This is, effort wise and in performance comparison, probably the biggest win of my running career. This is the race I have been training for, and it went better than I ever dreamed. It is 50K/31 miles, consisting of 3 loops.
prerace: It rained this week. Rain is bad. It means mud, which means none of the fast and frozen terrain we had last year. I drove up the night before, had my customary night-before-race beer(one Corona light), and dropped into bed for 7 solid hours. Bling and Glen drove us to the line. I didn't bother to warm up.
Loop 1: I lined up with the Shadow, Bling, and Prefontaine right at the front, and we were off. I went out fast on purpose, since I knew this was the only loop with opportunity for speed before the trail was chewed up and the mudslogging began. I felt strong. My mantra going down was "no fear" and I am amazed I didn't break my face but I took a few falls. A little gatorade, but mostly coca-cola, and one S-cap. Came through in 1:32, which is ridiculously way too fast of a start for this course. At the end of the loop I shed my hat, gloves, and long-sleeve shirt and it was shorts and trusty green tank from then out.
Loop 2: And now the mudslog begins. There were ropes strung on some hills but not enough, not enough. I wiped out half a dozen times. I have blisters on my toe tips from curling them in a desperate attempt to keep my shoes from being sucked off. I went mud-skiing down hills. Several times I was reduced to hands and knees scrabbling up hills(needed some ropes here). I would smear the mud off my hands onto my shirt and then force myself to run whenever possible. I choked a gu down in here, and swallowed another S-cap. I still stuck to coca-cola(only in traile races!). Came through in 3:15. Still not another woman in sight and I was not looking back.
Loop 3: Ah. The agony begins. The beginning of this loop is pretty muddy and sloppy, and I became acutely aware of my screaming muscles and fatigue. I felt a little disheartened the first few miles, felt like things were just shutting down. From here on out, I alternated wildly between fatigue and a little despair and feeling good, knowing I was in the lead, and telling myself to slog on. I wiped out and scrambled a few more times. The last mile was hard, a massive, muddy climb. The very last little bit is downhill though, and I sprinted like a madwoman across the line!
Very exciting. Second fastest time in history of the race for a woman. Almost a sub-5(dang!) prizes: $325, beer mug, water bottle, drop bag, free entries to two events, coffee mug, shirt, hat
A shout out to the experienced volunteers, the amazing aid stations, the incredible support, and my awesome running group, the River City Honey Badgers.
My. Body. Hurts. I'm sure I did some major muscle damage, but no true "injuries" and should be recovered in a week so I can polish up for a half in March. Today was a real breakthrough, I feel the fitness is beginning to really, really come back. I bested my time from last year by 40 minutes in much, much less favorable conditions so I am pumped!! | 