Notes
First ultra - completed. Flew out of Mnpls Friday morning. Initially, our flight was cancelled due to bad landing gear on the plane we were supposed to be on. So, went from a direct flight to having one stop in Portland. Cool thing about that was that we flew right by Mt. Hood and my Mom was able to see the mountain that HTC begins at each year. Bad part of it was my mom hates flying and so a one stop just added another flight. We sat down to lunch in the airport to kill time and I had one of the worst meals ever - so, not good for fueling up the energy sources the day before, but oh well. Got into San Fran around 530 - 4 hrs later than expected. Drove to the store to check in, pick up bag, etc. Had a good meal the night before and a large beer to relax the nerves.
Got up at 3am san fran time (which wasn't too bad considering that was 5 am MN time and sleeping in for me). Had bagel/peanut butter, banana and coffee. Alison drove to the race so I could pin my number on, get things situated for fuel/clothes/etc. Got to the park and it was still dark. Colder than expected, but still decided to go tank and shorts b/c I knew that wouldn't last long. Race started at 6am. Went out reaaaaal slow because I was nervous of dying later. Talked with this older man the first few miles. He thought it was stupid that I was doing THIS run as my frist ultra, and that I should slap the person that got me into these. He had done tons of ultras and this race in particular more than a couple times - he warned me that I would feel great miles 18-20 and think, "whats the big deal?" Then, a few miles later I would be cursing the idea of this whole thing. He could not have been more right. He also said that the last few miles are like riding some roller coaster (which name I cannot remember) at Great America (some cali theme park?). He was right on that as well.
Within 24 minutes, my quads were sore from the hills. The first 2-3 miles were on old fire roads, then the next 6-7 on single track trails, then the rest on fire roads. Alison and my mom were able to see me more than I expected. They hiked all around and saw me at mile 6ish, 19, 23, and the start and finish. I drank water and powerade and tried some Cytomax they had. I didn't know what it was but figured it would be better than water. It wasn't that bad tasting, but my body didn't like it. Good to know. Drank a ton water/powerade throughout - had vespas at 1 hr and 3 hr, 5 hr energy before the race and at 4 hr, and tootsie rolls and food throughout. Ate more at the checkpoints than I thought I would - but food tasted really good - esp the choc chip cookies. Also, I was worried about losing so much salt - I guess I was covered according to Alison - so I ate tons of pretzels and chips.
The last 10 miles were slow, and thats an understatement. (I think I did the first 20 miles in 3 hrs....then the last 11 in 2.5.) The 2-3 mile constant incline after 23 miles did me in. Also, at the last checkpoint the volunteers said "it's all downhill from here." To which I replied, "really...or are you just saying that?" Then, they said there would be a "few hills." The grade of the hills that last 5 miles would be greater than any I encountered that day. Felt like I was walking 1 mph up them. It was bad. My quads were so sore and I would get sharp twinges in them running on flat or downgrade.
FInished in 5:37, 5th female overall. Good barbecue after and not too sore that night. Next day toured/walked all day around San Fran - which called for a few "ok, I need to sit down" breaks, but overall covered a lot of ground.