Monday, August 13, 2007

Headlands Hundred


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Leslie Antonis, heading towards Muir Beach in the early miles of the Headlands Hundred Ultra. Click Here for the photoset.


My legs feel like they have been pummeled by a dozen children and their tiny fists all night. It's sore in so many places. This is besides my left knee which gave me problems during the race. My upper body on the other hand feels like a Sumo wrestler sat on it during the night. It feels tight, sore and out of alignment. A small price to pay for what was an amazingly great time in Headlands Hundred this past weekend.

Again I was a bit disappointed with my finish. In fact I was a bit sullen about my overall time at lunch yesterday with Olga and Jason but that was just the fatigue talking. I aimed for a sub 24 hour finish and missed it. I had a shot at it as late as 85 miles into the race but it slipped away. After a night's sleep however I have nothing but positive feelings about the whole race. I want to honor everyones time so I'm going to keep this first post short but I'll fill out a more detailed report later for those interested in the details.

HEADLANDS HUNDRED
17,700 ft. (+) • 17,700 ft. (-) • 24:37 • 6th Place

Everything went as planned for the most part. I did well all the way up to 75 miles. The course was one 50-mile loop and two 25-mile loops. At the start of the last 25-mile loop I started having IT problems, directly related to the glute and hamstring pain I was having the last couple of weeks. I was able to hang on and finished shortly after sunrise. The course was a lot harder than I gave it credit for. I somewhat under estimated the difficulty. Nevertheless it was a good time and I'm honored to finish PCTR's first 100 mile event. I owe all the volunteers, the race directors and my fellow runners a big thanks. Special shout out to my fellow 100-miler Joe who kept me company for most of the run. He brought his own crew and pacers who was also a big help to me - Steve and Nicole. Nicole his girlfriend ran about 34 miles with us and she was a blast. She provided the pep and positive vibes during the last miles and also encourage the other runners. An ultra runner herself, she is going to attempt her first 100-miler at San Diego 100 this year.

Great race, challenging course, positive people and cool weather. I hope more 100 mile runners come out for next year.

13 comments:

  1. 17,700 ft. (+) • 17,700 ft. (-) • 24:37 • 6th Place
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    That is so Great rick, very excited for you...and ummm 37 mins leaves you some more to strive for the next time.

    I mean If you got 24 then it would be 23 then 22 --hahaha so this way you still can shoot for 24 just don't get 24:02 then we will know what you are doing :-)

    Seriously, You kicked butt! very awesome and look forward to more details...

    Hey get my phone number from Olga and give me a call...umm I will email it to ur hotmail ok also, but you need to give the ultra newbie a call please, u know I have that little ole 50 coming up :-) want to ask a couple of ?'s...

    Thanks Bro & glad u feel great ummm besides (insert first paragraph here)

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  2. Whiny baby:) you did great! Now go to SD100 and have fun with Nicole. The pic you posted is a great promo - email it to Sarah and Wendell.
    See ya in 2 month

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  3. Thanks. Thanks. I will be celebrating for a few days, relive the moments and all that.

    SD100? ooo tempting.

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  4. Anonymous6:55 PM

    Hey Rick,
    Congrats....such humility,must be from moi.Suggest you take that knee pain seriously before it brings you down.You need Cita to give you a good massage. Looking forward to that on my vacation.I'm really,really proud of you.

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  5. YES!!! A top ten finish! Well done, Rick. I hope the recovery is going well, and look forward to your race write up during my recovery.

    Best, SD

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  6. Well done, Rick! No doubt in my mind that you will break that 24 hour mark soon.

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  7. Anonymous9:31 PM

    Abaw Mang Ecking. Another 100m in your belt. Your Grandma Marina still cant figure out why do this. But I can. I imagine the rush...the exhiliration when you hit the finish line. Ti pahuway ka na kay basi ma pasmo imo tiil.

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  8. I saw those race results - very few people went sub-24! It must have been a pretty tough course.

    You did a fantastic job to finish, and top-ten is rock star territory. Way to go, Rick.

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  9. Rick-

    Good to see you again...you looked (very) strong at the various points along the way (17m/40m/50m) where I was hanging out.

    Congrats on another fine 100m finish...impressive.

    Saw all the pictures over on the PCTR forum, great stuff. Your friend Jen (my aid station partner) was as nice as they come. I wish her the best in her first full triathlon.

    Will G.

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  10. congrats on a great race. a 6th place finish! wow!

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  11. Amazing, Rick, simply amazing! What an accomplishment. The pictures from the course are incredible as well. Awesome views! Anyhow, I am extremely impressed with what you are able to do. This is very inspiring, and thanks for sharing!

    My sincere congratulations to you, and I look forward to reading the full report!

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  12. Yup, foam rollers abound at Sports Basement.

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  13. Like Bob ribbed you, when running something the 1st-time, it's better to leave room for improvement, 24-hour goal accomplished or not. Plus, isn't it great finishing shortly after sunrise, rather than in the dark? You did great!

    You probably know all the ITB treatment-prevention stuff, but if you run into me, maybe pick my brain to make sure you at least know what I've learned (haven't had it flare for more than a year or 2 now).

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