DANCBJAMMIN

Send Message

Block

Add Friend

100EC - 104 Miles Ran In 28.5 Hours

  It has been one week since I completed this epic race and I feel like I have recounted all the details sufficiently in my head so I can help you get a glimpse of how awesome this journey was! So, I ask for your patience with my VERY winded report of one of the most gratifying but by far, the most dificult thing I have ever done in my life.

Without going in to too much detail about this race last year, I will just say that I got through just about 75 miles in 19 hours, and since that day, I have wanted to get my vengance on this course! This would be my 4th attempt at the 100 mile distance. 2 times I got to about the 75 mile mark and could not continue. My 3rd attempt earlier this year got called short when I rolled my ankle twice at mile 25 on some roots, and could not continue. Go in to this race, I KNEW I was going to finish it! I have found that when you go into a race with full confidence in your training, your ability, and your motivation to get through some serious pain, there is a great chance you will complete your goal, and probably BETTER than you expected to. This was the very feeling I had when I registered for this race many months ago.

My training for this race was far more effective than past attempts at the distance. A lot of that is due to the fact that my base was uber strong, and I just needed to maintain it while increasing my strength, which I did, and proved to be spot-on. My longest run leading up to this race was an 8 hour ULTRA which I got in 37 miles, and was really pleased with. My preperations included lots of cross-training and more intense, shorter workouts, which enabled me to avoid injury and toe the line without injury and at 100%! I really tried to listen to my body, and most importantly, I found a WONDERFUL balance between work, family, training, church, etc, which as a whole, made me a very happy man when race time came around.

One of the biggest bummers for me was going in to the race knowing that my sweetheart and children were not going to be there with me, but I knew they would be there in spirit. As the race drew closer and closer I found a general sense of peace, confidence, and assurance come over me, that let me know this was going to be MY victory. Last year in my race report, I stated "Perhaps this distance is bigger than me, RIGHT NOW, but it is my Mt. Everest, and I WILL conquer it". Those very words were my own motivation throughout this past year, and when race day came, I knew my motivation and ability was far bigger than the Mt Everest that stood in front of me.

On to the race... I had asked my buddy, Andy Meadows, several months ago if he would be interested in crewing for me at this event, and he said yes. I also asked my best friend of 18 years, Aric Hill, if he would crew for me as well, to which he of course said yes. So these guys were my support throughout the ENTIRE race, and I owe much of this milestone to these guys...



Andy and I flew in to So Cal from Fort Worth on Thursday morning and the race started on Saturday. Thursday we all went out for a little round of golf and dinner and got some solid sleep. Friday we spent the day getting the rest of our supplies dialed in and went over our strategy and game plan for the race. Aric also had some friends come over Friday night for a friendly game of cards, at which, Aric made a bet with one of his sceptic friends. No, the bet was not about me, it was about Aric's ability to ride a bike for 15 miles along side of me, which could take 3-4 hours depending on what stage of the race we were in, and he had not been on a bike for about as long as we have been friends! He gladly accepted the bet, I internally prayed for him, and we went on with the game. More on this later... Andy is a very strong cyclist and I knew he would be able to handle pacing me on the bike for the duration without a problem. He is just starting to get in to triathlon and his longest run to date was about 6 miles. More on that later...

As race morning was upon us, I got up at 4am and started the rituals. After checking everything and ensuring we had everything we needed, we headed to the race start. The atmosphere was lively and cheery, and it was great to see so many familiar faces! My mom came to the race start which was a nice treat. After the race director and founder of The 100 Mile Club, Kara Lubin, made some general announcements, gave some recognition, and laid out some particulars about the course, it was time to line up and get ready to head out. As the horn blew, and the beeping of all the GPS watched commenced, the adrenaline kicked in, the crowd was cheering, spirits were soaring, and that calm peace I spoke of earlier came over me, and with a confident nod-n-a wink to my mom, I was off.

I told Andy that my goal for the first 25 miles was to maintain a 10 - 11 minute per mile pace. My nutrition plan was simple... One can of Chicken broth (1890mg of Sodium) every 2 hours (broken up by sips of it in my handheld every 20 minutes), a gel every 30 minutes, a 100 calorie snack at the top of each hour, and every 3 hours a mini meal. I also used straight Gatorade in my Camelbak and would alternate that with water every few sips. My mini meals typically consisted of peanut butter sandwiches, pizza, french fries, soup, and milkshakes. My snacks at the top of the hours typically consisted of Bananas, chips, candy, and whatever else sounded good along the way. Throughout the whiole race, my nutrition was absolutely spot-on and could not have worked out better. The night before the race, as Andy and I were going over strategy, we made maticulous notes, being sure to put down what time and what item I needed to eat or drink and out on the course, pretty much kept that schedule to a "T". On the first section, my pace was perfect, not too fast, not too slow and finished the first 25 miles in 4:29:-- (They did not record the seconds).

At the first aid station, it had warmed up pretty good and I decided I wanted to change. So, I threw on some new digs, taped up my feet where I was starting to feel some "Hot Spots" where blisters were starting to form, refueled, and was off again. This stretch leads right down the Santa Ana River Trail, which basically runs next to Angel Stadium all the way down to the ocean shore. At this point, Aric, decided to switch off pacing duties with Andy and took reigns over the bike and trailer and to fulfill the bet he made with his friend at the card game the night prior. Andy would speed ahead in the car and meet up with us every 6 miles or so to make sure we were all set. This point in the race is where I would typically blow it! I would try to keep running fast, using all my energy, and subsequently, pay for it down the road. I knew I had to stick to my game plan and start walking a bit. I have to admit that it took me swallowing a lot of pride to watch people run past me at mile 25-50, but I knew I was doing the right thing. This section was pretty uneventful. Just kept the head down, pounded out the miles, stuck to the nutrition plan, and enjoyed some time with my bro Aric. As we finally hit the ocean, we ran along the bike trail where many RV's were parked to camp out. We got glimpses, on the big screen TVs that adorned these RVs, of the USC game score, and other interesting things as well. Random people would ask us how far we were running, we would tell thim, they would proceed to use explatives to describe their feelings about running that far, and we would carry on. As we made our way down Bolsa Chica Beach, I told Aric that some hot Curly Fries from Jack In The Box sounded pretty good. He phoned ahead to Andy who was waiting there and had them for me when I arrived. At this point it was dark and I had about 4.5 miles to go until the 50 mile Aid Station. I told Aric to call ahead and have my mom, and mother-in-law, Grace, to have a warm Cheese Pizza waiting for me when I got there in about an hour. I finally got to the station on 2nd Street & PCH by Belmont Shore and found many runers hanging out and refueling. I also found that my Mom & MIL decided to WALK to get my pizza... Those of you who have ever walked with my mom KNOW that it is not exactly as "BRISK" pace she carries. So, after waiting 20 minutes for my pizza, I chow down, regroup, and head out to the 3rd stage... Mile 50-75. (2nd stage total time 7:18:--)

This is the stage of an ULTRA I had never been passed, but I KNEW I had it today, and still had that confidence and swagger in my step. Now, to digress just a moment... Aric ended up riding the ENTIRE 2nd stretch on the bike. My prayers turned from hoping he could do it, to praying that his underparts didn't look like chop meat as he opted to NOT wear cycling shorts for a 6 hour trek in the saddle!!! So, needless to say, Andy picked the bike back up at 50 and as we ran off in to the mist and fog, I think I got a faint glimpse of Aric "Flipping Off" the bike & trailer! We made it down to the shore and again began running on the bike trail. The fog was so thick you could barely see 4-5 feet in front of you in the darkness. After several miles, I knew we were in a place that was pretty hallowed for me and Christie. On March 12th, 1992, I asked Christie to be my girl on the very steps we were running past. I asked Andy to take a picture of the steps as I reached into my pack to grab the laminated picture of my family I brought with me, kissed my sweet Christie's face on the picture, and we set off again. I knew Christie and the family couldn't be there with me, but they were in spirit, and with the picture of them I carried with me, they actually ran the whole way with me!

This section wound through Shoreline Village in Long Beach, down the marina breezeway and then paralleled the Los Angeles River along the 710 Freeway. This part had a couple VERY big areas that were full of Vagrants / tranziants and would have been very "Hairy" at the midnight hour without Andy along my side. We made it out of dodge unscathed and continued on until we hit PCH again. Once we were back on the road, we ran along the refineries, which smelled heavenly, and then down towards Wilmington. I asked for Andy to have Aric hook me up with a Vanilla shake, which he did. After chugging that, we finally arrived at the 62.5 mile sub station. This was probably the only "Dark Spot" I had in the whole race. Doubts were starting to creep into my head, the air had turned bitterly cold, the fog was thick and soupy, my legs were throbbing, and morale was pretty low. It took a lot of convincing to get myself up again and started to make my way out of the station back onto the course. As I began to move, I started feeling better. I took in a lot of calories, chugged fluids, took a pain reliever, and soon found myself putting together some good runs here and there and began to feel good. I also noticed that we were heading directly south through San Pedro Harbor, where I had fished many a time, and enjoyed the familiar surroundings. When we finally made our way all the way to the coast, we were supposed to follow this bike trail as we began our ascent up to Rancho Palos Verdes Estates. The fog was as thick as soup now, and Andy and I did not know where we were to go. Andy gave the bike back to Aric before we got to this point, and was walking / running along with me. We later found out that the road we were supposed to take was CLOSED, but we did not now that, nor did we have any clue how to navigate around it. THANK GOODNESS FOR OUR GPS WATCHES!!! We ended up turning UPHILL which led us in to the hills and soon found ourselves on a mountain trail! There was no way this was right! We continued on and began to see a street below us that our Garmin said we needed to get to, the only problem was the 100 foot drop off to get down to it. We continued on until we found a resonable enough path to get to it and as we descended, found some headlights coming at us. It was a member of the crew of another runer, basically asking us what the hell we were doing in the sticks! He pointed us in the right direction and we soon discovered that we added almost 3 miles to our journey and 1200 feet of elevation climb on that trail!!! My legs were trashed!

After we got through that, we had another 5 miles to get to the 75 mile aid station. We could not see anything except occasional headlights. We passed The Donald Trump Golf Course, which we obviously could not see, and this section was literally uphill the whole way. 5 miles up into the aid station. I had finally made it, and found Aric, Grace, and my mom waiting for me there! HALELUJAH!!! (Total time for 3rd section 8:37:--) I put my jacket on, posted up next to the fire, drank a couple cups of soup, and was pleased to discover that there was a gentleman there performing ART for athletes who needed it. SIGN ME UP I said. He loosened my quads and calves and I felt much better! This is it, unchartered waters for me... These are the championship miles, but I was in it to win it and there was not going to be anything that would keep me from finishing at this point! I called Christie, told her I was good to go, and Andy and I headed back out in to the dark fog. 2 more hours until the sun would come back up!

The words that kept popping into my head in this first part of the last section were... "Does this hill EVER end???" It seemed like we were literally going uphill for the better part of 10 miles. So, we just kept slogging out the miles until the sun lightened up the sky. I finally was able to take off my jacket and my beenie, and was ready to hit the beach again that would lead me to the finish. We finally crested the hill, and I got back on the bike trail at Redondo Beach. At this point I was really hungry, and REALLY tired of Gatorade, gels, snacks, and all the other stuff I had been eating for a day straight. I told Andy to call Aric and have him get me some breakfast from McDonald's. A bit later, Aric met up with Andy to deliver the greasy Mana, and mana it was! I probably would have gladly eaten anything that was half warm at this point. I chow down, and realized I was less than 10 miles away!!! I kept running along the beach, walking when I had to, and struggled to stay awake! That was nothing a 5 Hour Energy shot didn't fix! There was a group of about 4 runners that were playing cat and mouse back and forth with me. They were walking VERY fast, and I do not walk that fast, so I had to jog/walk to stay with or ahead of them. As we came in to the home stretch down the madness that is Venice Beach, I knew I had this thing. I plug away and keep grinding it out. When I saw the chase pack get close, I would run and then walk when I had to. Less than 2 miles to go now!!! I had Andy call Christie and tell her I was almost done and to have her phone next to her. As we get near the finish, I see the FINISH banner!!! I got my phone out and called Christie. I asked her to round up all the children and get them on the phone. As they all cheered for me over the phone, I crossed the finish line with them! I cried a little, told them I loved them, hung up, and collapsed on the ground. Colapsed in exhaustion, exhileration, in astonishment, and in humility...
(4th Section total time 8:06:--)

Overall Total Time 28:30:00

After getting hugs and my shiny finisher's belt buckle, I just sat on the ground, burried my head between my legs and sobbed for a bit. I am not sure if it was the foul stench that I emminated or the sheer hunger and desire to get a greasy burger that compelled me up from my prone position, but either way, it was a long way up, even with the help of Aric and Kara Lubin! There were several folks who requested that I dedicate 1 mile of the race to them... Andrew Miceli, Mile 69, this mile was yours because at mile 62.5 I almost gave up on myself, but I knew you were pulling for me and I ran that whole mile for you brother, because you did not give up at Ironman in August! Katrina Mumaw, she didnt request a specific mile, but I gave her mile 89. I was so tired, so exhausted, falling asleep while walking, I thought about her and her service to our country overseas in the military, and remembered it is because of her and all the others that have, are, and ever will serve our country in the Armed Forces, and protect our freedoms and my dream of running 100 miles. To all the others who contributed to this run and cause I thank you sincerely, I kept moving because I knew you ALL were pulling for me.

In retrospect, I think about the enormity of what I did, and here are the things that stick out in my mind, and are really the true challenges that are associated with this challenge.

1) Have you ever stayed awake for 30 hours?
2) Have you ever stood on your feet for 30 hours?
3) Have you ever continuously moved for 30 hours?
4) (If you have ever ran 100 miles) Ever done it on concrete?
5) What is your motivation to finish?
6) How much pain are you willing to endure?
7) How prepared are you?
8) Do you believe in yourself?
9) Are you affraid to punch through the darkness to see what's on the other side?
10) Do you believe there is a strength within you that lies deep in your soul, that is yet to be unveiled?

My feet were basically entirely covered in blisters, my legs were so sore, but all of it was worth it. 6 days later and I am RECOVERED! I am racing in a triathlon tomorrow and the only thing that I can say to those who say that I am crazy is...

"I am not crazy, I am just not affraid"

Thank you all for your continued love, support, encouragement, and care... I did NOT run this race alone, you all were there with me. A special thanks to the best crew a man could ever ask for... Aric "Sorenuts" Hill, and Andy "howdidienduprunning30mileswithDan" Meadows. Most importantly, I want to express my love and appreciation to my wonderful wife Christie. She is my strength, my support, my everything, and truly without her, I am nothing. The truest quote I ever read was... "Behind every good man is an even better woman". THAT IS THE TRUTH!!!

So that's it, 104 miles in the books, and on to the next challenge! "The greatest reward for success, is the opportunity to do MORE". BRING IT ON!!!
 

IRONMAN ARIZONA 2010

  It has been exactly one week since I raced at Ironman Arizona, and have had ample time to digest and contemplate how my day unfolded out there on the course. Since this Ironman involved so much more than just racing, I will start from the beginning and hope you will enjoy my recount of Ironman Arizona 2010.



My journey started off packing up the bike and gear, my wife, and our three kids in the car on Wednesday evening to make the 1000 mile drive westward to Tempe. We drove through the night and finally arrived at my brother, Jeff’s house, in Gilbert, AZ (About 20 minutes from the race) in the early afternoon on Thursday. We lay low Thursday evening and then headed to the Ironman Village and Athlete Check-In on Friday Morning. As I stand in the long line for check-in, a volunteer came around asking for Bib #s. I told him I was bib #98, and then he says “What the heck are you doing standing in line???” I said, “Isn’t this athlete check-in?” He says, “Yeah, for Age Groupers… You need to go check in with the pros”! AWESOME, but, I think you got the wrong dude, bro… So he directed me to the tent where I needed to go, which was chalked full of volunteers waiting to help me, and within about 3 minutes my check-in was done. I was also finally able to meet Erin Baker, maker of THE BEST BREAKFAST COOKIE IN THE WORLD!!! She hooked me up with some granola and a bunch of my favorite Caramel Apple Breakfast Cookies and snapped a couple pictures. I then went over to transition to check out the “Lay of the land”. When I got there, my rack said “BIB #95-98 MEDIA” and I was the second row away from transition in and out! AWESOME!!!


While I was there, an Ironman ICON was there, and I learned she would be on my rack 2 bikes down… Sister Madonna Buter! She is 80 years old and has finished countless Ironman events, and has the biggest heart of any woman! Here is a picture of us…


After I am all checked in and goofed around at the Ironman store and expo, my buddy Anthony, my brother Jeff, and Anthony’s girlfriend and I drove the bike course. As I was driving it, I could not get over how smooth and flat the roads were. As we head up Beeline Highway, I saw “The Hill” that everyone was talking about… Hill??? It looked like the elevation gain in my driveway, so I was VERY excited to see that it should be pretty smooth sailing. I will briefly mention that there was a slight breeze as we drove the course, but the sun was shining (which was a far cry from how it was on race day) and Anthony and I were VERY excited about the race now that we had seen the course. After that, we went back to Jeff’s house, went out for some killer BBQ at Famous Dave’s, and then hung out until the Welcome Dinner. At the dinner we sat next to a BUNCH of folks from www.IAMTRI.com , which is Ironman’s online Social Network for Triathletes. We sat next to a couple gentlemen from the UK, one of which was a Royal Marine, the other was hoping for a 9:20 finish!!! WOW! It was a great evening, got to hear a few guest speakers, and watched my friend Marie Hughes win “The Erin Baker Lifestyle Fitness Award” for losing more weight than any other athlete in preparation for this race (120 pounds)! Afterwards, we all go grab some frozen yogurt, and then we call it an evening and enjoy a good night’s sleep.
As Saturday morning comes, Jeff and I head down to the swim practice at The Tempe Town Lake. After I jump in, the 61 degree water slaps me in the face, and ensures that I am now awake! After I was in the water for a couple minutes and started swimming, the coldness went away and I enjoyed a smooth 1000M swim. Afterwards, I met up with Carrie, who is a writer for LAVA Magazine, and we had a 20-30 minute interview which went very well, and is now posted on their website at http://lavamagazine.com/features/lava-talks-dan-benintendi#a xzz16hSpHij4.


We then headed back to the house to pick up my family and my gear to be checked in to transition. We arrive back at Ironman Village, and again, I get the awesome opportunity to bypass the lines and head straight to my rack to place my bike in position. After checking all the gears, and doing another “Glance-over” of the bike, all is well and there is nothing left to do but prepare for the big day tomorrow! When we got back to Jeff’s house, he informs me that his friend “Christine” who is an incredible Massage Therapist, was coming over to hook me up with a massage, WHICH WAS AWESOME!!! Later that evening, Anthony and Jill came over to Jeff’s and we had quite a carb load, which consisted of Pizza, Pasta, Lasagna, Salad, and Garlic Bread! YESSSSSSSSS!!! After that, a few friends came over, we watched the UFC Fights and then turned in for the evening.
My alarm rang on Sunday, RACE MORNING, at 3:30am and the rituals began. After bathing, applying PLENTY of Body Glide on various parts of the body, I begin fueling with a Banana, a waffle with peanut butter, some Gatorade G2, and of course, an Erin Baker Breakfast Cookie! I ensure I have all of my race gear and we head on down to the start. Jeff and I went together and got decent parking because he was volunteering at the Finish Line later in the day. When I get to transition, it really is awe inspiring to see the sea of AWESOME bikes! 2500 of the fastest and sweetest machines money can buy!



I double check all my gear, make sure my tires had enough pressure, exchange some warm thoughts with neighbors, and then finally it hits me… THE WIND IS HOWLING!!!! Before we started swimming, the winds were at a steady 10mph. As the minutes creep away, and we get closer to the start, I put on my wetsuit, grab my goggles, and start making my way to the swim start. We watch the cannon go off for the pros and the energy in the air was ABSOLUTELY electric! I was so excited to jump in the water and get the race going. However, I waited until the last moment to jump in the water. As they announce we are 5 minutes from race start, I jump in, and make my way to the start line. I positioned myself in the middle of the crowd, and was about 4 rows back from the front of the pack. After the cannon blows, I find a pocket and start stroking! I took a few knuckles to the head and a few random kicks, but nothing too crazy. Honestly, the swim was VERY enjoyable… My sighting was spot on, my pace was comfortable (maybe a little slower than I would have liked) and the time flew by VERY fast! My total swim time was 1:11:06 which put me in 642 place for overall swim time out of 2500ish athletes.





I come out of the water and am feeling pretty fresh. It was a pretty good jaunt to the transition tent, I got my wetsuit peeled off me, headed over to get my Transition Bag, begin drying off, wipe the grass, gravel, and funk from my feet, put on my socks and shoes, helmet and sunglasses, and I then headed to the far end of transition to grab my bike.



As I jump on the bike, I sense that the wind had picked up a bit and the sun was beginning to peek out. I start spinning and I was feeling REALLY good heading down Rio Solado Dr. Once we got past downtown and away from the big buildings, the wind let me know it was there!!! It had now turned to 15mph winds and was a cross wind for the first quarter of the loop leading out to Beeline. Once we hit beeline and started ascending “The Hill”, the wind was directly at our back, and I was climbing at 24mph. When I hit the turn-around at the top of the hill, I looked down to see I was averaging 21mph! AWESOME!!! THEN, I turned around and WHAMM!!!!!! The wind slapped me in the face. It was brutal! I was doing 17mph going DOWNHILL… What the heck? Anyways, it wasn’t so bad as long as I stayed Aero, and the first loop went by pretty quick. When I was getting close to starting the second loop, there were thousands of people there at the turnaround and it was an amazing spectacle to come in to!



I make the turnaround, hop out of the saddle and head out for the second loop. By this time, the clouds had moved in, and the wind had INCREASED to 20+mph. I am a big dude at 220 pounds, and I was getting blown all over the place. I hit Beeline again and am flying up the hill at 24-25mph again. I knew I was in for some pain on the way back down… Well, I make it to the top, hit the turn-around, and yup, BRUTALITY! This was the most brutal loop for sure… About 5 minutes into my descent, it started to rain, but then it started to hail! WHAT???? Where was the sunshine and slight breeze we had hoped for? All there was to do was keep pedaling, stay aero as much as possible, and keep on keeping on. I come in to the turn-around again, and got a much needed pick-me-up and headed out for the third loop. About 8 miles into this loop, I had to pee. So, I hopped off the bike, went to the port-o-joy, took care of business, did a little stretching, and hopped back on. I tried to stay on top of my nutrition and hydration, and thought I was doing a pretty good job (this would prove to be the contrary when I hit the run) so I kept plugging away and as I got to the top of Beeline, I had to pee again. So, I hopped off again, peed again, took in more fluids and nutrition, and made the final 16 miles back to the bike finish. About 5 miles from my finish I saw Marie on the bike. I asked how she was doing. She was coming in for her second loop and was concerned about cut off times. I told her to keep on pedaling and I would see her at the finish (She finished in 16:52:-- AWESOME… I knew she would do it).

As I head in to the Bike Finish, the crowds were amazing! However, I was not feeling so hot. I grab my transition bag and head into the tent. I was VERY cold and was fading due to poor hydration and nutrition. The guy helping me asked how I was feeling, he grabbed me some water, I took in a gel, and he hooked me up with some ART to help loosen me up, which was great. I put on my jacket and headed out to the run. When I am dehydrated, it taxes my respiratory system and if my heart rate goes up I have a very hard time breathing. So, I spent the first mile or so walking to get hydration and nutrition back. At the first aid station I took in a Power Bar, cookies, pretzels, Powerade, water, and salt tabs and once that hit my system, I felt better. When I would finally get on top of my nutrition, I would find it start slipping away again and I would find myself chasing my tail like this for the whole marathon. I was hoping for at least a 4:00 marathon, but because of nutrition issues, I was stuck with a 5:44. My running base is super strong right now, especially after coming off my 100 Mile Run 5 weeks ago, I just wish the nutrition would have been dialed in a bit more so I could race to my potential.
The loops went by fairly quickly, and there were a lot of spectators and some really funny / cool aid stations to help break things up. As I came off the bridge on my last loop, I remove my jacket and give it everything I had to the finish. I turned the corner, saw the lights, heard the music, and then it hits me, I did it! I run down the chute to the cheers and screams of everyone there, and get the honor of becoming an Ironman for a 2nd time! This proved to be a VERY tough day, but that is why they call it Ironman! As I ran through the finish line, my brother was there waiting for me to “Catch” me, and that was awesome to see him. He made sure I got my medal, finisher’s shirt, pizza, pictures, and most importantly, he led me to my family that was waiting for at the finish. MAN it was good to see them!
I had hoped for a 12 hour finish going in to the race, but I did not expect the weather conditions, nor did I expect the nutrition issues. All-in-all, I still improved my time over Ironman Louisville by almost an hour and I am VERY happy with that and my final TOTAL time was 13:16:24. It is easy for me to forget that I have only been doing Triathlon for 2 years, and I have come a long way in a short time. If I could shave off an hour each Ironman, I will definitely be Kona-bound by the time I am 60! Maybe someday, but I am A LONG WAYS away from that now. So, that’s it; 400 pounds 2.5 years ago to 2-time Ironman Finisher and a very satisfied soul! There are far too many people to thank individually for love and support given to me over the past couple of years, so please accept my heart-felt thank you for everything! It is time to recover and move on to my next challenge. I know the coming year will present some challenges as I will be going in for my 2nd round of surgery to remove the tremendous amount of excess skin from the weight loss. I will continue to cross each bridge as I get to them, and again, can’t thank each and every one of you enough for all you do to keep me going!

  Your Friend In Health & Sport,

Dan Benintendi - OH Support Group Leader
www.trimywill.com 

ROCKY RACCOON 2010 - RACE REPORT

Having a full day to recount all of the experiences, emotions, and pain experienced in my 1st attempt to complete any foot race over the marathon distance of 26.2 miles, I have decided to give a VERY extensive account of my journey to complete the 100 mile Rocky Raccoon Trail Run. I want to be extremely detailed in this race report for a couple of reasons... 1) Because this is, BY FAR, the most challenging thing I have EVER set out to do, and 2) Because I never want to forget the extreme highs, and extreme lows and everything in between. With that being said, I hope you will be able to visualize this epic day through my eyes.


Before I dive into the day's events, let me put the "Givens" out on the table. We were to complete 5 x 20 mile loops on this course that wound through the beautiful forest in Huntsville, TX. What there were plenty of, were these:





ROOTS!!!! Miles and Miles and Miles of ROOTS!!! Aside from the roots, we were starting in 40 degree weather, would warm to low 50's during the daylight, and drop to below freezing on Saturday night! We were praying that the rain would hold off for the race, which it did, however, the days leading up to the race were a different story. It pounded down rain for several days prior to the race start and in spots along the trail left big pools of mud that could not be navigated around. Let's dive into the day...



My brother Jeff, and nephew Tristan flew in from Gilbert, AZ to be there to help support me during the race, along with my wonderful wife Christie. We headed down to Huntsville on Friday afternoon and arrived there in enough time to pick up my race packet, go to the last few minutes of the race briefing, check into our hotel, and grab some pizza and pasta for dinner. After returning back to the hotel, nerves began setting in, more like excitement, but we will call them nerves because it is still up for debate. I began going over my race plan over and over in my head, and probably only slept about 2 hours worth, which is nowhere near enough. At 2am, the alarm rings, and the rituals begin. 2 peanut butter sandwiches with banana chips were on the menu for breakfast, along with a Cliff Bar and plenty of fluids, which included a couple of FRS's. Everything is checked, and rechecked, and we head down to the race site at 4:15am. Once we arrive, we stand in line to get checked in, and after I was checked in, I see my buddy Derek in line...





As the Race Director yells out "5 Minutes 'Til Race Start"... The excitement is overwhelming and everyone starts making their way to the start line. There were roughly 350 people who were setting out to run the 100 mile race, and about 275 to attempt the 50 miler. As the minutes go by, I tell my wife how much I love her, how much she means to me, and we exchange some "Warm Thoughts" and a tight hug and kiss and she says, "You Can Do This".






As time eeks down to the wire, I hear people at the front of the pack start howling like wolves, and there was a primitive, yet incredibly awesome spirit in the air... The type of spirit that can only be felt by the few people who would dare to embark on such a daunting task. All the emotions are on the table now, the race starts... PEOPLE ARE GOING NUTS, the line starts moving, and there we were, an army of fools running down a single track into the dark cold forest with headlamps and flashlights in tow...



LOOP #1:



The first loop started off a little slow. Since we were all on a single track, we were kind of forced to do what the people in front of us were doing, which is fine, because everyone has 30 hours to finish the race. I learned quickly that my pre race plan of running 30 minutes and walking for 5 would not do the trick here on this course, mainly for a few reasons. 1) The uphills would absolutely shatter your legs 2) the uphills came pretty quickly 3) The roots made it very challenging to descend the hills without putting a VERY big injury risk factor into play. So I went with the flow. The first aid station is at mile 3.1 at The Nature Center. I stop VERY briefly to drink a few cups of water, grab a couple slices of oranges, and hit the road again. The next aid station at Dam Road, would come at 6.19 miles into the loop (3.09 mile from the previous station). It was going great, the sun had risen by this time and the beauty that surrounded me was awe inspiring. From that point, there is a 6.01 mile loop around the far side of the park, that can be pretty lonely, as the 50 milers peel off from this portion and cut it short. 6 miles is a long way to go without support, and in the darkness later on in the evening, would prove to be brutal! In this 6 mile stretch, you run for a good bit along side the lake, which was absolutely gorgeous, especially with the sun rising up through the trees on the first loop. I make my way back around to the Dam Road aid station at mile 12.20 and refuel, top off the Camelbak and hit it again. 3.41 miles down the road would be Park Road aid station, and from there another 4.39 miles back to "Home Base" at the Dog Wood Aid Station. I finished the first loop in a little over 4 hours, which was awesome! I felt great, took about 20 minutes changing into dry clothes, taking off my little jacket, drink some Cliff Recovery drink, another FRS and refuel with some salty and sweet snacks at the aid station, along with a pocketful of Banana chips! One sidenote I will mention is that 5 weeks prior to this race, I got slapped with Plantar Faciatis, and boy did it hurt. My massage Therapist, Tim Tarpley, did the best he could with it, but I was doomed to have pain, and exactly 2 miles into the race, the pain reared its ugly head and would plague me for the rest of the day! Also, the mud previously mentioned, found its way into my shoe and began the pleasant start to what would lead to some pretty good blisters later.



LOOP #2:



I headed back out onto the course feeling AMAZING!!! I was so full of life, so happy to be doing what I was doing, was well nourished, well hydrated, and enjoying the warm glow of the gorgeous sun on my face. A couple interesting things happened on this loop. 1) I saw a man in front of me trip on a root and crack a rib as he landed sideways on another root. He was probably in his 50s and as I approached him and asked if he was ok... He looks at me and says, it's no big deal, the pain is getting better, I asked if I could help him up or run ahead to send back help, he grabbed my arm, I helped him up, and said the he felt fine... That right there is what ULTRA's are all about... Gutting it out and always moving forward. I am not sure what happened with him, but he earned a silver star in my book. 2) I found that walking up the inclines would be the smart thing to do, and payed very close attention to save my legs for later in the day. I came into the Park Road aid station to see my family waiting for me, and I felt incredible, and so alive :



I give my wife a kiss and tell her "I'll see ya in a few miles back at Dog Wood, she said "OK, YOU ARE LOOKING AWESOME" and I was off again...











As I made it back to Dog Wood, sure enough, the whole gang was there to tend to my needs. My feet were so very tender, and a little massage from Christie felt like a little piece of Heaven... I refueled, changed clothes again, knowing that sun would set on me during this loop and made sure to have my headlamp, flashlight, and spare batteries packed. I was feeling great and was back on to the road for loop 3 in around 10 hours!!!








LOOP #3:



If I were to assign a title to this section of my report, it would be titled: "The story of a Trash Bag and Chicken Noodle Soup". As I head out for the 3rd loop, there was no doubt in my mind that I had things under control. Perhaps the course had a few lessons in store to humble me... I keep to the plan, hydration was ok, nutrition ok, sun was beginning to set, and it was starting to get cold. In the picture above this paragraph, I was wearing nothing more than some compression and that dry fit Addidas top, that really isn't that warm. My feet were really hurting at this point, I was certain I had a good blister on the outside of my right ankle, and fatigue was setting in. I hit the Dam Road aid station to top off the fuel and Camelbak and then embark on that dreary 6 mile trek. In the first 4.5 miles of this stretch, the sun had set, and there was not a single headlamp behind me or in front of me... It was a bit creepy as I had not ran this section in the dark until now. This section has some pretty steep downhills with LARGE gnarly roots and is very technical. I decided to walk a lot of it as I did not want to hurt myself. I felt myself starting to fade, and did not have my iPOD on me to keep my mind busy. Thoughts started running rampidly in my head... Doubt, fear, uncertainty, and a feeling like what in the world was I thinking doing this race!!! As I turned onto the road that would lead to the Dam Road aid station at mile 52, I was in so much pain, I was light-headed, was absolutely freezing as the temps dropped into the low 40s and had resigned myself to the reality that I may not finish. I arrive at the aid station to find chairs in a circle around a heater in the tent... These were folks who dropped out of the race. I thought about how nice it would be to sit in a chair and huddle around the fire! As I got into the tent to where the food is, I felt like I was going to pass out! I was shivering so bad to the point of almost convulsing and my teeth were chattering so hard, I do not know how I did not chip a tooth.



An aid station worker came up to me and said can I get you anything. I said yes please... Whatever you think will do the trick. He brought me some homemade chicken noodle soup. Man was that good! I pounded the cup and then saw them set out a fresh batch of Mac and cheese... YES!!!! I took a cup of that too. As I sat there enjoying my food, I realized that I was beginning to get delirious and found that I was drooling on myself. My spirit was absolutely shattered. I asked the same guy who gave me the soup, with my slurred speach, "If I drop out of the race, can I get a ride back to the start?"... He said, "See that group of folks over by the heater?" I said "Yeah", he said "They have been waiting for that same ride for 2 hours+. So, you can wait like them, or you can try to walk to the aid station at Park Road 3 ish miles up the road". I had to think long and hard about that decision. In doing so, I made my way over to a seperate group of workers from the station who had a small fire going in a hibachi type contraption, it felt like Heaven! I sat there shivering and all-in-all, I believe I had been in the aid station for 40 minutes or so. It did not look good. I kept hearing over and over about the incredible healing power and magic "JUJU" that was in that soup, so after listening to the giberish for a while I yelled, can I get some of that Damn soup! The guy brought me a cup, I said I need 3 more please. He laughed and said, "you betcha!" I then began feeling my "Whitts" coming back to me, amidst the encircling freezing temps, trying to figure out how I was even going to be able to stand up from this chair, let alone walk 3 miles while freezing, literally. I looked next to me in the chair along the fenceline and saw trashbags full of rubbish. A thought came to me; "Hey bro", I yelled to Linn (Spelling??) who was running the aid station manned by North Texas Trail Runners (NTTR) Do you have an extra trash bag? He informs me that they had put a call into the race director that they needed more because they were all out and trash was starting to pile up, and they had not been delivered. Then from another worker, I hear the words, "No, I think we have one more under some boxes, I saw it a few minutes ago". Out comes Linn with a trash bag!!!! YES!!!! I said listen, if I can, I will bring it back to you, he said that sounds good, we will just tie the hole in a knot to make it work. I ripped a hole in the bag, poked my head through, began to warm up, and quietly headed down the long dark road to the Park Road aid station.



As I pass people, they kind of chuckle at me because of the loudness of my bag, and I got many comments on my interesting appearel! I caught up to my buddy Monty, who also heard me coming, and said, "Nice Jacket". I proceeded to tell him I did not have a jacket at the Dam Road aid station, and this was a last resort. We chatted for a bit, then I began running again. About 1.5 miles from the Aid Station, I see a couple lights running towards me, and I'll be darned if it isn't my brother, Jeff. He tells me how worried He and Christie were about me, since this loop took almost double the time of my previous laps, and he walks to the Park Road station with me, trying to keep me talking and coherent. When I arrived at the station, I could see the worry in my wife's eyes, and I knew I was in a bad way. I don't remember what I said, but I do know I was slurring really bad, and was not in a very good place. I began eating a ton of food at the aid station, taking in a bunch of fluids and electrolytes, and began feeling better. My goal was to get to this station so I could drop out of the race and go home! But, I felt OK, and decided that Dog Wood was only 4 miles away, so I kept on plugging away. I struggled really bad here, was in a very dark and lonely place, but my Chicken Noodle Soup, and trash bag saved me on this loop! I Finally reached Dog Wood. HALLELUJAH!!!



Once I get to the Aid Station, my family starts working on me like Rocky Balboa's corner does when he has been taking abuse for 11 rounds. My brother starts rubbing my shoulders, Christie is dressed in warm running gear with a headlamp on and tells me she is running this loop with me, my nephew Tristan is bringing me cups of warm soup and hot cocoa and I was literally getting "New LIfe" breathed back into me. I took an hour at this stop, I got my legs rubbed, refueled, spirits lifted, and was deeply moved with my wife's willingness to take on a piece of this journey with me. They allow pacers after 60 miles, so it was all good... She signed her waiver and met me at the tent to help me re Body-Glide myself, change in to fresh warm clothes, and tend to whatever I needed. Before we headed out, I sent my brother to ask the folkks at the Dog Wood aid station for a bunch of trash bags. He brought a handful back, and I tucked them into my Camelbak.




So, we snap a quick picture and head out into the deep dark abyss together...






LOOP #4:



The 4th loop starts off with my wife getting acclamated to running in the dark with a headlamp, and then learns quickly that she needs to pick her feet up off the ground higher than normal because the roots will reach up and grab you out of nowhere. We stick to the plan of walking up the inclines and running on the downhills and flats. She, in a loving way, asks me if it was easier for me to be doing a quick little shuffle, or if it would be easier to do a faster-type walk, LIKE WHAT SHE WAS DOING!!! It was funny to me, but I just kept doing my thing. I was moving pretty good, but my feet were complete hamburger, and my legs were spent. I knew when I would stop to walk, I would get tight and cold, so I tried to keep running as much as possible. I was peeing every 20 minutes or so, so I knew I was hydrated, and suprisingly, I was feeling pretty good. We get to the first aid station, get some goodies, and head out. A few miles up the road, I see the lights for the Dam Road aid station, and ask Christie to get the trash bags out of my bag. I carry them in my hand, and make it a point to find in the crowd of freezing runners, aid station workers, and those same folks who dropped and were still waiting for a ride to the race start, Lin, who gave me his last trash bag. As I approached him, he looked at me not really remembering who I was, but I certainly remembered who was, and I held out my hand and handed him the bags and said "We're even my friend". He then said something like "I love this guy", and I grabbed some food, topped off the pack, and headed out for the dreaded 6 mile loop around the far side of the park. This is where things got as bad as things could get!



It seemed like the whole section was uphill, more rooty than I remembered, and had mud soaked into my freshly changed out shoes, exacerbating my blister and feet problems! we got 3 miles into the loop and I began halucinating. As we were walking / running through the trail, I saw three black cats jump at me and run down the trail! Unfortunately, my wife who was running right behind me, saw no such thing. A few moments later, along the same stretch, I saw a Venus Fly Trap pop out of the bushes and try to bite me!!! Christie didn't see this either, and I was really beginning to worry. I slowed to a walk, and thought it was a nutrition or electrolyte problem. Certainly not hydration because I was peeing clear liquid very often, which is a good sign of hydration. I pop some Enduralytes, and eat a Cliff Bar... I feel a little better, but still not good. We finally hit the road that leads back up to the Dam Road aid station. I told Christie that the only thing I can attribute this condition to is severe exhaustion. I only had 2 hours of sleep the night before, and since everything else was in check that is all it could be. I asked her to run ahead to see if the had a cot they could set up for me to take a 20 minute power nap in. She said there was no way she was leaving me alone on this road and assured me they would take care of me once I got there. Completely shattered, in pain, freezing cold, and extremely exhausted, I told Christie I was done, I was going to drop out of the race at the Dam Road aid station. She told me I needed to do whatever I thought was the right thing to do, and encouraged me to do whatever I could and assured me I had done an incredible job. We finally made it back to the aid station and I collapsed in a chair... The same chair I sat in, next to the same fire I sat next to, many hours before, when I was ready to drop out on the 3rd loop.



I asked Christie to bring me a little food, and I fell asleep for about 1 minute when she got back to me with some Ramen noodles and a slice of quesadilla. It tasted good, but I was shivering and convulsing again, and was completely done. I asked an aid station worker, who I am sure was a seasoned trail runner, when I could get a ride back to the start, he said it might be a couple hours, he told me the best thing to do would be to try to walk up the road to the next aid station 3 miles away. Hmmmmmmmm, this sounds familiar! I told him there was no way! He asked, "Are you hydrated?", I said yes, he asked,"Did you eat?", I said yeah. Then I said, I have done everything I can, what should I do. He said you should get up and start walking! I told Christie to get me more food. She brings back some quesadilla pieces, I said no, get me a BUNCH of food!!! She brings back a handful of quesadillas and I eat them all... I stand up, and could barely put one foot in front of the other, and was shivering uncontrolably. The most amazing experience of my life occured here... Christie put my arm between her arms, and began pulling me, like a pack mule, up the hill that leads back onto the trail, I tried to choke back my tears, and I don't think Christie even knew I was crying, but pulses of love passed through my body that I have never experienced before, and my life was literally changed in an instant. As soon as we hit the trail, I BEGAN TO RUN! I felt INCREDIBLE!!! Better than I had felt in 13 hours! I stopped to pee and looked my wife in the eye, and began putting time into perspective. Time not until we got to that aid station, but time I would have to FINISH the race!!! We walked a few ver steep uphills, but we ran that entire section in 44 minutes and we reached the Park Road Station at 5:24am Sunday morning. I had a little over 4 miles to go to get back to Dog Wood, and the rules state that you have to start your last loop by 6am... There is no way I can run 4 miles on this trail in 35 minutes, so I have the aid station worker call the race director and ask if it was a firm 6am "Hard Stop" or if he would let me keep going! There was an 8am cut-off to be at Dam Road, which is 6.2 miles in. That would give me 2 hours to run 9 miles, which I believed I could do...



After waiting a couple of long minutes, the aid station worker looks at me and says, unfortunately, it is a 6am hard stop. As I began to process that I was not going to finish, many thoughts went through my mind, but here is a picture os me as I recieved my news:








I must state that I am NOT dissapointed with my result. I am PROUD of what I accomplished. To run 75.5 miles in 23.5 hours, is no small task or feat. The main reason why I am walking away from this DNF (Did Not Finish) with my head held high, is because of the FACT that I RAN the entire last 3+ miles with the determination to continue on! Yes, there was not enough time to do so, but I hit the absolute pinnacle of endurance sports. The point in which your body is telling you it is time to quit, but your fighting spirit overcomes that pain, and compels you to push farther, faster, longer than you ever have, or ever thought was possible. I experienced it, I lived it, and I WILL have my vengence in 1 year and counting on this course. Of all the life lessons I have learned in this amazing experience, it is the fact that life is about LOVE! I loved being out there pushing myself, I did not love the pain, but the love I have for excelling out-weighed that pain. The love that my brother and nephew showed to me in tending to my every need, especially to have Jeff come running after me on my 3rd loop out of sheer concern for his brother, made me want to push on without quiting. Most of all, the love of my sweet wife Christie. When she took me by the hand and led me down that dark road that would lead to more pain, but indefinite victory opened the windows of Heaven and showed me how truly blessed I am to have her as my Eternal Companion! I am a happy man. I am so richly blessed, and going into this race, I knew that this experience would change my life forever, and it certainly has, in so many more ways than I ever could have imagined. 2 years ago when I was sitting on an operating table to have Gastric Bypass Surgery weighing in at 400 pounds, I remember clasping my wife's hand praying that what I was about to do for my health, would prolong my life with her and would allow me to be around to see my kids grow up. As I consider the past weekend's transpirings, I have come to the realization that I may have added more years to my life, but what I really have done is added life to my years, and I am incredibly grateful to have you all around to help share and participate in that with me. My feet are pretty blistered, I am finding it hard to walk, and I wish my feet would fit into my shoes, but I have NEVER felt more alive, and have never felt like such a winner. Winning IS an attitude, and does not always come in the form of a medal. In closing, I will say the best part of this past week, was coming home and seeing the warm smiles of my angel children. Ayden, Ava, Austin, and Christie, Daddy gave his best for you!!!
 

“Strength does not come from winning. Your struggles develop your strengths. When you go through hardships and decide not to surrender, that is strength.”

"Your goals, minus your doubts, equal your reality."

"Winners take time to relish their work, knowing that scaling the mountain is what makes the view from the top so exhilarating."

Have an awesome day everyone... Let's get after it this weekend!!!!

 “Winning is not a sometime thing, it's an all time thing. You don't win once in a while, you don't do things right once in a while, you do them right all the time. Winning is habit. Unfortunately, so is losing.”

"Spectacular achievements are always preceded by unspectacular preparation."

Hey Everyone,

Today is an AWESOME day!!! It's a day where we can start fresh on our family, personal, financial, and fitness goals, and there is nothing standing in our way! Let's make today and every day count and find out this year, who we really are, and what we are really made out of. I am proud to be associated with you all, you inspire me!!!

Dan

Welcome All!!!!

I hope we can have a great group meet here and discuss fitness, support, etc... It would be cool to have a live "Chat" here once or twice a month regarding races, accomplishments, Q&A, etc... Any input is welcome. HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!