That’s how long I was out on the road over my 29 day
run. In that time I managed to run 1,140.76
miles. Here’s the long recap of the 4
week run.
It’s been just over a week since I dropped and I’ve had some
time to think about everything. First
off, it was a great experience and I would do it again in a heartbeat. Mike, Jen, and Marty are all great runners
and the trip without them would have been a lonely one.
When we started the run I knew the finishing rate was about
50% and also knew that mike was going to finish, he just had that look about
him. After Marty dropped on day 3 I knew
that it was between Jen and me for the next DNF. Then 1st week of the race went
really well, no major problems, no injuries, no getting lost for anyone. I didn’t know how my body would hold up to the
250+ miles/week pace that we had to keep, but it did really well. I only had a little calf soreness in the
mornings which was gone before breakfast was over. My confidence was sky rocketing finishing
each day feeling great with lots of energy and about an hour before anyone
else. Katie was a big help and my
recovery after each day was because she was there to take care of me and force
me to do the things I didn’t want to do.
After she left and we hit Moses Lake, WA I started to get injured. I think it was around day 8 or 9 that I developed
tendonitis/shin splints in my left ankle.
A few days later the tendonitis moved to my left hamstring when we
crossed the Columbia River. Over the
next few days the tendonitis got worse in both places and eventually I couldn’t
bend my knee without pain or wiggle my toes.
My hamstring would creak when I bent my knee (crepitus), it was red, hot
and swollen enough to remove any definition from behind my knee. Taping my ankle helped a little, so did the Aleve,
but every step was a painful fight. The days
of effortless running were gone.
The tendonitis spread to my right ankle as well but never as
bad as on the left side. I could have
slowed down and walked for 3-4 days and probably calmed down the inflammation,
but I always wanted to run. I tried to
walk every once in a while but got bored and frustrated after about 10
min. So I ran on everyday thinking that
Jen and Mike were right behind me.
Each night we reconvened to talk about the day, give a run-down
of our injuries (that were mounting quickly), ice, eat, and preview the course
for the next day. Weeks 2 and 3 were gorgeous
running through Eastern WA, ID, and Western MT.
The weather slowly changed and the rain stopped in Montana, the sun came
out and brought some warmer temperatures.
Marty had left us in Spokane and Adam took over Crewing duties from
Spokane through to Helena, MT. Those
weeks continued to go well and even with all the injuries I continued to run
well, putting time on Jen and Mike every day.
At this point my appetite had caught up to me and I was eating anything I
could, probably about 5,500 calories a day but hadn’t lost any weight yet which
was a good sign. Mike and Jen had
battled their injuries, Jen recovered for the most part and even being as bold
as to run without tape or NSAID’s. Mike
was battling recurrent hamstring/ posterior tibial/ achilles tendon injuries
but continuing to move along at a consistent pace. I continued to run day after day, slowly
watching the landscape change as we moved from the pacific through the cascades
and into the central plains of Washington State. The Palouse in eastern WA was amazing as was
running the length of Lake Coeur d’ Alene and the Lolo national forest. Eastern Montana had many rolling hills and
hayfields with a surprising number of canyons and sage brush.
Every day I thought about the same things: the daunting task
of running 7-8 hrs a day, the excitement of getting a step closer to the Atlantic,
looking forward to seeing my family and running strong through Indiana,
thinking of Katie at home in Flag, and worrying about Tuba City. Thinking of all my patients, wondering how
they are doing and feeling very guilty for making Keith work all summer alone.
The run always felt the same, and each day was routine. Waking up and taping the legs, eating
breakfast and then a drive to the start.
The 1st 10 miles always went by pretty effortlessly, working
out the kinks and loosening up my back/knees/and ankles which took about 45 min
to an hour. Miles 10-20 were always the
best, getting into a good groove, moving well in the cool mornings with little
traffic on the roads. Miles 20-30 always
took a little more effort and felt like work, right in the middle of the day-a
bit of a grind. And from about the 50K point- 31.2 miles, to
the end all I could do was try and push to the finish, thinking about putting
time on everyone and thinking how good it would feel to stop for the day and
sit for a rest.
The 1st
2.5 hrs went by without any walking breaks except at the car for some food and
water, not even looking at my watch most of the time. The slump would always come around the 3.5 to
4 hours in and would last about 1.5 to 2 hrs.
I really had to work to continue moving forward during that hour and a
half. I usually changed to a run 20 and
walk 2 min routine, constantly checking my watch waiting for those walking
breaks. These were always long
sections. After about the 5.5 hour mark I
would get my second wind and could usually finish pretty strong, putting
together 45 min runs with short walking breaks in between with the lure of the
finish around every next turn in the road.
From around stage 21 until stage 27 everything was
automatic. I just woke up and from then until 9 pm I knew every event of the
day, it had turned into a job, a good job, but a job. Just go out- run and eat, then recover and
sleep. I knew the pain during the day
and how to fight through it; I knew when I would want food, Gatorade, tums and
where I would have to walk, etc. Everything was routine, no surprises.
Sometime during that week I started to develop some left
knee pain and a little swelling, but I thought just add it to the list of
injuries and continue on. After 3-4 days
the pain was gone and it only had some mild swelling and warmth. I thought, I am still out front, pushing every
day to lose sight of Jen by mile 8 (always one of the goals for the morning),
then running all day like I was being chased.
It worked up until day 28; Hardin to Busby, MT along US-212. Not a particularly tough day- 44 miles on rolling
hills, but we were down to one crew vehicle while Margaret handed the van off
to Mike Melton in Billings. The Temperature
also rose that day topping out at 103, with a good 20 mph wind. We decided to all stay together at a slower
pace than I was used to running. We also
had more stops for water, food and aid.
We saw the start of a large wildfire that afternoon, the ash creek fire
which was 110,000 acres the next day.
After a group consensus we cut the day short by 3-4 miles, and called it
a day after 9.5 hours on the road- my longest day so far.
The next day we started in the smoke not knowing if we could
run our route due the fire. About 15
miles we got our answer in the small town of Lame Deer, MT when the sheriff
said 212 was closed due the fire and road destruction, but “it might be open in
about 2 weeks”. Thanks. We had Mike Melton scout out a route south
toward Wyoming, while we sat and recovered from the 1st part of the
day. This was fine with me because about
15 minutes before I started to have some kidney issues with what looked like
the start of myoglobinuria, which worried me a little. After the rest and lots of water/gatorade everything
was looking better and we started off on a slow pace south to Wyoming. I lasted another 8 miles before my symptoms
came back. So not wanting to but knowing
I should, I stopped short for the day at mile 23 to drink and rest. Everything started to clear up again and Mike
and Jen finished a hot and smoky 35ish mile day. We ended up staying in Sheridan WY that night
about 90 minutes away.
That night we formed a plan that Mike Melton and I would
drive back early to my stopping point and I would finish day 29 and start day
30, trying to make up as many miles as I could that day. The 1st two hours were fine,
actually pretty normal, feeling good without any issues. Then the next 8 miles turned bad pretty
quickly, some abdominal discomfort/pain, signs of dehydration even though I was
drinking 20 oz. every 4 miles, and already had a liter of Gatorade that
morning. On top of that I had some
worsening sacroiliitis over the past 3 days from some unknown reason that was
controlled with Aleve. But since I hadn’t
taken any in 24 hours, the pain was getting worse. After those 8 miles (approx. 2 hrs) I
stopped. After talking to Katie and my
Father-in-law the night before, I told them that was the plan. To continue on until the symptoms came back or
got worse, and they had, so I stopped.
At this point we were on a dirt road 1 mile from Birney, MT I don’t know
if anyone has been there before, but I doubt it. It was 1.5 hrs from anything along a dirt
road or 1.5 hrs back through the fire, so we went forward to help crew for Mike
and Jen making sure they were okay while I drank lots of fluids.
While we were scouting the route for the day we ended up
getting a flat tire on the back roads, busting the back doors of the van open
with crowbars, and changing the tire with the help of a very nice local
couple. All in all it took almost 90
minutes in the sun and heat. Eventually
we made it back to Sheridan around 5, just late enough to miss the clinic, but
I was starting to feel better so that was a good sign. I decided to go to the clinic in Gillette the
next day for lab work. Everything
checked out okay. The doctor said I could
actually run the next day if I wanted to.
My sacroiliitis was getting worse; Jen said that I was
walking like an 80 year old man. I tried
to run through the parking lot and make it about 49 feet before I had to stop
and limp back to the car. We talked that
night about me restarting where I stopped, trying to make up the 80 miles on
foot over the next week or so, maybe biking that portion and then rejoining
Mike and Jen in a day or two, but nothing worked out. I couldn’t run and catch them at my current
pace, and I was running across America, not running across America except for
the 80 miles I biked in Montana.
So that was it, my race was over. 29 days, 203 hours 36 minutes 2 sec, and 1140.76
miles on the road. Stuck in Southeastern
Montana somewhere near Birney.
It was a good run and I wouldn’t have done it any differently. I ran like I always do, pushing until I feel
like shit, and then trying to hold out to the finish. I can’t pull it back and slow down even when I
know I should. Something to work on I guess,
but I learned a lot about myself over the month, what I can accomplish, what I can
work through and how to continue moving forward even when I don’t want to.
In the beginning I said that it was always about the
experience of running across country, the goal was the Atlantic, but the adventure
was the more important thing. My experience
ended earlier than I wanted it to but maybe it was supposed to. So now I am home in Flagstaff with Katie,
recovering and planning the next race. Maybe
another attempt across America at some point in the future, straight across US-50,
but probably not for a while.
