I found the "runner's high" that I realized I had lost after CCC. I was not able to attempt Plain (because I somehow hurt my hip worse this week to the point of limping), but it was a GREAT weekend in Plain. I'm back baby! - emotionally back in my game anyway. I feel like the emotions, good, bad and ugly, of all the Plain hopefuls, runners and finishers gave me back something that I wouldn't have gotten from running. I wouldn't trade the weekend or the new friends I've made along the way for anything.
Arthur and Michelle's blogs. (Not only do they run faster and more efficiently than me, they also blog faster and more efficiently!)
Some Plain 'ol good quotes (paraphrased):
Joe Lee's wife: I'm going to kick his ass if he doesn't finish; he's spent the past 9 months obsessing over Plain. (very metaphorical timeframe reference don't you think?)
Arthur (2-3 weeks ago): There is no way in hell I am running Plain. Maybe in a couple years.
Michelle at the 55/60 mile aid station: I'm going to miss the cutoff! (Uh, only if you sit here for 5 more hours!!)
Tim Englund coming into the aid station leading the pack: WTF?
Rob's daughter Lorilee on what Rob does when he gets home from a run: And then he calls my mom and tells her to bring home 5 Big Macs. (Rob disputes this fact. ;-) "Out of the mouths of babes" as they say.)
PRE-RACE
Arthur and Michelle's blogs. (Not only do they run faster and more efficiently than me, they also blog faster and more efficiently!)
Some Plain 'ol good quotes (paraphrased):
Joe Lee's wife: I'm going to kick his ass if he doesn't finish; he's spent the past 9 months obsessing over Plain. (very metaphorical timeframe reference don't you think?)
Arthur (2-3 weeks ago): There is no way in hell I am running Plain. Maybe in a couple years.
Michelle at the 55/60 mile aid station: I'm going to miss the cutoff! (Uh, only if you sit here for 5 more hours!!)
Tim Englund coming into the aid station leading the pack: WTF?
Rob's daughter Lorilee on what Rob does when he gets home from a run: And then he calls my mom and tells her to bring home 5 Big Macs. (Rob disputes this fact. ;-) "Out of the mouths of babes" as they say.)
PRE-RACE
On Friday afternoon my brother Jay and I picked up Arthur and then Michelle, repacking the car at each stop to accomodate all the bags - I don't know how we fit it all in.
We got to the race-briefing at the Thousand Trails ***Adult Lodge in Plain with 10 minutes to spare. I said hello to Chris Ralph and Tom Ripley as they checked Arthur and Michelle in. I was about to lose it if I stayed at the lodge during the pre-briefing runner gathering, so Jay and I decided we would go check into our rental trailer and unload all the bags and gear. We got back to the lodge just as the briefing was finishing up (and heard the last 20 minutes of what was a very entertaining briefing by Tom and Chris) and then joined everyone for dinner - thanks to Linda Ripley and Jane Updegrove for great cooking and hospitality - dinner & breakfast.
***Michelle had to explain to me that Adult Lodge meant bingo and shuffleboard, NOT homemade movies and rotating circular beds. Also, apparently the needle disposal containers in the bathrooms are not for recreational drug users. Thanks for the education Michelle ;-)
Back at the trailer Michelle and Arthur packed their gear while Jay and I enjoyed a beer. I did a 50 yard jog through the campground just to see - yep, hip still hurts! :) By 8 p.m. we were all tucked in for bed.
RACE DAY
We were up at 2:45 the next morning to hit the 3 a.m. breakfast. Everyone popped out of bed before the alarm even went off. Michelle and Arthur slept better than I did though! I was tossing and turning all night long due to "what ifs." But ... that was the last time that I would dwell on the negative...my attitude righted itself and I had a great time from here on out.
I finally met up with Rob that morning at the lodge to give him his laminated map and directions that I promised I would take care of (from when we were both planning on running). I didn't notice his footwear and lack of gear as he came in and was surprised that he also was going to DNS. I said I hoped it wasn't me and he said I was only one straw on the camel's back; it was the missing camelbak that broke the camel's back. I could tell his decision was final, but I still tried telling him I had all the gear he would need...but I knew where he was coming from...and it was okay. Somewhere out there is a really cute photo of Rob and I in matching jackets giving the thumb's down sign at the start of the race :)
Finally it was 5 a.m. and we hugged everyone and wished them well on their way and snapped pictures as they all took off. I stuck around to help clean in the kitchen ... it's a woman thang! Then I gimped back to the trailer on foot - yep, hip still hurts - good thing. Jay and I caught about another 1/2 hour of sleep, but by 7 a.m. we set out on our bikes.
We biked, hiked, climbed down a river embankment to skip rocks in the river, went shopping in Plain, chatted with our fellow camping and crew "neighbors," had a "couple" beers, kayaked in Lake Pond, set off the fire alarm in the trailer while cooking pizza and sausage, and all that before 5 p.m. when we said we would be at Deep Creek - the only place where crews or outside aid are allowed on the entire course - and this is at the "half way" point - more like at mile 60. Anyway, it was a fun day, and we hadn't even started the crewing portion yet...
CREWING
Jay and I arrived at Deep Creek and set everything up. Arthur and Michelle estimated a 7:30-8 p.m. arrival time. Lisa Bliss, Allison Hanks and Eliza were already there waiting for their respective runners: Tim Englund, James Varner and David Goggins. Wow, we were in elite crew company! (That speaks to "our" runners, not to us.)
Jay and I drank a "few" beers but kept an easy pace - everyone knows what starting out too fast will do to you! ;-) We had three assigned tasks: 1) not be drunk, 2) have hot water ready and 3) have hot soup ready.
After the front runners came throught (Tim E., Tim S., David, Alan, Beverly and James) Jay and I started getting nervous about Arthur being early so we decided we better get cooking. However, the propane attachment wasn't in the box. So we almost failed at tasks #2 and #3, but Lisa let us borrow her stove and all was good! We had the water and the soup in thermoses and not a 1/2 hour too soon! Steve Stoyles and Rob and their families, and Michelle's boyfriend Fabien and their pooch Brutus showed up, so the time passed quickly. Although it was starting to get dark...so we wished Arthur would hurry up!
When Arthur came in at ~8p.m. we worked pretty darn smoothly (being that we had no plan as to what we were actually going to do) between Steve, Rob, Jay and I to get his feet and blisters attended to, get him some food, and repack his bag. Although, every time I tried to ask Arthur what food he wanted I'd get a blank stare and as far as I could tell all he had in his bag was one sandwich and not many gels...so Rob and I just started stuffing food in there (sorry for the extra weight, but we had good intentions). He was off at 8:26 by my watch and we watched his lights fade into the distance not knowing when we would see him next.
Michelle arrived a 1/2 hour later and that was much more relaxing! Her boyfriend Fabien was there to tend to her needs and knew what she wanted. And her feet, oh my gosh, her feet were pristine, no time spent on them at all. Jay and I pretty much just stood by to hand gear and food to Fabien. She was set to go in a 1/2 hour as well but said she was so warm in the chair, so I truly relished kicking her out of the aid station!! :)
Jay, Fabien, dog Brutus and I headed back to the trailer and were fast asleep by 11 p.m. Not a bad day. And as Lisa said - this is the easiest race to crew at, an easy way to pay your time. So, so true.
SUNDAY
We were up at 2:45 the next morning to hit the 3 a.m. breakfast. Everyone popped out of bed before the alarm even went off. Michelle and Arthur slept better than I did though! I was tossing and turning all night long due to "what ifs." But ... that was the last time that I would dwell on the negative...my attitude righted itself and I had a great time from here on out.
I finally met up with Rob that morning at the lodge to give him his laminated map and directions that I promised I would take care of (from when we were both planning on running). I didn't notice his footwear and lack of gear as he came in and was surprised that he also was going to DNS. I said I hoped it wasn't me and he said I was only one straw on the camel's back; it was the missing camelbak that broke the camel's back. I could tell his decision was final, but I still tried telling him I had all the gear he would need...but I knew where he was coming from...and it was okay. Somewhere out there is a really cute photo of Rob and I in matching jackets giving the thumb's down sign at the start of the race :)
Finally it was 5 a.m. and we hugged everyone and wished them well on their way and snapped pictures as they all took off. I stuck around to help clean in the kitchen ... it's a woman thang! Then I gimped back to the trailer on foot - yep, hip still hurts - good thing. Jay and I caught about another 1/2 hour of sleep, but by 7 a.m. we set out on our bikes.
We biked, hiked, climbed down a river embankment to skip rocks in the river, went shopping in Plain, chatted with our fellow camping and crew "neighbors," had a "couple" beers, kayaked in Lake Pond, set off the fire alarm in the trailer while cooking pizza and sausage, and all that before 5 p.m. when we said we would be at Deep Creek - the only place where crews or outside aid are allowed on the entire course - and this is at the "half way" point - more like at mile 60. Anyway, it was a fun day, and we hadn't even started the crewing portion yet...
CREWING
Jay and I arrived at Deep Creek and set everything up. Arthur and Michelle estimated a 7:30-8 p.m. arrival time. Lisa Bliss, Allison Hanks and Eliza were already there waiting for their respective runners: Tim Englund, James Varner and David Goggins. Wow, we were in elite crew company! (That speaks to "our" runners, not to us.)
Jay and I drank a "few" beers but kept an easy pace - everyone knows what starting out too fast will do to you! ;-) We had three assigned tasks: 1) not be drunk, 2) have hot water ready and 3) have hot soup ready.
After the front runners came throught (Tim E., Tim S., David, Alan, Beverly and James) Jay and I started getting nervous about Arthur being early so we decided we better get cooking. However, the propane attachment wasn't in the box. So we almost failed at tasks #2 and #3, but Lisa let us borrow her stove and all was good! We had the water and the soup in thermoses and not a 1/2 hour too soon! Steve Stoyles and Rob and their families, and Michelle's boyfriend Fabien and their pooch Brutus showed up, so the time passed quickly. Although it was starting to get dark...so we wished Arthur would hurry up!
When Arthur came in at ~8p.m. we worked pretty darn smoothly (being that we had no plan as to what we were actually going to do) between Steve, Rob, Jay and I to get his feet and blisters attended to, get him some food, and repack his bag. Although, every time I tried to ask Arthur what food he wanted I'd get a blank stare and as far as I could tell all he had in his bag was one sandwich and not many gels...so Rob and I just started stuffing food in there (sorry for the extra weight, but we had good intentions). He was off at 8:26 by my watch and we watched his lights fade into the distance not knowing when we would see him next.
Michelle arrived a 1/2 hour later and that was much more relaxing! Her boyfriend Fabien was there to tend to her needs and knew what she wanted. And her feet, oh my gosh, her feet were pristine, no time spent on them at all. Jay and I pretty much just stood by to hand gear and food to Fabien. She was set to go in a 1/2 hour as well but said she was so warm in the chair, so I truly relished kicking her out of the aid station!! :)
Jay, Fabien, dog Brutus and I headed back to the trailer and were fast asleep by 11 p.m. Not a bad day. And as Lisa said - this is the easiest race to crew at, an easy way to pay your time. So, so true.
SUNDAY
Checked in at 7 a.m. at the lodge and found out that that Tim Englund had already finished and broken the course record! They were also expecting David G. in at any moment. The day was starting off on a really positive note. Back at the trailer we all had some coffee, cookies and donuts courtesy of Fabien, and I nearly taught Brutus how to sit at the table like a human - he's so smart. But soon it was time to pack up, check-out and return to the lodge where we would begin our waiting...
11:30 a.m.
Anytime now. (repeat every 15 minutes until 12:30)
We started to hear whooping coming down the FSR from crews who had gone out farther on the road to see when runners were coming in. We heard "go Arthur!" and thought it was him for a minute, but it was Davy Crockett leading the second wave of finishers. Arthur came in ~15 minutes later, followed by Joe Lee. Then Michelle, Glenn, Roger and Beat together. It was something else. If I could bottle all that emotion up and save it I would. Thanks to Michelle and Arthur for letting us share this with you! You made my weekend.
And...Congratulations to Tim Englund, winner of Plain 2007, to Michelle on her first 100 (boy she knows how to pick 'em), and to Arthur for finishing Plain in record-setting time (along with many others who broke past years' records) right after finishing CCC, and to all the other runners too! And thanks to Chris and Tom for their support, for taking me out on training runs and their misplaced belief that I would finish :)
We started to hear whooping coming down the FSR from crews who had gone out farther on the road to see when runners were coming in. We heard "go Arthur!" and thought it was him for a minute, but it was Davy Crockett leading the second wave of finishers. Arthur came in ~15 minutes later, followed by Joe Lee. Then Michelle, Glenn, Roger and Beat together. It was something else. If I could bottle all that emotion up and save it I would. Thanks to Michelle and Arthur for letting us share this with you! You made my weekend.
And...Congratulations to Tim Englund, winner of Plain 2007, to Michelle on her first 100 (boy she knows how to pick 'em), and to Arthur for finishing Plain in record-setting time (along with many others who broke past years' records) right after finishing CCC, and to all the other runners too! And thanks to Chris and Tom for their support, for taking me out on training runs and their misplaced belief that I would finish :)
Pictures Jay and I took on our crappy little disposable:
King Arthur Pre-Race with crown and scepter:
Plainly not right.
Jay stops to smell the flowers at Plain Hardware (and high-priced Boutique - cutest store ever).
Sniff, sniff ... maybe we need to stop here?
Let's kayak!
Playing Bumper Boat.
I'd rather be running (not).
Steve and I applying neosporin and making a bandaid out of duct tape. At least someone knew how to make a bandaid in a crunch. Thanks Steve!
Arthur getting ready to leave the aid station.
Fabien and Brutus say one last goodbye to Michelle after we kicked her out of the chair. Sorry, Michelle, I'm just getting too much mileage out of that...but it was fun after having the same thing done to me at CCC.
Arthur breakin' some finish line tape...and still having the mental capacity to remember to stop his watch.
Rob and I testing the theory that steriods can be transmitted through skin contact.
Me and Chris looking on in wonderment at Michelle who looked completely fresh, actually looked a ton better here than she did at the aid station....and of course we lied and said she looked GREAT at the aid station :)
