Tuesday, March 27, 2018

My First Ultra! Behind the Rocks 50k - March 24, 2018

Wow!  I am so excited that I finished my first Ultra.  The course was harder than I expected, but it was so much fun and I felt great!  This will be long, but I want a way to remember all the details.

Behind the Rocks 50k

It's been 16 years since I've done an event that was really scary for me.  I did my first Ironman in 2002.  It was a great challenge, and it was scary.  I went on to do several more, but they are no longer scary.  So, this year, I felt like I really needed the next big thing.  Enter ultra racing.

We camped in Moab at the race site all weekend.  It was a remote, beautiful location.  We love our pop up camper and the girls really enjoy camping.  The day before the race, we did the hike up to Delicate Arch.  So much fun!

 

Staying at the race site was great.  I picked up my packet about an hour before the race started - in my PJs!  I stayed in the camper until about 10 minutes before the race to stay warm.

We were about three minutes into the race when I realized I was going to love ultra racing.  Just three minutes in, and everyone was stopped on the dirt road facing backwards.  All to get pictures of the sunrise.  It was totally worth it!


The first six miles to the first aid station flew by.  I held back, ran easy, walked every 1.5 miles or so to hydrate, hiked the steeper stuff, chatted with people along the way.   Quick bathroom break at the aid station and then back out onto the trails.  I ran mostly alone for the next 10 miles.  It was great!  Beautiful scenery.  The trail was definitely tough.  Lots of uneven, hard slick rock.  Lots of soft sand that was a little harder to get good grip, so there was a bit of sliding in some spots.  At mile eight, I had to slide down a rock on my butt to get to the trail below.  That would be just the first of many opportunities to slide down rocks, climb up rocks on my hands and knees, scramble around.  But, the views were amazing!


When I got to about mile 14-15, we were on some fairly narrow ledges at times.  I pulled aside often to let the faster runners pass who were coming back from the turnaround aid station as it was often too narrow for two people to safely pass while running.  Then, some steeper rocks to slide down onto ledges.   A woman I had seen earlier mentioned that it would only get tougher before the aid station.   A few minutes later, a guy passing going the other way mentioned I should catch up to the runners ahead of me - I would want their help getting down the next section.  He was right.  Fortunately, a  guy slid down first and then offered myself and another woman a hand down.  I know I could have gotten down, but having a hand was so nice!

When I got to the aid station around mile 16+, Brian and the girls were there.  It was so great to see them!  I felt great, and it was fun to tell them about the course.  I visited the porta-potty, which was down another little hill.  I got a rock out of my shoe.  Filled my camelbak, mixed a bottle of sports drink, ate about 1/4 of a sandwich, hugged the family.  I probably spent a little too much time at the aid station with the family, but it was totally worth it!

Then, I finally headed back to scramble up all the rocks we had just come down. I was staring at a rock section trying to figure out how I would get up, when another runner came the other way.  I gave her a hand to slide down.  And, she gave me a boost to get up.  Again, I know I would have gotten up it, but having help from another runner was great!

Leaving the aid station at mile 16, there was a lot of climbing.  Around mile 17, I hooked up with a woman named Caroline.  We got to talking and the miles just clicked by.  We ran everything we could.  If it was too steep, we hiked with purpose.   It was probably an eight mile section with a good amount of climbing.


As we chatted, I learned that Caroline is a bad ass ultra athlete.  She's done it all!  Multi-day adventure races, plenty of ultra running, long cycling, Ironman, off-road Ironman, outrigger paddling, you name it.  She told me so many great stories!  A 50k was just a Sunday run for Caroline I'm sure.  But, she hung with me, encouraged me, and made this race a lot more fun!  We eventually made it to the aid station at mile 24.  Filled up water, grabbed some Coke, chatted with the amazing volunteers.  We continued running everything we could, hiking the climbs, chatting.  I remember looking down at my Garmin as it beeped "27 miles".  My longest run ever!   At about mile 28, we hit the last aid station.  Grabbed a few things and then we ventured into the last stretch of the race.  Garmin beeps "30 miles".  I just ran 30 miles!!  What?!  I knew the course was long - not actually 50k, but closer to 32+ so I was already mentally prepared for that.  Caroline picked up the pace a bit in the last 4 miles, dragging me with her.  My feet hurt and I was getting tired.  I was no longer really talking.  Caroline kept encouraging.  We ran most of the last 3-4 miles solid.  With about 1.5 miles to go, we could see the finish line!  Yes!  Kept pushing.

Then, up the little hill and into the finishing chute.  I don't think I have ever smiled so big approaching a finish line.  What an awesome feeling!




Caroline was first in her age division.  I was thrilled with my finish!  When I saw how tough the terrain was from about mile 16 until 24, my goal was to try to finish under 8 hours.  And, we did!  I'm really grateful for Caroline's advice, encouragement, and pushing me.  I would not have come in under 8 hours without her support.  I'm so proud of this finish!  I can't believe how good I felt all day.  No GI issues.  No injuries.  My hips were a little tight and my feet were really sore, but overall, I felt great!  Just the first of some new scary goals this season for me.


Ultra running is a blast.  The people are so friendly.  No one cares how long the race takes you.  Everyone is willing to lend a hand, hang with a newbie, offer advice.  They drink beer around the campfire the night before the race.  Then drink more beer around the campfire after the race.  The post-race food was amazing!  It was nice to meet a new Denver Trail Runners Facebook friend in person - Scott did awesome out there.  And, we were hanging out around the fire and able to watch another DTR Facebook friend, Jess, finish her first 50 mile race - one minute under the cutoff.  A ton of runners and spectators formed a human tunnel for her to run through in the finishing chute - she received a rowdy welcome!  It was great!

I can't wait for my next races.  I'm glad I'm challenging myself to do new, hard things.  I would recommend it to anyone!  If you're a marathoner, try a triathlon.  If you only do road races, try some trail races.  If you've already done a bunch of Ironman triathlons, try some ultra races.  I hope to keep challenging myself.   Thank you to Brian and the girls - their support means everything!  Thanks to all my training buddies - I would not have made it to the start line, much less the finish, without you!  Thanks to my TriBella teammates, especially Julie who came and found me at Milt's in Moab to give me a post-race hug!  It was so nice to have that support!  Thanks to TriBella for all the technical support this season as I get ready for Ultra520K Canada.  Thanks to Djimmer and Rebound Therapy for keeping this old body moving.  Thanks to Carla, the best massage therapist around!  And, thanks to Honey Stinger for the great nutrition - I used the chews through out the day and they were great!  Next training race is just 13 days away.  Excited for more fun!



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