deja vu all over again: pacific rim 24 hour

You might think that running in a one mile loop over and over would be terrible. You might think it would be boring. You might think it is no way to run a race.

You would be wrong.

I had a blast at the Pacific Rim 24 Hour Endurance race.

It helped that I had great friends to keep me company. A bunch of the pdx chicks were there to set distance PRs, train for 100 milers and count laps while their husbands ran. We had a nice "truck stop" set up, with tons of food and chairs for resting. 

Rose and Debbie both completed 62 miles!

Esther was good for 50 miles!

Being in the company of some phenomenal runners was also a bonus, including Badwater winner, medical director and Hall of Famer Lisa Bliss.

What awesome looks like. Lisa ran 118 miles and Tim ran 127.

I started the morning with counting laps. My plan was to join the race later in the day to practice pacing Debbie and learning what that process was all about. I just wanted to make sure I hit the 50k distance so I could get my marathon maniac status.  For five hours, I cheered every time someone on my list came through, getting to know the faces of all 75 runners participating that day.

Keeping track of laps with Sarah.

By 2:00 pm, I was so antsy that I knew I needed to start running. I had already witnessed a Brooks I.D.er run a 3:36 50k (that dude was hauling!), and I wanted to join in the fun.  A few quick adjustments to my gear, and I was starting my first loop.

Jodi, Debbie & I make our way around the loop.

Almost immediately, I realized my legs were not nearly as recovered as I had hoped. My quads felt like bricks. But good conversation kept my mood light. 

Marathon maniac newsletter guru Steve put in 110 miles.

Amber had many motivational messages for us.

After about 10 miles, I decided to run solo for a few to make sure I would make the 50k cutoff by the time I had to leave. I felt like a rockstar, passing everyone with ease.  Of course, they were all about 40 miles in...and I was about toast.  After doing the math for nearly five miles, I finally figured out that 16 miles would give me the cushion I needed.  Yeah, I was pretty tired already.

Solo miles. 

As day began to recede, we walked more and more.  Tiny hills became Everest. I felt I needed to eat every lap, especially Sarah's great Reese's brownies. I put quite a dent in the container of those puppies.

Seeing everyone as we went around and around was energizing.  Each pass through the lap tent felt great.  Coffee and hot chicken broth at 11:00 pm gave us some new life.

Things were getting rough for Debbie though.  Her feet had started to blister, but thankfully we had a podiatrist helping out one of our friends, and he gave me a quick lesson on taking care of the feet. Crewing someone is no easy task - you have to take care of the runner, but you have to also remember to take care of yourself. I am so glad that I had an opportunity to practice out there. I still have much to learn, but I feel like I have a chance of being a good crew member now.

We were moving slowly at this point, which was fine by me.  By the time I needed to leave, I had 35 miles in. Not too shabby one week after my first 50k, and good for marathon maniac status.  #3620!!

I'm pretty sure I'll be back at this race next year, but this time to see how far I can go.

Have you ever run a timed race? Tell me about it!