How to become a better Liar - Pacing at ES 9/14/19

If a friend ever looks at you with a serious face and says, "Hey, I need to ask you something." The first things that come to mind are anything other than.. "would you pace me at my first 100 miler which has a really low success rate?"

As someone who only recently has accepted that she is in fact a runner, this was a rather scary prospect but I happily responded "f*** yeah". I'm not sure if this happened before or after my "friend" convinced me to run my first 50 miler. I am a bit suspicious that this 50 miler was actually an audition, but that's another story. BTW, I am often reminded I might need new friends.

Long story short... I ran the 50 - it was awesome, then after that I ran and I ran.. and I ran.. and I hiked and then we walked. Little did I know how much my hiking and walking was the most important training for my upcoming pacer duties. I was so focused on how the hell I was going to pace this speedy Canadian shit that I adore so much. In the weeks leading up I annoyed every possible person I could to ask... "Are you sure she is making the right decision with having ME as a pacer?" I was reassured by most everyone, but my doubts lingered.

So let me put this here for anyone who is asked to pace someone who clearly runs faster than you. Before going further, let me give some perspective here, as you look on strava and her heart rate when she is doing an "EASY" 8 minute miles is your OMFGOD dying pace. I have since learned that you should trust that the runner knows what she is asking. I now understand the knowing looks of our ultra running friends who were reassuring me... "you will be fine as her pacer." Obviously you have to be able to keep up and complete the distance, but the pace in something like this is not anywhere near what you might think.

As it turns out what ended up being most important was everything except pace. What's really important is your ability to connect with your runner, your ability to empathize in a moment, your ability to talk but also enjoy silence, your ability to listen, your ability to take notes (mental or written while moving) for the next crew stop, and most importantly it's about your ability to LIE! Believable lies is the name of this game. Now, if she ever asked me to pace her as a Boston qualifying event I'd know that she really lost it. BTW she did qualify.. and I most certainly didn't pace her.

 

Leading up to the big day, I had a blast with my fellow crew mates figuring out ways to make this day even more memorable than all the pain she was most likely going to suffer through. We were determined to be the best crew ever. We laughed, planned and got excited and lots of good stuff... posters happened, crowns happened, glitter happened, master spreadsheets, tape lamination, team shirts, massive emailing to tweak said shirts, dream journal entries and so much more goes into something like this that it's really amazing and quite touching. You build on your friendships through preparing for something like this in ways I can't really describe. In some ways it's like preparing a bride for her big day (to quote our captain... think Runzilla). Oh the crew stories and lessons learned that is another note in itself!

So let's fast forward to the big day. As I said before the nerves lingered a bit. My fellow pacer coached me and reassured once again that I'd be fine and that I only needed to be prepared to just be there for her. I was to pick her up at mile 43 and I'd have her for 20 miles. He was picking her up for the last 40. Considering that he had also done this race before, it made sense that he'd have her for the last 40 miles as he'd understand and could relate to where she was mentally. As I anxiously awaited her arrival, I peed at least 5x (in the toilet) and was ready to run when she got there. After her crew pit stop to change socks and get her pack reset we took off up the first climb and she introduced me to her newly acquired "running buddy." As the three of us chatted, I immediately noticed that we weren't going very fast at all. Yeah sure everyone told me she'd be worn down a bit after 40 miles of running by the time I'd get her, but I've run with her in that 50 mile audition and knew she was a little spitfire of strength.

In the first 10 miles or so we had a blast and I had an opportunity to take in all that the ES course beautiful trails had to offer. However, I had slight hint of what was to come as I expressed my enthusiasm about the beauty and was met with... "yeah it's nice". Okay, this was not the typical spitfire I knew! I found myself trying to negotiate with her to run or else hike with purpose. Something she repeated to me at our 50-miler and on training runs. All that worry about my keeping up was for nothing. My pace was the least of my worries, as these 20 miles where all about acting as a caregiver.

So many ups and downs through our miles together - I learned so much about this race and pacing. I have unofficially paced some friends before, but ultra running definitely has it's own unique features.

A few recollections and lessons and more...

1. As I said, pacing is all about lies. Your runner lies to you in the days and weeks leading up and the pacer lies in all the miles you have together. My runner expressed a list of things she'd need on the trails from me and she promised miles of smiles together- lies. Yeah - no... instead I had to become a master of manipulation and lies.
2. You know that you need to keep your runner moving. You have to encourage them to run when they can and if they hike - hike with purpose.
3. So when my runner asked me various questions like how far to mile 50 and you have to do math... after the first 5x.. it dawns on you.. will she really need accuracy? so you lie and give estimates.
4. When you try to be nice and rub her shoulder and tell her you are doing a great job. You could be met.. aww thanks this endearing.. but it really it really hurts, please stop.
5. When your runner who promises you that she won't need much in the way of knowing the coming hills, or time.. that's a lie.
6. Pacing is about balance.. balance your lies so that they seem believable.
7. Getting your runner eating is so important. Skills in negotiation are critical... at one point you may find that you promise your runner that you won't nag about eating if they run to the next marker.
8. You use your runners children against them when they aren't eating.. and ask.. if your kids won't eat, what do you do?
9. If your runner writes something nice.. be sure to cry.. even if you have to draw tears on your face (although that can be mistaken for lives taken. )
10. If your pacer asks "is this poison ivy that I'm sitting in" while she is taking a shit in the woods? you lie and say.. nope.. just pull up your pants and keep going. Let's face it, what are you going to do about it right now anyway?
11. If you fall while trying to write notes down in your phone as your runner hears you.. you suck it up and say I'm fine.. no matter what is going on. I could have had a bone sticking out.. but you are not running 103 miles.. so you just keep on pretending like nothing happened.
12. Working with elderly dementia patients is very helpful and similar to working with a fatigued ultra runner. You keep things simple... simple sentence, don't tell them anything is wrong (even if it is.. lie omission).. and stay positive. Minimize your asks, and just lead her to what you need her to do.
13. If the crew forgets her visor at the aid station that she said she wanted 70 miles ago.. you simply don't bring it up.. and hope she doesn't ask. Worst cast you have scissors and a hat which can become a visor.
14. LUBE your runner! Don't ask.. just lube. An ounce of prevention will provide a quicker recovery.
15. Match your pacers speed and actions. If she walks - you walk. If she hikes - you hike. If she "runs" at a speed that turtles are snickering at.. you pick up your feet and run that pace too! Don't you dare walk when your runners is "running".
16. Be prepared with stories at any given time. Your runner might want to hear something to help concentrate on something other than the pain. If your runner asks for a story suddenly and you can't think of one.. make one up! If the story is ridiculous, they will ask you to shut up anyway.
17. When your runner needs to rant about how miserable they are... let them rant (but nothing wrong with recording the moment for posterity).
18. If your runner is talking and you can't hear them.. do not say.. what? please speak up. You pray that your answer of yes or sure is one that makes sense as an answer. (lies again).
19. If your runner thinks they know best like eating every hour.. but they are having tummy issues and you want them to try eating every 30 minutes something smaller... You float out the suggestion and remind them how great they were doing within 5 minutes of the last time they ate. When they say.. no... but 30 minutes later they have a great idea of eating something small every 30 minutes - you simply say.. great idea.. let's try that!
20. When your runner is going slower than they should.. it's okay to use other friends who aren't around to try to get them to do things. Like.. hey.. I know you want to hike right now.. and that's okay. Jon was saying that if you just run a little that goes a long way. Or hey.. Brandon said this section is really runnable coming up - rolling hills just like Nockamixon where you run all the time. Of course... keep your lies believable. Apparently Brandon has never been to Nockamixon. Ooops!

If you are still reading this, I'd like to sum things up and say... being a Pacer and/or being part of an ultra runners crew is an amazing experience. You have a chance to help someone realize a dream and reach new goals. Our section was a rough one for my runner, but I am glad I was able to be there for her through it. If you have the opportunity to pace someone some day... do it. It's so worth it. If nothing else it makes you a better liar (ha!).

As for our runner, there was no doubt that she would do it and she made it with so much time to spare. Her strength of mind and body is awe inspiring and I’m so glad she invited me to be part of this journey.

A Phunty Good Time - 1/19/19

 

A Phunty Good Time

As I have taken up more miles in running, I’ve found two rituals that mark any long distance race for me. #1. A shot of tequila after the race and #2. I take some time to jot down a few notes about my experience. Why? well... tequila is a great way to celebrate a long run and it’s better than ibuprofen (according to me) and the notes are a great way for me to remember some of these adventures. Who knows, maybe someone else will read it and enjoy the trip too and survive my horrible grammar and spelling errors. So here it goes.. my first Phunt 50K.

So what is a Phunt anyway? All I know is that every year (for almost 2 years now) the allure of running a 50K in the winter seemed amazing. But alas this race filled up nearly a year in advance - building up the allure even more! So I made the commitment and signed up for 2020 Phunt. But it’s 2019, so how did this happen? One of my friends knew I had been going through some difficult times personally and came upon a bib that needed a new owner. Her thought was that 31 miles would help soothe my soul and mind. At first I said no, but my husband said, “you should do it” and that was all I really needed. I lost the first bib, but she made it her mission to find me another. After all.. 31 miles of running in January has got to heal your soul and mind right? It’s a Phunt! I hadn’t really trained for it and my last 20+ miles was back in November - nearly 8 weeks ago. So let’s just say I’ve been tapering for awhile right? Leading up to this race, my friend (the same one) knew I was back and forth about signing up for a 50 mile race and after some discussion with my supportive husband - I did the deed and signed up. So what’s this have to do with Phunt? Well, it shaped my thoughts about how I’d use this race. It would not be a race, but training my stomach and pace training and restraint. I may need to think about this friendship..hmmm.. she’s like a trail race dealer. Come on.. you know you want some trail miles. Just do it.. here is a little taste.. Plus I had my new fancy Garmin to test out! Anyway...

One of the things about this race is that you can run the 25K and call it a day or you can run the second lap and do the 50k. Which is great... BUT... for those planning to do a 50k - it does make it a little harder to mentally keep on going. The trail dealer and I had a great time on our way down to the festivities, talking about all the great fun we were going to have on this race and future races. Once we got there we ran into several other fellow friends and put our stuff in the activities hall, collected our bibs, peed several times, and went about our work in getting our gear together to get this party started! As everyone filtered out into the cool air to start the race, I made sure that I found my way further back into the pack than I normally would start. I wanted no parts of even attempting to go out too fast. I was determined to eat, and have fun and finish strong. I felt great as we made our way out onto the fun course. So good - I forgot to turn my Garmin on until about 1-mile in... oops! It was a nice mix of rolling elevation which keeps you engaged. I made a point to hike many of the uphills - even the more runnable ones.

As we entered the first aid station, I was thrilled to see the MASH theme! Complete with Klinger! They offered a wide range of food and even beer too. So I made the point to eat half a PBJ sandwich. I thought to myself that I want a picture with Klinger and a beer- but that will be my reward on the second lap (that way I MUST do lap #2!).

The second aid station was the logger station - another fantastic array of goodies! I opted for bacon and mountain dew this time. My stomach wasn’t totally sure about this venture - but we did it.

Along the way, I have to say how much fun this race is for signage - so many amazing signs that made me giggle. Some of my favorites where posted as you came up to the third aid station where you were greeted by Hans and Frans complete with weight bench looking to pump you up! This station even had more substantial drink offerings which I decided to pass on... maybe lap two? However, I went in for a grilled cheese and was happy to chow! After departing this aid station I was heading to the Finish/Second lap... and it did start to occur to me - do I really want to do 31 miles? My friend is so damn fast she is going to have to wait for me, this way I can wait for her instead. And no sooner did these thoughts occur - I came upon a creek and thought, I haven't stomped in the mud, or taken my picture with Klinger or gotten my beer, I’ve got 50 miles to train for and I signed up to do 50k - I’m doing the damn 50k. Shortly after that I saw the hamburglar on the trails and that sealed the deal.

I was gonna do the 50k - it’s just how I am wired at this point in my life. So I picked up speed pass the finish line/ and ran into some poor woman in front of me who was stopping for her 25k medal. As they offered me one, I responded.. “um... I wanted to keep going”.. “oh, well go then!” and so I did.

My first lap was 3:25. I wasn’t thrilled nor dismayed. It was what it was. I was mostly thrilled with the fact that I ate so damn much and it was all staying down!

The pack of people thinned by a LOT as I headed out for the loop. The second lap was met with a bit more slippage as the temperature was perfect for melting dirt --That’s fine by me! A race lad who many know by his willingness to wear Jorts in winter was happily taking photos and had made an adorable snowman. Of course I had to stop to get a photo!

 

So I got my beer and photo with Klinger at the first aid station. I found my creek and mud to stomp in on the second lap. And found myself picking off people as I went. I was feeling pretty damn good! I continued to eat and was having so much fun that I nearly forgot about the fact that I was in a race. I enjoyed the peirogis at the lumber jack station and by the time I got to Hans and Frans they were pretty light on food.

However they offered me a handy cup of fries that I delightfully hit the trails with. I had been playing tag of sorts with two gentleman who were faster at down hill while my uphill hiking was faster. So we kept leap frogging. It was at about mile 28 where I was ready to be done. I felt physically fine - except for some terrible chaffing I had, just ready to be done.. until I saw the cutest puppy Shiba Inu on the trail! Of course I stopped for puppy kisses and pets. Then reminded myself that I had to keep moving if I ever wanted to actually finish.. so I continued on. And I did.. I finished in about 7 hours and 7 minutes or somewhere around there. Although my fancy Garmin battery failed me with less than a mile left. Not my fastest time but I am happy with how I did. I met my goal of eating, finishing strong and not hurting myself (except that damn chaffing) and most importantly I had a so much fun.

Those are just some of the highlights for me. Of course there were more, but if you are still actually reading this -- you need to just go and experience Phunt for yourself. I’m excited to do this again in 2020! If you miss out.. make sure you find your own trail race dealer who can hook you up with a bib taste. But put the Phunt race on your “to do” list.. whether your flavor is a 25k or a 50k... it’s worth it! As the one Phunt signs said.. “You’ve done dumber things when you were drunk.”