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PSYCHO-LOGICAL EVALUATION
FORM
=================================
DATE: February 10, 2007
SUBJECT: Rick Smith
HOME:
EVALUATING PHYSICIAN:
---------------------------------
REASON FOR EVALUATION:
Subject recently paid money
to subject himself to 50-kilometer (31-mile) ultradistance trail race,
requiring three, 10-mile laps of an undulating course consisting of
"rocky, rooty, and hilly bridle trails and single-track trails."
* Supplemental Thoughts/Observations
Of Psychological Investigative Doctor
(STOOPID): The name of the
race - Psycho WyCo Run Toto Run 50k - should have provided some guidance to the
nature of the experience. It is well-documented that morning temperatures in
---------------------------------
BACKGROUND:
Subject completed his first
(and only) ultra in 2005 at the inaugural Psycho WyCo Run. Subject reports
finishing in 6:34:20, after enduring extremely sloppy, muddy conditions ( <http://www.psychowyco.com/id31.html>
http://www.psychowyco.com/id31.html).
When choosing to enter the event a second time, subject says he felt that the
conditions "could not get much worse than that."
* STOOPID: Subject shows
unusually high levels of optimism.
---------------------------------
PREPARATION:
Subject rated his
preparation for the event as "not bad." He claims his objective for
entering was to provide motivation to train through December and January. Long
runs were fairly consistent, with a long run of 21 miles, but it was five weeks
out with a steep taper, due to a vacation and a general lack of desire to run
long in the cold temps in the final weeks leading up to the race.
The day before the race,
subject stayed at the Great Wolf Lodge in
Subject's goals for the race
were 1) to finish; 2) have fun. If the conditions would allow, he also hoped to
better his time from 2005, despite his fitness not being quite as good now as
it was then.
* STOOPID: Subject's
decision to forgo swimming in a water park in February to go outside and
"have fun" in the cold defies logic.
---------------------------------
EVENT SYNOPSIS:
This year's event recorded
starting line temperatures of 16degF with icy, snow-packed trails throughout
approximately 80% of the course. To combat the combination of icy trails and
demanding hills, the subject employed a technique called "screw shoes"
( <http://www.skyrunner.com/screwshoe.htm>
http://www.skyrunner.com/screwshoe.htm),
where he literally drilled sheet metal screws into the bottom of his shoes.
Subject claims he had excellent traction throughout the entire race, suffering
only a brief ankle twist on a washed-out downhill section. Subject emphasized
that he passed some more cautious racers on downhill sections and saw three or
four others take painful falls on the ice.
* STOOPID: Subject barely
recognizes that running 30 miles on a bed of screw tips sounds more like a
circus act than a healthy activity.
The event started with a few
remarks by Race Director Ben Holmes before releasing ~280 runners - split into
a 10-mile race, a 20-mile race, and a 50k - into the timber. Subject spent the
first lap trying to keep his effort conservative while evaluating the course
for the next two laps. The course was pretty populated the first lap, but not
too crowded. The main concern was having someone slip and fall in front of you
on the icy singletrack.
Subject made a full lap
without incident, and even got a chance to run a little with Paul Schoenlaub, a
very accomplished local ultra veteran, who was taking it easy, conserving some
energy for another 50k the next weekend in
Although the cold, ice and
steep hills made for a difficult course, the subject indicated that great
course markings, well-stocked aid stations, and great volunteers made the race
a pleasure to run. The subject gave especially high praise to the aid stations
and volunteers (many of them ultrarunners themselves). One station (advertised
as "offering fast and friendly self-service") had hot coffee; the
start/finish area had a broad selection of "ultra foods;" and the
"Famous Amos" aid station showered runners with first-class pampering
and every snack food imaginable (subject showed a special fondness for James
Barker's chicken soup broth and the "Scooby Snacks").
* STOOPID: Subject now
showing an unhealthy affinity for cartoon dog treats...
After making a quick stop to
remove a jacket (it was up to at least 20degF at this point) and take a big
swig of nothing from his stashed-but-now-frozen Powerade bottle (no surprise --
his fuel belt bottles had frozen at the top long ago), subject headed out for
the second lap.
Subject started the second
lap running with Grey Tights Guy (GTG). Running with GTG made for some light
conversation early in the lap, but subject moved on ahead as GTG slowed to
negotiate the icy descents (while subject continued to show little regard for
personal safety and tremendous trust in his screwed shoes.) Much of the rest of
the lap was spent running alone and further committing the course landmarks
into memory for the final lap.
During the second lap, the
subject's feet began to get a little sore, and his legs were showing some
fatigue. In the last few miles of the lap, while negotiating an icy, washed out
downhill section, the subject turned his ankle. Although it only took a minute
or so to regain his form, the near injury caused him to recognize the role
fatigue was beginning to play, and pay even more attention to each icy
footstrike. In addition, a few of the hills that the subject ran or attempted
to run on the first lap were now walked to conserve his decreasing energy.
With fatigue setting in,
subject made sure to keep drinking water (and HEED at the aid stations) and
ingesting food for energy. Since subject only brought one emergency gel, this
mostly meant chocolate, Scooby Snacks, chicken broth, Pringles and gummy fruit
snacks.
Getting sore but hanging in
there, subject reached the end of second lap in 1:50, grabbed a package of
Pringles, and got to moving on the third lap before his feet could convince him
to call it a day at 20 miles.
* STOOPID: Subject ignores
pain in order to inflict more upon himself. Such destructive behavior may
indicate a psycho-logical problem...or perhaps just a lack of intelligence.
As subject headed out for
the third lap walking and eating his Pringles, he met up with Paul again. Paul
is walking, waiting for another accomplished local ultrarunner (Dave Wakefield)
to join him. Dave had dropped after two laps with some stomach and cold issues,
but Paul talked him into joining him for an easy-going (for them) last lap.
As Paul and the subject were
walking, GTG comes flying by, running smooth.
"Wow," said Paul,
"that guy looks great. You are not supposed to look that good after 20
miles. You can be going that fast after 20 miles," he said, "...but
you're not supposed to look that good."
Soon, Dave caught up to Paul
and the subject, and after running together for a short while, the subject left
them to dictate his own pace. Once Paul and Dave found their groove, they
easily passed and dropped subject for good, leaving the subject to run the
third lap by himself.
* STOOPID: Subject spent a lot
of time running by himself in the timber.
This could be
therapeutic...or maddening. Very difficult to tell at this point in the
evaluation.
The subject's third lap was
a mixture of shuffling flats, unending uphills, and merciless, quad-pounding
downhills. The subject did re-pass GTG before the "WyCo Triangle" (a
section of tight and twisty switchbacks), but - strangely enough - never saw
him again after that. Subject never closed the gap to Paul and Dave, but with
the course mapped out in his mind, the subject completed the final lap in 2:07,
reaching the finish line in 5:38:04
- nearly an hour faster than
the mudfest of 2005.
---------------------------------
Subject says he is very
sore, especially in the quads and calves.
* STOOPID: Duh.
---------------------------------
DIAGNOSIS / RECOMMENDATION:
Obviously, subject shows
some signs of mental distress, mumbling phrases such as, "follow the yellow
ribbon road," "beware the WyCo Triangle," and "It's
---------------------------------
SUMMARY DATA:
Psycho WyCo "Run Toto
Run" 50k
<http://www.psychowyco.com/> http://www.psychowyco.com
February 10, 2007
5:38:04
10/67 OA
4/18 30-39 AG
MORE INFO:
<http://www.psychowyco.com/id52.html>
http://www.psychowyco.com/id52.html
or
<http://www.psychowyco.com/id7.html>
http://www.psychowyco.com/id7.html
PICS:
http://tinyurl.com/3xr6kg (all - first
photographer)
http://tinyurl.com/2zr2ov (subject - on
course)
http://tinyurl.com/ynlvyr (subject - on
course)
http://tinyurl.com/23yec8 (subject -
finish line with RD Bad Ben Holmes)
http://tinyurl.com/2jkhc2 (all - second
photographer)
http://tinyurl.com/39v3ag (subject -
caught walking)
http://tinyurl.com/2apozp (subject - near
finish)
Debi Bernardes
Professional Multi-Sport Coach
www.ucandoitcoach.us
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