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Badwater!

Two years ago, I posted a review of the movie “Running on the Sun”. It’s a great documentary about the 1999 running of the Badwater Ultramarathon. Badwater is a 135 mile ultramarathon, starting in Death Valley and finishing on Mt. Whitney at 8,360 feet above sea level.

Since even before I saw the movie, I’ve spent a fair amount of time thinking about the race and wondering if it was something that I have in me. In the end, while I’m not convinced that I couldn’t do it, I doubt it is something that I ever will do. But this July, I get to do the next best thing: I’ll be there as part of my friend Blake’s six-person crew.

Blake’s pretty bad-ass (obviously…) and, if all goes well, will be in contention for the top spots. In 2007, Blake’s only other Badwater, he came in 8th place with a time of 30:56:59. He was 8 hours behind the winner, but he did beat Dean Karnazes by over 35 minutes.

Honestly, I don’t really know what being on the crew involves; I’m guessing the basics are sitting in a car for about 30 hours, making sure Blake has enough to eat and drink and trying to keep his motivation up during the tougher hours of the race. Whatever it is, I’m excited to be there and to be part of Blake’s team. The race is the in the middle of nowhere, so while I’m not sure if I’ll be blogging at all during the race, I’ll be sure to take lots of pictures!

My recovery week is now over and it ended up much better than it started. That might be because I ended up doing some nice, longish workouts, including a Brick yesterday that went far beyond what Coach John had scheduled, both in terms of length and intensity. This week is back to my normal training. It’s also about time to start picking up the running again. My run base is great, so I’ve been concentrating on getting quality time on the bike and just maintaining my run fitness and strength. I think it’s now time to start increasing the run mileage.

Eleven weeks to go. I’m feeling good about it, but still really happy to have that much time.

Ocean Speed Circuit – June 10
Distance: ~2,200 yards (5 laps)
Time: 42 minutes
Water conditions: 63 degrees, rough!

Bike – June 11
Distance: 26.2 miles
Time: 1:32
Average heart rate: 119
Course: LA River Bike Path/Griffith Park
Conditions: Overcast, mid-60’s

Swim – June 12
Distance: 3,200 yards
Time: 1:00

Brick – June 13
Total Time: 4:32
Bike:
Distance: 72.6 miles
Time: 3:58
Average heart rate: 130
Transition Time: 3:21
Run:
Distance: 3 miles
Time: 24 minutes
Average heart rate: 135
Conditions: Partly cloudy, low to mid-60’s

Run – June 14
Distance: 5.85 miles
Time: 45 minutes
Average heart rate: 143
Course: West Hollywood/Beverly Hills
Conditions: Sunny and warm, low 70’s