Lost Soul Ultra 100 - The Team

I've decided that the only way for me to tackle writing the report for the Lost Soul Ultra, my first 100 mile ultramarathon, is to break it up into sections.  It won't be mile-by-mile, but rather topic-by-topic.  Oh, and if you happened to miss the recap video my wife made of the race, you can check it out here.

Here's the plan, although it will take me awhile to finish them all:

Part I: The Team (this post)

Part II: The Course

Part III: The Physical Challenge

Part IV: The Mental Challenge

Part V: The Gear

So, on to the first part - those who helped me along the way.

The Team:

Even though I end up with the glory and bragging rights, these people deserve more credit 
than I know how to give them for all of their hard work and support.

Natasha: 

Crew Chief, Crew, Crowd Handler/Security, videographer, photographer,
unconditional supporter, food preparer, food fetcher, masseuse, motivator,
chauffeur, and a million other things.

My wife didn't sign up for this race - I did.  Nevertheless, she spent countless hours waiting for me at aid stations, made sure I was eating/fueling (which was far from an easy task!), got me whatever I asked for during the race, and encouraged me every step of the way.  That was after she had already spent hours preparing food for me to eat (we didn't know how much vegan food there would be), and an unimaginable number of hours listening to me talk/dream/plan this race out over the months leading up to the big day(s).

Without her, I would not have finished the race.  No question.  She knew what I needed better than I did.  When I would try to eat something, and immediately spit it back out, she would run and grab me something different to try to get down.  When the only thing that sounded good was Silk Chocolate Soy Milk, she tracked some down in an unfamiliar town to make sure I would have what I wanted.  To say that I couldn't have done it without her would be a huge understatement.  I was in FAR better condition during this race than I was during my 50k that I ran without her assistance.  Had she not been there to take care of me, I'm sure I would have dropped before the 50 mile point.  And that's without considering all of the emotional/psychological support she gave me.  Amazing.

John:

Me and John - he still looks so fresh you'd never guess he just finish 45k with me in the heat.

John stepped in to be my pacer with very little notice.  Although I've known John for awhile (I photographed his wedding almost 10 years ago), I had never run with John before.  He and his wife drove down to the race course with their two kids in tow, and John patiently waited for me to let him know when I'd be at the point where he was allowed to accompany me.

I've never run with a pacer before, but I couldn't imagine someone doing a better job than John.  I didn't need "pacing" exactly, as I wasn't trying to finish at a specific time, but I did need someone to keep me moving on the trail.  John talked with me when I wanted to talk, kept quiet when I needed to focus, and pushed me when I needed to be pushed.  Near the end of the race, I was informed that I had four hours to complete a particularly tough 10 mile section before cut-off.  On the previous loop, the same section took me three and a half hours, and I was in worse shape now.  John got me through that section in under three hours, giving me an extra hour in the bank so that I didn't need to worry about missing the race finish cut-off either.   Without him, my race would have likely ended at mile 92, with my bib and timing chip turned in for missing the time cut-off.

Trae and Nate:

Me, Nate, and Trae at an aid station in the middle of the night.

Two of my nephews skipped out on bedtime to come and support me during a nighttime aid station.  As I approached the station, I saw them waving glow sticks and heard them cheering for me.  They wanted to be able to see my in the night, so they attached a couple of the glow sticks to my hydration pack for me.  When I ran out of the my chocolate soy milk at the station (one of the few things that sat well in my stomach), they went back to my wife's hotel and picked up some more for me (of course, their dad, James, drove them there!)  When I looped back into the aid station a couple hours later, I had chocolate soy milk waiting for me, along with an encouraging little note.

My Family:

The Lost Soul Ultra runs through the city where I grew up, and where most of my family still lives.  Throughout the race and finish line, all of them came out to support me and cheer me on.  My brother-in-law James took a bunch of photos for us (many of which are in the video that Natasha put together).  My nieces and nephews (all of them!) drenched my head with wet sponges after the finish line (which I needed to cool down).  I felt very loved and supported with everyone taking the time to come out to the race course, cheer me one, and help Natasha get some of my crap for me.

Bill:

Bill and I at the awards breakfast Sunday morning

Bill is just one of those all-around great guys.  He has run the 100k version of this race a couple of times before (its the same course as the 100-mile), and he answered a lot of my questions about what to expect.  He's been a great supporter of my running, and made me a cool necklace when I finished my first marathon two years ago.  He must have stayed up late Saturday night, because when I got to the breakfast ceremony Sunday, he greeted me at the door with another new necklace, this one commemorating finishing the 100-miler.  He had even made one for my wife too.  I ran with him a little bit during the race (he was way ahead of me shortly after the start!), but would definitely like to go out for a more leisurely run with Bill next time I'm in town.

Other Friends and Family:
I ran with my cell phone so that I could update my blog as I went, and so that I could let Natasha know where I was or if I would need something specific at the next aid station.  What I didn't expect was to be showered with encouraging text messages throughout the race.  Friends and family sent me more messages than I can count (I've never even come close to using up the number of texts that we pay for each month, but I'm WAY over this month!).  During the night, when I was alone in the dark, I don't think 30 minutes went by without my phone going off with a text.  I can't describe how much support I felt when I would receive messages at 2am, when I know that no sane person should still be up, let alone texting me.  But it was highly appreciated, and it definitely helped keep my spirits up!

I wish I could have read the comments left on my blog during the race, but my phone is a little too old school for that.  But, the support that I received from people I've never actually met is overwhelming.  Thank you for all of your wonderful comments, encouragement, and support leading up to and during the race.  I loved sitting down after the race and reading all of the blog/facebook comments.

There were also people like Michael, who I met during the pre-race meeting for the first time, but who had taken the time to answer, through DailyMile, a ton of questions that I had leading up to the race (things like 'should I wear gaiters or not' ...).  He also gave me some of the best advice, "After a certain point it hurts just as much to walk as run so you might as well run and just keep moving, even if your run is slow".  There were many, many times where I would be walking, and remember what he said, and then start running again and realize how correct he was.