Like all good stories, this one starts out: On a dark and dreary night, late last March, my friend Christine and I were looking for a summer adventure together. We had texted back and forth with various events that looked somewhat interesting, and then I spied the “JFK 50”. Christine had mentioned it years earlier, but I said “no way to 50 miles”. Christine is normally slow to make a decision, and I saw no real threat in throwing out one more text, “If we’re going to go big, lets just do JFK”. Instantly my phone beeped a reply text, “I agree, I’m in… but we have to hit the submit button together. The entry is $200, if we sign up, we HAVE to do it”. So like two sneaky little kids, we logged onto our separate computers, got on the phone, counted to 3 and hit the magic button. “We’re IN!”. We were both a little giddy, and talked about all the great long runs we could take together in the next 7.5 months.
The next day, however, reality set in and Christine texted, “Uh oh, now I’m a little nervous”. But we went back and forth with how fun it would be to have a “girls weekend away”, the different trails we wanted to explore together, and the challenges we would face due to both our busy schedules and the fact that we live 45 minutes apart. We scheduled our own training plans, and hoped that we could get together once a week or so for a long run.
Who said, “if you want to make God laugh, make a plan?” Well that pretty much sums up our experience. I think we were able to manage 3 runs together over the next 7 months, Christine’s husband decided to join us as chauffeur, I struggled with 8 weeks of Lyme carditis, Christine’s work load doubled, and we both questioned whether we really wanted to do this thing. While down with Lyme, I even wrote to the race director to see about deferring my entry. The terse reply of “no exceptions allowed” annoyed me enough that I decided then and there, “I’m doing this thing, even if I have to walk 50 miles”. We worked out the travel with our now party of 3, got an extra hotel room, and planned for using a “helper” at the 3 designated spots along the course. We trained independently, and as the day loomed closer, our excitement began to build again.
Rewind a couple of months: in June, Ken and I traveled to Scotland for 2.5 weeks of hiking and a little easy running. We covered over 20 miles per day, and upon our return, running felt easy. I have studied the “Maffetone” method of easy training, and this period really proved the value of long slow consistent work at a low heart rate. My easy run pace dropped over a minute, and I felt great. I had also altered my diet in the past few months to include more fat and protein, and less carbohydrate. Although this may seem counter intuitive to many endurance athletes, after a period of time the body adapts to using fat as it’s primary fuel source, and I really did begin to feel much better. No longer did I need GU or sugary bars and drinks to get through long workouts. I ran almost all of my runs on an empty stomach, and fueled up afterwards with an omelette or protein shake. I snacked on nuts and peanut butter, and tried to limit my eating to an 8-10 hour period of time…. meaning that I would fast on no food between approximately 6pm (after dinner) and 10am (before breakfast) period. The combination of the changed foods and the long rest period each night, completely took care of the many digestive issues that I’m sure you really don’t want to hear more about! For long runs, and for the race itself, I used UCAN as my primary source of fuel. In the JFK, I had a serving before the race, and 3 servings during the race, spaced about 2 hours apart.
By mid-July, I was feeling as fit as I had in years. Ken and I did a 40 mile weekend in VT, hiking 17 miles one day, and running 23 the next. I felt awesome, and when Christine called the next day to see if perhaps we could run together on Friday, I said “sure”. It was a hot day, and I knew I was a little tired, so I stashed my bike 18 miles into the run, figuring that she could finish her planned 25 miles and I would ride with her the last 7. I should have stashed my bike 5 miles into the run, as that day I completely melted down. I was staggering, cramping, and couldn’t believe that just 6 days earlier I had felt so good. Christine was awesome, talked me through a walk/jog to my bike’s hiding place, and encouraged me to take a few days to rest, rehydrate, and chill. But things just kept going down hill. Soon, I was having chest pains and walking with a heart rate of 160. I couldn’t sleep, and on one particularly scary night, woke up with chest pains and panic. Panic? Is that all it was? Maybe a panic attack? Ken was away on business, my track coaching season was looming ahead, and maybe I was just over tired? This continued for another couple weeks, I went for some walks, and I rested. Nothing got better, so I scheduled an appointment my primary care doctor who also told me to go to the ER for a cardiac workup. 6 hours later, I left with an abnormal EKG and an appointment with a cardiologist. That led to stress tests and an ECHO. Along the way, I tried acupuncture, massage, and physical therapy to aid in relaxation, and my PC ordered some blood work. Maybe my running career was really over? 40 years as an athlete, and now what? Then Dr. Lillard texted…. “Kathy you have Lyme disease, come in tomorrow and we’ll talk, but this explains a lot”. So, finally, a month after what I now call my “melt down” run, I had a diagnosis, and a 30 day prescription for doxycycline. Also some stern words from Dr. L. To start acting my age, and tone down the exercise…. “you’re not planning any more ironmans are you”. “Nope… ” I could honestly say I wasn’t, and she didn’t ask about a 50 mile run……, but anyway, I didn’t even know if I could do it.
The cardiology tests were somewhat o.k.– a small blockage between the upper and lower ventricals was noted during the stress test, and perhaps this was causing the elevated heart rate. However, the doctor felt that as long as I was not showing symptoms of chest pain, there was no reason not to continue exercising at an easy rate. I bought a new heart rate monitor and I set out on a few runs, gradually building back up to a 22, a 24 and a 28 miler. I was happy to be able to manage the distance, but still felt undertrained. A friend mentioned “Bimblers Bluff”, a local 50K put on by my good friend Jerry. I contacted Jerry, and he immediately sent an entry code “OLDCOACH” and I was “in”. Bimblers was tough! About 12 miles of feeling good, and 20 miles of absolute shit. It was hot, I struggled with hydration, and I cramped badly. But after nearly 7.5 hours, I got through it. How much harder could another 17 miles be? Particularly on a cooler day, and with 27 miles of the JFK on a flat canal trail? I was back “in the game”.
Meanwhile, Christine, not knowing if I’d be able to go, had made plans with her husband. Fortunately, they were willing to include me. We organized additional hotel rooms, and planned that Dave would drive us down and support both of us along the route. My XC and Track season had been filling all my time, Christine’s family and work as a naturopathic doctor took every minute. We both felt that the 50 miles would be hard, but that it was also luxurious to have an ENTIRE day just to ourselves and to do something we loved. Now our only worry was the weather. The forecast seemed to change daily from sunny and 50 degrees (perfect!) to rainy, windy, and 30 degrees (COLD). Right up until the morning of, the weather forecast changed, and although ultimately it was more rain and cold, I personally never noticed. Once in the moment, it was all about having the best run possible.
The AT section was much easier than I anticipated. The hills weren’t as bad, and there were several very runnable sections. When it was too rocky or too hilly, I simply walked. The only hard part were the lines of people, and not being able to pass in certain sections. The last mile into Weaverton was particularly frustrating as I felt great, had my Black Diamond trekking poles and was moving well, but there were people in front of me literally crab walking on their hands and butts, trying to get through the switchbacks. One woman in particular, should have pulled over…. she had a line of 20-30 people waiting for her to make each descent. That one mile was my slowest, at 16 minutes. I ran through the crowd of “helpers” looking wildly for Dave who had my dry shoes and food for the next 2 hours. Not finding him, I kept going, pulled out my phone and called to let him know that I had gone through and I’d see him at 27 miles. I couldn’t reach Dave so I called Ken, who told me that I was having a great run and was 6th in my AG. Also that my track team was doing an amazing job at their community service project and that I would be proud! Those comments did a lot for my spirits, and I clicked along at 9:45-10:15 mile pace. I knew it was a little fast, my HR was 166, but I felt good and wasn’t breathing heavily so I kept going. No headphones are allowed at the JFK, so I entertained myself with thoughts of friends…. both current friends, past friends, and in particular friends no longer in this world. I wore a buff from Glicker, and I thought about how much he would have loved another opportunity to race, I thought about Jim, aka, “the big fat slug” and the 1000s of miles we’d run and biked together, I thought about Jenn and Chrissy, my former canoe racing buddies, and I thought about my Dad. Time passed, I chatted to a few people now and then, and before long I came upon the next check point and Dave. My feet were really hurting by then, and I was very glad to change into my Hokas which are roomier than the trail shoes I had chosen to start with. I drank some warm broth, and grabbed another one of my bottles of UCAN. I still felt pretty good, and I’m always happy to know that I’m more than halfway. I told Dave I’d see him in a couple hours at mile 38. Somewhere around 35 miles, I realized that I was in totally new territory, having never run more than 33 miles in a day. My feet still hurt, and I was starting to tire, but I remembered a trick that Dr. Mark Cuccazzella had told me…. walk for a minute every mile. I started walking the first 1/10th of every mile and was surprised to realize that my pace didn’t drop. I was still in the 10 min range, and I knew that if I kept it under or around 11s, I would reach my sub 10 hour goal, EVEN if I had to walk a lot of the last 8 miles on the road.
I didn’t need much of anything from Dave at mile 38, although in retrospect maybe I should have put dry socks on. I didn’t want to take the time, and never even took out my jacket or hat. It was chilly and I was wet, but not so much that it bothered me. I was having a good race, and I wanted to keep pushing. Shortly after leaving Dave, I came to the end of the canal. I was pretty releived as I now entered the last 8 mile segment of road. I was NOT happy to realize that my watch was off by almost a mile, and instead of the 7 miles I thought I had left, I really did have a full 8 to go. (I guess that was my OMMFG… One more mile for Glicker) Funny how that 9/10s of a mile can mentally feel like another marathon itself. I continued to alternate walking and running- I walked up the hills, ran down. My quads were toasted, and running was more like hobbling, but my pace was still well under the 12 min miles I had mentally planned for this section. Most were under 11, and I was thrilled. Knowing things are going well is motivation in itself. I continued to pass runners, and occasionally to be passed, but often it was a leap frog effect as we all took turns walking and running at different places.
My low point came around 44 miles, so at the next aid station, I walked for a full 5 minutes. I had been using UCAN for fuel, but I drank some coke, ate an entire honey stinger bar, and enjoyed the sugar boost which propelled me through the final bit. Just before the last big turn, a runner came towards me in the opposite direction and said “you have exactly 1.6 miles to go…. you’ve got this”. For some reason, that clicked, and I realized I DID in fact have this. I ran the last 1.6 with a little more spring to my step and finished with a smile. 9 hours and 42 minutes!! My goal in June was 9:30, but with the lyme and time off, plus the busy fall of coaching, I had resolved to be happy with 11 hours. Sub 10 was terrific.
I hobbled into the school– now I was cold, and I realized how wet I was. I was chaffed absolutely everywhere. How could I not notice the deep cuts from my heart rate monitor or under my arm from ???? I don’t even know how I got chaffed in all those places. The shower stung like crazy, but I was done, and I had finished what had once seemed impossible. 50.9 miles, at an 11.17 overall pace. Really it was probably about 12’s on the AT and 10s on the canal, finishing with 11s on the road. I found Dave and Christine, who had finished 14 minutes ahead of me. She was happy as well, but struggling with stomach upheaval. We went straight back to the hotel, I took a long bath and collapsed on the bed. The one thing I really missed at this race was camaraderie. I didn’t know anyone but Christine, and I missed having friends to sit around and talk with. HOWEVER, when I opened up facebook, I found that my friends WERE there. They’d been following the live feed and posting encouraging remarks throughout the day. Of course, I couldn’t see them while I was running, but knowing they were there for me made me smile. The running community is my social group, and silly as it sounds, chatting online while I sat on my nice comfy bed in clean warm clothes, was the next best thing to having everyone there with me. I loved reliving the ups and downs, telling my stories, and thinking about “next time”. I’m not sure if it will be JFK- it’s a great race, but a long drive and I did hate to miss the Little Manchester Road Race. But I would do it again, and I would certainly love to do another race in that beautiful area, and MAYBE another 50 someday. After all, I’ll be 60 soon and in a whole new age group!!
#GenerationUCAN #BlackDiamond #JanjiCorps #EasternCTStateUniversity #EasternCrossCountry