#ACI2024
  • Get Out. Get Lost.
  • ACI UPDATES
  • ACI - Acadia Cross Island
  • The Acadia Round
  • Past Races, Hikes & Adventures
    • Barnhardt Loop Trail 2008
    • Cascade Crest Classic 100 Mile Endurance Race
    • Copper Basin 50K 2010
    • Crow Pass Crossing 2010
    • Elephant Mountain 35K 2013
    • Flagstaff 50K 2010
    • Kahtoola Race Series 2010
    • Mazatzal Wilderness 18M 2010
    • Mesquite Canyon 50K 2010
    • Mesquite Canyon 50k 2011
    • Mesquite Canyon 50K - 2013
    • Mountain Mist 50K 2010
    • Mt. Lemmon 50M 2011
    • Pass Mountain 50k
    • Phoenix Summit Challenge 2009
    • Ragnar Relay del Sol 2010
    • R2R2R 2009
    • R2R2R October 2010
    • R2R2R June 2011 - Another Notch on the belt of Humility
    • San Tan Scramble 50K 2011
    • Superstition Wilderness 50 Mile Adventure Spring 2011
    • Tucson Marathon 2009
    • Tucson Marathon 2013
    • Zane Grey 50M 2010
    • Zane Grey 50M 2011
  • Bucket List
  • Contact Me
    • Contact Me

Get Out. Get Lost.

Prelude to Self Destruction- The Cascade Crest 100

8/26/2011

0 Comments

 
Picture

Two days...


Never having run a race longer than 50 miles or having never ran 100 miles in a race before I'd have to admit there is a great deal of anxiety attached to it the week before the race.  Now sitting under 48 hours away from the ten a.m. start time Saturday I'm filled with an increasing level of "what the hell did I do" feeling.  In less than two days I'm going to be standing at the start line with 149 other people about to cross a line and not return for over 24 hours.  We are going to essentially run five miles, hike Camelback Mountain and then repeat that pace for 100 miles.  Wow.  Oh, and it cost me $200, plane tickets, rental car, hotel room, time off work and countless hours of training, gels, power bars, gas, and make up dinners for always being gone on weekends from my wife.  

So far...totally worth it.

The "journey" (I'm going full cliche here) to running a 100 mile race is nothing to scoff at.  The training itself is nearly all self motivation.  The number of mornings getting up at 3-4am to beat the miserable heat (yes...miserable.  Don't bother trying to say you like it.  I don't believe you.) that Phoenix produces on a daily basis.  Starting a run in the dark and it's 92 degrees?  What the heck is that?  After dinner runs when it's 104?  Yippee.  Yet with the heat comes the trips to avoid it.  Long runs on the Mogollon Rim, Mt. Lemmon, R2R2R, Kendrick Mountain, up and down and around Mt. Humphries in 75 degree weather.  Visiting and experiencing areas I would not have had a chance to visit had I not been doing this training.  I've put in some really quality runs, really beat myself up on solo runs in the heat and really pushed myself through some tough runs.  I think despite my "low" mileage I'm ready, equipped and feel pretty confident going into this run.  

Yet I'm borderline freaking out.


Picture
I want that.
Well...that's probably an overstatement as I rarely, if ever, freak out.  More accurately, I'm deathly afraid something is going to happen to my left ankle which has been bothering me for over a month.  Is it phantom pain or is it going to be a major issue come mile 70?  I can deal with pain, discomfort (please not chaffing...please) but it's tough to run down mountains without a 2nd ankle.  I try to keep perspective though and think back to my first ultra, the Mountain Mist 50k in Huntsville, Alabama.  Three days before the race I stood up from my office chair and tweaked my right knee in the standard, "Tragic stand up from office chair knee injury" that everyone experiences.  My right knee felt loose, weak and I was extremely nervous going into the race thinking i had a meniscus tear and how similar this felt to my first knee surgery.  Five miles into it the feeling disappeared, never even remembered it was there and I finished with a solid time on an extremely technical trail.  So that memory keeps things fresh in my mind and with a firm grip on perspective.  I'm confident  it will hold up but it if doesn't? I blame Obama.
Picture
CC100 Elevation Profile
So what's the Cascade Crest 100 all about?  Well...it's a loop course.  75% single track with 25% forest road/dirt road/old jeep road.  The course works its way up and over a lot of ridge lines, lots of sweet single track on the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) and some monster climbs.  20,454 feet of climbing give or take.  There is a "Trail from Hell" around mile 65-70 that is overgrown, blow down trees that takes most runners 2-3 hours to cover the five hours.  In the dark.  The Cardiac Needles after miles 70 are crazy steep inclines one right after another and then the highest point of the whole race, Thorp Mountain, is at mile 88...only 5,900 feet but still...mile 88?  

I'm looking forward to every last inch of it.  I've put in so much climbing for training I'm nervous any straight flat areas I'm going to struggle because I'm only trained for up's and down's.  Luckily there are no flat areas...so I'm able to concentrate on hammering sections of the course cracked out on caffeine and music.  Yes.  I said cracked out.   

Caffeine induced, music fueled highs.  It's why I love running.  Fastest 20 minute stretches of my runs guaranteed.  How?  Easy.  Just pop a Clif Double Espresso gel and turn on this song (You Tube clip below):  Go ahead...press play.  Or if you are really impatient just put it to 4:15 and give it a listen.  Just know you are missing out on 4:14 of buildup as the caffeine starts flowing through your veins, little by little, as your pace begins to quicken without you even realizing it.  Until by the end of the song you've inadvertently just ran two miles, regardless of terrain, in the time it takes Warren Haynes to shred this guitar to pieces.  Probably not the best stragedy for a 100 mile race so I plan on saving this for post mile 50.  In fact I have a 25 song playlist that my brother (pacer) has as well.  Uh huh.  We made a playlist, loaded the same list to each of our respective Ipods and plan to slam some caffeinated gels at the same time and press play on our identical playlist's.  25 songs.  4.4 hours worth of music.  God Bless America. 

Mile 53.  Press Play.  We'll be done in an hour.  
4:15 minutes in.  Dave & Warren Haynes??  Bring on the GU!!!!!!!!
I'm reserving this song for emergency use only.  In fact,  its in "EMERGENCY USE ONLY" on my Ipod.  That's what I named it so I don't make any mistakes and accidently play it when I'm not mentally and physically prepared for the thrashing this song can put on a pumped up set of legs.  Afterall, its' 23:14 long.  It brings you up, breaks you down and then absolutely hammers you to a forced rad line.  I don't think it's avoidable.  It's just an incredible song and on the right level of single track it makes me want to go 100% all out, full force, reckless abandon.  It's why I run.  It's why running is fun.  It's what people that "hate" running don't understand.  There are a couple dozen songs that when they come on I have to change it immediately because I'll go to fast.  This one is at the top of the list.  

Despite all the planning and the training there are certainly doubts going into the race.  Doubts of finishing, holding up, getting blisters, chaffing, bad stomach.  Truth is it's very possible ALL of those things WILL happen.  I know how to handle each, have experienced each but mostly it's just the finishing that matters most to me.  The rest I can endure fairly easily but not finishing would be very disappointing given the last eight months of concentrated training specifically for this race, everyone talking about this race and so many people that would be asking me about "how did you do?" only to have to respond that I didn't make it.  I doubt many people would judge me for not finishing as I never would another for the same thing.  The sheer act of attempting such a thing is significant enough as a very small percentage of people, despite growing popularity in the sport, ever will.  I simply don't like setting out to do something and not completing it.  

Without fail the question of what time you want to finish in comes up.  There are always time predictions, estimates and goals.  I have a number I'd like to hit but that's irrelevant until I know at mile 90 that I can walk this in and still finish.  Until that point comes I'm not concerned with time, where I am, what place I'm in or who's ahead of me.  It won't be easy as I'm pretty competitive and convince myself that I can run with anyone (usually around 4:48 of the first video...) but in reality I cannot and each of the runners has to accept that they can't.  Nor should they try.  That's not to say I'm not or others are to capable but trying to run someone else's race is the oldest cliche in running.  Run your own race.  Everything else will fall into place.  And so I will.  

In 40 hours and 47 minutes...

0 Comments
    Picture

    Archives

    September 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    September 2018
    April 2018
    February 2018
    May 2017
    May 2016
    February 2016
    February 2014
    December 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011
    April 2011
    March 2011
    February 2011
    January 2011
    December 2010
    November 2010
    October 2010
    September 2010
    August 2010
    May 2010
    February 2010
    December 2009
    November 2009

    Categories

    All
    100 Mile Training Schedule
    #AcadiainWinter
    #acadianationalpark
    Acadia National Park
    Across The Years
    Adam Campbell
    Alaska Wilderness Challenge
    Andrew Heard
    Andrew Skurka
    Antelope
    Anthony Culpepper
    Apache County
    Aravaipa Running
    Aravaiparunning.com
    Arizona
    Arizona Road Racers
    Arizona Trail Running
    Arizona Ultrarunning
    Arizona Wilderness Trail Series
    Arr
    Art Bourque
    Asu Study
    Az 100
    Banff National Park
    Bar Harbor
    Barharbor365.com
    Bar Harbor Inn
    Bataan
    Bear Canyon
    Born To Run
    Boulder
    Cabin Loop
    Cadillac Mountain
    Calvary
    Camelback Mountain
    Camelback X-T-R-E-M-E
    Canyon De Chelly
    Cascade Crest
    Cascade Crest 100
    Castle Hot Springs
    Cave Creek Thriller
    Ccc100
    Chiricahua National Monument
    Chiricahua Wilderness
    Chirunning
    Christian Bale
    Christian Griffith
    Christian Griffiths
    Chugiak
    Coachwhip
    Colorado
    Copper Canyon
    Cougar
    Crow Pass Crossing
    Dallas Stevens
    Dave James
    Dave Matthews Band
    Death March
    Debbie Leftwich
    Diana Nyan
    Dominic Allen
    Double Crossing
    Dutchman
    Eagle River
    East End
    Eiger
    Escalante Trail
    Evan Honeyfield
    Fat Ox
    Fat Ox 50
    Florida
    Fred Willet
    Freedom
    Friends Of Acadia
    Fstpkr
    Gary Allen
    Geoff Roes
    #getoutgetlost
    Getoutgetlost.com
    #getoutside
    Gmr
    Gopro Hd Hero 2
    Grand Canyon
    Grandpa Jim 50k
    Grandpa Jim's 50K
    Great Enchantment Trail
    Green Mountain Relay
    Hal Koerner
    Harvard
    Highline Trail
    Honey Albrecht
    Hotel Explora
    I2p
    Imperial Dunes
    Impossible 2 Possible
    Injured
    Injury
    Inov-8
    Inov-8 Roclite290
    Iron90.com
    Jaguar In Arizona
    Jared Campbell
    Javalina Jundred
    Jay Danek
    Jeff Jones
    Jeffrey Bryant
    Jennifer Pharr Davis
    Jeremy Dougherty
    Jerry Armstrong
    Jf
    Jj10
    Jj100
    Jody Chase
    John Pearce
    Jon Roig
    Josh Meals
    Kahtoola
    Kalahari
    Karl Meltzer
    Karsten Solheim
    Keys 100
    Kilian
    Kilian Journet
    Kilian's Quest
    Kilian\'s Quest
    Kilians Quest
    Killian
    Killian Journet
    Killian\'s Quest
    Kofa Wilderness
    Kyle Maynard
    La Sportiva
    Leki Poles
    Liza Howard
    Liz Everly
    Macho B
    Maine
    Maine Life
    Maine Trail Running
    Maricopa County
    Maroon Bells
    Matanuska Peak Challenge
    Matt Hart
    Matthew Mcconaughey
    Matt Schmidt
    Matt Schmitt
    Mazatzal Wilderness
    Mcdowell Mountain
    Mcdowellmountainman
    Mcdowell Mountain Man
    Mcdowell Mountain Man 50k
    Mcdowell Mountain Park
    Mcdowell Mountains
    MDI
    MDI Marathon
    Mesquite Canyon 50k
    Michael Carson
    Michael Duer
    Michael Miller
    Mike Duer
    Millinocket Marathon
    Mission Kilimanjaro
    Mmm
    Mogollon Monster 100
    Mogollon Rim
    Monument Valley
    Motorcycle Diaries
    Mountain Lion
    Mount Desert Island
    Mount Desert Island Marathon
    Mount Olympus
    Mt. Lemmon
    Nadir Manor
    National Geographic
    Navajo Nation
    New Mexico
    Noah Dougherty
    North Mountain
    North Rim
    Norway
    Painted Desert
    Paria Canyon
    Pass Mountain 50k
    Patagonia
    Paulette Zillmer
    Paul Rondeau
    Pemberton
    Peralta
    Peter
    Petrified National Park
    Phantom Injury
    Phoenix Mountain Preserve
    Pvcc
    R2r2r
    Ragnar Relay
    Ray Zahab
    Reign Of Fire
    Renee Stevens
    Rim To Rim To Rim
    Run100miles
    RunMDI
    Running
    Running On The Moon 50k
    Run Toms Thumb
    Sabino Canyon
    Salomon Running
    Sand Beach
    San Tan 50k
    San Tan Scramble 50k
    Sarah Dasher
    Sean Cunnif
    Shaw Butte
    Shirts
    Siphon Draw Trail
    South Mountain
    South Mountain 20k
    South Rim
    Squaw Peak
    Steve Prefontaine
    Superstition Wilderness
    Superstition Wilderness 25k
    Superstition Wilderness 50k
    Superstition Wilderness 50m
    Sweden
    Tanner Trail
    Team Red White & Blue
    Team RWB
    The Arctic Light
    Thehikeguy.com
    Thompson Peak
    Timelapse
    Time Lapse Photography
    Tombstone
    Tom Gormley
    Tom St. Germain
    Toms Thumb
    Torres Del Paine
    Track
    Trail Running
    Trails
    Training
    Travel Alberta
    Tucson
    Tucson Marathon
    Tucson Trail Runners
    Two Men
    Ueli Steck
    Ultraladies Running Club
    Ultrarunning
    Usery Park
    Utmb
    Vermilion Cliffs
    Vermont
    Video
    Vimeo
    Visit Bar Harbor
    Visit Maine
    Warren Haynes
    Wednesday Morning Running Club
    West Slabs Of Olympus
    White Sands
    Wmrc
    Wyatt Earp
    Yasso 800\'s
    Yosemite
    Zane Grey
    Zane Grey 50
    Zane Grey 50 Mile Endurance Run
    ZG50

You're only tired because you think you're tired. Keep going.
  • Get Out. Get Lost.
  • ACI UPDATES
  • ACI - Acadia Cross Island
  • The Acadia Round
  • Past Races, Hikes & Adventures
    • Barnhardt Loop Trail 2008
    • Cascade Crest Classic 100 Mile Endurance Race
    • Copper Basin 50K 2010
    • Crow Pass Crossing 2010
    • Elephant Mountain 35K 2013
    • Flagstaff 50K 2010
    • Kahtoola Race Series 2010
    • Mazatzal Wilderness 18M 2010
    • Mesquite Canyon 50K 2010
    • Mesquite Canyon 50k 2011
    • Mesquite Canyon 50K - 2013
    • Mountain Mist 50K 2010
    • Mt. Lemmon 50M 2011
    • Pass Mountain 50k
    • Phoenix Summit Challenge 2009
    • Ragnar Relay del Sol 2010
    • R2R2R 2009
    • R2R2R October 2010
    • R2R2R June 2011 - Another Notch on the belt of Humility
    • San Tan Scramble 50K 2011
    • Superstition Wilderness 50 Mile Adventure Spring 2011
    • Tucson Marathon 2009
    • Tucson Marathon 2013
    • Zane Grey 50M 2010
    • Zane Grey 50M 2011
  • Bucket List
  • Contact Me
    • Contact Me