1st OA Female out of 6
3rd OA runner out of 26 (20 finishers)
Loop 1 in 2:12, pace 13:18 m/m
Loop 2 in 2:18, pace 13:48 m/m
Loop 3 in 2:26, pace 14:36 m/m
My first race in 2015! And what a way to start out!
There was a lot of set up to this event, but then in the end not a lot of set up My goal was to keep it a training run and not "race" it. For it to be a training run, I just needed to finish steady, nail the nutrition, learn to run at night, learn to run overnight, and not get injured.
Mission Accomplished!
I took Thursday off and moved the usual mileage for that day to Tuesday. I still did the Wednesday 15 miler. Then moved the Sunday 15 miler to Friday. So the week was 0+10+15+0+15+30+0. Adds up to my first 70 mile week.
If this would have been a 'race', I would have rested and fueled appropriately for it. In the end, I stayed up late Friday night, slept only 5-6 hours, was on my feet all Friday and Saturday, and ate a mostly full Saturday dinner between 3:30 and 4:30. Drove to the site 5:30-7. Did packet pickup and tent set up, with only minutes to spare for the 8pm start. I got super lucky in that since the 50-milers were mostly done, parking was a breeze. I literally parked behind packet pickup and where tents were set up!
The race field was small, I counted about 6 womens. I told myself this wasn't a race, and didn't expect any type of podium finish. The sun was set as we started, after a brief wait we were off in the typical ultra fashion -- minimal and quiet :) Gawds I love this sport.
This was my 9th lap around this park. In 2013 I raced my first 50-miler here and later that same year raced a 30-miler (in which I also won OA Female!) but in the opposite direction on the course. So I knew the course! In my head for the past few days I was mapping out hills, turns, and creeks. We started off with the left turn and down the rutted hill to the meadow... and away we go!
In the first mile around the meadow, I ended up behind two womens who were running together (or I thought they were...). I immediately noticed just how bright their headlamps were, and how dim mine was. Panic time!? My headlamp didn't have brand new batteries, but nor did I notice them being dim. Oh F^CK. I had back up batteries, but did I have enough to run the headlamp and the knucklights? Dad to the rescue, at the first aid station I changed to Dad's batteries and had LIGHT! I was sooooo happy and wanted to hug Dad right then and there, but he wasn't there...er...here...er whatever. RUN!
With the battery change, I ended up behind the two womens. In a normal race this would have bothered me, but I was OK with it. Although I would have like to talk to them (one was training for the Mohican 100) it was good to get away and not feel pulled or pushed. Besides, this was my alone time to focus and learn. Not chat.
Over the river and through the woods....past the halfway point...my stomach is unhappy and so am I. My mind started screwing with me, thinking about quitting, thinking about vomiting, thinking about how much colder it might get.... I quickly learned that if my mind wandered I'd stumble or trip. At one point in the lollipop between miles 6 and 7 I stumbled over a root and BAM hit the ground. I was OK, but frustrated. I had to keep my mind on the trail! The trail was marked with yellow reflectives on clothespins and flags. I focused on the next yellow, the next yellow, the next... This worked better.
But I never did vomit, and as you may have guessed I didn't quit. To my surprise, after grabbing some jelly beans (new nutrition find!!) and pee'ing, lap 2 started off great and I was feeling much better. Go sugar high! Down the hill, around the meadow, over the creek (ankle deep and refreshing), up the hill (no yellow pie plate signs this year), down Leafy Gulch (still LEAFY!!), up, down, weaving around, and happy when I hit 12 miles. That means 5K to halfway!! Around this time I thought I saw a yellow reflector off to my right. I spun my head to see if I'd missed a turn, and the reflector ran off! The eyes of a white tailed deer is what I saw!!
And this is where my race turned for the better. As I've noted a lot recently, the first few miles of a long run are more of a mental battle than anything. Once I hit halfway, I was cruising. Also, the halfway aid station had jelly beans :) Different brand, less flavor variety, but still good.
I ended the 2nd lap feeling great, chatted with the RD's for awhile while getting more beans. This time I put them in my glove thinking that would hold them better (and I wouldn't drop so many while running) but they ended up stuck in the fingers of the gloves and were damned hard to get out. Coconut. Chocolate. Coffee. My new nutrition has wonderful flavors, and I found the changes in flavor, the intensity, and the sugar were wonderful perks. Definitely something to follow up on.
The third lap had more more walking, but that was expected. I'd thought about saying "good morning!" to other runners, but didn't think they'd find it as funny. I was getting mentally fuzzed and worried about tripping and other stupid errors. I ran most of miles 20-25 alone, very few runners around me. Well to be clear, they weren't runners. They were the 200, 150, 100, and a few 50 mile race runners who were reduced to walking. Some shuffled, some hobbled, some ambled, but all had a purpose to the walk. Their goals kept them going, and that was so inspiring! As I came up behind them I start talking, asking how they were doing and if they seemed open to it I'd ask their mileage. Some were a black cloud of "leave-me-alone", some were probably too fuzzed to answer, but most all were able to chat a bit and I loved it! I felt so fast passing them on fresh legs, I kept saying "I'm only doing the 30 mile fun run" and most would laugh.
By the 3rd lap, I knew where I was and what turns to look for. I still swear the last 4 miles of the course are way too long and messy, I thought the same thing at the 50-miler. Just a lot of switchbacks? Either way, once I started seeing finish line landmarks, I checked my Garmin. At mile 15 I'd set a soft goal of under 7 hours, that would mean even splits. My Garmin wasn't accurately measuring the loops (1=9.6; 2=9.8...) so the Garmin reported a mile to go (it read 29 at the finish). Everything looked good for a goal finish, and I did it!
I crossed the finish in typical ultra style -- a few claps but otherwise quiet. I had a timing chip to return, so I wandered over to the start/finish AS and chatted again with the race directors. As I'm munching a few more jelly beans and talking to them about Kettle 100 (turns out they'll be there too!) they realize I'm the first female! OMG FOR REALZ?!
Beans, bathroom, bed. I need to get better camping gear. I slept for only 2 hours, and slept poorly at that. The rest of the morning was nothing but tired, so bad I couldn't even drive without more sleep in the truck. A good preview of how I'll be feeling after 100 miles: wiped and dysfunctional.
Overall: NAILED IT!. Nailed the nutrition by eating every 45 mins, did one Powerbar and jelly beans. I think a grand total of 700 calories, but this was after a full meal and all day of mindfully eating sugar to fuel. Nailed the hydration, I had to pee every lap. Nailed a smooth even pace. Nailed night running, kept calm and focused on the trail. Nailed the gear: used the knuckle lights as auxiliary lights for tough sections and downhills; shoes caused no blisters or chafes; layers were perfect. Nailed the mental struggles (although it took 10 miles ...), and learned a lot about running overnight (like about having FRESH batteries!).
Oh, and my back! NOTHING. I kept the Camelbak partially filled, stretched when I remembered to, and was mindful of keeping my head loose and not fixed to aim the light downward. My back muscles were appropriately fatigued, but not pained in an injury-specific pattern. Even after sleeping on the foam mat and truck seat, my back did OK.
Turns out I LOVE RUNNING AT NIGHT!! OK it helped that the trail was in ace-perfect condition: smooth soft dirt that wasn't muddy or dusty; the weather was calm and cool; the sky was clear and starry. Some moments were transcendent. I wanted to stop and stare at the sky, but this was a race and I had to keep moving! I can only hope Kettle 100 is this beautiful and inspiring to run at night.
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