Had a bad week

This past week sort is sort of on the top of bad weeks. Next will probably be worse.
My younger sister Leanne, who just turned 46 had decided to quit her kidney diaylsis and let nature take it course. She is tired of the constant pain from all her wounds and is calling it quits.
She told me this past saturday at 5AM - I had stopped by before my long run to switch her electric wheelchair with her regular one for her. She told me and I said- Why are you telling me this now? I was not in the best of moods wishing I didn't have this extra stop to make before my run. I actually didn't believe at that time that she ment it (what a nice sister I am).
I have been through a wide range of emotions this week. Leanne is going to do home Hospice and I will be there as much as possible. I will be the main person in charge of her care. Her last dialysis was last Friday and so far she is not doing too bad except for her normal pain.
I have no idea if I will be able to do TCM next week, I will try but everything is so uncertain right now.
I am going to do the Trail race at Frontenac tomorrow. I haven't run all week. Probably good to give my knee a rest since it hurt so bad running last week (no idea what it was), but I have not even done any exersice and have eaten badly. I can't wait to get out there tm.

Training Run

Well, it was a long day. I put in 10 hours of knee pain and slow running. I never had bad knee pain before so I was forced to walk alot but then again I walked about as much as I should have anyways. I worked hard to walk fast though. I was able to run more after mile 33 actually then I could between mile 15-33 which is good that the pain got more tolerable after more miles. I could not however walk down stairs at all.
I wanted to test my ability to get in 50 miles in 12 hours. I got in 42.5 in 10 under these bad circumstances so I happy enough with that.
I am really not looking foreward to Twin Cities in two weeks, I had no speed at all, I know I will do really bad. I am thinking of skipping it but I hate to waste the money I spent and I need it for my 41, especially since Superior didn't count.

Long Run

The plan is to run 10-12 road hours, I really want to do 12 but I will let myself out if I am not doing well after 10 hours. I am going to hopefully purchase some Hammer products like perpetuem and heed and stuff and practice a different system in prep for my 100. I say different system, but actually there never was a system- I always just ate when hungrey but time to try something new. I never wanted to be a fussy person about what I ate but I will see how having a system works. I have no idea what the aid stations will be like at mother road so I am best to be self sufficient.
I am starting tm at 5:30 AM tm at Minnehaha Falls area with my friend Linda- she wants to get in 13- she needs to be done early.
I like this area for road running becuase there are so many different loops. My favorite is the east-west river loop between the ford bridge and down to frankin or u of M. The loop down to Ft snelling and back and the parkway to Lake Nikomas around the lake and back are great too.

Fall Plans

I had been looking at the web site every few days for a while, contemplating, making sure it was not about to fill. So this past week I finally signed up for the Mother Road 100 -2. 102 miles on route 66 near Oklahoma city happening Novemeber 8-9.
I have no idea how I will get there or any other detail except that this is the race I want to do this fall.
I was a pacer two years ago for the First mother road 100. I paced Bonnie Riley the last 38 miles from 11pm till abot noon the next day. That was the first time I had gone over a 50K and first time in ages even staying up all night. I knew then I wanted to do a race like this. The memeories of the store front aid station that was filled with folks who looked like characters from the night of the living dead, one throwing up in a waste basket. The freezing cold, who would have thought OK gets that cold, the small towns along the way. It was fun to be running(sort of)from town to town actually going somewhere.
The pitfalls are the hard road with little or no shoulders, the traffic (they are claiming little traffic this year though), going down deserted roads with run down houses with barking dogs in the middle of the night. But I think I can handle all that.
So I need to put in more road miles, next is Twin Cites then I am pretty sure Whistestop and probably Surp the Murph, but that is the week before mother road so not so sure about that one.
So its time to get out of Lazy mode and get training.

Superior 50 mile DNF

Well I never say this one comming. I DNF'd. I had been Ok last year, had a pretty good Vouageur 50 miler in July so I was pretty confident at finishing at least.
I was feeling really good actually especially through the 9 mile section of Crosby-Manitou to Caribou. The hills didn't both me there at all. I got a little worried before Cramer road when someone said we were in danger of being cut becaue the cut off was 1pm. I never never thought of being cut in this race, this is one race where I thought being cut for time was no issue at all. We actually got in at cramer at 1:15 but were not cut, I guess the cut off there is soft- if you look good you can go on. It woke me up though, I had not really felt like I was going that slow!!! Right before the temperance river aid station, I started to get sharp stomach aches (maybe I shouldn't have eaten those brownies and several cups of coke?), I took the few pepto bismol tablets I had with me and it helped. At temperance I was worried because I only had 4 hours to make it to Oberg, The time had gone so fast. It was during this section that the dreaded trips into the woods started. I think I stopped at least 5 times before Brittons peak. After brittons peak the trips into the woods continued I must have stopped another 5 or more times. I knew with all the stops and the slow running I was going to be close to not making the 7PM cut off. It also started raining during this section, but I made it to Oberg and after having several cups of soup and taking food with with me off I went, I had 3 hours to finish, I could easily walk and finish this last 7 miles, my feet and legs were doing fine.
It was not long after I left Oberg that I had to make another trip into the woods and I knew from how I felt that I had many more to come. I was shivering from being wet and cold and thought of the water I had been unable to drink and the inconvieience to everybody I would be if I got hypothermia in the middle of this last section. I like to think of myself as being tough but I shouldn't be stupid.
I was a hard decision but I turned around and ran back to Oberg. The aid station people were extrememly nice I remember feeling like they shouldn't be so nice, I felt like such a looser. I changed into some dry shirts and still couldn't get warm. I got a nice ride back to Caribou hylands in a car with heated seats.
After cleaning up I tried to get out to see everybody but I could not leave the vacinity of a bathroom. I heard the awards and cheering outside and the last of finishers comming in. Not being there at the end sort of hurt worse than anything else.
I learned alot, I need to get in better shape, My body needs alot of energy in a race like this and it has no extra energy for mishaps like this. I need to think about what I eat on the trail. Maybe I had better save the treats for after the race.
Overall though it was a nice day on the trail. I enjoyed the new course and look foreward to doing it again next year.