I was often joked with by the kids on the playground because my last name is LAPP, they would think it was funny and chant "Take a lap, LAPP!" 35 years later, "take a lap" is exactly what I'm doing, and it's actually become something very positive in my life.I run laps for fun. A few times a year I run in fixed time races, running around a 1 mile loop course, over and over and over and over again, for what could be days at a time! Whoever runs the most miles in the given amount of time (usually 24-72 hours) wins. All for fun, but I use it as an opportunity to raise awareness and money for a disorder that affects our best friend's 7 year old son, Andrew. The disorder is known as Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia, aka CAH and the only organization in the US that is dedicated to those affected by CAH is the CARES FOUNDATION.
We have a 2 year old golden-doodle named Abby. Abby goes with me everywhere and is by my side all day, every day.
My plan the night before the race was to sleep in a hotel 5 miles from the race start, as Augusta, NJ is about 60 miles from where I live. It would allow me to get a full night's sleep and be close to the start. But that is not what happened.I met my friend Karl Dostal at the hotel at 5:30p. Karl drove in from Cincinnati to run the 3 day race for the first time. Just as Karl and I were about to eat, my phone rang, and my wife Sandy, was crying hysterically saying that something had happened to her and our dog Abby.
While out on a walk, our Abby was attacked, pinned down and bitten by our neighbor's German Shepard, and she was bleeding badly. Sandy was really shaken, as she did not let go of the leash and was dragged on the ground as well. She was on her way to the animal hospital. I immediately got in my truck and drove back home and met Abby and Sandy at the hospital where we stayed until 11pm, and then after she was discharged we stayed up all night with her. She was in pain, and crying. Wouldn't take her medicine. When I laid by her side she would stop. So, I laid with her on the hardwood floor for the entire night calming her by rubbing her chest. (Abby's chest, not Sandy's :)As I lay with Abby thoughts of dropping from the race crossed my mind. Having no sleep going into the start of a 3 day race would not be good. I contemplated not running at all or maybe dropping down to the 48 hour race and sleeping all day Thursday. But I had invested so much time in training for the race, I had to at least give it my best shot, despite no sleep. Sandy approved and I left our house the morning of the race at 5:30am to drive to the start. ***Side note: Abby was in such bad shape, Sandy ended up taking her back to the hospital on Thursday, where she was admitted and stayed for 2 more nights.
Day 1 - Thursday, May 18, 2017
Karl and I set up a canopy tent to act as our aid station, and shelter in the event of rain, (or extreme sun) we could keep our stuff dry and get some shade. I had plastic bins with all my changes of clothes, extra shoes, medical/nutritional supplies, supplements, electronics, chargers, charging blocks. I brought a cot, sleeping bag, blanket.
Weather Report for Day 1 - High 95
40% humidity with heat index over 100 degrees. Blue skies and Sun. Lots and lots of Sun!!!!!
The race started at 9am on Thursday morning. Karl and I agreed to each run our own race. We each had planned different pacing strategies. Certainly there would be times in the 3 days we would be able to run together. (and after all, the course was a loop, plenty of chances to see one another). My goal was to try and run more than last year's 200 miles.
We started off slowly, running around a 10 minute per mile pace. I carried fluids from the start in my handheld bottle. Alternating between gatorade, water, coke, coconut water and watermelon juice!!! I was diligently taking my electrolyte replacement pills and my sports legs. We both completed the first 26 miles in 5 hours and 30 minutes, and by 4pm we had run 30 miles. The heat was ridiculous. We had coolers full of ice and I ran with an ice towel most of the day. It was at this stage that Karl and I started to really separate. The heat was sucking the life out of us. We were constantly thirsty and were drinking nonstop, but not eating. We were both nauseous from the heat. Karl went to his car and cooled down with the AC, I joined him for a few minutes.
At this point, I lose track of Karl. I headed back out and continued to run well into the night. I took my first sleep break at 11pm and slept in the back of my truck until 12:30am. Using the alarm on my phone to wake me up. I left the truck and ran until 3am and then slept again until 4:30am.
I don't remember much about that first night. I didn't have any hallucinations (yet). It didn't cool down much as the night progressed. it had to have been high 70's low 80's overnight. When you run in circles and pass the same things over and over, things get blurry. I don't know what I thought about. I do know that I would pick out markers on the course and run to them, and take short walk break, run to the next mark and walk again. I tried to listen to music, but it was too noisy.
By the end of the first 24 hours (Day 1) I had run 75 miles.
DAY 2 - Friday, May 19, 2017
Weather Report: High temp in the high 80's low 90's / nothing but sun!
I had 48 hours left to run 125 miles and reach my 200 mile goal. Could I cover 65 miles on day 2 and 60 more on day 3????? Our ice was all melted and all I could think about were ice cold drinks and I was dreading the day as the sun rose over us. As soon as the sunshine hit my skin the morning of day 2, I felt my skin burn from the previous day's exposure and I had those sun related goosebumps. Sunscreen fail. Karl and I hooked up again on day 2. He was rested and no longer nauseous. It was around this time that I decided to change to a newer pair of shoes. I went with another pair of the exact model I was wearing. Bad decision. Not all shoes are made exactly the same. Neither of us had anything substantial to eat at this point in the morning of Day 2. Then, out of nowhere, I hear Sandy's voice, and through my pollen clouded contact lenses, I see Sandy carrying carryout bags and a drink tray! She had surprised us with Fried Chicken sandwiches, french fries, pickles and a chocolate milk shakes from a local diner, and a large mocha iced coffee from Dunkin Donuts. Karl and I were in heaven. We gorged on our food, and sat in our chairs unable to move when we were finished. I think it was before noon.
I took an alleve and laid down on my cot under our canopy for about 30 minutes. Didn't really sleep, or close my eyes, just checked in with social media, before heading out again. And I believe it was at this point that I checked on an annoying pain in my right shoe. Low and behold my first blister, around 30 or so hours into the race.The next goal of Day 2 was to get to 100 miles by 7pm and then I would sleep. Andrew's dad, Doug Zehner, was going to join me in the race at 9pm and was to pace me, and keep me company until 9am. I made it to 100 miles by 7pm and slept on my cot until Doug arrived. And we were off and running. By this point, I was really tired and I think I was able to run with Doug for about 3 hours, before I had to tap out for a sleep break again. We each went to our cars. I was up again at around 1:30am, back out running for a few more hours. I know we went back to sleep again, I think around 4am, again for 90 minutes. Always sleeping no longer than 90 minutes.
 |
| Doug Zehner (Andrew's Dad) |
By the end of Day 2, I had run an additional 54 miles and had completed 129 total miles.
Thank you Doug for the company!!!! If I had taken a picture of Doug this year during the race, I would have put it here: Instead I will use stock footage:
Day 3 - Saturday, May 20, 2017
Weather Report: high of 70, much cooler, mostly cloudy. Ideal running conditions.
I need to run 71 miles on Day 3 to reach my 200 mile goal. It became clearer that my goal had slipped out of reach.
When you run a marathon, you get a nice medal. When you run an ultra race of 100 miles or longer you get a BELT BUCKLE. I've got a nice little collection of 8 buckles. The 3 day Race has various belt buckle targets, 101 mile buckle, 200 mile buckle and a 303 mile buckle. (yes there are a few people that have run over 303 miles in 72 hours in previous year, Not this year though!).
So with that in mind, no matter if you run 102 miles or 199 miles, you still only get the 101 mile buckle. That was sticking with me. I began to question myself. What difference does it make anymore? I'm not going to get 200, why even go any further????
I had never quit a race before. I was tired, stomach muscles ached, my traps and lats ached from holding my head and arms up. The more I thought about it, 150 seemed like a good stopping point.
Although the temps were cooler, I trudged on and around 6pm on Day 3, I had conquered 150 miles. I went right to my car, set my alarm for 2 hours and rolled around in the backseat contemplating my next move. I couldn't sleep, I kept thinking to myself, "I don't quit, I don't quit", so I got out of the car and walked.
It was much cooler now and I needed to put on a sweatshirt. I went back and forth, quit or keep going??, and before I knew it, I was back running until 10pm and was now at 160 miles. Certainly that was a much more respectable number, and I think I could live with it. I walked to my car at 10:07pm (I checked my facetime records) and I Face-timed my crew chief in Ohio, my brother-in-law, Mike, to tell him that I was going to quit. I don't know what I was thinking, Mike would never let me quit. He's crewed me through five 100+ mile finishes in Cleveland, and he has strict instructions, that under no circumstance can he let me quit, only for a serious medical condition. But I called him anyway. It was like I wanted him to tell me I had done a good job and that enough was enough. But I just wanted to sit down and have some beers and just watch people finish. Mike didn't answer my call. (Mike always answers my calls during a race,) Then a switch went off in my head.
I had listened to a Rich Roll podcast when he interviews a former Navy Seal, ultra runner, real bad ass David Goggins. The toughest dude on earth. I had been following David for a few years in the ultra running world and had seen a few interviews with him. I read a book by Jesse Itzler: "Living with a SEAL". Jesse writes about the 31 days he hired, lived and trained with David Goggins. This man's life story is a motivating and I like his style. I decided to re-listen to the podcast and see if his words could reignite me. http://www.richroll.com/podcast/david-goggins/ I pulled it up on my phone and started walking. It took about 30 minutes before I was able to dial into his message again. Hearing him talk and his attitude about life really helped me push through the final miles. 
One of my favorite quotes, by David Goggins, that resonated with my current situation. "I don't stop when I'm tired, I stop when I'm done." I was running a 72 hour race, not a 62 hour race. I needed to keep moving regardless of whether or not I was going to run 200 miles and get the 200 mile buckle, I was running to finish the 72 Hour race that I had started.
I have a tendency to hallucinate at some point during a multi day race. It was early in the morning on the third day this year when It happened. Call it sleep deprivation, or just a wild imagination. One year I swear I saw giant California Raisins singing into their microphones on the course. (turned out to be 2 big garbage cans on stilts). Another year, every time I reached this point on the course I would see the silhouette of a cowboy leaning against a tree with his hat tilted down watching me. This year, as the giant, crescent moon appeared overnight and rose in the sky, I swear it was the Big Mac tonight Moon from the 80's McDonalds' commercial and he was telling me to keep running. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Diu2qMYYL3c
I ran for a few more hours, until 4am and crawled back into my truck to sleep for another 90 minutes. I had run around 170 miles at this point by 5:30am. This would be a much better story if I told you that I made it to 200 miles, but I didn't. Over the last 3.5 hours I covered an additional 12 miles. Considering the temperatures of the first 2 days, I consider finishing the 72 Hour race with 182 miles a victory, and it was good enough for 5th place overall. Thank you Mike for not taking my call.......
Overall, despite the suffering and the heat, I had a good race. The wheels did not fall off. We raised a lot of money for the CARES FOUNDATION so they can help people like Andrew, navigate living with the disorder known as CAH.
One more of my favorite quotes from David Goggins that everyone should put to memory. When you are hurting or down on yourself: “Whatever you got going on, someone else has more pain. You gotta learn how to fight through it. No matter what it is… Think about someone else and take a suck-shit pill.”
I earned another 101 mile buckle from the 3 Days at the Fair race and added to my lifetime miles at the race, surpassing 500 miles to earn the 500 mile coin. Next milestone would be the 1000 mile coin. ( I have 666 lifetime miles...ooh that's not good, maybe I should have eeked out 1 more mile). And there is a certain buckle I wouldn't mind getting, and that would require running the 6 day race.............the 303 mile Buckle????? stay tuned.........
3 Day Total: 182 Miles
Day 1 - 75 Miles
Day 2 - 54 Miles
Day 3 - 53 Miles
What did I eat while running for 3 days???
Strawberries/Blueberries/Cantaloupe/Watermelon/Bananas
3 slices of Pizza
lots of Rice in Chicken Broth
Mashed Potatoes
1 Hot Dog
Bacon Egg Sandwich
Cheese Quesadillas
Mini Snickers
Pringles
Chicken Stir Fry
How many pairs of Shoes???
I literally brought 15 pairs of shoes that I have raced in over the years, All Hoka One One but different models. I ran in 3 pairs of shoes this year. I started in my Hoka One One Vanquish 3, then switched to a different pair of the same shoe (which gave me a blister. The shoe I wore the longest was the Bondi 5's
Sleep?
Yes I did sleep. based on my watch data I think I slept about 3 hours per day. Never more than a 90 minute break. I did take rest breaks to get my feet up and lay down and eat. You can't accumulate miles when you're sleeping, but then again, you can't run effectively if you don't get sleep.
PS. My puppy Abby is doing better as I type this. Her stitches and the drain were removed yesterday. But we will have a lot of work to do with the trainer to get over the psychological damage that goes along with being a victim of an attack.
No comments:
Post a Comment