Day 3,484 —Mistakes to Learn from—

When I was barely able to use the bathroom the morning of the race, I was startled and immediately worried. I didn’t want food, which is usual for me before a race. I like to have a half banana or an apple, but that’s usually all I eat. 

I wanted to start the first lap strong, so I could bank some time and get away from the crowd. After about 7 miles, I started to slow down, and a few other runners passed me while I took some pictures and videos. It was the ride mood; I wasn’t feeling amazing, and I needed to get hydrated. 

I drank water, Gatorade, Guroctane, and coconut water, but no matter how much I seemed to slam, I still had yet to pee, and I was sweating and feeling both hot and cold. 

I kept drying my hair and changing clothes whenever I stopped. I ran out of shirts to change into, but I started recycling older ones that had been sitting out longer. My dad was a huge help in picking up the area and keeping my shirts spread out, so they would dry. 

I was so worried about hydration that I had neglected to snack as much as I usually do. Most of what I brought didn’t look good, so I only managed to eat two packs of gels, and then I thought I brought some that I couldn’t find. 

I ate fruit from several aid stations whenever I could but I was only eating a few pieces each time. I knew I was battling dehydration but I didn’t know how the lack of food in my body was going to hit me because it typically doesn’t do much damage. 

The course wasn’t a difficult trail, but it wasn’t easy. There were rolling hills, some steep hills, and lots and lots of roots and rocks. On the first lap, I stumbled but was able to catch myself each time, and then I changed my shoes because of how hard the ground was. I wanted to wear my pavement shoes, which were more comfortable but also probably led to me falling more. 

On the second lap, I fell more than a few times and was starting to not be able to catch myself because of the muscle strain in my arm and shoulder. I fell hard on the ground once but confirmed I didn’t cut myself, so I was still feeling pretty good. 

At the end of the third lap, I saw a guy a little ahead of me that I was able to catch up to. Right when I started to pass him, I tripped and face-planted on a stone, taking it in the chin. When I made it back, I asked the race director, who refilled my water bladder and was, so kind and nice, if I was bleeding, and he said I was and tried to get me something to put on it, but I knew I would have something in one of my bags. 

He looked at me and asked if I had been sweating, which I had; I couldn’t stop sweating, drinking liquids, and still not peeing at all. I put some cream on my chin, smiled, and went back out for another lap. This time I was determined to slow down, and I was run, walk, run walk without too much trouble, yet I was still feeling sick in my stomach and feeling hot and cold, but finally, something broke through, and I was able to pee. 

I smiled so big when I realized how hydrated I suddenly was but it was becoming a problem having to make stops more frequently that could last over a minute. I ran most of my two laps with this guy from Missouri. He was a new father, and we talked about our daughters as we both tried to put the miles out of our minds. I was struggling mentally to stay positive, so he was good company, but on that last lap I finished without him, he had fallen too far behind. I thought I was okay, but by the time I got there, I knew I needed to do a reality check. 

Now, I think, “You idiot, you could have finished! You had 9 hours to sub 24 for only 28 miles!” but at that moment I was feeling very sick and mentally losing my ability to focus and continue to make rational decisions. If I moved too fast, I was on the verge of falling down. 

I thought at that moment that I had spent roughly 4 hours (not entirely true) on this last lap, so I would have at least two more like that ahead of me, and 8 hours seemed like a super long time to continue to struggle with my body temperature regulation and not being able to eat food. 

I even gagged on a banana. Now that I was peeing so much, I couldn’t continue to drink any type of hydration powder, it too was making me feel not great, and I wanted to stop having to go to the bathroom constantly. My dad told them for me, and he said they were nice about it. I wondered if I would have been able to call it if I was on my own. 

We started to drive back, but I was suddenly needing to stop and use the bathroom almost every 45 minutes. We both thought it wasn’t a long drive, and even though it can be dangerous at night, this trip was relatively flat and easy, taking one highway for most of it. I woke up after the impact, asking what happened. My dad said he hit a deer, and we pulled over to look at the damage. The whole right side was gone, so we were stuck where we were for the rest of the night. 

Thoughts on the Race 

Great organization! Really, well done with the marking and the aid stations, and every detail was carefully thought out. There was one section that was a little confusing but it was fixed almost immediately. I wish I could have finished for all the people who supported me and the other runners I ran with! I met so many excellent people doing an amazing job. 

Food and hydration! I had so much fresh fruit all the time, which made me super happy. A lot of hot food for people with different diets, but I am sure they probably would have been accommodating if I asked. They are super nice people. They had Tailwind and Gatorade, so that was impressive to have an option and plenty of water. 

Cellphone coverage and food Access! One of the few races that I could receive and make phone calls throughout the course. Also, being so close to the hotel and places to eat made this easily the most accessible ultra-marathon I have ever done. 

Mistakes to learn from 

Started out too fast and talked about numbers too much. I shouldn’t have let other people's conversations about their planned pace get in my head so much, but it did. I should have stuck with not thinking about it all, just shooting for a sub-12-hour, 50-mile pace, and gone from there. 

I was fooled again by the promise of an easy trail, which I need to ignore every time I see it moving forward. 

Should have stopped earlier to hydrate and eat, maybe I would have been okay, but at the same time, I wasn’t hungry when I started this race, so I am not sure if I would have been able to force myself to eat enough to make a difference. 

When I am not a hundred percent, change my expectations! Sure, a healthy me couldn’t have kept going and gotten under 20 hours, but I was foolish to think that I could have done that considering how healthy I was. I don’t know if the 12-hour race influenced my performance or not, but I knew on race morning that I was dehydrated and not feeling like myself. I should have taken note and guzzled water when I got to the race early instead of standing around. 

I would do this one again because of all the reasons I mentioned, and because I hate dropping out. Now, I need to go back and do well.