May 31 was forecast to be about 85F with high humidity and a 30% chance of thunderstorms. Usually, this wouldn't phase me, but since this was nearly identical to the forecast before the Garmin marathon 5 weeks ago, I was a bit nervous because miles 3-10 of that race were run in severe thunderstorms complete with HAIL!! In order to ward off the storms, I started planning for rain. Carrying emergency rain ponchos, bringing extra dry clothes, and having multiple pairs of dry socks and shoes were all part of my plan. I was determined that I would NOT be wet for 40 miles. Turns out, I was drenched for about 39 miles. The difference is that I was drenched due to soupy, steamy, sweaty weather instead of cooling rains. But I'm getting ahead of myself. In this story, I'm not even awake and out of bed...
The evening before the race, Beth and I traveled 30 minutes to Ottawa to the race location to pick up our packets, leave my drop bag, and attend the pre-race briefing. (In other strange news, the race start location is approximately 4 blocks from where I lived in the late 80's. Weird small world that I live in...) It was comforting to know that the important highlights of the race details I had read thoroughly--twice--in the incredibly detailed 18 page race manual, were all reiterated by the RD. Nothing new or surprising which was comforting. Not many things were feeling comfortable at that time. The longest distance I'd ever ran at that point was 26.2 miles. 5 weeks ago. Beth asked if I was freaking out. Ummm...YES!!! Why did I think this was a good idea? We drove home and decided to meet up at 4:45am to travel to the start.
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| Once I got the race bib, suddenly things felt very, very real... |
I couldn't think of anything that sounded good for dinner when I got home. The pre-race dinner of grilled chicken with whole wheat pasta, browned butter sauce, and freshly grated parmesan cheese that I had planned had sounded so good at lunch that I ate it early while I was packing my gear into my race pack, drop bag, and post-race bag. The only thing that sounded good was a burrito bowl from Chipotle. I was totally willing to make the 25 minute drive to the nearest Chipotle for my steak burrito bowl with brown rice, black beans, green tomatilla salsa, corn salsa, and sour cream. YUM!!
I made it back home fairly late in the evening and had time to finish packing the last of the items on my list--yes, I have a premade race list that is computerized and saved by type of race that I'm running. Since this was my first ultra, I wasn't 100% sure about my list, but I was pretty sure I was overprepared and overpacking. I also laid out all the ingredients and dishes for my 4am coffee and oatmeal breakfast.
About 10pm, I actually crawled into bed. Since I usually don't sleep well the night before a race, I try to make sure I'm well rested during the week before. Unfortunately my asthma had been progressively worsening throughout the spring, and I ended up on prednisone for the 9 days leading up to the race. Joy. Sleep had been elusive for days. Strangely enough, I was actually pretty calm and was able to fall asleep about 11pm and remain asleep for most of the short night.
4am. BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! Ugh! But I jumped straight out of bed, hit the off switch on the alarm, and headed straight to the kitchen to warm up the Keurig. Coffee was a must for this early morning, but it needed time to get in and out of my system before the 6am race start. I got dressed in the clothes I had laid out, drank my coffee, prepared my oatmeal, etc. By 4:45, I was almost ready to go. We got the last of the gear and headed to pick up Beth. The trip to the race start was uneventful. We arrived at the race start about 5:30am and got checked in. Thankfully there wasn't much time to have to wait since there would be a final pre-race briefing at 5:45. Last bathroom stops, double checking of hydration pack, etc. and it was time to get lined up.
Just before 6am, we were all lined up and ready to hit the trail. At 6am sharp, Eric counted us down and sent us on our way. It's really happening. I'm running my first ultra!
We made our way out of the fairgrounds and onto the Prairie Spirit Trail that runs through Ottawa. In town, the trail is paved which isn't my first choice of surface, but it was only for about 2 miles. The course ran directly behind the old middle school building where I went to school for three years. The trail didn't exist then, and even if it had, I never, ever considered that I would run any kind of race much less an ultramarathon. I didn't even know ultramarathons existed back then.
The crowd had started to spread a bit by this point, but we were running strong. Keeping our planned pace and feeling good. We knew the first aid station should be coming soon. It was nice to slow down for a minute and grab a few salty chips. Pringles always taste better during a run than any other time! We considered a stop at the porta-potty "just in case", but apparently several other people were also becoming aware of their morning coffee consumption. We decided we could wait a while longer and if necessary, we had trees along the trail. We headed out again feeling good and running strong.
Aid station 2 seemed to come pretty quickly. We stopped and took care of our needs and headed on toward Rantoul where we would meet up with Tony and our drop bags.
One unmanned water station was available about 9 miles in. I didn't realize how much I had been drinking, so we ran on past. About 1/4 mile later, I realized this was a mistake since my hydration pack ran dry. OOPS! Well, it was only going to be about 3 more miles before a full aid station would appear. About this time, I became aware that my "mostly healed" blister from the Garmin marathon was becoming a problem despite my moleskin and other preventative measures. It wasn't painful yet, but I was pretty aware of it. Well, nothing to do but plod on to Rantoul!
I started feeling more comfortable as we approached Rantoul since this section of the Flint Hills Trail is one that I run frequently. When we arrived at the crew station, it was bustling with activity.
It was great to see Tony there ready with our supplies. We filled hydration packs, got snacks, used the porta-potty, and checked my blisters. Fresh wrappings were in order, but I thought that would fix the issue.
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| I spared you the photo of the actual blister...yes, there is photographic proof, and it isn't pretty... |
We headed out of Rantoul feeling refreshed and ready to head to the turn-around. We weren't moving quite as fast as we'd hoped, but we were still well ahead of the cutoffs. Running through "our" section of the trail felt good. We knew all the landmarks, our approximate mileage, etc., and this section of the trail is absolutely beautiful. After running past the airplane graveyard, the trail goes through a large farm field and then enters the woods again. Mostly shaded by large trees, the trail winds along beside the river for several miles.
We made it to the turn around on the edge of Osawatomie with more than an hour to spare on the cutoff. The aid station crew was awesome! They welcomed us in, offered us anything we needed and chatted with us to bolster our spirits. We arrived about the same time as the pair in front of us and found out that we were not last. In order to make sure that the unmanned water station on the way back was not removed before we came through, we were asked to add a zip tie to the water jugs to mark our progress when we passed back through. We were happy to comply although I was afraid I would forget, so I held it in my hand for the 1.5 miles back. We added our zip tie and continued on. About one more mile down the road, I started realizing that I didn't feel right and my hands were starting to swell. This continued for several miles. We took more frequent walk breaks and just kept moving on. About a mile before the Rantoul aid station, I started feeling a little better and actually needed to pee which was a very good sign since I knew my body was retaining too much fluid.
Just before Rantoul, we saw a woman off in the distance standing near the trail entrance. As we got closer, we began to realize that it looked like Beth's mom. And as we approached her, we realized it really was Beth's mom! It was so great to see a friendly face. There's nothing quite like a mom to keep you going and encourage you--even if it isn't your own mom. Thanks, Beverly!! We made our way over to the aid station where I knew a change of shoes and socks was going to be essential. Severe blisters had formed on both heels and on my fourth toes on each foot. I switched to a pair of Injinji socks to protect the toes and reapplied padding to the other spots as well as I could. I changed to my pair of shoes that usually feel slightly big, but at that moment, they felt AMAZING!! They provided welcome relief to the spots that had been rubbing in my other shoes. While we were refueling and rehydrating, Di came into the aid station. We had already discussed the need to walk quite a bit of the last 13 miles, so when she asked if we wanted to join her in walking, we agreed. Di is entertaining and very positive, so we enjoyed the idea of continuing on with her.
As we continued on down the trail, it was fun to have someone new to talk to. We continued on with Di to the next unmanned water station. She wanted to take a short break, but we were feeling okay and wanted to continue on, so we parted ways with a little over 9 miles to go. At this point, Beth and I were in uncharted territory as far as mileage. She had completed one 50k race in the past, and my longest had been a full marathon, so now past 31 miles, we weren't 100% sure what to expect. Our strategy was to keep putting one foot in front of the other and continue at whatever pace was possible until we reach the finish. Even though I was feeling quite rotten and was quickly realizing that the smart decision would have been to drop at the Rantoul aid station, I've rarely been accused of doing the smart thing when running. I was too far into this to quit! I kept visualizing the belt buckle and a 40M sticker to add to my rear window. Sheer stubbornness was my best asset as I continued on toward the next aid station. My hands were swelling again and I wasn't feeling the need to pee. Bad signs. Every step was agony as my blisters were completely out of control by this point. Just keep going!! We hit aids station 2 again which meant we had about 7.5 miles left.
We can DO THIS!! It may hurt, but we're ahead of the cutoffs and we can keep going. We refueled, filled our packs, and hit the trail again. The next 4 miles to the last aid station were sheer misery. Every section of the trail looked the same, it seemed like we were hardly moving at all, and the aid station seemed like it would never come! FINALLY, after what felt like hours and hours, we made it to the last aid station. They were so excited that we were the last runners to be coming through, and we were an hour ahead of the cutoff, so they actually got to pack it up early. We're happy to help! ;)
After a few minutes and some fuel, we headed out on the last section of about 3.5 miles. At this point, it felt like we were moving again. Just after the aid station, we jumped back on the levee, then down the hill, then onto the access road, then onto First St., then over to Main Street. Cross Main and it's just a block to Walnut. Once on Walnut, it's just 4 blocks to the trail. On the trail at 5th Street, then it's just down to 17th Street and then into the Fairgrounds. We felt like we were making progress with each step. (Since we were almost to 39 miles on our feet, we may have coveted the Hover-Round scooter that one elderly lady was driving down the trail.) Running through the park seemed to give us new hope. As we ran on, I joked that the hospital was just off to the left if we needed it. At that moment, we heard the ambulance take off with sirens wailing. Kidding!! I was joking about needing the hospital! Turns out it really was heading to the finish line, but luckily it wasn't for Beth or for me, and the gentleman it was called for turned out to be okay. As we approached 15th Street, I heard a voice on the speakers at the finish saying, "Our final finishers are in sight! Let's cheer them on!" I had been holding it together until that point, but after that announcement, I turned to Beth and said, "They see us! They announced that we're coming," and I started to cry. Beth asked if I had anything left to run when we got to the finish, and I took off. I'm not sure she expected me to start four blocks from the finish, but I was so ready to be done that I didn't care how much it hurt. As we rounded the corner and entered the finish area, Beth saw her kids, and her husband, and her mom. And I saw Tony was waiting for me. We ran faster and faster until we crossed through the finish arch. It was done! We were finishers!! We may have been the last to cross the finish line, but we had the courage to start, and we made it with 2 hours to spare on the cutoffs, and we didn't have to drop out.
I'll let the finish line photos speak for themselves...
And my car has a new decoration!
I owe a huge debt of gratitude to Beth for sparking my interest in running three years ago and once again convincing me to move beyond my comfort zone and try something crazy. Through every step of the race, I knew she was right beside me supporting me.
I also have to give a shout out to my husband, and one man crew, Tony. Thank you for schlepping all our gear and working at the aid station. Knowing you were there waiting for us to come through was a huge boost. Thank you also for putting up with my crazy training plans, weird food requests, and neurotic planning and packing. You rock!
Thank you also to the Epic Ultras staff and volunteers! You are all amazing, and I can't say think you enough for making my first ultra a possibility. I hope I said it as I came through each aid station, etc., but if in my race induced stupor I forgot, please know that I meant it.
So, I've been asked many times over the last week, "What's next?" Right now, I'd say some time off to let things heal. I did my first workout since the race tonight. Luckily it was a a small gym owned by friends since I still can't put a regular shoe on my feet! It felt good to be active, but I'm thankful that my next scheduled race isn't until fall. Will I ever do this again? Of course! Ultras are addictive, and you forget the pain. Will I run longer distances? I'm planning on it...next year.
Until then...I'm going to eat and sleep. And run. Eventually. Once I can wear a real shoe. Although, I've been threatening to join the barefoot movement if things don't start healing faster...
