Peacocks: Tsunami Edition

It will go down as the race that was not quite for many of the runners, as it had to be cancelled when the earthquake on Queen Charlotte island in Canada caused Hawaii to go into a state of shoreline lock down.

I was heading toward 'rock piles' at the end of Cross-Over when I ran into a runner who told me Cheryl had cancelled the race due to the Tsunami Event.   I was incredulous, the man looked half crazed, he was dirty and sweaty, smelled badly, and was gimpy.  I would have let this pass, but I was dirty and sweaty, smelled badly, and was gimpy.  I knew this man was totally nuts.    Anyway I didn't want to go down Long Road and come back up.   I looked at my watch, figured it was 15:20 to the Green Gate, and gave my self a a sub-nineteen for the race.  To prove my point I turned around and got back to Rob's in 50 minutes.

I sat at Robs as ordered, began to tighten up, realized I needed to be moving and wandered down toward the Picnic Bench at the top of the Kealia Switchbacks.   I got there and decided it was best I continue moving and head all the way down.

Once again some administrator had decided that it was best to 'order' runners to stay on high ground for safety sake.  2000 feet up seemed a bit much, and 800 feet at the top of Kealia little better.  By then we knew that the first wave was 4 feet max.

When I got to the bottom Huffer told me that the DLNR, the Police, and the Airport had decided to halt us up top.  'Fine,' I said, but I've already signed a waiver, and nobody gives a shit what happens to me.  I came down because if I didn't I would have been too stiff to move.

Huffer stuck to his statement, and I told him that though I understood his situation I acted in my own best interests.  

We waited at the trailhead for another two hours, the same two that I would have been huffing and puffing through up and down long road. The all clear came,  I helped pack up the stuff that had been left out when the alert came, and I headed home.

I was running my best Peacock on record.  It would have been a PR.  So it goes.  I had been on my feet for 16 hours when I got back to Robs.  It was a good run despite the strangeness.

Sometimes.....

Sometimes I wonder whether the world is being run by smart people who put us on, or by imbeciles who really mean it. –Mark Twain

There are some rules that defy comprehension.   

For years the Peacock was run in a fairly open format and one could go out and do as much as one could do and if you stopped at 50K that was cool, but if you felt you could go farther then that was cool too.  It was always kind of relaxed.   Now you got to decide before hand and there is no changing your mind.   (As if it really matters that you do or don't get 'credit' for doing 50K....having no hair on my head the traditional visor for finishing is pretty useless to me.    

Now I know that this is largely a result of the computerization of the entry process and the mindless administration of the Ultra List,  but it is kind of a pain in the ass when the relaxed way of doing things Hawaiian Style is insulted by such Authoritarian Edicts.  Once again I don't blame the local guys trying to carry out the race, though I think somebody should let the Ultra List clowns know that it is not appreciated by the Local runners here in Hawaii.

Secondly I just got a notice from the HURT Rulers that the drop date for the HURT 100 will be 11/15 and any drops after that date will be dealt with severely. 

Those that don't opt out / or notify us in advance of this date who do not show to the event will be withheld for consideration for future events. Apologies for the harsh nature but with so many runners who want to run the HURT we must go this route.

(This rule is not what it reads in the above message.  It means that if you don't drop by the 11/15 date,  or withdraw in a timely manner after that date, and do not show to the race start, ie: DNS.  You will be banned for three years.  The rule makes sense.  The above statement is confusing from my perspective.  It took me three emails to get this clarification.) 

I   

Long Hot Summer

It was a long hot summer spent mostly in New Mexico and the Southwest.  I made a trip up to Washington State with the intention of running the Plain 100 but after a few days of hiking the trails I realized it was a bit much for my training level and that I had seen about all I wanted to see of the trails.  

I am slowing down, though my general attitude remains good.  I just don't see much point in doing events with constraints.  That will probably mean that I will stop doing races.   I'm at the point where I just can not seem to devote sufficient time to my training, and I am beat up enough that I have to be very careful about how hard I push myself.   I don't mind doing the distances but I just have a hard time with the times that are set by race organizers.   Rather than bitch about it I'll just look for stuff that suits my ultra endurance concepts.   

I am doing the Peacock again this year and have serious doubts about doing the 100 K.  It is a real push for me at the present time and I don't have the competitive spirit.   I'd like to get out and do the distance over the course but 20 hours is just too little time for me at the moment, particularly with the cut off time at the bottom of long road.   That is likely how far I will get before I decide its not worth the push.  

Anyway that's where it stands at the End of October 2012.