Date: Friday April 3rd 7:30 p.m.-Saturday April 4th 7:30p.m. Typically, most people, including myself, thank those that support our adventures to close a report. However, I would like to change things up a little bit and start my report by thanking all those that played a significant role in my fundraiser and adventure. To my wife, who was there to support me for all 22 ½ hours, my parents and Gramps, my brother, Dave, my sister in-law, Kris who was incredible in getting the Jester community involved and continually asked how she could help, my little nieces, especially Kaeley who did a hill repeat with me, my in-laws Becky & Mac McWhorter, Thomas Barker(Director of Project Schoolhouse), Team Traverse: John Reynolds, TJ & Kara Thomspon, Brad Quinn, Josue Stephens & Paula Ring, Diana & Robert Heynen, my coach, Joe Prusaitis, HCTR, Chris Bennett, Seth Galton, Adrienne Bay, Doug Williams, Robert Melendez, Derek Purvis, Gabe Ayson, Laurie and David Byrne, Laura Tharp, Stephan Lips, Shan Rooney, John Schloegel(ND Grad!), Bhavesh Patel and his son, Chris Anderson, Kev Zonana, Gail Simmons and the Jester community at large. There were many Jester residents that provided encouragement and donated money. Thank you to everyone! A few months ago, our team, Traverse Trail Running, met to talk about our philanthropic goals for the next year or so. It was decided that we focus our efforts in conjunction with “Project Schoolhouse” to help fund the building of schools in impoverished areas within Nicaragua. I wanted to make an immediate impact and came up with the idea of doing a training run in preparation for my goal race in June, the Bighorn 100 Miler, in the mountains of Wyoming. In addition, I could simultaneously raise money for “Project Schoolhouse” and make a dent in our team goal of raising $40,000 to build a school from the ground up. I thought it would be cool if I got my students involved in the fundraising aspect. I told my 4 classes that the class that raises the most money would earn a pizza party. The students seemed excited and their effort to raise money exceeded my expectations. I really wanted the run to be unique and prepare me well for Bighorn. Since Bighorn is in the mountains of Bighorn National Forest and includes 18,000 ft. of climb and descent, I decided it would be fitting to throw down some hill repeats….for 24 hours. I chose the intense hill on Jester Blvd. because I believe this is where my love for hills initially began. Several years ago before I moved down to Austin, I visited my brother, Dave and my sister in-law, Kris. My passion for running at this time began to take off and I was running at least 5-6/week. Dave and Kris just moved into the Jester community. After I arrived in Austin, I immediately asked my brother about good places to run in his neighborhood. He told me about the hills in his community: Lakewood had a couple of good rollers to it and Beauford was steep and intense. However, he thought that Jester was the toughest hill among the three. As we drove up the hill, I was surprised at the elevation, but my perspective was skewed since we were driving a car. I thought to myself, ‘this hill can’t be that tough to run up.’ I voiced my opinion to my brother and he responded with a sarcastic, “Good luck!” I looked at this as a challenge and had to give it a try. Later on in the day I went out for a run. I warmed up on the flat sections of the neighborhood and then shot down the hill of Jester. My goal was to run all the way up to the top, which is about a ½ mile before it flattens out and gains about 300+ ft. in elevation. The first few 100 yards were not too bad, but this changed quickly as my lungs started to burn and my legs felt as heavy as tree trunks made of oak. I think I may have reached the halfway point before I was forced to walk the rest of the way to the top. That sparked a fire inside me and I was determined to come back and run the entire hill. The challenge of hills, for me personally, is very rewarding no matter how much it hurts. Who would know that years later I would attempt to do 50 repeats in the span of 24 hours? Granted, my plan was to power walk all the ups. The work week came to a close. I drove home where I gathered my belongings and everything I needed for my adventure. I kept telling Katie how nervous I was. This feeling that infiltrated my body was ironic because I was not shooting for a PR or competing against anyone. It was me challenging myself with the unknown. I had absolutely no idea what to expect and I certainly did not want to let anyone down. The more I reflect; the fear of the unknown and possibility of failure were two motivational forces and certainly accounted for my nerves. I spoke to my coach, Joe, beforehand and asked him for advice and suggestions. He told me that I needed to be especially careful on the downhills due to the excessive pounding on my quads and toes. He recommended that I bring a couple pair of shoes and run the downhills in a zigzag manner to work other muscles in order to avoid direct impact on my quads. I decided to go with my trusty Montrail Masai’s and had some New Balance road shows for back-up. My nutrition would consist of Spiz, pretzels, Ensure, bagels, beer(you may laugh, but it had a calming effect on my stomach when it wasn’t feeling right) and I would take 2 salt tablets every hour. Seth joined me for repeats 15 and 16, which was around midnight. It was around this time that my stomach was giving me some trouble. I decided to pop open a beer. It gave my stomach a calming effect, much like taking Pepto-Bismol. I was pleasantly surprised by the results and beer became part of my nutrition for the next 18+ hours. During repeats #17-20 was when I hit somewhat of low point mentally. I started to think about the magnitude of what I wanted to accomplish and I was not even halfway to my goal. After repeat #20 I changed out my Montrail's and put on my New Balance road shoes. My Montrail’s were working well, but I decided it was time for a fresh pair of shoes. Enter, my friend, Derek Purvis. His arrival and joining me for 6 hill repeats from about 1:30a.m.-3:00a.m. got me back in a positive state of mind. In addition, it was nice to have someone with me when people were driving home from the bars. I am happy to report I did not have any close encounters with vehicles, although there were a handful of cars that came up the hill pretty quickly. When Derek left I was beyond the halfway point. His timing could not have been better and I was very grateful of his support. Up to repeat #26, my quads and feet were doing well. Once Derek left, Katie said she was going to get some sleep in the car. Unfortunately, she was unsuccessful in her attempt and only slept for about an hour or so. From about 3:00-4:45 a.m., I was on my own. I would have to say that this was my second low point of my adventure, but it did not last long. As I was walking up the hill for my 31st repeat and pick-up truck pulled up along side of me and a woman yelled out of the window, “You need some company?” Diana hopped out of the car and joined me for 3 repeats before she and Robert drove to Bastrop State Park for a training run. Once again, this gave me a mental boost! I was very appreciative that they literally went out of their way to come out to support me so early in the morning. Robert and Diana had to leave and before I knew it John showed up with breakfast tacos! I refueled with a couple of potato and egg breakfast tacos and we cranked out 8 hill repeats together. It was only 9:30 in the morning and I hit 44 repeats. I knew I was going to hit my goal. The sun came up and I could tell it was going to be a hot day. I did not want to stop after I hit my goal of 50, but I was not going to trash my body in the heat. I decided to go for 60 repeats and reassess once I got to that point. John had to take off and I ripped off a few more repeats solo. Gabe was on a training run and joined me for repeat #48. I did # 49 on my own and then my Mom joined me for hill repeat #50. It was definitely special to reach my goal, but it will be a lasting memory because I experienced it with my Mom. She was a trooper. At one point she did not think she would make it to the top of the hill, but I told her we were in no rush and I knew she could do it. I finished #50 before noon and celebrated with a beer. I was glad to hit my goal earlier than anticipated because it was starting to get hot and I perform horribly in the heat. The last 10 repeats were very laid-back and several people came out to support me. Katie joined me for #56-that was certainly memorable! #58 was really cool, too! My niece, Kaeley, my brother, Dave and Diana O’Connell did a repeat with me. It was neat to see my 6 year old niece in action. Katie and I completed #59 together and for the grand finale, #60, I was joined by Katie, Diana & Robert, Bhavesh & his son and Derek. It was impressive seeing Bhaveshs' son fly down the hill with ease. I decided to call it a day after 22 ½ hours and enjoyed my beer, yogurt from Josue and Paula and hanging out with my friends and family. Thanks again to all those that supported my adventure and fundraising efforts! -Pete Mehok |