The Red Eye Relay didn't go as well as we'd hoped.
Prep was ok. We packed a lot.
Overall, it was a beautiful day for a run - on the hot side, but still a relief from the recent 100-degree days we've been having. The scenery was pretty, and we saw lots of very interesting sights you'd see in a rural setting. (For example - a guy whittling wood in a lawnchair with two domesticated (?) turkeys sitting calmly at his side. ...wha?!?!)
Here are a few shots I captured with my new camera:
And since I love race reports, here's how it went:
The goal was to finish. It was completely uncertain if that would happen, but pace-wise, we felt we could keep up with our friends on the team we hitch-hiked with, A Pirate Looks At 100 Miles.
We had an excellent start at 5pm and survived the hottest time of the day. Legs felt wonderful! But later the wheels started to come off.
4:15pm: Check-in and registration. We had the good idea to tri-style Sharpie our race numbers on our arms rather than messing with many, many sets of bibs.
5pm: Ben starts the RER, looking strong. He ends up finishing this leg first, ahead of the other 11 teams that began at the same start time.
7:11pm: The high-viz CEP calf sleeves are visible from a half mile away. Steph finishes the second leg of the 104-mile run, getting passed only by two people. Only 95 more miles to go!
7:20pm: Just realized that Steph went out too fast - 7:52 average while keeping a comfortable pace, and pounding down the infamous Boltinghouse hill. Still felt great, though. Ben takes off with Miranda toward the next spot.
8pm: Ben and Miranda roll into the exchange point virtually together, but a little upset that we didn't stop at their halfway mark to offer them water. It's still hot out. Steph goes on with Mark, up the dreaded/long Bean Blossom hill and through Morgan-Monroe State Forest.
8:40pm: Steph starts feeling not a twinge, but a strange feeling in her ankle. It feels like the road's crowned too severely and the ankle is uncomfortable for it. There's a hotspot on the top of her foot, but nothing to be concerned with after resting for Ben's next leg.
8:53pm: Steph arrives at the exchange after and hands off to Ben. Ben waits for a few moments to go as Mark comes in and hands off to their runner. The van is starting to get a little stinky...
9:18pm: Ben arrives at the next exchange point near the old cemetery, unfortunately, only a few minutes after "Gonna Fly Now" finishes up on the ipod. Ben tells Steph to "take it slow and easy" so we don't pay for early speed later on. Steph's off.
~9:50pm: Steph gets accosted by a farmer's super-friendly Australian sheep dog 2 miles in. The new and mystery hotspot appears again minutes later, and it gets progressively worse - quickly. Andrew (Pirates) catches and passes, and the van soon catches up and stops 4.5 miles into the 7-mile leg. Headlamps and reflective vests go on. Steph stops because of the pain but stubbornly continues on. Average pace through the 4.5-mile mark is >12:30 min/mi, including stopped time.
~10:15pm: The pain has gotten even worse, and Steph ends up walking some of the last 2.5 miles while taking the average pace down to <8:50 for the whole leg. Legs feel fast, but the foot doesn't agree. She gets in the van and ices/rolls it out after the exchange to Ben.
Later: Ben makes it to Butler Winery, about 15 miles later. Mama and Papa Bartley were to meet Steph & Ben there to pick up Team BartleysRun.com and Ben & Steph complete the last "legitimate" check-in for the night. Since Mama & Papa B haven't arrived, Ben continues on until they pick up Steph and catch him later on on the course. He's still moving pret-ty fast (and Steph & the Bartley parents get lost trying to find him.)
12:30pm: Ben is eventually caught by the unofficial Bartley SAG truck and bends over a few times in discomfort. He makes it the remaining 4 miles back to the Griffy Lake boat house exchange point 18 miles later, now 31 cumulative miles on the day. He checks in, regroups, and gets into the truck, saying it'd have been possible for him to continue on, but not smart. Note: he had a dream the night before that he had to run 83 miles of the course... and would have been 87 (if he'd finished). Foreshadow much?!
Ben's splits:
Leg 1 - 3.25mi (6:33/mi), Leg 3 - 5.95mi (9:02/mi w/Miranda), Leg 5 - 3.85mi (6:32/mi), *Leg 7+8+9 - 18.53mi (7:15/mi) *Includes South Shore and Boltinghouse hills
~1am: The Bartley clan heads back into Upland Brewery so team BartleysRun.com can officially DNF (or Retire, as PlanetAdventure calls it) and head home. The race organizers are still peppy and give out high fives for being the only superhuman team, despite not finishing. Then, the realization sets in: in a stupor of pain/tiredness/inattention, Steph had forgotten to grab the car keys out of the van and they end up having to wait for the SAG van to make it to Upland anyway. Fail.
Meanwhile, A Pirate Looks At 100 Miles returns briefly, then heads off on their second lap of the course.
Steph and Ben pick up the pre-ordered pizza that's waiting for them at the restaurant (the halfway point). Unfortunately, pizza isn't nearly as enjoyable when it comes with a DNF.
8:06am: A Pirate Looks at 100 Miles finishes. Woohoo! (Video: MJ)
The Aftermath:
Ben wasn't able to eat anything and was extremely uncomfortable with stomach pain. After weighing himself, he suspects it was from dehydration, as he was as much as 8 pounds below his before-RER weight.... AFTER drinking and replenishing electrolytes.
My (Steph) foot pain got progressively worse and was not able to bear weight. Still no swelling, but I iced, ibuprofen-ed, and elevated it as I slept all night.
Sunday Morning:
Ben's stomach issues seem to be resolved. Yay! Now time for some consolation pizza... he deserves it after finishing 50k on roads all night.
Our friend, Jeff, did me a favor and got me to see the amazing Dr. Heather Dukes early in the morning to get her professional opinion of the injury and symptoms. Nothing conclusive yet, but Monday will bring x-ray tests to see what's going on. MRIs might be involved if the x-ray comes up negative. She mentioned that this may be a strain of the lisfranc joint. I guess we'll find out more tomorrow.
So, the body does what it wants, and obviously the roads and running were a little too much for it to handle. While my running-every-day-in-2012 is now officially over, it's best that I take the rest time now so it doesn't become something worse later.
Prep was ok. We packed a lot.
Overall, it was a beautiful day for a run - on the hot side, but still a relief from the recent 100-degree days we've been having. The scenery was pretty, and we saw lots of very interesting sights you'd see in a rural setting. (For example - a guy whittling wood in a lawnchair with two domesticated (?) turkeys sitting calmly at his side. ...wha?!?!)
Here are a few shots I captured with my new camera:
 |
| Before the van smelled funny |
 |
| Thanks, Rebecca, for the baked goods! |
 |
| Exchange point |
And since I love race reports, here's how it went:
The goal was to finish. It was completely uncertain if that would happen, but pace-wise, we felt we could keep up with our friends on the team we hitch-hiked with, A Pirate Looks At 100 Miles.
We had an excellent start at 5pm and survived the hottest time of the day. Legs felt wonderful! But later the wheels started to come off.
4:15pm: Check-in and registration. We had the good idea to tri-style Sharpie our race numbers on our arms rather than messing with many, many sets of bibs.
 |
| The finish chute kegs were a nice touch! |
7:20pm: Just realized that Steph went out too fast - 7:52 average while keeping a comfortable pace, and pounding down the infamous Boltinghouse hill. Still felt great, though. Ben takes off with Miranda toward the next spot.
 |
| Waiting for Ben & Mir |
 |
| Ben and the bug hat |
8:40pm: Steph starts feeling not a twinge, but a strange feeling in her ankle. It feels like the road's crowned too severely and the ankle is uncomfortable for it. There's a hotspot on the top of her foot, but nothing to be concerned with after resting for Ben's next leg.
8:53pm: Steph arrives at the exchange after and hands off to Ben. Ben waits for a few moments to go as Mark comes in and hands off to their runner. The van is starting to get a little stinky...
9:18pm: Ben arrives at the next exchange point near the old cemetery, unfortunately, only a few minutes after "Gonna Fly Now" finishes up on the ipod. Ben tells Steph to "take it slow and easy" so we don't pay for early speed later on. Steph's off.
~9:50pm: Steph gets accosted by a farmer's super-friendly Australian sheep dog 2 miles in. The new and mystery hotspot appears again minutes later, and it gets progressively worse - quickly. Andrew (Pirates) catches and passes, and the van soon catches up and stops 4.5 miles into the 7-mile leg. Headlamps and reflective vests go on. Steph stops because of the pain but stubbornly continues on. Average pace through the 4.5-mile mark is >12:30 min/mi, including stopped time.
~10:15pm: The pain has gotten even worse, and Steph ends up walking some of the last 2.5 miles while taking the average pace down to <8:50 for the whole leg. Legs feel fast, but the foot doesn't agree. She gets in the van and ices/rolls it out after the exchange to Ben.
 |
The flattest part of this course
|
~10:40pm: Ben finishes his 4-mile leg, and Steph's been icing, but the foot's not swollen. It's Steph's turn to run, but the pain is getting to be excruciating and it's obvious there will be no more running/weight-bearing on that foot tonight. Ben continues on, just to get a long run in. Partway through the Lake Lemon leg, Ben decides it's better to stop early and get a decent night's sleep (RER's only downside is that you're a walking zombie for the next 3 days after). At this point, it's really dark. Everyone's starting to get really tired... Miranda and Allison attempt to sleep.
Eventually, the van gets pretty quiet at 2:34am. Except Aaron.
I missed this, but the video you see below embodies THE Red Eye Relay.
(AaronIthougthItoldyouthatsongwasofflimits!):
I missed this, but the video you see below embodies THE Red Eye Relay.
(AaronIthougthItoldyouthatsongwasofflimits!):
12:30pm: Ben is eventually caught by the unofficial Bartley SAG truck and bends over a few times in discomfort. He makes it the remaining 4 miles back to the Griffy Lake boat house exchange point 18 miles later, now 31 cumulative miles on the day. He checks in, regroups, and gets into the truck, saying it'd have been possible for him to continue on, but not smart. Note: he had a dream the night before that he had to run 83 miles of the course... and would have been 87 (if he'd finished). Foreshadow much?!
Ben's splits:
Leg 1 - 3.25mi (6:33/mi), Leg 3 - 5.95mi (9:02/mi w/Miranda), Leg 5 - 3.85mi (6:32/mi), *Leg 7+8+9 - 18.53mi (7:15/mi) *Includes South Shore and Boltinghouse hills
~1am: The Bartley clan heads back into Upland Brewery so team BartleysRun.com can officially DNF (or Retire, as PlanetAdventure calls it) and head home. The race organizers are still peppy and give out high fives for being the only superhuman team, despite not finishing. Then, the realization sets in: in a stupor of pain/tiredness/inattention, Steph had forgotten to grab the car keys out of the van and they end up having to wait for the SAG van to make it to Upland anyway. Fail.
Meanwhile, A Pirate Looks At 100 Miles returns briefly, then heads off on their second lap of the course.
Steph and Ben pick up the pre-ordered pizza that's waiting for them at the restaurant (the halfway point). Unfortunately, pizza isn't nearly as enjoyable when it comes with a DNF.
 |
| The pizza sat mostly uneaten until the next morning. :( |
We went home pretty busted, bummed out, and ready to go to bed.
The Aftermath:
Ben wasn't able to eat anything and was extremely uncomfortable with stomach pain. After weighing himself, he suspects it was from dehydration, as he was as much as 8 pounds below his before-RER weight.... AFTER drinking and replenishing electrolytes.
My (Steph) foot pain got progressively worse and was not able to bear weight. Still no swelling, but I iced, ibuprofen-ed, and elevated it as I slept all night.
Sunday Morning:
Ben's stomach issues seem to be resolved. Yay! Now time for some consolation pizza... he deserves it after finishing 50k on roads all night.
Our friend, Jeff, did me a favor and got me to see the amazing Dr. Heather Dukes early in the morning to get her professional opinion of the injury and symptoms. Nothing conclusive yet, but Monday will bring x-ray tests to see what's going on. MRIs might be involved if the x-ray comes up negative. She mentioned that this may be a strain of the lisfranc joint. I guess we'll find out more tomorrow.
 |
| It's ok-- sadly, I already have my own boot. |
Most importantly, thank you to all of you, our biggest fans, who followed us and supported us through our (very short) journey.
We're confident that - without injury or ailment - our legs would have carried us through to the finish.
Look out for big things from this Superhuman team next year!
Look out for big things from this Superhuman team next year!
That's still a whole lot of running! It's pretty intense that you're in shape to consider such a thing.
ReplyDeleteBest wishes for a speedy recovery, Steph!