On the OBX of North Carolina! Kinda boring to most everyone but me, haha, but what else do you do the day after 100 miles when you can hardly shuffle around the house? A race report. I felt like I was pretty prepared for this race since I do all my long runs on the road, close to home, but winter was just really hard on me so I ended up doing 75% of the rest of my training on a treadmill, My feet were a bit under prepared, but my brain was prepared for miles upon miles upon miles of pavement, monotonous blacktop and sand dunes.I was eating low carb up till the day before my race, I like getting my body adapted to burning fat because my stomach always goes south around 60-70 miles. Started off super strong. The numbers were small since this was an inaugural race but the volunteers and race director were top quality. Went out stong, perfect conditions and was feeling great, covering miles quickly. My left knee and rt footpad somehow got injured while I was tapering...of course...and they started bothering me about 6 miles in. I knew if I just blocked it out after 5 or 10 hours everything would hurt and I wouldn't feel them, which ended up being true. :-D About 30 miles, got a hotspots on my little toes and knew they were going to be the real trouble. Loved running through neighborhoods and seeing all the beach houses with glimpses of the ocean. Good temps thru the early part of the day, a nice breeze, and sunshine. There was a group of guys running together and they had the best road crew, they refilled my bottles and had ham & quac tortilla rolls. YUM! They checked up on me the entire race and their team of guys finished a little while ahead of me. :) Met Jason and the boys around 20 & 38 miles for PIZZA and jelly filled donuts. :-D I forgot a needle so I used Adams pocketknife to pop the blisters on my toe...the boys thought that was pretty gross, haha. Peter hugged me but Adam said I was too sweaty, lol. I could still reach my toes at this point. Luckily our hotel was on the main drag so I also used that blessed location for a flushing toilet. I was eating mainly candy orange slices up until that point, a few snickers minis. After I met Jason & the boys I filled up my bag with circus peanuts (Yum) and kept on going south into the sun which was pretty relentless, wind was relentless...after 40 miles about 1 in the afternoon, till sundown, around 65 miles, it was solid sun and big gusts of wind blowing sand in my face. I had to have Jason meet me with my sunglasses because I kept getting sand blowing in my eyes, sticking in my sunscreen and then falling in my eyes, I stayed off the road shoulders to keep sand out of my shoes but just enough got in to rub and cause blisters under all my toes, heels and on the tops of my pinky toes. Just a crazy stretch of road, you could hear the ocean but literally all you could see was scrubby brush, some stretch of road that looked like the dead marshes, and sand sand sand. I felt like I was running through a desert! Hit Rodanthe at sunset and that was amazing, some nice views of the ocean and beautiful beach houses. That was where the Nicholas Sparks movie Nights in Rodanthe was filmed...just gorgeous, except it was a stupid movie with people dying. :-P Was eating a donut every 5 miles or so, thanks to my crew but somewhere around 70 miles my stomach went south... I could get in a bit of salty foods, a pickle here and there. I tried to eat a hamburger but spit it out. Stuck 3 cheese quesadillas into my shirt at 60, nibbled a bite and tossed them. Luckily I drank and ate a lot early, so I just forced down a circus peanut & electrolytes every few miles. My blisters got really painful at this point. We were in the middle of nowhere. After dark the cars and landscape dissapeared and there was nothing but hurting, nausea, and a massive sky just brilliant with stars. They say there are no athiests in foxholes. I think there are also no athiests in ultrarunning. <3 <3 <3 When you're out alone and it's just you and the sky, its pretty easy to find God there and you start praying for some crazy crap like, 'please help my blisters to pop so I dont have to stop' 'please help no creepers drive by while I stand here and pee by the side of the road' 'please help me go one more mile' 'please forgive me for this random mean thing I did 3 weeks ago' 'thanks for my crew' 'please help me knot blow my knee and be a cripple' etc...and lots of thank yous for the highs when everything numbs out and I get a mini runners high...and thankful for my friends praying for me at that point...its like having a breeze at my back pushing me forward. I always start blubbering and being grateful for all my support people in the middle of the night. <3 <3 <3 For awhile I felt like I could feel Dexter out with me so I just talked to him & it was so great. I didn't feel sad at all because I just kinda knew he was there. When things got too hard I'd just put my hand over his picture which was over my heart. <3 <3 <3 At this point you start doing all kinds of math in your head... I really wanted to go for 24 hr finish but the wind and sun was so dehydrating, I was crawling along the last 30 miles...with a few other runners who hit the same bad patch of sun & wind and road. The aid station fodder was a bit scant but the volunteers were awesome. I didn't want to eat or drink anyway. I get sick of all flavors especially sweets and electrolytes later in a race...just crave salt & broth and water, but I still push down sugar to keep nausea away. When there was only a half marathon left, we got to run past the Hatteras lighthouse. I felt like all the suffering up to that point was totally worth it...the huge beam of light out into the darkness with a sky brilliant with stars above it...was a very emotional & spiritual time for me. It's moments like that when you're pushing with everything you've got...that you realize its all worth it. No one else in the world is standing there paying the price that was hard earned for that view & moment in time. I kept hoping I'd rebound and speed up but the last 13 miles was a slog fest. My hydration was weird at that point. My mouth was incredibly dry, my stomach wouldn't take much more fluid, but I had to stop and pee like a gallon by the road or behind a bush like every mile. So annoying! Especially when you are sooo sore and going 15 feet off the road to a porta potty isn't worth the trouble...but there is no one around so whatever. lol. I think the only thing that kept me from vomiting by then was drinking warm sprite from Jason & the boys. I mildly hallucinated for awhile after that, seeing people in the road off and on...also got a little dizzy and tired and weaved around quite a bit but tried to just stick to the white line. Every step was painful the last 10 miles, I thought I'd never get to the end. Sun came up and was getting hot on my back. At mile 99 I turned on my music and "Believer" by Imagine Dragons was on, a fancy live version...that's kindof been a song that was Dexter speaking to me the last year...and I just got this overwhelming feeling that he was there beside me giving me a final push and a high five to get across the finish line. I was able to stop hobbling and get into a decent slow run to get through the finish. Was soooo happy to see Jason & the boys. I collapsed on the ground and stuck my feet in the air to avoid the crazy blood rush that makes me wanna puke, and just cried and prayed and was sooo relieved to get over that finish line. You just ask yourself somewhere in the middle of the night death march, why the crap you are even out here doing this to your body and feeling the worst pain ever... but as soon as you cross that line and you've done it, you know. It is the MOST AMAZING feeling in the world. It will keep me doing this for as many years as my body will let me and my husband can stand me. :-D And YAY I won one of the Big Fat 1st place in your age winners buckles and got to take home a race flag. :-D This was a tough race...trails are interesting and fun and easier on your body, but I'm sooo slow on the trail I'm always chasing cutoffs. However, the volunteers and RD and other runners we met I'd totally do it again....also an excuse to travel to the OBX even though you mostly only hear the ocean, lol. Recovery is pretty miserable...running on hard road with zero elevation trashed my quads just as much as a 10,000 elevation race. Love u Jason Adam & Peter, family & friends who cheer and support me, & Heavenly Father & Dexter <3 <3 <3 #bbrevenge100
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