Day 10 - The end

I started the last day of the race with only 8 miles needed to 400 miles. So I was pretty relaxed. I reached this goal around 4 in the afternoon. One of my friends, Sanatan was so encouraging, he kept telling me he wouldn't leave until I hit 400. During the rest of the time until dinner I just walked and jogged a few more miles.
Traditionally on the last night the cooks get the night of ( sort of ), when the race directors for the evening shift bring pizza. I had the permitted 2 slices and then went to bed.
Some people like to push through the night to get extra miles, but I have spent the last 9 days training my body to a schedule and I stick to it on the last night. Marty Sprengelmeyer told me as he completed the 1300 mile race some years ago, that he made the mistake of not taking his usual breaks near the end and as a result struggled with his body wanting that break.
I spent the morning chatting and walking with some of the Russian runners, suddenly realizing with 2 hours to go that I had reached 427 miles. The number 27 is special to me, so I decided that this was a good place to stop. Another race completed.
After a special Lasagna lunch the awards ceremony took place and few goodbyes were exchanged and in the crowds a few missed.

Day 9

I just remembered something that happened to me the previous night. After eating dinner I took my usual sleep break. I woke up after 2 hours with a stomach ache, then after another 2 hours sleep I woke up and vomited. This has never happened to me before and once it was done it didn't seem to bother me too much.
I have mentioned that I came into the race with a goal of 450 miles, which I adjusted to 400 after the rain. So here I was starting day 9 with 350 miles, leaving me with just 50 miles in 2 days to reach my goal. This meant that I was very relaxed and had no pressure to push.
The forecast said there was rain on the way again, but this wouldn't be a problem. My friend Vladimir who was in 3rd place was having some problems with his shins and asked me to help him with some taping. Though I have not had shin splints for a long time I do know how to treat them and was glad to help.
Helping others seems to also help me and by the end of day 9 I had another 42 miles for a total of 392. I was very happy!
I forgot to mention that as I started my 390th mile I got the inspiration to run a little fast, it felt good so I picked it up and surprised a few of the runners when I did a 10 minute mile which is quite fast for this stage of the race.

Day 8

I don't seem to remember too much about day 8 for some reason. One thing was that after my sleep break I came out and Mark Dorian's family had arrived. Which was interesting for me because his wife is originally from Bolton. We talked for a little. Though I had slept well I couldn't seem to get going and took frequent breaks during the night. Also I was having a little trouble with the metatarsals on both feet, which has been a problem for me in the past. Took the time to treat them and add some protection to the soles of my feet.
My mileage only improved to 39 miles for day 8 for a total of 35, which ain't too bad for an old guy.

Day 7

Finally the weather had improved, but I think the rain had taken it's toll. There seemed to be a few runners out there with a few problems, especially some of the newcomers, first timers in the 6 day race. I was asked during the day for my advice, since some of them value my experience in these races.
I myself found that I slept a little longer on my main sleep break and was finally probably feeling the effects of all that rain. As a result my mileage dropped for the day and I only managed 38 miles. Giving me a 7 day total of 311. I did however close within 5 miles of the next runner on the board, at least briefly.

Day 6

After spending most of the night and day running and walking in the rain, it felt good to have a hot lunch and slip inside my sleeping bag for an hour.
2 years ago I did 278 miles in the 6 day race, which is about average for me and it looked like I could be right up there at the end of this day. It was nice to be rain free, well there were the odd sprinkles. With the colder temps after the rain and just the fact that the rain takes a lot out of your legs, I wasn't sure what day 6 would be like.
My breaks during the night were a bit more frequent, but by the end of it all I had 41 miles for day 6 and a total of 273. So pretty decent. I had also separated myself from 3 runners behind me on the board.This had come about by me just being consistent I think.

Day 5

So I slept for 1 1/2 hours this lunch time and when I got out there the course was pretty active with all the new runners. Most of the talk during the afternoon was of the impending rain that was expected during the night. Everyone seemed to have a different report. I was quite tired at dinner time and was happy to take my sleep break. Coming out before midnight it was still nice and dry, I ran well for about 3 hours and decided to take an hours break, just as I made it into the dorm it started to rain.
When I came out it was a mix of light showers and misty rain, but quite comfortable. The feeling was if it stayed like this it wasn't a big deal. However it just kept going on. At the end of the day I once again had 42 miles for a 5 day total of 232. It was Monday, the weekend was over and the park was quiet again.

Day 4

There seemed to be 3 or 4 of us who were pretty close together at the back of the pack. I try to run my own race and not be influenced by those close to me on the scoreboard. I am sure that a couple of them were looking at me though. This was the last day that the 10 day runners would have before the 6 day runners joined us. Some of the 6 day runners were coming out during the day and setting out their tents and such. Asprihanal Aalto a favourite in the race and a friend of mine, told me that he had woken up with a fever that morning and had decided to not run the race.
Instead of having to deal with foot problems as I usually do on day 4, the ones that I got in the first 2 days seemed to be getting better. I was settling into a comfortable routine and enjoying the experience of once again being in a multi day race in Flushing Meadow Park. I improved my daily mileage slightly to 43 for the 4 th day, giving me a 4 day total of 190 miles, again below the pace I had planned, but still decent .
The 6 day race got underway just as I took my lunch and went for my break.