Palmetto 200 Event Report - Part 2

Continuing from Part 1:
So we chose to drive ahead to the next major exchange after eating at another Subway (We did see Kathrin run past on her leg over I-95, so she got a little cheer). Time just seems to fly on these - there is never enough time to rest. We got to the church,


Alex and Charles set up a tent while the rest of us tried to snooze in the van.

It was a little warm and I got zero sleep, but did rest for a while before giving up and heading outside around 9:30pm. Chris and I spoke to a volunteer for a while which was nice. I probably wasn't going to run until 11pm, so I just milled about, got my stuff out of the van and laid it out on the ground to re-organize. Eventually - Van #1 showed up and I was ready to run my night leg, #19, 7.7 miles along Old Hwy 6 towards Cross.
I was a little worried because the shoes I have been trying to break in and wore on the first leg had given me the beginnings of a blister on my right heel. The shoes had 2 runs of 7+ mile each and did fine the previous week. Luckily - the discomfort disappeared soon after I started and I thought no more about it. The run was fine - basically flat, but more heavily traveled than I had expected and had knee high weeds to run in just off the road. That and the numerous potholes at certain points made my headlamp come in handy - dodging trash in the weeds and trying to save my ankles on the road. Passed two little bars (one was the Cross Sportz Bar - Crabs on Thurs & boxing on Sat!), a large pack of dogs that were well off the road and never seen, and little else. After a minor issue with a runner being harassed earlier in the evening, all vans were shadowing their runners to some extent, even to the point of staying beside them the whole way. After getting a little side stitch after 5 miles or so, I worked thru it and still finished in ~1:02. Alex went out for his 5.3 miler to a boat landing and we went to go meet him.
It took about 40 minutes for me to settle down after my runs and get to the point where I was getting sleepy/tired. By the time we got the the next exchange (another boat landing at Lake Moultrie where the frogs were Loud!) and Chris was coming in - I was ready to crash hard. We almost started to worry about him after he was a bit beyond our planned time for him, but then he showed up and both Dave and our van were on the way.
So it's now 2am and Dave is running 6.9 miles towards Berkeley HS and Moncks Corner. I think at this point I tried closing my eyes as I do not recall the next 2 exchanges or our drive to the next major one - an Elementary School. I didn't sleep but was just exhausted. (No pictures during the night!)
We got to the school,

the tent went back up, and we all slept a good solid 2 hours. It was wonderful. Woke up at 7am feeling refreshed and had 3 hours before my last run, leg 31 - a 7.3 mile run going over the Isle of Palms Connector Bridge and over to Sullivan's Island. I chose runner #11 just for that reason! Was getting restless after our trip to Dunkin Donuts, so I wandered around, spoke to some of the other teams (Amelia and Bowen, the runner from my 1st leg and her husband) until Van #1 showed up at 9:45am. Jeff had a short run coming in and he was consistently faster than we predicted - so I was ready early.

Good thing, because he surprised just about all of us and I was off.

I had mentally broke it up into 4 sections - from the school, a quick right then a 2.3mi stretch to the IOP connector road (517); leading up to the bridge (~2.5mi); Over the bridge (~0.5mi); and over into Sullivan's Island (2mi).
1st stretch was fine. Little warm, but the clouds were out and there was some shade. Another runner was up ahead and I knew at our current paces that I would catch him at some point. He started walking pretty soon though and I passed him quickly. My calf was tight again (did I mention it tightened up during my night leg?) and I knew at some point I would be walking. I had to put it off as long as possible as I told myself once I started taking walk breaks, I'd continue taking walk breaks.

(Looking back at the IOP Connector Bridge during the next leg).

I made it to the corner and turned onto the long, straight connector bridge road. Good wide shoulders for once, but a Fierce head/cross-wind pushed me back the whole 3 miles to Palm Blvd (703). I decided I would walk once before the bridge started to climb. 30 seconds and I was back at it. Another team we saw frequently had stopped on the bridge before the top and asked if I needed anything. I said no and got a laugh when I asked if they could do something about the wind. It was ridiculous. Oh yeah - the sun came out too as I turned onto this section. Now it was downright Hot. My water situation was fine thankfully. I willed myself over the bridge telling myself (yes - I talk to myself, but not out loud. Usually.) that I asked for this leg and I wasn't going to walk up the bridge. I continue to run until I crossed the street and made the turn for the last 2 straight miles. My water at this point was on the warm side, but still drinkable. I got going again and knew I'd get there soon. It was too bad they didn't have us run a block over so we could glimpse the ocean. Passed a yard sale (said I looked good - I said I didn't feel like it) and after another walk break - came upon the most wonderful thing - a sprinkler! I stopped, stuck my head over it and let it soak me for a good 30 seconds. That helped tremendously. I knew I'd run the last mile in as I felt my body temp come down in that short shower. Passed another walker before the Sullivan's Island bridge (the competitive juices do flow - even in the heat when we aren't really racing for anything). Going over that bridge had the best view - a beach and inlet on my left, and the marshland of the intracoastal waterway on my right. I was hoping to go take a quick dip in the ocean after I passed off to Charles, but that didn't happen. My time of 1:04 was a bit slower than my 7.7 miler, but I was still pleased with it considering my walks and the heat.
Next post - the conclusion of the Palmetto 200 Relay!

Palmetto 200 Event Report - Part 1

I would call this a race report - but we do this for fun instead of for competition.
So - this is a report from Van #2's perspective on April 30, 2010 as we drove to the start of the Palmetto 200 relay adventure in Cayce, SC and ran to Folly Beach, SC. We had a relatively normal leaving time of ~6:45am to make it to the Historic Columbia Speedway.


Typed the street into the Garmin and had a nice drive down after packing our bags and enough food for a small army. Stopped for coffee on the way, made some turns as directed and lo and behold - we end up lost - even though we see Caution Runner signs. We figure out we are close - which is good because we are cutting it close to meet up with Van #1 to get a team photo before the 9:00am start time. What made it worse was

a train stopped on the tracks. We found a way around it and made it in time.

Christina was the first leg with a loop around the speedway before heading off on the rest of her route.


We got in the van and headed to our first major exchange area. The Garmin got used again and guess what? We got lost again. Turns out there are multiple Old Belleview Roads - good thing we had time to spare. We stopped using the Garmin after that. Even with going out of our way - we got to the outskirts of St. Matthews and had Hours to kill.


We were much smarter this relay - we had tailgating chairs so we were off our feet. We used suntan lotion so we wouldn't get burned (Chris's hands got the worst of it), but a canopy would have been even better. We kept track of Van #1 on our handy spreadsheet showing the estimated (and actual) start and finish times for each leg. This was So Helpful! If anyone wants a copy - let me know - it can be used for any relay. (I actually like our better than the one from the Running Relays website. Van # 1 arrived around 2pm and I got ready for my measly 1.7 mile run - the shortest of the whole relay. Started off with a downhill, then a longer uphill before turning and completely flattening out. Jeff arrived and I took off just ahead of another team's runner. She was tall with long legs and guessed she might pass me on the way down - and I was right. I was also correct that I would catch her on the uphill. We ran the whole leg within 10 yards of each other. I knew she was pushing me to run faster, but the leg was so short it couldn't make that much difference!

I made it the next exchange in ~12 minutes (thankfully not beating our van!) and passed off to Charles for Leg #8 - 4.0 easy miles out of St. Matthews.


My run was warm, but it was going to get much worse for our van this day (and the next day too).
Charles handed off to Chris near someones personal airstrip out in the boonies. We noticed that many of these legs were relatively flat, and also had very little shade. Chris's leg #9 was 4.6 easy miles, but it was starting to get toasty out there. We drove ahead and had already started checking on our runners as we passed to check their water situation. Not only our runners - but others as well and I must say we were amazed by many things - but the generosity of all of the teams looking out for each other outshone everything in this race. Strangers offering water or anything else that was needed made the relay possible for many to finish. One runner about this time actually collapsed and was rushed to the hospital (Horrors of the BRR came back to mind, but this had a happy ending as we later found out he was fine, released from the hospital and made it to the finish, and his teammates skipped their middle legs and finished the relay).
Chris at the start of his run:

Anyway - Chris got beat down by the heat

but made it in to Cameron (where gnats made it rather difficult to do anything) to hand off to Dave for Leg #10, 9.8 hard miles.
We shadowed him every few miles and he looked strong early on.
About the 5 or 6 mile mark, we saw him turn a corner and start smiling. He always smiles,


but we later found out he was smiling because he needed water and he was Hoping that we had stopped for him. We went ahead to the next exchange and passed a bridge over some water/swamp land and a small cemetery just before the handoff location. I walked back to check it out and saw some headstones from the early 1800's. Not a bad place to be buried overlooking the water.




Dave came around the corner, I gave him a fresh bottle of water for the last stretch (it was 5:30pm at this point) and Alex went out towards Elloree for his 3.5 mile, flat Leg #11.

We waited around Elloree for a bit before Kerrie started the last of our 1st legs. It was a nice little town but obviously affected by a continuing slow economy as there were numerous empty buildings downtown. Kerrie had a good route out of town and ending her 7.3 miles going into Santee State Park.

We met up for the 2nd time with Van #1 at the park, and let me say the park was the Best exchange zone we have seen. Even better than the oulets at the Blue Ridge Relay. Lots of trees (=shade), a beautiful Lake, places for tents, some used the showers that were available, one smart person brought a hammock - such luxury!
So it is 7pm, we are 1/3 the way thru - having covered roughly 68 miles in 10 hours. No sleep as of yet - but we would try soon. There was a stop for Subway at 11am and we'd soon stop at another one. We headed to our next major exchange at a church near Eutawville.
To Be Continued...very soon!

Palmetto 200 super short recap!

Finished in 30 hrs 23 minutes! Tons of fun. 2 hrs of sleep from 5am-7am Saturday morning.
Pre-run 1: Almost late. Hot. Hot. Bad garmin. Anxious.
Leg 1: Warm, short (1.7mi), 12 minutes, practically side by side with Amelia from another team.
Break 1: Sore right calf & possible blister? No sleep. Ridiculously Hot.
Leg 2: 7.7mi. 1:02. Nighttime. Calf iffy, blister ok. Traffic, little shoulder to run on, Cross Sportz Bar, Humid.
Break 2: Some sleep. Light rain for 5 minutes.
Leg 3: 7.3mi. 1:04. Calf iffy. Over IOP Connector Bridge. Caught few runners. Overcast turned SUN and HOT. Head in sprinkler - relief! Sullivan's Island bridge view of ocean (and exchange zone) was wonderful.
Finish: Very glad! FUN dinner with Van 2, other teams, wife/daughter.
Vacation for week - photos when return!

Palmetto 200 packing list

So you may have to wait until my return (!May 10th?) for a recap from Van #2 of Team DNR All Stars! I may try to do a snippet while I'm on vacation next week though. I'm bringing my camera, so you can bet there will be a Ton of photos taken! I'm very excited...packed up now.
As I take a cue from my teammate in van #1 (She may blog during the run - check out her site Friday/Saturday) - here's my packed bags:



-One blue Myrtle Beach bag (with a shoe visible) of running clothes for my 2nd and 3rd legs. Have a few extra shirts depending on weather.
-One clear Runner's World bag with all my running extras: Gu, Power bars, watch, hats, safety vest, etc.
-One green Green Valley bag with towels (both to dry off with and to sit on), fleece blanket (in case it gets much colder than the predicted 64° tomorrow night), six 20 oz Gatorades, 6 Kashii bars, the Garmin, and a frisbee.
-Camera bag and chargers for ipod, phone.
-Camelbak for personal items and extra clothes for in-between runs and my chaco's.
-Items Not shown: Bag of bagels (including 2 or 3 with PB&J), tailgating chair, and my clothes for the morning.

Success...sort of.

Went out at 6am Sunday morning for a hopeful 4 hr/24 mile run. I mixed things up a bit and instead of going to Oak Grove Lake (the 0.85 mile loop I repeat forever), I ran out my door. Only a quarter-mile to sidewalks where I ran and out and back 5 miles (originally thought it was 6 each way). Then I did it again. Then I added a 1.5 mile out and back to total 23 miles. I'll cut to the chase and say I did it just under 4 hours, but it sure didn't feel good. No pains though which is excellent. I thought the spot behind my left knee would twinge every now and then, but it never escalated into anything. My quads were the issue - had no energy. I was having to force myself (after 18 miles) to move at a slightly more than a sluggish shuffle even on the flat sections. The soles of my feet were starting to get a little sore, but I expect the trails will be much more gentle on them. Looking back - it had been four weeks since my last "long" run over 13.1 miles, and that was the Chattooga training run. With the Palmetto 200 relay next weekend and only 4 free weekends until the race, taking into account my taper - that leaves only 3 more possible long runs. Right now my plans are for an 18/7, 12/24 and 7/17 (that would be two consecutive days mileage). Those may change. I feel good today though. No lingering affects from yesterday which may be a sign of strength even though I was weak during the run. It certainly did not make me feel like thinking about another ultra - that 3 day a week marathon training program sounds downright easy right now. I feel my speed is disappearing every day and doing Zero speedwork isn't helping, but I am not going to start now. Was going to take tomorrow off, but since I feel up for it, I'll do an easy 4-5, and the same on Wednesday.
P200 update:
Been fiddling with our race spreadsheet and making mental pack plans. I'm anxious to get started. Getting picked up at 6:15am Friday to go meet the rest of the crew and do the obligatory group photo at the start line. Maybe I'll add my pack list in here at some point...

A good run! Math! P200 meeting!

I finally had a good run - where I felt like I had actual energy. It's been awhile since I've felt that on a shorter run. Yes, it happened on one of my weekday runs (usually 6-9 miles). I took an extra day off today, instead giving my legs a rest before attempting 24 miles tomorrow. No pace goals, but I hope to be out there around 4 hours. That would give me almost 46 for the week, a new high.
Low 60's in the morning and a good chance of rain/thundershowers. Still unsure which Camelbak to use for the 50k race - I keep changing my mind between the larger one and smaller one (either way - I will carry the 3 Liter bladder).
Come back soon and see how it went!
Ready for some Math?
Here's my take on training for the 50k. Not necessarily what I should be doing per the numerous 50k training plans I looked at, but how I make myself believe my training is adequate:
Peak Marathon (Charlotte Marathon) Training Weekly Mileage: 34.1
So that comes out to ~1.3 x 26.2, or 30% more than the race distance. For the 50k (31miles), I would then need to hit 40 miles in a week. I've hit that twice already, and hope to a few more times.
Max Marathon Training Daily Mileage (or my longest run): 20 miles
That comes out to ~76% of the total race mileage. Applying that to the 50k, my max run should be just under 24. I have done that once, and hope to tomorrow and at least one more time before the race.
So, that is how I mentally prepare myself. I'm not doing 50 miles every week (I may hit that once). Not running 5 days a week. Not running 25-30 miles as a long run. So far, haven't even done the back to back longer runs that I told myself I would. But - my goal is to finihs, and hoping for ~7 hours, but will take making it back to the Charry Hill Rec area in one piece!
P200 update:
Tonight we had a team meeting for the Palmetto 200 relay. Looks like one runner will be blogging about it during the race - Check out Kathrin's Blog. She'll be in Van #1, but will give a feel for what we're going thru. I'm bringing the camera for this one, so there will be alot of photos once I return. We got our shirts and discussed the actual logistics for a few minutes - then we just ate, drank and chatted.

Overuse and Photo Gripes

So my run yesterday didn't quite go as planned. I had read recently in one of my many years-worth of old Runner's World that it is ok to adjust your training plan and not force yourself to run if you are not feeling it that day. Can't do that all the time obviously, but Saturday was one of those days for me.
In order to get back home and spend more time with my family, before my planned run at Paris Mtn State Park (opens at 8am), I decided I'd run a few miles before that at my usual weekday spot (Oak Grove Lake). Also decided I'd wear my Camelbak with 3L of water in it as that is likely what I'll wear during the Chattooga 50k. The 3 miles were fine, not great, but it's taking me 6 miles or so to start feeling good on runs anyway. Drove on over to Paris Mtn where it turned out a Triathlon was going on (were just starting the swim as I drove to the upper parking lot, saw the runners come up the Mtn as I left...that is a TOUGH climb!).
So - ran my usual lake loop - Brissy Ridge to Kanuga to the North Lake Loop. Didn't fall so that is a plus, and felt like I had a little energy a bit after taking my Gu, but wasn't really into it that day. Was a little warm - nothing like early June. My left upper calf had some soreness as it had earlier in the week. Before I even finished my lake loop to Pipsissewa (it's only 60% of the full lake loop), I had an inkling to cut my run short to one loop. Not a big deal to run 35 miles this week instead of 42, but I wanted 35. To get that, I ran a Full lake loop on top of my usual. It's a bit different than the rest on that 4 minute section - narrower trail for one thing. A little more up and down, Rhododendrons galore (not just the name of the campsite there). The extra 1.6 miles were a nice addition. I eventually took my turn on Pipsissewa (will have to find out the history behind that name someday) and headed back to Brissy Ridge. As I approached the Kanuga turn off, I contemplated turning there and heading back to the lake. I quickly pushed that thought aside and decided I was going to stop back at the upper lot. Including the Oak Grove jaunt, I ended up with ~10.2 miles and got my 35 for the week.
I really do need some more 40+ weeks. Planning on 24 (or at least 4 hours) next Saturday one way or another. June 6th will be here before I know it.
So now my gripe...
Photos. I like them. I like taking them and looking at them. Many events these days have photographers on site (at numerous locations even) taking pictures. It's very nice to have some action shots of yourself taken during events. The longer or more adventurous events make the photos even better, or at least more desirable.
I finally got around today to looking at the photos for the Morris Broadband Dupont Trail Half Marathon. I saw the photographer on the course and knew as I crossed over the bridge that he would have a good view of me. Never noticed the photos being taken as I crossed the finish line, but they had the finishing clock right there in the picture, which actually doesn't seem to happen that often. Both photos were good, I especially liked the one on the course. It was maybe 3 miles in, wasn't feeling my best, hot, and just before removing my long sleeve GTC tech shirt. It's a good side view, not a large stride as I was just starting a climb, more determined than anything. Again - I like the photos. The issue? Were my eyes closed? Do I look goofy? Neither. The $15 (+ shipping cost) for a 5x7 print. Whoa - I am wrong on that. Just looked again. $15 is for the Additional prints. The 1st one is $25. (Another $10 if I wanted a logo on it, I assume of the race). You've got to be kidding me. How did it ever get started to have the photos cost $15-25 each? If they were $5 each, would they sell so many more to make it just as worthwhile? How many people do they really expect to shell out $25 for a single photo - regardless of how good the shot is? 2%?? Not me, not for this event anyway. I have bought photos before - my 1st half, my 1st Full marathon, both 9 years ago now and I am Sure I didn't pay $25 for either of them. Maybe a couple others.
I know a photographer or two, maybe I'll ask why they are so expensive. I expect I'll hear that they have to get paid, upload them, storage/website/online shopping charges, plus make a profit. Whatever - it won't make a difference.