Long rambling tale -

I entered this race as my first 100 at the end of 2011 for the 2012 race . On race day in 2012 I had my 7th knee surgery . I let the RD , Davy Crockett , know I wouldn't make it , he was coming back from a long recovery and said he would defer me to 2013 . When I went in to get my stitches out , I was given some glossy pictures of the inside of my knee some random doctor speak  , no running , replacement soon , take it easy you can put it off for awhile ..but I told him I was entered in a 100 next year ! Recovery was long and painful with more bad days than good . Slow to begin with losing several minutes a mile makes things even harder . I am lucky to live around some amazing runners who inspired me and encouraged me . For me it's always been about how far I could push myself and never about winning ,I spent my entire life showing horses and have lost interest in competition .

My plan was the TRT 50 mile  and some other races after that leading to the 100 . The TRT is our local race we run up there every weekend I know it like the back of my hand , which turns out to be not so good . Every thing was going well at mile 13 I thought I could run down from Tunnel Creek until it got to technical , no idea what happened , running hard for me , ankle went one way then the other , knee , hand , laying on the ground staring up at the sky . I managed to get back up to the aid station , more doctor speak , ice , wrap, ride out , x-ray , air cast , crutches . I gave it 10 days dug out the Vet Wrap taped the ankle race horse style and kept running . At the Tahoe Marathon my knee quit , ended up the size of cantaloupe . Reality slapped me a bit and I let the RD know I would be downgrading . He very kindly said you can continue on at the 50 mile mark if you want . Hope was still alive in my heart but every time I stood up from my chair , reality. I knew it wasn't smart at this point to consider it .

Just getting to the start in another State when you have a ranch with livestock is as hard as the training . The race is self supported you must provide a crew that meant my husband couldn't stay behind and care for the horses . A friend who lives in another State came to my rescue , she flew in on Wednesday to care for the horses and house sit for us .

We drove over Thursday planning to camp ,  I had the slowest wave start at 5:00 . We got there around 4:00 Pacific checked in,  again the RD told me I could continue on at the 50 mile point if I felt like it , he was good with it . We picked a spot away from the others already there and set up camp , it was all good . Then "those" people came , this was BLM no established campsites plenty of room everywhere , they set up about 50' away . They were too loud , up too late and so annoying . I ended up in the back of the car with tp in my ears , my husband said it only got worse as they played a guessing game then discussed trying smoking marijuana and googled how to do it .

We had decided to stay on Pacific time and set alarms accordingly . My husbands phone changed itself to Mountain time so he woke me up an hour early I had a very hard time convincing him what time it was , he just kept going on you'll miss your start , I didn't . I checked the weather and it was very similar to weather here in fact it was almost 20 degrees warmer in the morning . I planned on it being around 30 at the start and 60ish in the day . What I didn't plan on was the damp , they had some rain and snow earlier and it was wet . I was cold all night and cold at the start , I was cold all day . Frost on our camping gear at 3:30am

My race is a boring story of back of the pack . Things that were noteworthy , we were warned about deer hunters on the road not slowing . If anything they would speed up when they saw us . I started in the dark and ran the first 2 hours dodging high speed trucks towing trailers of atv's . Funny thing we lost count of the number of high speed deer hunters but never saw a single deer . As the day wore on the crews grew tired of wondering if their runners were being run down and started defensive blocking . My favorite was an older lady in a truck who did needle point while waiting on her runner , pulling out in front of a caravan of high speed hunters and going 5 mph . Great crews , one guy dressed in a Robin ( Batman & Robin ) suit at mile 40 holding a balloon while waiting on his wife to surprise her and lift

her spirits .

My crew

The course itself was ideal for me , my soul is in the desert,  long straight roads to no where just sing to me . Mentally it was perfect,  a running friend saw my pictures and said that looks so you . I was slow and have one of the slowest overall finishing time . I had a great time and was happy to be running , walking,  chatting and enjoying 50 miles of desert one year to the day I was told to stop running .

The Pony Express route

Where I live and train

Next for me , the Salt Flats 100 , 100 miles on the Bonneville Salt Flats

Nice story. Everyone has a story, and all of them are good. Your's, however, is one of the best. You have overcome the odds and continued to do what you love. It doesn't get any better than that. I am sure that you sometimes get funny looks when you say how much you love the desert, but I can relate. I love it, too. Congratulations.

 

So tell the truth, it was Kelly and Jo keeping you up, wasn't it? 

I already know how to smoke weed.

Thanks for sharing Valerie. Great pictures, too.

Nice job on completing the 50 miler.  I love the desert too but would much more prefer to be riding a quad down that dirt road then running it.

"The course itself was ideal for me , my soul is in the desert,  long straight roads to no where just sing to me ."  That part really scares me.

For awhile I let the downgrade get to me , somehow felt like a loser for not trying the 100 .  In the end I just had accept this is what I am capable of right now .  It was all good and the right choice .

Sounds like you made the right decision, and you (your knee) live(s) to run another day, so don't fret it.  Part of the ultra mentality is always thinking we could/should have done more.  It goes with the territory, but regrets fade and finishes last a lifetime.

Thanks for the report - great job and beautiful pictures that sing to me too!

Nice report! I enjoyed the pictures as well. There's something about the high desert that I really like.

Great job!

Congrats on finishing!  Good luck on your 100 at the salt flats!