St Pat's 24 Hour

This is what recovery feels like.  I'm laying here in bed, with my feet propped up on a pile of five pillows.  About 72 hours have passed since the end of the St. Pat's 24 Hour race.  My appetite has come back, and after finishing an entire pizza last night I have eaten five eggs, twelve slices of bacon, and four slices of toast with a banana, milk and orange juice for breakfast.  I'm still hungry.  I'm eating plenty because I'm ravenously hungry and I know my muscles and immune system will need all the protein they can get to recover.

(Note: I wrote this last week . . I can walk reasonably again now but still can't quite run)

A "Swell" Time

My legs are propped up high because I've finally figured out after some research that 100 mile or 24 hour runners commonly suffer structural damage to the capillaries returning blood from the legs that upon full rehydration after a race begin allowing fluid (but not blood cells thankfully) to leak into the subcutaneous tissues causing them to swell along with the muscles, tendons and joints that have already swollen.  This likely explains why I couldn't recognize my own legs last night.  My feet had no shape, only a swollen club like appearance along with ankles that dwarfed the width of the foot.  My calves were larger and connected with an area where a defined knee usually appeared but was now hidden under swelling.  My formerly defined quadriceps also were now just round, with a couple of extra inches in diameter.  I weighed in and discovered that the swelling not only looked big, but had actually added almost 12 lbs to my pre race body weight.  Since I started elevating last night I have already lost roughly 7 of those 12 lbs and I can tell my legs are starting to approximate the way I remember them appearing.

The major problem for me with all this swelling is just greater difficulty in sitting and severely compromised range of motion.  This massive swelling is a new problem that started only yesterday apparently after my body was fully rehydrated and I was convinced things were going to be only steadily improving.

Ice and Ibuprofen

I started taking 800 mg of ibuprofen every 8 hours after the race when the pain first started shooting from every tendon, joint, socket and muscle starting at my hips and ending at the bottom my feet.  I could sit completely still and just ache and feel as if my legs were radiating heat and pain.  I did take a 30 minute ice bath after we got back to Bloomington.  This was well worth it but also an exercise in mind over matter in and of itself.  I was proud to make it though an entire episode of "The Wonder Years" on Netflix while my lower half was submerged completely in arctic waters and Katie continued to mercilessly add additional bowls of crushed ice to the tub.  (Don't get me wrong, I really appreciated her help with this.)

Sunday evening I didn't think I would be getting up for work the next morning.  Even after the aforementioned ice bath I simply couldn't walk.  I could for a short time support my own weight and twist from one foot to the other creating a kind of slow moving rotational shuffle.  To lift a leg I would just have to reach down and actually pull it up myself.  I couldn't even turn myself over in bed.  Thankfully after a night's sleep and morning ibuprofen I was able to shuffle in and out of the house in the same fashion and slowly and painfully get out the door to be picked up for work by a coworker.  Operating a vehicle or riding a bike was out of the question.

It is with all this in mind that I can honesty say I have developed no "specific injuries".  I have no doubt there are a few who have spotted me moving in a strange and slow inch by inch gait though the lobby at work and wondered what strange and terrifying medical condition I have been inflicted with.  Furthermore, some may have even noticed that I still appear to be rather happy despite this condition and wondered why.  The following, as best as I can recall, is the "why".


Race Start: 8AM Saturday


My lovely wife Katie drove me to St. Pat's Park on Sunday morning at around 7am, luckily her Grandma's house was only 10 minutes away so I got up and had a nice hot shower and rice chex with milk for breakfast.  I also had my first cup of coffee in four days which improved my mood incredibly.  I was ready for this race.  We arrived at the "barn", the headquarters for this event that had nice stations where many of the runners had set up cots with sleeping bags, chairs, etc.  The amount of supplies most had carried was impressive, including duct tape for blisters, and some with 24 distinct nutrition bottles in a cooler for each hour to mention some of the most interesting things.

Birds eye view of the park . . sweet landscaping!

The Barn

I had nothing like this.  I had a duffel bag with running clothes, a headlamp, and two cases of GU.  In retrospect I think I agree with not bringing any comforts, because they seem like more of a temptation than a help.  The race directors were extremely nice and I got an awesome bag of goodies including a long sleeved asics shirt, arm warmers, and hat.  I grabbed my hand bottle, got my timing chip, put on my beanie cap and a light wind jacket and got ready for the start.  The temperature hovered around 45 degrees, but the wind was furious.


I met one guy who had raced many of these events and been to Ironman Kona multiple times and he had plenty of advice for me.  He also kindly offered me access to his duct tape for blister repair and was amazed that I planned on running all 24 hours on "trail" in my lunar racer flats.


We sat around for a little in the barn, and when the race start time was near gathered outside with a small but very happy group.  The race began with some sort of signal that I can't really recall, but I do remember giving Katie a final pre race kiss for good luck as usual.


I started off running a slow and comfortable pace and just tried to keep myself relaxed.  There were a number of other runners that took off far ahead of me but I decided to just ignore them and stick with my plan.  The trail ranged from grass to dirt path, to a few rocky and root filled descents and one "hiking would be wise" big climb from the river out to a long grass trail.  The grass trail also had what I called the "walnut minefield" the rest of the race.  Luckily, the walnuts were mostly in that one area.  As I ran toward the end of the loop I approached what would be my favorite part.  A long quarter mile flat stretch between dense pine trees that was covered in a soft bed of pine needles.  This pine needle bed would continue to provide some nice relief the rest of the race.


As I completed this loop I settled into a nice easy pace running with Joe, a guy from Chicago who had started running ultra marathons last year and thought this would be a fun way to get in a hundred miles.  I was impressed with his plans to run all of this in the New Balance Trail Minimus.  I also ran a bit with another guy who as it turned out I had actually ran against in high school cross country.  He had never ran further than 13 miles and planned to run for 12 hours!  Impressive!


Along with Joe, I started developing a pacing plan.  After the first loop was finished in under thirty minutes I decided it would be wise to walk after each loop until thirty minutes had elapsed and then run again and repeat.  This would keep my pace under control and as it turned out allow for at least five minutes of walking after each loop.  In retrospect I think this was a good decision and it worked rather well for the first half of the race.  This idea being that I would end 12 hours with 72 miles completed and take some pressure off my performance in the second half where I was sure things would start to go awry.


Before I knew it, I had run five laps and the sun was starting to really come up.  The temperature was comfortable, and the wind was only a factor at the end of the loop going through the timing chute.  This was a beautiful day and gloriously fun.  I had run fifteen miles without even noticing.  Katie had watched a few loops and then planned to do some work, shopping and meet up with some family before coming back to watch some more.


I also stuck with my basic nutrition plan.  The plan was to drink when thirsty, and a GU every 30 minutes with two endurolyte capsules per hour.  I observed this religiously the rest of the 24 hours and it worked for the most part.


I continued to keep a steady pace and only had a minor issue with a potential blister hotspot on the side of my left small toe that I resolved by changing socks.


4:00 PM - 48 Miles


I very narrowly recovered from "the edge" of dehydration at around this point.  Somehow I started falling behind on hydration so I slowed down to a walk temporarily and had a Heed electrolyte drink, half of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, and plenty more water.  This fueling and walking stop definitely saved me as I felt certain I was going to throw up a when I came into the aid station.


4:30 PM - 50 Miles


I came close to sticking with my pacing plan exactly through the 50 mile mark, where I ended up setting a new 50 mile PR (around 8:30 . . maybe it's not a good idea to set a 50 mile PR during a 24 hour?).  It was also around this time that my feet started to feel like this was indeed an ultramarathon.


By this point I also finally felt I had a good handle on the course and where the mile markers were likely at (pure guesswork after repeating it so many times).  I also had passed back all the early "rabbits" and settled into 2nd place but unfortunately about 5 miles behind the leader.


It was also great to have Katie come back with my parents, and my aunt and uncle to hang out and watch. I ran at least 20 more fairly enjoyable miles after this and had a good time talking for a quick bit as I went through each lap.


8:00 PM - 68 Miles


I reached the halfway point and it started to get dark.  My parents and aunt and uncle had left for dinner and would be back in a little while.  It was about this time that I backed off of my pace slightly mostly due to the fact that my knees, ankles, and hips were starting to hurt off and on.  The pain would come and go but was mostly very tolerable.


9:00 PM - 74 Miles


When it really got dark, I paid for the mistake of not changing my headlamp batteries before the race.  The first two laps I ran with it were pitifully lit and resulted in my tripping (much more painful when most tendons and joints are inflamed) several times on roots and rocks.  I bit it completely once on a root.  I finally changed the batteries out after two laps and the difference was unbelievable.  The formerly treacherously dark trail was again reasonably safe.  Katie also jumped in and ran a lap with me (pacers allowed after 12 hours) which definitely helped.


The next miles (as evidenced by my splits) were pretty much the same.  I stuck with a very slow running pace with an occasional walk thrown in.  I did notice changing my gait up was helpful in avoiding joint pains.  I felt great (although ultimately couldn't sustain it) running half a lap with the race leader.


2:00 AM - Around 91 Miles


These miles were the precursor to things going truly awry.   I tried to run-hike as fast as I could but couldn't really run anymore.  My friend Ted was a huge help and ready to entertain when I called him on speakerphone.  I talked to him for most of a lap which definitely kept my mind off the growing pain all over my legs.  I never did use my phone for music at all but it was worth bringing it along just to be able to use the phone during the race.


My dad stayed at the aid station for the entire night, so he could also see my slowing pace and give me good information on what was going on with the other runners.  The 3rd place runner behind me was extremely strong and kept a steady pace all night long.  I hoped to lap him again but the reverse happened as he started gradually pulling me in when things began to fall apart for me.


2:30 AM - Around 93 Miles


As I finished my 31st lap to complete 93 miles, my dad sensed that I was quickly losing it.  I was so thankful he was ready and willing to jump in and pace me through the next miles.  He stuck with me for two of the slowest loops run by anyone during the entire race, and I hobbled as best as I could up hills.  Every time my foot caught even the slightest root or bump pain shot through my legs and I winced.  The course was lit by glow sticks and I did the best I could to spot obstacles with my headlamp.


The hill climbs were especially difficult and the one rocky downhill was excruciating.  This wasn't specific joint pain as I often have.  Literally every joint hurt at once.  My range of motion was also just severely restricted to the point that I felt I couldn't even walk.


I tried everything I could think of to invent new strides that might not hurt or at least temporarily would work.  I walked sideways for a while.  I rocked back and forth, rotating one leg forward at a time while holding my hips rigid.  I walked backward for a while when I discovered that didn't hurt as much.  I couldn't pull my feet up much more than an inch off the ground.  I felt great and wasn't tired, but my body below the waist was simply decimated.


I'm so grateful for my dad's help through these laps.  Even though they took so long it helped to have him there to talk to in order to try to take my mind off of the pain.


5:40 AM - 99 Miles


As my dad and I (still walking) got close to 100 miles, I started to evaluate my race goals.  I had just heard from the aid station that even though I had seen the 3rd place runner lap me several times I was still in 2nd place.  I wanted to hang on but wasn't sure how that could be possible.  I was very frustrated with the severe pain, tightness and restricted movement I was suffering.  I took 600mg ibuprofen, two 2x caffeinated GUs and hoped for some sort of response where there had been none from either in the previous miles.


I started to push hard.  I pushed further than my joints, tendons and muscles would allow with each stride.  I pushed my legs backward to propel myself forward harder than my hip flexors would allow.  Each stride I exhaled hard through a clenched jaw, trying to ignore pain.  When the tightness got sharper on the insides of my knees and hip flexors and outside my hips I pushed hard and hit those spots with my fists.  I started to feel a delight in exhaling hard through the pain of every single stride.  As I continued this, I was able to move just a little faster.


My dad was excited, and so was I.  Finally I was making some progress again.  The pain started to retreat and become numbness.  I pushed down my quads up every incline with my arms as hard as I could.  It all still hurt, but this was working.  My dad started remarking that he couldn't go much faster, and was very happy for it.  By the end of the loop, my dad and I both were running and the aid station and spectators were cheering me on with some definite surprise to see me return from the "walking dead".  I was back in this, and my dad dropped off to the side to end his term pacing me as I began the next loop.


6:40 AM - 102 Miles


Somewhere, out there in the night was the third place runner.  I knew he was roughly five minutes behind me, and I frequently looked for a headlamp bobbing behind me where there previously had been none.  I didn't see it, but I felt strongly that he was on the hunt.


My mind turned to strange thoughts of myself as a rabid and angry wolf like animal propelling forward and spreading fear in my wake.  I saw tiny swordsman battling on the edges of the trail in the darkness and retreating at my approach.  I heard music and heavy metal guitar riffs that weren't being played.  I don't typically think of things like this but it helped me get through severe pain so I stuck with it.  I grunted to myself with almost every step and kept running in the dark.  This was finally the temporary loss of sanity and connection to pain I had hoped to experience at some point.


7:20 AM - 105 Miles


As I ran through the finish of my 35th lap for 105 miles I found out I had turned a 5 minute lead into a 13 minute lead.  It was at this point I also learned I should pay attention to the rules.  Because I likely didn't have enough time for a full lap again (or maybe I should have tried anyway) I had to wait till 7:30AM for the half mile loops to begin.  I tried taking in more caffeine.  I did jumping squats, ran in place, and fast walked circles around the aid station.  I should have just kept running.


When 7:30 came I was so severely tightened I couldn't run anymore and the pain was stronger than ever.  I started the half mile loops and three minutes later third place came in and began the chase.  He was a machine of consistency, and hats off to him for a steady and well executed chase.  By the end of the first half mile lap of my speed walk and feeble jog I had been passed.  I ran one more loop and at 23:50 I knew I could call it a day.

Split Sheet: Not hard to figure out where I was suffering

7:50 AM - 23:50 - 106 Miles


It felt wonderful to sit (for the first time all day).  There was a low key awards ceremony and I got to hobble up to get a 3rd place prize.  The people at the race were all so nice and my family and I both enjoyed to talking to runners and spectators throughout and after the race.  Pushing myself past where I thought the edge was at was a satisfying experience.


There are plenty of things that I look back at and am satisfied with.  I stuck with my pacing plan for as long as possible, stuck with my nutrition plan, and kept a relaxed attitude as long as I could.  I consumed around 44 gels, 3 cups of chicken noodle soup, two PB&J sandwiches, one grilled cheese sandwich, and one cookie during one race.  When things went poorly during my midrace hydration issue I reacted calmly by walking, eating and drinking.  I decided I would never stop moving for 24 hours and I never did.  When there was nothing else left but to push through what I thought was impossible pain I did that too.


There was plenty to learn from as well.  I could stand to build a steadier and bigger mileage base before a race like this.  I think I could have suffered much less and perhaps kept up a slow decline in pace instead of a huge drop because my joints and tendons just haven't adapted to this kind of distance.  I think I did well with hydration but then again I think I still need to get my exact salt, electrolyte and fluid mix determined for various temperatures and paces.


I'm thankful for great race organizers, great runners to run with, and most of all my support crew (family) especially Katie for cheering me on and getting me home again (no way I could drive) and my dad for pulling me through a very rough night.


I managed to get some video during the race.  It's a little monotonous, tired, and long in parts so maybe it's a decent metaphor for a 24 hour race if nothing else.