Becky Sharpe recently traveled to Arizona to attempt the rim to river to rim run. This once in a life time challenge is certainly a feat requiring mind over matter as one is required to climb the Canyon from top to bottom and back up. I asked Becky to provide some context and perspective on the amazing feat.
In Becky's words:
When 14 of us headed out to the Grand Canyon to ‘run’ rim to river to rim (10 people) and rim to rim to rim (4 lunatics) I was focused on the training being key to completing the 22 mile rim to river to rim portion happy and uninjured. I had run hours of steps and trails and completed a 50k ultra two months prior. As we headed down into the Canyon, the icy conditions made running unsafe (don’t want to be the one who falls of) so we hiked quickly for the first three miles. As the temperature rose from in the twenties to high thirties, the trails turned from icy to lightly packed snow to nice soft trails. Finally, we could run some.
At the three mile pit stop, I was thinking running 19 after a three mile warm up is going to be super. I felt like I’d cheated a bit by not running the first three. That was not the case at all, but I could feel the relaxation coming over me as I thought about how fresh my legs were…at that point. We were all mesmerized by the scenery and the colors, many of which I had not seen before. There were combination of purples and rusts and browns that stunned me. We had decided the night before to stay together and let the concept of a timing chip leave our psyches. So, we hiked, jogged, and stopped for snacks without thinking about our pace.
We took incredible pictures of us on boulders and with the Canyon enveloping everything in site. I decided to believe that anything new I saw or experienced would result in positive energy flowing to me. I had an incredible buzz. As we crested with 2-3 miles of downhill to go to get to Phantom Ranch (mile 11) I HAD to run down. You know those (rare for me) runs where you don’t feel like you are really working? That’s what it was like running down the 10-12% grade on sandy trails with an enormous drop off. There was no fear, just a desire to let gravity take me as fast as possible. The switchbacks were exhilarating. The tiny river visible from the top became the amazing Colorado. I ate a whole avocado at the bottom.
Four of our group had left at 4am to do rim to rim to rim and when we were not ‘oohing’ and ‘ahhing’ at the next incredible scene, we were talking about how far they were going compared to us. The word ‘just’ was commonplace: ‘can you believe they are doing r-t-r-t-r and we are just doing 22.That’s 46 miles with over 8500 feet of climbing!’ Our perspective was completely altered by the fact that 4 of our close friends were doubling our distance. I am not at all implying we felt inadequate; that was not the case at all. We simply felt what we were doing, which only a very small percentage of people are in shape to do, was completely doable and realistic. It made this very challenging event seem not at all out of range.
As athletes we all know that the mental aspect is a big part of any event. I’ve thought a lot about where my mind went knowing 4 of my buddies were not only going 46 miles, but doing so in sub 20 degrees with 40 mile an hour blowing snow a the top of the north rim. Imagining where they were and what they were experiencing allowed my mind to accept our experience as manageable and a privilege. The last three miles were tough. The top seems so close but it just won’t come. I imagined I was going out for an easy three miler and tried to put my head in that place. ‘You are just running down to the school and back. That’s such an easy kind of run. You can do it in your sleep.’ I could feel my mind fighting the urge to resist the positive visualization and instead pushing the negative on me. No way, not gonna let that happen. I would get a mantra going, like ‘three miles is just so easy’ or ‘my bro is doing rim to rim to rim’ and suddenly another switch back was gone.
When we crested, just under ten hours after we had started, the sun had about 2 minutes until it set. We stepped up on the flat ground and were hit immediately with icy cutting wind. Cabins were all around us. The lights from the gift shop twinkled and we could see the restaurant where we’d be eating soon. Back to reality. For a second, I thought about turning around and going back into the protective walls of the Canyon. My husband and I turned and looked down for just a second, then turned and gave each other a high five. ‘We’ve got to do rim-to-rim-to-rim next’ he said. ‘We could totally do that’…
Lora Fox, mother of 3, recently qualified for the Boston Marathon with a 3:49 time. I asked her to take a few moments to answer a few questions regarding her training and racing.
Name: Lora Barkenbus Fox
Race: Charlotte’s Thunder Road Marathon December 11, 2010
Result: personal best and Boston marathon qualifying time of 3:49:04
Why did you select this race and what was your goal?
I had not run a marathon since 2003. Since that time I have given birth to three children. I decided to do a marathon this year to celebrate my fortieth birthday. My original plan was to run it in four hours. A co-worker insisted that sub-four was a realistic and better goal. I then learned that for my age, I could qualify for the Boston marathon if I finished in 3 hours and 50 minutes. So I made that my goal. I selected Charlotte only because my brother and his family live there. I knew nothing about the course.
Describe race day—the conditions, your routine, the terrain?
Race morning was fairly cold. Luckily, the start of the marathon is very close to the downtown convention center. Before the race I stayed in the nicely heated convention center – doing dynamic stretching, taking in liquids, people watching, and enjoying the indoor plumbing.
The race had about 9,000 people participating, most of whom were only running the 5K or half marathon portion. There were no corrals so the start was a bit disorganized. I reached the starting line about 1.5 minutes after the starting gun.
The terrain was “rolling” – not too hilly, not too flat. The course is a bit like the Music City Marathon – lovely old neighborhoods with lots of cheering for the first half, then more industrial and artsy areas for the second half. The art district neighborhood “No Da” did a good job cheering – someone even set up a large cardboard wall, painted to look like bricks, with a doorway through the middle. It was fun to have crowds cheering for us runners to “break through the wall.”
As always, having family to be on the lookout for during the race made the whole thing more fun. My dad was at mile 8, 14, 20 and the finish. My husband brought the kids to mile 12 and the finish. My brother jumped in at mile 14 and ran the rest of the race with me. He was a great help and made me laugh by jumping up and down when people cheered for us. I told him “I hope you can live with yourself” because he was giving those people the impression that he was running the whole marathon and was fresh as a daisy.
In training, what was the best piece of advice you were given?
Take advantage of the downhills. Hustling downhill doesn’t raise my heart rate and I have the momentum of the decline to move me forward. I am convinced that taking the uphills a bit easy (not exhausting myself), and then taking the downhills fast, made it easier to hit my mile goal times.
What and why was the best workout you did in preparation for this race?
The long slow runs once a week are necessary for any marathon, but the runs that I believe helped me meet my time goals were the interval workouts – mile and 5K repeats at or faster than goal pace.
If you raced it all over, what, if anything, would you do differently?
I would try to figure out a way to relieve some of my leg pain. I was not limited by my cardiovascular system or my muscles – but the pounding in the calves and quads slowed me down toward the end. I was hesitant to take anything because I know some meds are not good for you when you get dehydrated. But I would like to research this issue some more. If my legs had been less sore, the last six miles would definitely have been more fun and faster.
Now that you accomplished this feat, what is next on your agenda?
Right now I’m resting my body and working on my swimming form. I’m also reading Marathon Woman by Kathrine Switzer, the first woman to officially run the Boston Marathon. Her story, and the photos of the race official trying to physically remove her from the race, are really something.
Come February I anticipate ramping the workouts back up and getting ready for triathlon season. I hope to have a great racing season (sprints and Olympic distances) and make my new sponsor, ACME Multisports, proud. And at the end of the summer I plan to do my first half ironman distance!
