Day 3,932 —Today and the Shippey 100 Part 4: I am Not an Exaggerating—

 

Today,

I wanted to run fast today just to show to myself that I still could, and I got an okay fast mile in or just faster compared to what I have been doing, but then I started breathing hard, so I had to slow down some as I ran through the park in Webster.

I took a picture of this pile of snow and ice because I thought. I could make a joke about how the Shippey was basically like this pile of ice and snow.

The fourth Lap 60.9-81.2

Time of day 10:39 p.m.

I saw Chris finish in first place at 22 hours something. He was sitting in the aid station in a great mood, so I kind of figured, but I asked him and congratulated him. It is weird. It is not like other sports I have done. I really do want everyone to do great. I wish I had placed higher in the end, but you got to do your race and that’s what I did. And, I will talk about it more later, but I know a lot of the guys who beat me, and they deserved it. I have had some fantastic days, and I am too old to wonder why or blame myself when things don’t go my way.

It was this moment too when I decided to tell everyone that I was vegan. It is not like I am keeping it a secret, but when people first ask me if I want stuff like bacon. I just "no" or "no, thank you." Also, I had a full cooler of soup my wife made and plenty of snacks, so I was full, but at this moment, I was like “No, I don’t eat bacon.”

It is weird because sometimes I get one guy who will be like, “you don’t eat bacon?” And he says it like I told him that gravity doesn’t apply to me, or that I prefer to use my mouth to pick up trash on the ground.

This group didn’t have anything to say. They just seemed to maybe feel bad they had been offering me all these meat and cheese options, but I don’t want anyone to feel bad. I appreciate them being there and helping with water and genuinely providing me with encouragement every time I see them.

Everyone was looking for Joel when I got there, and it didn’t take him too long to be ready to run.

We started out mostly walking, and I didn’t realize how slow until I asked him what place I was in. He said I was in 7th out of 9th, which seemed crazy to me, so I had seen only two other 100-mile runners on the course, but that’s okay.

There were two guys about an hour ahead of me and the two behind me were a while behind me. One was an older guy moving pretty slow and there was one female runner in the race.

Joel did a great job as a pacer for the first couple of legs of the fourth lap. He asked me to retell him stories he already knew, and we talked about TV shows and different stuff going on with our kids. He has three between 1 and a half and 4, so he can always relate to the stuff I have been going through with my two.

I wasn’t sure how he was going to run 40 miles through the night on so little sleep, but it wasn’t that long ago when he did his last ultra.

I was telling him about some of the more dangerous sections, and he didn’t believe me until we got there. I kept telling him that I don’t exaggerate. I was like if I said it was this, then it was. I am not someone who tells everyone it was -20 degrees if it was actually zero degrees, which did come up when talking to Eric about the run last year. He told me that he had run in a -20 winter ultra, so last year’s -10 wasn’t so bad. I was like at the top of that hill in the clearing with the wind was at least -20 if not colder.

When we went back to the aid area, I ate a veggie burger that I would later regret. I was excited when I saw it was an option, and I got it with ketchup and mustard, it went down easily, and I found that I was still hungry. I shoved some cookies in my mouth as well as a bite of my vegan KitKat. I finished a lot of my soup, but it wasn’t warm anymore.

As I was sitting around eating my veggie burger another runner Jeremiah offered to let me use his Yaktraxs, so I, of course, said yes. He was done, and I wasn’t sure how I would get them back to him, but we were both going to be at the 200-mile race, so at the very latest, I would be able to give him the Yaktraxs then.

They were a little small for my clown-size feet, but eventually, I was able to get them on pretty sung, and it was nice that Joel was there because he helped put them back on 3 different times when one of them came off.

I was telling him about the creak crossings and how you had no choice but to get your feet wet. He didn’t believe me until we got there. The first one he made it, but he didn’t walk over the tiny logs like I did. He thought I was crazy jumping and walking on these logs about as thick as my arm, but it had been working so far and the last two times I didn’t get wet at all.

The next one was bigger, and I had thrown more stuff in the middle to build that bridge, but Joel decided to go a different way and jump to this area that looked like it had a spot you could easily climb up.

I almost shouted and told him not to try, but I didn’t want to be a jerk. Who knows maybe he will figure it out, and I will end up following his lead when we go back the same way.

The next thing I heard was Joel yelling in pain and a splash, as he hit his knees on the ice-covered bank, and then slid down and went into the water.

I laughed a little with Joel about his decision to go against the conventions and try something different, but after a mile, we weren’t laughing anymore because he told me his knees were starting to swell and that he wouldn’t be able to continue after we made it back into the next aid station.

I still thought it was funny just a tiny amount how I had been out here all day and hadn’t done anything like that yet, and it didn’t take him more than 13 miles to have to call it quit.

Still, I am glad he came out: it was a good time. I told him not to worry and that I would be fine, and honestly I was starting to feel better than I had before, and all I could think about was almost one lap left! As I ran the last two legs of the 4th lap by myself. I was blaring music, too, so I could sing along as my feet continued to crunch every time, they hit the ground.

Lap:                     4

Miles:                   81.2

Time of Day:         5:45 a.m.

Course Time:        23:45:31

Lap Time:             7:05:31

Pace:                    17:34 min/mi

To be continued tomorrow with Lap 5! The end is near! Also, the race video should be up soon! I haven’t been able to work on it much this week, but it is so close to being done. I only need a couple more hours.