100k WC 2011

100k WC 2011

Gagarin Half Finish

Gagarin Half Finish
Gagarin Half Finish

Awards Gagarin Half

Awards Gagarin Half
Awards Gagarin Half

Cosmonauts give out the awards:)

Cosmonauts give out the awards:)
Cosmonauts give out the awards

snowshoe

snowshoe

Saturday, May 7, 2011

The Day the Raven Just Couldn't Fly

Spring Half Marathon-Moscow 7-05



This one is held on the island in the middle of the river surrounded by the rowing channel. This is where the rowing team plays. Course is simple-5x4+k loops flat and fast. There was one potential issue: AngryNesting Ravens. One of our guys was actually attacked by said Angry Nesting Ravens here a couple yrs ago. He ran on the island a few days ago and had reported no Angry Nesting Ravens this time. So, for good measure, I figured I'd let our feathered friends know that I come in peace. So, in addition to my Skinny Raven socks I usually wear,  I dug out my singlet and raven warm up shirt for the occasion. That was Thursday.

Friday morning I got up about 9 and saw I had a messge from my friend Eva. Eva and I went to Beloit together and ran track and xc and have remained good friends since. The dreaded message was to call Kim's dad. Oh, sh--! I just got an awful feeling and knew it wasn't good. Kim's parents did not know how to reach me here in Moscow. Kim is our close friend out in Boston. Kim graduated Beloit in 94 and we first met when I was a freshman in 92. How time flies! Kim was also one of my best friends. After Beloit I visited Kim  when I ran Boston and later when I was in grad school at Middlebury. Lately, we had been skyping  a lot. Kim was probably one of the most accepting, unselfish, and open minded people I'll ever meet. So 9AM I decided to call.Cell off- I tried a few more times but given it was after 1AM there I decided best to call when it's morning there. So after my lesson (met my student from 10-1), when it was already mid afternoon here, I went home to call. I got Kim's mom and knew it was NOT good.
She told me how Kim's foot had finally started feeling better (she had fallen a couple weeks before and messed up her toe and foot-bad bruise too). and decided to go for a walk. She suddenly collapsed and 2 plumbers who had been working on the house up the street immediately came to help. They offered to call 911 but Kim came to enough to call her mom to take her home. Mom rushed out and took Kim to the hospital where she had the second heart attack and suddenly passed. This was all too difficult to process. Kim was fairly young and in decent health and I'd just skyped w/ her recently. I never EVER could have imagined that would be the last time I'd ever see or talk to her again. Her mom said dotors found clots in her lungs and suspect the initial clot may have formed in her injured foot. She had no symptoms of anything being wrong-no pain no shortness of breath prior to the incident. I was at a loss for words and just devastated. She had a good family; wonderful parents.
So I got online w/ Eva after I talked w/ Kim's mom and Eva and her husband were signed up to run a half tomorrow and would be back Sunday. I said I was supposed to run a half tomorrow too and for time, but I just did NOT want to go anywhere and be around people. Hell, when my mother passed I didn't answer the house phone for close to a month, selectively answered my mobile for business only, and did nothing social for over 2 months when a Dutch friend of mine finally got my arse out the door. I just went to work and back during those 2 months and even that was a project. I ran on my own and that was the year that went to hell in a handbasket too. Eva said she was going to run the half. I figured I'd run too-Kim probably would not have wanted us to sit home and be depressed but it's pretty darn hard not to. Forget trying to put down a decent time after this mess.

To add insult to injury- Sunday is Mother's Day. Mother's Day is hard for me but I can't imagine how painful it's got to be for Kim's mom to have to bury her daughter at this time. No parent should ever have to endure that.

Saturday-
I get to the island-ravenless. Sadly, this raven's wings just weren't going to fly. It's sort of hard when you carry a rock like that in your heart. At about 10k in I just felt like complete crap warmed over. Stomach was nauseous and after lap 3 I seriously thought it would probably be better to just drop out and let this one go. Instead of my usual picking up and flying in the 2nd half,  I just felt worse. 2nd woman was a long way back but inside I just didn't care- I was pretty much numb and indifferent most of the day anyways. I decided to just run through it and just win the darn thing for Kim's sake then sneak off and go home. I finished and then did a quick disappearing act. I had to go and deal w/ this nauseous stomach and go somewhere discreet to "erase the blackboard" as we say in ultrarunning. Blackboard erased, I felt a little better. I ate my usual oatmeal breakfast too so why my stomach revolted is a fine mystery. I just went on a quiet cooldown off  toward the opposite end of the island. Reporters and the news crews were there and that's one of the reasons I disappeared after the finish. I just did not want to be approached-I thought, "Interview Slava (men's winner), he's an elite and top masters stud, please just leave me in peace."


After I finished a cooldown lap, Misha-the race director (nice guy) came up to me apologising that it appeared some little brat had stolen the women's first place medal. Awesome I thought to myself, "I'm already having an incredibly sh!tty (pardon my French) day what more insult can we add to injury?" No hard feelings against Misha it was totally not his fault it was the fault of ignorant  parents who have no clue as to how to watch and discipline their brats. I'd have had my butt whooped if I had pulled a stunt like that as a kid! So he gave me some cash instead. He then took me over to the shirt pile to go and get my shirt. I had totally forgotten to get it after the race. He had nice tech shirts too.


My time was pitiful and in 15 days I doubt things are going to pick up to where they were before this race. So, I need to draw nasty conclusions here and make a decision.too.  I'm probably going to return my tickets to Riga in 2 weeks and not waste my time and $ on a trip that will yield no results. I go abroad to race for 2 reasons: A. earn smthg.  be that top 3 or top 6 depending on the race B.to run a decent time. I can live w/o A if I'm up to B but if I'm not up to either then it's not worth the trip. Marathon tourism is not my business.That's for the filthy rich who could care less how they do-not me at all. I may run the one here on the 22nd because I promised the guys on my club team one marathon this yr and and a team captain  would feel like a jackass to bail on them. So- no fast marathon this yr and probably never again.  I was going to try for another Elite Development start at Chicago and go back in 2012 since I can't run there this yr 4 weeks after the Worlds. That would be incredibly  D U M B on my part. I'm 36 next yr 37 and by then I'm sure my chances of a PR will be equivalent to that of there being a blizzard in Hell.




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