Notes
This race was advertised as a 40-miler, but the course was more like 41.4. Need to update more stats when they come in. 82F temp average, 71-73F dew point.
Half was done in Asics Sonomas, Half in the Brooks.
Full race report:
I started off race week feeling anxious about the commitment I’d made and the distance I’d need to cover on Saturday. That feeling only grew as the week went on and the day came closer, but also when my PMS started, which heightened any feelings of negatively or anxiety.
Turns out I was on the second day of my period during the race, which is usually my least fun day. It didn’t majorly affect me, though, except that when I got stomach pains, I couldn’t tell if it was my uterus being annoyed or another organ, like the bladder. I could have gone pee at any point in the race, so I knew I wasn’t dehydrated. That’s the most TMI of this report, I think, except when I talk about pee at the end. But trying to have as many details for myself as possible for next time, too.
The morning of the race I woke up 10 minutes before the alarm set for 4am (but without being annoyed about it), checked the weather one last time, saw it was still going to be hot, and did my daily journalling and coffee drinking, also eating a cinnamon waffle. After that I started getting ready, lathering myself in body guide, then sunscreen lotion, then Off-spray (don’t know if any one of those things lessened the effectiveness of the other), and got dressed in my super-dry shirt and shorts with pockets I’d laid out for myself. I’d packed a change of clothes for the race, but I ended up not needing them.
Toasted a chocolate waffle, made another cup of coffee (this time decaf) for the road, got my stuff together, and headed out! That all took an hour, but I like a more leisurely pre-race morning.
The drive to the Hungyland Slough was about 50 minutes. A large part of the route actually used to be my commute to work, and I almost texted a former colleague to say hey, guess where I am, until I realized it was 5:30am on a Sat. and he also probably wouldn’t care. The last part of the drive was all on dark maintenance roads, which was annoying, but following the directions of the race director, getting to the course was unproblematic. It was 6am and the 40-milers were slated to start at 7:15. I had time to wander to the packet pick-up, wander to the car, wander to the port-a-potties, say hi to a few people I knew, get my stuff from the car and set my drop bags up near some other people in a not-too-inconvenient location (about 20 yards from the finish line and main aid station). Hung out with a few of the people I knew, listened to Mike, the race director, explain the course, really only listened to the part where he said it would be well-marked, not to worry (which came to bite me in the ass later), and we were off punctually at 7:15!
The course was two loops, which added to 20 miles. There was a 20-mile race, a 40-mile one, and an 100-mile one, so you can do the math on how many times we had to do the course. Mikey said it was actually more like 20.5 miles, which means the 100-milers would end up doing around 103! Woah! I started off the race with Laura, a runner I met on Strava after I did the Trident, and she is a talker. I think she kept up a consistent stream of chatter for the entire time I was with her, which was the first 10-ish miles. It got a little distracting, not in the good way, and I did think at one or two points that I wish I could just say “hey, can we have some quiet time?” But as the race went on, I was grateful to have had those first miles with her for several reasons, one being that I got to know her better, I was getting some good positive vibes from her, and her talking kept me off my MP3, which ended up lasting only 6 hours, and I’d have had to run the last part without music otherwise!
So the first loop went by quickly— she helped keep me slower than I probably would have started otherwise, but we likely also went a bit faster than advised for a first-time ultra; it was round sub- 10mpm. It was also the easier loop… lots of Florida traily stuff, not too much sand, a bit of hog-torn-up parts and high grasses. We did accidentally get off course for about 100 yards, but thankfully someone whistled and was able to communicate to us that we were about to get lost, so we were able to get back on course without adding too much extra. When we got back to the camp and the main aid station, she went off to apply more sunscreen and I (stupidly) went on without restocking on my Gus. At that point in the race I was still thinking about time and didn’t want to trek 20-yards away to just pack a few more gels. It was silly, because it meant I only had 1 gel for the next 11 miles. Whoops. Exactly what people before the race had warned me not to do. I did get half a PB and J in me though, some coke, and a cup of water as well as electrolytes, so I wasn’t in that bad shape. I also had 3 gels in me at that point, plus the 400 calories from the breakfast waffles, so I wasn’t starving. But maybe I reached one more low point than I needed to later in the race because of it.
I started off on the second loop without Laura, but had quite a few 100ers who were still going strong at that point to catch up with. Good thing I had them to follow, otherwise I’ve have gotten confused by the course markings. For the second loop, we were told to go 2.5 miles on the canal berm (the only part of the route directions I remember; it was a nice, firm, gravelly but totally unshaded part) and then turn off into the green. But there were some markings a lot earlier that did look like something we were supposed to turn into. Like I said, the first time I didn’t get confused, but the second time it was confusing. I’ll get to that later. Once we turned off back onto the trail, we hit a lot of sand. That was the first time I did any walking, because it was also starting to get warmer at that point and I told myself, this is already hard, why make it any harder? Laura had also caught up with me by that point, but she ran strong through it, so I was left alone. But it was okay. The course was pretty well marked, as Mike promised, and I always had someone to follow that second loop. Went past an aid station, went to a turn-around point (like on the first loop), went back past the aid station. At this point I was filling up on water, electrolytes, and ice at every station. Ice went in my hat, down the front or back of my bra (or both), and in my makeshift neck wrap made of two arm-sleeves. I got the tip of arm sleeves from krash, and while it seemed totally counter-intuitive to me for a warm race, it ended up being one of the smartest choices. Like I said, I could tie them around my neck and when the ice melted wear them and they kept my arms cool and the sun off.
A note about aid stations: there were 3, one unmanned one on each of the loops and one main manned one. We went through the unmanned ones twice on each loop (so 8 unmanned aid stops total) and got the main one about every 10 miles. The unmanned stations had ice, water, and Gu Roctane drink, the manned ones the usual ultra fare. One needed to have one’s own container for the unmanned stations though (and later, also for the manned one), and I didn’t have anything except my bladder on the first loop. I kept my cup from the manned station after my first time going through and held that in my pocket to drink at the next stations. After the halfway point I had my collapsible bottle. I got lucky with ice at all the stations, or the volunteers just did a good job planning the restocking. The only times I didn’t get ice was the first time I went through the manned one at mile 10 (so still relatively early) and the first time on the second loop. After that, thankfully, every time. The bladder was a great solution for drinking on the go, without having to stop, but I did look forward to the times I could down a full cup of water or electrolytes. Did fill up my 2 L bladder once and drank damn near all 4 liters. As mentioned above, I managed to stay well-hydrated throughout the race. That was a major saving grace.
By the end of the second lap, which was around 20.5 miles or so, and about 3:30hrs in, I was really looking forward to the aid station and planning my half-way pit stop. About mile 17 I was noticing my left foot really hurting and I knew I needed to try my other shoes. I was glad to have packed an extra pair, even though I’d put them in the bottom of my drop bag, thinking it would be the last thing I needed. I also was getting a tightness in my right hamstring, so I was looking forward to the massage gun I’d also packed (something I’d acquired after I learned at Trident that it can really come in handy). I got to the main camp, restocked on ice, water, and electrolytes, took another half of a PB + J and a quarter banana and walked to my drop-bags. I was glad to have remembered a towel that I could sit on while going through my supply stash, changing my shoes (didn’t change the socks. They were gross as hell, but I’d applied glide to my feet and toes beforehand and they were still feeling good), massaging my legs, and reapplying glide to the bottom of my bra area. I also reapplied some sunscreen to my shoulders and face and stuffed the rest of the Gus in my pack. Wasn’t going to make THAT mistake again. I also sucked in two of kiddie fruit + veggie squeeze packs I’d brought and was glad to notice I wasn’t feeling nauseous and could keep things down. I spent about 10 minutes at the aid station on the second loop, was feeling strong, and I was still in a consistently positive mood at that point.
Left that station at a 9mpm pace, which was maybe not the smartest thing, but hey, I figured enjoy the good parts. I did realize that sub-7 hours was no longer possible at that point, but I also learned that a time goal for a first-time ultra runner on an unknown course is stupid anyway. It also didn’t bother me that it appeared I wasn’t going to place, either. I got into the mindset that many told me to get into, which is that the goal should be to finish. So that became my focus. And it felt really good still. The third loop, which was a repeat of the first loop, went by a little slower than the first part. I didn’t recognize anything because I hadn’t been paying as much attention the first time. It was also starting to get really warm, but I could find relief at the aid stations each time before things got too bad. Having a constant water supply in my bladder helped a lot. I did end up walking more this third loop, though, but more because I never wanted to feel like I was pushing too hard in the running. I backed off, felt better again, started up again, and repeat. It did seem I was doing more running than a lot of the people I still saw on the course. That third loop was actually the least eventful one. Passed a few runners, stopped to chat at the aid stations, was still feeling really positive, kept going. Near the end of that lap, though, I was starting to get a little annoyed that we’d crossed the 30 mile mark and there was no camp in sight. And then I went to look at the map on my watch again (I’d look at it occasionally to get an idea of where I was in the course) and saw it was frozen. At 30.15 miles. And I pressed and held any number of button combinations, and nothing. My watch was stuck and I was inwardly fussing at myself, the guy who sold me the watch, the course for being a bit long, etc., and thinking to myself, at least I have a backup watch at the camp. I also knew were were almost there, so I held on.
Got to the main aid station again, knew it was about the 50k mark, didn’t want to spend too much time there. I went to my drop bags, messed with the watch again, no change, rummaged around for my replacement watch and realized I’d left it in the car. Great. That was about a quarter mile away. Thinking at that point not worth it. Would have to suck it up. Dilly-dallied a bit going back and forth to the drop bag to take off the watch, drink a bit of ginger ale I’d packed, and reapply Gide to the bottom of my bra area, which was starting to chafe. I thought one more time about going to the car first, but I was like no. Headed back on the berm for the fourth and final loop. I had water, Gus, ice, my music… just do it, Trotter.
Running without looking at a watch is one thing. Not having a watch at all is bizarre. I didn’t even know what time it was. On that berm I was also completely alone and left to my own devices to remember where to turn off. (Also did I mention it was unshaded and at this point hot AF?) This is where the confusing course markings became an issue. I couldn’t check my watch to see what I’d done before and got really insecure and negative. Stopped, asked some random guy driving along in his truck if he knew how the course went. He just knew the finish line was just down the road, which was no help because I knew I had to do a lot more before going back to the finish. Luckily another woman whom I’d just passed before the aid station was coming up along, so I was able to back-track a bit to her and confirm with her that we keep going straight. That was really helpful. I had no reason to walk at that point, so I did keep running again away from her, but she saved me. And I’m such a dork and didn’t get to thank her after the race. By the time I got to the end of the berm, I remembered that I’d seen all this before. I also realized that without a watch, I didn’t know when 30 minutes or 3 miles had passed to eat the next Gu, so I told myself I’d try and guess. That part worked out surprisingly well to the point that I never overate, kept up a steady supply of energy, and still had one Gu left with 2.5 miles to go (which I knew because one guy I passed was able to tell me that).
This was the last 8-9 miles of the race, and though it was the hardest part, I’ll say it never got too hard. Yes, there were moments, especially lost on that berm where I thought I’d have to turn around back to the main camp, find out the course, maybe even get my other watch or at least my phone after all, or maybe just quit. But quitting was never really an option, even on the really sandy parts during that last loop, even when the aid station took forever to appear, even when I was there in the middle of the Florida upland, timeless, mapless, etc. It literally was just me and this trail and whether I could finish the race. And that became all that mattered. I must have gotten so zen that a deer had no problem joining me on the path for about 5 seconds. That was awesome. There were no timing mats at the turn around point (surprisingly, right?), so in theory I could have turned 20, 50, 100 yards away from the white tape marking that point, but it was an interesting conversation with myself about how I’d only be cheating myself, and I learned that is surprisingly strong motivation for not cheating. Anyway, the final loop was also more lonely. The 20 milers were gone, the 40 and 100 milers were spaced really far apart. First place for the women was super fast. I did pass another woman, so I knew I was top 5. But like I said, it didn’t really matter to me anymore. Partly also because I was very concerned about keeping myself comfortable and finishing this race. But also like I said, I stayed feeling relatively good. I managed to run-walk pretty regularly and keep running a lot longer than I walked. Passed one more person near about where I knew were weren’t too far from the berm, and therefore the finish, and positive words were exchanged, as well as knowing I had 2.5 miles left. So I ran. Once I got back onto the berm, the ground underfoot was more firm again, even though it was blindingly sunny and hot. But it was sooo close! And I could run! I didn’t have push too hard, just keep running. And as I got closer to the finish line lots of 100-ers and some 40ers were heading out for their second or third time on that loop and quite a few walking, but they smiled as I passed and I got lots of “finish strong” and I did. Not sprinting by any means, but not barely running, either. And I crossed the mat and saw Laura again and saw I’d gotten in around 8 hours, so one hour more than I’d planned, but it was also the first time thinking about time for about 2. 5 hours, which was also kind of cool. And then while Laura and I exchanged a few words, Mike wrote something on my medal, and I saw my time, 7:59:52 and 3rd Overall Female, and was told not only was I the third woman, which was one of the goals in the back of my head, but I was third OA. Seeing the official time, place, and the physical manifestation of the fact that I'd finished this race, I got a burst of happiness. And that feeling is a warm glow in my heart that accompanied me on the way home and still hasn’t left.
I spent about another hour at the camp, refueled a bit (as much as I could), managed to down a whole sandwich I’d made for myself, caught-up with and cheered a few 100 milers (they were having a real tough time of it. I “only” had to do 40… they still had another 3 hours of warm daylight left before it would get cooler and they still had a lot of miles to go. Took photos, chatted, cheered in a fellow running mate of mine who also did the 40 (it was great to have a few people I knew there!), chatted with the aid station folks. Everyone was so nice and congratulatory and I was probably high on adrenaline and just really happy, and it was easy to be bubbly, even if I was also very tired. Just wanted to sit. My knee and foot hurt, knew I still had to get home, etc. But yeah, it wrapped up well. Headed out to the car, helped Laura with her cooler, drove home, managed to take a shower, rinse out the worst of the dirt and the sweat out of my clothes, reorganize up a bit, and enjoy a really chill evening. In bed by 2230, and that’s it. Took some ibuprofen last night and this morning, tried to get my pee to get to light yellow again —it was light brown the first time, but clear through the evening, so maybe I did need more salt. Lots of people recommended salt caps for a race like this, but I’ve never trained with them and usually get by fine on the sodium in my Gus and drinks. I think it was fine. I’m fine now).
So that’s that. First continuous ultra done. Since it never got too bad and I was able to finish so strong, I feel the urge (and already felt this way on the course), that I need to find something harder. But after another year of a sub-3:30 marathon being too hard, maybe it was good to have something I could manage. And maybe I'll find another thing too hard for me, and that’s a learning experience to look forward to.