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| Feeling good pre race |
I can say that training for this race was definitely more enjoyable than training for the past 7 marathons I've done. I ran most of my miles on trails and dirt roads in the hills. The hardest part of my training was running really slow. I actually looked forward to my once a week track workout. Running that slow forced me to swallow my pride. I tried avoiding running in places where I would be seen, which was easier during early morning hours or under cover of darkness. Running much more of my miles easy did not beat me up like marathon training. I stopped hobbling around on my sore feet or stiff Achilles. No injuries! And I came to terms with walking some of the hills. It was just a matter of lasting through the long runs.
All 24, or so, of us toed the line at 7:00am just as the sun was rising to begin our adventure, some to run the 50k and some to run the marathon. After asking who had run the race last year, the race director informed us that the course had some changes. "Oh no", I thought. The only map I had found of the course came from stalking someone's Strava data from last year. It turns out that I didn't need to worry.
My plan was to keep my heart rate under 75% of max for the first 20 miles. During training, even running up hill, I could keep it manageable for at least the first few miles. Not so race morning. As soon as I began my slog (slow jogging), my heart rate shot up. This seems to happen to me at every race. I chalked it up to my usual race nerves. So right off the bat, I was resigned to my power walking strategy. I watched as the small pack of runners slowly disappeared up the sandy wash telling myself to be patient and stick to the race plan. It's hard to be patient at the beginning when you are feeling good. Later on in the race, I was glad I stayed disciplined in the early miles.
Much of the first 3 miles was run up a sandy, rocky wash. The cool shade felt great and I was hoping to have some shade later when the temperature would rise. Finally after reaching the 4 1/2 mile mark at the apex of the hill I was able to jog down the other side to the caution tape at about 9 miles where we were told to turn around. While walking back up I looked up to the top of Sunrise Mountain, knowing my husband, Bill, was up there somewhere probably getting a better workout than I was at the moment. After texting and making contact with each other, I slowly made it back up again and was down the other side. I decided I would let my heart rate creep up a little higher than I had planned. I passed several runners down the other side which gave me hope that I would not be the last one in, not that there's anything wrong with that, I mean it is an ultra marathon!
Surprise, surprise, who should I see at the bottom of the hill at mile 17? Bill! Having Bill run with me was great. I did take my eyes off the ball though and let my heart rate get out of hand for that first mile we ran together. Like 20 beats per minute off target! We ended up power walking up a steeper grade and me grumbling about my exceedingly low mile pace. I thought about my junior high students and the predictions they had made for my race and how I was hoping that I would just make it. It would be embarrassing to tell them I had to quit. I was starting to feel done. My stomach was feeling done also. I had been eating Cliff blocks, Huma gels, and Jelly Belly Sport beans along with electrolyte spiked water in my hydration pack. I also had a hand carried bottle with Tailwind drink. I was trying to take in nutrition early and often, but I must admit haphazardly. I probably could have set an alarm on my watch to eat more regularly. Finally at about mile 20, my stomach just said no more! I started to have cramps which prevented me from feeling like I could run or even continue. It was very frustrating.
At the top of the hill, I grabbed a few dry salty pretzels to stuff in my mouth. They just sat there while I sucked the salt off of them and then spit them out. Bill stopped at the aide station while I continued on down the hill for another 2 1/2 miles to another caution tape before turning around to slog back up the hill. No more power hiking, I was just happy to still be moving forward. The temperature was steadily warming and by the finish it would be nearly 85 degrees. Thank goodness for the occasional cloud cover. After finally making it to the top of the hill at about mile 26, I picked up Bill, who had been admiring the geology, and we headed for the finish just 5 long miles to go. I was so glad I decided at the last minute to stuff a scarf in my pack which I soaked with cold water and wrapped around my neck. It felt so good! The only thing my stomach could handle at this point was the Heed that I poured in my water bottle at the aide station. Thank goodness it was not too sweet.
After a combination of walking and jogging for a couple miles, my stomach finally relaxed enough to let me pick up the pace. I looked at my watch and figured I could make it under 7 hours. My goal for this first ultra was to finish. I thought it would be even better if I could run under 12 minute pace. But with all the slow miles I had, I thought a lot more time had gone by. So seeing my watch actually made me feel pretty good. So, I pushed hard to the finish and ran my fastest split at mile 30. Dang central governor brain! If I could just figure out how to push the override button. Bill was struggling at this point. I mean he did just run and climb up a wickedly steep mountain before running over 10 miles with me. He managed to pull ahead of me to be there when I ran across the finish line.
After crossing the finish line I was given a major award <insert sarcastic emoji here>,a stainless steel coffee thermal cup which deemed me masters division winner. I was surprised as I noticed that an older woman had finished before me. I figured since there were only 5 women who finished, she got the 3rd place over all finish and I got the masters award. The only thing I felt like eating was watermelon. There was NO watermelon. :( We were given a box of old Kashi bars to take home with us. There really wasn't anything at the food table I felt like eating. So after grabbing a few things to eat later we hobbled back to the car. And we bought watermelon for the trip home.
