August 27, 2011

With the support mini-van packed with supplies and everyone ready to roll, it was time for the adventure at hand.  Chas and his son, Reed, pulled into town late on Thursday night and joined the Bock family at their house; the three families gathered at 184 Longview for an awesome carbo-loading dinner on Friday night.

Chas and Brooks throwing down pasta

Support point team of John Denne and Taylor who's looking excited at logistics overview meeting

The Team heading out for Great Barrington

Chas, Tim Bock, Taylor and I headed south to Great Barrington at 7:15 on Friday night.  We arrived at the Bock home on Lake Buel in the dark, took the support kayak down to the dock and settled in for the night.  As we lounged in the tranquility of the rustic lakeside home, we pointed out differences between what we were doing and the official races we've all been part of.  Sleeping at the start line was one (which we all found very relaxing) and a dining room table had never been used as a transition area.  We all hit the hay around 10 with alarm set for 4:30am.

Bock dining room table as transition area

We all woke up as relaxed as we were when we went to bed.  Got the engines started with some breakfast and caffeine and headed down to the dock for 6am start.

Morning Chas!

The Swim:

Conditions for the swim were ideal.  Light was breaking with a pre-Irene cloud cover that would stay with us most of the day.  Chas and Tim were in the double kayak helping me keep my line and tracking distance on GPS.  The swim was a perfect start to the day- 35 minutes for the first 1.2 miles and 40 minutes back for moving time of 1:15.  

Swim team ready to roll

Heading out

Chas on Lake Buel

Half-way home

 

Bock dock and home nestled in the trees

Tim ready for the 112 bike

The Bike:

Another obvious difference between a race and what we were doing on Iron Day is that transition times were not a substantial concern.  I hoped we could take about 15 minutes from swim to bike but it took closer to 25 minutes.  Needed to load up the double kayak on the car and close up the house- not normal transition items.  Chas, Tim and I got changed into our biking gear and were rolling a little before 8am.

Chas, Tim and Brooks heading out on Loop 1

Chas was riding the first 56 and would join for the last 13.1 of the run.  Tim was on board for the 112 mile ride and it felt great to be out on the road with them both.  Our route would take us south into CT and our first meeting point with the support van would be at the CT border at mile 19.  Taylor was riding solo in support van and did an awesome job taking care of us.

The day before, Nat White, Williams '99, posted on FB that he would be riding from his home in Lakeville, CT to Williamstown on Saturday and perhaps our paths would cross.  Sure enough, as we headed south on Route 41, we connected with Nat heading north.

Nat and Brooks connecting on Route 41 near CT border

Support van at CT border

At mile 30 in Canaan, CT, we were greeted with a surprise.  Signs on the side of the road saying "Go Bock", "Go Chas" and "Go Brooks" were interspersed at regular intervals, some stapled to telephone poles, others on sticks.  It was a mystery to the three of us but it was soon solved on the other side of town when we came across this character by the side of the road:

Who was this person reading the paper by the side of the road?

Rick Orluk gives a boost to the Team

Rick's handiwork- thanks Big Daddy!

Rick Orluk is a close friend to all three of us and '87 classmate with Chas.  He lives in West Granby, CT and drove an hour to cheer us on.  He was in cahoots with Taylor and we had a good visit with him at the one quarter mark of the ride.

You can't ride in the Berkshires without hills and miles 40-70 were the most challenging stretches on that front.  We finished loop one averaging about 17mph with a moving time of 3:20.  Real time was around noon, about an hour behind the preliminary schedule.  At the transition area, Chas jumped out and Steve St. Clair jumped in for the second 56 mile loop.  Chas would join Taylor and father-in-law, John Denne, in support of Loop Two. We were feeling good at the half-way point but for however smoothly the first loop went, the second threw us some curveballs making the miles and time on the bike feel very long.

There's a 10 mile stretch on Route 23 between Great Barrington and Otis, MA that we had scouted out earlier in the summer.  Since that time, the Mass DPW had started work on repaving the road slowing us down significantly.  It wasn't constant, but we had stretches on gravel and dirt and were relieved at the end of each section only to come upon another one.  This, however, wasn't the only issue we faced.

At mile 64, 8 miles into Loop 2, my rear derailleur cable snapped.  In plain English, I no longer had the ability to change gears and no quick fixes were available.  As Tim, Steve and I assessed the situation, Chas drove up behind us and we put his bike into action.  Given a number of permutations- height, shoe size, type of shoe cleat- we ended up with the following set-up for the last 50 miles:  I used Steve's bike (and had to wear one of his shoes because my lollipop cleat worked in one my shoes but not the other), Steve rode Chas' bike wearing Chas' shoes, too, with Tim on his own bike in his own shoes.

Brooks' shoe on right foot, Steve's shoe on left!

When I took my bike to the shop to get the cable replaced, I asked if the routine check I should have had before the ride would have surfaced the fraying cable- the answer was "probably".  Lesson learned and we were lucky it cost us nothing but some time.

This was the 4th Century+ ride Tim and I had done together this summer.  In the previous three, we were with groups and hammered away the last 30 miles in pace lines averaging 20+ mph.  Not the case today.  I was adhering to USTA rules on the drafting front and the miles were trickling away.  The exciting part is that were working our way to more friends and family who had been monitoring our progress via texts updates from Taylor.  Most of those messages were along the lines of- "everyone doing well but behind schedule".  At 3:30pm, 7.5 hours into the bike, spirits were lifted by a welcoming committee at the head of the Ashuwillticook Rail Trail in Pittsfield, 99 miles into the ride.

The cheering squad at mile 99

Me and Steve on our new bikes

Big hug from Brady

We had 13.5 miles still left on the bike and Steve, Tim and I did an out and back on the rail trail to get us to our 112 mile total.  In anticipation of Irene, the rail trail had been closed earlier in the afternoon but we forged ahead seeing some folks out there but far fewer than on a regular summer Saturday.

While waiting for the bike to end and the run to start, the kid cheering section did some amazing chalk work on the rail trail- a sample below.  

Great job chalking by the Abel kids!

Want to thank Tim for doing the whole 112 and Steve for doing the second half of the bike on Chas' bike and for letting me use his!  Steve's work was not nearly done as he was on board for 13+ miles of the run.  The second bike leg took 3:45 of moving time- we were out there for 4.5 hours total for a overall elapsed time for the bike being 8.5 hours.  It was now 4:30pm and the love and support shared by friends and family were going to be needed the next five hours.

The Run:

Christy Abel had been waiting patiently throughout the afternoon and was ready to run her fourth marathon.  Elizabeth St. Clair was ready to run a half-marathon, as was her husband, Steve.  Chas would do the same and Ann Marie Swann was ready to run 16 miles.  Throw in a special guest half-marathoner and a gaggle of kids joining for the last mile and the 26.2 miles from the base of the rail trail to Williamstown was going to be one heck of an adventure.  We were supported the entire way by Taylor, John Denne, and many other adults and kids as the van was waiting for us every 2.5 miles along the way.

Lacing Up

 

Thumbs up or hitching a ride?

Christy and Steve ready to roll!

The rail trail is almost 11 miles long and there were three of us for this stretch.  Christy and Steve St. Clair helped me through what was probably the most difficult portion of the day.  My legs felt great as we settled into a 9 minute mile pace for the first 10 miles.  My stomach wasn't doing so hot, though, and I wasn't sure if I should be trying to fuel or let it settle.  I had eaten and hydrated well on the bike so was feeling properly fueled to that point.  While there wasn't any sun, it was warm and humid and feeling like rain was on the way and I was concerned about over heating.  I had been introduced to the frozen towel earlier in the summer and had a bunch ready to go for the run.  They were lifesavers helping to stay cool until the rains came and nighttime fell.  Also, for the record, I've never run with my shirt off- obviously don't have the ability to pull that off- but nothing could have felt better!

First water stop- note awesome chalking by Elizabeth!

Christy, Steve and Brooks cranking out miles on the rail trail

How's our pace?

Christy and Steve did an awesome job through the tranquility of an empty rail trail and we connected with a big group at the Visitor Center in Adams.  Elizabeth was switching places with her husband and Ann Marie Swann was joining in for the last 16.  Looking back, physically, this was probably the low point of the day for me if there was one.  It was short lived, however, as the 13 mile mark was a psychological turning point- running 13 miles was not a daunting task and I was more or less holding it together.

Me and one of my guardian angels

Heading out at Mile 10+ with Elizabeth, Christy and Ann Marie

Love this picture with Elizabeth St. Clair!

13 miles done, 13 to go- Christy cheering our progress!

Chas was ready to go at the 13.1 mile mark and he talked Tim's wife, Karen Bock, into doing the last 13.  Karen is a marathoner but this would be her longest run in a while- she kicked butt as expected.  We must have made quite a sight as we ran along Route 8 and turned west on Route 2 toward Williamstown.  We were never smaller than a group of six the rest of the way and the miles, despite our progressively slowing pace, felt like they were passing more quickly. 

Chas and Karen Bock join for the last 13.1

Sometime after mile 13, it began to rain and continued to do so lightly and intermittently until the end.  We left North Adams in fading daylight and by the time we were in Williamstown we were running in the dark.  Things were getting pretty surreal at this point as we made a loop around town clicking off the final six miles.  The group was tight as Elizabeth finished her 13 miles and Steve jumped back in for the final three.  All of us were either wearing reflective gear, blinking lights or both.  It must have made for quite a sight for any passing drivers.  Overall, though, it was pretty quiet with the air calm and damp and silence broken only by words of encouragement to each other.

At mile 25, sometime around 9:15pm, members of the kid cheering squad were ready to join for the last mile of the run- how cool is that?

Ready to bring it home- Matthew and Will Bock, Toby and Brady Foehl and Reed Foehl

As we weaved around town working our way to 26.2, an official finish line was being set up in front of Chapin Hall on the Williams campus.  To give you an idea of what kind of a person Elizabeth St. Clair is, just know that she drove up to Lake Placid in July to cheer on a friend tackling the Ironman.  She wanted to make sure Iron Day had a proper ending so she made a banner for the finish line and she and Christy ordered a Berkshire Ironman medal.  She also had a Laurel wreath for me at the end- she didn't miss a trick.  So at approximately 9:30pm, as our Garmin watches clicked to 26.2 miles, we all crossed the finish line and the celebration began.

Sarah and Josh Bock tending the finish line

Crossing the finish line with everyone right behind

Jubilation!

A big, sweaty hug with Marathoner, Christy, and Elizabeth with wreath

Is there any way to properly thank everyone for their support and love on August 27 and all the days of the journey before?  I don't see how, but I won't ever stop trying.  Beyond the gifts of friendship shared with all, here is the Iron Day accomplishment roll call:

Hours and hours of support: Taylor Foehl and John Denne
Living with Brooks: Alison Foehl
Matthew and Will, Brady and Toby and Reed- 1.2 mile run
Karen Bock- 13.1mile run
Ann Marie Swann- 16.2 mile run
Elizabeth St. Clair- 12.5 mile run
Steve St. Clair- 56 mile bike, 13.5 mile run
Tim Bock- 112 mile ride
Christy Abel- Marathon- 26.2 mile run
Charles Foehl- 56 mile ride, 13.1 mile run
Brooks Foehl- 140.6

Ann Marie, Chas, Tim, Brooks, Steve, Elizabeth, Karen and Christy

For however remarkable a collective effort we were all a part of, it never happens without one person.  When this crazy idea entered my head a year ago, it could have died quickly.  In fact, it would have if Chas hadn't embraced it.  Throughout last fall and winter, we let the idea percolate and grow to what it would become.  Our friendship has evolved over the course of our entire lives and we've been side by side for most of our greatest accomplishments, August 27th, 2011 just being one more along our path.  Thanks for being my best friend, Chas.

Me and Chas