Michigan

Mile 6. Just beyond an aid station I head uphill to find the m6 sign and find my split of 2:07! If I could keep even that pace I'd still finish within 8:30. But inevitably I'll slow down. I can't do this in time today.

I turned around, walked back maybe 100 feet toward the aid station. I almost quit. But I decided I'd chug on just to the next road, and decide there.

I found that removing the gel liner made the 3-ply fit comfortably. That restored some optimism; I decided to wait until halfway to reassess. I revise my first half cutoff to 4:15. Even allowing 4:45 for the second (nine hours!), I'd finish by 3:45 p.m., and I could still make my flight.

Now I do want to finish. Plenty of runners encourage me as they pass, one with a pat on the back. I can't accept that praise without doing my best. I want to earn
that support. I'll stick with it.

The Running Fit crew backs up the joking
with solid race production

Halfway time 4:03. I feel comfortable continuing. The Race Director says each aid station will leave something out for me. I drop excess supplies at the car, vaseline my stump, and head out with the regular nylon sheath.

As I begin the repeat loop, a guy asks, "On your second leg?" A perfect straight line set-up—and I reply simply, "Yeah!"

As I head out a mile into the second loop, I suddenly feel a new wave of fatigue. But I've already set out.

A man catches up to me at the first water table. We chat a minute or two. As he pulls away, I become the end of the pack.

I feel a blister threatening at my prosthesis' support point under my kneecap. This renders me desperate enough to violate a key rule of marathoning: never try anything new during the race. Here, that means using a Compeed blister prevention patch that I've brought, just in case. I affix it directly on the spot, put my prosthesis back on, and—pardon me for sounding like an advertisement—I feel instant relief. Almost as if I'd had no irritation at all!
The pressure point stays relatively
pain-free for the duration.

The man at what I met as the m6 aid station informs me that the sign at the top of the hill should have had the 7-mile sign. I'd almost quit due to bad information. Good thing I kept going!

Further encouraged by the fact that I wasn't nearly as far behind as I'd thought, I feel better about continuing.

 

I find
a paintball war
in progress.