October 02, 2003
Mission Accomplished
My A2A 2003 Story
Yours Truly, prior to skating 87 miles
Preparation
In anticipation, I had pushed hard to develop my cardio, but worried about my training, as a recent skate of Austin's 360 hill route with Brent, Floyd, and Richard, showed me to be a bit more fearful than I would have liked. I am thankful that Brent took care of me that day, as the downhills had freaked me out. As a result, I had considered dropping down to the 38 mile event, which I had successfully completed last year with minimal training and on new skates. But I had a feeling I could physically do the full thing, and I am very glad to have stuck with the full 87 miles, as there is no better feeling than exceeding the expectations you have of yourself. Now, a paltry marathon or even 38 miles doesn't seem so far.
Packs. Packs. Packs.
I don't remember much of the start, or of seeing my fellow Austin skaters take off, but I do remember trying to get into a pack as soon as I could. I can't say enough for the value of packs. For at least 15 miles, and especially through the treachery of the 6-miles of rough-road, aptly named 'gatorback', I was in a pack of seven skaters. In that time, those six other guys were my true blood brothers. We took turns, rotated effectively, and worked together by the book. We were a hill fighting machine, rising and falling through Georgia like pistons in an engine. I was saddened when on one downhill the pack disintegrated, and I was unable to catch back up with them. I jumped into smaller packs on the way, meeting folks from Michigan, California, New York, DC, and Boston, but skated most of the final 40 miles by myself.
The Beast (aka Cujo)
Somewhere within the first 30 miles, I noticed a rottweiler by the side of the road. It was barking ferociously and moving about, and it began to give chase. Initially, I wasn't worried, as I saw it had a long chain attached to its collar. After a short while, I realized that I should be a LOT more worried, as neither the chain was fixed down, nor was the dog stopping. I must have been moving at nearly 20 miles per hour, but this dog wasn't giving up. Forget going the distance, I just wanted to keep away from this fanged mutt. Luckily there was another skater ahead of me, so I sprinted ahead as quickly as I could. If the dog was going to gnaw on anyone, it wasn't going to be me. Hey, it's a dog eat dog world out there.
Food and Rest Stops
Gu. Water. Banana. Water. Powerbar. Water. Notice a pattern? Staying hydrated and nourished was a must out there. I picked up what I could at each rest stop, and I'll have to remember to hold onto an extra bottle of water next year after mile 50. One thing I think I did well was that I didn't stop at all, taking water and bananas and wheeling by; this certainly helped my time, since many skaters took a few minutes at some of the stops. I recall debating with Richard and Brent how many calories we would burn in completing the event - our estimate: five to six thousand.
Richard?
I was surprised to look out from a pack and see Richard around mile 50, skating by himself. It was a shock to see him, as I knew his preparation was better than mine, and I had no business catching up with him. When I asked if he was okay, he said no. I asked him if he'd like me to skate with him, or go on. Like a trooper, he told me to go on. I was still thinking of him for a few more miles after that, hoping he'd be able to finish, or know enough to wait for assistance. So I continued up and down these hills of Georgia, until reaching The Hill.
The Hill
Silver Hill wasn't so bad. The report of it was accurate - that it is one mile long and a series of three consecutive steep downhills. The first one moderate, the second one a bit faster, and the third the fastest by far. I was without a pack when I hit The Hill, and t-stopped to kill some speed before hitting the third downhill. What was crazy about it, was that this set of technical hills came 70 miles and multiple hours after we started this trek. Luckily, any fear I had left had been dropped by the wayside around mile three. As for the others, I envisioned Floyd ruggedly buckling down and taking the hill at 40mph, and Brent fearlessly double pushing down it.
Smiling faces at the finish line
About a mile from the finish, I noticed Eddy Matzger smiling and skating towards me with a handheld video camera. He told me I was looking good, and I was sure to keep my technique solid as who knows when or where that video is going to show up. But there were more smiling faces out there. About a hundred feet from the finish line, I noticed my friend Val sitting in the grass smiling at me and clapping; I noticed my fellow Austin skaters, Nancy and Floyd and Brent, shouting and clapping for me; and then - surprise - I looked back and saw two skaters chasing me whom I hadn't seen before. They too were smiling at me. There was NO way I was going to let them pass me after I had come so far. I turned up the gas and put myself into overdrive, gathering reserve energy from an unknown source, and crossed the finish line at a blazing speed. Aside from the welcoming party, a Blimpie sandwich, and a commemorative mug, I had a nice present awaiting me in my bag: a fresh, soft pair of socks. A present for us all was Richard crossing the finish line and turning out to be ok after a bit of a scare.
The Result
I finished in 7 hours, 10 minutes, without falling, and without causing injury to any other skaters. Bonus! This met my personal goal of completing the distance in under seven and a half hours; however, it would have been nice to finish in the six-hour timeframe. Next year.
Homeward Bound
Floyd did his best to acquire transportation out of the park, by calling a local taxi company a number of times (no taxi ever arrived at the park to our knowledge); after waiting over 30 minutes, and Richard in better shape, we decided to walk out of Piedmont park and to the Sheraton where we hailed a cab. Richard sat in front, and the rest of us got friendly in back, our sweat knowing no boundaries. We made our way to the hotel, where Floyd and Nancy permitted me a quick shower. I thanked them, but they seemed to insist :) Floyd and Nancy took turns cleaning up and I enjoyed some friendly conversation with each of them. We soon parted ways; Floyd, Nancy, Richard, and Brent headed to the awards ceremony, and I headed to the airport to catch the flight back to Austin. When I landed, it was lovely to have a message on my voicemail from Patricia congratulating me and the others for our efforts.
Thanks
Thanks to Floyd and Richard and Brent and Nancy for the comradery in Atlanta, and for just being there to train with in Austin. Thanks to my friend Val for her kind hospitality in Atlanta and for being there at the finish. And thanks to all the indoor and outdoor skaters who I've skated with over the past year. I've come a long way from where I was last year, and I could not have done it without y'all.
Epilogue
Three days have passed since the event. Though a touch of sunburn remains (don't forget the sunscreen!), the soreness in my legs and feet is gone, and I know that in another day I'll be back to skating the veloway. In years to come, I will likely complete future treks from Athens to Atlanta, but I will never forget this first year of going the distance and sharing it with Floyd, Nancy, Richard and Brent.
The Austin contingent, post-race
