Rocky Raccoon 100 Miler 2014

Finish line with by wonderful husband Caleb

On February 1st 2014 I ran the Rocky Raccoon 100 miler.

A few weeks before the race, I started to wonder when I decided to do this. And also wondered what the heck I was thinking. Despite my efforts I could not recall why I decided to do my first 100 mile trail run. A few weeks after the race I realized, with the help of my husband that I had set the goal to run the 100 before attempting to have another baby. The baby train was the motivation. For now, we've decide to hold off temporarily on the baby train, but it's still on our minds for the future.

My longest runs before the race were: 42 miles at Cactus Rose 50 miler in October (a DNF that I happily took in order to go home and eat a hamburger), Bandera 50K in January, and about three weekends of back to back runs. The back to backs were going well so I paid my entry for RR100 in January. These runs were three hour to four hours and 20 minutes with the same time repeated on the following day. I ran for time rather than miles.

Pre-race with the Rockhoppers

I camped before the race with my husband and arrived at the start line an hour before the start. It was calm and comfortable in the Rockhopper tent. The Rockhoppers are a trail running group I joined that's made up of some of the best ultra runners you will ever meet. My pacer Jon saw me off at the start at 6:00 am and then headed to town with Caleb to get some breakfast at some point. They made it to the 15.6 mile mark aid station to see me. I scarf downed peanut butter and jelly sandwich quarters simultaneously with crispy fresh cooked bacon. AMAZING! I paced with my friend Carrie for most of the day. We had a great time keeping each other company and sharing stories. 

After loop one (20 miles) I had hot spots on my feet. The humidity and heat were both high and my socks that I loved in the past were not working out. I lubed my feet and continued in the same shoes for the next loop.

Running with Carrie Knapp as she earns her 500 jacket!

Shoe/Sock Recap:

Let's see.. I started in my Pearl Izumi N2s. They created hot spots for the first time ever in first 20 miles. Finished to 40 miles in them. Switched to Saucony Progrid Light for 40-70, then Newton road shoe for 3.4, back to N2s for 8 miles and then used my husbands Saucony Kinvara road shoes for the last 17 miles. I had major sock and shoe issues, which is not common for me. I suggest taking all the extra shoes you have as well as a few back up socks in a different styles. Thorlo socks were always my favorite training and doing 50K and marathon. Turns out they were terrible for me in Huntsville.

After loop two (40 miles) I changed shoes, ate most of a hamburger kids meal and continued on with Carrie. I had the pleasure of playing mamma bear after Carrie blew her nose too hard and created a nose bleed. I happily went into mommy mode to assist her. We made it around to Nature Center to see our crews. I took some excedrin and was enjoying the caffeine boost and foot pain relief. The loop was going great for me. Carrie sat down at Damnation and I continued on walking and eating. I was feeling great so decided to push on this loop. I lost Carrie, so I put on my headphones and picked up the pace. It's funny that miles 46-100 each felt longer that any single mile I had ever run in my life. I was extremely grateful to have Carrie's company for a huge part of the day. Those miles simply flew by.

At the end of loop three (60 miles) I was allowed to have a pacer join me. I quickly went through the aid station and took off back into the dark with Jon. The short leg went great. Caleb, my wonderful husband, joined me for the next 13.5 miles. He enjoyed running in the dark on trails for the first time. I had several ups and downs in this leg energy wise, but was very happy. I was getting fatigued and sleepy. At the second Damnation stop I even laid on the ground and twitched for 5 minutes. Caleb kept asking people if this was a good idea. I kept asking for just a 5 minute nap! I sucked it up, changed socks and shoes and took back off. Caleb couldn't believe that after that scene I was able to take off running again. At the end of his leg I met a new friend and pacer, Randi. She was great and it was fun to meet someone new that I have many things in common with.

Sit Recap:

I sat for 20 minutes on two occasions at mile 20 and 40. All the other stops were just long enough to change clothes or shoes. I attempted to take a 5 minute nap at mile 72 in the grass, but Caleb stayed on me to get up. And then I sat down about 3 times in last 20 miles. My pacer Jon would let me sit for exactly one minute.

At the end of loop 4 (80 miles) I came into the aid station with Randi. I could not believe that it was still hot and humid at 3:00 am. After commenting on this several times the weather finally changed. Only it was miserably cold when it did. Sweaty clothes, plus drizzle, plus cold are not fun. This was one of the hardest legs. It was only 3.5 miles but I was cold and getting rained on. Thankfully my crew met me at Nature Center with pants, a jacket and a pancho. I took off running again with Jon, and thanks to some Ibuprofen I was feeling pretty good. We had the longest stretch where I would not have crew access to take on. It was two stops through Damnation. It felt like we were in the rainforest because the rain never stopped. It was mist or rain for the rest of the race. We did a lot of walking and bargaining during the leg. I was extremely grateful to have a crew who all believed in me and wanted nothing but for me to succeed. I believed in myself, but it helped so much to know that they did too.  I ran like a 90 year old man and we walked and walked. I kept waiting for us to get to the damn and to see the sunrise. Both of those waits felt like an eternity. We finished the DAMN loop and I had just 4.4 miles to go with Randi.

With my pancho on and one headphone in, I ran straight through the aid station only stopping to throw my headlamp to Caleb. I pushed myself to run for Randi and it worked. I decided to put all the pain in a box and just keep running. I walked only a few hills in these miles. Randi encouraged me by telling me the pace we were running. And I kept setting a goal of when I would finish. I wanted to finish by 10:00 am. We kept moving through, passing several people and offering our encouragement. And then it finally came. The finish line was in sight. I sprinted as hard as I could. It was finally there! Caleb and Jon and the Rockhoppers were all there to see me finish. It was such a tremendous relief and glorious place to be after 27 hours, 26 minutes, and 37 seconds. I managed to finish before 9:30.

Finish line with my pacers Randi and Jon

Food Recap:

Ate about 7 gels, 3 bags of fignutens, lots of coke & PB&J, bacon, ramen, quesadilla, crystallized ginger candy, veggie burger on tortilla, and a Wataburger kid's meal during the day. During the night I had oatmeal and pancakes.

Enjoying my oatmeal and pancake at Damnation

Recovery Recap:

It's been a whole month and I am still taking my recovery seriously. I plan to relax and be patient for my running to come back. Due to knee pain I am sticking mostly to cycling. I know I will be able to run pain free again eventually, so I don't plan to rush it.

Runner Translations from author Amy L Marxkors adapted by me for my race and life in general:

“I get irritable if I don’t run.”
Translation: “If I don’t run, I may or may not become homicidal.”

“Yeah, I enjoy running.”
Translation: “Let’s hope I never have to choose between running and my firstborn.”

“I’m not training for anything right now.”
Translation: “I’m always training.”

“The race went really well. I felt good.”
Translation: “I had the race of my life. Please ask for details. I want to tell you how awesome I am.”

“I only had a few low points. You know?"
Translation: “No, you don’t know. You will never, ever be able to comprehend how awful they were. I twitched on the ground. I walked in the rain. I had ginger just before I vomited. My body hates me. I might have toenail fungus. The weather hates me. But besides that it was great!"

“It was hot.”
Translation: “You don’t understand how hot it was.”

“It was really humid.”
Translation: “You don’t understand how humid it was.”

“It was raining.”
Translation: “You don’t understand how it rained for nine hours.”

“It was really cold.”
Translation: “You don’t understand how cold it was.”

“I smashed my blisters open running.”
Translation: “I totally made new blisters in new locations.”

“I picked up some more GU before the race.”
Translation: “I’m one gel packet away from an episode of Hoarders.”