2009 Run for Ella
Fayetteville, TN
June 27, 2009
On Sunday at 11:09 am est, I completed a nearly impossible 3 day, 60 mile Stage Race in Chattanooga, TN that culminated in a bushwhacking 20 miler on Signal Mountain in which I had to make up 7 minutes to take over 2nd place; I made up 10. From there, I flew directly to Logan where I proceeded onto New Hampshire for several days of work. All of this came on the heels of a week in DC where I had a conference for work. Bottom line was that I spent 10 nights in a row at hotels and when I got home on Tuesday afternoon, I was utterly fatigued, both mentally and physically.
I actually suffered from fairly severe post-race depression this week as well. Any time you put so much effort and focus into a single event and train for it over a several month period, once it is over you have a tremendous high, followed by a bottomless low period. These post race let-downs have been documented well but they vary from person to person. For me this one was very low. I didn't want to run, read about running, be around runners or even think about lacing up my shoes again. Yet I had a consecutive days run streak at stake, so I suffered through the minimum miles this week leading into Friday.
I was also fighting some physical pains as well as the mental demons. My toes were not blistered, but actually bruised from the trail running in Chattanooga. I also had a mild ankle sprain that halted my Friday morning run when I could barely put any weight on it. I was very nervous about being physically able to run in the Run Across Alabama to start on July 1. My ankle was wrapped or iced on Friday night right up until the time I went to bed.
So when I got up on Saturday morning at 4:15am, I had no business thinking about a trail race. But I am a firm believer that you can ask your body to do so much more than you think it can actually do. So many times I have gone to the well and asked my body to recover on no rest, race all out when I am not healthy or done something that my head knows is not the right thing.
Yet I was very moved by the battle that little Ella has fought through and it made me realize that any pain that I have is minor as to what she has gone through. I felt like it was my job to take my fleet feet to Fayetteville and run my ass off for that little girl. Not just to donate my $30 toward her cause but to show her what is possible when you believe and have heart. At well before 6am, we were off to the Run for Ella 5k.
I was reminded of a fortune that I pulled from a cookie at PF Chang's last Friday night: 'Nothing is impossible to a willing heart.' Despite all circumstances stacked against me, it was my duty to race on this day.
As for the race itself, it was a low key affair that really boiled down to two ultra competitive runners, Jason Reneau and myself. My plan was to stick with Jason stride for stride. I knew that he had been doing big miles as well and that neither one of us was in top shape but together we could push each other across the grass field and through the mountainous trails and give the crowd a good show at the finish.
At the start, the DJ played 'Lose Yourself' by Eminem in the minutes leading up to the start. I had just been listening to it in the car, so this last minute adrenaline rush was just what I needed to carry me. At the start, we trailed a younger kid with a mohawk, as well as a local high school girl, both of which faded slightly by the time we hit the grass field. I ran right behind Jason as we winded around the first field, logging the first mile in 5:41. The sweat was pouring off me in the 80+ degree heat and nearly unbearable humidity. I had put some ice on my visor prior to the start, but that moisture had long since evaporated.
We continued on through the second field around the perimeter, which was another 1/2 mile. We were chased by a young kid who had stayed with us now for nearly 9 minutes, but as we passed the aid station and headed up the first hill, he slowed down and it turned into a two man battle.
The ruggedness of the narrow jeep trails was made only worse with the recent mountain bike race that was held on the course when it was muddy. That mad had since dried and was not rutted, and with the loose rock and winding nature of the course with the quick up and downs, meant the pace would slow severely, even as the effort remained all out. We were giving it everything we had and managed a respectable 6:33 second mile.
From the 2nd mile we made a sharp left turn and started to climb. We ascended 60' in the first 400' after the turn before claiming that back over the next quarter mile. The major climb started at 2.25 miles were we went from 750' of elevation up to 850' in less than two tenths of a mile. Despite the climb, Jason and I continued to run stride for stride together. I would pull closer on the hills and he would slightly pull away on the downs and flats. Together we worked, pushing each other to run the best we could, given the conditions and the course.
The second half of the 3rd mile was mostly back downhill and we picked up the pace as the technical trails continued. We passed through the last aid station and just as the two before it, we both took water and splashed a drink in our mouths and the rest over our head. We clocked what would seem like a slow 7:18, but I don't think it is possible to run this mile any faster.
Coming out of the woods and onto the last straight away along the edge of the field toward the finish was a thing of beauty. We were now at top speed and as we weaved in and around people still making their first loop, we were digging deep. Just like I am sure Ella has had to do in her fight back after the accident, we fought as hard as we could. We ran the last one tenth of a mile in under 28 seconds, which is about 4:30 pace; something I can't do in training, but at the end of a race your body can amaze you in what it can do.
In the last few meters, Jason kicked and I kicked. As I did, I realized that today it was not about winning, but about how we were able to work together to run the best time possible. I am not saying that I gave up, or let him win; what I am saying that on this day, a 1-2 finish of Reneau and Charette at 20:00:00 and 20:00:97 was a perfect ending to a race in which we put it all on the line.
So for a little girl that I have never met and will probably never see again, Jason and I tried our best to enrich her life and motivate her comeback with a very competitive race in which we gave it everything we had.
In the end, none of my pains mattered and we ran through the heat and the course like we owned it. It was not about us, it was about that little girl that lead 400 people to the woods of Tennessee.
Ella we wish you the best.