Part 2- The Aftermath, and What’s Next?
Thank you for all the kind comments on my Hungryland race recap! You might have some burning questions- did Ralph complete his 100 mile quest? How many other people ran four loops? Unfortunately I can’t answer those because the race results are not available yet! I don’t know why it’s taking so long, but I do know that there’s a LOT of post-race work for the race director- cleaning everything up and removing all the markers and flags from the trail. We’ll get the results soon, I’m sure. Anyway. When we left off last time, I had just finished my 60 miles. I got in my car for the hour drive home, thinking I would have something to eat and drink on the way. But I took one sip of water and was overcome with a wave of nausea. I had to pull to the side of the road to throw up. UGH. I started driving again, tried to sip water, had to pull over again. Okay! No food or water right now. When I got home I hightailed it into a hot shower, but when I got out I was freezing cold. So cold that I was shivering and my teeth were chattering. I got right into bed and started calling out requests to my husband. Can I have a second quilt? Can you bring me my toothbrush? and toothpaste? and a bowl to spit in? My husband was VERY accommodating (I mean- he’s not my butler) and kindly brought me everything I needed. I lay there shivering until I fell asleep. Sunday morning I woke up feeling sore (oh really? I wonder why!) and kind of spacey. I published my “Weekly Rundown” blog post, and yes I did notice much later on that I misspelled “Rundown” in the title (thanks for not laughing at me too much). My stomach was still a little off, but overall… it was a really nice day. One of the best decisions I ever made was to take MONDAY off of work. I don’t know about you, but when I have a day off, it’s often marred by the thought that I have to work the next day. On Sunday, I had the glorious feeling of TWO FULL DAYS OFF stretching ahead of me. My quads were VERY sore, but I had no injuries. My feet were fine- no blisters or black toenails (unlike my 50 mile race last year) and I was able to just relax and soak it all in- I’ve been planning and dreaming about this race for a long time, and I did it. So… what is next? There’s a couple different ways to answer that. Immediately next, once I’m fully recovered, I’m going to have a phase where I focus on strength. I’ll write more about that in another post. As far as running- well of course I’m thinking about more races! Next year I’d like to have another big race, and I’m considering doing this one again, with the goal of running a fifth loop (to bring the total mileage up to 71.5). Ultrarunning is all about problem solving, and I’ve got some problems to solve. I didn’t mention it in the race recap, but I had some serious chafing in, well sorry for TMI, but in my crotch. By the last loop, every time I peed, I was in agony (THE BURNING). Lube did nothing, and I ended up pouring cold water from my water bottle down my shorts multiple times. I would like to figure that one out. But the main problem was my stomach. You might remember I was very nauseous before the 4th loop, and I’m imagining- based on the fact that I threw up twice on the way home- that I would have had stomach problems if I had attempted a 5th loop. This is a common problem for ultrarunners- stomach issues are the #1 cause of DNFs- and everyone has to figure it out in their own way. So! Those are my thoughts right now. This race again in a year, and hopefully a fun 50K in the fall or early winter as well. For this week, lots of gentle yoga. Can you fully relax if you know you have to work the next day? Any runners out there have advice for crotch chafing???
Hungryland Race Recap!!!
Happy sigh! Where to even start with this adventure? Here we go… Hungryland Slough is an hour from my house, so I could sleep in my own bed and drive to the race in the morning. I got there and set up in “base camp.” This was a timed race, with people running as many, or as few, 14.3 mile loops as they wanted. There were people running one loop, and people going for 100 miles. The 100 milers had some elaborate setups: Here was mine: The race started at 7:30, and it was 57 degrees! I started out with a light jacket, which came off after a few miles. But the cool air felt amazing. This race was all on trails of various quality, some very smooth and runnable, some deeply rutted sections, and some- shudder- SAND. But after the sand I encountered at Skunk Ape last year, this was nothing. Right around 5 miles or so, a man ran up to me and said “I already have diarrhea!” Um… okay! I told him I had Imodium, and that he was welcome to have some if he needed it when we got back to the start. He said “No, I should be fine- I just smoked a joint and that always makes me go to the bathroom.” Okay well- interesting strategy. His name was Ralph, and we ran the rest of that first loop together. Ralph was a wildly optimistic person. When I told him my goal was 60 miles, he said “Oh no- you can definitely do 100.” When I told him my fueling strategy, he said I should be taking beet juice shots instead. Later on when I told him I was thinking of moving away from Florida, he told me I should move to Spain. At the end of that loop, I was getting a little tired of Ralph. Listen buddy- I am NOT running 100 miles today, drinking beet juice, or moving to Spain! On his part, he felt that my pace was too “aggressive” and started to fall back (well yes, because I was “only” doing 60 miles and he was doing 100 and had to conserve energy- although of course in his mind I was also doing 100 miles). It seems that I always make a friend at these things, and Ralph was the friend for this event, and although I didn’t see him after that first loop, I saw his gear after every loop. He moved it under my canopy, as he didn’t have his own. His company made that first loop pass quickly, and I was feeling good. As I headed out for the second loop, I put in my headphones and listened to some podcasts, including this one by Sally McRae, mental tools to use when a race gets tough.. This loop got a little harder because it was warming up- but I still felt pretty good as I got back to base camp. And, my husband was there! He couldn’t spend the whole day there, but arrived to cheer me on after loop 2. My strategy before loop 3 was to drink a Monster energy, and turn on music (my playlist which started with the Beatles Birthday song, obviously). I started off feeling good and then… this loop got hard. It was the hottest loop. LUCKILY, it only got up to 80 degrees and the humidity wasn’t bad. But there was no shade at all on this course. I was also getting mentally fatigued, and it was hard to think that I had to do the entire thing again. Ouch. I got back to base camp, and had run 42.9 miles at that point. Here’s where things started to fall apart. I was nauseous, and none of my fuel seemed appetizing. I tried to drink another Monster but I couldn’t get it down. Luckily I had ginger ale! I poured some into a reusable cup (that I could squash up and put in my bag) and started walking the fourth loop. This had been my plan from the start- I knew it would be hard to start that fourth loop, and I decided ahead of time that I would not sit and rest, but instead grab whatever fuel I could and just start moving forward. As I walked along, the ginger ale sloshed around in my stomach and I felt… horrible. My legs ached, I had no energy, and as I said, I was nauseous. I thought “What if I have to walk this ENTIRE LOOP?” GAH. It would take forever. Then I remembered I had these… They saved me! I ate a couple of them and my stomach felt better. I was able to sip water, take a salt pill, and then I decided to try running again. I started with 30 seconds of running and 30 seconds of walking (anyone can do that… right???) I gradually increased the running intervals until I was, incredibly, trotting along happily again. At this point the sun was setting… And then it was dark. Now I was all alone- sometimes I could see headlamps far ahead of me, or behind me, but I felt mostly alone and it was kind of scary. I was worried I would get lost, but every once in a while I would see one of these to let me know I was still on course: After a while, I got used to running in the dark and realized I felt REALLY GOOD. It’s the biggest comeback I’ve ever experienced. I’ve had runs where I felt crappy and then felt a little less crappy, but this was a complete turnaround. The dark wasn’t scary anymore- it was cool and peaceful. My legs felt good and my stomach had recovered. I was so, so grateful to be running! It was one of the high points of the race. Here was where I implemented a piece of Ralph’s advice (finally! Something helpful from Ralph!) He said that on my last
Weekly Rundown- OH YES I DID!!!
I did it! Yesterday I ran 60 miles. You better believe I’ll have a race recap soon. As always, I’m linking up with Kim and Deborah for this Weekly Rundown. The first part of the week was super boring, and then yesterday was EPIC!!! Here we go… Monday I did half of my hip stability exercises, and then did a Pi run! I know Kim’s Week of Pi was last week, but better late than never. Tuesday Caroline Girvan deadbug workout, and upper body strength. Wednesday It was a cool, overcast day- I had to constantly stop myself from wishing that THIS could be the weather on race day (because it won’t be- the forecast shows warmer and sunny, of course). I spent the morning doing errands (picking up food items for the race) and in the afternoon ran 3 easy miles. Thursday Last run before the race! Again, 3 easy miles. Friday OFF! Saturday HUNGRYLAND ULTRA! As planned, I ran 60 miles to celebrate my 60th birthday. And as usual, I have LOTS TO SAY- I don’t think I’ve ever had a race with this many ups and downs. Recap will be up on Tuesday. Sunday On tap for today: I’ll make up for yesterday by being a lazy lump all day. Hooray!
It’s Time!!!
FINALLY! I made it through the week- I did not trip, fall, and break a bone, and I did not contract the Superflu. My playlist is made and all my gear is ready. I just have to get through tonight, get myself to the start of the race, and then….. RUN ALL DAY! Thank you so much for all the kind comments this week. The support and encouragement is amazing- I can’t tell you how much it means to know that people are cheering me on from afar. Lindsay left a comment sending thoughts of “persistence and joy.” Oooh! I have my theme for the race! Those two words are what the day is all about. Legs hurt? Stomach feeling off? JUST KEEP MOVING FORWARD. There will be plenty of discomforts, but I’ll get those miles in if I keep moving. And, let’s not forget about joy- because if i can’t find joy in spite of the pain, then what’s the point? HAPPY SATURDAY EVERYONE!!!