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| Delano Park 12 Hour Run 2016 |
"Ultrarunning is worth the doing. There is a lot of life to be lived during those hours on foot." -- Gary Cantrell, Ultrarunning Magazine, Jan/Feb 2016
Prologue
I ran my first Delano run in 2009. Leading up to it, I couldn't quite get my head around the idea of running for 12 hours around a one mile loop that meandered through a park in Decatur, Alabama. Although I'd run a few marathons and 50K's, nothing had prepared me for 12 hours of running. I recall training for it by running a mile loop through the streets in my neighborhood. An old guy stopped me after seeing me run several loops, and asked what I was doing. I told him I was training for the monotony of running around a one mile loop all day in Decatur. He just looked at me, laughed, nodded, and said, "Good luck with that."
That first year, I managed to get in 51 miles for the day. The following two years, I got 52 miles, and in 2014, I racked up 57 miles. Heading into this year's race, I had no idea how I would do. I was coming off a less than stellar showing at the Black Warrior 50K. The warm weather that day had resulted in cramps in my legs, and the temps for Delano promised to be pretty warm for an early March day.
I was concerned about a repeat performance, but I finally took the advice that Tim Pitt and Rob Youngren had given me at different points -- get off of electrolyte caps, and just use sea salt. Rob even mentioned a product called Base. It's salt with added electrolytes, and it also claims to help mitigate the effects of heat. I picked some up at Fleet Feet and, although the old adage is to never try anything new on race day, that's exactly what I planned to do. It worked out. Base, combined with Nuun, did the job.
Race Day
My goal was to go out easy, try to remain consistent, grind it out and stay on the track. The race is run on a crushed gravel track and it's not too hard on the legs. After several Delano 12 Hour's, I've also come to the conclusion that there is no point in stopping to get the tiny gravel out of your shoes; the little buggers will jump back into your shoes after a couple of more laps anyway. So, I embrace the little guys. Just keep going.
I made pretty good progress throughout the day, and then it hit me; I might have a chance to get a course PR. My consistent, stay-on-the-track approach was paying off. I grabbed some pizza at the aid station around noon, but just kept walking and eating. In hindsight, I should have eaten a little more.
With a little over two hours to go, I had 47 miles behind me, but had started to slow down and was falling into the "Shar Shuffle" -- a less than complimentary moniker given to me by Cary Long. It refers to my death march pace that I tend to fall into towards the end of an ultra.
However, I came across Kathy Youngren sitting on the side of the track, laughing it up with a bunch of hooligans -- the kind of people who tell you, you've done enough -- Take a load off, relax, drink beer, get drunk, pass out. It was the usual suspects, Benj, Morgan, Iris, Cary, Rob, etc. Yeah, I said Iris. That baby is trouble with a capital T, and a really bad trash talker, but cute as a button.
I knew if I could get Kathy to run with me, I just might be able to get moving again. I tried to get Kathy up by telling her that Liz Bauer was closing in on her mileage and would overtake her for the win if she didn't get up and start running. Honest to God, she said, "So? I don't care." Unfortunately, I could tell she was sincere. She has the kind of running record that allows one to say that sort of thing. When you have nothing left to prove, you can do that. So, I quickly tacked, and tried another approach. I dug deep into the realm of persuasive argument, and unleashed this gem -- "Come on....Come on...Get up...Come on." It worked!
So, with Kathy running with with me, I was able to get to 57 miles, my former PR, and I still had 30 minutes to spare. I decided to walk to my new PR of 58 miles, and leave my goal of 60 miles for another day at Delano. Rob Youngren, who was sidelined with an injury walked with me, and it's always good to catch up with Rob -- another ultra badass.
Unbeknownst to me, on March 5, 2016, my 58 miles at the Delano Park 12 Hour was good enough for the Master's win!
I had been dealing with nausea for the last several miles of the race, and after it was done, it all spilled out, so to speak. So, I missed the awards dinner, but Kathy was nice enough to pick up my plaque for me. When I went by Fleet Feet to pick it up, I wondered back to Kathy's office and I saw Dink Taylor, owner of Fleet Feet, down the hall in the stock room. I wanted to let him know what I was doing, before barging into an office to grab something. He came down the hall and we walked into the room, I said Kathy left the plaque for me. When he picked it up, in true Dink fashion, with his sense of humor, he said, "Master's Champion? You were the Master's Champion? What happened out there?" I said, well some guys were injured, some guys had bigger fish to fry and only used the race to get in a few training miles, and I just kept plugging along.
But here's my philosophy, never apologize for who doesn't show up at any given starting line, and never apologize for decisions other runners make. Just go out, and give it your best. Some days, that might result in a PR, or an award, or just the satisfaction that you did your best. Seize the day, and have a good time doing it!
I was concerned about a repeat performance, but I finally took the advice that Tim Pitt and Rob Youngren had given me at different points -- get off of electrolyte caps, and just use sea salt. Rob even mentioned a product called Base. It's salt with added electrolytes, and it also claims to help mitigate the effects of heat. I picked some up at Fleet Feet and, although the old adage is to never try anything new on race day, that's exactly what I planned to do. It worked out. Base, combined with Nuun, did the job.
Race Day
My goal was to go out easy, try to remain consistent, grind it out and stay on the track. The race is run on a crushed gravel track and it's not too hard on the legs. After several Delano 12 Hour's, I've also come to the conclusion that there is no point in stopping to get the tiny gravel out of your shoes; the little buggers will jump back into your shoes after a couple of more laps anyway. So, I embrace the little guys. Just keep going.
I made pretty good progress throughout the day, and then it hit me; I might have a chance to get a course PR. My consistent, stay-on-the-track approach was paying off. I grabbed some pizza at the aid station around noon, but just kept walking and eating. In hindsight, I should have eaten a little more.
With a little over two hours to go, I had 47 miles behind me, but had started to slow down and was falling into the "Shar Shuffle" -- a less than complimentary moniker given to me by Cary Long. It refers to my death march pace that I tend to fall into towards the end of an ultra.
However, I came across Kathy Youngren sitting on the side of the track, laughing it up with a bunch of hooligans -- the kind of people who tell you, you've done enough -- Take a load off, relax, drink beer, get drunk, pass out. It was the usual suspects, Benj, Morgan, Iris, Cary, Rob, etc. Yeah, I said Iris. That baby is trouble with a capital T, and a really bad trash talker, but cute as a button.
I knew if I could get Kathy to run with me, I just might be able to get moving again. I tried to get Kathy up by telling her that Liz Bauer was closing in on her mileage and would overtake her for the win if she didn't get up and start running. Honest to God, she said, "So? I don't care." Unfortunately, I could tell she was sincere. She has the kind of running record that allows one to say that sort of thing. When you have nothing left to prove, you can do that. So, I quickly tacked, and tried another approach. I dug deep into the realm of persuasive argument, and unleashed this gem -- "Come on....Come on...Get up...Come on." It worked!
So, with Kathy running with with me, I was able to get to 57 miles, my former PR, and I still had 30 minutes to spare. I decided to walk to my new PR of 58 miles, and leave my goal of 60 miles for another day at Delano. Rob Youngren, who was sidelined with an injury walked with me, and it's always good to catch up with Rob -- another ultra badass.
Unbeknownst to me, on March 5, 2016, my 58 miles at the Delano Park 12 Hour was good enough for the Master's win!
I had been dealing with nausea for the last several miles of the race, and after it was done, it all spilled out, so to speak. So, I missed the awards dinner, but Kathy was nice enough to pick up my plaque for me. When I went by Fleet Feet to pick it up, I wondered back to Kathy's office and I saw Dink Taylor, owner of Fleet Feet, down the hall in the stock room. I wanted to let him know what I was doing, before barging into an office to grab something. He came down the hall and we walked into the room, I said Kathy left the plaque for me. When he picked it up, in true Dink fashion, with his sense of humor, he said, "Master's Champion? You were the Master's Champion? What happened out there?" I said, well some guys were injured, some guys had bigger fish to fry and only used the race to get in a few training miles, and I just kept plugging along.
But here's my philosophy, never apologize for who doesn't show up at any given starting line, and never apologize for decisions other runners make. Just go out, and give it your best. Some days, that might result in a PR, or an award, or just the satisfaction that you did your best. Seize the day, and have a good time doing it!
