No One is Unbreakable - Part 1
Race Recap: On April 22, I toed the start line of the toughest 100k in the country at 5:00 a.m. I was so well-trained and strong (physically, mentally and emotionally). The weather was perfect. We took off. I arrived at the first aid station which just so happened to be my first crew spot about an hour and 45 minutes later which was right in the range I had planned for. I got there, I took a drink of water and all of a sudden I had to puke only 9.5 miles into this race. It confused me. But we had fresh bottles ready for me and I took off again planning on eating a couple of extra gels as food didn’t sound good. The next 11.5ish miles went really well. I got to see my crew again and the Slavins! I was able to drink some Coke and eat some potatoes. Fresh bottles of water and electrolytes and more gels in my pack and I’m off again. Everything felt great and I was enjoying myself. Lots of water crossings already and plenty of breeze. The next aid station was Hell’s Gate (about 30.5 miles in). I came in, ate some bananas and put on some sunscreen because I knew the next miles were the most exposed on the course and the toughest part of the race as far as technical goes. This was the slowest I have ever moved during a race. There wasn’t even a trail at times and other times when I was on a trail it was all rocks. There wasn’t a lot of running and I rolled my left ankle 6-7 times. But I kept moving forward. I had thought the next aid station (Fish Hatchery) was around 37.2 miles but due to trail work it was 40.2 miles which added an extra hour to my time to get there. I came in with about 5 minutes left to cut off which I wasn’t aware of at first. The aid station captain asked if I needed anything and I needed to think, eat some meaningful calories and take my shoe off to stretch my foot. I was definitely at a low point but anyone who has done anything hard knows those low points come and go. We put my chair in the shade so I can eat a banana and drink some more Coke and stretch out my foot. I wasn’t sure if I could go. I was surrounded by people encouraging me and asking me what I needed. And the aid station captain (Chris Thornley) asked what I wanted to do and I was like yeah, I’m going to do this. So Greg started taking out my old bottles and putting in my new bottles and I started to tie my shoe when the RD came over to ask what was going on. At that point, I was 5 minutes past cut off and he asked if I had a pacer which I did not. It was his decision to pull me from the race. I say this not in anger but to explain what happened. The RD gets to make those decisions in those instances. I went from being excited to get going again to shocked at not being allowed to go out. I’ve never been close to a cut off before and I know how many times people are allowed to go on because the aid station captain or RD says it’s ok. I still had 8.5 hours to make it 22 miles and I had it in me. I knew it. But this was the first year of the 100k. The RD didn’t know me and my mindset nor if the cut off times were ‘right’ for this race. That’s what happens in these types of situations and all we can do is learn from it. I have learned from it (which is the point of this blog and probably the next one because it’s already getting long 😂). I want to be clear here: this is not a dig at the RD. He made the best decision with the information he had at the time. He did not think I could make it to the finish leaving 5 minutes after cut off and he did this to ensure I was safe. I hope he too learns from this and adjusts those cut off times as not one runner finished in the golden hour (the last hour of the race). Everyone finished before that which means there was time to finish even leaving 5 minutes late.
Positives on course: It is beautiful and rugged! The Highline Trail is unforgiving and the effort to even get 40 miles was one of the hardest things I have done. That’s why I pick challenging courses because they push us out of our comfort zones. I saw an amazing sunrise while I was running in the pines. Pine had so much snow and rain this winter and spring that the water was flowing in so many places. I crossed a lot of water and it was nice to be able to cool off. Even in the last 9.5 miles where it was completely exposed, the clouds came out to cover the sun for quite a bit of it which helped keep me cool throughout. The volunteers were absolutely fantastic! They were there to help the athletes and they did a wonderful job making sure we were all taken care of and smiling the entire time. One of them even rubbed sunscreen on me because they didn’t have spray and I couldn’t reach everywhere! Greg and Gia crewed me and were there to cheer me on each time they saw me. They had my food and liquid needs covered and that mental support all ultrarunners need during a hard effort. I got to see Meg and Brian twice and each time they were there to help and push me forward. Meg even offered to be right behind me while she swept part of the course so I could have a kind of pacer (RD didn’t go for that but I did try 🤣). Deron Ruse and Chris at the Fish Hatchery aid station where they pulled me were so positive and encouraging and had confidence I could finish. So much good came from this course.
Training: I was so prepped. Again, I knew I was ready for this. I felt and was confident and powerful (and still am). I kept saying to myself ‘Good effort. Positive attitude.’ throughout my training but also throughout the race. My PT sessions and the mobility and strength I worked on at home came through. I didn’t stop once while on course except at aid stations to get food and drinks. I woke up the next day with only a little stiffness and by Monday morning, I was back to normal. I know I did the right things in this training block and I will continue to build from here.
Not so good: I’ve got some work to do on my left ankle. There is weakness there which I’ve noticed before so it’s time to do some more dirty work with Meg and figure this out. Calories: I really struggle with food in these races even in the beginning. It’s time to hone in on what I can eat during a race. And yes, during those efforts, the body changes its mind but there are always a few staples (bananas, PBJs, watermelon, bean wraps, salty potatoes and chips). Realizing how much time I had left to get to the aid station. I was a bit confused on timing when the aid station wasn’t at mile 37 then not at 38 then not at 39, then not at 40. This means focusing on the time when I hit the aid station even if the mileage was different than expected and knowing I may have to grab a huge handful of food and keep trucking without stopping.
What am I going to take from this? Well, you’re going to have to stick around for the next blog to find out. But I will leave you with this from Ryan Holiday’s book Courage is Calling, “They could choose between two attitudes, one that said, ‘What is going to happen to me?’ And the other that said, ‘What action am I going to take?’”
Good effort. Positive Attitude.
