 |
| Pre-race with my fellow INB ambassador, Kimberly |
I signed up for the 60k with butterflies in my stomach-I knew it was going to be a tough one with the heat and distance. Especially with my last year's race haunting me... It took me six hours to finish because I got sick to my stomach fourteen times-I was determined not to make that mistake again.
The course consisted of two loops-a 10k loop and a 15k loop. The 60k runners would complete the 10k loop three times and 15k loop twice, alternating between the two. All day prior to the race, I rested and drank electrolytes in preparation.
 |
| Sunset on the Trails |
The race began promptly at seven. The first couple of miles, I felt fabulous-taking my time and stopping to take pictures of the gorgeous sunset. My feeling was, if I was going to be out there all night, I might as well enjoy myself. As the sun began to set, I turned on my headlamp... only, it wouldn't turn on. I went to change the batteries, but it took three AAA and I only had two. I figured two fresh batteries was better than none and it turned on. From there, I took off and was feeling great for the entire 10k loop. I figured if the rest of the trails were as easy as this, then I was golden!
 |
| Mile three selfie before sunset |
I passed through the start and took off on my first 15k loop, all smiles. Shortly after starting into the longer loop, my light began to flicker. I chalked it up to the two batteries having to work overtime and continued. The fresh water in my new Orange Mud pack tasted so fabulous that I accidentally chugged it, leaving me with one 24 oz bottle to last me another four miles. Typically, this would be fine, but it was still 100+ degrees outside and I was sweating profusely. Right after I put my Orange Mud pack back, I noticed something scurry across my path. It was the cutest little field mouse and I felt horrible because I was certain it would be snake food soon. By mile ten, my headlamp was dead. I started to panic and kept going, utilizing the flashlight on my phone. This was slow-going because I was too afraid to run with my phone in hand on the trails-I am a klutz and knew if I ran, I would be replacing my iPhone screen for the third time. It was right about then that Chris caught up to me and thankfully, he had an extra battery for me, so my headlamp was restored to full brightness. This side of the trail was significantly more technical than the 10k loop and seemed like it was a constant uphill. Not long after my headlamp was restored to full brightness, I ran out of water. At this point, there was still three miles to go before the next water stop, so I hiked with Chris and piggybacked off his hydration pack. I was too scared (based on last year's experience) to exert any more energy than necessary to get me to the water stop where I could refill. This was poor hydration management on my part. I shouldn't have chugged the water and I should have utilized the bungee cord in the middle of my pack to secure an additional bottle. Lesson learned for next time! It seemed like forever until we reached the water stop and in the meantime, Chris kicked up a large scorpion in my direction on accident and we saw a gigantic tarantula that moved rather quickly and freaked me out to no end. By the time we got to that water stop (almost eight miles between the stops), we decided we were throwing in the towel. I could do that 10k loop all night long, but there was no way I was going to attempt the 15k loop again. I refilled, felt refreshed and took off running. Averaged sub 10's on trails for the last couple of miles, crossed the finish line and signaled that I was done. I grabbed a beer from the cooler and waited for my love to finish shortly behind me. I would say that even though I dropped down to 25k, this race was a success because I finished strong and did not get sick. Sadly, I can't say that others had the same. We passed a couple of runners that were miserable and sick and one of our dear friends suffered that same fate.
Lesson from this race: Don't attempt an ultra in Phoenix in August-take it easy and enjoy the sunsets, critters and your mountain playground :-)
No comments:
Post a Comment