Day 4,127—Is the First Week Over Yet? And Reflections on the Badger 100 Part IV—

 

          I kept going back and forth in my mind yesterday, thinking about whether it was Wednesday or Tuesday. It has somehow simultaneously been the longest week ever, and it's only Thursday. I was so tired this morning that I was seriously debating not running until after work, but I knew how that would likely make me feel. I went to bed at 10:30 last night, so that didn’t seem that late, but possibly I am still being affected by the 100-mile run? I don’t know, but I was so sluggish this morning. I didn’t need to go faster, but I wanted to enjoy the run at least. I ran over to see the Ship It on the Frisco historical marker, and I didn’t realize that it was so old. I am sure it would be miserable to ride a train from here to San Francisco, but you would get to see so much of the country. I wonder if someday roads will stop being used by cars, so they will be dominated by runners, like abandoned train tracks become trails.  

Tomorrow Part IV: But will they have Vegan Burgers?

        I had only eaten fresh fruit at the aid stations so far. So much watermelon that my face was red. At first, I wondered if I had some type of rash when I went to record a moment of my race, but quickly I realized it was the watermelon juice. Normally, you want to eat slowly, but when you’re racing, you’re focused on consuming as much food in the shortest time possible. If they cut the watermelon thin, I stack them on top of each other and finish a piece in three to four bites. It isn’t the normal way I eat stuff, but all I am thinking about is that I am losing time.

         When I hit the aid station before the 7-mile stretch. A young girl was helping out. She couldn’t have been older than 8. The guy had her make me a cherry slushy that hit the spot. They also had a fountain of pickles. I didn’t have any, but I did marvel at the juxtaposition of seeing pickles in a fountain. I might be anxious to get going, but I try not to show it. I was slowing down anyway after I hit 50. I was letting myself walk some, so as to not get overheated, and was running closer to 4 miles per hour through the heat. I was still running the majority of the time, but knowing this is the part when I am usually miserable.

         I was also running alone. All the 100-mile runners whom I had run with earlier were mostly far ahead of me. I hadn’t seen Travis in a while, but I figured it wouldn’t be long until he caught up with me. One younger-looking guy kept passing me, and then I would catch him and pass him for a while. During one aid station stop, he sat on a cooler for a few minutes and left without getting any water.

         I waved greetings to him each time we ran close to each other, but he never responded. I wonder if he had heard me, or was just in the zone. The aid station before the turnaround, the point in Orangeville, Illinois, was getting closer, so there was a sign where we could text our order for hot food in Orangeville. I scanned the sign for anything that said vegan and didn’t see it, so I just assumed that I wouldn’t get any hot food, which was fine.

         There were these Cheez-It-like crackers (Cheese-Less) that I had in my bag that I was craving, and I was getting so hungry. I decided I would take a proper break. Maybe even taking as many as 20 minutes to sit around and eat my crackers. I finished 70 miles after about 12 hours and 45 minutes (10:55 pace per mile). I stayed at that aid station for 21 minutes. A little longer than I thought, but when I got there, the guy said he had vegan burgers! So I was pumped to get to have an actual burger! I drank some ginger ale and started and ate my crackers. Shoving them so quickly in my mouth, a lot were spilling on the ground. Before I left, I decided to start drinking caffeine, so I was hoping for a jolt of energy, and as I started running back to Belleville, I was smiling! I was full, comfortable, and feeling like running again. I saw Travis immediately when I left. He was less than a mile behind me. I was looking forward to being done, but I was also looking forward to that nice 7-mile stretch that was coming up. I kept doing the math to figure out what my pace needed to be for the rest of the run. I wanted to be able to run 12s for the rest of the run, but that would have put me over 20 hours, so after the first hour, I started running between 12 and 14-minute miles.

Tomorrow, the Badger Part V: the Finish Line and Recovery