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My only pic from the race once the food was out of the front pockets of my pack. |
The Rough Trail 50k was a necessary for me. My 25k experience 2 years ago
left much to be desired. I had a cold and Trump had just won the 2016 election.
My world was turned upside down, by choice, since my family and I had just
moved to the Kentucky. I signed up to do races as a way to channel the
stress of relocating across the country. I knew it would give me a chance
to the know the area, driving to these events, and get to know the running
community.
I survived the 25k. I was on my feet for more than 4 hours. As hard as this
was, I knew I could run another marathon. I was a little broken
but I crossed the finish. I blogged about it and one of the women in the
running group commented that it sounded like I did not have fun. She wasn’t
wrong. The 25k course was fucking hard. The race itself was redeeming because despite
my inner grouch, it was a perfect day for a race. The Gorge was magnificent to behold
while it was kicking my ass.
I was afraid to sign up for this race but I was in search
of a fall 50k. I needed to not be afraid of this course and redeem last year’s 50k. I got lost and ran 3 extra miles. I didn’t have the
strength in my legs to make big descents the last 10 miles. I also lingered too long aid stations.
With my
three extra miles, I was out on the course after the sun set.
One of my goals for this race, maybe the only
goal was to finish before the sun went down.
I weight trained having learned all this. I
had never really cross trained while training for a race before. I didn’t know how or maybe I didn’t have the
fitness. I could only either run or weight train. Mostly I needed to be strong. I went back to the Uplift
training plan, created by a fellow runner from my old running group. She is
also a body builder. I wasn’t too worried about getting a certain number of
miles in every day. Just like training for Grandma’s Marathon, I aimed for cumulative
miles by Sunday.
I rode my bike all summer. It was hard to go back to running. I kept telling
myself that if I kept at it, the glorious full body fatigue, serotonin high
would come with running too. I Just had to get through the first 5 miles of
pounding on my joints and the Kentucky heat. I was hoping muscle memory would kick in and it did. I remember texting a friend saying that I had
reached a point in my training where I wanted to run every day.
I became efficient again and my brain was
addicted to the serotonin.
I am fortunate to be able to work from home. During my lunch breaks or in
between teleconferences, I weight trained with my body weight. Each routine lasted about 20
minutes. On some weeks I did this with my running miles. I went from 20 m week
to 30 m week to 30 plus miles at the peak of my training.
Earlier this year I had some blood work done with a yearly physical. I found
out I had high cholesterol. My doctor advised me to stop eating fried foods and
take a krill oil supplement. I switched to vegan cheese. I ate more beans and
less meat. I lost 1 or 2 pounds, which I was grateful for since I wanted to
weigh less overall for the race.
The longest run for a 50K is about 26 miles. Due to weather, scheduling and
my general desire to not be gone from my family that long, I ran 5 miles on a
treadmill Friday night, 22 miles on Saturday morning and 3 miles the following
Sunday. I was ravenously hungry in the days that followed. This was 2 weeks
before the race.
The weekend before the race I biked an easy 30 miles and ran 10 miles with
friends on Siltstone. Biking was a mistake since my quads were very tight
afterwards. I also felt fatigued during those 10 trail miles. My rationale for
the bike miles was that my boys were away for the night and I had some “me”
time. I also took it easy. I was attempting to not consume alcohol before the
50k. After my 10 trail miles, Kaitlyn and I heated up some sweet potatoes in the
toaster oven and sat on the kitchen floor eating from the tray. They we each
had a beer. I think the alcohol helped loosen me up, especially the quads
that had hardened after my bike ride.
The week before the race was all rest. My hubs was traveling for work most
of the week. I spent my active days raking and bagging leaves. I made a
playlist for the race and used a foam roller on my quads.
I took a half day at work on Friday. I carpooled with friends to a cabin
near the start/finish of the race. There were 9 of us in the cabin. All 9 of us
brought beer for before and after the race. I had 2 beers with my dinner Friday
night. I have never drank before a marathon or ultra marathon. Dinner was ultra-bland,
boiled potatoes, boiled chicken and steamed broccoli
I Zentangle-ed in honor of Bob. I also wrote Gerry’s name on my
hat. Maybe its superstitious but I talk to them when I run long distances. I
hope that they watch over me out there. There’s always a risk in trail races.
The terrain wouldn’t be easy. I would be running up mountains, down ravines and
passing cliffs. I also knew I would be out there for
hours. As much as Gerry and Bob were a part of my pre-race, I placed faith in
myself. There was no room for doubt and negative thoughts. This mental
component was the most critical. The body was a vessel for the indomitable mind.
The mind only knows the progress forward towards the finish.
I set my alarm for 5am. The race started at 7am. I had 2 hard boiled eggs and
2 boiled potatoes for breakfast. I also had coffee. I had not driven my car
since my family was going to meet me at the end of the race. We had planned on
driving home together. I needed to eat my breakfast and pack everything in
Chris and Amy’s car.
I wore an Ink burn tech shirt, arm warmers, a hooded rain jacket, my Brooks
capris, compression socks, Altra Kings and gaiters. I had 2 buffs, gloves and a
hat. In my hydration pack I had my inhaler, tissues, small first aid kit, 2
sunflower seed and jelly sandwiches, 1 chocolate Gu, 2 boiled potatoes, 4 or 5
Honey Stinger waffles, Sport Beans and an RX bar.
It was cold when we started. I started of slow until I warmed up. It had
rained days leading up to the race so the course was muddy. The first aid
station (Auxier ridge) was at the 8-mile mark.
There was a 10 hour cut off for this race. I had anticipated chasing it
because of the difficulty of the course and my Strava data from the Jackson
50/50, which was around 9 hours on my feet. I had packed my headlamp
hoping that I wouldn't have to use it.
I ran the beginning of that race without stopping. I did not take my phone
out for pictures, I didn’t linger at aid stations and I didn’t stop to talk to
the other runners. While I was feeling strong, I was not going to stop. I had
planned on running when I could until the terrain made me walk.
I ran into MRTT friends Amy and Amber at around mile 15. I ran with them for
about 10 miles. Maybe it was good to be with them since I had been by myself
for a while. Amber called me "Jenny" a few times, which I normally dislike from anyone except my family but I loved it coming from Amber.
Some of the climbs were never ending (hard as fuck). I am happy to report that weight
training helped. My legs were never totally exhausted. I was tired at 4 hours.
I was also cold. I did not account for the time I would be walking and
climbing. I kept myself warm by telling myself not to stop moving. I took my
inhaler twice in the time I was out there. I felt the cold most in my lungs,
not sure if it was cold or fatigue. Maybe it was both. I was running alone near
the end. Amy and Amber were about 5 minutes ahead of me and I wasn’t keeping up
with them. I couldn’t.
At the Sky Bridge aid station, I was thrilled to see my friend Jeannette, who completed the 100 mile race earlier this year. Another MRTT friend Susan refilled my water bottles as I blabbered on about probably being dehydrated not having peed for several hours. I ate pbjs, cheese crackers, m&ms ad potato chips. It helped with the cold.
I have no recollection of any low points (mostly cold points) except maybe the end when I
kept wishing to be at the finish line. I couldn’t wait to see my boys, be
warm and drink the beer I had put in Chris’ cooler for after the race. I was
tired of pbjs and race food.
I was thrilled to have crossed the
finish not having to use my headlamp. It was around 9 and half hours. I had
given that race everything I had. I look back on it as a successful race. I can’t remember if I ate anything
afterwards. My son gave me a Twix mini and I did drink that beer.
We drove to Lexington and I had pizza and beer with my sisters in law. I
also took a hot shower. My hubs was running the
Louisville Marathon at the Parklands
the next day so we needed to get home. I went to bed promptly.
The most amazing thing the next day was being up and about. I unpacked my
things, washed the mud off my tights, shoes, socks and gaiters. I also made
soup. Despite the way I felt during the race, I was happy I didn’t get a cold
or some respiratory infection.
This race marked the passage of time for me in Kentucky. It had been the 2 years
since the election of President Trump. A few weeks ago, I heard Julian
Castro being interviewed on NPR. He had just released
a book. He said it would need to talk to his wife about running for
president. I like Mr. Castro very much. More than anything I felt hope unlike this time two years ago. Two years ago, I
didn’t have running friends in Kentucky. On race day I was surrounded by
people that knew my name, who I ran with leading up to the race and waited for
me at the finish with big smiles and open arms. This race proved I
could circle back and evolve. It was a way for me to connect with Bob and
Gerry and continue to heal from their passing. Lastly, that MRTT member who
said did not have fun is now a close friend if not the best one I made since
moving here. In writing this, I get to tell her that this race was so many
things but most of all, so much fun.
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faithful escort |
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every race has a song for me, this was the one i had in mind