Gettin' Loopy 2011 Edition

It seems like a trip home for a Holiday. Or to see old friends. Once again it was the easy one hour drive to Longview to run circles at Lake Sacajawea Park. Everyone you tell says "That is crazy! I would hate running circles for 24 hours!" Yeah they all say that but once they do it they always seem to come back. It could be because you see your fellow runners so much on the course, or that you get cheered by the awesome lap counters every mile, or it's Bart jumping out from behind the bushes to take your picture again. Not sure but I love doing this race.

Ace ultra runner and Pac Rim Lap counter Sarah


Mr Marathon Jim and the rest of the party.

Gail and I got there one hour prior. Set up our little table with our food for the race. This year it was a big deal. I never saw so many tents and canopies set up. It looked like a homeless camp! Well we chatted and chatted away the hour. Barely got our bibs on in time and then we got the speech from RD Fred. This race was to be a memorial this year to some great runners who had passed in the last 10 years or so. Fred talked past the 9 am start time but that was fine for us. Some rude jerk said "Lets go" in a loud voice. I figured it must have been some newbie turd who didn't understand the flow of Pac Rim. Fred continued and then let us go. I love the first few laps. Everyone is very social and its a good time to renew friendships.

Susan ordering only nice weather for the day.


Typical 24 hour runner set up.

Gail and I each had different plans for the race. She wanted a 50k and I wanted a 50 miler. The weather was cool with a breeze but the sun would come out and warm your face now and then. We plodded on trying not to stop every lap as to get the miles done more quickly than years past.

Bart, Pac Rim Photographer.

Around mile 10 or so fellow Slug Katie came out to run 11 miles with us. It was fun to have her with us plus she got us coffee afterwards! Thank you so much!!! Gail and I finished the marathon distance in about 5 hours. We split up about that time too. My legs felt tired at 10 miles so I was worried this would be a long day. I put some tunes on and just sang along the trail. I would feel good then bad but thats how it goes. This year I ran all the little uphills that I would walk in years past. My legs never felt bad just tired. The high 30's the miles were a strain. In the 40's it would be one mile good one mile bad. I was looking forward to being done at mile 50 but the plan was to walk a slow mile 51 and quit then. (Ah the secret of Pac Rim :)) It had gotten dark in the mid 40's and I was getting a bit cold. At mile 47 I put on my long sleeve shirt but was still a bit cold. At mile 50 I walked a very slow mile 51. I got real cold. I was walking trying to slowly let my heart keep my blood pressure up. As you know I have found that if I don't walk around for about an hour after these races I often get very light headed. My hands and feet even start to "tingle". I really hate it and it makes me very anxious.

The "campground" gets bigger every year.


Well at mile 51 I talked with Gail. She was at mile 47 and was mostly walking. So much for her only 50k! Well she wanted to get 50 miles and I was feeling OK so she was going to walk it in for another 3 miles. She was having fun talking with everyone on the course. I started to pack up our stuff and take it to the car. I felt good and read the paper in the car but I was very cold even with the heat on. Gail seemed to be taking longer than I thought she would and I was to find out she ended up doing 51 miles (Yes the Pac Rim trick). By this time I started to get light headed. I tried to walk..it helped a bit but I was getting nervous. When Gail got to the car I said I got to lay down. So I popped the back door of the SUV and laid down on the street with my feet over the back bumper. Within a minute I was feeling better. I staid down for a few more minutes for insurance. Poor Fenny and Gail thought I was worse off.

Steve, Gail and Pete talk pre-race.

I got up and started the drive home. After 5 miles or so I realized that I was not doing very good. I was getting light headed again. So we pulled over and Gail drove the last 40 miles home at 10 pm or so. I put my feet up and just closed my eyes. I never felt that great so when we got home I went right into the front room and laid down on the floor with my feet up on the couch. I laid there for almost an hour! I hate this!!! I hydrated great all day. Used electrolytes etc but still not sure why I get this way. I don't have any gut problems since I switched to Nuun but I still get this now and then. Maybe someday I will figure it out.

Gail and I had a good run for not a ton of training. I finished in 10:09 and Gail was at 11:04. We were both very happy with our performance. Lisa and Tim ended up winning again. Not bad since they both ran their first laps in full bathrobes! Someday we will run 24 hours here. We just have a hard time getting trained for that level this time of year. If it was October it would be much easier.

Well, thanks Fred for another great Pac Rim. We will be back next year!

So what's up next. Well since I am so late writing this Gail and I are running the ORRC Vernonia Marathon tomorrow. It is the first time they have had a marathon. It runs on the Vernonia to Banks rails to trails path. Gail is running with Stacy who is a first time marathoner. I am running just for fun, no real goals or plans. Just hope to enjoy a nice 26 mile trot in the country.