Ode to Laz -2022

 Race: Ode to Laz 2022

Date: July 24, 2022

Time:  10 Yards

Place: 31st

Pre-Race Conditions:

The night before Odemas. Laying in the hotel relaxing a bit before sleeping. 

We stopped by the park today and saw a bunch of people. The Sworry trials were in full swing with a few races going and some triathlon challenges. The energy was there. 

Its been a crazy few weeks but I think I’m pretty calm and had enough time to prep all my race things and relax. I did a lot of yoga the last week. Those sessions helped ground me and let me focus on the race and block out the noise. I’m hoping to use that focus when the race gets hard. 

It’s supposed to be hot with a good chance of rain. It’s going to be a hard couple of days. Especially on day 2. My goal is 37 hours. Just to make it back to the road. I know once I get there it gets easier and I can make 37 into 38. Then 38 into 39. It’s all going to be mental and how long I can push and stay in control. The first 12 hours are easy with the party at overlook. The next day it’s a little depressing going through there. My goal is to just keep the focus and push. I’ve made 24+ hours twice now. It should be easy again. 

That’s the fun part about this race. It’s a 4.1667 miles in one hour. It’s so easy to do until it’s not.  Luckily the course has never been in better shape and the stairs have been rebuilt. Hopefully that makes it a lot nicer through the day. We have a good group this year. Should be a fun weeknd. 

Race Recap:

I’m writing this really late. I think it’s partially because of my disappointment of my worst Odeformance so far. I was set for 36 hours and to get that 150 mark I know I’m capable of. Everyone knows I don’t race well in the heat. As evidenced at WTM 2021 and Toughest Philly. It just kills me and this race was no different. Time to focus on fixing that. 

The start of the race was true Ode fashion. Lots of energy and excitement. We cruised up to the yellow gate that was a new big start location compared to last year. There were a lot of runners coming down to the trail as we went up. The party there was great motivation. We cruised to the trail and introduced the new runners to the stairs and got to the next big party at Overlook. They were already in full swing and had cornhole going for us. On the out and back we crossed the overlook runners. Here just over a mile into the race I wiped out trying to step to the side of the trail to make room. I slammed my calf and hip pretty good. I popped right back up and kept going in a decent amount of pain. Luckily, it faded pretty quick but lingered the rest of the race. 

My times were pretty consistent through all the laps up until the last few. It was a strange vibe this year. No Matty to talk to. No long debates with Marvin over whatever insane situation we could think of. Last year was how many chickens would it take to kill a Trex. We still may never know. 

The average temp saw 85 during the day. It wore on a bunch of us. Everyone was focused on trying to survive. I was drinking 30+oz of water an hour just trying to keep going. That meant stopping at Overlook on our way back every lap and refilling my water bottle. After a few hours they finally got cold water and ice there. I started filling my bottle with ice along with water in an attempt to stay cool. By the time I would finish the lap all the ice would have melted. There weren't a lot of people talking through the laps. It made them feel really long and isolated. 

We knew that 5PM was going to be the hottest lap. I was able to make it there and actually started feeling good late in that lap. The next few laps I kept waiting for the temps to cool down any little bit but it never happened. The last few kept getting harder and harder to stay on pace. My last laps I would get to the scenic bench and stop for a couple minutes to try to regroup. I was able to finish those laps but was fading. 

After lap 10 I headed out for 11, pretty wrecked. I walked up to the gate and chatted with Brian. We got to the trail and started a jog. My body didn’t want me to go and my heart rate instantly spiked and I started to really struggle. I kept pushing thinking that I would at least finish this lap. I got to the turn around about 5 minutes behind pace. Completely doable for me to make it up but I was just about out of motivation. I walked back through overlook and decided just to call it and double back to the start. I could have finished the lap but decided to avoid the bugs and just head back and be done. 2 more miles of walking just didn’t seem fun. 

I walked back to the start and saw everyone there then took my seat and watched the runners come in. A couple hours later they transitioned to the road. Lap 13 Sarah came back early and we got news that Brad was puking and laying on the side of the road. We all hung out in the pit for a while and accepted that it was a hard day for a lot of us. The winner went out for 39 hours. Much respect for that effort in those conditions. They actually had a few hour rain delay that would really change up the race plan. I keep wondering if it helped or hurt them. 

Great effort by all and I wonder what next year brings. 

“Sometimes you feel like you’re fucked,but when you say you’re actually fucked, you are only like about 45% fucked” - Nims Purja

The Bad:

Holy Heat Batman. My watch said the low was 77, the high was 91 and the average was 85. I don’t do well in heat and couldn’t keep it together long enough to make the night. 

The Good:

This event never disappoints. No matter how well anyone is doing or how far anyone goes, it’s about the family. It’s our one time of year we are all together and suffering through whatever happens. Together. 

Moral of the Story:

Wow. I need to figure out how to run in heat. After disastrous results for my last 3 hot races I need to figure it out. I think last year I had some better training because I was running at lunch or in the afternoon and getting the heat. This year most of my runs were early before the temps got to where k would get any adaptation. 

Best Moment:

I finally got to see the beer mile. Every year I’ve heard about it but have never seen it because I’ve been doing that running thing. While not the best scenario that I got to witness it, I still got to enjoy the party. 

Worst Moment:

There can only be one. That has to be the minute I realized I couldn’t run anymore and was going to be able to finish lap 11. The beat was unrelenting. I was going to finish that last lap but coming back through overlook decided just to head back to the cabins and stop. 

Funniest Moment:

Easily when I first walked up and Tad saw me and my hat and immediately knew the quote. “It’s funny because it’s bigger than a normal hat”. 

At least someone appreciates my humor. 

Map:

Ode Laps!

Results: 

https://www.ultrasignup.com/m_results_event.aspx?did=87330

Gear:

• 16oz handheld water bottle

• Gymshark shorts

• Nike 9” compression shorts

• Garmin Fenix 6S

• Junk headband

• Feetures Socks

• Altra Superior 4.5s

Nutrition:

• Applesauce 

• Watermelon 

• Water

• FitAid

• Tailwind

• Bananas