Recount #1: ICY-8

Everybody has blogs these days, so I figured it was time to start one myself.  But no, if everyone jumped off a bridge I would not follow them.  I intend to share my experiences on the trail through a series of recounts, listed here, for your lunch-time reading pleasure.

 

 

The Icy-8 Hour Adventure Trail Run, 02 February 2013.  I don't think it got above 25 degrees all day.  A hefty breeze coming off Lake Anna made it even harder to keep my phalanges from turning into this:

 

We arrived at a small cabin in the middle of the woods, with a group of people we had never met, and in a foreign state park we had never before entered.  These strange people were named Alex, Scott, Dennis, and some kid named Morgan, seen here:

 

 

To add to my already confused mental state, these people immediately took us next door to another cabin where we were greeted by more strangers (Dave and his wife) holding steaming plates of lasagna.  I felt as if I were in some type of concentration camp and was being hoaxed into eating the poison, so that later these people could drag me far into the woods, never to be seen again.  We do this with our cat when she needs to take medications - just the poison-filled tasty food, not the whole drag-into-the-woods bit.  However, anyone who knows me will tell you that I never turn down any of the following: ice cream, chocolate, spinach dip, or plates of steaming delicious lasagna.  We took our Italian cuisine and sat down at the dining room table, only to find even more strangers within the edifice.

 

To make a long story short, the lasagna was filled with flavor, the beer went down smooth, the salad was fresh, and these strangers were some of the nicest people I ever met.  We shared stories from past races, spoke about "back home" and our day jobs, and we got to know one another.  Alex and Scott are the race directors for the ICY-8 and a few other adventure trail runs in the northern VA area.  Morgan is Scott's son and is one seriously strange cat.  Due to his vast and expansive skills with his iPad, distorted outlook on mostly all of life's everyday occurrences, and intensely sarcastic answers to nearly every one of my questions, I knew we had just become friends.  He would run my 9th and final 4.7-mile loop with me during the race the following day.

 

Race morning was extremely cold.  Alex, Scott, Morgan, Dennis, Kari and I all headed for the start/finish area around 0500 to begin setting up - not an easy feat with frozen hands, feet, and facial projections.  Later in the day, I would suffer from something known as "Hellgate Eye" for a few seconds until the thin layer of ice over my left eye melted and I regained my 5th and most important sense!  A very scary moment.  Would the doctor really believe my contact froze to my retina?

 

After setting up the tents, the check-in table, the aid station, etc etc etc, runners began checking in.  Kari is probably the best wife ever.  Underneath 37 layers of clothing and wrapped in the Spongebob snuggie I received from my friend Tristin in the mail a few years ago, she froze her little tushie off all day as she handed out bib numbers, recorded times and laps for runners, and tended to her race-day photographer duties for Scott and Alex.  All the pictures in this blog are from her camera, some of which will be featured in April's issue of Ultrarunning Magazine thanks to Alex and his connections with the magazine folks.  On that note, here are a few snapshots:

 

Scott and Alex giving the pre-race brief

 

Moments after the start

 

Well-stocked aid station, thanks to the RDs and all the volunteers

 

No caption necessary, I think we all know this gentlemen

 

I have no idea who she was, but we passed each other on the course about 20 times, each time her smile put me in a great mood and got me through the next loop

 

The course was frozen solid.  Horses had recently been on the trails and left an array of hoof prints everywhere, all of which froze solid in the dirt and almost mimicked rocky terrain.  Since the race was held on Groundhog Day, Scott and Alex created a race division knows as the Groundhog Division.  Runners who volunteered to run in this division were forced to run either the 4.7-mile loop or the 8.0-mile loop all day, the same direction each loop, and could not deviate - you know, like the movie, the same thing over and over again.  (Phil?  Hey, Phil?  Phil!  Phil Connors?  Phil Connors, I thought that was you!)

 

So, excited about this new opportunity, I signed up for it.  How bad could it be?  Well, let me explain.  One loop, awesome!  Two loops, still pretty awesome.  Three loops, it would be nice to run this backwards or something next time.  Four loops, I've seen that chick like 12 times already.  Five loops, I could run this loop in the dark without a headlamp.  Six loops, maybe some music will help.  Seven loops, music didn't help.  Eight loops, started shouting random motivational slurs to the runners going the opposite direction, things like "go get 'em" and "looking good" and "where have I seen you before?".  Nine loops, Morgan fell flat on his face somewhere in the middle of the loop, made it all worth it.

 

I was aiming for 10 loops, only made 9, there will surely be bigger tragedies.  I finished my 8th loop with about 1:15:00 remaining in the race and knew my legs weren't going to cover another 9.4 miles at roughly 8:00 min/mile pace, so Morgan and I walked/shuffled that last loop.  We discussed the birds and the bees, lacrosse, running vs ultrarunning, girls, the foot print on my leg where he kicked me en route to the ground, how cold it was, and what we want to be when we grow up.  Thanks to Morgan, my last loop was by far the most enjoyable.

 

It turns out I won the Groundhog Division with 42.3 miles logged during the race.  I know, a surprise to me as well.  I was merely hoping to stay on the course the full 8-hours, since this was my first timed race.  But better yet I met new friends and, again, was reminded how awesome this sport is.  Ultrarunning breeds a certain population of people.  People with a better appreciation for the meaning of life.  People with an increased resistance to adversity.  People you can call friends.  A group of nut-jobs who get excited about a Saturday together in the woods with some lube and baby wipes.

 

Huge thanks to Scott and Alex for putting on this race.  Thanks to Dennis and Morgan for cooking Ramen, PB&J tortillas, and hot dogs all day.  Thanks to Dave and Snipes for the motivation and for kicking me out of the aid station each loop.  Special thanks to Morgan for the 22 self-photos you provided on Kari's phone.  Last but not least, thanks to Kari for putting up with me and for sporting that Spongebob snuggie all day.

 

End of recount...