Day 2,977 —Takeaways from the Lighthouse— with a PICTURE from the LIGHTHOUSE

Still hot but the breeze was nice. I am enjoying Charlie Engle’s  running book right now. I am happy to have finished writing about the race yesterday. I know I wrote a lot, but I did cut it down and even edit a lot out in my head before I started writing. It still seems crazy long, but so much happened, and I wanted to capture the day the best I know how to do. 

I had a good run today. I am finally not feeling as sore, and even though I am dealing with another ear infection, I am in a predominately good mood. I have been still spending a lot of time thinking about the race and what I learned from this one. So here goes part one of . . ..  

WHAT I have LEARNED thus FAR

You don’t need to Eat that Much 

I know it sounds crazy to suggest that I could burn, according to my watch, 12,873 calories and not need a ton of food, but that is what happened.

It didn’t happen on purpose, but I didn’t have anything but Bloks with me for the first 48, and I didn’t find anything at the aid stations that I wanted to eat, except for pickles, so I mostly ate my Bloks. 

I wanted fresh fruit, but there wasn’t much. I did get three pieces of watermelon from a guy named Blaze that rocked my world. I was also given a electrolyte rich popsicle from Jo. 

When I made it to my cooler, I ate some bagels and a banana. I had a couple vegan fig type bars and some vegan rice Krispy treat type of bars. At mile 88 I had some peanut butter crackers from the aid station which were most likely not vegan. I didn’t want to do it, but I was separated from my food, and it was the best thing I could find. Also, I was given some more watermelon by the kindest person in the world. 

I hadn’t planned on eating so little, but that is what happened, and it worked out. The other factor was I ate a lot leading up to this race. In the future, I will plan on having fresh fruit and not worry so much about consuming calories. 

You do need to Drink and Drink! 

Hydration issues lead to most of the more common issues that stop a runner from completing a race. I pounded water and hydration tablets every chance I got. When I would make it to a water source, I would down 20 ounces at least once, and then would sip until my next chance. I also added the Nuun stuff frequently from the start of the race. Even with all that effort, I still ended up cramping up some due to hydration issues.

Fruit is perfect because it is filled with water and electrolyte rich nutrients. A banana and watermelon always seem to make me feel better no matter what is going on with me. 

    It might seem odd that I bounced from the extreme of not eating anything during a typical marathon type distance race to eating too much in my first 100, but I overcorrected during my first one.