Having just taken my first near tumble on the trail, and feeling it in one of my middle toenails, I knew I was in for an interesting run! I won’t go through 31 miles of detail, but here are some highlights. First, the trail only had distance markers every 5 miles. That was new for me, I had only ever done events with every mile marked. So there were stretches of wondering…. I did have my Garmin watch so I had a good idea of where I was, but it got off by almost a mile by the end.
There was part of the trail that led over a bridge to an island in the park. Not a big island, probably about a mile and change over there, but it was very nice. Pine trees and the associated needle strewn trail which feels nice underfoot. Unfortunately, also lots of roots and even some small stumps. I ran alongside a woman for a little while on the first time through this stretch and she chatted about another ultra she had done, a race that was happening at the same time in her hometown which is near our annual camping spot, and the wonder of slated potatoes as a snack at aid stations. I wanted to go a little faster and so moved along, then a minute later I missed something in the path and it took me down. This time I fell, hitting my left shin and elbow. Embarrassed more than hurt, I got up and kept on trucking without assessing damage. Heading back across the bridge I realized my leg kind of hurt, and looking down saw that it was very swollen. My tights came down just below the knee and I think that didn’t help blood flow…. My elbow was also torn up a bit and bleeding. I ran the rest of the race without attending to either as they weren’t horrible. My leg continued hurting and got worse through the day, and eventually over the next few days became grotesquely bruised. The bruising got worse and worse for days until my entire lower leg was just covered with it. As I write this, over 4 weeks later, there is still bruising and a swollen spot. Yikes!
Aid stations – as planned I stopped at all of them and had fluids. I had not planned to take snacks as I am used to only using Gu packets, but after four of them I just didn’t want another! Flaunting the age old advice of “Nothing new on race day”, I tried granola bars, salted potatoes, and pickles that were offered. So, so, so glad I did! They really got me through. The granola bars were a great motivator to keep moving my feet, I would take a bite every 30 steps or so. Fluids – I felt like I just couldn’t get enough! There was one part of the route where two of the aid stations were about 5 miles apart. That was pretty tough, especially the second time through. But I held on and made it through. Everyone at the aid stations was awesome! So encouraging and helpful, they felt like a personal support team. The last one was about 3 miles before the finish line; leaving that station felt amazing. I was exhausted and my feet were killing me, but I had less than a 5k to go!
Speaking of my feet killing me, this was something I hadn’t expected. Hitting my feet on things had made my toes pretty sore, but the real killer was the downhills. There was a lot of up and down, and my toes banging into the front of my shoes got to be incredibly painful. The last few miles I couldn’t even try to run down the hills because my toes and toenails hurt so much. I mostly went sideways down the hills at the end. I expected to take my shoes and socks off and find my toes battered to a pulp, but no! They were totally normal. Crazy.
The power of a short walk. I have never walked in a race before. In the last quarter of this race I walked sometimes. It was amazing how just walking for even 15 seconds or so gave me the juice to run more. My hip flexors were aching, but a quick respite flushed the ache right out. I could then run again for quite a while before needing another walk. I was surprised.
The finish line. The last quarter mile or so started by coming out into a parking lot, then turning through the parking lot and heading to the finish line near the lake. Did I have a kick – that last burst of speed when you are at the end? Maybe a little, but my overriding feeling was that if I got my legs cycling and faster I may actually just fall face first. So I bumped it up a little but definitely focused on just finishing smooth and strong. And as I approached that line and they called out my name I was just filled with wonder and amazement that I had done this. My body felt exhausted and exhilarated at the same time. Thirty one miles and I hadn’t been bored or felt disengaged a single time. I had been tired but hadn’t felt like quitting. I had not questioned my ability to finish a single time. Truly, I had felt my body embracing this challenge and conquering it.
Laser focused on water, I missed the guy handing out medals. I heard them calling me back and went to get my medal, then a minute later heard them announce that I was second in my age group and they had my award! I have never, ever gotten an age group award. I think maybe I got this one because there were so few people in the race overall, and maybe there were only 3 people in my group. But I was thrilled anyway!
Water. I grabbed a few bottles. There was food, they were even grilling up burgers, and at some points in the race I had motivated myself with thoughts of what I would eat at the end. But now, as is standard for me after a long effort, I was not hungry at all. I headed back to the car and changed into my dry stuff – my jammies. So comfy!
Driving home, things hurt. I stopped at Biggy for coffee and I swear I almost fell over in the parking lot just trying to stand up and walk a few meters! I must have looked hilarious walking in like an old lady and in pajamas…. But it was good to get up and move a bit and they had my favorite flavored coffee – toasted coconut.
I was so focused on getting home that I didn’t realize I was almost out of gas! When the indicator pinged at me I switched to the display that shows miles to empty and it was like 7. I was on a major highway and figured there would be gas soon. There was not. I started getting nervous and mapped to the nearest gas station. I drove slower and watched the miles-to-empty tick down, and still I wasn’t there. I imagined myself running out of gas and having to walk to get a tank, fill it, and walk back. When I almost couldn’t even walk into the coffee shop. Then it happened, down to zero miles. Freaking out ensued. But somehow, zero miles made it for the remaining 2 miles to the gas station and I filled up, with an immense sigh of relief!
So, that’s the end of the story of my first ultramarathon. I didn’t run for a few days, taking the next day off entirely then getting on the exercise bike and ramping up time on that throughout the week. After a few days of just biking I started throwing in a run block too. First a mile, then two, then three. Then a full run workout. After my first marathon I had not eased back in, had ended up with an injured hip, and couldn’t run for months. I even missed two of the three triathlons planned that summer. I learned my lesson.
I absolutely loved this experience. I plan to start doing some more trail running, and may even look for a trail half or something this fall! Definitely need to gear up a bit though, especially trail shoes and hydration stuff. I will leave the musings on finishing this run for another post, as this is quite long already. Until next time – get out there and try something fun!!