.

I thought it would be a good idea to do an 8 hour run today. I planned on taking it easy and including my break times in the 8 elapsed hours to see what my mileage was.

I woke up early, at 5 am, and decided to get going. I went to the lakes to start my run, driving by a fiery sunrise. It was cold near the water and I kept my warm clothes on for the first 3 hours. It always takes me forever to warm up, until it's 70 degrees.

I should have known better when I was sore through Wednesday and my legs were dead in Thursday's workout, and Friday's run was mediocre, that a long run Saturday was a bit premature. Well I figured that out the hard way this morning. I was moving well but it seemed like it was taking more effort with every loop to make my legs move. I thought maybe some food would help, so after the 5th loop I stopped and made a sandwich and ate it as I walked.

It didn't help. Two more loops and I was toast, again. This is the feeling I've had all week. I guess I needed more rest after the Walmart run. I didn't do a lot of miles, but my workouts have been pretty intense, with strides and fartlek and hills. So the total for this morning was 4 1/2 hours and 23 miles. Not what I wanted, but I haven't had too many bad workouts this spring.

I thought I might get 90 or more miles in this week. Sh-yah! And monkeys might fly out of my butt!



Right now I'm at 56 miles and tomorrow is my hill day. It's okay, and the lessons will be repeated until they are learned.

I came home, made an S-Cap smoothie, and hung out with the girls. And...Iris is obsessed with Peeps. I wonder where she got that from?