Notes
OK. So I made it to the start line. Excited, tired and drained of vitality. I had been fighting being sick and travelling all week. Jess and Fian had chest colds and I had a tickle and coughed periodically. I was not in top form and I definitely felt it.
It was dark and cold (32) and we showed up about 45 minutes till race start. There was a fire and we huddled around it. I was super excited. Drank coffee and water and had one GU with caffeine. (I had eaten a very small breakfast at about 5am after a sleepless night)(I ate a quizno's sandwhich for dinner, it wasn't very good but we had no time and were travelling so no choices.)
Finally at 7:27 we lined up, 150 souls in the dawn. The director gave a shout of go at 7:30 and we were off. I started at the very front of the pack and was quickly passed by about a dozen runners. I found a good clip before we actually hit the trail and stuck with it. We ran across this cliff face that was awesome. A wrong step would mean a certain pitch down 100' cliff. It was really beautiful in the morning light.
One thing I have learned now (this being my third distance trail race) is I love the start of a race. I love the way all the runners are out there ahead and behind me and we move through the morning in total, swift, silence. It is really cool. No one talks, they just move.
The 22 miles of the race went really well for me. I bombed the downhills, of which there was about 13 miles. I averaged probably a 8:43 pace for that 22 miles. I felt like I might be going pretty fast but I also felt like I should take advantage of the hills because I didn't think there were that many later. All in all I felt really good for this part of the race. I managed to drink about 30 ounces of water every 1hr and 10 minutes and managed to pee once in about that time for these first 3 hours. Not too bad. Although, when I would stop to take a leak I realized how woozy I felt. The world seemed a little out of sorts and I wan't feeling tip top.
At mile 22 (start and finish) I saw Jess and she was happy and helped me fill my bottles with coconut milk and Emergen-C. I ate some salted potatoes and 1/4 of a pbj and was off. I probably was there for less than 2 minutes.
I ran with some fellow for awhile but all in all I didn't talk too much to anybody during this race. Probably during the entire race I spent less than an hour running with anybody.
After mile 22 things started to get ugly. Running the downhill so fast started to show as my quads were really starting to hurt. And, it turned out there was a lot more downhill to go. I pushed on and tried to keep my pace but I knew it was slipping. I am not sure of my splits but I think I started to drop to a 11 minute pace, maybe even slower.
The trail got pretty technical too. The entire race the trail was technical. Leaves covered the rocks and sometimes even made the trail disapper enitely. It was a pretty technical trail in some areas. It had a lot of twists and turns, especially in the rhodendron groves along the creeks. It was very much like Crow Pass except you couldn't see the rocks. Luckily I never fell.
I ate salted potatoes, which were awesome, at every aide station and the volunteers were so great and filled my bottles for me. The coconut juice I had stashed was really refreshing.
By the time I saw Jess again at mile 33 I was exhausted and my legs were killing me. I shook my head and she smiled and said don't do that. She got some food in my and off I went to do a five mile loop before I would see her again. Well that five miles took me over an hour. It was so tough.
It is at this point in both 50's that I have the lowest everything. I feel beat, I want to give up, quit, just stop running. I cramped up really bad. My left knee, on the outside, just stopped working. I tried to stretch it on a hill and then I ended up limping for 5 minutes. Every step was sheer pain on my quads and my knee. I met a guy (the Masters winner from last year, a really seasoned ultra runner) and he told me this race was longer than last year. That helped explain why my goal times were off but it still meant I was running below my target pace. By this point I didn't care. He said we were in the top 7 and that if we kept it up we could get a sub 8. I laughed and told him I just was putting one foot in front of the other. He was a nice fella. We arrived at the aide station together and that is the last time I would see him except for a short glimpse about 30 minutes later.
Jess was there and told me the lead guy (he won it last year) had DNF'd because he was puking and that I was in the top 10 maybe even top 5. I had soup (it was too hot) and a cold 1/4 grilled cheese. I tried to leave but ended up turning around and finding Jess becasue I was getting cold and needed my jacket. This all took about 4 minutes longer than I had antincipated and I ended up taking the jacket off ten minutes later anyways.
Now I left running with this tall guy who was a local. He had run several ultras before and he knew this trail system really well. I asked who had the best burger in town and he made a suggestion before he left me in the dust.
We were on familiar terrain now and passing oncoming runners. I tired to smile and say something to everyone but it was an effort. I was at least two or even three hours ahead of them all but most were really upbeat. It was encouraging, mostly.
I knew now where the hills were and it helped to know what was coming. Climbing was easiest as I power hiked and was faster than most. I would catch up to these two guys on the hills and then on the downhills they would toast me. I couldn't even hardly walk downhill anymore it hurt so bad. I had to hobble. Once I made the ridge, about 3 miles of fairly flat running, I just concentrated on one foot in front of the other. I actually probably ran a 9:30 pace up there. Then I had to come back down and that hurt so bad. But once I got into the valley where Lula Falls is I knew I was close to the last aide station. ONce there I only had 6 miles to go!
I saw some oncoming runners and asked how far and they said maybe two miles. This was really encouraging. For the first time in like 3 hours I felt bouyant and thoughts of quitting left my head. I knew I was less than 10 miles from the finish and that I could do this.
Finally, I limped into the last checkpoint (the one where on the way out the guy told me I one the award for best looking legs. I don't think he was hitting on me. It was a true compliment. I told him I hoped they ran as fast as he thought they looked.) I stuffed some potatoes and got some HEED (first time ever drinking it) and some water and 1/4 pbj and then off I went. I probably stood there for 2 to 3 minutes because I was getting ready for the end. But my legs had gotten cold so that when I took off I couldn't run, I hobbled, limped for about 5 minutes until they warmed back up and then I was able to climb/run out of the valley. I think there was a guy filming all of this. I must have looked pretty funny.
The last leg of the race and I was just excited to be done. 6 miles to go. We climbed up out of this valley. I was alone for about 15 minutes and then I saw the tall local guy. I shadowed him for awhile and we talked about how one of us might be top 10. Finally, I tried to pass him and this worked for about two minutes and then he blazed me and I was behind him again for quite a bit. I just kept concentrating on trying to run. Trying to make it. We came to a hill and I was pushing up it. He was pushing too. I knew the powerline was there and from the powerline we only had about two miles but where was it. The trail kept going and going and going.
I was trying to keep up with him and I think he was trying to increase his lead. Finally we came to a steep little section and I caught up and passed him. That was it. It gave me a liittle burst of conficdence and I kept going. I wasn't going to let him catch me again. My lead grew and grew. So much that by the time I reached the powerline I couldn't see him so I used this and decided that I would be off the powerline by the time he got there. I ran as fast as I could. There was a huge downhill and it hurt so bad but I ran it as fast as I could. The pain was numbing.
By the time I reached the woods I looked back and just saw his head cresting the hill. I had a 5 minute lead on him now. I breathed easy thinking I might be top ten now. Then I saw a guy ahead of me in the woods. I had talked to him early in the day and run on and off next to him. I didn't realize he was so far ahead of me. It was his first ultra but he is a real athlete (all american tennis player for harvard and avid marathoner). I was getting closer to him but I was already pushing my limits. I knew we were close but I wasn't sure how long I could keep my pace. Finally, I got pretty close to him and just started pushing him. He pushed to stay ahead and finally he relented on a technical section of single track and I blazed past. I could see another runner ahead but it was hard to tell how far as the terrain was rolling and the trail meandered alot. I thought maybe I could pass this one more person. I knew we were coming to the road soon and that from there I would be able to see the finish line. Where was it? Was it ever going to come? Houses, is that it? My mind was numb, my body numb and dumb stumbling as fast as I could go. Then I heard cheers ahead of me the guy had hit the road. I sped up and then through the trees I saw the finish line so I went faster. I hit the road and the people cheered and there he was about 100 yards ahead and about 150 yards from the finish line. I dropped the hammer....I was going to catch him. I pushed hard. My feet hurt, my legs were sheer pain but I was closing the distance. He looked over his shoulder and he pushed hard. I saw Fian, Jess, Jackie, Emma and Kat. I smiled big and pushed and then I was so close and he just edged the finish line and I came hammering in a mere 9 seconds behind him.
I shouted a victorious "STOP" and stopped running.
6th place overall out of 150 runners.
It was epically difficult. It was way harder than Resurrection but I got the exact same time, to the minute. I need to train harder for those downhills because that is what hurt.
What a beautiful day!