some fun and a run

In response to Adrienne's kind post... I guess it's a matter of perspective; while Adrienne called me a "badass," my buddy Mike, upon hearing my weekend running plans, responded with a terse "dumbass."

Onto some highlights from the week. Adrienne was working on Wednesday, so I had June to myself. We packed up our goodies and headed to the Museum of Life and Science. It's an amazing museum and is less than five minutes from our house. We probably go there once a week, if not more often. For this trip, we first spent some time indoors looking at the owls and alligators, June then headed to the children's play area to work on her stair climbing and descending, and finally, we headed outdoors to the huge playground. She ran, climbed, and giggled her way around the various obstacles. And despite all the fun she was having, we actually managed to leave the playground and the museum without any protest or tears being shed-- which almost made me cry.

On Friday afternoon, the three of us walked over to Duke's east campus so June could burn some energy. She loves the leaves, and she's really refining her pine-cone-collecting skills. One of her already refined skills is spotting the moon. Whether it's in the pages of a book or high in the sky, she uses her index finger like a laser to point out the moon's location. After observing the moon and a few planes flying by in the sky, we turned our attention to jumping. If you watched the video of her bouncing, you already know June loved jumping around in her Jumparoo; now she's learning the thrill of jumping on her own. For five minutes, the three of us stood in a circle and repeatedly jumped up and down. The synchronized jumping team I've been dreaming of is finally starting to take shape.

As Adrienne already mentioned, I headed to King, NC this morning for the 16th Annual NC Fat-Ass 50 mile and 50k. I chose today's event because my training schedule called for a 50k this weekend, and fortunately, this race was just an hour and a half from home. There is very little information about this race on the web, so I didn't know what to expect. I did know that it usually had a total of about fifteen runners, it's a very hilly course with virtually no flat spots, there could be little or no aid provided, and dogs could be a problem (there are no leash laws in King). Since 1978, Fat-Ass races of various lengths have been held throughout the world under the mantra, "No Fees, No Awards, No Aid, No Wimps." It's a low-key run to say the least. The race director of today's race, Alan Firth, is considered one of the "Fat-Ass" founding fathers; he organized races in England in the early eighties. Today's race started just outside the home of Alan and his wife, Mary. Mary and Alan were incredibly gracious hosts. They provided delicious pre- and post-run meals, and Alan drove up and down the course throughout the day providing aid and encouragement. Alan told me he started ultra-running so he "could continue to drink as much beer as he wanted." In 2000, Alan walked 3000 miles across the US. In 2002 and 2004, Alan and Mary were the directors of a multi-stage, multi-month race across America.

With freezing rain in the forecast, only nine runners made it to this year's event--six completed 50k, the other three completed 50 miles (pictured L to R at the starting line: Elena Helmerick, me, Scott Hayward, Bill Johncock, Evan Serpa, Jeff McGonnell, David King, Ray Krolewicz, and Bill Keane). We started on our way just after 7:30am. I knew some would be running nineteen miles further than me, so I was surprised by the fast pace being set through the first few miles. For a few of those early miles, I talked with Elena Helmerick, the only female in the race. She currently operates an organic, free-range cattle farm in Virginia. She was an animal science major at NC State, and she'll soon be headed to veterinary school. Elena was using today's 50 miler to gauge her fitness for her three month run across the country that she'll begin in April. She dropped back a bit around mile six, so I ran the next several miles with Jeff McGonnell from Davidson, NC. He works for Bank of America, coaches wrestling, and has four very active children. We covered a variety of topics including the optimism of ultra-runners, the sub-prime mortgage debacle, and the hectic schedule he must follow to keep up with his kids. Jeff also told me several stories about Ray Krolewicz, the runner ahead of us who we could see in the distance. Around mile 13, I went ahead and caught up with "Ray K." Ray, 52, is a colorful character and, as I learned from Jeff, is a legend of ultra-running. According to one site:

Ray Krolewicz has run over 400 ultramarathons, winning over 80 of them. He's a former American record holder for the most miles in 48 hours (216 miles, since broken by others), and has run a number of 50 mile and 100K events at a sub 6:50 (sub 3 hour marathon) pace. During the decade of the 1980's, he ran at least one ultra marathon every month of the decade.

Just three weeks ago, Ray ran 200 miles in a 72 hour race. In the short time we ran together, our primary topic of conversation was baby names. He informed me that 50% of Aprils were born in April. With that nugget of information to chew on, I headed up the road around mile 15.

For the next 19 miles I didn't see another runner. I encountered many dogs along the route. Most barked and some ran alongside me for short stretches. None were threatening, except a trio of Shepard-mixes that greeted me near the top of a hill. I first tried to be friendly, then stern, and then I concluded I would be torn to pieces. The dogs darted back and forth at me for probably 200 yards (seemed like 200 miles at the time). During the 50k, my heart rate averaged 143 and peaked around 160 during the mile-plus uphills. While these dogs were going after me, my heart rate spiked into the mid-180s. After what seemed like an eternity, the dogs left me alone.

Somewhere between miles 15 and 20, I heard a burst of three gun shots far in the distance. I didn't think much of it. Around mile 25, I heard two more shots. This time they seemed much closer. I turned the next corner and less than 15 feet off the side of the road was a hunter, decked out in hunter orange, holding his rifle. With him were several dogs going berserk in pursuit of what I assumed was a fallen animal. About fifty yards further inland from the road was another hunter carrying a rifle and what appeared to be a dead rabbit. I said hello, kept my head down, and prayed I wouldn't fall victim to an errant shot. Thankfully, my prayers were answered.

Around mile 29 I passed Scott Hayward, who went on to win the 50 mile portion of the race.


I finished in 4 hours 52 minutes and 33 seconds and felt great the whole way. I came in second place; the winner set a race record of 4:17. The weather was absolutely perfect-- mid-thirties, no precipitation, and no wind. Those that stayed home missed out. Notwithstanding the occasional lawn filled with junk cars, toilets, etc., the rural course was beautiful. It circumnavigated the Sauratown Mountains and Hanging Rock State Park; early in the race there were beautiful views of Pilot Mountain. As an aside, King, NC is just down the road from Mt. Airy-- home of Andy Griffith. Since I have only one race picture, I've included a September photo of June, Andy, Opie, and me.

Before heading back to Durham, I went back to the directors' house and had a bowl of Mary's chili and a piece of homemade pound cake. Delicious. It was a fantastic race and I met a lot of great people. I'm glad I happened upon it.

By the time I got home to Durham, enough snow had fallen to cover much of our lawn. It probably doesn't qualify as snow in most places, but it's a blizzard by Durham standards. We bundled June up and headed to the back yard. She didn't seem too impressed. Who can blame her? It was just a lot of cold, wet slush, and since she has an aversion to gloves, our time outside didn't last long.