1am- All by myself from the beginning. All the legit ultra guys looked at me like I was crazy. I knew I wasn't going for 100 miles. I wanted to ruin my weekend, not my life. So I figured I would run conservative, just not 100 mile conservative. 17 laps of the same loop for 24 hours. I was not ready for that. At this point in the race I was nervous fatigue was just around the corner. Luckily going a slower pace helped in letting me eat and drink more without complications. Marieta and I had recently watched Hacksaw Ridge so one of my mantras was "One more, just one more." It really helped because I didn't have a set goal for how many miles I wanted to hit. I thought anything over 33 (previous best) would be great!
1st, 6.01 miles, 53:22/8:53 mile pace
2:30am- Biggest complaint at this point in the race was the cold. I was running out of warm clothes to change into and trying to get warm in my tent was not perfect. I had roughly 30-35 minutes to recover between laps. I enjoyed this time but spent most of it shivering in my tent. Still better than standing outside. I was pretty convinced this was going to be my last lap. It would get me to 36 (a new pr) and I was nervous something was going to give. I just leaned into "one more" and hydrated for another one.
1st, 6.01 miles, 53:06/8:50 mile pace
4:00am- Just kept rolling on the icy loop. I planned to have music or podcasts playing in my ears. Unfortunately my iPod and AirPods couldn't handle the cold. So I was just alone with my thoughts for most the race. Once again I felt tired but nothing was breaking.
1st, 6 miles, 54:37/9:06 mile pace
5:30am-Absolutely my last leg. It would get me close to 50 with 48 miles (8 laps) and I was tired and sore. 0 seconds of sleep was starting to catch up with me. I finished and I was content. I branded what I thought was my last mark for lap completion.
1st, 6.01 miles, 54:21/9:02 mile pace
7:00am- Well I convinced myself I should hit 50. I figured I would start the next lap, run a mile, then turn around for 50. Then I thought I could run 2 miles and walk the rest and still hit under 90 minutes to earn my 9th lap. After 2 miles I slowed down and took in the sunrise and beautiful Ava sent clouds. Then I kept running. I was tired and the pace definitely tanked but I just kept going. Marieta joined me for last half mile and I was happy! I knew this was it. I had nothing else to prove. I tested my endurance and felt I ran smart. I'm glad I had this experience!
2nd, 6.02 miles, 59:16/9:51 mile pace
Total time: 8:08:57/9:01 mile pace
54.22 miles
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