So this was a "race" but no one was taking registration or recording results or anything...so it was an underground race? So, I'm not doing a race report.
O.U.Ch (Oquirrh Ultra Challenege)
So they set up an "everyone contribute" aid station at the parking lot at Yellow Fork and you do the 6.6 mile loop on the main road and a little side jaunt up the hill to the rock. Really vague, I know...but IYKYK. So it ends up being a perfect 7 mile loop, perfection. You can do the loop whenever you want and how ever many times you want.
I didn't want to start early enough to use a headlamp so I started at 7am. The night before I found out Jill Wilkins was going to be there and so we made plans to do my first loop together! It was wonderful to see her. I got spoiled this week running with friends! Along the route we ran into Mike and Casey and oh it was a fun time! BUT it was slow. Usually a slow loop for me is around 1:30-1:40 for me, but it took over two hours! I was in spikes the whole time and I figured that it would get better as the day went on. It didn't. I've never run in such bad trail conditions! I couldn't even run downhill. It was slow going, icy or water flowing over slush or mud and uneven packed snowy surfaces or post holing. I seriously thought I would be done with one loop after the first. It was BAD.
I figured I would give it another loop to see if the weather would help the conditions at all. Nope, it felt as bad as the first. At the end of the second loop (the first two were counter clockwise) I slipped at the bottom of an icy hill and hit hard. I figured it was a sign I was done. I walked the last 1/3 mile to the finish to let my ankle relax and walk it off. Rubber ankles are great! :)
I had bought a Redbull to drink and I wanted it but knew I wouldn't if I didn't do another loop, so I decided to give myself my Redbull and do ONE more loop. Three would be fine. I had already rolled my ankles multiple times and fallen multiple times and I could feel a blister on the bottom of my left big toe...but caffeine cures it all. Plus, I wanted to try the loop clockwise. So, I decided to do one more.
Again, I was going SO slow that it was unreal and these loops were taking me over 2 hours each even with some downhill running when I could. But then I would roll my ankle on the uneven snow trail and fall into the piles of snow on the side. SO many times I fell, so many times. I got to see Rebecca, Kristyn and Bethany on that third loop and the hope that going up the opposite way would be great kept me going. I also finally introduced myself to Joshua Landvatter...the main Oquirrh Mountain Man! Oh, they had a sled with treats and some fun stuff at the top, the big rock, and I took a picture each lap. They also had fireball which was a fun shot for many participants :) The downhill running in the clockwise direction wasn't any better. But I was listening to a book "The Pursuit of Endurance" and got motivated to not give up and give in. Plus, I'd figured out that I could finish with daylight hours and still get home...so I ran ONE MORE LOOP! :)
I got back to the car, fed Daisy and got myself half of a G2G bar, another Redbull, liquid IV and lots of liquid and a pocket full of dots and I headed off clockwise to even out the times I did each loop. It was late and I was slow, but I kept moving and although my headphones had died and I recharged my phone at the car and put it on battery saver at the car, I had the book playing on the phone speaker to keep my brain busy. They had cleaned up the loop counter clockwise and I met them just below the big rock (half way) and stole a couple chocolate cinnamon bears out of the sled as I passed them. Then I had the downhill to finish off. The melting snow and uneven, slippery snow on the trail was again just horrid. I took a couple breaks to make snow angels in the snow on the side of the trail, it was fun. I fell another couple times, but I got it done.
I knew that I would be super sore and that I was more than exhausted, but I had done my March Marathon. It has been a horribly stiff and sore last day, but I did it. I did a HARD thing. It was harder than anything I've done since my accident and it is going to take a while to recover. Not only just getting it done, but the elevation and trail conditions AND the fact that my brain can't process trails as fast as it used to so it was mentally exhausting, I got it done. It seriously was SO hard and I'm proud of myself for working through it all and getting all 4 laps done despite wondering if I would do 2 the first time around.
Daisy and I are stiff and sore and moving rather slowly today, but I did it. Not much worse for the wear and I feel proud of what I was able to accomplish in those 9 hours...NINE hours, but it was worth it.
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