Running 4 Type 2 Fun adventure concludes with the Lake Washington Loop
I took Lyft to the Husky Stadium Plaza. My driver, Tony, asked if I worked at the University.
“No,” I said. “I’m going to run around Lake Washington.”
Tony took that news in stride. I was impressed. Maybe he does this often. Picks up folks at 5:30 am so they can get an early start on a 50 mile run around the lake.
We chatted amiably the rest of the way. Tony dropped me off a little before 6:00 and wished me luck.
I wanted an early start because the forecast called for temperatures into the 80's. With an early start, I would get in a few more miles before wilting.
My wife, Lynn, offered to get up early and drive me to the stadium but I declined. She would be meeting up with me later in the day. No need to mess with her morning.
I gave Lynn a printout of my route with checkpoints highlighted. I chose to run the Lake Washington Loop (LWL) counterclockwise from Husky Stadium. Navigation is easier going clockwise from the stadium because the first 10 miles is on the well-marked, pedestrian-friendly Burke-Gilman Trail. But I decided to save that part for the end of the day when my brain was likely to be muddled. Better to negotiate the trickier southern end of the lake in the morning when I still had some wits about me.
My thinking was spot on. Within a mile, I had already gone off course.
That error cost me an extra 100 feet or so of climbing but I was soon back on track.
Two weeks before, I did a different 50-miler. My Garmin had recorded a burn of ~5500 calories on the previous adventure. I wanted to carry on me close to that amount for the LWL in the form of carbs. I stuffed my hydration pack and waist belt with 22 Untapped Maple Syrup gel packets (2200 calories) and ten of my brown butter sugar cookies (2000 calories).
The maple syrup was chosen because it tends not to upset my stomach on long runs. As a liquid, it is digested quickly. I brought the cookies because they are delicious (the trick is to burn the butter, I mean really burn it, so that there are blackened specks of carmelized milk solids in the pan) and, likewise, have never caused gastrointestinal distress.
The hydration pack held two liters of water. I mixed into that three scoops of Tailwind Endurance Formula (another 300 calories). I also included four Zym electrolyte tablets in the water. Between the Tailwind and the Zym, I was carrying 2130 mg of sodium.
On a hot day like this I anticipated the need for as much as 10,000 mg of sodium for sweat replenishment. To top off my electrolytes I also carried another 50 SaltStick tablets (215 mg of sodium each). Overkill, perhaps. But the muscle cramps caused by inadequate sodium replenishment are nasty. Better to have and not need.
Two liters of water would not last much further than 15 or so miles. Refilling my pack along the way should not be a problem. If a water fountain couldn’t be found, I could always purchase bottled water somewhere.
Four weeks ago I did a 4x4x48 while fighting off a flare-up of sciatica. The sciatica pain had diminished greatly by the time I did the 50-miler two weeks ago. Yet, at the end of that first 50-miler, hip and knee pain forced me to walk much of the latter half of the challenge.
Expecting a return of hip and knee pain or other limitations, I planned a walk/run strategy. I would run 10 miles, walk 2, then repeat this sequence. I figured that this approach would be sustainable. It would be so nice to go 30 to 40 miles before being forced to walk the rest of the way.
All went according to plan at first. I hit the first four checkpoints on time (16.5 miles).
By 9:30, the temperature had risen to 70. I had run out of water and was drenched in sweat. Stopping at Gene Coulon Memorial Park in Renton, I refilled my hydration bag and doused myself at the water fountain.
Until then, the course had been on roads. Some of it was in seedier parts of Seattle at the southwestern end of the lake. After Gene Coulon, though, was the East Trail, a lovely five mile path along the eastern shore of the lake. I had not known of this trail beforehand. A welcome discovery.
I texted Lynn to let her know that although I was on schedule, I wasn’t going to be able to keep up the pace. The heat was getting to me. We had planned for this — she was tracking my cell phone.
Otto joined me for this stretch on the East Trail just as the familiar pain from two weeks ago returned. My left hip and knee were protesting.
“How about that?” said Otto. “Just like last time.”
I shushed Otto and decided to break up the running into smaller chunks. A mile run, a mile walk. That didn’t help much. The whining was getting louder, more insistent.
Otto piped in, “Maybe you should stop?”
“Fuck it,” I said. I was about 22 miles in and at the end of the East Trail. Not even half way and the run was over.
The Autonomic Nervous System (ANS) controls all functions of the body that don’t require deliberate thought. There are many such functions — sleep, digestion, temperature regulation, breathing, pain sensation, all the senses — the list goes on and on. The ANS keeps the machinery working.
There is evidence that Parkinson’s disrupts the workings of the autonomic nervous system (ANS) via damage to a part of the brain called the hypothalamus.
In the Central Governor Model, the brain, acting as the central governor, aims to maintain homeostasis. When the body is in danger of overexertion, the central governor steps in by limiting motor functions and restricting other resources. The central governor is the arbiter of fatigue, the ever-vigilant holder of the “STOP” sign.
Autonomic Nervous System. Central Governor. It has several names.
I call mine Otto.
Otto is a dipshit.
Damaged by Parkinson’s, it has become overprotective. Muscle cramps. Knee, hip, and back pain. These are all tools that Otto deploys to slow me down. And I do slow down, I have little choice but to obey. Otto is clueless indeed but is also powerful and persuasive.
As a result, I feel that I am prevented from reaching my potential.
I recover from marathons, ultra-marathons, and other ridiculous challenges faster than most runners I know. (This is my second 50-miler in two weeks, after all.) I think that is because Otto is way, way overdoing it. Like a mollycoddling parent, Otto prioritizes protecting me from harm at the expense of performance.
I think that Otto was behind my recent sciatica flare-up. Otto can quite literally be a pain in the ass.
How I wish that Otto would just ease up. Be not so quick to play the muscle cramp or hip pain or whatever cards it has in its hand.
Let me just run hard for a long time unimpeded. Allow me to trash myself for the sake of a respectable finish time. Afterwards, I’ll take off a month or so, flat on my back, to recover like a normal person.
I could still walk.
I chose 12 minute per mile as a conservative, sustainable running pace. When that plan went belly up, I resolved to walk as fast as possible. The best I could do was 16 to 18 minutes per mile.
Walking changes things. At the lower intensity, fat burn becomes efficient. All the carbs I was carrying had become dead weight. I had ample fat to see me through the rest of the loop.
Besides, the maple syrup and even my precious cookies had become a nauseating turn-off. Of the 22 Untapped gel packets, I only managed to consume four of them. I ate six of the ten cookies. I planned to ditch all the extras when I got together with Lynn later.
Bellevue rose up at Mile 25 and I was amazed. I hadn’t been in Bellevue in a few years. The city gleamed. Every building looked brand new and shiny.
Lynn’s sister, Ann, met me there at 1 pm. Via cell phone tracking, Lynn was able to give Ann precise directions for our meetup. We walked together for a mile and a half sharing observations about Bellevue and the other neighborhoods I had just been through.
Ann broke off as I headed into Kirkland where Lynn and her sisters grew up. Lynn was waiting for me at Houghton Beach with our Miniature Schnauzer, Angus, some ice water, and other supplies. I changed into a fresh kit and as Lynn drove further ahead I walked Angus into downtown Kirkland.
When out with a Schnauzer, it is more like a “smell” than a walk. They have to sniff and pee on everything. Kirkland is new territory for Angus complete with a new assortment of fragrances. We made slow progress.
Lynn joined us and we walked together for a mile up Market Street then she and Angus turned back while I headed to Juanita Beach Park where Simon planned to meet me at 3 pm.
Simon had just returned the day before after two weeks with his family in the UK. He remarked that running with me for a portion of the loop would help with his jet lag. I apologized that the run had, sadly, become a walk but Simon didn’t mind.
I was glad for Simon’s company. The next stretch was a three-mile, 400 foot climb, the largest hill in the Lake Washington Loop. Chatting with Simon allowed the distance to pass quickly and we covered a lot of topics most notably that we had Miniature Schnauzers in common. Simon’s is named Max and is 12 years old while Angus is 5.
As we discussed our favorite breed, I noticed another one up ahead. What a coincidence! Until I looked closer and realized it was Lynn and Angus in place for our next rendezvous.
Simon expected to call his wife, Susan, for a pickup after walking with me to Kenmore. Lynn offered to drive him back. That gave Angus and Max a chance to get acquainted.
The last 10-mile stretch of the LWL is via the Burke-Gilman trail starting at Kenmore. It was 4:40 pm. I was getting wobbly but no muscle cramps and pain was tolerable.
I tried running some more. Nothing fancy. Just 100 running steps then 100 walking steps, etc. I didn’t get very far before the pain started up again.
“How about that?” said Otto. “Just like last time.”
“Fuck off, Otto.”
But Otto was right. Running was still out of the question.
On the final stretch, Lynn greeted me several times to see how it was going. Near Matthews Beach Park she brought me a hot dog and a cold lemonade. It was heaven.
There’s something about a cold drink that makes all the difference. I wasn’t thirsty for warm water. The thought of it made me queasy. But the cold lemonade was fantastic.
At 8:15 pm, I was back again at the Husky Stadium Plaza where Lynn and Angus were waiting for me. Total distance was 48.4 miles and it took a touch over 14 hours to complete it.
It is now Tuesday, two days after the loop. Yesterday I felt sore and wobbly but not as spent as I did two weeks ago in the previous 50-miler. Today is a day for light stretching and strength training. Tomorrow I see my physical therapist, Erin. She will help me undo the damage from Sunday’s adventure and, hopefully, get me on track for my next one coming up in two weeks, the Orca Half Marathon.
They run the Orca on Saturday September 14 and again the next day. I will be running both of them.
I’m hoping that a half marathon is short enough that Otto won’t feel obliged to come along.
*The Lake Washington Loop is the last of three self-inflicted endurance events dubbed “Running 4 Type 2 Fun” that I undertook as part of the Michael J. Fox Foundation Summer Challenge Fundraiser. If you would like more information and/or instructions on how to make a donation, make a comment to that effect on this page and I will provide.
