Coleen's Sweaty Ass Run

I drove to Olathe on Friday evening. I had been tentatively planning to do the Hawks' - Coleen's Sweaty Ass Run. The run is an all night afair that commences at 8 p.m. and goes through 6 a.m. Runners can do as many of the 3 miles circuits as they wish in the intervening time. Some come for a once-through, while others do lap after lap. For me, in the days leading up to the run, the weather had been too relentlessly hot. Several weeks ago, I had looked at using the run to complete a 50 K. But with the scorching temperatures of the past 2 weeks, I wasn't even sure that I was going to do the run.

But when yesterday morning rolled around, bringing with it cooler temps, I decided that I'd pop over in the evening and do a few laps. The course, which you can read about by cutting and pasting this: http://www.lawrencetrailhawks.com/races/2011/jul/29/coleens-sweaty-ass-run-second-annual/
is pretty, with a path that goes through fields, trees, up and down mainly gentle hills, and has a little bit of gravel/dirt road running in it as well. The food provided at the start (you passed back by every three miles) was great. Watermelon, cantaloupe, cookies (even vegan ones), chips, and more sports shots and bars than you'd see in most stores were all laid out on a table for everyone to grab.

I arrived a bit late and ran the first lap in 27 minutes which wasn't very smart. I was wearing a full pack - not realizing that there was no need for one. It was also a bit to hot just to pop out of the car and go. For the second lap, I dropped the pack and grabbed a hand-held bottle and an MP3 player. I mainly listened to Beethoven's Symphony #5 on KANU for that lap. I rarely listed to classical when I run. But communing with nature on a run with such a chill vibe, the Fifth seemed to be most appropriate.

Other highlights (or low lights): my headlamp faded to almost nothing. I had the foresight to bring extra batteries that really helped out. I had run a chunk of a lap with a pretty good runner from Colorado (he was on his first and I was on my third), but I was pushing a little bit to keep up and share his light. I developed one of the worst side aches I have had running. But by peeling off and walking a quarter mile while drinking a lot of fluids, I was able to restore my form.

I met Jessie from the blog Run to the Border. He's training for a 100 mile race that is coming up pretty soon. It looked as though he was going to be there all night. I also ran a lap with Mark, a Trail Hawk that I'd done the scary Let's See how Many Copperheads We Can Step On, 22 mile run with at Clinton a few weeks ago (see earlier blog Snakes on the Plains). Mark was going to be there all night.

I finally threw in the towel and came home. I had been up since 5 a.m., and knew I needed to give it a rest. But what a fun run. Coleen has a winter run at the same place. If I'm around and the weather is driveable, I'll be there.