Sunday June 18, 2017
Happy Feet along the Colorado River
Did I mention we got up at 3 AM which is 1 AM Utah time? And that I had a particularly bad night's sleep a few days earlier, three concerts this weekend, a retirement event for some colleagues and a visit from my parents? Anyway I grabbed a couple hours of sleep on the plane but once in the car driving from Grand Junction to Moab I couldn't contain my excitement to be back in Utah and napping was out of the question. This is my sixth trip here -- one road biking, one mountain biking, two backpacking, and one bike-packing on the White Rim Trail. (www.sueheineman.com/white-rim-trail-1/)
We took the crazy early flight because we're supposed to show up between 4 and 6 pm for a "gear check," and then return at 7 for a group meeting. Tomorrow they'll shuttle us to the start of the trail in Colorado and we'll run the first 20 miles.
With the early departure and the time change, we arrived in Moab around noon. This would seem to leave plenty of time to get my gear together and take a nap while Bill builds his bike. We met our AirBnB host John, who thought this event was absolutely insane. He said the locals don't go out in this heat and if they want to exercise they do it at 4 AM. From the Desert RATS web site I get the feeling it's a point of pride to run the race in triple digit temperatures. Coach Lisa Smith-Batchen has won the Badwater 135 twice -- 135 miles starting in Death Valley in July. (Since that wasn't enough she also ran it like four times back to back one year.) I think 135 may also be the average temperature. So this seems to be a thing. At any rate I'm ok accepting that the heat wave warnings for the general public might not apply to fit people who are prepared for hot weather activity. I mean, the soldiers in the Middle East and all... there are modifications one can take to stay alive in these temperatures. This is what I keep telling myself, and they run this race every summer so they know what they're doing.... right?
It took me the entire time Bill was building his bike -- including a trip to the bike shop for some parts -- to pack up my racing vest with everything I needed and the maximum water load, so the much needed nap never happened. There's a list of items we're required to carry every day. Failure to produce one or another at the aid stations can result in time penalties.
· a minimum of 1000 calories
· One lightweight survival blanket
· Salt tablets/e-caps
· 2 luminous signal sticks (expedition stage only)
· Compass
· Whistle
· Emergency mirror
· Small flashlight with spare batteries
· Knife with folding blade
· Disinfectant ointment (ointment or spray can)
· D cell Emergency strobe light or other emergency style strobe- visible up to two miles
I'm perplexed by some of this. Ointment but no bandages? A small flashlight but not a headlamp for the 43 mile "expedition" stage? What good are those calories and salt tablets going to do in an emergency when most likely we'll be out of water? What even *is* an emergency mirror? There's one on the compass/whistle thingy I bought at REI so I have it but I don't know what it's for.
I watched the broadcast of last night's Beethoven 9 and took some screen shots while I packed... what a couple of different worlds I inhabit! One night on a concert hall stage and the next launching into the desert not knowing what the hell I am doing.
in my natural habitat
Only two digits!
Finally I'm ready to take a trial run and the pack weighs a ton... I anticipate much abrasion. After two miles at a 12 min/mile pace I'm actually feeling pretty encouraged. It's super hot, it's the first day at elevation (about 4000 feet), and I always start slow and feel stronger after a few miles. Obviously the course isn't going to be flat pavement, but the cutoff times are generous. For tomorrow's 20 miles I simply need to average 21 minute miles. That's basically walking, though it also includes aid stops, refilling water bottles, showing your salt pills and mirror or whatnot, and climbing some rough hiking trails. Still I feel pretty confident mainly because my Achilles doesn't seem to hurt any more now than it did a week ago. Mystery back pain is gone; my self-induced foot burn has healed nicely... I can't even feel the hip pain I had for so many months. I text Wendy with the good news and she ORDERS me to stop running until race start tomorrow.
Shakeout run in Moab. FB post: "This is one of the more insane things I have ever attempted."
I hadn't told too many people what I was doing because I was so self-conscious -- it seems so crazy to run 140 miles in the desert during a heat wave. It felt like before you go for an orchestral audition. You don't want to tell too many people because chances are you aren't going to win the job and you don't want a million questions while you're still nursing your wounds. Now that I believed I could do at least the first day I went "Facebook official." I'm just too much of an attention whore to stay away.
At the gear check and evening meeting we met a dizzying array of staff, volunteers, medical professionals as well as the other competitors. I was still totally confused about electrolytes -- how do you know you're taking enough, not enough, too much? In other words how do I know the signs of dehydration v. hyponatremia? I didn't feel like I got particularly good answers.... or at least very consistent answers. Lisa, Wendy, and Mary (the woman who had mailed me her favorites) all had very different formulas. The guys here were saying basically if you're eating real food you're probably ok. But .. but... sometimes you start to feel nauseous and you don't want to eat food... how do you know if that nausea is because you have too little water or too little salt? I started to feel like a huge pain in the ass (nobody else was asking these question so they were obviously all experts) so I shut up.
What I basically took from the meeting was:
-- Reid delights in having designed a tour which will make people suffer ... but also feels that that's what makes for an incredible experience, pushing our limits blah blah blah. I think that's true and the reason I enjoy strenuous bike/backpack trips in remote locations or developing countries. It's definitely invigorating to live at a physical or psychological edge. One of the med guys seems a little too happy when he says we're all going to have blisters like we've never had before. There are several return runners, as well as some volunteers who had previously run the race. These people clearly love the experience so that's reassuring. It's also reassuring to meet a few people who say they plan to walk the entire course, that yes there is time to finish it if you don't actually run. This is excellent news!
A day or so before leaving DC I saw a post on FB from a runner who was going to be doing this trip. She's preparing for Badwater and seems to have quite a following, as well as a ton of tattoos and pink hair. I later learn she has a cameo in Born to Run. She looks as comfortable in this meeting as I feel uncomfortable. I want to be her friend. Wendy knows her, so that will be my point of entry when I get a chance tomorrow.