Well after months of training and some super strategic coaching by Liza, I am fully prepared to run New Mexico's State Marathon Championship (Run than Wine). Boy was this a race that I will never forget! It's hard to put words to what went down on this day. Needless to say, I am currently laying on my bed and typing out this race report with crutches right next to me because I can't put any weight on my left leg. I saw a Doctor and they believe that I may have tore my abductor at the hip but without other tests to confirm, they won't be sure. I leave for Warsaw, Poland in a few days and hope to get some tests done there. As for now, I am hoping to still be in decent shape for Javelina100. Just trying to remain positive. Enjoy the report....cheers!
Run then Wine Race Report
Time: 4:45 for 32 miles (it gets better...trust me)
2nd in my age group
I'm calling this
race report, "Escape from Tartarus". The title is the perfect
description of the carnage that went down today! If you are familiar with Greek
Mythology, Tartarus is the deepest, darkest depths of "hell". A place
where 200 fallen angels (Titans) lay in a cage. There are only two known
mortals who have gone to Tartarus and made it out but not without cost. This
was my day.....lol. Where to begin...ahhh
Last night, went to
bed early (6pm) and woke up at 0330 ready to get my run on. My HR was 46 and I
was feeling pretty good. Threw on a motivation speech I listen to and slowly
worked through my tasks to get ready. We got in the vehicle and drove down to
the site. I ran nice and slow to get the muscles warmed up and then stretched.
I felt extremely relaxed and laid down on the ground and watched the stars fade
as the sun begin to rise. I did one last check on weather and to my surprise,
it read 74* and 98% humidity. I double check another website and that one read
40% humidity and another said 60% humidity. Confused, I split the difference
and adjusted my times. After that, a five minute warning was called out so I
quickly ran to the front and did one last check on the ever changing route.
Yes, it changed even overnight. My biggest concern was whether the aid stations
were different especially since we had high temps and humidity. I studied the
route changes and made sure the WS and aid stations were still every mile. I
was happy and things were looking good for a solid run.
We all toe-the-line
and some announcements were made. The biggest announcement was that water is
going to made available everywhere and too not worry about that and the aid
stations were going to be every other mile to include medical support. I was pretty
happy to be running NM's State Championship, a Boston Qualifier route, and the
2016 Olympic Trials Qualifier. Things were awesome. The gun goes off!
Mile 1-4: I'm
currently running in 4th place and not affected by the pressure of other
runners. We come to "t" in the road and I know to go left but I see
the other runners going straight. They are about 500 yards in front of me. No
need to yell. At the end of mile 3, I'm feeling pretty good. Legs are feeling
light, breathing is coming easy, and I'm hitting every water station. Half the
bottle to splash on me and half to drink. I hit mile 4 and get told by the cop
that I am in 1st place because the others are off-route. I'm surprised but
still no pressure. I'm a little off time, the sun is out and now pounding us
with some serious heat.
Mile 5-16: I
finally get to the dirt roads. I look back and no one is behind me. I begin to
think if I took a wrong turn. I look out and see someone waving me down. It's
all good, I'm on route and now minutes ahead of the next person (water station
intel). At this point, I pass mile 6 WS and I'm not seeing any water stations
through 7,8, and 9. I'm out in the blazing sun, I'm tapped on my nutrition and
my water. I hit mile 10 and mile 11, still no water or aid station. At this
point, I am dialed way back in level of effort. Salt stains everywhere. The
three guys that were lost, magically appear back on route and are in front of
me. They are running and walking and not really moving at a hard pace. We all
hit mile 12 within minutes and I look down at the ground and see a tent stake
with a piece of duct tape and the numbers 14 written on them. I didn't think
nothing of it until I went to check my time and realized my watch read 14
miles. Hmmmm, that's weird....well one more mile and I'll be at the half-way
point. I run another mile and I hit another tent stake at 15 miles and my GPS
reads 15 miles and I don't see a half-way station. I keep running and at mile
16, I see an aid station ahead. I run up and get a re-fill and salt tabs from
Aja and then check-in. Their sign says 13.1. I tell them they are off by over
two miles and the water stations are not sufficient for the heat and humidity.
I relayed that a lot of people aren't running with the water bottles because
water was supposed to be available every mile. I was told to everything is ok
and to keep this "all in fun". I literally stared at them and said, "you're not
out here running in this heat and no one is expecting to run a 30-32 mile
course". They just laughed it off and said I should focus on my running
and my safety. WHAT A-HOLES!!!!! (Picture of Madre and Aja waiting at the 15 mile marker wondering where the half-way point is)
Mile 16-20: At this
point, I'm running ultra pace. I've realized I'm not going to reach my goal.
Aja kept leap frogging me with the car. I angrily told her that she needs to
leave and let me deal with this race and finishing because "getting in the
damn car is looking to enticing right now". At this point, I've lost all
emotional control. I was pissed about my interaction with "aid"
workers, not canxing the race when the course changed a few days ago, AND
having to run possibly 32 miles on a super hot ass day. I was crying,
running/walking, tapped on water (again), and nutrition. I was still passing a
lot of carnage. Mostly folks who turned around early. I've never been that low.
My pulse was through the roof and I could feel my body being heat challenged.
At mile 20, I hit the aid station and this chick grabs my water bottle and
fills it up. She looked at me and said "most people are shortcutting this
race but something tells me you're not". I looked back at her with tears
running down my face and told her "hell no! I came to finish what I
started despite how slow I'm running". I got a hug which made me even more
emotional. Told everyone there that I loved them...lol and shoved off for the
last 12 miles.
20-31 and some change:
I'm a mess! I'm cramping. I can see the heat waves of the streets and it's
messing with my mind. 21 ticks away, no stations. 22 ticks-away--water is
limited to one cup per runner. Forgot to mention the only "aid' at each
station was a zip-lock bag of jolly ranchers FOR A MARATHON!!!! 23 tick-away and
somehow I figured out how to stay running again. 24, 25, 26 running is slow but
at least I'm running. 27, I'm reciting the last verse of Invictus over and over
again. 31 and some change to the finish was the most non-emotional and kick finish that I have ever
experienced. I turned the corner and dash across a four-lane road with cars on
them and work my way through the last 200 hundred yards. I didn't even look at
my time. I just bowed my head as they put a medal around my neck and I heard
the words "good job, sorry for the few extra miles". I rinsed off
with a couple of cups of water, walked to the car and drove home.
Words can't even
describe what I'm feeling right now. I'm still cramping and I know I lost a ton
of water weight. Chaffing is at the all time high and my hip flexors are on
fire. I'm laying in my bed too scared to move because I know there's a good
chance of a major cramp session. I was also bit like no other by mosquitos which puts a nice sting to this race. I feel worse today than I did running MMT100
last year. (We stopped counting at 100)
On a positive note, I guess this could count as my 2nd ultra and I did a 2nd place finish in my age group for this race. I'm not sure how rankings worked since folks shorted the route to make it a 26.2 race. Oh well....I'll take and it's well deserved.
I am proud of what I accomplished today despite
the course challenges and I learned a lot about myself. I was in a dark spot
today, I worked through it, and got focused again. I'm chomping at the bit to
get focused on Javelina. I think I'm going to need to a few days rest and I'm
hoping that those extra miles didn't aggravate my hip flexor. I'm hobbling
right now. I can stretch it no problem, I am just having some difficulty
putting weight on it. Just to be sure, I am staying in NM and going to see a
Dr. about it. I'll keep you posted
