Day 4,071—Today and Hooray the Huron 100 Part IV: the Last Drop bag and the Powwow—

        I worked on the video a lot yesterday and ended the day ready to input music. Today, I listened to a bunch of different possible tracks to see what I thought would fit with the footage I got. It is crazy how much the music can help me like the video better. I will go from wondering if I got any good footage to enjoying editing video when I find the right music.

         I finally took a break to go on this run, and I loved it. The weather was cooling down, and I liked seeing so many people outside enjoying the day. There were so many kids at the park playing and other people enjoying a stroll or playing tennis. Every time I look at the news, there are so many things to be unhappy about, but when I get outside on a nice day, I always find myself smiling.  

Part IV: the Last Drop Bag and a Powwow 

Time of Day: 5:58-11:42 p.m.

Total Time: 14:42

Section Time: 5:44

Miles: 47.1-70.6

Average Pace for Section: 14:38

         I was on a bike path to start, and I was passing 50-mile runners as I went. So many of them commented on how a 100-miler was passing a 50-mile runner. I didn’t want to make them feel bad about their pace, even though part of me was thinking that they did get a full two-hour head start. The 9 a.m. start time wasn’t awful, and it did prevent getting passed by a bunch of 50-mile runners, so I am thankful for that, but I was jealous of getting to run during the early morning. This was my first 100 miler to start at 9 a.m.

         I was fully stocked with water, carrying my 20-ounce bottle, but at the same time, I thought it was unnecessary because I would be at an aid station around mile 50. Suddenly, a bunch of people started cheering wildly. When they saw my bib, they stopped and proclaimed, “You're almost. . . halfway there!” This was the same thing that a bunch of 50-mile runners told me when I cheered them on as I passed them, saying things like, “Great job, runner! Almost done!”

After passing that cheer section, I turned off the bike path onto a road and quickly realized that there was no aid station at mile 50. The aid worker most thought I was only doing the 50, possibly? The actual aid station wasn’t going to be there until mile 55, so I had a while still to go. I started hearing what sounded like chanting, and all I could think of was that on the course it showed that one trail was called the Potawatomi. I was confused because having done the Potawatomi Trail run in Illinois, how random was it that there was also a Potawatomi trail here hundreds of miles away?

         When I got closer to the aid station, I turned into what looked like a park. The chanting was getting louder, and there was a sign pointing right, indicating that a powwow was in progress. I saw on my left that the aid station was under a pavilion, far from the powwow. I went over there, and the guy told me he remembered seeing me at mile 18 and commented that I looked well. I had a vegan sloppy Joe, which was amazing! I was skeptical at first, but it was so good. I wish I had eaten more of the vegan hot food along the way, but it was weird having so many options! I asked him about the powwow, and he said he was enjoying the cultural experience.

         I tried to use the bathroom on my way out, but it was so stressful because I didn’t want to waste the time if I didn’t have to go, but I had been debating trying for so many hours, so it was time. The next aid station was in 9 miles, so I made sure I was fully hydrated before leaving. I didn’t want a repeat of my mistake during the first half, but part of me knew a lot of the pressure was off at this point. The sun was going down, and the breeze felt nice. I hadn’t done a lot differently, but I started peeing regularly and decided now was the time to start drinking caffeine. I figured I was in for a really big boost with how long I had gone without.

         It was also getting dark, and I passed one runner who had stopped to put on his headlamp. I was talking to Arcadio some, and when we were together briefly, I asked him to get my headlamp out of my vest for me, and I offered to reciprocate. He got it for me but said he didn’t need my help because he had some other stuff to get from his vest. Once, a little after 9 p.m. I finally turned on my headlamp.

         The next aid station felt like it was on a beach. As I started getting closer, I was suddenly running in the sand, and then when I made it there, the guy was wearing rave lights and offered to give me one to put around my neck. I was not interested in having anything around my neck, so I drank some Coke and Ginger Ale and ate more watermelon. I headed back out, knowing that by the next stop, I would be at mile 70 and my last drop bag!

         I had still been running with Arcadio and then getting passed by Johanna throughout this time. When I finally made it to the mile 70.6 aid station, I was feeling the effects of the caffeine and just didn’t want to waste any more time. I took nothing out of my drop bag and almost immediately went back out after filling up drinks. I asked about their vegan hot food, and they said they had chili, but I didn’t want chili because I didn’t know how I would carry it as I ran. One of the aid workers said they made vegan hotdogs, but the other one said they decided not to make them because they didn’t have a place to cook them where they wouldn’t be contaminated by the animal fat from the other food they were making. I appreciated their honesty and help. Even though I didn’t have any vegan food, I liked that there were options, and they were thoughtful.

Tomorrow Part V: the Highway, the Mystery Train, and the Finish Line