Day 2,603 —Came up Short but Learned a Lot— with a PICTURE of the SKY and BIRDS

The majority of the race was a lot of fun. We started on time and the cool weather, and the beautiful sky made for a memorable first 10 miles or so. I talked to one of the other solo runners Dave for probably close to 30 miles of the run. His wife and family were there with him. They were all so supportive the whole time and were nice enough to carry some things for me and provide water to me through the first half of the race. There was water provided by the race, but the race did not provide water for the relay runners. The focus was on helping the relay team support themselves and being there to help with organization. All the support staff I came in contact with were really nice.

At one point a guy came up to tell me that I cannot drink the water for the Solo Runners. It was an honest mistake, and I thought how great it was that he was protecting my water. As the race continued there started to be more and more spots without any shade. Dave started saying he was having problems with an injury and stopped at the river to soak his shoes. 

I started to feel more urgency. I took a lot of my hydration pills, but I am sure I forgot sometimes. And I needed to take them with water, and I didn’t always have water. There was consistently as much water as I could drink for the first 35 miles. I went on a stretch of seven miles without an aid station in the sun. It was around 1 p.m. When I made it to the aid station after that, I was exhausted. However, so many people were nice to me. I got plenty of water and someone even gave me watermelon which was amazing. I couldn’t eat my food I brought, but that watermelon went down smooth. I sat for a minute thinking. I told Dave’s wife that it was a difficult stretch. He said she texted him that he would be there in 30 minutes. I don’t know if he made it or not, but I didn’t seem him again. 

I rallied and ran to the next aid station without an issue. That one had my clothes that I wanted to change into. In retrospect maybe I should not have done that. It was also annoying I had to wait in a long line to go to the bathroom and change. There was a guy on the bike who kept saying that I had 30 more miles to run when my math said 24. It was really frustrating to hear someone laugh at me and say I had an additional six miles to go. And I didn’t really know who was right. The lack of specificity between is it 67 or 68 miles always bothered me. 

Regardless, I went out again feeling a little better in a fresh pair of clothes. The next stop was seven miles, and it was in the sun in the open like the other hard one. It was a struggle to make it and at that aid station I didn’t have much water support. The woman gave me 32 ounces, but it wasn’t really enough. I wanted to drink both the bottles and fill up the ones I was carrying, but that wasn’t possible. I probably could have asked someone else for water. There were plenty of nice people around, but I was having a hard time. I was feeling dehydrated. My stomach was bothering me. I wasn’t hungry anymore, and I was starting to cramp up. I wanted to cry, but I took the water bottle and asked how far to the next station. She said four miles. I walked the majority of those four miles and called my dad to tell him to come out earlier. I thought maybe after walking four miles I would want to start running again, but the walking instead became to get hard.  

  When I made it to that aid station at mile 57.31, I knew that it was the end for me. I barely made it this far. I sat in the shade as I waited for my dad to arrive. The volunteers were incredibly nice and supportive. No one tried to talk me out of stopping there. I was having a hard time wanting to drink water because it was making me feel a little queasy, so I continued to sip water at that point and think. I was afraid. Afraid of getting sick during a stretch without anyone around. I am sure I would have gotten help eventually, but I wasn’t thinking straight. I started getting into survival mode. I just didn’t want to get sick and possibly injured over this race. Maybe if I had gotten more water in me at that aid station, I could have moved on, but maybe it was too late at that point. 

The good news is it looks like I still have a lot to learn about ultra-running.