Are you sick of hearing about my race yet? Don’t worry! Regular posts will be resuming soon (including a reading post featuring Pillars of the Earth). But let’s wrap this recap up once and for all.
I slept well the night after my race (gee, I wonder why!) and woke up SO stiff and sore. Everything hurt, except for… get ready for this… MY HAMSTRINGS. Remember that left hamstring that ached continuously for months every step I ran? It was fine. WHAT IS EVEN GOING ON? Did it finally give up and decide to leave my body??? My quads were so, so sore. My shins were killing me. The left knee, the one I feel on, was very stiff. My feet hurt, and let’s not even talk about the toenail situation. My neck and shoulders ached, my back hurt. My hamstrings were fine.
The drive back from Ocala is four hours, but it took my five hours with all the stops I made. While I drove I listened to this episode of the Everyday Ultra podcast, all about post-race recovery. The host, Joe Corcione, said the three main components of physical recovery are sleep, hydration, and nutrition. By “nutrition” I hope he meant a Subway sandwich and Coke Zero.
On the Subway sandwich was mustard and all the vegetables. I added the curry chickpea salad from Nora Cooks (which I brought along in a cold bag) and it was delicious.
Then Joe talked about mental recovery. He said you should ask yourself two questions: first, what am I most proud of?
Hmm! The obvious answer would be, that I finished. But I think really what I’m most proud of is that I had the audacity to believe I could even do this in the first place. Who told me I could attempt such a thing? I’m not a gifted athlete. I’m 59 years old. I’ve never run on a team or had a coach.
When I picked up my packet the night before the race, I had a full-blown attack of imposter syndrome. They can tell I don’t belong here. I don’t look like an ultra runner. I didn’t do enough long runs. My hamstring is injured. My heart was literally pounding with fear just from picking up my race number.
Yet- I showed up at the start the next day, and once I started running I knew that, barring injury or heatstroke, I would finish the race. Belief is a powerful thing.
The next question Joe encourages people to ask is, what did I learn? Note the wording there- not, what went wrong? Yes, mistakes were probably made. But the important thing is, what did I learn?
Well. When I look back on this race, I ran the first 50K well and felt strong. It was in the last 20 miles that I started to fall apart, and the last section I got through on mental strength alone. I talked about being a little disappointed in my finishing place- so many people passed me in that last section. Two people actually came up behind me and passed me right at the finish because I was stumbling around incoherently, trying to figure out which way to go. It would be nice to finish a little stronger than that!
I could blame the sand, the hills, and the heat. But every ultra has SOMETHING, and it’s almost impossible to train for every single thing that might come up. But I think if I were stronger overall, I would be able to withstand the challenges better. So- more strength training at the gym! I’m going to really focus on strength this summer, and also do some hill training on the treadmill.
Does this mean I’m going to do this again? Of course I am!
Is there anything if your life you believe you can do, against all odds?
Top photo by Andy Montes de Oca on Unsplash
16 Responses
I am not sick of your race recaps—in fact, I’m kind of sad this is the last one! I can’t believe your hamstring – after all those months of drama, it just… behaved? Unbelievable.
But the real heart of this post was your reflection on belief. That took guts, and you showed up anyway. Well done, Jenny!
Excited to see where all this new strength training takes you!
Thank you Catrina!!! And, don’t worry- there’s still a race-related coffee date coming up tomorrow. : )
i LOVE how you are breaking it down into various posts! you know I love hearing more about it! I fully agree in believing yourself and throw oneself out there just to try. You are so inspiring Jenny.
Oh, thank you Coco! You know- we might as well throw ourselves out there! Why not?
Like Catrina mentioned, I am not at all tired of hearing about your race. If another memory comes up that you want to tell us about please do! You should be so proud of yourself for taking on such an undertaking and making it happen. And wow, even your hamstrings were finally on board and in full support of this endeavor.
It sounds like you picked a fantastic podcast to listen to on your drive home, and that 4-hour drive gave you plenty of time to reflect on the race. Happy recovery!
Thank you Debbie! I’m glad people are indulging my need to share all the details : )
I think that one post per mile raced is the right amount of recaps. So you’ve got quite a few posts left to go.
You are an audacious girl! The same girl who was pretty much limited to pool running just a few years ago. You know your body, and you knew what you needed to do to go from point A to point B. The English language doesn’t have the words to tell you how special that is. Next stop: point C!
Anyone can have a sub and a coke, but the only way to get it to taste that good is to run 50 miles first;-)
Oh thank you Birchie, what a GREAT comment. And I’m laughing- I’m pretty sure people would start to get sick of it if I had 50 posts about the race, ha ha!
You did it! It’s so amazing, Jenny. Or should I say JENNAY. You thought you could do it and you did it, that’s an inspiring thing! Now rest, recover, and nourish yourself!
Thank you so much Nicole. And I’ll be hearing “JENNAY” in my mind for a long time.
I don’t want the recaps to end, I could read them every day!
I really like what you said about self-belief. It’s something I’m always working on, and is often harder than the physical act of running an ultra! But every time I sign up for a race, and make it to the start line, I’m choosing to believe in myself no matter what happens. Yes, I’ve had a couple DNFs that have shattered my confidence but they also helped me learn a lot and feel more prepared for next time! I think your plan of working on strength training & hills will pay off whenever you decide to do another ultra!
I am LOVING all the race recaps; keep ’em coming!
HOW was your hamstring fine?!?!
The mental toughness aspect of your character cannot be overstated. Believing you can accomplish such a difficult physical goal is just part of how incredibly strong you are! And I love that you are ready for the next one! You rock, Jenny!!!
That is crazy that your hamstring is one of the few areas of your body that DOESN’T hurt. What in the world. I guess it’s thrown it’s hands up and given up on bothering you.
I am here for more race content! This is something I can confidently say I WILL NEVER DO so I enjoy reading about it/living vicariously through you!!
I am NOT tired of these posts! I read all your posts but rarely comment (I know, sorry). As someone who always talked of doing ultras but never got to it, I am fascinated by all the details. The toenails mention made me lol. Crazy that your ham is better??!! And nothing taste as good as junk food after a long hot race.
It’s been fun to hear all that you have to say about your race! It is certainly a learning experience. I’m not surprised your hamstring isn’t complaining. Mine seem to do the same thing! All sorts of issues before the race and then nothing. I think they like to be worked hard! From your previous post, that’s cool that the race had feminine products at the aid stations. That would be a huge relief if I needed that. I’m glad you had such a positive experience and want to do it again. Go you!!
I love these posts!
I think it’s wonderful how much you’re learning about running AND resilience. And Subway is so yummy on a normal day. I can’t even imagine after so much intense exercise!