Category: encore post

Easter 10 years ago: my final 100 miler (encore post) at McNaughton Park

Happy Easter to all who celebrate it. And it was a lovely weather day in Central Illinois. Today I took advantage to walk 10 miles (2:49) going down to the River trail, to the ball field, back around the gooseloop with an extra full gooseloop lap. Just lovely, and little traffic anywhere.

I decided to make a couple of encore posts about McNaughton Park and my adventures there. Note: at the time I did this 100 (early start), I had finished the 50K in 2003, the 50 mile in 2004, the 100 mile in 2005, DNF (at mile 50) in 2006, did a “drop out, come back and finish” 50 miler (31 hours!) in 2008 (injured in 2007). I might well post a summary at a later time.
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Andy Weinberg, the long time race director of the McNaughton Park Trail Runs left the area to live in Vermont. However, true to his word, he kept the 2009 version of the race alive.

Before I say anything about my report, results etc., I’d like to give my heart-felt thanks to Andy, to all of those who so much trail maintenance (there were downed trees all over the place that had been cut up, for example). I’d also like to give a shout out to the aid station crews (Peoria Triathlon club, Buffalo runners) and a special shout out to the Buffalo ultra runners for a reason I’ll name later.

Short version: I took the “early start option” and finished my 100 mile walk in 47:45:16, which is by far my slowest 100 miler ever. But in one sense, it is one of the most satisfying ones too.

The raw data:

1st Loop – 10 Mile 10.000 3:03:18 18:20
2nd Loop – 20 Mile 20.000 6:29:08 19:27 10.00 3:25:50 20:35
3rd Loop – 30 Mile 30.000 14:27:07 28:54 10.00 7:57:59 47:48
4th Loop – 40 Mile 40.000 20:30:58 30:46 10.00 6:03:51 36:23
5th Loop – 50 Mile 50.000 24:18:09 29:10 10.00 3:47:11 22:43
6th Loop – 60 Mile 60.000 28:52:31 28:53 10.00 4:34:22 27:26
7th Loop – 70 Mile 70.000 35:00:02 30:00 10.00 6:07:31 36:45
8th Loop – 80 Mile 80.000 39:18:21 29:29 10.00 4:18:19 25:50
9th Loop – 90 Mile 90.000 43:29:45 29:00 10.00 4:11:24 25:08
10th Loop – 100 Mile 100.00 47:45:16 28:39 10.00 4:15:31 25:33

The course: I will update this with a link to another encore post; note that the course has changed characteristics over the years.

My detailed report

I did have some delusions of being able to go straight through and perhaps equaling or exceeding my previous course best of 34:16 but those delusions were drenched right out of me when the Friday morning weather came up rainy. In fact, it poured all morning long and was still raining when we started; the course was mostly a river of very slick mud (the shiny stuff).

McNaughton (10 mile loops) is tough enough on dry days because of its 13 uphills per loop (1600 feet of climbing). But in these conditions one was not only trying to climb but also trying not to slip back down; it was a complete mess. Part of the reason is that we had 7 extra inches of rain than normal (January-March) so the ground was already saturated.

I tried to keep the old ego in check and eased through the first loop in 3:02; this was my slowest start ever, but it was to be my fastest loop.

I didn’t eat; I figured that I could go 6 hours or so sans food and I wanted to spare my stomach the upset.

The second loop was a bit slower (3:26) but still featured mega slipping; in fact I’d say that the course had actually gotten worse.

The loop from hell This was loop number 3. It was 6:30 when I started it so it was starting to get dark. The course was drying IN SPOTS; basically we had tacky mud (ok), slick mud (sucks) and shoe sucking mud-holes (about a dozen of these per loop). But there were spots where one could get moving.

Still I was starting to feel miserable; I had ate after loop 2 and it just wasn’t agreeing with me. The nausea was back. I stopped at the totem pole aid station (2.5 miles) and rested for 10 minutes; that perked me a bit.

Then when I got to the first major stream crossing; I lost my balance. I didn’t fall all the way in as my arms held me up. Then when I left the creek my foot got tangled on a vine and I almost fell down.

The brutal stretch between the hills after the creek crossing until one hits the prairie all but finished me off. I fell twice on the last big uphill.

By the time I got to heaven’s gate I was spitting up, nauseated and shivering.

I sat by the fire and eyed the “first to DNF at Heaven’s Gate” plaque that someone was making from a slab of wood; he was burning the letters into it.

The volunteers (from the Buffalo Ultra Runners Club) gave me soup and persuaded me to do the 1.1 mile loop. I finished it and puked just a bit. I asked about getting a ride to the start; the 3 miles to finish the loop may have well have been 30.

But they told me that they had a tired runner’s tent with sleeping bags! What a life saver that was; I took a 2 hour rest there and was revived enough to get going afterward. I figured that I may as well get 30 miles.

It was now 14:27 and if I didn’t have the early start, I would have been doomed. But instead I ate a grilled cheese sandwich and then crawled into my car (wagon) to sleep (I had prepared for this).

I was down for about 2:20 prior to starting my next loop, which took 6:03 (3:43 actual walking time). I had started at 5 am and so by 4 miles, the first of the 50 mile field caught up to me. In fact, I was passed repeatedly on that loop by the new starters.

Loop 5 took 3:47 and was going smoothly. I was eating mashed potatoes and drinking soup, Ramen noodles and grapes. It seemed as if I could hold stuff down.

As far as trail conditions: they had gone from “atrocious” to an ordinary “lousy” condition; some of the surface slick mud had gone away put the huge mud puddles had gotten worse.

But then came loop 6; once again I was having trouble digesting my food. In fact I took advantage of the sunny day to lie down next to the trail for 10 minutes at a time. That loop took 4:34; I needed a longer rest.

So I went down for another 2-2.5 hours. I figured that I’d do another 2 loops, rest and do another 2. I knew that I had 25 hours to get in 4 loops. But I’d have to start at close to 7:30 pm.

So I did and the 2-3 night loops were interesting.

The frogs were chattering all over the place and one could hear the great bared owls just hooting their little hearts out.

I wasn’t going that fast (4:15’ish per lap pace) but I was going fast enough to get there but not fast enough to make me sick.

Loop 8 came at 39:18 (walked the end with Ulli, who was finishing his race) and felt good enough to go ahead and start loop 9. The sun lifted my spirits and I was able to chat with others here and there. But I was slowing.

When I got to 90 I told myself “do a 4 hour loop and get it over with” which is what I did.

Analysis:

1. I was hurt by my lack of training mileage; but that couldn’t be helped as I was rebuilding.
2. I was helped by being tapered and by bringing my gear.
3. A tired runner’s tent was a lifesaver!
4. Soup, mashed potatoes and grapes worked as food; my power ade zero and green tea worked fine as drinks.
5. I never blistered up (mud?) but my feet were very swollen.

Race Analysis:
Here is the data from the various races:
98 people finished the first loop of the 50, 85 finished the race.
74 people started the first loop of the 100, 27 finished the race, though 65 made it to 50 miles.
47 people started the first loop of the 150; 12 finished though 45 finished 50 and 27 finished 100 miles.

Springdale and and old Running Friend: Steve Foster, RIP (11 years later)

Below lies a post I made on a different blog 11 years ago.

This morning, I ran my course from the Riverplex front entrance, through the Gateway Building and around the fountain, down the path, around the gooseloop, through Springdale, up the mausoleum hill, then up the hill to Prospect, through Glenn Oak park, down the hill past the Ingersoll statue and back. That reminded me of some of the runs I used to take with Steve Foster (and his good buddy Jack Stone) and how Steve would always be ahead of me when we got to the hill and he’d take the opportunity to walk up it. I never gave him grief about it because..well, he WAS ahead of me. 🙂

Today, on a crisp (high 30’s-low 40’s) sunny day, this course took me 1:44 to do. When I was running it with Steve (and often Jack), it would have taken us 1:10-1:15 to do the same course. It turned out to be 8.6 miles. Weight: 184 before running (Riverplex scale, no clothes)

Back in December 2006, I had blogged about finding out that a running friend had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.

Today I had some sore legs and so decided to take a yoga class prior to trying to run. The class went ok, though I irritated the “behind the knee” area of my left leg when I did backbend; I’ve had some trouble with this recently. So, I had to stop running 22 minutes into my run and walk it in.

I was a bit irritated and feeling sorry for myself; I did the old “my stupid body is made of tissue paper and spit” routine.

Then, just as I got back to the Riverplex, Jack Stone (a fellow runner who is built like an NFL linebacker) called out to me; he wanted to talk.

Steve Foster, one of my running buddies and an active Illinois Valley Strider member, has pancreatic cancer.

Steve’s cancer was inoperable; he was given until June 2007 to live.

But Steve never gave up. After the unsuccessful operation (which did add to the quality of his life), he continued to go to the Riverplex and walk. He also swam and lifted weights; as of the fall of 2007 he was still doing that.

But eventually the cancer became too much; he became bedridden earlier this year (2008) and died a couple of nights ago.

EAST PEORIA – Steve Foster, 54, of East Peoria, Ill., died at 9:50 p.m. Thursday, April 3, 2008, at his residence.

He was born Jan. 19, 1954, in Peoria, Ill., the son of Henry J. and Merry C. (Justice) Foster. He married Cathy L. Donath in Chillicothe, Ill., on Sept. 23, 1972. She survives.

Also surviving are his mother, Merry Foster of Chillicothe; one daughter, Carrie A. Foster of East Peoria; four brothers, Mike (Carol) Foster of Peoria, Jim (Vicki) Foster of Morton, Tom (Char) Foster of Chillicothe and Tim (Beth) Foster of Fondulac, Wis.; and one sister, Teresa (Larry) Painter of Chillicothe. Also surviving are several nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his father and one niece.

Steve graduated from the Caterpillar Inc. apprenticeship program in 1977. He was an engineer and worked for Caterpillar in the TBU department in East Peoria. He worked for Caterpillar for 33 years, having last worked in November of 2006.

He received an associate degree from Illinois Central College in December of 1994.

He was a member of the Illinois Valley Striders Club and served on its board of directors. He was also a member of the Peoria Tri-Athletes and was a mentor for the Big Brothers and Big Sisters for 10 years.

He was a singer, songwriter, musician and artist. But most importantly, he was a devoted husband, father and good friend.

Graveside services will be at 12:30 p.m. in St. Joseph Cemetery in rural Chillicothe. Visitation will be from 10 to noon Monday, April 7, at the Weber-Hurd Funeral Home in Chillicothe, Ill.

Memorials may be made to OSF Hospice or the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network, 2141 Rosecrans Ave., Suite 7000, El Segundo, CA 90245.

Online condolences may be made to the family at www.weberhurdfuneralhome.com

To see what some of his running buddies had to say, go here.

I’ll say a few words:

My last contact with Steve was when I sent him a letter with a photo of myself doing the 2008 version of the Austin 30K.

My first contact with him was as follows:

Back in 1997, I ran the Eureka “4 mile” race (not the Eureka spring classic; this one was during the summer, I think). It was called the “do two”, and the shirts were tye-dyed singlets with Ronald Reagan’s picture on them.

At the time, my best 4 mile run time was around 28 minutes or so and I hope to beat that.

I followed this tall, skinny, long-haired guy the whole way; try as I might I could not close the gap.

We finished and the clock said 25:XX.

I walked up to him and asked “was your time a bit faster than normal?” He blurted out “that ain’t no 4 miles!” and I burst out laughing.

One other memory: Steve and I took off from the gateway building in hopes of getting 10 miles or so; it was colder than all get out. To make a long story short we made a wrong turn somewhere and ended up on Prospect; we were out for something like 2:30 or so and when we finished we hadn’t a clue of how many miles we had run.

Steve and I were on different sides on political terms; yet our discussions were always respectful.

I’ll say one more thing: Steve was one of those who, when you saw them, you started to smile. But at the same time, in the back of your mind, you realized how much this guy did for others and you started to ask yourself: “what are you doing to make this community a better place?”

The world (and our community) is a better place because Steve lived here.

Of course, I am sad that he is gone but that is part of the price of having friends.
Maybe I’ll think about him the next time I think of myself as being too busy to lend a helping hand.

Mitch McConnell’s book: The Long Game. Manager of Team Republican (encore post)

IF you are a sports fan (NFL, NBA, MLB, or some other team sport) think about what happens when you cheer for your team: do you honestly think that the world will be a better place if your team wins? Honestly, that just isn’t a concern during the game, is it? You want your team to win, and you want your coach to coach to win and your players to play to win. That’s it.

And so, I turn to Senator Mitch McConnell’s book The Long Game. (New York Times review is here)


Yes, there is the obligatory attempts to humanize him (and some of it IS funny…for example, the story about then President Elect Bush during his inauguration asking him where his podium was; McConnell didn’t know for sure..but when the podium rose through the floor at the appropriate time, McConnell gave a cool nod as if he knew all along…)

You learn about his attempts to play baseball (flamed out before high school), and that he likes chicken enchiladas and sports cars. But over and over again, you hear about his love of professional baseball and the Louisville Cardinal football and basketball teams. That is a recurring theme. And, when you think about it, it is very telling.

What you do NOT hear about, at least in detail, is policy. Oh, there is the usual “The ACA bill is horrible”, “McCain-Feingold is horrible”, “Obama talks down to people”, “Obama is a far left politician”, etc., but it is very shallow boilerplate…Sarah Palin caliber stuff. The exception is the discussion of First Amendment issues as it related to the attempted flag burning amendment and to campaign finance reform. The discussion of why he supported sanctions on the apartheid South African government was also interesting.

But you’ll see no detailed discussion of foreign policy, supply side economics, conservative interpretation of law or anything like that. There was next to no mention of religion either.

And very tellingly, there is no discussion of how he wanted to make people’s lives better, or even enable them to live better lives.

The vast majority of the book was about two things:

1. His personal ambition. He made no bones about wanting to warrant a better office, attain membership on better committees, and to attain leadership positions..oh yes..and get elected.
2. His legislative victories; you can almost feel the gloating over his clever filibuster or clever use of the Senate rules to kill legislation he didn’t like or to attain the goals he wanted..and to get members of his team elected.

Moral and logical consistency were not issues for him. He decried Harry Reid’s “destruction of the Senate” (by using the rules to advance legislation) while dancing on the 50 yard line the times he did the same thing.
He decried Al Gore’s Senate theatrics and then described his own. He decried “show votes” (voting on something that the other chamber will not pass or that the President will veto) but then, IN THE NEXT LINE, admitting that he took them.

Hypocrisy does not bother him. Ridicule, so he says, does not bother him (he asks cartoonists for signed copies of cartoons that lampoon him)..though he did dress down Al Franken for making faces while he spoke in the Senate.

What matters to him is WINNING, period..he wants Team Republican to win. Now this might mean taking incremental victories here and there, even if it means getting attacked by “WE WANT IT ALL, NOW” activists (yes, Democrats have to deal with this too). Set things up…get better field position. Hence the title: The Long Game.

And winning (in terms of Team Republican) means winning votes, winning elections..and winning, on a personal level, means advancing. And he does offer quite a bit of insight here (e. g. the way to win a position is to run unopposed, and the way to do that is to lock up key support, early). And he planned, planned and planned some more. Hence the title: The Long Game.

Early in life, he took on jobs so as to better position himself for political opportunities in the future…evidently it wasn’t to serve constituencies. Hence the title: The Long Game.

Still, I was surprised at how little he talked about policy, either the philosophy of it or how it makes people’s lives better.

This tweet really gets it:

Claire McCaskill: “[McConnell] is a very, very political leader. This isn’t somebody who is sitting around at night figuring out how he can move the needle on really important policy issues. This is someone who is figuring out how he can win elections.”

And that brings me to his discussion of President Barack Obama (called “Professor Obama”, as if that were an insult). Here and there he did praise him; he complimented his campaign, and how well he spoke about the TARP issues (called it “masterful”, without notes).

But he claimed that Obama spoke down to people in private, just like he does in public.

That claim got me scratching my head at first; one of the things I liked about Obama is that he didn’t insult me when he spoke. But after thinking about the praise that McConnell had for Joe Biden..and why he praised him, I think I got it.

Obama IS a policy heavyweight and is a pragmatist ..a problem solver. He sees a need in society and goes about trying to get that need met or that problem fixed; whether the solution is a traditionally conservative one or a liberal one doesn’t really matter to him. He is a thinker.

McConnell is NOT a thinker and is utterly disinterested in talking about the Laffer curve, what the data says about supply side economics, when a stimulus works or what the economists say the size should be, etc. So if Obama tries to explain to him why current Republican positions are really crank economics, McConnell is not only disinterested, he is insulted. It is a bit like trying to explain scientific evolution to a dyed-in-the-wool religious nutter creationist. It is a colossal waste of time..and comes across as arrogant and insulting. He’d much rather hear: “ok, this is what I want..and I know this is what you want. What can you live with?” without all of the attempts to change one’s philosophy.

So, you had the classical “thinker” vs. “wheeler/dealer” mismatch. And there is something else.

McConnell worked long and hard to turn his talents (and yes, he has them) into personal success…he just had a Gollum like focus on being the MAJORITY LEADER. And here comes a young freshman Senator onto the scene and just blows past him as if he was standing still. And he has to know that Obama will go down in history as one of the most loved politicians where he will be remembered by mostly political junkies and as an answer to trivia questions: “which Senator lead the most filibusters?”, etc.

That HAS to sting. 🙂

And there is this (which McConnell bellows was taken out of context)

Yes, Senator McConnell. You had a lot of victories. But you lost the World Series, and President Obama won. 🙂