Catching Up on the Week!

No internet or cell access has been frustrating for a few days, but now that we've arrived in Vail - they probably have everything!  Here is a catch up on the past 3 days (Stages 2 - 4), not including today.  Hopfully I'll get that later!

Day 2


Role Reversal

Day 2 is complete and as I write this I am laying in my tent is historic Leadville, CO. Today’s journey took us from Vicksburg to who knows where (a total of 13.5) miles running, where we were then shuttled to Leadville. But let me step back now that I have time and fill you in on the last 24 hours.

MORE SWAG (or SCHWAG…depending on how you say it). Last night at dinner, the kind people at Gore-Tex provided each runner with a pair of GoreTex running gloves. Quite cool! Rumor has it that last year, Gore Tex provided recovery shoes to all participants. One can only hope that tonight we will be rewarded! Here is the program for each night after all runners have finished up. Our running bags are transported from the start of the run to the end, wherever the tent city is set up. We grab our bags and select one of the approximately 200 tents that have been set up for us. We have the afternoon free to do whatever we want, which can include massages, or going into the local town for lunch, which we did today. Dinner is served from 5 - 7 pm (yesterday under a large tent), and then from 7 - 8 is the awards ceremony, where the top three runners/teams in each category are brought up to the stage and awarded prized (Last night was Solomon shoes and Peet Feet dryers). Lynn and I just missed getting called to the stage, having finished 18th out of 24 teams in the mixed 80+ category. So close - oh, so close…. only about 2 hours behind the leaders!

The race sponsors also give a chance for regular joes like us to win prizes. One is called the “middle of the pack” award - out of the 200 teams/runners - whoever finish 100th that day wins a prize (I believe it is a GoreTex Jacket of their choice). Then they also award the King /Queen of the Mountain award - although it is a mystery how that is selected. In any case, I am holding out hope that they will award that to us for something! I personally think for being the best fundraisers and doing something special!

After all this is done, then they show a slide show set to music of still photos taken during the day, followed by a video produced during the day. Yesterday, we were on the video for about 3 seconds running on the trail - hey - it worked for us! Today, one of the video cameramen shot me coming down the backside of the 12500 ft mountain and heard me mentioned Emmah’s name (FYI - I was flying down that mountain!!!). So at the aid station just up the trail, he came by and asked me what the story was behind Emmah. So I got to share a minute as to what we were doing - and show the Emmah button I am carrying with me. Hopefully that will make today’s video show. People are starting to find out about the story and that Jeff & Julie are coming Friday! The excitement for me is building for that moment!

Back to last night. We both slept lousy in the tent - maybe a few hours sleep each - none of it quality. Lots of noises around Tent City, and people started moving around 4:30 in the morning. We were both moving by 5:30, and breakfast was from 6 - 7:30. We had to be bussed to the start line this morning - about 30 minutes away. Nerves were setting in from the night before when the logistics/weather person told us to expect 40 degrees, possible winds, lightning strikes at the top of Hope Pass, and many other things. Geez did he lay it on thick!. So our bus pulls up to the start line and there are big peaks on both sides and it was intimidating. Fortunately, the weather was good and while we needed to pack our mandatory gear of hat, jacket, gloves and survival blanket - we were able to run in short sleeves tops and shorts.

1.7 miles to the trail head got us started, but we were sluggish, and continued to follow our race strategy of letting most teams go ahead of us (yes - that is strategy - let them think they are ahead of us, only to KICK SOME ASS on the last day!!! Ok, even I laugh as I write it). So, we poked around in the back and quickly started the 2.7 mile climb uphill to the pass. It was slow going - basically like a mule train walking to the top. There was no running - it was steep and muddy at times. Picture a trail about 18 - 24 inches wide with a steep drop off. Lynn used the hiking poles she brought to walk slowly up, and I just took baby steps behind the people in front of me. Good news though was that I had great energy today compared to yesterday, and wasn’t bothered by the altitude. Lynn’s arm was doing ok too - bandaged up for the trip up. I have so many great pictures we took along the way to post later. It was incredible to climb first through the trees, then past the tree line, then over rocks, to finally reach the pass at 12500. It took us about 2 hours to go just over 4 miles. At the top we took more pictures, where I got quite teary eyed taking pictures of Emmah’s button at the top of the pass. Let me tell you, starting to run downhill is not easy with tears in your eyes. Going downhill was my favorite part of the day - I am like a jack-rabbit bounding back-and-forth between the rocks. WHHHHEEEEE!!!! Lynn, on the other hand, did not like it and was more tentative. Somehow, she used the poles going up, and I carried them the 8 miles back down!!! Fortunately, we had great scenery coming back down to where we were going to finish up a Twin Lakes (which we could see in the distance), and had a great stream path to follow, where we tucked in behind some other runners to keep the pace going. When the only sounds you hear are your footsteps and breathing - it is quite special. I would do this day again in a heartbeat - the climb up may have been difficult (but not as intimidating as we made it out in our minds to me), but once we reached the top - WOW - to look back and see what we accomplished….priceless.

We finished in 4:02 today. Not sure yet where we placed, but it doesn’t really matter. Day two is in the books, and for what we thought might be the hardest day wasn’t so bad. 9 hours of running over two days - 34 miles - not a quick pace, but enjoyable. We actually are getting good at this tent thing and set our stuff up pretty quickly, showered and walked about 6 blockes into town where we rewarded ourselves with a BIG OLE BACON CHEESEBURGER and fries. We are getting to see some of the same faces each day who are comparable to our pace and time, so it has been good to sit with them at meals and sometimes run together.

Tomorrow is the longest run of the week - 24 miles with three shorter climbs. Not exactly sure where we end up, but I am pretty sure it will be memorable nonetheless. We have been told tomorrow is a lot more road running, than trail running, which is a bummer since we really like the mountain terrain. It may be slow going, but based on how we feel after today, we are in pretty good shape. Minimal soreness and lots of water to stay hydrated.

Sorry this isn’t a humorous post like past ones. Trying to fit in time to write in-between all the activities. Hoping to find a wireless internet spot in town on my way to dinner shortly to upload this to the blog.

And the falling count is now tied at 1. I went down today clipping a toe on a rock, but was able to brace myself with my hands. No harm, no foul. Look for us later this week on ESPN’s countdown of Not So Great Plays!

Until tomorrow….keep up with the great mojo coming our way via face book - its been a big help! Lets keep on moving on!!!!

KEIYH


Day 3

Ever have one of those days….

…You know the kind - where you wake up earlier than expected. Your body is stiff and sore from activities the day before. The weather outside is cold and you just want to burrow under the covers of your bed. And you are hoping someone will serve you a warm breakfast with a steaming cup of coffee - when you are ready for it. In our house, that day is Sunday. This morning felt like a Sunday, but unfortunately it was Tuesday morning an Day 3 of the Transrockies Run. My Sunday will come in another 5 days when I return to Charlotte. For now, I needed to get that aching, sore body out of bed and muster the strength to tackle today’s 24 mile run.

And my body wasn’t cooperating. The boogieman decided overnight that he was going to visit my tent, and make sure that I wasn’t feeling the energy that I would need to tackle the course. He woke me up early, after a night of sleeping in very cold weather, so he was draining my spirits out of the gate. Another poor nights sleep in tent city brought condensation to our belongings which are left outside the tent. Breakfast was from 6 - 7:30 for an 8 am run start - so by the time we were shuttled to the breakfast hall, we had a 90 minute wait before the start. The good news was the video shot the day before at Hope Pass was shown at the evening ceremony the day before, so many people knew Emmah’s story, which helped pass the time with some of the people we met.

In short, the first ten miles of today’s run was difficult. Another 1000 mile climb after a few miles made for strenuous going, and the legs weren’t cooperating. The boogieman was trying to break us, and he was doing a good job. Around mile 11, we were able to tuck in behind few runners and keep a steady pace until we hit an aid station at mile 14. That was when the day changed. Not sure what brought about the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th wind of the day but we started moving, and didn’t really stop until the end of the run.

We stared that monster in the face and said “bring it on. If you are going to bring that sh*t into our house (or tent), you better work a little harder to break us. Homey don’t play that game when it is day 3.” We brought it home, and finished the day with a negative split. First 12 miles was about 2:50, last 12 miles was about 2:34. Finishing time of 5:24 - the longest either of us have ever run. Our legs are incredibly sore right now, but thankfully we have ONLY a 14 mile day tomorrow. Hopefully a reprieve. Based on the way my toes feel today, I think I am going to lose 3 nails before the week is out. Gotta block out the man trying to put me down, and focus on the end goal.

After stage 2, we came in 13th out of 24 teams in our category. Like “The Jefferson’s” theme song - “we’re a moving on up!”. Thinking we had a good day today in the standings. Every else is playing into our hands…they just don’t know it yet!

Unfortunately, we are at a campground called Camp Hale for the next 2 nights, and we are officially in the middle of nowhere, with no internet or cell phone access. No way to communicate, so these posts will come in a few days.

3 down, 3 to go. 57 miles down, 58 to go. Mr Boogieman - leave us alone….

KEIYH


Day 4

Getting Stronger

Today was a lot like day 2 - it was going to be a shorter distance, with an extreme climb the first 5 miles, followed by a nice sharp downhill for the next 7 - 9 miles. 14 overall. It was our first night at Camp Hale - we are actually spending two nights here - so we were fortunate to not have to pack up our belongings in the morning and get the to the transport truck before the start at 8 am. However, it was damn cold in the morning again. We were burrowed on our bags (actually the first night I burrowed - thankful for the bag my friend Katie lent me). When it is so cold outside (probably in the 30s or 40s), you don’t want to get up in the middle of the night to pee - even though you have been hydrating since the end of the previous days run. So it is that much worse waking up in the morning and having to hike your sore, tired and cold body to the porta potty. Did it anyway, and stopped by where breakfast was being served to get a hot cup of coffee. Bad news is that today’s meals aren’t being catered by a local company, and Camp Hale basic brewed coffee one pot at a time for 300 people. You can see how that is an issue. I was fortunate to get in line early (courtesy of my early morning pee-pee run), but Lynn had to wait later on.

The debate of the morning was what clothes to wear today due to the cold weather - long sleeves, long pants? I actually was freezing around 7 am, but the sun quickly warms the temp to something more manageable, so it was short sleeves and shorts for the 4th straight day. We have been blessed with good, sunny weather - probably on the warm side for around here. Each day, we are required to carry with us some mandatory gear - a hat that pulls over the ears (which I wore for part of today’s climb, gloves, and a jacket, plus a survival blanket. Doesn’t weigh down our packs too much, as we are also carrying each day about 70 ounces of water (that is refilled each aid station), and a variety of gels, energy bars, etc.

Gun went off at 8 on the button. Each day we are sent off at the start by the same song - “Highway to Hell” - quite appropriate! Gets the blood flowing, although not enough for me each day. While Lynn has good energy each morning, I have taken a few miles each day to really warm up, Hence our back-of-the-pack strategy! We had about a 2 mile run today before we hit the climb - 8.9% average grade over the next 3 miles. At first I thought it was easy, but quite suddenly it went steep on us. Lynn used the poles again today, and I plodded up unaided. We have found out how our running styles mix together this week - they don’t! My strengths are the steeper uphill climbs and steeper downhill descents. Lynn is strong on the more subtle climbs and flat roads. So we are finding ourselves not running as much together as a team, but apart and with other runners we have gotten to know this week. We still generally stay within the required 2 minutes of each other, with whoever is in the lead slowing or stopping so the other can catch up. Good teamwork is helping us along. Meeting a lot of great people along the way.

Tough climb, but we made it to the top in about 95 minutes. It was quite depressing at one point when a runner in front of me said, “we took 26 minutes on that miler, and are averaging 17 minutes per mile”! Knowing Lynn and I can do probably a good steady pace of 9 minute miles on the flat road - that will tell you how hard this is. Not so much the Transrockies Run, but the Transrockies Hike!!!

We putzed around at the top for quite awhile this time to take photos with our new friends. Probably took 15 minutes to enjoy the view and take photos, which ended up costing us about 4 spots today in the overall finish - oh well! It was great to get to the top, at around 11500 feet, because I was ABLE TO GET CELL PHONE RECEPTION!!! Something Camp Hale has nothing of. So I did what any good husband (no - great husband!!!) would do and called Brenda!!! She was at work, and I only had a few minutes to tell her I was alive, that we did fine in Stage 3, and were at the top of Stage 4 and feeling good. Also sent her a few photos and asked her to post a status update on Facebook for everyone, and to call Jeff Gudeman to have him put a quick Blog post out to everyone to let them know I would hopefully be able to update everyone on Thursday night when we reached Vail. Then I told her I’d call at the end of the run when we reach the town of Red Cliff (they had to have cell reception).

Our downhill descent is what makes the climbs so much fun. Wheeeeee!!!1 I was off to the races knowing Lynn would catch up later. Trick is to let gravity do its thing, pull you down the mountain and run side-to-side so you don’t get so much momentum that you fall. The next 5 miles went by fast, and we even had to run through a creek for awhile - oh, cold water and squishy shoes and socks!!!

The last two miles brought us into Red Cliff. Lynn was hurting a bit - feeling dizzy. I was feeling strong and wished we could tack on more miles today so we wouldn’t have to do 22 tomorrow!

Wouldn’t you know it - Red Cliff has no cell reception!!! No contact with the family, or to call Jeff and Julie who are leaving Illinois today for the trip out here. In the van shuttle back to Camp Hale, I pretyped some emails to Brenda and Jeff in hopes I’d get cell reception like I did at the top of the mountain - so I could give a quick update. I got 1 bar with AT&T, and sure enough, emails downloaded to my Iphone, but my outgoing messages did not send! Bummer. I did quickly text Brenda and it appears they sent, but I have no idea for sure before we lost coverage again for the next day.

We arrived back in camp by 12:30 today - so we had the whole afternoon free to hang out, get some sun, catch up with others, etc. Lynn got her first massage of the week, and I visited the medical tent for a possible blister forming on the ball of my big toe. Having some hot spots forming on the bottom of our feet, which could pose an issue over the next two days, but at this point - we just have to suck it up. We have about 70 miles down and 45 to go.

Today we place 14th out of 20 teams, but were only 4 minutes out of 10th, so you know we had a good day. Overall, we are in 12th place (I think a few teams have dropped out). I am beginning to have the feeling we may not finish in the money. But don’t give up hope Team Emmah fans - there are two days left and ANYTHING CAN HAPPEN!!!!

Expecting more SCHWAG at dinner tonight. We got a GoreTex outdoor blanket on Monday night, but nothing yesterday. We are holding our for the recovery shoes/slippers that we heard were given out last week. Oh, our aching piggies could use them.

Long day tomorrow - probably the longest time run of the week. 22 miles. First 11 of those uphill. YES - FIRST 11 UPHILL!. But then the fun begins - after about 4 - 5 miles of relatively flat running, the rest is downhill. Get out of our way people - we are making up time!!! Expecting a 6 - 7 hour day.

Lets hope we feel good tomorrow morning, and there is more coffee to get us going. Hard to believe we are 2/3rd of the way done of this amazing event.

Thanks for all of your reading and support - I am sure you have been wondering what the holdup has been in posting. I guess we are IN THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE playing in the Colorado Rockies.
WE ARE ON VACATION!!!!!
KEIYH