The 60k start"There was a lot of suffering."
The part he left out was how much of a trooper he was. He had a really good first half, which was probably his downfall since I think he went out too fast. But at mile 25 he wanted to drop. I had a chance to walk with him for about 1/2 mile. I didn't want to convince him to go on if he really didn't feel like he could. But we did talk about how sometimes it gets better and that when the day was done, he might regret it if he didn't finish. I still thought he was going to drop. But when we got to where I had parked the car, he took a Powerbar and decided to keep going and did finish. I'm so proud of him since I know how difficult it is to keep moving when you want to stop. I think he fueled and hydrated well, but just put too much into that first half.
Marc and Olga on the "grunt hill"
Mile 25 - "Stick a fork in me --- I'm done!"
Still smiling at mile 34I didn't put this one on my race calendar because I thought I wouldn't be able to handle a 60K+ and still run Eugene in 2 weeks. And I really didn't think I could bear to run the 30K, knowing that a 60k was in progress. But now I'm certain I could have done it and Eugene too. I'm hoping to have it on my schedule next year.
It was fun seeing familiar faces. I'm starting to recognize people, but still don't know all the names. I did notice a lot of awesome women, who made it look easy. Its great to have such awesome role models and gives me much to aspire to.
future ultra runner?.......
13 comments:
Sarah,
It was nice to see you on the trail. I hope you can convince Marc to do this or another trail race again. Glad he could finish.
Plus, he will feel better after this race than if he ran a marathon. He will recover twice as fast even though it was 50% longer. And close to twice as long on his feet!!!
Maybe he can sneak into PCT 50k. You know show up at the start and see if somebody doesn't show. Sort of like the waiting list at Hardrock. I am sure Olga and Monica could help you out. Plus, that course is a "friendly" 50k.
Anyway, hopefully he relishes in his accomplishment. He did a great job.
Have fun in Eugene.
tom
I love Marc's report. To the point, tells the whole story. He should start a blog - the comments would be longer than his report!
I'm glad you had fun, and I know about that jealous feeling. Sometimes though, we just gotta share and let our sweeties get a race in. Maybe next time, Marc will be jealous of you!
Wow. Now I'm really inspired. :-)
Thanks so much for sharing Marc's run. The pictures are great!! I feel the same way about seeing all the great female athletes at these events and really looking to them as role models of what I can hopefully someday come close to achieving.
Are you excited that Eugene is coming up so soon?
Congrats to Marc on sticking it out to the end. The pictures sure make it look like a beautiful one. You'll definitely have to pencil this in for 2008. Isn't the little guy's excitement just so contagious?
"But now I'm certain I could have done it and Eugene too. I'm hoping to have it on my schedule next year." The way you're progressing you could totally handle it next year. Good for Mark. It always hurts at first but what a great and satisfying experience to persevere through a tough race. And look at the little guy go. Another kid lucky enough to have parents to show him that's it's more fun outdoors.
Congratulations to Marc! It's so much easier to give up, at least at the time, but long term satisfaction tends to overshadow temporary suffering. Kudos to his cheerleaders for keeping him motivated.
What can I say? I remember how he asked me what mile is that, and I answered I have no idea - and Marc was like: what kind of runner are you? Hmm, same as you...because, marc, you are not a runner...you are an ULTRA-RUNNER!!! because only an ultrarunner will want to drop "stick a fork in me" dead at 25 and then run another half-marathon and be happy!
Sarah, it was great to see you and a little guy on the course, and I know your feelings:) You were an awesome support! Lucky you your little guy is looking up to doing what his parents enjoy doing!
Marc did a great job, unbelievable he had that pain and still moved well. Wish I had more time to chat - "grunt" was not much a place to talk:)
Congratulation to him and the whole family.
It's so cool to read reports and see pictures from all these different bloggers! Congrats Marc!
Congrats to Marc...what an awesome run!! Glad you had so much fun and much to contemplate in your own running schedule!
Looks like a beautiful day. Very cool!!
Sarah,
Let's both plan to run this next year. It looks like a great run. Thank you for the pictures and the report. I especailly loved "There was a lot of suffering." It gives us all a challenge for our next race. Why are we so compelled to go out and run another? I believe it's the wonderful people involved in ultra running at all levels.
Congrats to Marc...way to push thru to the end! Great support out there Sarah...I think watching races is a great motivator! I'm volunteering for a race next month and I think I'll want to jump in and run too! Btw that cake looks scrumptious!
Keep up the hard work!
hmmmm how did I miss this report, I might be working to hard think I have to slow that up :-)
Great Job Marc, way to grind it out & FINISH!! Awesome pics and love the Future Ultra Pic !!
Post a Comment