Day 4,016 —Too Tired to Concentrate and Part III of the Potawatomi 200—

 

This morning, I felt the normal kind of tired I can feel after staying up too late the night before. I did not stay up late last night and haven't had any nights this week. I have been getting roughly around 6 hours of sleep a night, which is pretty typical. I keep thinking I am going to wake up and feel back to normal, but so far I am not there yet.

There are still so many things to think about in regard to the race and just trying to get back into a normal routine. I have found myself to be unmotivated this week.

I am usually happy, even ecstatic, after a new accomplishment like this, but this time, I felt guilty for all the time it had taken me to complete it. I did feel good right afterward. I hope you enjoy Part III—This is when the run gets real after hitting 100 miles. I have been working on the video, and I edited everything once, getting it down to 37 minutes. Part of me wonders if I have enough for two videos, but there is still a lot to cut, and if I can get it down to between 15 and 20 minutes, I will only make one video. There is always so much going on, but I need to do a better job of telling a story in each video.

Friday Part III: Miles 70-110

 

Lap    Mile                    Time              Lap Time     Pace        Time of Day

8        70-80                 23:07             2:47            16:42        F 11:07 a.m.

9        80-90                 26:12             3:05            18:30        F 2:12 p.m.

10      90-100               29:56             3:44            22:24         F 5:56 p.m.

11      100-110             34:21             4:25            26:30        F 10:21 p.m.

 

          Once I got back to the aid station after lap 7, I put some sunscreen on. I had forgotten the lap before, and my face was feeling hot and beginning to burn. It was a pretty big change from the freezing cold the night before, but I put on the lotion and continued to drink the Right Stuff hydration at the aid station. I also started eating more food. I had some pretzels with hummus and broccoli and hummus. I also was craving the vegan Reese's, so I started going through those quickly. 

          The first 3 miles take you to the creek crossing, which has some hills, but it was one of the easiest parts of the race. After the creek crossing, there are some intense back-to-back hills. One that requires a rope. I decided that mile 4 might be the hardest on the course, and it just happens to be the mile before the only aid station at mile 5. On mile 4, there are three hills in a row before you hit the aid station. The first couple of times you run the course it isn’t so bad, but once getting closer to 100 this section seemed to keep getting worse.

          When I made it to a clearing before the creek crossing, there were suddenly horses on the trail. It looked like eight horses and riders were making it through the narrow single-track path. I had no choice but to stand to the side and let the horses pass. They were pretty to look at. The riders were mostly young kids and old adults, and they waved in appreciation that I stepped to the side.

          I don’t know if I was being polite or safe. I didn’t want to walk past all these horses in such proximity and possibly scare one, but I was also so tired.        

          I pushed myself hard to hit 100 before 30 hours had gone by. I know it isn’t a great 100-mile time, but I figured if I ran the first 100 in 30 hours, that would give me 46 hours to do the next 100, which seemed to take a lot of the pressure off.

After lap 10, I ate chips and salsa in celebration, finishing almost an entire container of salsa. I texted Jake, my pacer, to see if he was at the park yet, but I wasn’t sure when he was pacing Levi. 

I saw him briefly, and he gave me an update on Levi who was doing 150. Levi had supported me at aid stations at so many runs, but I had never seen him run before. He is such a nice guy. I saw him on lap 10, and he was only a lap behind me; I was going a little faster. I asked him why not do the 200, but he said he didn’t think he was fast enough. I secretly stared, wishing I had been more sensible, and signed up for the 150. 200 miles, what was I thinking?!

 

When I headed out on lap 11, a little of the magic was gone. I was now over 100 miles. I had gone farther than I had ever gone before! Each step was a new record. I thought it would feel more empowering, but I just thought, “How is it possible that I am going to keep this up for two more nights and two days?” My face hurts, my knees hurt; I am hungry; I am tired; I am sore, and I have rashes on different parts of my body, and I am only halfway done?!

I was thinking again about why I didn’t sign up for 150. Why was I so bold that I thought I could do 200 on my first attempt?

 

Tomorrow Part IV: Running with Jake