20in24 - Even MORE about the race (it's a really long race)

Can you believe how long it's taking to tell this story? It's a really long race!

So by now I'm on lap four, still feeling good and still in somewhat familiar territory. I've done this distance before at the Brandywine Trail End-to-End Hike but only one time. I took some Tylenol 8-hour during my rest break after lap 3 and that really helped with my sore toes. They didn't really rear their head again until late in Lap 5.

I stuck to the same plan of walking mostly on West River Drive and running mostly on Kelly Drive and was still maintaining that 14 minute pace. My breaks were about 15 to 20 minutes between laps. Mostly due to shoe changes and the a memory of a blog I read about a guy who did Lone Ranger in 2008 who rested that long and said he didn't think it was long enough.

As I'd be walking along I'd stretch out my shoulders and arms and upper body and try to keep myself feeling pretty loose. I was still shocked about how good I felt at this point.

Getting back to Lloyd Hall I'd find notes from my sister who was also out on the Lone Ranger course. She was taking fewer and shorter breaks than I was and therefore was a full lap ahead of me! The system of writing on a clipboard to one another was great. Very good to keep tabs on one another in a super easy way.

There was a great aid-station around mile 2.5 that tried to keep things light and fun all day long. At some point folks from Baltimore BOMF were there in costume cheering us along. My favorite part was the tribute to Brian Dawkins they had for awhile. For those of you who don't follow the Eagles, Brian Dawkins was the heart and soul of the Eagles for many years. He gives everything he has every game and he's also a big fan of the X-Men. I loved this sign that was at the aid station next to a B. Dawkins jersey.

I finished Lap 4 around 7:30 at night. It was cooling off and I knew that the next lap would see me in the darkness. My sister had left on her 5th Lap at 6:16 so I decided to take an extra long break and wait for her so we could do our night-time laps together. This was great because it gave me time to change my clothes and eat some stuff while I waited. I'm sure the rest was good but it also kills some momentum. It's a mixed bag but as I said, mostly good.

Food/Hydration: Only thing of note is that I had a Chocolate Slim Fast after Lap 3 (marathon distance). Went down easy and tasted really good. I felt great on Lap 4 and I think it might have been my fastest lap of the day. During the very long break before Lap 5 I ate about half to 3/4 of a ham on wheat bread sandwich that the race people provided. didn't want to eat it but I thought the protein & salt would be good for me. Continued with the hand held Gatorade bottle and water refills out on the course. During one of my laps (probably lap 3?) I lost between 1 and 2 pounds even while mostly walking and drinking along the way. Dehydration is pretty amazing!

Before leaving for Lap 5 I put on my reflective gear.

Video (Lap 4 recap):


Video (starting Lap 5):

20in24 - More about the Race

The first three laps (up to about mile 25) were just fine. Beautiful weather, nice conversation, little to no fatigue.

I found myself walking at first out of the base camp area and in the narrow section along West River Drive and then jogging some until getting close to the medical station where I would try to slow myself down and relax before having to check in (This never worked...my only good readings were on loop 4 when I was walking & talking with another Lone Ranger who was by my side until they slapped the BP cuff on my arm. No time to worry...totally normal BP.) Once clearing the medical tent I always took off jogging and I'd usually jog most of the 4 miles of Kelly Drive -- especially the parts where I was able to run on the soft dirt path that paralleled the sidewalk.

The bottom line was that I was averaging right about a 14 minute mile and that was well within my range of acceptable pace for this event.

Finishing lap 3 was essentially marathon distance and I felt great, not at all like I usually finish at the end of a marathon. It was different physically and emotionally. Really strange to have there be not one bit of fanfare or relief at crossing that distance milestone. I was doing so much more walking than I am used to and my body could really feel it. Tension in my hips and rear end that I never feel when running and SORE TOES that I haven't felt since the long end-to-end hike or my walking marathons.


Food/Hydration/Other Stuff: Between laps I would duck into Lloyd Hall to cool off and refill my bottle with Gatorade. They were serving Gu2o on the course which I thought tasted like poison so I avoided it as much as possible. I also changed socks between each lap. A couple of times I reapplied sunscreen and body glide. (No sunburn or chafe marks at the end of the day, yay!)

I had another Roctane at some point but mostly I was eating small bits of food at Lloyd Hall base camp or at the stocked aid stations. Snacks included soft pretzels, regular pretzels, salty popcorn, peanuts, trail mix, raisins (LOVED the little boxes of raisins) and some bananas.

Video (during Lap 3):

Video (after Lap 3):

Video (start of Lap 4):

20in24 - the Event itself

We were super lucky to have the storms blow through on Saturday night to clear out the horrible humidity. Saturday was a gorgeous day: blue sky, puffy clouds, even a breeze. Just ideal.

The course is along a public use trail in the middle of downtown Philadelphia along the banks of the Schuykill River. It's busy with tourists and locals and people rowing on the river. It was a great place to do this type of long race because there was so much to look at to distract you from the matter at hand.



I was really anxious in the morning, mostly because of the medical stuff, and I successfully hid from the medical team in the early hours. We arrived well before the 10AM race start and set up our base camp and I sipped some Gatorade and ate a banana during the pre-race meeting. My nerves were calmed when I literally ran into the St. Joe's Hawk in the middle of Lloyd Hall. The Hawk is awesome and he seemed like a great omen for me today. A few times over the next 16 or so hours I had to remind myself that The Hawk Will Never Die!



Just about 10AM after the Star Spangled Banner we were off. After about a minute of slow jogging most of the Lone Rangers near me slowed to a casual walk. This was great and allowed me to get to know a handful of people and learn their strategies for the day. Most were planning to take it slow for the daylight hours and then pick things up later when the sun was heading down. Many had plans for 50+ miles or for staying all night but some, like me, were in it with 50 miles as the goal.

At about mile 4 we came across the first medical tent where some of us, like me, were dragged aside for a mandatory medical check. Of course, I freaked out. I was wearing my Garmin and watched a 20 beat spike in HR walking from the trail to the medical tent. Isn't that crazy? They weighed me, took pulse and BP, and commented that it was high. After swearing to them that I was OK, not dizzy, flushed, headachey or anything else they let me go. This would happen on every lap of the event. I think being able to show them my low average HR and knowing facts about my normal resting HR and BP helped them come to grips with the fact that I was OK. Plus, I was clearly never in any kind of distress other than being tired late in the day. I do think it's great that they pay this much attention. There wer 15 maybe 20 people who were made to do these mandatory lap check-ins.

I finished the first lap feeling great but went inside to record a video and to change my socks just because that was the race plan.

Food/Hydration plan: I was carrying a 20oz hand held amphipod bottle, drank this plus water at the aid stations. I think I filled the bottle up with water on the 2nd half of the loop. (I carried this thing for 5 of my 6 laps and it never bothered me a bit.) Had a Roctane gel at mile 4.5. Did not eat any food at the well stocked aid stations on this lap.


Video (at base camp):


Video (at starting line):


Video (start of lap 2):

20in24: The Night Before / Packing up

The Friday before 20in24 was just plain gross. Super hot, super humid, disgusting haze. We drove downtown to collect our t-shirts and numbers and were surprised that they wanted us to check in with medical.

I was a basket case at this point. Heart Rate was off the charts and of course, my famous white-coat hypertension was in effect. I sat down and they tried to calm me down by telling me that everybody was nervous and was getting abnormally high readings. Perhaps not as crazy high as mine, but still high. They sent me home, told me to get some rest, and to check in again in the morning when it was cooler and when I'd be more relaxed.

I did not relax. Instead I went home to run around like a maniac packing up my junk and fretting about how they might not let me do the race at all. (Which would be sort of awesome and sort of awful.)

We were thinking like relay people and packed A TON of stuff to take with us. Here's what we took and my verdict on if it was a good item or not:

Big cooler with ice (contained Gatorade, diet Coke, Slim Fast and uncrustables). Verdict: Good. We used everything in it, including the ice. The flaw was it's size. We ended up leaving it behind when we drove home because we were too tired to lug it up the hill to our car.

AeroBed/blanket/pillows Verdict: Bad. Ours didn't inflate but even if it did we probably wouldn't have used it. Only good for relay teams or those truly planning to stay at LLoyd Hall all night.

Sleeping Bag Verdict: Good. Opened this up and used it as a big cushy beach blanket. A nice place to sit in between laps.

Beach Chair Verdict: Good. Who doesn't like a chair? Especially after 50 miles!

Changes of Clothes Verdict: Mixed. We brought changes for each lap. This was because our experience for this event was 2008's 100 degree day. This year was cooler and breezy and we were not as disgusting as in years past. I changed my socks between each lap, so that I'd do again. I changed my entire outfit after 4 laps (about 33 miles) but I don't think I'd need more than one complete change of clothes.

Extra shoes Verdict: Good. I changed from old shoes after 2 laps and wore newer shoes last three laps. I think my feet were happy with that.

Extra Food Verdict: Bad. We had pretzels, cheetoes, and pop-tarts but didn't open any of it. There was plenty of food on the course and at Lloyd Hall. We didn't need this stuff.

Medical Stuff Verdict: Good. Used glide, sunscreen, a couple of band-aids and Tylenol. Didn't need most of the other stuff but it was good to have it handy just in case.

Baby Wipes Verdict: Mixed. Not really needed but nice to have anyway.

Towels Verdict: Mixed. Big beach towel not necessary because small hand towel would get the job done. Was nice to wash face a couple of times and to dry off.

Camera Verdict: Good! Used it to take some photos and to record video.


Here's a video from the night before. I look pretty tired and miserable and be warned, it's an extreme closeup!

20in24 Lone Ranger. Pre Race Plans

Before the Race

I didn't post much about this here on the blog but I did my first real ultra event this past weekend at the Back on my Feet 20in24 event. Last year I did this event as part of a 5 person relay team and had a great time but in 2009 my sister and I decided to enter as Lone Rangers. What does that mean? It means we agreed to do as many loops of the 8.4 mile course as we could in 24 hours.

I've had a really spotty training plan this year. I never quite got it together to train properly for the Seattle Rock'N'Roll marathon (which was great, by the way, and I nearly ran a PR) and therefore never trained properly for the Lone Ranger. As race day approached I was surprisingly not worried. I think I decided that I was so ill prepared that I would set a few goals and just take it as easy as I had to in order to accomplish those goals.

Goal #1: Complete marathon distance (no reason at all why I couldn't do this)
Goal #2: Go farther than I've done in one day, so that meant 35 or more more miles
Goal #3: Finish 50 miles (6 loops of the course)

I knew that goal #1 and goal #2 were manageable, even if the weather was bad, but I really didn't know if I'd be able to get to 50 miles.

Seattle - I'm ready to Rock'n'Roll

So I went for my 20 mile run yesterday and I FEEL GREAT!

After the 17/18 mile run I felt awful, like I could barely finish and like doing the marathon was a big mistake. Yesterday I did the 20 at a better pace than the 18 and I felt like I could have kept on going and my legs feel awesome today.

I paid more attention to my pace, and especially my hydration and nutrition, and the weather was certainly cooler and less humid, but whatever it was, it was great.

I can't wait to get to Seattle!

June 10 - VF loop run

I met one of the new folks from red group (USA Fit) tonight at Valley Forge. It was a good think that Sam & I had plans or I would have skipped the run because it was gloomy and humid and looked a lot like rain.

She's at the fast end of red, and I think she might be a yellow, and she was pushing the upper limits of my pace. It was good though, to feel like I was working hard. We eased off a little on the 2nd half of the run (thank god!) and averaged about 11:30 miles even with all the walking at the beginning. It was a good outing and I'm glad I had her to meet or I would have missed it for sure.

Legs are feeling great and I'm looking forward to big miles this weekend as a last push for Seattle. Hopefully I can knock out 20 on Saturday.

My mysterious ankle injury seems to have spontaneously healed itself after the 18 miles this weekend. Thank goodness!

I'm super excited about the upcoming trip.

General News

On Sunday, Brian & I went out for a nearly 18 mile run. Well, it was kind of a run, kind of a walk, kind of a hike. No matter -- we were out in the sun moving for about 4 hours and very close to 18 miles. It was hot, it was sometimes fun, and ultimately I think it was good prep for Seattle.

We started out with the plan to do the Audobon Loop (hilly 4 miles) then an out on the Perkiomen to Pawlings Road connecting to the River Trail and then heading over to the Valley Forge loop before heading back to the car. We ran into a little trouble connecting to the River Trail because we decided to try to use VF trails instead of the road and they weren't very clearly marked and the grass was super high and overgrown. That part was fun and frustrating and ultimately we wasted so much time that we decided to forgo the loop for just a straight out and back along the Schuylkill & Perkiomen trails.

We also saw three snakes! One big dead one, one big LIVE one, and one tiny cute one that I had to rescue from being smooshed by zooming guys on bikes.

Running was mostly good, sometimes difficult. Tried run/walk for the last five miles and learned that my intervals were too much running for when I was tired. Galloway suggests 2/1 for my pace, which I thought seemed too wimpy, but now I think that's probably right on.

Hopefully the weather this weekend will be good enough for another long run and some more experiments.

Run/Walk plan

I walk plenty when I run, especially long distances like the marathon, but I've never tried to do a structured run/walk ala Galloway.

I know I'm going to have to employ run/walk at 20in24 so I thought last night was as good a time as any to test the plan. Thinking of my run as a science experiment helped me get out there because I was really not at all motivated to run last night despite the fabulous weather.

I was at Valley Forge and faced with the hilly loop trail. I jumped right in and started running up the hideously long first hill. Amazingly, I finished my four minutes without keeling over! The minute of walking was a nice recovery and I was surprised how well the walking/running segments worked out with the hills at the park. It wasn't perfect and I found myself walking uphill a few times during the run portions and continuing to run on a downhill if it was part of a walk segment, but overall I tried to stick to the plan.

I hated listening to the beeps from the Garmin, and I'm not sure if I'll like that over a long, long period of time, but I think the system did help me with my overall speed. It seems strange but I found that was able to push harder on the run segments knowing that they weren't very long and I'm guessing that the walk segments were shorter and at a better pace than usual.

I'm hoping to do some long runs this weekend and will be testing out the intervals on a flat trail to see how it works out.

Experimenting is fun!

Delaware Half Marathon

Yesterday I ran the Delaware Half Marathon. It was the first time for this race (prior years they had a 10 mile run) on a new course that took in all different parts of Wilmington. I had no idea that there were so manu beautiful sections of town!

This course was more challenging than the loop used when then DE marathon was 4 loops but less challenging than the Caesar Rodney Half-Marathon in March. I really liked the course a lot. There are a lot of twists and turns to navigate but over all it's just beautiful and while it's hilly, there is enough flat and downhill to make it all even out.

I was really, super undertrained for this race and the weather wasn't so great yesterday and I wasn't sure it was such a great idea to be running. During the first 3-4 miles, when it was pouring rain and cold and windy I thought I should just quit when we ran past the finish line. But I kept going, and as it turned out, I had a pretty decent run. I walked the uphills, since I knew I didn't have the fitness level I needed to run up them, and then I ran most of the rest. My legs felt great, my mental game was just fine, and I felt awesome at the end of the race -- probably because of the long downhill finish!

I also used Roctane gel for the first time yesterday and it tasted OK and my legs feel great today. Not sure if that's related to the roctane or just a coincidence.

This gives me hope that I can get my act together for the marathon in Seattle without being a miserable wretch by the end of the run.

Hmonkey Runs Again

So it's been awhile, huh!

The new season for USA Fit is about to start so it's about time for me to shake off the horrible funk I've been since the Philadelphia Marathon. I've been exceptionally lazy this winter since I didn't have any races on the schedule so I allowed myself to completely slack off on my training.

I managed to finish the MORE half marathon in late April on the first blazingly hot day of the year and that sort of jump started my enthusiasm. Since then I've been trying to get back on track and salvage what I can of the training weeks before Rock'N'Roll Seattle in late June. That race is going to stink because I'm so undertrained, but I'm determined to complete it just to log some miles so I can survive the 20in24 race in July. I think 50 miles is a complete pipe dream at that event but I want to try to beat my previous personal best of 34.9 miles in a single day. We'll see...

This Sunday is the Half marathon at Delaware and I'll be there "running" as best I can. I'm really looking forward to it so here's hoping the rain holds off and it's not a completly awful day. The weather looks good as far as temperture so it has to be an improvement over MORE.

I'm hoping that my efforts to talk up USA Fit have been working and that we get a good turnout this weekend. I really want the group to prosper.

I'm going to try to be good about blogging this summer.

A runner's Thanksgiving Prayer

[b]A Runner's Thanksgiving Prayer [/b]

It is Thanksgiving, and runners have a lot to be thankful for. First and foremost, we are thankful for healthy bodies that permit us to run; for little aches and pains that prompt us to slow down; for boundless energy that carries us through each day; and for medical staff who mend us fast when injuries get in the way.

We are thankful for the bounty that feeds our body and soul; for pasta that gives us energy for the long run; for bagels that refuel us when we are done; for the bananas that protect us from muscle cramps; and for coffee that picks us up when we feel down.

We are thankful for energy drinks that give an extra boost; for flavored granola bars that we carry along; for sticky gel in little pouches half-way into a race; for glucose tablets and chewy sticks for a quick sugar fix; and for clean water before, during and after every run.

We are thankful for garbage bags that cover us in the rain; for reflective vests and flashing lights when we run in the dark; for headbands that keep the sweat out of our eyes; for padded socks so soft and smooth to cuddle our toes; and for mittens that keep our fingers warm when it is cold outside.

We are thankful for lightweight shoes that carry our weight; for ankle supports and stability bars that protect our feet; for multi-layered EVA that cushions from the roads; for carbon soles that wear so slow and give us lots of miles; and for pointed spikes that move us forth in the cross country mud.

We are thankful for orthotics when our arches fall; for glasses that absorb UV light when we run in the sun; for mesh singlets that wick the seat and keep us cool; and for colorful jog bras that keep things in their place.

We are thankful for high-tech gear that makes us look cool; for monitors that keep our hearts in their target zones; for nasal strips that hold our noses open in the wind; and for water tanks that wrap around.

We are thankful for vaseline that keeps our thighs sliding along; for band-aid strips over our nipples that save them from rubbing raw; for bags of frozen peas to heal the swollen heels; and for loads of ibuprofen.

We are thankful for directors who enter us on race day; for volunteers that we abuse in the chute; for loving spouses who claim we look good when we feel awful and sick; and for children who endure hours of standing in the cold and pouring rain.

We are thankful for running partners who wait when we are late; for roads so flat we run each day in our wake and our sleep; for workers who fill cracks and potholes, and save our ankles and feet; for truck drivers who plow the roads, yet see us through the snow; and for sleepy motorists in the morning who wave.

We are thankful for trails so soft that give our knees a break; for trees that shade us from the sun and cool us in the heat; for streams and fountains cold and clear that refresh us when we tire; for birds that sing, squirrels that climb and deer that bound around; and for all those who work so hard to keep these trails well groomed.

Finally, we are thankful for the joy of running; for that patient first coach who got us out of the door; for the runner's high that shapes our moods; and for the healthy way of life that shapes us every day.


By Dr Kamal Jabbour, Contributing Writer

2008 Livestrong Challenge

Yesterday was great! Brian did his first cycling event in years and years and had a great time on the 45 mile bike ride. I did the 5K and hung out and was a Lance Armstrong groupie all day. I did slightly better this year getting his picture, but I didn't get a great one since Brian finished his ride before Lance came back from his. (LA did 100 miles yesterday).

The day was beautiful and they raised 3 million dollars in Philadelphia. Pretty neat. I had a great time watching the people come in from their ride. The best part was watching the little kids finish up their 10 mile bike rides. They were all so excited it was really great to watch it all unfold.

Next year I think I'll skip the 5K since it's pretty lame. I think I'll either try to ride my bike or volunteer.

20in24 - general idea

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Originally uploaded by hdunn1012

This is what the transition area looked like. Sorry it's so blurry - I'm not good at night photography.

20in24 - running in the dark

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Originally uploaded by hdunn1012

Here's Kristine finishing up her second lap. She looks awesome! by now it's about midnight.

20in24 - we're transformed!

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Originally uploaded by hdunn1012

Here are our alter-egos posing with their Midnight Madness race numbers. We decided not to run and amazingly we found these three random people who decided at 10 that they wanted to run the loop at Midnight. Luckily we had enough bibs to help them to do it! The bibs also had our names on them so it was especially nice that our genders matched up properly. I can't wait to see how fast they were -- I'm sure the pretend me is a lot faster than the real me!

20in24 - it's getting late

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Originally uploaded by hdunn1012

This is me after my 2nd lap and Brian, all fresh, clean and showered after his two laps were finished. Despite the sweat and stuff, we both look OK for having run 17 miles in 90+ heat, huh? By now, it's about 10PM

20in24 - Fred resting

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Originally uploaded by hdunn1012

He was smart -- he brough a bed with him and an awesome striped lounge chair.

20in24 - ready for my 2nd lap

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Originally uploaded by hdunn1012

Here's me, the super-nerd, ready for my 2nd leg. I am wearing reflective gear and glowing stuff since it will get dark while I'm out there.

20in24 -Fred after leg #2

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Originally uploaded by hdunn1012

Sorry these are out of order! This is Fred finishing his first lap of 8.2 He was the second leg of the relay.