I had less than two weeks between the time that I signed up and the date of the actual event, which was great because I had less time to stress and worry. I had less than two weeks to the event, which was BAD because I had
-no hydration pack
-no trail shoes
-no trail running experience
-no solo running in months
No problem.
(disclaimer: I do not recommend this kind of life choice. You should definitely not run a trail ultra without training on trails, testing the proper equipment, blahblahblah. If you do what I did and stuff goes horribly wrong, don't blame me. I'm crazy.)
I read tons of reviews and bought a hydration pack. I went on two solo runs without the stroller. (Sam was not happy to be left behind.) I bought trail shoes. I wore them ONCE on paved trail, just to make sure they weren't going to make my feet bleed. I ran on zero trails, because there aren't any unpaved trails around here that I know of. I sought the advice of an ultrarunner with experience to find out how long she ran prior to a 50K. She said that her mentor had told her that if she could do a 15 mile day and a 16 mile day back to back, or a 15 mile day and a 20 mile day back to back, she should be able to safely handle a 50K. I liked those numbers, so about 9 days before the event, I logged a 20 mile day, followed by a 16 mile day. Then I started a taper week. Taper is horrible. My left big toe started acting up and it hurt to even walk around. I was pretty sure I had sesamoiditis because I had just gotten new shoes the previous week (not the trail shoes) and they were not as supportive as my previous model. There wasn't really anything I could do about it, except rub oils on it and hope that it wouldn't get worse. I can't use ice too much on my toes because I have Raynaud's and they go numb pretty immediately. I really didn't take too many days off from running. I took Sunday and Monday off, ran Tuesday, went to the gym on Wednesday, then broke out my brand new trail shoes and ran in them on Thursday. Just knowing that I probably shouldn't run too far, and that I couldn't run as much as I wanted really messed with my head. Sam was bummed because we were missing our runs. It was not fun. Running Thursday in the trail shoes seemed to magically heal my toe, proving that it was, in fact, the new road shoes that had caused the issue in the first place. I meal prepped and planned on Thursday afternoon so that I wouldn't be slammed and overwhelmed with tasks as soon as we rolled back into town late Saturday. This was important for my sanity because I had no idea what kind of physical condition I would be in when we returned from Michigan.
As I was packing on Friday morning, it suddenly occurred to me that my race start time was 6am. I already knew this, but the full significance didn't hit me until Friday morning. It's dark at 6am. Really dark. I did not have a headlamp. Did I need a headlamp? Is it stupid to wonder if I need a headlamp? I DM'd an instagram buddy that I knew was running the same race and asked, "Um, are you bringing a headlamp?" The answer came back, "Yes, definitely!" My problem solving wheels started turning.... HA. Got it. I had the answer! Michael had given me a small LED military grade flashlight. I could just use that! Perfect! After all, I would only need it for about 45 minutes. I had just dodged that bullet with the greatest of ease. I triumphantly stowed my flashlight in the side pocket of my hydration pack and we left for Michigan around lunch time.
We checked into the Comfort Inn in Chelsea, Michigan around 4:00 and then drove to Hell's Ranch, through Pinckney, to pick up my race bib. It felt totally surreal. I wasn't nervous, but I was So Excited To Run. I felt like a coiled up spring about to explode. I was so excited to have the privilege to run in a new state with other people that love running.
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| Although Hell had some lovely dining establishments, we chose to eat in Chelsea instead. |
After we picked up my bib and got the lay of the land, we left to find dinner. Yelp was our friend and we ended up at Thompson's Pizza in Chelsea. I cannot recommend it highly enough. It was obviously a safe choice because it was wildly popular with the locals. We were fortunate to get a table. It was inexpensive, had an extensive menu, and the food was SO good.
*disclaimer: I do not recommend eating half of an order of fried mushrooms the night before running a 50K. I am really bad at taper. It worked out just fine for me. I didn't feel mushroomy during my run, but I can't in good conscience recommend this kind of irresponsible behavior.*
Anyway, I highly recommend the fried mushrooms. They were delicious. :)
We crashed at the hotel after hunting down clearance rack swimsuits for the kids (I didn't know the hotel had a pool, or I would have packed suits.) and after a couple of hours of swimming, we all went to bed. I could not sleep. My adrenaline was already pumping and sleep eluded me. I dozed for less than an hour before my alarm went off at 4:20am.
{breakfast on the bathroom floor. yum.}
I got up and made coffee, using all the caffeinated coffee provided by the hotel. I brought creamer and superhero muffins from home. I will happily eat fried mushrooms the night before, but I do not mess around with pre-run fuel. That's serious business. Changing up my diet right before a long run is a recipe for disaster. At 5:00 Michael got up and drove me to Hell. He dropped me off at the entrance to Hell's Ranch and said, "Don't die. We really need you." Then he went back to the hotel.
I walked up to the start line and bounced around trying to stay warm. It was just below 40 degrees, I think, and it was completely dark. As I waited, I got to cheer on the 100K and 100 mile runners as they came through the aid station at the start line. They were so amazing, still going strong after running all night! After a while, a guy with fluffy hair, bell bottoms and a tie dye shirt grabbed the microphone and said something to the effect of, "So, yeah, um guys, I guess if you want to line up between the Christmas lights, we're going to start in about.... 8 minutes. 8 minutes is a really long time, right?!"
(Woodstock was a trip, ya'll. So laid back and funky. I cannot recommend this race experience highly enough. It was seriously awesome. Unlike anything I've ever experienced.)
When the race officially started, we all filed up a grassy hill, and immediately plunged into the woods, on a single track trail. It bottle necked quickly and I became part of a running conga line. I turned on my spiffy flashlight and trained it on the ground and quickly realized that I definitely should have brought a headlamp. My flashlight was not bright enough, and actually started dying within about 15 minutes. I later found out that it was not a military grade flashlight at all. It was a trinket gift from USAA. I relied on the beam from the headlamps of the runners in front of me, which was only partly successful. The person behind me was wearing a pretty powerful headlamp and it cast a dark shadow (my own shadow) directly in front of me, leaving my immediate path in total darkness. I prayed a lot. I rolled my right ankle 3 or 4 times and I was very concerned that I was going to injure myself simply due to my blind running. I went as carefully as possible and kept my eyes trained on the beam from the headlamp in front of me, and watched the reflectors on the running shoes ahead of me. Fortunately, the sun always rises! I was so glad to see the path in front of me and I kept thinking how much easier this trail would be in the daylight, and how I really couldn't wait to run it again when I could see it.
I was able to pick up my pace on the packed gravel portions of the trail, but I carefully and slowly navigated the steep uphills and downhills. One of my instagram buddies gave me some good advice, "Walk the hills." I kept reminding myself of this- it helped me a lot. I wasn't losing time by walking the hills, I was saving precious energy for speed on the flatter and safer portions. Also, with my lack of trail running experience, it wouldn't have been safe for me to attempt too much speed on the single track hills. My ankles and knees aren't accustomed to the irregularity of trails. There were aid stations with water, food, portapotties, and volunteers every four miles. It was so encouraging to be cheered on! It also really helped break up the run. The first loop went so well and I was so pumped to be halfway through. I only stopped once to take photos of the trail. Right after the sun came up, the mist was rising and I reached a point in the trail where it was all planks and bridges and I got the opportunity to look around. It was just so peaceful.
The first portion of the second loop was pretty easy for me. I was very excited to run the portion that I had run blindly during the first loop. Turns out, it IS easier when you can see where you're going. I didn't roll my ankle and I was careful to keep my footfalls as stable as possible. I knew the section from mile 24 to 28 was going to be the hardest for me, not necessarily in a physical sense, but from a mental perspective. Knowing that I'm not almost done, but more than halfway, is always a tricky point for me, no matter how far I'm running. I met a couple of women on the trail and they were such excellent conversationalists that it made the miles fly by. I have to admit, I was feeling pretty "trail runner" and "tough" because I got whipped by a thorn bush in the dark on the first loop and I had actual blood to show for it. Then I got to talking to the woman in front of me. She had taken a fall on the trail and landed on her finger and she was pretty sure it was broken. It was her ring finger and it was double in size. She was keeping it elevated while she ran to try to minimize the swelling. She said she wasn't sure if she was going to finish and she was concerned that they were going to have to cut off her rings. That's about the time my feelings of being "super tough trail runner" vanished and I was reminded of how fortunate I was to still be on my feet. Incidentally, the woman with the broken finger did finish the race. She finished just ahead of me, and came in strong. She definitely won the prize for Super Tough Trail Runner.
About mile 20-24, I realized that my hydration pack was rubbing and at the same time, it felt like I had a small rock in my shoe. I needed fuel, and to get it I would have to take off my pack. I decided instead to ask a volunteer at the aid station to grab a honey stinger for me from my pack, so I wouldn't have to take it off. I didn't know how bad the chafing was, but I know from experience that if you take off the offending item and then replace it on top of the chafing, it hurts worse. If you just ignore it, eventually, the pain fades. As for the rock in my shoe, I didn't dare take my shoes off. Sometimes forming blisters feel like rocks and if it WAS a blister, taking my shoes off with so little of the race left would be a disaster for me. I was not about to mess with that. Eventually, my body ignored the chafing pain and I chose to ignore the foreign object in my shoe.
The last four miles went by slowly, because I knew I was almost done, and I also knew that my kids and husband were waiting lunch for me. When I thought I had about two miles left, I started counting. Every time I reached 60, I figured that was probably another tenth of a mile covered. When I came into the clearing and left the woods, I still had enough gas in my tank to sprint for the finish. I saw these guys waiting for me- it was the best!
{photo NOT taken at the race. my phone was in my pack. i made them all pose later with the sign. }
{Sam made sure to check out the trash/recycling situation before we left.}
The event facilities provided hot showers for race participants and that was such a nice amenity. We didn't hang around for long after the race because everyone was hungry and we had a long drive back to IN. We stopped by Thompson's for a late lunch (because it was so good the first time!) and headed home. We made another pit stop in Fort Wayne for frozen yogurt, because I had delayed onset hunger and because Red Mango is always a good idea.
At one point during my second loop of the race, I genuinely thought that I must be last, because I was alone for such a long time. When the waves of 5K, 5 mile, 10K, half and full marathon runners started, the trail got jammed with people that were running on fresh feet and it was difficult to tell who was running what race, and whether I was fast, slow, or somewhere in between. I honestly didn't really care how I finished, as long as I finished. My highest aim was to finish unbroken. The most tiring aspect of the race, other than the punishing hills, was the concentration it took to keep my eyes on the trail. I almost fell once, and rolled my ankle a few times, but managed to stay upright and that was a pretty giant accomplishment for me. As it turned out, I came it second in my age group. Which meant I left with this very groovy memento:
Sam has consented to share it with me. That's pretty generous of him.
In case anyone is curious or looking for recommendations, I took in 2 honey stinger waffles, 3 peanut butter GUs, and 2 Nuun tablets (dissolved in 32oz of water) during the length of the race. I used up about half of the water in my hydration pack and drank almost all of the Nuun that I had in my handheld water bottle. I love these fuel sources. They don't upset my stomach at all. The Nuun is light and not too sweet, so it doesn't give me a sugar rush. The peanut butter GU is the only one that I have tried, because GU grosses me out. I can take the peanut butter one because I can pretend that it's actually peanut butter and not a clear gooey substance. The waffles are tough when they are cold and harder to chew. But they digest easily for me and give me an almost immediate energy boost.
The 4 hour drive home was probably not the best way to recover from what was supposed to be a 32 mile run, but actually clocked closer to 34. I've been pretty stiff these past couple of mornings, but I'm not injured... just sore from the trail. I've already been on the hunt for another ultra that I can squeeze in before we move, but we only have two available weekends left before we jet off to Hawaii. Our time here in Indiana is draining away. I'm so thankful for the opportunity to experience this before we leave the continental US! I can't wait to do another one. I definitely want to do another 50K, but a 50 miler is the new dream.
It was amazing. Everybody should do it. The end.
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