E.T. Full Moon Midnight Marathon, 1/2, 10K, & 51K - RunHalf Marathon


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Rachel, Nevada
United States
Calico Racing
70F / 21C
 		Total Time = 1h 48m 58s
Overall Rank = 29/344
Age Group =
Age Group Rank = 5/45
Pre-race routine:

Since this race started at 12:30AM, my pre-race routine was dinner. Lasagna to be more precise. Three. Helpings. Of Lasagna. I would later regret that 3rd helping.
Event warmup:

I did a 500m run near the start line with some butt-kicks and high knees.
Run
  • 1h 48m 58s
  • 13.1 miles
  • 08m 19s  min/mile
Comments:

All in all, I felt great. I started out quick but settled into a slightly slower pace as the grade increased. Around mile 8, I started to feel some distress in my GI. I knew there were port-o-jons placed on the course every three miles so I was going to have to make an urgent pit stop at mile 9. Sure enough, there it was and it was not occupied! Under normal circumstances, I could be in and out in just over a minute. Unfortunately, the circumstances were NOT normal. This being a midnight race, I was equipped differently than usual. Firstly, I was wearing my very futuristic looking Epix Gear 1-piece "Ironman" tri-suit (Hey, I wanted to look like Buck Rogers - this being an ET themed race and all). Now- because I didn't want to puncture my nice tri-suit with pins, I was using my race number belt. I also thought it would be cute to put my headlamp (required by the RD) strapped around my chest (like some kind of robot) On top of this, I was also equipped with a water bottle and a 3 foot long glow in the dark foam tube. I can only imagine how comical it must have looked trying to get all of this crap off and slipping out of a tight, sweaty one-piece suit - not having any place to put it down in a dark, smelly port-o-jon in the middle of the desert at 2 in the morning - all while trying to hold back a torrent of explosive diarrhea! (Damn you, LASAGNA!!) After all was said and done, I ended up taking over 5 minutes to complete the lasagna evacuation. I managed to negative split the rest of the race and still PR'ed by 10 minutes!
What would you do differently?:

I think that should be obvious to the reader - I should have worn a cape and Darth Vader helmet, of course. That bowel-licious adventure at mile 9 cost me the podium! 3rd and 4th place were only a few seconds ahead of me!
Post race
Warm down:

My warm-down was a 2 and a half hour drive back to Las Vegas at 4 in the morning - barely able to keep my eyes open.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Poop.

Event comments:

Despite my fecal follies, I really enjoy this race and highly recommend it! Running out in the high desert in the middile of the night under the full moon is a surreal experience and I had a blast (litterally).




Last updated: 2011-02-20 12:00 AM
Running
01:48:58 | 13.1 miles | 08m 19s  min/mile
Age Group: 5/45
Overall: 29/344
Performance: Good
Split/Time 1/7:08 2/7:51 3/7:55 4/8:09 5/8:29 6/9:18 7/8:05 8/8:02 9/14:03 10/7:42 11/7:33 12/7:30 13/7:30 14/0:46
Course: Running along the fringe of the mysterious Area 51, this stretch of highway (375) has an overwhelming number of reported UFO sightings. So much so, that in 1996 the federal government officially named highway 375 the "Extraterrestrial Highway". The ET Highway has become a gathering place for UFO enthusiasts and nature lovers alike. With elevations ranging from roughly 4000-5600 feet, the high desert will enchant you with gorgeous vegetation, surrounding mountains, and stunning vistas. An additional treat is the cooler temperatures. Rachel, NV is generally 15 degrees cooler than the Las Vegas Valley; coupled with a midnight run, temperatures usually in the 60's in August!
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Bad
Mental exertion [1-5] 5
Physical exertion [1-5] 5
Good race? Yes
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Good
Race evaluation [1-5] 5