Getting There
Thanks to Neil who picked me up and delivered me for the 2nd year in a row. We arrived exactly on time in Boonsboro at 6 AM with Laila in tow (she followed us in her car). On the way we avoided hitting a pair of deer on Alt 40 a couple/few miles before the AT. After getting to the school, I used my experience and observation of warm weather to avoid the pitfall of an excessively long wait for the men's room by using the portajohns outside. Last year I was late for the start mostly due to waiting in a very long bathroom line. So for the first time in 3 years of going up for the event (I sorta crewed the first year) I actually saw the start. Interesting.

The "Race"
Had a fun start of the race joining with many of my fellow RRers for the jog/walk up to the AT. Bill VA somehow was imagining that I was whining about this or that but I think that was premature ultra brain on his part. Rob W took off kinda fast and I thought, "uh oh, better watch out even if he is an iron man finisher". But up the hill I proceeded with a bunch of folks I had (futile as it turned out) aspirations of staying with, BillVA, Jim B, Tony P. The trail went fine although I think I tweaked my feet/ankles/knees more often and severely than the previous year but in 2 years, I've yet to fall. Ultra brain set in early for me as I could not remember how far it was from Crampton's to Weaverton but was pleasently surprise to arrive at the cliffs sooner than expected. In preparation of the stop, I took my soaking wet long sleeve shirt off - along with my singlet -while still on the trail thinking maybe the singlet would dry off a little while I carried it. Randy and crew were _right there_ as I came off the trail. I almost ran past them as I expected them 50 -100 yds further just before where the trail goes back into the woods. I ended up making 2 stops, one with my designated crew and one with Neil/Katherine et.al. eating/drinking soup at each. Unlike some of our fellow JFK vets, I take a very relaxed approach to pit stops and the whole race in general! I put off my shoe change for a few more miles wanting to see how the newer shoes would feel on the flat. But the older shoes felt like an old friend when I finally did make the change

6-7 miles later on the towpath.

Then there was the towpath (sigh) I knew from last year that I should immediately get on a program which I had decided in advance would be 5-1 (run-walk). Before I had gone more than a mile I had hooked up with Jim A. and later Mike Bennett and we stayed more or less together for entirety of the towpath. I kept myself in good spirits by joking around with anyone within earshot. At one point I told Randy he could jog with me holding the umbrella after it started raining in response to his asking if I needed anything. Then there was that MEAN  lady (you had to be there). She was riding a bike (and wouldn't let me borrow it!) wearing a race shirt (saying she had already finished!). She overheard me complaining (oops, good thing BillVA didn't hear that whine) about Loretta M having no sympathy for our fragile male egos (as she slowly but steadily dropped us) and wouldn't let me live it down (I didn't yet know about Suzanne-wow!). It then became a "running" joke (yuk-yuk) for us - for the next 20+ miles as the runner she was pacing/crewing stayed near us for lo those many miles.

On a more serious note, in retrospect I really think I failed to sufficiently hydrate. At the beginning of the towpath, it seemed very hot for a little while and I suspected i was in trouble when my eyes started burning from the salt on my brow. I was not carrying a water bottle and clearly should have drank more at each and every opportunity (aid stations).

I shoulda known better....2nd note to remind myself of, slightly longer intervals.

While I was always pleased to be able to walk after a running interval, I noticed that the longer I ran, the easier it got and it was most difficult for the first 10 or so strides after walking. In a future attempt, I'll try the 10-2 plan which can always be modified on the run as necessary.

I changed shoes and socks the next time I saw my crew 6-7 miles into the towpath. I changed clothing several times from 2 singlets at Weaverton to one singlet (hot) when I happened along to she Karen Bennett who took my sweaty one. (Thanks Karen), this just prior to Mike catching me and Jim. Eventually after it started to rain I went  back to long sleeve polypro under my singlet. I was quite glad the rain was not any harder as I've always felt the water softens up your feet making them more susceptible to the cumulative pounding of the miles. Thankfully the feet and shoes never got to the squishy stage.

When there were the 3 of us, I was initially feeling pretty strong and I think I tended to push Mike and Jim a bit. Later on they were on the verge of dropping me during each repeat although I would spurt a little to catch them at the end of each run period. We broke up briefly as Jim suffered a bit of ultra stomach and I felt some twangs of guilt for not having stayed with him but the next thing I knew he was back with us. At mile 38 I decided I needed a carb boost when I saw the bagels and took a couple pieces and proceeded to walk while I slowly consumed them. At this point Mike and Jim had pressed on and were completely out of sight to me but when I got to the mile 82 (canal marker - 2.x miles to go on the towpath) I had finished my snack, felt much better and started to run non-stop and at a decent clip. Also Russ Evans had caught and passed me as I walked but I passed him again during my running spurt on the path. I just managed to catch Jim and Mike at the end of the towpath. Then they spurted ahead of me again by walking faster up the dreaded hill and running sooner when they got to something approaching flat ground. The next thing I knew they were 2 of those 90 degree turns ahead of me and barely visible in the distance. And Russ had caught and passed me again.

I think I need to undertake some walking practice for future JFK purposes. But I was actually running pretty well when I was running and slowly reeled them all in. I remember a leapfrogging several different folks during those final road miles. One guy trying to run up the hills saying he wanted his sub -10 and I told him it was in the bag. He made it and thanked me afterwards. There was another group of 3 that were running side by side. Others have mentioned the traffic. It _was_ heavier this year but my impression was that most of the increase over the previous year was runner support type folks(more friendly). Anyway this group of 3 was running way out in the lane and I eventually gently suggested to the centermost guy that he might reconsider that strategy as all it would take is one local with an attitude and too many drinks under his belt for things to get too serious. During this time I continued a tradition I started this year in Boston and  in the MCM, that is to recite Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown (pictures by Clement Hurd, Harper Collins Publishers) for my fellow runners. In its entirety. Fellow marathoners beware. This could happen to you too, if you run with me anyway. Or maybe if you have young kids, you could take up this tradition yourself! Cheap thrills.

But this is or can be a fun time of the race when you know you're going to finish. More fun when you're still feeling somewhat reasonable...and you have some expectation of meeting some time goal that you might of had. I was experiencing all of this as my time goal I felt was pretty conservative - beat last year's time of 10:01. As we got to the intersection with I-81 we were all feeling pretty good.

We took one more walk break then ran it in from there. I must admit to a certain level of testosterone poisoning and wanted to beat Mike and Jim. I ran steady and hard over the last 3/4 of a mile. Mike hung right with me and then put on the most amazing burst of speed I had ever seen and blew me away in the last 100 yards. I think many spectators present were equally amazed. I sorta remember the announcer making note of Mike's amazing finishing kick. I finished in 9:50 and change. Jim finished just a few seconds behind me. Got my picture taken by several folks. Gave Mike and Jim a hug and went inside to warm up, eat and drink. And look for my wife and kids! I was hoping to see them at the finish but they weren't around. Turned out they arrived just a few minutes too late to see me finish. Then they were also missed by a pair of "search parties" that were dispatched outside to look for them while I waited inside. I waited a little while to shower which ended up being intervals of lukewarm with ice cold water. I had a considerably easier time showering this year.

Last year the simple act of undressing for the shower was an ordeal itself. Much better this year. Another major improvement this year was the planning and effort of our massage therapy team of Cliff and Katherine. They brought their tables which allowed them to do a first rate job on each finisher. Talk about being pampered! Those 2 folks were great as were all the crews. Speaking of crews, my crew did a great job of adjusting "on the run" as Fernando - the other runner that I  shared a crew with - had a fabulous inaugural ultra finishing well under 9 hours and necessitating the transfer of responsibility for my support onto a "slower" crew.

Problems- biggest problem was chaffing. You just can't use too much vaseline. Those abraded areas really hurt when the soapy shower water hits them. Big Ouch. Even seams in running pants that are supposed to be smooth will take a toll over ultra time. Beware. Protect sensitive areas.

Splits-
Initial Road (3 mi) - 26:42 AT to Weaverton Aid station (3-16.7) - 2:33 Weaverton "break" and brief AT to C&O towpath - 10:21 C&O towpath marathon (26.2) - 5:03 Final road portion  (8 mi) - 1:37

My fall marathon (MCM) was a 3:19 (PR!) with 1:39/1:40 half splits. Marathon and ultra performance are not necessarily correlated as anyone who analyzes these results may see. They really are 2 different kettle of fish, as different as a 10K is from marathon.

Other problem- I got hit by a 24 hour flu bug starting Sunday night. Add flu body aches to ultra recovery and you get really lousy.

That's my story. Sorry it's a bit long. Think of it as making up for not hearing my story last year.