open up your eyes
let it set you free
it all works out eventually
you gotta keep on keepin' on
i can rock and i can roll
i know i want to move
gotta take control
watch out world cause here i come
and i can't stop 'til i'm done
bring on the day
~ charlotte martin, bring on the day
***********
the pre-race nerves started two weeks before miwok.
i only mention it because i can't remember ever having pre-race nerves.
maybe i was making up for lost time.
training didn't go precisely as planned, see, and as my previous (and only) 100k didn't go as planned either, i started to worry a little.
"i've rolled my ankle four times in the past month."
"why have i rolled my ankle four times in the past month?"
"it's gotta be the shoes. i can't run miwok in these shoes."
"i definitely need new shoes."
"yes, i should totally run a 100k in brand. new. shoes."
"i need a new hydration pack."
"no, i don't need a new hydration pack."
"they're on sale, though."
"no new hydration pack."
"i haven't trained enough."
"this is the most training i've ever done."
"maybe it's too much."
"shut up."
***********
in retrospect, there really were several little pre- and in-game mistakes that could've sent my day sideways.
i only mention it because i can't remember ever having pre-race nerves.
maybe i was making up for lost time.
training didn't go precisely as planned, see, and as my previous (and only) 100k didn't go as planned either, i started to worry a little.
"i've rolled my ankle four times in the past month."
"why have i rolled my ankle four times in the past month?"
"it's gotta be the shoes. i can't run miwok in these shoes."
"i definitely need new shoes."
"yes, i should totally run a 100k in brand. new. shoes."
"i need a new hydration pack."
"no, i don't need a new hydration pack."
"they're on sale, though."
"no new hydration pack."
"i haven't trained enough."
"this is the most training i've ever done."
"maybe it's too much."
"shut up."
***********
in retrospect, there really were several little pre- and in-game mistakes that could've sent my day sideways.
in no particular order:
• forgot the pre-race anti-chafe (and failed to correct this error, even though i had not one but two opportunities at the tennessee valley aid station)
• left my handheld water bottle in the porta-potty at the cardiac aid station (mile 2.8)
• didn't bring enough tums for predictable stomach trouble
• stomach trouble became more of a thing late in the race than it should have
the 15:30:00 cut-off at miwok is an hour and a half shorter than at the gorge waterfalls 100k. it's also more than an hour better than i ran at gorge in 2016.
did i worry about that, too? hahaha, you bet i did. which is why my goal time was a completely appropriate 15:29:59.
SPOILER ALERT
as it turned out, none of these things mattered.
because for all the worries and mistakes and things i forgot, i DID remember to bring my climbing legs.
and that made up for everything.
***********
the race day alarm went off at 3:30 a.m.
that's early for me.
fortunately all the pre-race gear was laid out and the organizing of drop bags was done, so no fancy problem-solving was necessary.
all i had to do was dress myself, get the drop bags in the car, drive from bolinas to stinson beach, find a place to park, walk to the stinson beach community center, and drop the drop bags at the appropriate drop-bag drop-off place.
and start running.
somehow all these things happened without incident.
next thing i knew, RD tia bodington was saying, "on your mark...get set...bake!" or something to that effect.
and we were underway.
i remember a slow start, climbingclimbingclimbing in a konga-line of climbers. i remember the bagpiper at cardiac, but didn't remember my handheld until i was past the point of no return. didn't matter, i had another bottle in my perfectly good hydration vest.
i remember running around the marin headlands for quite a while, and stopping in my tracks when the golden gate bridge and the entire bay area came into view.
i remember running past john fegyveresi, one of the 2012 finishers at the barkley marathons. we had seen him the day before, picking up bibs at the san francisco running company. "i think i know that guy," i said. "how do i know that guy?"
eventually i figured it out.
he's shorter than i thought.
i remember pounding the steep downhill to the randall aid station, thinking it was much farther than the alleged 1.6 miles. the climb back up felt much more humane.
backbackback on the out-and-back toward the bolinas aid station, along the coastal trail to the matt davis trail, then downdowndown again. "is there a finish line anywhere in our future?" i asked the guy just ahead of me. he thought so, and so did i, but it remained maddeningly out of reach. meanwhile the pounding from the steep descent was rattling my brain every step of the way.
finallyfinally i passed a volunteer trailside who said, "you're almost there, just a hundred yards to the road, and a hard left."
i'm not gonna say i didn't believe him, but i didn't believe him.
turns out he was telling the truth.
cowbells, people lining both sides of the finish chute, a big red digital clock, and someone was hanging a finisher's medal around my neck. people were talking to me, but i have no idea what they said.
then i saw my friend glenn tachiyama there, and knew i was home. he said things, too. but again, no idea what. thanks, glenn. amazingly good to see you there.
i found a chair, and was done.
one of the best running days ever.
***********
many thanks to my excellent friend ian burton, whose been-there-done-that miwok experience kept me squared away for many, many miles.
congrats to ian, jon lumb and john maytum, who turned in sterling running performances.
thanks, of course, to glenn and tia for the guaranteed entry into the race via the tribute to the trails calendar project. without which, i wouldn't have had the chance to run.
much gratitude to tia and the entire miwok crew for a brilliant, enthusiastic race day.
the 15:30:00 cut-off at miwok is an hour and a half shorter than at the gorge waterfalls 100k. it's also more than an hour better than i ran at gorge in 2016.
did i worry about that, too? hahaha, you bet i did. which is why my goal time was a completely appropriate 15:29:59.
SPOILER ALERT
as it turned out, none of these things mattered.
because for all the worries and mistakes and things i forgot, i DID remember to bring my climbing legs.
and that made up for everything.
***********
the race day alarm went off at 3:30 a.m.
that's early for me.
fortunately all the pre-race gear was laid out and the organizing of drop bags was done, so no fancy problem-solving was necessary.
all i had to do was dress myself, get the drop bags in the car, drive from bolinas to stinson beach, find a place to park, walk to the stinson beach community center, and drop the drop bags at the appropriate drop-bag drop-off place.
and start running.
somehow all these things happened without incident.
next thing i knew, RD tia bodington was saying, "on your mark...get set...bake!" or something to that effect.
 |
| this guy. major distraction. |
and we were underway.
i remember a slow start, climbingclimbingclimbing in a konga-line of climbers. i remember the bagpiper at cardiac, but didn't remember my handheld until i was past the point of no return. didn't matter, i had another bottle in my perfectly good hydration vest.
i remember running around the marin headlands for quite a while, and stopping in my tracks when the golden gate bridge and the entire bay area came into view.
i remember running past john fegyveresi, one of the 2012 finishers at the barkley marathons. we had seen him the day before, picking up bibs at the san francisco running company. "i think i know that guy," i said. "how do i know that guy?"
eventually i figured it out.
 |
| coastal trail, above pirates cove. photo by the peerless glenn tachiyama. |
i remember pounding the steep downhill to the randall aid station, thinking it was much farther than the alleged 1.6 miles. the climb back up felt much more humane.
backbackback on the out-and-back toward the bolinas aid station, along the coastal trail to the matt davis trail, then downdowndown again. "is there a finish line anywhere in our future?" i asked the guy just ahead of me. he thought so, and so did i, but it remained maddeningly out of reach. meanwhile the pounding from the steep descent was rattling my brain every step of the way.
finallyfinally i passed a volunteer trailside who said, "you're almost there, just a hundred yards to the road, and a hard left."
i'm not gonna say i didn't believe him, but i didn't believe him.
turns out he was telling the truth.
cowbells, people lining both sides of the finish chute, a big red digital clock, and someone was hanging a finisher's medal around my neck. people were talking to me, but i have no idea what they said.
then i saw my friend glenn tachiyama there, and knew i was home. he said things, too. but again, no idea what. thanks, glenn. amazingly good to see you there.
i found a chair, and was done.
one of the best running days ever.
***********
many thanks to my excellent friend ian burton, whose been-there-done-that miwok experience kept me squared away for many, many miles.
congrats to ian, jon lumb and john maytum, who turned in sterling running performances.
thanks, of course, to glenn and tia for the guaranteed entry into the race via the tribute to the trails calendar project. without which, i wouldn't have had the chance to run.
much gratitude to tia and the entire miwok crew for a brilliant, enthusiastic race day.
***********
miwok 100k
14:38:39
204/297 (overall)
28/45 (M 50-59)
shoes:
salomon sense pro max (mile 0-49.2)
hoka clifton (mile 49.2-62.2)
song(s) stuck in my head the entire day: "bring on the day" ~ charlotte martin; "here we are" ~ jimmy buffet
2 comments:
Michael this is great! Fantastic!
So very proud of you. Honestly. I am totally impressed.
That is one major accomplishment, no two ways about it.
Time to rest on your laurels and drink some beer. Forever.
Miss you bro. Knees won't allow me to run like in years past. Life goes on, thankfully.
thanks, doug. i appreciate the support, and insist your knees get back in the game. there are miles to be run, and they're not going to run themselves. miss you, too.
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