ICY-8
The much anticipated race report. . .
Saturday morning started off pretty much the same as most of my mornings this past week. I was up well before the sun, it was freezing cold outside and my mental checklist was already working on overdrive. Friday night I'd made sure to have everything packed and ready to go. For other marathons/races I usually wait and do the bulk of my packing the morning of, taking into account changes in weather and my mood on that given day. But this race was different; I knew that I needed at least five changes of clothes for all types of weather to accommodate the projected spike in temps. 0500: My bags were packed, coffee was brewing, water was boiling and I was on target. 0530: The drive down to Lake Anna was uneventful; rather then use the google directions I'd printed out the day before I decided just to take 95 down and follow the signs. Following signs in the dark is much easier than trying to read directions printed on a paper in the dark. This worked pretty well until I was almost there; I'd been following the same SUV out on the dark country roads for most of my drive so had pretty much given up checking the signs. Because really, if this guy wasn't running the race then why the hell was he up this early, driving in these parts?! Fortunately, I only made it a 1/4 mile off course before turning around. 0620: Arrive at Lake Anna - So I pull up to the shack at the entry; there's one car in front of me apparently paying their parking fees. When it's my turn to pull up I take the necessary paperwork and discover that my wallet is full of $20 bills. shit! By this point a line of cars has formed behind me and I decide to come back and deal with it later. As I start to drive through the park, the lead car in this caravan of , it occurs to me that I don't know where I'm going. . .shit, just my luck. Fortunately, innate instinct prevailed and within 5 minutes the parking lot/race start/finish/lake were right there in front of me.
0630: Race registration. As it happened, my race partner Bill was immediately behind me and we quickly rendezvoused. This was good, considering it was 16 degrees outside and still pitch black. All the runners were safely tucked away in their cars and since I didn't have Bill's cell phone number or know what his car looked like, finding him could have been a problem. After we picked up our bib numbers and timing chips we stood outside our respective trucks, side by side, going through pre-race motions. Fuel? check. shoes? check. water? check. The next 45 minutes are a blur to me now and I'm sure it was pure adrenaline that was keeping us warm. 0715: pre-race brief. Numerous runners in varying degrees of clothing all assemble for our pre-race briefing. Orange tape = short loop; Pink tape = long loop. Got it? check.
0735: Race starts, all the solo runners and firsts for teams line up. Did I mention that it's cold? When the runners are gone I get to assembling my tent, i.e. homebase for the day. Assembling a tent when you can't feel your fingers is really difficult; if you don't believe me try doing it for yourself. 0825(or thereabout): Bill is back and off I go. The course started out on a paved path, uphill for at least a half mile. With the first attempt I ran it, and soon knew that wasn't happening again. The trails were absolutely beautiful, of course the ground was frozen solid and it was really cold out and I was convinced that I was going to get myself lost and accidentally run way further, off course, that I was supposed to. But when all was said and done I don't think there was anyone else on the trail with me for very long all day. Imagine running trails all by yourself for 8 hours. Too many days have gone by and two more races so I'll cut this short and sum it up to get on with the next two races. At the end of the day Bill and I took 1st place for the co-ed teams, Billy Goats Gruff, with 48.9 miles total. A perfect day, 65 degrees on 07 FEB, and it's a wrap. (now if only the glass hadn't shattered afterward but i'll leave that story for another day)
Saturday morning started off pretty much the same as most of my mornings this past week. I was up well before the sun, it was freezing cold outside and my mental checklist was already working on overdrive. Friday night I'd made sure to have everything packed and ready to go. For other marathons/races I usually wait and do the bulk of my packing the morning of, taking into account changes in weather and my mood on that given day. But this race was different; I knew that I needed at least five changes of clothes for all types of weather to accommodate the projected spike in temps. 0500: My bags were packed, coffee was brewing, water was boiling and I was on target. 0530: The drive down to Lake Anna was uneventful; rather then use the google directions I'd printed out the day before I decided just to take 95 down and follow the signs. Following signs in the dark is much easier than trying to read directions printed on a paper in the dark. This worked pretty well until I was almost there; I'd been following the same SUV out on the dark country roads for most of my drive so had pretty much given up checking the
0630: Race registration. As it happened, my race partner Bill was immediately behind me and we quickly rendezvoused. This was good, considering it was 16 degrees outside and still pitch black. All the runners were safely tucked away in their cars and since I didn't have Bill's cell phone number or know what his car looked like, finding him could have been a problem. After we picked up our bib numbers and timing chips we stood outside our respective trucks, side by side, going through pre-race motions. Fuel? check. shoes? check. water? check. The next 45 minutes are a blur to me now and I'm sure it was pure adrenaline that was keeping us warm. 0715: pre-race brief. Numerous runners in varying degrees of clothing all assemble for our pre-race briefing. Orange tape = short loop; Pink tape = long loop. Got it? check.
0735: Race starts, all the solo runners and firsts for teams line up. Did I mention that it's cold? When the runners are gone I get to assembling my tent, i.e. homebase for the day. Assembling a tent when you can't feel your fingers is really difficult; if you don't believe me try doing it for yourself. 0825(or thereabout): Bill is back and off I go. The course started out on a paved path, uphill for at least a half mile. With the first attempt I ran it, and soon knew that wasn't happening again. The trails were absolutely beautiful, of course the ground was frozen solid and it was really cold out and I was convinced that I was going to get myself lost and accidentally run way further, off course, that I was supposed to. But when all was said and done I don't think there was anyone else on the trail with me for very long all day. Imagine running trails all by yourself for 8 hours. Too many days have gone by and two more races so I'll cut this short and sum it up to get on with the next two races. At the end of the day Bill and I took 1st place for the co-ed teams, Billy Goats Gruff, with 48.9 miles total. A perfect day, 65 degrees on 07 FEB, and it's a wrap. (now if only the glass hadn't shattered afterward but i'll leave that story for another day)
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