Back in Peoria

I don’t have the ugly official results from the F/X as yet, but I do have the prescription. I’ll have to have the discipline to see it through. Tomorrow, though, I’ll swim and do something light.

More comments about the race: they indeed had chip timing and lots of food. But, though the official temperature wasn’t that hot (my wife said that the car thermometer hit in the mid 80’s), the area was surrounded by concrete. I’ll put it this way: the vasaline in my case melted, and my sodas burst (no cooler…that was dumb).

One thing that was a bit funny: there were lots of drops from the 24 hour. A lady started popping off about how wimpy the “big, strong men” were; but she was cranking them out at the time so all I did was keep my mouth shut. I can say that this small lady in a long ponytail and blue top and spandex shorts was really cranking out the miles; she looked very tough when I left.

As far as the race itself goes: I can recommend the event; I’d be sure to bring a cooler with ice though. The hotels near the airport are very close by. At the end of this post, I’ve enclosed a blow by blow record of my meltdown.

Today, we visited the Mitchell Park Conservatory (also known as The Domes) prior to driving back.

Basically, these were three large glass domes, with plants inside of them. The atmosphere in one dome was kept warm and humid; these featured tropical plants and birds. One dome was kept arid; this one featured desert plants. A third was more of a general garden. Nature lovers would like this attraction.

For the Geeks in the crowd, here is a mile by mile (lane 2)
13:43
13:45
13:44
13:39
13:47 (1:08:41)
13:25
13:49
16:01 (bathroom)
13:58
14:10 (2:20:06)
16:44 (food)
14:00
14:14
25:31 (change shoes, feet start to hurt)
15:15 (3:45:52)
14:54
14:41
14:08
14:40
18:28 (food), 5:02:46
21:37 (break)
25:31 (another break)
16:39
16:38
16:33 (6:39:46)
15:43
21:59 (rest)
17:02
21:19
19:41 (8:15:33, a new PW)
33:53 (sick, etc.)
17:48
21:02
35:50 (sick) 10:04, end of the line.

The good news: no blisters. I am a bit sore and tired, but mostly what is hurt is the old ego.
But hey, that is why there are beginner’s programs, and that is what I need to do for a while, until I get fit enough to train to do these.

Reality Strikes hard

For both me and the Notre Dame football team.

I attemped the FX 12 hour race; the temperatures hit in the mid 80’s. I wasn’t ready for it; the first 20 miles were ok; 2:20 at mile 10, 5 hours at mile 20 after a change of shoes, 8 hours at mile 30 (see a pattern here?) and I ended up dropping at miel 34 (10 hours) as I could only take a few steps prior to throwing up.

The problem is that I attempted to go from 0 miles to ultras after an 8 month lay-off; that is beyond the reach of my body (though perhaps others can do this).

So a drastic decrease in milage is in order, and I need to do the miles right. Long hikes are fun, but they don’t prepare me for racing.

So, no more ultras for a while; I need to relearn how to walk properly, and it takes time to build up to doing quality milage. I’ll add some running to, but only enough miles to where I can approximate a run; none of this 11 a minute a mile jogging.