20in24: The Aftermath

It's been a few days since the race and, minus a few blisters, I'm faring pretty well.  My body tends to recover pretty quickly, but I attribute my condition primarily to what I did during the first 24 hours after the race.

Immediately after getting to the hotel I took a hot shower, stretched, and iced my shins and feet.  My feet were throbbing so badly I couldn't sleep, so I took some Advil and used a pillow to elevate them.  I also slept in compression sleeves to help the circulation in my calves.

When I got up Sunday morning I went for a walk, ate a huge breakfast, then got a massage.  The walk wasn't exactly fun, but it helped me loosen up.  Getting a massage the day of or day after a race is a habit I started after running Marine Corps Marathon for the first time - it prevents a lot of soreness down the road.

I was (and still am) on a steady diet of Advil and water.  I'm probably drinking more water in one day than most people drink in a week.

During the last lap of the race I had some serious doubts about whether or not I would ever run it again.  Now that I've had some time to think about it, I know I would do it again in a heartbeat.  Everyone I met was super-friendly, the race was well-run*, and the course flat and fast.  I think it's the perfect first race for anyone considering running an ultra.

*pun not intended

20in24: Laps 4-6

As I started lap 4, the sun started to come out.  Unfortunately, as the sun came out, the temperature started to climb.  Since I could finally take my iPhone out without worrying about it getting drenched, I decided to take some photos of the course on this lap.  This was a great way to entertain myself as I didn't think to bring music with me and the course had started to thin out to the point where I wouldn't see volunteers or other runners for 10-15 minute blocks.

During the first mile of each lap we ran by the Philadelphia Art Museum, which was pretty, but crawling with tourists - it was like an obstacle course running by there!

From there, we would run up one bank of the Schuylkill river.

Cross over a bridge.

Then run back up the opposite bank of the Schuylkill.

As we got closer to the end of the lap, there were some great views of the Philadelphia skyline.

Halfway through lap 4 I realized my armpit was chafing pretty badly.  I stopped at the medic tent on the course for some Vaseline.  I thought they would let me put it on myself, but instead I ended up having a complete stranger lube up my armpit and side-boob.  So awkward.  As I got toward the end of the lap I started to chafe again and realized the gauze and tape I had on my arm was to blame.  My legs were still feeling pretty good, so I decided to make a quick stop at the finish line medic tent to have them remove the gauze and re-lube me, and set off on mile 5.  The medic who lubed me up was nice enough to give me a "go pack" of Vaseline... in a rubber glove.  Of Mice and Men immediately came to mind.

Lap 5 is when things started getting weird.  I knew at some point I would get in to a funky zone where time seemed to pass a lot more slowly and I didn't seem to be making much forward progress.  I hit that point around mile 3 of lap 5, which, compounded with the fact that the sun was setting, made it feel like  I'd lost all sense of time.  I probably had.  I forged on, run/walking, until I felt an unfamiliar and uncomfortable tightness stretching from my left hip to knee.  I'd never had IT band issues before, but I knew right away that was what was bothering me.  I sucked it up and tried to push through the end of the lap before the sun set completely.  I got a good photo of sunset over the river before I finished.

The second I finished lap 5, I beelined to the massage area.  I knew I needed to have someone work on my IT band if I planned on finishing the race.  What I didn't plan on was two people working on my legs.  Amazing.

After my massage, I headed over to the medic tent to get a blister taken care of.  By this point I was on familiar terms with quite a few of the people working there.  You would be too if it was your fourth time visiting the medics.  Once all the sources of pain were addressed I ate something, threw on some reflective gear, grabbed my dad to pace me, took a quick photo, and set out on my last lap.

I should probably mention that lap 6 is where I hit my point of being "over it."  I was tired, dehydrated, sore, overheated, and had multiple blisters starting to form on my feet.  My poor dad thought he'd be running a bit more than we did, and I'm sure he thought I'd be in a better mood.  A couple of miles in to the lap, the tightness in my IT band came back with a vengeance.  This time my right leg tightened up as well.  The pain was so bad I couldn't make conversation - all I could do was make random noises to let my dad know I was still listening to him.  The lights for the medic tent seemed like a mirage when I finally saw them.  I'm pretty sure I thanked the medic who stretched me out no less than 16 times, which is impressive because I was there less than 10 minutes.  The relief only lasted about a mile and a half, but at that point I was taking whatever I could get.  We passed another Lone Ranger and his pacer, who was in the middle of commenting on how wonderful of a night it was to be out walking when he told her to "shut up."  I couldn't help but to burst out laughing.  This guy clearly felt the same way I did.

I hobbled along the rest of the loop until I saw the lights indicating that we were about a half mile from the finish line.  At that point I told my dad we were running.  I think he was a little worried about me breaking myself, but all I could think about was finishing the race.  I was desperate to stretch, take a hot shower, and go to bed.  As I crossed the finish line, all I could feel was relief.  I went straight from the finish line to the award tent, grabbed my award, and collapsed on a cot in the medic tent.  Surprise!  My friend who stretched me out at the other medic tent was there.  As it turns out, he was one of two attending physicians on the course and had come over to the main medic tent to cover for the other physician while he took a nap.  He stretched me out again (while making fun of me for knowing which faces I make when I am being stretched to my limits), congratulated me, and sent me on my way.

Before I packed things up and left, I got a photo in front of the 20in24 sign.

Want a close-up of what was in my hands?

That's right.  50 MILES.

20in24: Laps 1-3

Miss me getting the Philly and setting up before the race?  Click here to catch up.

When the race started at 10am it was overcast and lightly raining.  The rain brought the temperature down to the high 70s, which was cooler than anyone could have asked for a July race.  I decided not to listen to music for the first lap of the race because the course is a narrow, paved trail.  I was thankful I'd made that choice when it started to pour around mile 3.  After about 15 minutes of heavy downpour, the rain lightened to a drizzle.

Note: 50 miles over a 12 hour span (including breaks) is impossible to recall on a mile-by-mile or hour-by-hour basis, so I've broken down my recollections of the race by 8.46 mile laps.

I don't remember much about the first lap other than the rain, the energy of the volunteers, and things going by way too quickly.  I finished the lap in 1:24:29 - about a 10:00/mile pace.  As I crossed the start line again I was energized and ready to keep going.

A few minutes in to the second lap, a gentleman around my dad's age, John, started running with me.  As we were talking I realized that John is a running rockstar.  He's completed 31 marathons, several ultras, and this was his third 20in24.  I was enjoying my conversation with him so much that I forgot to check my pace until halfway through the lap.  I realized I was running way too fast (I planned on running 11:00 miles and was running an 8:45/mile pace with John) and let John go on without me.

Once I slowed down, I realized my shoes felt a bit heavy.  In fact, everything felt a bit heavy.  My dad took a photo of me as I finished lap 2.  Looking at it, it's blatantly obvious why everything felt heavy - I was drenched.

I may have looked like a drowned rat but I felt great, so I decided to hand my dad my fuel belt, grab a bottle of Gatorade, and head out for lap 3.

Lap 3 was probably my favorite lap.  I met a nice lady (whose name I don't recall) who ran/walked the first 2/3 of the lap with me.  We talked about anything and everything and she was truly fabulous company.  I think my favorite part of the conversation was when she asked me if I had a boyfriend.  When I said no, her response was "well let's find you one today."  Please consider that response after looking at the photo above.  Ha ha, yeah right.  My new friend hit a point where she needed to take a walk break, so I continued on my own.

About a half mile later I decided I needed a walk break and slowed down.  I'd only been walking a minute or two when a guy passed me, looked at my race bib, told me it was too early for me to be walking, and started running backwards.  He said he was going to run backwards until I started running again - I let him continue for a minute or two before I started to worry about him getting hit by a biker.  As it turns out, the guy, Chris, is an Ironman triathlete who gets up at 3am on weekdays to train... and he thinks I'm crazy for running an ultramarathon.  Pot calling the kettle black much?  He kept me going at a 9:00/mile pace until we could see the finish line.  I told him I was going to take a break after that lap, so he pushed me to sprint to the finish with him.  As he wasn't participating in the race, he kept going toward home as I headed to the timing table to let them know I was taking a break.

A wonderful thing about 20in24 is the resources they have available to runners throughout the race.  There were masseuses on-site from 11:00am-midnight.  After I peeled off my soaked running shoes (my feet looked like I'd fallen asleep in a bathtub - I probably should have switched my shoes after lap 2!) I headed over to the massage area.  I only had to wait about 15 minutes before getting my massage, which was heavenly.  I felt like an entirely different person afterward.

After my massage I choked down some "real" food and changed my shoes, socks, and shirt.  After a quick stop at the medic tent to get my chafed arm taped up it was time to get back out there and start lap 4...

20in24: Packet Pickup and Setting Up

20in24 was an intense experience.  Amazing, but intense.  Because there's so much to cover, I'm going to split up my recaps over three (maybe four) posts.  This first post won't be as interesting to most people as the rest, but it contains a lot of information that's useful to people considering running the race in the future.

Friday


Friday afternoon I hopped on a train to Philly and got there with plenty of time to check in to the hotel, wander around the city, and grab a snack before I headed to Lloyd Hall for packet pick-up.  I had no idea what to expect.  I knew that, as a Lone Ranger, I would need to get my vitals taken, but I didn't know if there would be a lot of people there, if I would have a long wait, or if I would have a lot of paperwork to fill out.

I had no reason to be apprehensive about packet pick-up.  I was in and out of there in less than 30 minutes.  The packet pick-up tables were clearly labeled and I was able to walk right up and grab my gear.  After that, I filled out a quick form which asked for emergency contact information and basic medical history, then weighed in and got my temperature, blood pressure, and pulse taken.  While the area where medics were taking vitals looked a bit crowded, I got through there very quickly and got a chance to chat with some volunteers and fellow Lone Rangers while I was hanging out.

You can't tell from the photo above, but there were as many volunteers (in light blue shirts) and medics (in dark blue shirts) as runners!

After finishing up at Lloyd Hall I headed back to the hotel to clean up before having my last "real" meal for a while.  My stepmother and I had dinner at D'Angelo's, an amazing Italian restaurant a block from Rittenhouse Square.  Our server was a marathon runner; once he heard what I was doing he asked me about my race strategy.  I felt like an idiot telling him I didn't have a plan other than "run the first two laps, then listen to my body," but it was the truth.

Saturday


20in24 doesn't start until 10am, but I'd learned through various blogs that I should get to Lloyd Hall early to stake out a spot.  With that in mind, I got up at 7am (still sleeping in by my race day standards), grabbed a quick breakfast, and got going.  We got to Lloyd Hall around 8am and got lucky finding a really close parking spot on the street.  Street parking in that area is really tough, so 20in24 sets up a "loading zone" for Lone Rangers and relay teams to drop their stuff off.  After that, you're on your own regarding parking.  Our luck continued and we found a great spot to camp out right near the start/finish line.

That's about where our luck ended.  It started raining.

I'm not averse to running in the rain; however, my family is not big on camping and we don't own any tents, tarps, or other gear designed to keep people and their stuff dry in inclement weather.  I'd borrowed a tent from my friend Matt, but it was a backpacking tent meant for one person to sleep in.  While that would keep my gear dry, it wouldn't keep me and my family out of the rain.  There was a Dick's Sporting Goods about 20 minutes away, so my stepmother bought a 10'x10' canopy and a tarp.  If you are going to run this race, rain or shine, buy a canopy.  It will keep you, your gear, and your crew dry when it's raining and shaded when it's sunny.  I'd also recommend bringing some camp chairs (which can double as racks to air out stinky running gear when no one is sitting in them) and a sleeping bag.  I didn't end up using my sleeping bag, but had the conditions been different I would have used it to at least take a nap.

Making use of a camp chair to change my shoes.  Our canopy is behind me.

While my stepmom was handling how to keep my gear dry, I headed off to a pre-race info meeting.  Anne Mahlum, the Founder and CEO of Back on My Feet, welcomed us and ran us through everything we would need to know.

Once she was done, Stroehmann, the title sponsor of 20in24, presented a check for $75,000 to BoMF.  It was a great reminder of why we were all there and got things started on a positive note.

After the meeting wrapped up, we headed to the start line...

An Ironman Triathlete Runs Up to an Ultramarathoner...

... And says "I think you're nuts."

Me too, dude.

Packing It Up

Tomorrow at 1pm I'm hopping on a train and heading up to Philadelphia for 20in24.

I'm excited, but trying not to think about the race too much - I don't want to psych myself out.  I'm going to do what I can, rest when I need to, and hopefully meet my mileage goals.

The one thing I need to focus on, but can't seem to, is packing.

This is what packing for a 24-hour race in July heat looks like.  Food, reflective gear, and a LOT of extra shirts and socks.

Somewhere in that pile I have:

• six shirts and pair of socks
• two pairs of shorts
• two sports bras
• four sets of Zensah sleeves
• arm sleeves and a sweatshirt for nighttime (given how tired and dehydrated I'll be, getting cold is a very real possibility)
• reflective gear
• sunscreen
• a pack towel
• an armband for my iPhone
• a hydration belt
• Crocs and Nike Frees for down time
• two pairs of running shoes
• sunglasses
• sunscreen
• Body Glide
• face wipes
• deoderant
• 5-hour energy
• tons of snacks

There are other items in there too... I'm a little scared to fish through the pile and find out what they are.  I keep throwing stuff on and, to be honest, as long as I can fit it all in a bag I'm not going to edit.

I'm not going to bring my laptop up to Philly, but I'll try to post updates from my phone.  At the very least, I'll tweet updates on how many laps I've completed from @thismisskris.

Hopefully things go well!

On Eating During an Ultra

The hotel reservation, train ticket, and post-race massage are booked and my training is wrapping up.  20in24 is in one week and I'm left with a few major decisions to make - what to pack and what to eat during the race.

I've consulted with my trainer and a sports nutritionist and scoured the internet for what is appropriate to eat during an ultra.  I know what nutrients I need during the race, but how I ingest them is up to me.  This is going to be a challenge because I've never been big on eating during races - for the most part I stick to GUs, Cliff Blocks, and Sport Beans.  There's no way I will be happy eating those for 24 hours and, from what I've heard, as time elapses and you get more dehydrated, GUs get really hard to swallow.  Literally.

The good news: most lists of common foods consumed at ultras include cake.  I LOVE CAKE.

The bad news: most people say that after a few laps most breads, cakes, etc are too dry to swallow.

Well, there go my delusions of eating cake all day...

I've started compiling a more realistic list of foods to eat during the race and thought I'd share it here.  If you have any suggestions, please PLEASE share them with me.

• GU/sport beans/Cliff Blocks to eat during laps
• Cliff Bars
• Potato chips
• Nutella
• Cake
• Pop Tarts
• Dried fruit mix
• Watermelon
• Green grapes
• Blueberries
• Sliced tomato
• Bananas
• Baby carrots
• Red bell pepper
• Sliced beets
• Cous cous
• Quinoa
• Shredded turkey
• Tuna pasta salad
• Hot dog/burger (only once and before taking an hour or two break so I can properly digest it)

Throughout the race I will be drinking a lot of water and Gatorade, as well as some 5-hour energy.  Those of you concerned because caffeine is a diuretic can relax; I'm well aware of this and have run while drinking 5-hour before.  I know how much water/Gatorade I need to consume to ensure I'm still well-hydrated.

I haven't thought much about what I'll eat after the race... but I'll have 24 hours of running to figure it out.

Two Points for Honesty*

*Ten points if you get the reference.

As y'all know, I've been injured and haven't been able to train as much as I would like/need for 20in24.  While I am running again, I am not in the shape I was a month ago.  To attempt a 50 mile run in this condition would be lunacy.  While attempting 50 miles in general is arguably insane, to do so in my current condition carries a significantly higher risk of injury.  After quite a bit of reflection, it is with a heavy heart that I admit that I will have to alter my original goal to 4 laps instead of 6, covering 33.6 miles instead of 50.4

You didn't think I was going to bag the race entirely, did you?

I'm confident in am ability to cover this distance, as I've come close do doing so (28 miles) in 24 hours doing American Odyssey.  If I still feel good after meeting my mileage goal, I'll keep going.  If I'm feeling really good, who knows what will happen?  Maybe I'll cover 50 miles after all.  The important thing is that I've revised my goal to something reasonably attainable and am allowing myself the flexibility to take a break or pull out of the race altogether without feeling like a failure if my shins start acting up or my legs lack the strength to continue.

As for my personal goal to do a 50-mile race, there's always 2013.

On Choosing to Run an Ultra

I signed up for an ultra on impulse.

Yes, you read that correctly.

In 2009 I was staring at the Marine Corps Marathon website, got the urge to sign up for it, and went with it.  I was in no way ready to run a marathon when I signed up, but I trained for it and finished in one piece.  Seeing as that turned out ok, when I was staring at the 24in24 website and got the urge to sign up for it, I went for it.

20in24 is an interesting race.  Instead of having a set distance runners must cover to finish, the course is an 8.4 mile loop and there are multiple races that take place on the course throughout a 24 hour period.  "Lone ranger" runners have the full 24 hour period to run as many laps as possible.  5-person relay teams also cover as many laps as possible during the 24 hour period.  If hanging around a race course for 24 hours sounds unappealing, there are also two one-loop races - a "midnight madness" run at midnight and a "pajama loop" at 6am.

I am officially a "lone ranger."  Sounds cool, doesn't it?  I think it'll be nice to have fresh runners on the course at midnight and 6am - hopefully their energy and enthusiasm will rub off on me when I'm cranky, sore, and tired.

20in24 is a fundraiser for Back on My Feet, a nonprofit which uses running to teach the homeless population independence and self-sufficiency.  That was a horrible paraphrase of what is on the BoMF website, which I'll paste below:

Founded by Anne Mahlum in 2007, Back on My Feet (BoMF) is a national nonprofit organization that is dedicated to creating independence and self-sufficiency within the homeless and other underserved populations by first engaging them in running as a means to build confidence, strength and self-esteem. The organization does not provide food nor shelter, but instead provides a community that embraces equality, respect, discipline, teamwork and leadership. Back on My Feet’s approach focuses on the very profound and innate desire for all of us – regardless of age, race, socio-economic status – to feel recognized, appreciated, valued and important. Through dedication and hard work, Members earn the opportunity to create a new road for themselves by advancing to the “Next Steps” phase of the program where they gain access to educational, job training and employment opportunities, as well as financial aid. In short, BoMF focuses on changing the direction of people’s lives by changing the way they see themselves. 

I am on BoMF DC's email list-serv and am constantly impressed by the news I receive about BoMF members.  It's exciting to read about members who have completed half-marathons and marathons, found jobs, and moved in to their own apartments.  The drive and dedication these individuals exhibit in overcoming their circumstances is nothing short of amazing.  I am proud to support BoMF and am looking forward to getting more involved with the organization after completing 20in24.

While the decision to sign up for 20in24 was an impulse, I'm happy I went through with it.  My goal is 6 laps, which is 50.4 miles.  I'm looking forward to pushing myself physically and seeing what I'm capable of.  Even if I fall short on the mileage, I know it will be a great experience.