Day 3,933 —Today and the Shippey 100 Part 5: Going Home—

Today,

My hands are still cold as I type this, but it was the warmest long run I have done in a month. I wore shorts, which felt great, and had my Shippey shirt on. I am still sporting the gear and thinking about the race. I spent some more time on the video this morning, and I am so excited to share it with everyone. I need more titles and a final check on the sound and music, but after the video, I did last year of the race, which was the best I could do with how little footage I had, this one is more like the other videos I have made recently. I hope everyone likes it, and more people go to the race next year. I used some of the pictures from the Colson Photography that were there, and they did an excellent job of getting each runner in pivotal moments of the race. I could even show the creak crossings, which I regretted not getting because I talked about it so much.

This run felt great. The sun was shining, and I was running at a normal speed. Sure, there was still a lot of snow and ice on the ground, but I mostly ran in the street and jumped over to the snow and ice when I had to. After doing the 100+ miles last weekend, I almost felt like an expert running on ice.

When I ran the Shippey 100 in 2023, I remember feeling so sore afterward and even beaten down by the run, but this week I have felt normal. I wasn’t walking any differently, and I still took the stairs even when the elevator was available.

I wanted to do at least 10 today, and it was a good fun 10 doing some on Grant’s trail and the rest down Lockwood by old Webster. I hadn't run over there in a minute, and there were a lot of people out walking the streets, I almost ran into at least two different people who were moving slowly and then panicked when they saw me coming towards them fast.

I felt a little short of breath by the end of the run; probably I was going too hard and hadn’t had that much to drink, but I did stop at QT for a Gatorade at the halfway point, which seemed luxurious on such a short, long run.

It was gorgeous today. I think I got a good picture. Enjoy Part 5! 

The fifth Lap 81.2-101.75 (actual distance: 103 + wrong turn and leaving the poles).

Time of day: 5:45 am.

When I started the last lap it was still dark, but I knew the sun was going to come out soon, which was nice to think about. I couldn’t wait to see another sunrise and bask in the warmth of the sun. And true, the sunrise was spectacular, but the warmth never came.

I was finally feeling good and moving fast as I started the last lap! I did find out that the veggie burgers at the other aid station had egg whites in them, which was annoying because I thought it might be possible, but I didn’t know for sure, then someone who was trying to be nice looked at the box and confirmed my suspicion. I told them that I had also eaten some mashed potatoes that had milk powder in them at a previous race, and I emphasized that I just didn’t ask because I didn’t want to know.

So now, I have eaten at least 2 if not 3 things that were not vegan during an ultra-run. I wish I could say they were a total accident, but when I saw the veggie burgers at the other aid station, part of me knew that some veggie burgers use egg whites, and I just didn’t ask.

At the same time, whenever I became vegan, I decided I would not give myself a hard time about stuff like this. I knew there were going to be times when mistakes would happen, and when I am in that 60 + zone in an ultra, I am not thinking super clearly, so I can forgive myself for making some mistakes I wouldn’t make in normal circumstances, or maybe I can’t? No, I am good.

This ended up being my 3rd fastest lap and a full hour and a half faster than my previous lap. I would like to say it was all me, but the Yaktraxs helped out a lot. Now, I could actually run, which was such a huge difference compared to what I was able to do before. 

I kept thinking that other 100-mile runners were about to pass me. I could have asked someone, but I knew I wasn’t doing well and only 1 or 2 people were behind. Brian and Connor were the closest to me, and while I could see that I was catching up to Brian some. It didn’t bother me to see either of those guys beat me. Brian, I had done the race with in 2024 when I DNFed, and he was a nice guy, and I was rooting for him to do well. I could tell he felt bad I wasn’t moving as fast, but that’s the nature of these things. Connor had won it the year before, and he is another good guy who is a dad who I talked to last year. I don’t know if I know everyone else who was ahead of me. Chris won the thing in an insane 22-hour time as I was finishing my 4th lap.

I felt good that I was going to finish this thing. I knew I was going to finish and not get injured, which was the goal, and as I closed in on mile 90, it just seemed more and more inevitable. I still hadn’t seen my dad all evening. He thought Joel was going to be with me, but Joel had to go home, I still had plenty of people around me willing to lend a hand. However, at this point, I was barely stopping at the aid stations, and I didn’t need that much water anymore.

When I reached the Start/Finish for the second to last time, I was giddy with excitement. I went up one of the steepest hills in the race with a smile on my face, screaming goodbye. There were still tons of other runners on the course who kept passing me, but they were the relay people, who mostly annoyed me, I am glad they were there to remind me to keep moving. This one guy was moving especially quickly but didn’t know where he was going, so it did feel odd he stopped me at one of the sections, shouting at me if he was going the right way. I was nice to him, but I was also thinking --yeah, I am a little slow right now. I have been up all night, running for 26 hours, so it took me a second to process what you were asking. Eventually, I responded with, “Sure, that’s right, we double back on this leg. You’re going the right way.”

As I ran the last 3.5 miles of the course, all I could think about was that little tent where they had a chip reader. I knew it was about .25 miles from the finish, so I kept on looking for it, and eventually there it was!!! The little red tent! I am so glad to see you! Now, I was moving as fast as I could to the rocks that you need a rope to get down: I was almost there.

I climbed to the bottom, going face forward, this time holding the rope. I saw the railing with the lights, and I kept moving. There was the finish! I saw my dad holding his phone waiving me and the race director, Jake.

I put my hands up and shouted as I crossed the finish line. I knew I didn’t have a great time or place well, but I finished, and I ran the best race that I could have that day.

Lap:                     5

Miles:                   101.75

Time of Day:         11:14 a.m.

Course Time:        29:14:46

Lap Time:             5:29:15

Pace:                    16:10 min/mi

Later that night, I found myself running another mile. I didn’t need to because I had already run both days technically, but I wanted to. I was still feeling good after I took a nap. As I turned for home, the thought crossed my mind that I could keep going if I needed to. 

I was thinking about the 200 Potawatomi coming up, and I was feeling more than prepared: I was excited. I am coming for you Potawatomi 200! You and me on April 10th—it is on!