“This isn’t the March madness I was expecting. But it’s the March madness I got. I gotta admit, it has been pretty entertaining.” ~ Paul Orth

TAPER CHICKEN Peter and I planned to run Potawatomi 200 on April 2, so the outrun challenge was who would run the most during the taper leading up to that race.

3/1 - After traveling to Pekin, IL for the weekend, Peter and I ran a course preview with the race director. Recovering from a nagging shin injury, I cut the preview lap short and Peter took an early 3-mile lead.
3/4 - Peter held the lead and took a big step forward by running two runs that day. His lead grew to 12.8.
3/5 - My shin recovered, and I began running 10 miles a day for the next 8 days.
3/7 - Peter ran one bridal loop with Ted, then a second loop with me growing his lead to the highest point of the month, 16.7.
3/8 - Both Peter and I ran 10 miles that day. Peter announced, “Last big week of miles before tapering for Pot 200. Previous aches and pains have vanished and I’m feeling sooo excited for the race.”
3/9 - Peter appeared to taper hard taking three days off. Behind the scenes, he caught the flu and was out of commission. I caught Peter and took the lead.
3/12 - last day of my 10 miles per day, I grew my lead to 19.7 - the highest variance between the two of us for the entire month.

RACE CANCELED

3/13 - the race is canceled due to an announcement from Illinois Governor Pritzker banning events of 250 or more people.
3/14 - Peter took the lead briefly by 2.7.
3/15 - I ran 30 miles at Weston with Leia in a Social Distancing Group run. That was my last group run. Peter showed up with Suzie and ran 11 miles. I led by 16 miles, and the race cranked up in intensity.

MUTUALLY ASSURED DESTRUCTION

Peter and I no longer had a race to taper for, and we were both trained and ready for a 200-mile race. Over the last 16 days of the month, Peter and I collectively ran 466 miles. That’s 14.5 miles per day for each of us.

3/20-22 - Huge weekend. Peter ran a 50k on Saturday and another 29 miles on Sunday and breaks his most miles in a month record. From Friday to Sunday, I run sixteen 4-mile runs totaling 64 miles. From this point on, Peter didn’t take a single rest day. I took two.
3/23 - my first rest day. Peter took the lead by less than half a mile.
3/24 - I jump back in first with an 11-mile run and break my most miles in a month record.

3/28 - Peter ran four 10-mile runs for a killer 40-mile day. The lead becomes his at 5.2.
3/29 - My second rest day. Peter broke 300 miles and grew his lead to 15.2.
3/30 - I broke 300 miles and closed the gap to 4.8 with 3 runs totaling 20 miles.
3/31 - We headed into the last evening of the month with Peter in the lead by 14 miles. I figured he would run at least 10 and potentially 20. I gave it everything I had and managed to run 30. Peter ran 12, and I eeked out a win by 3.6 miles.

FINAL NUMBERS

Peter ran 350.4 miles with 22,636 feet of elevation over 66 hours and 12 minutes.
I ran 354 miles with 27,060 feet of elevation over 67 hours and 3 minutes.
Peter led for 14 days, and I led for 17.
The variance between our mileage was less than 5 miles for 10 days.

In Peter’s first beer mile, he beat me by 1 second. On the final lap he caught me, and we both dug deep and sprinted to the finish line. It’s my fastest beer mile ever, and I wouldn’t have achieved it without the pressure from Peter.

In a month, when everyone’s races were canceled, and the motivation to run dried up quickly, Peter’s pressure once again prodded me to greatness. I ran 132 miles further in March than I have ever run in a month before. I’m so thrilled to have a friend like Peter who will push me further, to run me faster. And I must admit, I’m pretty delighted to win this month.