BK25k

Not the best feeling in the world. I started out by indicating that I would not drop any more as it gets to easy to quit once you have done it a couple of times. So it was finish or die trying. Well....

Started off pretty slow in the mid to back of the pack. My fastest mile all day was a 12 and change on mile 2 of the run. Blew through the Snowville stop pretty fast. I filled my bottle at every water stop which would have made Boston Store the fourth I believe so I was drinking plenty of fluids and I had been trying to eat something every 20-30 minutes so by the time I got to Boston store I had eaten a pure fuel bar and some fig newtons.

I got my bottle refilled at Boston Store, grabbed a PB&J and started walking down the towpath. As soon as I started eating the sandwich I realized that my stomach was feeling pretty full and was starting to once again rebel. I initially figured that I would just start a slow jog and try to choke down the food while not loosing my stomach (to this point I have in the past both babied my stomach through these times and just let it go). When things go wrong I tend to start analyzing as it is my nature and it is at this point I realize that I no longer have sweat pouring off my hat. As a mater of fact I felt a little dry as I started up the hill from Boston Store into the Buckeye. So after this walking Sarah catches up to me and walks up the hill some with me. I told her that I had stopped sweating but encouraged her along. The one thing I have never done is slow anyone else down. I always tell everyone I'm okay and just to go ahead. By the time I cross over Boston Mills Rd I realize that the not sweating thing is really bad news and I start feeling pretty warm. I down the remainder of my handheld bottle which causes me to immediately loose the contents of my stomach. If I was to do a volume calculation I would have to tell you that it looked like I had at least 40 oz of liquid in there so this was not a pretty sight. Luckily I finished up and got moving just in time for Red to catch me. So I stuck with them through pine lane and things started getting a little difficult for me.

So I'm pretty sure that I wasn't delirious but this was the point at which I was jogging down the trail and saw a girl stopped just off the trail. She was standing, facing me, maybe 2-3 feet to the side of the trail and it looked like maybe she was trying to stretch as she had her legs spread out to the sides slightly like a saw horse. Well it was only at this time that I realized she had one hand pulling her shorts to the side and was peeing. Wow, I didn't realize that women could just stand up pull their shorts to the side a pee. So what is with all the squatting? This was one talented girl I had just witnessed. Maybe she was trying to catch E-Speed and didn't want to waste time. When I realized what was going on and that I must have been staring a little I just kinda avoided eye contact as I passed and thought of all the things I wanted to say... hmm how about.
1. Nice Job
2. Looking good
3. Your almost there
Well you see where this is going.

The next 2 miles were completed in roughly 40 minutes. Some time was spent at the small stream crossing about a mile from Pine Lane. I started by dipping my hat in the water and throwing it on my head to cool down. Then one of the experienced ultra guys came by on his way back with a towel. He started to dip the towel in the stream and then ring it out over my head to cool me down. It felt great. I told him I was okay and he headed off. Well at this point I remembered some crazy survive man episode and actually laid down in the stream to cool off. It actually worked. I think the guy who actually did 100k on Sat (started at pine lane ran to the start, ran the race, and then back to pine lane) came by and gave me a water bottle. I'm pretty sure that when he got to pine lane he told them they should send someone back to get me because about 1/10 of a mile from pine lane I was greeted by some kind guys with heed coming to find me.

Long story short. After about 30 minutes at the rest stop with ice on my head and shivering while my fingers were swelling I was about ready for the return trip. One of the aid workers (who I should know his name as we have run together) told me that he shouldn't say anything but he didn't think I should be going anywhere as one of the other aid station workers was refilling my bottle. Well I guess dropping was better then dying after all right?

Well to wrap things up here is what I have learned.

1. 14 months, 4 marathons and 2 ultras
2. Nausea at all and vomiting at all but one (walked last 6 miles to prevent puking)
3. Same at multiple 18-23 mile training runs. Nausea etc.
4. Everything from no electrolyte tabs up to one s-cap every 30 minutes this weekend (very bad idea this weekend. Never take 5 s-caps in 2-1/2 hours)
5. Gu, Pure Fuel bar, water, Gatorade, propel, powerade all together separate etc.
6. Run fast, slow, very slow.

All produced the same results. My stomach quits absorbing and processing after around 2 hours of running. I then get bloated, vomit, dehydrate, and all the good things that come from that.

Plenty of advice and now the best of all. Stop it. My options as I see them are do what I said before and start running 1/2 marathons and shorter fun fast races. Continue to do this until I can at least run some 18-20 mile training runs at race pace without having issues. Quit eating and drinking after 1-1/2 hours into a run so my stomach doesn't start to fill. Deal with the dehydration slightly and make sure it doesn't get out of control.

In hindsight as soon as I realized I stopped sweating I should have turned around and headed to snowville. It would have saved me 3-1/2 hours of possibly dangerous conditions in the woods. Oh and I think I might actaully ask for help next time to. I even hung out for a few minutes at the finish line watching some friends finish when I perhaps should have had an IV attached to my arm instead flushing out some salt.

Guess I'm signing up for the Buckeye 1/2 and the Akron 1/2. I didn't really need any free shoes anyway. I'm going to break the 1:45 mark I wanted to hit at Cleveland.