Run With Garrison

Aloha,

We have successfully made the trip back home to Hawaii and I am in full-on recovery mode following my second 100 miler @ the Javelina Jundred this past weekend. First of all, massive thanks to Pauline for everything! She wore many hats this weekend including crew leader, driver, pacer, coach, blogger, passer-on of tons of well-wishes, inspirational master and queen of perspective.  This would not have been possible without her.  I believe that without her there, I would have likely been one of the 220 non-finishers instead of being one of the 157 100 mile finishers. It was a pretty tough and long day.

Big thanks also to Cameron and April Bennett! They did an amazing job crewing at their first-ever ultra!

More thanks out to all of you for your amazing comments, texts, emails, and voicemails. Pauline saved a bunch of those for when I really, really needed them….after 17 hours and 76 miles! All of you really helped keep me going when things got nasty.

Race morning started out to be pretty solid. The start/finish area is a full-on tent city and I felt like we were the only ones who opted for a real bed the night before the race. I was feeling pretty relaxed and was quite aware that it was going to be a long day. The temperature was quite comfortable and I started out in a t-shirt and shorts along with one bottle of Skratch Labs. As race time approached, Pauline and I just chilled at the back, and I think we completely missed any pre-race announcements because @6am, everyone just started walking. I was totally fine starting in the back since I knew that my race could not be wrecked by going out too slow. However, the day could be very rough if I went out too fast.

As usual, I met lots of super cool people along the way and over the first couple of laps, it really felt like I was never alone. I don’t think I even turned on my iPod until around 35-40 miles. The only hiccup during the first 2 laps was the development of a nasty blister that took over about half of my right big toe. I ran the entire race in a pair of Hoka Bondi S shoes. After 2 laps, I changed socks and saw the blister. I opted to not treat it and it popped a few miles into the next lap. After 2 laps, I also started running with 2 bottles—one with Skratch and the other with ice water. I was pretty successful with my hydration this race, especially since it was so hot and dry in the desert.

For the first 60 miles, I was feeling pretty positive and stayed within my limits. i picked up a few more blisters and I kept kicking some of the rocks along the trail.  These 2 factors combined to make my feet not very happy for most of the day. I also had perpetual undercarriage chaffing issues that I really need to get figured out if I am going to keep doing this to myself.

One funny thing happened out on the 3rd lap, around 40-42 miles in… I was alternating running and speed hiking to every other song on the iPod. Meaning I would walk one song and then run for another. I was alone at the time and this was a good way to stay within my limits and break up the miles. I run with only 1 earpiece in so I can hear others on the trail and I was all alone in my little part of the desert. I got into a really solid groove on one of the run portions and I suddenly heard footsteps right behind me. I kept up my pace and stayed to the right of the trail in case they wanted to pass. I felt super focused and nobody passed…. Well, the song ended 4-5 minutes later and I finally looked over my shoulder to say thanks to my new friend who pushed me along and nobody was in sight! I mean, I could see a whole lotta desert and I did not see 1 single person! I then spent a few minutes being really emotional and then it all made sense…. I had been joined by one of my many friends who have moved on to a better place…Thanks!

Happy Birthday Danny Gabor….this burrito is for you!

I started to experience some difficulties on my 5th lap. I felt unable to eat anything. Nothing looked good, tasted good, or sounded good. In my stubbornness, I did not eat. Massive Mistake! On lap 5, I did the math and had dialed in the exact pace that I would need to maintain in order to crack 24 hours. I ran and speed-hiked in an obsessive manner. Unfortunately, my gas tank was well watered and Skratched but I was running super low on fuel.

i came into see Pauline at 76.5 miles at 17 hours and 17 minutes. I was emotionally spent and realized that 24 hours was likely out of my reach. This is when she put things in perspective, settled me down, and read me some comments from all of you.  Lap 6 was pretty rough. I thought that I would be able to run a bit but I gave into the pain i was experiencing in my feet and undercarriage. It was a long and lonely 15.3 mile walk in the pitch black desert.  At times, I turned off my headlamp as I walked just to soak it all in.

After 6 laps, Pauline joined me for the final 9 miles. She was all excited! She had her own bottles all set and her headlamp was glowing like her smile. We headed out down the trail together….or should I say with her a few steps ahead of me:)  Pauline was probably hopped up on monster drinks and wanted us to finish this thing up. A few miles later, I totally cracked and sat down on the trail. I was cooked. She tried to get me to eat, but I was stubborn/stupid/moronic. Thankfully, we had some powerbar bites and I slowly started eating them.  Did I mention that she threatened to leave me in the desert if I did not start eating? That was probably all in my head because she would never really say that to me……..

Anyway, hallucinations aside, I started eating and we made our way toward the finish.  Pauline became obsessed with jackalopes and we watched a pretty cool sunrise over the desert. We crossed the finish line at 25 hours and 40 minutes. I placed 63rd overall and I was not a very happy kid. The last 25 miles really took their toll and I was in no mood to celebrate.  I needed to shower, take care of my feet, and go to sleep.

Now that I have had a few days to digest the experience, I am much more satisfied with my effort. I think around 377 people started the race and only 157 finished. That is a finishing rate of 41.6%. I completely underestimated this race and I will not do that again. I will take quite a few lessons away from this one as I now begin to focus on the HURT 100—-no I am not in as of yet, still number 3 on the wait list, but I am a positive thinking type of guy!

In the future I will:

1) do what Pauline tells me to do! She says eat—I eat. She says drink–I drink, you get the idea

2) put together a solid nutrition plan just like my hydration plan. Eat more real food along the way!

3) put together a foot care plan. Bad feet make for a bad day

4) change socks and shorts frequently. Dry skin is happy skin

Thank you so much for reading! I will be taking a little recovery time and then I will hunker down for some very specific HURT 100 training. I need to get healthy and fit before I can realistically chase my dreams.

Much Aloha and I hope to see many of you January 18-19 here on Oahu for the HURT 100. I will need plenty of crew and pacers for that beast!

Michael