Vol State again

This is your prize for finishing 314 miles

That's right, it's time for Vol State again.  It starts on July 10th at 7:30 am in Hickman, Kentucky and about 80 of us have ten days to get to Castle Rock, Georgia.  We can do the 314 miles in any time frame we want as long as it's complete in ten days.  I completed this race in 2012 and DNFed at 208 miles in 2013.  It's hard.  It hurts.  There are people who do it in four days and people who do it in ten.  The suffering of everyone is just that, suffering.  

Tomorrow, I'll post about injury, meds and the challenges I'm going to face in this race.  It will probably be interesting to people with adrenal insufficiency.

Mississippi River seen from the ferry

You might ask, "Why would you want to suffer?"  The answer is simple and not so simple.  Completing 314 miles on foot is an extraordinary accomplishment that makes you feel like nothing else regardless of whether you are at the front or back of the pack.  Seeing Tennessee on foot is amazing.  The kindness and curiosity of strangers is overwhelming and makes you feel like everything is right in the world.  Being around 80 or so other sickos who have trained (you'd hope, right?), thought about this, want to complete this run as badly as you and will share a unique experience is priceless.  To even WANT to do a race like Vol State puts you in a special category of crazy that creates an instant bond. 

True and you know it after a couple of days on hot pavement

                                           

On Tuesday, July 8th, 2014, I will be headed up to Kimball, Tennessee.  I will join a group of people that I consider family and some that will instantly become my family.  Yes, dysfunctional family at times but family none the less.  We will laugh, cry, pee, eat, give advice, sleep on the ground together and share our most inner thoughts over the next week and a half.  Sometimes, we will act as the protector (thanks Brad!) and sometimes we will mother others through their difficult moments.  We will encourage and give shit to each other.  In the end, finish the race or not, we will have a lot to talk about (like Jan and I at Lake to Ocean or Shannon and I at Frozen Head).  No matter how painful any of it was mentally or physically to go through to get to the end, the remembrances will be full of laughter and smiles.  I can't wait.

Paul H, Psyche and our tour guide, John Price

                                         

Wednesday, July 9th, 2014 the shuttle leaves from Castle Rock, Georgia and drives us to Union City near the start.  That night we will have what is called The Last Supper at Ryan's and then retire to our rooms to nervously arrange and rearrange our meager gear, tape our feet and probably not sleep.

Clean and spunky.  Joel, Shannon and I at about two miles

Thursday, July 10th, 2014 the buses will drive us from Union City, Tennessee to Hickman, Kentucky where we will ride the ferry from Hickman, Kentucky (this is going to sound really silly), I think we get off the ferry on the other side of the Mississippi at Dorena Landing, Missouri, get back on the ferry and go back to Hickman, Kentucky.  At about 7:30 am, Lazarus Lake will light a cigarette and we will be off running, walking and crawling to Alabama via Kentucky, Tennessee and Georgia.

If you are interested in following my progress or the race's progress:

• The race:  Google spreadsheet, make sure you check out the tabs at the bottom which include standings, updates, links, press releases, etc.  Spreadsheet will be updated every twelve hours.
• My twitter feed:  @notfastsoigofar I will be posting each time I pass a town or something noteworthy.  Tweets by @notfastsoigofar

Written on the road by Joe Fejes' crew.  My kind of people.

Beautiful

Classic Laz.  Usually has a smoke in his hand too.

Ultrarunning inspiration

Wickham Park 2014

I met Jim Schroeder back in December of 2012 at Ancient Oaks 100.  We didn't talk much again until Wickham Park this last May.  Jim has an incredible amount of energy and enthusiasm for running, he inspires me!  Jim is running his first Badwater 135 in July.

Here's a link to a story about Jim: Athletic Shorts:  Jim "Animal" Schroeder

Here's a link to his Badwater fundraising:  Challenged Athletes Foundation

He has written this book, Zen Track Rambling

I hope you all are as inspired and as in awe of Jim as I am!

Meds and shit Lake to Ocean 100k

This post will probably be of interest to only a few people and to me at some distant time in the future.  I'm just chronicling my Addison's meds and what I could have done different and better or keep the same.  My race report is in the post below this one.

Lake to Ocean 100k was a training run for Vol State.  It didn't follow the "train specifically" principal BUT it was a long run that I did finish.  It did last a long time, 18 hours 29 minutes.  Vol State is 314 miles on Tennessee roads in the heat of July that has to be finished at your pace in under ten days.  So: heat, check!  thirst, check!  an unrelentingly long day, check!  Road, ok, not so much.  med adjustments, check!

MEDS:

• Woke up at 4:45 am and took the regular stuff (10 mg HC, .05 florinef, DLPA, 6.25 T3, probiotics, testo, progesterone).
• 6:15 am 10 mg HC
• Every hour on the hour 10 mg HC
• When I felt tired or lagging or too nauseous, another 5 - 10 HC.  I guestimate that my total HC intake for the day was about 200 mg.  Mind boggling to me but felt right.  I had no trouble sleeping.
• 200 mg sodium every hour until I started getting nauseous and cramping then two and hour and one every half hour.
• I drank about four gallons of liquids and peed three times.  I cramped spectacularly.  I sweated so much, it was unbelievable and disgusting.  Short story.  I met a really nice police man as I was going under a gate of awkward size.  Hanging under the gate with the policeman watching, my hamstrings and calves cramped up so much that I couldn't stand up.  I didn't want to drop into the dirt and mingle dirt with sweat.  I just hung there under the fence waiting for the cramps to subside.  They didn't subside quickly enough, I had to drop into the dirt.  It was a sign that I needed some salt!!

MISTAKES:

• I think I needed more florinef in a second dose on race days.  I felt unable to hold on to sodium or water.  I may be needing a little bit more overall on a daily basis.
• I think I needed more sodium for the above reasons.
• Only eating one Oreo all day.

GOOD:

• I don't think my nausea was any worse than anyone else's.  It was never debilitating and was not super comfortable.  
• I kept drinking water.
• My energy was pretty appropriate the entire time.

AFTERMATH:

• Napped twice on Sunday and still slept
• I was achingly sore on Sunday, slightly more than I usually am.  I also tried harder than I usually do so perhaps this was appropriate.  Perhaps I was sorer than usual because of all the cramping?
• Still cleaned cages on Monday!!
• My Tuesday streaking mile was...painful and whine inducing
• I pulled something in my right leg, hamstring, muscle across the back of the knee joint and, most worryingly, my right calf
• I might have curtailed my HC consumption too soon
• Got a migraine on Wednesday
• Friday and Saturday no longer sore (except right leg) but having big trouble with edema in legs, feet, arms and hands.  Oh yea, my lungs have felt a little smaller for about three days as well.  I took some extra Florinef and some sodium, viola!  Peed off over a pound of fluid.  BINGO.  I hope this keeps getting rid of the fluid because I've gained 10 pounds in six days.  NOT COOL.