2015 Jacob Wells 3 Bridges Marathon

2015 Jacob Wells 3 Bridges Marathon

Perfect PR conditions = no PR

A few rookie mistakes were made along with some new things to figure out.

Mistake #1:  Going out too fast.  I used the 5:30 pace band from San Antonio again.  I should have printed one out for 5:20.  I tried to go a bit speedier than the pace needed for 5:30 without having the mile splits right there.  I went out too fast.  I run the first 1/2 five minutes faster than San Antonio.  I was 10 minutes slower overall.  I did hit the 20 mile mark at the same time, but was working way too hard to keep it up.  

Annette Blanton cheering me up at mile 20ish - I'm a bit spaced out, I look like I felt

Mistake #2:  Not saving music for the second half of the race.  During the Traveller I just had the music playing in the background so to speak, during the whole race.  I was going to do that again here.  It wasn't a good idea.  I should have saved it for a second half reward.

New to Work Out:
With the harder effort I need to rethink fueling.  The solid food, real foods, I use for ultras may be too much to digest working that hard.  I may need something along the line of a sports gel.  I can't stand them.  They are too sweet, even the unflavored ones.  Just ick.  I will be on the search for a more savory easily digestible fuel.

My 3 Bridges Marathon history:
2013 - 6:32.50
2014 - 6:53.40 = most miserable ever
2015 - 5:30.07 = best year yet!

Bill Torrey posted these fun facts to Facebook:
Here are some interesting facts about the Jacob Wells 3 Bridge Marathon.
We had 398 start the race and 383 finish. There were 108 people from out of state. There were 32 States represented with Missouri leading the way with 14, next was Texas with 13 and Illinois had 11. There were people from Maine to Hawaii and one from Canada.There were 218 women finishers and 165 men. We even had a person from South Carolina that tried getting in after it shut down still come, ran and left a check to support the event. Runners do some interesting things.

Here is my status update after the race:As I've said before I didn't know Jacob Wells. I knew who he was and we had exchanged encouragement and pleasantries. 
The legacy he has left is amazing. He really is one of a kind in the best ways.
This race today, it was a magnificent family reunion of all of AR running, road, trail, Grand Prix, volunteers, everything. 
The love and good will was palpable. 
Congratulations to those who achieved their first marathon finish line, those who PR'ed, qualified for Marathon Maniacs, those who successfully readjusted plans when things didn't go as planned.
Thank you to the race organization for really nailing it once again!
Thank you to the volunteers, you all are the reason running in AR is so special.
Thank you all for the hugs, the encouragement, the conversations, the inspiration, the example you all are.
Thank you Kristen Garrettt for your life saving hugs and your famous butt rub to get me on down the trail! You are the very best!
What a day of all that is wonderful and right because of the AR running community!

Jacob Wells started the 3 Bridges Marathon in 2013.  November 2014 he died after collapsing at the Mid-South Marathon in Wynne AR.  He influenced so many people in AR running.  His marathon is a labor of love, first from him to the AR running community, now from the AR running community to his memory and example.

This is from a memorial page:
He fought the good fight. He finished the race. He remained faithful. I am sad to report that as much as we desired it, we will not get our miracle. 
Jacob's favorite Bible verse: ... Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Hebrews 12:1

San Antonio Rock & Roll Marathon - Time to Rest

Dec 6, 2015  Humana San Antonio Rock & Roll Marathon

Why oh why!  Pavement sucks, people are too peoplie but I keep signing up for road marathons.   I guess I will call it brain training so I can embrace it.

Nerves were as bouncy as if I was new to this game.
I was hoping to just do well.  It has been three years since things have gone well in running a marathon.  That is a long time for a dry spell.

The plan:
Shoot for 5:30
Run half a mile, walk a minute for 26.2  from starting line to finish line
Eat something every 20 - 30 minutes
Push when entering the suck zone

This is the first R&R marathon I have participated in, I didn't know what to expect.  They offered water and Gatorade on the course.  I can't stomach Gatorade so I carried a water bottle and Nuun Tablets and a ginger/honey mix.

Carrying out the plan went very well.  I struggled with finding joy and fun in the early miles because of the amount of people out there.  It was crowded!  It was especially crowded when the course would narrow to direct people one way or the other.  It was so good to see the 1/2 marathon split.

I did see some AR Peeps!  Belinda moved to San Antonio a few years ago.  Mandy lives in Ar and came down for the Half.  It was great to run with them till the half split and hugs!  they give good hugs!

It was fun to see bubbles out on the course.  How can one run through bubbles without smiling.

I had signed up for this because a marathon that run by the missions was just too good to pass up.  I don't remember if I read this somewhere, I don't know where I got the idea that the race went by the missions, it does, but kind of doesn't.  The closest we got to a mission was seeing the top of one over the trees way across a field.

There is a long stretch on a river trail, a concrete trail.  There was little shade, but beautiful sights.

Everything was going well, according to plan.  I did start struggling about mile 21ish - 22ish.  I know in TX 69 degrees is a nice cool day, but running a marathon, mostly running it makes 69 degrees a  challenge.

When I looked at my stats after the race I was very happy.  Never in my life have I moved 20 miles in 4 hours!  It has always been slower.  So seeing this happen, for me, is a huge accomplishment!

My PR before this race was 5:26.54 achieved in 2012 at the Chevron Houston Marathon.
Today with a 6 minute PR, 5:20.54.  Texas is good to me.

There are many examples of overcoming obstacles and just being strong out on a marathon course.
This guy has a one leg on wheels.  He is receiving assistance up a hill.

This is by far the best sign I have seen at a marathon in some time.

Bona Dea 50K Nov 14, 2015

9 loops on a 3.4 mile bike path around Bona Dea Park in Russellville.  After the 9 loops there is an out and back to make up the last .4 mile.

My original idea was to run 1/2 a mile walk a minute.  Half way through the first round I saw Dottie Rae in front of me.  She has more experience than my children have years of life.  She was doing a run 30 seconds walk 30 seconds run.  I knew she would finish so I decided to follow her example.

So for the first 5 loops after that I did the 30 second walk 30 second run.
The transition became harder and harder, so I went to a 1 1/2 minute run 1/2 minute walk for the next 3 rounds.
For the last round I bumped it up to 4 minute run 1 minute walk.

I'm glad I reserved my energy not going out to fast but really holding it down till after the 1/2 way mark.

I have never been so disciplined in my life for race strategy.  Yes I did change up my run/walk interval schedule, but, I made myself stick with it.  Normally my walking will lag to more and more time and my running less and less.  Not this time.  I made myself stick to the plan.

16 minute PR 6 weeks after a hundred miler!  I'm so happy with that!

AT 100 on Endurance Buzz

http://endurancebuzz.com/2015/10/28/2015-arkansas-traveller-100-moments-from-the-trail/

That one moment!

That One Thing!

The question from David at Endurance Buzz:

Could you share the detailed story of ONE specific moment during your Arkansas Traveller 100 adventure that made a special imprint on you?

I'm at a loss on how to give a detailed story of one event.   What an assignment because there are so many and so many are so very important as well.

My family being"out there" has to be one of the highlights of my life!  Kim and Chris, daughter and husband, aren't runners, they don't understand this epic ultra thing we do.  This lack of understanding makes their support a true gift from the heart.   There has only been a few times I have had the privilege of having family at the finish line, on the course or any such thing.  It was a fabulous lift of spirits to see them twice, outbound and back.
My family and friends run the Pumpkin Patch Aid Station at miles 22.1 outbound and 93.7 inbound.  Chris agreed to keep the aid station responsibilities in the family for this year.

They spent the duration of the race near the HAM radio operators listening for news of #100 making it through the next cut off, the  last of these awful beasts being at Electronic Tower, mile 91.4 at 10:15AM Sunday morning.  I made it through that last cut off by 4 minutes.  Elaine Gimblet, my pacer, and I hobbled our way down the mountain to The Pumpkin Patch.  My family was waiting for me out on the road.  Seeing them, hearing their cheers of joy and relief brought a flood of every emotion I had kept reined in tight throughout the earlier 30 hours of barely making those time limits.   My heart soared as I heard the voices I love most cheering me in, crying with me, laughing with me and then telling me to get my butt out of the aid station.  It was a roller coaster ride of the heart for sure from complete desperation to jubilation as I hugged and hung on to those precious anchors for dear life.  It was hard not to show distress, as if being at mile 93 in and of itself doesn't show distress, when Chris happily kicked me out of the aid station with pie and a smile.  I hope they will let me do it again next year!

Photo Credit: Kim Morton

Photo Credit: Kim Morton

Deep Thoughts

A week after the race I was asked what was the achievement I was most pleased with, the finish or helping Heidi finish?

If I have to pick just one achievement it would be that when the layers were stripped away, one by one, what I found deep inside was a person worth being.

One learns who they really are when the mask is taken off through unimaginable stress.  The summer of mental training paid off, but more than just for the race, but for life.

The summer was spent with "no complaining days", push-ups for cuss words, push-ups for marinating in problems and the past instead of leaving it be, meditation and breathing exercises to recognize that my thoughts aren't me, to be able to step back and see them for what they are, just thoughts.

So when the chips were down, when my shields were lowered I didn't complain.... er..... much, I didn't blame others for my mishaps, didn't say the worst of the cuss words, I smiled more, helped others, even at my worst.  What we are at our worst is who we are, I can live with who I am.

Let me be clear:  This was self-imposed misery.  I'm not comparing this to the horribles that life can throw at us.  This was a race.  This was a hard, hard thing, but it isn't one of those really awful things that can happen to anyone.

I use these same techniques to slow down my response and my anger to better deal with situations.
Example:   Days after the race my emotions were strained, maybe from not running.  I was anxious and acting so.  Chris was about the house and I was annoyed.  He asked if it was him.  I said no.
The simple fact was, on any other day the things he was doing about the house would not have annoyed me, so those things, nor him were annoying, it was about my emotions, my anxiety, mine to own.  I was able to explain this, own this, go outside and de-stress and not be punitive towards my dear husband for something he definitely didn't do.

Another unknown:  I was already not going to make 30 hours when I stopped and gave aid.  Would I have if the one needing aid was before a cut off?  and I was close?  How would I have taken it if I would have missed a cut off or had to drop for other reasons?  I don't know how I would have behaved in these situations.  I can hope I would have behaved in a way that would make my husband, and children proud to call me wife and mother.

The finest moment happened yesterday.  I was talking to Kim on the phone.  She told me she had never seen me at such peace and so happy.

The story is mine, the ending is mine to write!  I am the author of what good I write into my life.

WIN!   

Two weeks since Traveller

Setting a goal before a key event is a very good idea as it will help prevent one from falling off a mental cliff because they no longer have a goal after focusing on the key race.  I learned this early in my running career.

Athens Big Fork Marathon is that next key event:  January 9, 2016
There is a cut off one has to make to be able to run the full marathon instead of the 17 mile fun run.  My goal is to make that cut off and run the full.

http://www.runarkansas.com/ABF/index.htm

So, I thought that was covered.  I wasn't expecting the drop of the end of the emotional earth that would come from not running for recovery.  Recovery is very important, the most at this point if I would like to make future goals.

I'm still mentally exhausted from the Traveller, more so than physically.  My feet, legs, body are all doing fine.  My ribs hurt from that nasty fall in the bath tub.  Road running, dodging cars and dancing around dogs just exhausts me!

Upcoming Schedule
I don't know which ones I'm going to run or in the case of the 6/12/24 how many miles.

Most of these runs can be found at www.runarkansas.com

Nov 14, 2015 Bona Dea 50K - Russelleville AR
Nov 27, 2015 Sunset Park 6/12/24 Hour - Benton, AR
Dec 6, 2015 Rock & Roll San Antonio Marathon, San Antonio TX
Jan 9, 2016 Athens Big Fork Marathon
Feb 6, 2016 White Rock Classic 50K, Mile north of Turner Bend Store on HWY 23, NW AR
           I will run the course on the 5th if the weather is good as I'm co-RD for this race.
Feb 20, 2016 Sylamore Trail 50K (If I can get in, it fills up fast)