I decided to go with the self-titled mantra after a txt from KJC reminded me to breath easy. Great idea KJC, I would focus on breathing especially since I have been horsing in the salt via tabs and chips and that hasn’t helped my cramp situation. Thus I'm thinking it’s more likely my diaphragm that is the issue.
The cackle of the campers was greater than the earplugs last night so I had to resort to the ipod. I guess some peeps just don’t get it that you can hear EVERYTHING they say. I had one bathroom break, which was a drag since the porta-johns were a bit away from the tents. It was pretty cold last night/early this morning so I had to put a jacket on in the sleeping bag. We were a little shuffled this AM as JPs phoned died and we missed the alarm. We got to “sleep in”; up at 5:55.
It was up to HS for breakfast quick before back to camp to pack up and make trail donuts (scones). It was back to the camelbak today since it was a long stage. I put 2 ZYM (electrolyte tabs) in the bladder and took 4 gels, a bar and two waffles. I was also back to the newtons I was going to rock a breath-right strip on the nose for some more nasal O2. Apparently you get more O2 via the nose?
We started out on main street and ran on road for a few downhill miles before hitting the trails. The cramps were business as usual, but I tried to put it out of my mind. Into the trails we started the first climb. It was a few miles of jeep road. There was very good footing so long as you were keeping focus and where there were steep sections I was walking. I tried a few things with breathing to see if it helped. Surprisingly talking helped. I even tried sorta singing, but that was not good for me or the peeps around me! Again the steep sections, where most peeps were walking, were good for me as I could hike without issues and keep pace.
The climb was over after a few miles and we were into descents. My quads were hurting today which is probably due to the message; hence I think that we were a little slower going down than we were yesterday. At the bottom of the decent we hit the first CP. I loaded up on water and a salt tab. Between the stinger and the ZYM in the camel, my mouth was feeling very sugary so water was the fluid of choice. After CP1 it was flat paved road for a few ticks before heading back on trail and a 5mile gentle climb. It was jeep road and actually rather rolling. There were some water crossing and one which there was not avoiding getting wet. It felt actually pretty good to cool the feet. On the steep sections it was down to a walk, but I was trying not to walk as much. We were very shaded to this point, so despite the sunshine and blue skies, heat was not a factor.
Btb….On this section we ran into this guy wearing a skinfit jersey. In chatting with him, he knows Trevor whom I was trying to email prior to the TRR. He said that Trevor is usually pretty good at getting back to peeps, so maybe I had the email wrong.
Before I knew it we were on CP2 and 14+ miles in. I filled the camel with water as I still had that sugary taste in my mouth. I threw down a salt tab and a piece of watermelon; in general I wasn’t very hungry.
After a short section of road it was onto the Colorado Trail. It was single/double track and very runnable. The cramps situation was feeling a bit better and we were going at a decent pace, relative to previous, similar sections. At this point I already decided tomorrows mantra and better yet, it would have been a good team name: P.A.C.E. – Positive Attitude Changes Everything. I was going to quite dwelling on the cramps and focus on other things. And not sure if it was this new mental state or my increased consumption of these salt tabs, but the cramps were diminishing and there seemed to be some life in my legs. There were bouts of sweet forefoot running on the rollers in the woods. Ironically, as started to feel better JP was heading to the other direction. He kept stopping ahead of me to stretch his ankle. This ankle injury of old was resurfacing, not to mention the sharpness of his blisters on his toes.
We rolled though the last CP and with 5 or so miles left in day three I was now feeling a bit sharper then JP. Roll reversal. My turn to be supportive. He’s been carrying my ass for two days, so I’ll gladly return the favor. We pounded out the last 5K on exposed dirt road. Thankfully we had a head wind to keep the heat out of play. With two miles left we would see the finish off to the left. It was a mental game cauz it lingered there in the distance while the ticks on the garmin slowly added up. We got across the line in just over 4hrs. This was over what we might have expected before Sunday, but it was good to get the long day done and know that we were half way there.
Having run 24miles and for 4hrs, I felt pretty good. My legs were great coming in and lets hope these cramp issues are behind me.
Hydrate.
Chips.
Lake.
Stretch.
Stick.
Shower.
Chill.
We maintained 10th, and 11th was as close to us as 9th was. We will have to have a good day to stay in the top 10. At this point 9th is probably the best we can do given the first 7 are sponsored teams and the 8th place team would have to have a disaster for us to move there.
Enter sandman about 9.
Sincerely,
Looking up, TJM
The Short:
Distance: 24.2 miles
Gain: 2,800 ft
Max Elevation: 10, 918 ft
Terrain: 2 miles road, 5 miles jeep road, 1+mile road, 4 miles jeep rd, <1 mile road, 8 miles mixed single and double track, 3 mile dirt road
Weather:
Sneakers: Newton Ms
Gear: Short sleeve tech, compression shirt, mandatory kit, visor, camel, breath-right strip
Food: 4 gels, salt tabs, watermelon
Fluids: Water (with ZYM), Gu brew, Water
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