Vertigo Night Run-31k Race Report

Wearing my favorite InkNBurn tank!

All week I debated on whether or not I should upgrade to the 63k since my long runs consisted of 34 total miles this weekend.  Finally, I decided to just stick with the 31k, which ended up being a blessing in disguise with the crazy weather that hit towards the end of the race!

Shanna, her mother, Karen and myself

I had been looking forward to this race for months because one of my Kingman buddies was coming in town to run it and it's always fun to see Shanna-even if it was only going to be for a few minutes because she is SOOOOO much faster than me on trails :-)  We got to the start line half an hour early and mingled with our friends for a bit before taking off.

Chris and I pre-race

The course consisted of three 6.5 mile loops with one aid station at base camp and one about four miles in.  I ran the shorter distance last year, so I was familiar with the terrain and the technical portions of the course.  I specifically remembered there being one steep climb before coming to a pass and then a very technical portion on the back side of the mountain before everything leveled out (for the most part). 

At shoes-to-the-trails time, the thermostat read 105 degrees-proper hydration was going to be key for pushing through this race.  7:30pm and the 31k runners were off!  I tried to bank as much time as possible on the first portion, knowing I would slow down when I came to the climb and the subsequent technical part.  I felt like I was flying and was in a great mood, singing to myself and enjoying "playing" on my trails.  As always, I found myself in awe of the beauty of the desert as the sun was setting against the mountain backdrop.  I've lived in Arizona almost two years now and I don't think that scenery will ever get old!  I actually ran up the entire climbing section of the course on the first loop-all of the hill work I have been doing in my training is evidently paying off :-)  I almost fell on the back side of the mountain and decided to slow down to navigate the rocky terrain.  When I caught myself, my left hamstring went into a spasm from which I never fully recovered.  Thankfully, the "runner's high" masked most of the pain until post-race!

Lightning strikes in the distance

On the second loop, we started seeing lightning off in the distance.  I was in such a good mood that I just kept thinking, "Look at the fun light show!" and not really considering that it could be headed our way.  When I got to the end of the second loop, I found out that a lot of people had dropped out of the 31k, citing problems with the heat and not wanting to go back out in a potential storm.  I shrugged the concerns aside and took off on the third loop.

When I realized my Garmin was paused-oops!

About three-quarters of a mile into the third loop, I looked down at my Garmin and it said 12.95 miles.  It had been on 12.95 miles for roughly ten minutes of running and I KNEW I had been moving-turns out I bumped it at the aid station and had paused the Garmin without realizing it.  Oops!  I took this opportunity to walk for a few yards, refuel and check my phone.  I'm glad I checked my phone when I did, because there were multiple dust storm warnings as the clouds (both dust and rain) were looking more and more ominous against the stark backdrop of the night sky.  Lightning strikes were getting closer, so I picked up the pace.  When I reached the aid station, they provided me with a zip lock bag for my phone and iPod, as rain was becoming an imminent concern.  Not even one hundred yards past the aid station, the rain started.  It was then that I panicked.  Thankfully, my reasoning overtook my initial instinct rather quickly, but there was between thirty seconds and a minute that I couldn't breathe.  I started having an asthma attack, panicking because I thought I was going to freeze to death-remnants of Old Pueblo mental scars.  Once my brain convinced my body that there was no way to freeze in 100 degree rainfall, I took off again-this time, with a sense of urgency as the need to outrun an electrical storm was rather pressing.  Wind was stirring up dust everywhere and lightning was crashing right above my head.  I thought to myself, "I'm not near as cool as that runner at Hard Rock-if I get struck by lightning it won't be in the news so I better hurry it up!"  Flying through those last few miles, splashing in the mud, I listened intently after every lightning flash to count the seconds between the flash and thunder-trying to judge how far away the lightning actually was.

View from the mountain on the third loop

About a mile from the finish line, I came across the "sweep vehicle" that was headed backwards on the course to check on all of the runners.  They let me continue.  I passed multiple people that were headed back out on the course to check on their friends and loved ones that were still out there.  The last group of people I passed told me that the finish line was already torn down-such a set back was not going to keep me from finishing!  Evidently a huge gust of wind had come through, messed up some of the tents and forced the race directors to make the call to cancel the race.  Thankfully, they let me email my finish time, since I finished the final loop and it will still be recorded.  It was definitely a smart call on the part of Aravaipa Running-lightning is not something to mess with!  Great race as always-fabulous help at the fully stocked aid stations, medics onsite for those struggling with the heat and injuries and another finisher's mason jar on my shelf :-)  Maybe next year I will attempt the longest distance (hopefully sans-lightning!)

This was taken at 12:30 at night, but it looked like daylight with the lightning

Bucket of Blood Half Marathon Race Report

This is the second year that I have ran the Bucket of Blood Half Marathon and it keeps getting better!  This year we had timing chips for the first time, which was a definite improvement, and the field was a little larger. Also, the course was better marked, so less people got lost (it can be a bit tricky at times)

This race is a part of the Wild West Days festival in Holbrook, AZ (about three and a half hours northeast of Phoenix).  Holbrook may be a small town, but it's a very affordable race and provides a great weekend escape from the heat of the Valley with the all the festivities.  My favorite part has to be the barbecue contest held after the race where we restock on the calories  :-)

We arrived in Holbrook Friday night, just in time to go pick up our packets and grab some dinner.  While at dinner, it started to rain and it rained off and on all night long.  With the course being ten miles of trail and three miles of road, this made for an interesting morning-needless to say, I should have packed my trail shoes.

Some of the course flooding/detour

The gun went off at 6AM sharp and the runners took off.  I placed myself at the front of the pack for the first time ever, I think, just based on how much faster I've been getting and how small the field was.  Since I ran the course the year before, I knew that I had to bank as much time as possible in the first 1.25 miles before we hit trails, because the course is brutal and unforgiving on a good day after that.  The humidity was ridiculous and parts of the course were muddy, if not flooded.  I clocked an 8:27 on the first mile and was feeling great before we hit the rolling hills/trails.  After my fall on the trails a couple of weeks ago, I was a lot more tentative than I usually would be, which slowed my pace considerably.  The first portion of trails consisted of two loops, which was where most people got lost last year.  This year, they had people at an aid station at the crossroads holding a gigantic sign on plywood that said "1st loop" with an arrow to the right and "2nd loop" with an arrow to the left-definitely no confusion there!  Somewhere around mile four, I noticed tons of tiny black bugs sticking to my sweaty skin and started to get really grossed out.  That's when a lady stopped me and asked me if there was something in her eye-it was one of those bugs!!!   EWWWWWWWWWWW-I was totally grossed out watching this thing crawl around in her eye, but channeled my inner Big Girl Panties and helped her get the bug out.  After that, it was smooth sailing for a couple of miles with the occasional bug wiping and snot rocket. 


By mile seven, I started regretting the fact that I had forgotten to pack my Espresso Gu shot.  My energy was waning as the elevation and humidity started taking their toll on my asthmatic lungs and for the first time in forever, I had the urge to use my inhaler (that I forgot to pack).  There was definitely a hundred feet or so of walking in there as I tried to regain my bearings and harness some more of the Amanda's Incessant Energy, but I never got my usual second wind.  I'm not sure if it was lack of sleep, the heat/humidity/elevation combo, lack of nutrition or the fact that around mile five and mile eight I got stuck in the mud where my foot came out of my shoe, causing me to feel like I had ten pound weights on my feet until I ran the mud clumps off.  I was EXHAUSTED by the time I finished.  I left it all out there on that course and still only finished with a 2:13.  I was proud of that 2:13 because it was a couple of minutes faster than last year and this is definitely not a PR course!  It's kind of like Whiskey Row in that you can only really judge your time based on years' past of the same course.  After crossing the finish line, all runners were provided with a free pancake breakfast put on by the local Chamber of Commerce, as well as a free beer at the festival...  Of course I took advantage of both!

Am I in for it again next year?  Absolutely!  Where else can you run a half marathon in July in Arizona for only $50 with free pancakes and beer?!  The organizers are fabulous and very open to any feedback and suggestions the runners give (hence the course markings and chip timing)  I would recommend it to anyone and everyone-especially my fellow carnivores that salivate as much as I do at the thought of a Barbecue festival  :-)

The medals this year were dog tags!