Day 4,473—the World Cup! and The Vero Beach Octopus 100 Part V—

 

Start time: 10:25 a.m.

Weather: Mid 80s, wind 1.1 mi/h, Humidity 76%

    It was nice starting a run without having any training goals in mind. I was thinking I would do around 10 miles today, but I could go as fast or as slow as I wanted, and if I wanted to stop, I would. I stopped for water a few times, and I didn’t take forever filling up, but I drank enough. I started out a little slower than 10-minute miles, so my main goal was to get my average down under 10. While it took the whole run to get my average down, I stopped at QT before I went home and finished my average slightly ahead of 10, and then I debated if I should run a little more to do 13, but there was no need, and I had already gone 2 more than I was thinking I would, so I was finishing in a good spot. I think I figured out why my Garmin has been so off about my health stuff. I turned my HR off during runs and haven’t turned it back on until today. The big news it gave me after my run was that it changed my max heart rate, which is annoying, but at the same time I keep reminding myself that this kind of stuff just doesn’t matter.

The Vero Beach Octopus 100 Part V  

Arm 3: Gates of Hell

Time of Day: 1 p.m.

Arm Distance: 10.3 Miles

Terrain: Scrub, sand Trail

        Once I realized we were passing the 7/11, I went inside and looked for the slurpee machine. I didn’t realize it was 7/11! So one of the workers told everyone that we could all get a free slurpee. When I asked her if I could get a large, she just said, “unlimited.” I was shocked because they had all the small sizes out, and the one other time I went, they made me get a small. Now, I was in an amazing mood heading out on the side of a busy road, and then we turned right. It was what looked like a random lot of land. There wasn’t a lot of coverage, and there was sand, rocks, and dirt. Overall, it was the heat that made this part not ideal. We were supposed to go around three times and then head back to the Octobase.

        It was hot, but I started realizing how much I was getting through the hotter part of the day. On the other end of the loop, there was another ice-and-comfort section! This was perfect placement because it allowed me to get water and ice three times over a 2-mile loop. One of the aid workers just dumped cold water on my neck, and I dunked my hat and neck covering. Here I was in the afternoon, working on miles 32-42, yet instead of the mud and black water to trek through, I got a free Slurpee and enough ice and water to cool me down.

        At this point I have drunk maybe 16 liters of fluids. I am estimating, but it was as much as I could, plus I had more of the prepared stuff every time I made it back to the Octobase, but I had not peed one time since we started. So while part of me thought I was doing well with hydration, I also knew I was still just playing catch-up, and not until the sun went down would I truly be safe enough to worry less. The third time I came through the loop, the guy at the aid station said the next loop would be easy. I wasn’t sure I could believe him, but he said we were doing the Jungle Trail, that it was flat, and that it had a lot of cover. He was being genuine and encouraging. I don’t know why I had any doubts. Now, I was powering back to the Octobase, looking forward to the next stretch! I went from wanting to give up. Thinking that there is no way that I am going to finish this one to a place where it looked more than likely I would finish. According to this guy, I had made it through the toughest part, and after I did this next section, the sun would be going down.

Total Distance: 41.5 miles

Lap Pace: 18 minutes and 55 seconds

Race Pace: 14 minutes and 49 seconds

Lap Time: 3:15:00

Total Time: 10 hours and 15 minutes

Arm 4: Jumanji

Time of Day: 4 p.m.

Arm Distance: 9.3 Miles

Terrain: Paved trail, Jungle Trail, sidewalk

        The first two arms were long and difficult. The third arm wasn’t long, but it was miserable being in the sun with so little coverage. This arm wasn’t long, and it wasn’t hot. It was a pretty basic there and back where we did some sidewalk and then did what is called the Jungle Trail, which can easily be driven on and isn’t exactly a trail, but it does have a lot of coverage. That was one crazy thing about this section. I was running past one boat club after another, but not a single access point where the public could reach the beach. Instead, it was all just private clubs. I saw the guy taking pictures and realized he had been everywhere and took a lot of pictures. I made up a little time; I was going a little faster, and when I made it back, it was nice to finally be officially halfway through this race. Also, it was almost 7 p.m. when I finished, so I had to put on my headlamp. This was also the section where they said to not use your light on the beach because it bothers the sea turtles. I was super excited to possibly see a turtle, but I wasn’t as excited about running more on the beach. At least it would be dark soon, and then I would have nothing to worry about! Or that’s what I thought.  

Total Distance: 50.8 miles

Lap Pace: 15 minutes and 3 seconds

Race Pace: 14 minutes and 51 seconds

Lap Time: 2:20:00

Total Time: 12 hours and 35 minutes