War Eagle 25k

Awake at 2am to drive through strong thunderstorms on Arkansas back roads to get to a trail race by 5:45am...definitely qualifies as insanity.  Got packets picked up and numbers pinned on.  Visitor's Center was opened by some lovely park staff who allowed us to come inside out of the rain.  Race staff announced that the start time and pre-race meeting would be delayed due to the rain.  Apparently it was delaying the arrival of many of the runners.  Once the majority of the crowd arrived and the lightning settled down to just the cloud to cloud type, we were sent out into the pouring rain to seek our fates with the infamous advice, "in case of lightning, make sure to stand next to someone taller than you."  6:30am start time had become 7:15, but that wasn't too bad.

The race was much tougher than I had anticipated.  Severe thunderstorms.  Lack of sleep.  Stress from being on “vacation” for a week with extended family.  Fighting illness/pain for most of the week.  Didn’t eat right on race morning.  Didn’t have my race day energy bars that I use for long runs.  Didn’t have Lucy to run with me.  Course was less technical, but it had many LOOOOONNGG hill climbs that were quite steep and lasted ½ mile or longer.  Mentally and physically I wasn’t in the right place during the race.  However, I have discovered that it was much tougher on the other racers than I thought.  During the last 4 miles of the race, I got passed by several 50k racers.  I assumed that meant they were on their second lap and were finishing the 50k before I finished my 25k.  I was alone (couldn’t see anyone ahead or behind) on the trail for most of the race, so I also assumed I was dead last in my category when I finished.  It turns out that those 50k racers were on their first lap because they had an extra 3 mile jaunt through the woods at a point that 25k trail splits off.  So, I was able to jump ahead of some of the 50k runners without realizing it.  So the 20 people that passed me still had another 15 miles of race left.  I was very discouraged when I thought that the race felt so tough to me, but it appeared that several people had run a 50k on that trail in under 4hours.  It turns out that I was NOT last in the 25k—there were two women who came in after me.  It also turns out that the first 50k racer didn’t finish until about 30 minutes after me.  That means that I achieved 3 of my goals for the race.  1) I finished.  2) I wasn’t last in my 25k category. 3) I didn’t get lapped by any 50k runners. 

During the race, I almost threw in the towel at an aid station and quit.  Before aid station 2, I was tired, hungry, sick to my stomach, discouraged, and my legs were starting to cramp.  We were told that the first aid station was about 5 miles into the race, and then there would be aid stations every 3 miles or so.  When I looked at my watch, it appeared that I was going just slightly faster than a snail.  That was discouraging to think my pace was that slow.  I was really struggling.  I was all alone in the forest on a little trail in a thunderstorm, and I hadn’t seen another person for about 30 minutes.  I was convinced I must have made a wrong turn, but I couldn’t figure out where it would have happened.  I had started planning my dropout.

It turns out that it is closer to 7 miles to the first aid station (but I didn't know this yet.)  The folks at the first aid station were nice, but they didn’t seem as knowledgeable about long distance trail running.  When I got to aid station 2 (which I was thinking should be about 8 miles into the race) I encountered 3 experienced ultrarunners who knew all the right questions to ask about what I needed, and they managed to give me just exactly what I would need to get back on track.  Cup of Gatorade for electrolytes and hydration, cup of warm coke to settle my stomach, PB&J for fuel, banana for leg cramps, funny conversation and an offer to hang out as long as I wanted because I was a girl, and they like it when girls will talk to them.  LOL  I was in serious danger of quitting before that encounter, but I was able to pull it back together.  Then they told me I only had 3 miles to the next aid station and then 2 more to the end of the race.  What?  I was over 10 miles into the race and didn’t realize it.  At that point, I knew however bad it got, I could make it 3 miles to the next aid station even if I had to crawl.  And I wouldn’t quit and make someone drive me back to the start/finish with only 2 miles left, so I knew I would be a finisher. 

I ran for a while before I started to get passed by folks I assumed were on lap 2 of the 50k.  I was discouraged again, but I knew I would at least finish.  The last 2 miles are brutal.  One giant downhill that lasts about ½ mile followed by an even larger uphill that goes another ½ mile followed by a mile-long section with multiple small uphill grades. 

I managed to finish in 4:09:30.4.  It wasn’t pretty, and it wasn’t under my goal time, but I finished.

Once I got some dry clothes and cleaned off the outer layer of mud in the visitor’s center bathroom, I knew I needed food.  The finish line food was supplied by a local catfish restaurant.  They were frying chicken strips, catfish, and hush puppies at the finish line.  I tried to eat a chicken strip, but one bite into the process, my body let me know that wasn’t a good idea! 

By the time we drove into town to find some lunch, I was convinced that I wouldn’t run my 50k in July.  I just couldn’t be ready.  I hurt this morning when I got up, and I was so sore.  I even told Evil Jeremy and Speedy Beth at dinner tonight that I might not be doing it.  But now that I’ve looked at the race results, I’m not 100% convinced that I can’t do it.  If I can run 25k in a thunderstorm after being sick/hurt for a week, maybe a 50k is possible in 6 weeks.  It will be an interesting decision process. 

P.S.  The trails were beautiful.  I wish I had felt better so I could enjoy them more.