Post by redbullapril23 on Oct 14, 2009 12:07:32 GMT -5
This has been 6 months in the making
So I woke up last thursday feeling slightly sick. then it progressed into feeling god aweful on friday. I layed around friday wondering if I could reschedule the run. What the HELL was I talking about of course I couldnt people were depending on me.
I awoke Saturday feeling about 70%. Good enough.
Time to HTFU!
My room mates (parents) and I did a last minute check and packed the car. We were all extremely stressed out.
We ended up leaving 30 minutes late. I was freaking out and couldnt sit still the entire car ride. squirming like a man on death row about to sit in the chair. So nervous but I couldnt change what I had to do no matter how bad I felt.
We actually ended up arriving 15 mins early at SQUARE ONE FISH Co., one of my sponsors for the run. I opened the door to be greeted by my friend Amber Schreiner, the girl who single handedly set up a place for us to have a pre race meal and invite some friends out for drinks. I gave her a big hug and sat down and met all of her nice friends. Talking with them and watching the Georgia game helped to calm me down a little bit. Shortly after arriving a couple of my friends showed up. Sarah, Danny, Ben, Kasey, and Alex all drove from Atlanta to come and see me.
This best Part about having the pre race "party" at Square One Fish Co. was the fact that they provided a buffet for us. Let me tell you something. I travel alot and I taste food all around the world. I have to say that Ive never tasted anything better than that food that day. It was the fuel for my 89 mile run.
Thank you Square One!
Right when I thought he was a no show I he some redneck mumbling words out of a car window coming down the street. Low and behold it's WAYNE DOWNEY my hero.
Wayne is 3 year survivor of cancer and a fellow ultra runner.
With Wayne here we could finally get started. Wayne and I both went to the bath room to apply that much needed body glide.
We both lined up outside of the restaurant with our friends and family cheering us on. I yell go and we start running and screaming all sorts of dumb things. We almost run a girl on crutches over....opps. As we run down the side walk we encounter some of the skaters whove just picked up their race packets. I tell the guys I'll see them in Atlanta. They ask what Im talking about and Wayne goes hes running to Atlanta. I tell them I'm getting a head start.
They laugh and Wayne tells them Im serious and I said no Im not joking.
They run about 20 feet with me and yell good luck and Say thats awesome dude!
Wayne and I cross the road and are running down E. Washington St down the middle of downtown Athens. This is really beautiful and empowering.
We run for the first mile and then pump the brakes a bit.
I start mixing in running with walking. I can feel the sickness Im stricken with not allowing me to go 100% and making me walk alot more than Id like.
Before I knew I was outside of the 10 loop and out side of Athens. From here there was a dangerous 10 mile stretch of rolling hills with no side walk and lots of cars. The hills with alot bigger and longer than I remember from driving them in the car.
Wayne and I talked to pass the time. As we were using the little boys room on the side of the road, Kyle sped past us in his tricked out car. Kyle was there for moral support and to make sure Wayne didnt die while running.
About 2 hours into the run David Ray and Kena find us along a desolate country road. I yell ahead to my parents to Hide the food from David. The best way to do this is to put the food in multiple locations that way it takes him longer to find all of it. hahaha
Kena jumps in and immediately takes the led. I tell her exactly what I am trying to do with mixing running/walking. She read my mind every time when we needed to talk a walking break.
We ran from day to night and enjoyed the cows, greenery, and sunset.
D Ray, Kena and Wayne stuck with me until about mile 21 or so.
We crested a hill that seemed to go on forever. It was then I could see the lights of the chevron where Woody,my next running buddy, was. I picked up the pace and ran in hard hooting and hollering.
I thanked Wayne, Kena and D Ray and quickly departed with Woody. I briefed Woody on what I was doing. Im sure he waited to fall asleep at the pace I was going. But as he was dozing off a huge black snake appeared and he hurdled it. I tried to warn him but he mistook my warning for random mumbling which i had been doing. Luckily the snake was already dead.
This section from Winder to Dacula was the second hardest section of the course. The hills were alot bigger and longer than most of the course.
I had to stop about 4 times in 3 hours to re apply body glide. jsut to make sure nothing bad would happen. I can take bloody feet, blisters, broken toes, cuts, bruises, hallucinating, dehydration, my body eating itself, feeling tired, and feeling sick...... But the one thing that will stop me dead in my tracks is chafing.
well I didnt get any chafing the ENTIRE race.
around 35 miles in my pace had slowed alot. but it was still going pretty well. I felt great and just had slightly sore feet. so I was feeling great.
Coming into Dacula around midnight was an experience. We ran by some parks and their high school. It was a ghost town.
I emerged on the other side knowing that Rahn and his aid station were close by!
Was I seeing things? or was there really an oasis in the burger king parking lot? There was it was Rahn and friends with hot soup and rolls! at mile 42 this was a god send. I sat down and refueled. I changed my socks and re applied body glide just to be safe.
The 2 women of my life were more than ready to get running, Beth Presten and Beth McCurdy my heros!
We left at a snails pace. I could feel team Beth wanting to go alot faster. These gals only have 2 speeds sleep and kill. They weren't sleeping at this point.
They drove me hard. we pushed and I slowed alot. I kept peeing every 5 minutes and it worried me alot.
As we reached Gwinnett I could feel myself getting wobbly. I knew it was time to try and take a nap and recharge the batteries.
I hopped in the front seat and covered myself with blankets and laid my head on a pillow. I closed my eyes. my heart was racing but my mind was exhausted. it was about 3 30 am. I started seeing crazy things. after 15 mins I have to get up. I felt like a new man.
I felt bad because I made the Beths wait in the cold while I napped in the warm car.
Before I knew it Beth P looked down at her garmin and told me Sean we only have a 50k left. I tried to do the math. It was 5 15 am. I wanted to finish by 1130. so I needed to run a 6 hr 15 second 50k to finish and the hardest part was yet to come. This seemed impossible but It was worth a shot. So the Beths took charge and I dug deep for some energy.
I decided to have a scoop of my recovery drink,ULTRAGEN, for a much needed boost. It contains alot of dextrose, the fastest absorbing sugar. Basically quick energy and lots of it. Well it worked and I was able to push harder until we reached Smoke Rise just outside of Stone Mountain. Beth P's parents catch up with us on their motorcycle. Beth P stops to chat and double checks her garmin while I refuel. She yells out Sean.......Youve now finished your 3rd marathon. All I can say is this made me want to push harder I felt like a beast at this point. But I knew From driving the course I know smoke rise is the hardest part of the course. I tell Beth P that my plan is to slow down in smoke rise and save myself for the push to atlanta( the final half marathon)
At this point Beth M had to stop Because Her foot got hurt because of all the walking I was doing. Sorry Beth!
Beth P's parents took her to safety. So now it was Beth P and myself for final miles.
Smoke Rise was Beth P's childhood stomping ground and she knew it well. She told me stories as well trudged along.
My dad shouted out from the car take a right at the light 1 mile fast down hill. These were the directions for the skaters. I reached the top of the hill to look down at a steep downhill. my body was hurting and the last thing I needed was a 1 mile steep down hill on pavement. Every step was hard. The impact rang through my ears. I tried as best as I could to run on the grass. but there just wasnt any place to do that. Reaching the bottom I felt my body say AHHHHHHHHHHHH thank god! well what goes down must come up. and up it did! For the next 3 miles it was mainly up hill.
I was rewarded with all this up hill with the town of old stone mountain. the climbing was over. now It was flatter. this is when I started to kick it into high gear.
I would tell beth run to that first mail box and then take a walking break. I then would keep running 5 mail boxes down. I wanted to finish this thing before the skaters did.
I let Beth P take the led and push me hard. she led and I followed blindly like a cow being led to slaughter. She turned to me and said Sean youre getting that crazy look in your eye! It was true at this point I smelled blood and I was thirsty.
We pushed hard to clarkston. To me we were home free. To bad we were all but.
I start attacking uphills and downhills. I kept asking Beth P what pace we were running at. and she would just answer with...Does this pace feel ok to you? and I said yes. I later found out that we were running a 7:15 min mile for awhile. Thats after Id already run over 80 miles.
we came into Avondale and saw the first race person at the skaters final aid station. he cheered me on because my parents had arrived earlier than we and prepped him about my run.
Avondale straight down to decatur. Decatur is my old stomping ground. So this really sent electricity through my body. I told beth we were 5 miles out.
it was around 1030 and there were runners out running. I tried to latch on to the runners and keep their pace as long as i could. It worked.
Before I knew It we were at Fox borthers BBQ on Dekalb Ave just outside of little 5 points. this was the final aid from my support vehicle. my parents filled up our bottles and went to go park at piedmont park to see the finish.
Running through Little 5 points and Virginia highlands at the end was probably my Favorite part of the entire run. It was a beautiful day and made the pain go away. there were people out shopping, drinking, eating and watching football. It was great. We ran down Park drive and entered Piedmont Park. Beth and I both almost cried!
this was both of our longest runs ever!
I was screaming with joy running into the park. People walking their dogs and jogging just stared at me! I came around the final turn and saw the finish line. There stood what I had been thinking about for the past 19 hours and 41 minutes of my life. I had no Ipod to past the time just a thought and some determination
My plan was to raise hands together with Beth as we went through the finish. But Beth yelled at me GO SEAN GO!!!!!! and I started sprinting as hard as I could and run Under the Finish Line ATHENS TO ATLANTA banner hand in the air yelling!
all 7 people there who had come to see me applauded me.
people sitting in the park werent sure what was going on! Nor were the race people until my parents explained who I was. The race people came over and said what an awesome job I did and how they were amazed.
I was so happy to be done! I was the first person to run the Athens to Atlanta 89 mile run.
I talked with the RD for awhile who imparted to me that next year they would love to open it up to runners....... ;D ;D ;D any takers?
a few things/ questions answered
Favorite part = Final 20 miles were just beautiful and alot of fun!
worst part= athens to winder. lots of traffic and alot of hills
what did I eat? turkey and cheese sandwiches, peanut butter and honey sandwiches, water melon, cantalope, pizza, chicken noodle soup, rolls, perpetuem, pecan spin wheels, lance crackers, kettle salt n vinegar chips.
did i ever feel like i wanted to quit? no not really. I dont know the word quit.
did I ever the "the wall"? no not really i just felt mentally tired at points because of the lack of sleep
would I do it again? Sure why not you can always better your time.
how'd my feet and body hold up? I HAVE 0 BLISTERS AND 0 CHAFING!!!!!!!!!!!!
How'd my body hold up? the impact of the road took its toll. the worst part was running into on coming traffic and having the slant of the road the entire time wearing my IT band down on my left side. I had to switch to the side walk towards the end when there was one. my stomach felt great the whole time no issues!
what do I want people to take from this? I am a normal guy. if you think you cant then youre right if you think you can the your right too.
NOW GO RUN LIKE HELL