A Week Later, Recovery and Reflection
A week ago I ran the longest I’ve ever gone, climbing a total of over 18,000 feet through the small yet mighty hills of the Hitchcock Nature Center in Iowa. It was my second attempt at this difficult 100 miler and I completed 85/100, just a few miles shy of finishing 7 laps. The Hitchcock Experience is a 12.5 mile course loop and I had just one more lap to complete. One. Uno. Eins. Um. Odin. Ett. Atasiq (Eskimo’s count too, 💕)
One.
So what happened? I had 6 hours left before cut-off time when I dropped out of the race. No, I don’t regret dropping out. But if I could go back in time and change a few things I would.
First of all I don’t think any of us expected so much snow, I certainly didn’t. I was looking forward to running on solid ground after training on wet and sloppy snow for weeks. When I picked up my packet that Friday I realized how difficult this race was gonna be as I surveyed the trail conditions. I should have brought more waterproof socks. I brought one pair for just in case, you know just in case it snowed or something. Next time bring several waterproof socks. Bring all of ‘em.
On race morning I placed myself in the back of the pack because I’m not competitive at all, I’m a recreational runner and am in it mainly for the adventure. We start exactly at 5 am and everyone is excited, and we all feel awesome until the first hill hits - which is immediately. It is all hill after all. Those of us in the back are already panting, we have a long day ahead of us. Surprisingly I found myself passing a whole bunch of people which is weird because I’m slow, but maybe they’re not used to the snow. Or maybe I’m in pretty good shape, I did hire a coach who ran me to the ground to prepare for this. Sean, you made me work and I love you for it.
The first 2 laps went okay but my feet were soaked and I was trying to decide if I should change my shoes out so early in the race. I did. What an amazing difference it is running with dry feet! My spirits were reloaded and I felt cheerful again. It’s fun running ultras. But man that snow was difficult. Not only were we running but we were also involuntarily dancing and sliding down the steep hills. On my 4th lap I checked into the campground aid station and my friend and volunteer Kelsey said, “Carol you’re fast! You’re among top in women.” ???? Me? I smiled and ran faster. I was also excited to pick up my friend and pacer Kristin.
After 50 miles of dancing and doing somersaults, the snow finally started feeling runnable as darkness set in for the night. I still felt pretty good but I didn’t feel sociable and having a pacer who wanted a conversation was a bit much for me. Exhausted from trying to reply I asked her to just run in front of me and she did. Seeing her in front kept me running and I finished the fifth lap in 19 hours and 10 minutes, that’s 100k! I was excited.
I picked up my other pacer Lisa, an awesome volunteer who contacted me several weeks before the race and offered to help. Last year she was at the Oasis aid station cheering for me every lap. She’s a very energetic ball of fire so her cheerfulness and encouragement was what I needed. She didn’t ask any questions, she knew exactly how I was feeling because she’s a 100 mile veteran. Her light was literally bright, I mean her headlamp too, that thing lit up the entire course and maybe almost the whole county lol, but her spiritual light was bright. She felt like an angel guiding me in the dark valleys.
It was 4:30 am when I finished my 6th lap, I had just completed 75 miles in a consistent time. I was exhausted but my legs felt decent. As we headed out for my 7th lap I noticed that it was getting more difficult to run downhill. It hurt, bad. I was about to learn how much downhill running can destroy your quads. Next time take it easy going downhill every other lap. I had been blocking the pain for several miles but this was just too much and I secretly cried. My tears froze. It was so cold. I was moving a lot slower and I started shivering. I was falling asleep while running. When I woke up I saw cats running around me and I knew what was happening - I was mildly hypothermic. Carol you’ve got to move faster. I ran, and it killed me that my run had slowed down to a fast walk. At the campground aid station I had some much needed warm food and assurance from my friend Kelsey. We looked at each other and I think she saw that I was struggling. She said, “It’ll get better when daylight comes.” I asked if it really will and she reassured, “You’ll wake up more.”
I don’t really remember much of what went on between campground and Oasis, but a lot of time passed between then. The sun came up and I started seeing cats again, but this time I saw a humongous cat. It was real though, Lisa saw it too. We started talking about bears and suddenly I became a bit more conscious because in Alaska you have to constantly be aware of the many dangerous animals. After barely making it to the Oasis aid station I called my coach for some pep talk. I told him I was at mile 83 but really I was at 81. I told him I was hurting. He told me to be stubborn. I told him I was slow. He said I can be slow and still make it. I decided to go for it and I ran. But my body was done. My feet were wet. I saw my pacer struggling and I told her to run ahead but she refused to leave me. She held my hand. We finally made it to the ski patrol aid station where they covered me in heavy blankets. I started shaking uncontrollably. I put my feet in the fire and didn’t even feel my shoes burning. I suffered 2nd degree frostbite on four of my toes, if I had kept going it would’ve been worse.
So no, I don’t regret pulling myself out of the race so close to the finish line. I’m glad I did. But I did learn a lot and I now have more experience. It was an adventure that I’ll always remember and I’m looking forward to being stronger and faster next year, because honestly it was so much fun not being in the very back 💕
P.S. toes are just fine and legs are great. While we were running Lisa made a comment that made me laugh, “If you want a J-Lo booty run Hitchcock!” and I can tell you that it’s true 😜
One.
So what happened? I had 6 hours left before cut-off time when I dropped out of the race. No, I don’t regret dropping out. But if I could go back in time and change a few things I would.
First of all I don’t think any of us expected so much snow, I certainly didn’t. I was looking forward to running on solid ground after training on wet and sloppy snow for weeks. When I picked up my packet that Friday I realized how difficult this race was gonna be as I surveyed the trail conditions. I should have brought more waterproof socks. I brought one pair for just in case, you know just in case it snowed or something. Next time bring several waterproof socks. Bring all of ‘em.
On race morning I placed myself in the back of the pack because I’m not competitive at all, I’m a recreational runner and am in it mainly for the adventure. We start exactly at 5 am and everyone is excited, and we all feel awesome until the first hill hits - which is immediately. It is all hill after all. Those of us in the back are already panting, we have a long day ahead of us. Surprisingly I found myself passing a whole bunch of people which is weird because I’m slow, but maybe they’re not used to the snow. Or maybe I’m in pretty good shape, I did hire a coach who ran me to the ground to prepare for this. Sean, you made me work and I love you for it.
The first 2 laps went okay but my feet were soaked and I was trying to decide if I should change my shoes out so early in the race. I did. What an amazing difference it is running with dry feet! My spirits were reloaded and I felt cheerful again. It’s fun running ultras. But man that snow was difficult. Not only were we running but we were also involuntarily dancing and sliding down the steep hills. On my 4th lap I checked into the campground aid station and my friend and volunteer Kelsey said, “Carol you’re fast! You’re among top in women.” ???? Me? I smiled and ran faster. I was also excited to pick up my friend and pacer Kristin.
After 50 miles of dancing and doing somersaults, the snow finally started feeling runnable as darkness set in for the night. I still felt pretty good but I didn’t feel sociable and having a pacer who wanted a conversation was a bit much for me. Exhausted from trying to reply I asked her to just run in front of me and she did. Seeing her in front kept me running and I finished the fifth lap in 19 hours and 10 minutes, that’s 100k! I was excited.
I picked up my other pacer Lisa, an awesome volunteer who contacted me several weeks before the race and offered to help. Last year she was at the Oasis aid station cheering for me every lap. She’s a very energetic ball of fire so her cheerfulness and encouragement was what I needed. She didn’t ask any questions, she knew exactly how I was feeling because she’s a 100 mile veteran. Her light was literally bright, I mean her headlamp too, that thing lit up the entire course and maybe almost the whole county lol, but her spiritual light was bright. She felt like an angel guiding me in the dark valleys.
It was 4:30 am when I finished my 6th lap, I had just completed 75 miles in a consistent time. I was exhausted but my legs felt decent. As we headed out for my 7th lap I noticed that it was getting more difficult to run downhill. It hurt, bad. I was about to learn how much downhill running can destroy your quads. Next time take it easy going downhill every other lap. I had been blocking the pain for several miles but this was just too much and I secretly cried. My tears froze. It was so cold. I was moving a lot slower and I started shivering. I was falling asleep while running. When I woke up I saw cats running around me and I knew what was happening - I was mildly hypothermic. Carol you’ve got to move faster. I ran, and it killed me that my run had slowed down to a fast walk. At the campground aid station I had some much needed warm food and assurance from my friend Kelsey. We looked at each other and I think she saw that I was struggling. She said, “It’ll get better when daylight comes.” I asked if it really will and she reassured, “You’ll wake up more.”
I don’t really remember much of what went on between campground and Oasis, but a lot of time passed between then. The sun came up and I started seeing cats again, but this time I saw a humongous cat. It was real though, Lisa saw it too. We started talking about bears and suddenly I became a bit more conscious because in Alaska you have to constantly be aware of the many dangerous animals. After barely making it to the Oasis aid station I called my coach for some pep talk. I told him I was at mile 83 but really I was at 81. I told him I was hurting. He told me to be stubborn. I told him I was slow. He said I can be slow and still make it. I decided to go for it and I ran. But my body was done. My feet were wet. I saw my pacer struggling and I told her to run ahead but she refused to leave me. She held my hand. We finally made it to the ski patrol aid station where they covered me in heavy blankets. I started shaking uncontrollably. I put my feet in the fire and didn’t even feel my shoes burning. I suffered 2nd degree frostbite on four of my toes, if I had kept going it would’ve been worse.
So no, I don’t regret pulling myself out of the race so close to the finish line. I’m glad I did. But I did learn a lot and I now have more experience. It was an adventure that I’ll always remember and I’m looking forward to being stronger and faster next year, because honestly it was so much fun not being in the very back 💕
P.S. toes are just fine and legs are great. While we were running Lisa made a comment that made me laugh, “If you want a J-Lo booty run Hitchcock!” and I can tell you that it’s true 😜
Carol. I followed you that night—kept checking the Hitchcock Facebook page to see where you were. When I saw you were among the top in women I cheered! I’m so amazed by your spirit and your perseverance. You’re a role model for us all!
ReplyDeleteAmanda Coyne