JFK 50 Miler

July 18th, 2010 - Training - Winchendon, MA - 4

Day 199 - While I was asleep, nice and cozy in my warm bed, at 4AM on Saturday morning, Dane "Rain Man" Leblanc and Ranger Dave were toeing the line up near Windsor, VT for the start of the Vermont 100 Miler.

While I was finishing up my mere mortal 15 mile training run with GLRR at around 10AM, the dynamic duo were more than a marathon into the 100 miler.

Some time between lunch and bedtime for most of us, Ranger Dave opted to drop out (probably dragged off the course by ninjas), and Rain Man continued on alone into the night, 12+ hrs into his ordeal.

When I finally awoke early this morning around 5AM to get ready to time the Winchendon Tri, Dane was close to the finish line! By the time I finished my tri gig and put in my own run 6 hrs later, Dane had crossed the finish line somewhere in the green mountains of Vermont...and lived to tell about it!

Here is Dane, in his own words, describing part of the "experience" of moving forward for 26+ hrs:

One huge thing that Dave and I learned from this race: Electrolyte balance is key. At mile 70, I was experiencing the same symptoms that Ranger Dave was feeling at about mile 45: nausea, disorientation, inability to eat or drink. At mile 72, one of the pacers suggested that I take more electrolytes. I took 2 tabs (in addition to the tab I took at mile 70), and the symptoms went away after a couple of miles. (The low electrolyte symptoms that is… not the ripped quads and sore feet, unfortunately).

I had lowered my electrolyte and food intake after mile 47, since I weighed in 5 pounds heavier than I weighed at the start, and I was afraid I’d get DQ’d for gaining too much weight (weight gain could be a sign of kidney failure, I think, esp. if you’re not peeing) This helped with the weight (I lost 6 pounds in those 23 miles), but my electrolytes were hosed.

Continuing in a state of low electrolytes would have been a disaster, since the body won’t take any more water (you would just heave it), and then eventually dehydration would kick in.

There was an unbelievable amount of carnage at this race. There were 112 DNF’s out of the 265 who started. This was a much higher percentage than for 2009, probably because of the heat (high of 90 deg).

The organization and the volunteers at this race are phenomenal. For the last 30 miles, I had a volunteer pacer named Ken, who stayed with me OVERNIGHT for over 10 hours (8:30 PM Saturday through 6:42 AM Sunday). Ken was supposed to pace the last 30 miles for a friend of his, but his friend dropped out, so he decided to stay and volunteer for pacing for any runner who needed on. Before I got to mile 70, I didn’t think I’d need a pacer, but when I got to mile 70 in a confused and nauseated state, I figured it was a good idea to have someone watch the trail markers for me.

It just amazes me that someone would volunteer to “run” (more of a speed walk, actually) with someone they never met for 30 miles overnight!!!

I was also surprised at how freakin’ hilly 14,000 feet of elevation gain represents. Who would have thought that a state named after mountains could be so hilly???

(DL & RD - left side - Part of the first Masssoles Ultra Team at RTB)

No comments:

Post a Comment