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Writer's pictureRosie Nanette Gagnon

Dreadmill 100 Endurance Challenge #13

It seems a little silly to write a race report about running on the treadmill ha! But, another runners report helped me so I figured I'll stick with tradition, so here we go!

I don't even know why I signed up for the Dreadmill 100. Back in November I decided I wanted to run a 100 miler every single month to speed up my progress towards 100. I already had December covered by Daytona...but when I heard about this, probably in a facebook running group, I thought, what the heck. I could pick any day to run so I thought at first I'd start Dec 30, finish on the 31 and count it as a January race...but my little whisper of conscience, my son & angel... suggested to my heart that I turn it into a double tribute and run on Christmas. Not only for the fallen, but for their families as well. I knew they may be celebrating Christmas with the all too familiar grief hole...the empty chair, the empty stocking....the memories make Christmas both beautiful and light, as well as exquisitely painful. I suddenly felt passionate about honoring this loss and grief. I determined to set up a Christmas tree and an aid station and treat it like any other race, including family pics under the tree. It turned out beautiful and all the pics brought tears to my eyes leading up to Christmas day. I decided to start after dinner on Christmas because I knew my son's would be totally absorbed in new games and wouldn't even notice Mom was missing. 😅



I've been doing interval training on the treadmill for a couple months so I was pretty confident that with the constant motion of the machine, I would be able to keep a solid pace and hopefully have my first 24 hour 100 mile finish, it's just easier, but I found other challenges to contend with the better pace, especially mental will against boredom...it's quite a mental task to keep your mind busy stuck on a treadmill for 1 hr, let alone 24, especially when you know a rest, a shower, your bed, is just a decision away. There's no finish line or rides to the car. Already home, so easy to quit and throw in the towel at any point.



I started at 6pm sharp. Jason was so great, he got my boys to light sparklers to cheer me on at the start! :-D I began at a 10.5 min mile pace. My plan was to reduce speed by 1-2 increments every 10 miles. With that plan in place mentally the machine turned into the task master and I complied. My heart rate peaked a little high a few times but I was determined to stay in the MAF zone to hopefully prevent later vomiting. That proved to be successful! . Anytime I needed anything I called out, and either Jason, Adam or Peter would show up to hand me whatever I might need. I started sweating right off so Jason plugged in a fan and we tripped the power! I lost 3 miles, unrecorded! To get a buckle you were to take pics of current miles and email them to the race director periodically through the race. Our treadmill had been cutting out lately with a repairman scheduled to come this week so I was afraid Jason might be out hunting down a used treadmill for me mid run haha. Anyway after my 3 mile warmup I officially started -again- and took pics of my miles every 2-3 miles, just in case. They would all be added up at the end.


I started out with Christmas carols and eating most all the peppermint, licorice and cinnamon salt water taffy I had plus coconut zingers. <3 My favorites! 5 miles in, Adam brought me eggnog ice cream with a piece of coconut cream pie. 15 miles in, Jason came with peppermint ice cream and coconut cream pie. They were soooo good So delicious! . Not usually eating sugar makes race carbs junk food bliss, lol. I took a bathroom break every 10 miles otherwise I stayed on the treadmill. If I had to take pics or stop for food I didn't get off, I'd walk a 15 min mile while I ate. Without much stopping I gained a lot of extra time. Another reason I didn't get off was the constant motion of the treadmill meant the world started spinning when I got off. I almost fell a couple times getting to the bathroom..



About 10 miles in my left knee started bothering me and my left front hip flexor. I just ran through the discomfort and applied some prescription pain cream on them ..and after a few hours I was greasing up my quads and shins and hips...pretty much all my legs, haha. Even with a fan going I was still sweating a ton but I stayed pretty well hydrated. I ended up taking electrolyte tablets, drinking 16 bottled waters, 1 name coke (James) and about 100 oz of Orange juice.


My son Adam has had some ...teenage struggles....lately. He's a huge WWI and WWII history buff so to try and strengthen our relationship I've been watching history videos with him inspired by an independent heavy metal band Sabaton. Not my kind of music at all, but they only sing about great battles and warriors in history. It's slowly grown on me so I spent the first 50k watching lyric videos so that I could talk about the songs with Adam. It kept my mind occupied but also, the history... so many lives lost in miserable hellish wars, millions of young men dying, so that I could be there on this prosperous Christmas Day, living my life the way I want to live it...just tore at my heart strings. I looked often, over at my pictures of SSgt Taylor Wilson, Sgt Jacob Gray and Dexter...Kayson & Nate...thinking of good men who loved our country enough to want to serve, so many lives lost in war. So many lives lost in the battles of depression & addiction & suicide. The song "Cliffs of Gallipoli" captured the somber mood I was in for several hours.


Hear them whisper,

voices from the other side.

Hear them calling

former foes now friends are resting side by side.

They will never leave our hearts or fade away.

live forever,

they were far too young to die in such a way.

how many wasted lives,

how many dreams did fade away.

broken promises

they won’t be coming home.

Oh mothers wipe your tears,

your sons will rest a million years.

found their peace at last,

as foe turned to friend,

and forgive.

And they knew they’d die.



....

Sometime in those hours around a 50k, Peter brought me some hot ramen noodles, his cooking specialty. He was proud of that, haha. :-P . As it started getting late, sometime after 1am, Jason put on Imagine Dragons in concert and went to take a nap and I was alone for a few hours, which was fine. I really didn't need anything. I had him shut off the lights and I ran in the dark with only my little Christmas tree for light. I think I watched those concerts from 34-50 miles or so. Love, love love Imagine Dragons so I just pretended I was at a concert dancing along to the music...we were supposed to go see them this year but since Covid hit, I figured this was the closest I was going to get. I thought running on the treadmill I would miss the meaningful miles I often have out under the stars, but I felt all through those hours... love, appreciation, humor...I just didn't feel like I was alone. Not only my living family was checking on me. <3

I guess I smiled alot, and had a few tears.



"You're life is always worth living. Always. Always. Never take it from us" - Dan Reynolds



Adam woke up throwing up around 2-3 am. He said he felt better after that but couldnt sleep so he asked if he could change my concerts and put on some Sabaton concert performances for me. Honestly this ended up being the most fun and just some great time together. He loves the music, so he hung out standing next to the treadmill off and on for a couple of hours, singing along with me, and us talking about battles and meanings of the songs, and how good they were, planning going to a concert, etc. It was some really special time I wouldn't have had out alone on a trail. <3

Somewhere in there my treadmill died 3x ...50k, some 40ish miles after that, and with only 11 miles left. Fortunately I took pics often and the distance remained on screen long enough that I didn't have to run any additional miles. I really truly feel and believe that it was a miracle and answer to prayers that I didn't just totally fry the engine.


Around sunrise, Adam decided I should be watching Lord of the Rings. Up until morning I kept a really great pace, staying above 12 -13 minute miles. But I started dragging so a movie was about my speed. He made me some delicious mac & cheese for breakfast (his specialty!) I gotta say even though they were simple carb meals, having the boys cook for me during my run was just too cool. :) I loved it and I think they kindof enjoyed it.



The last 8 hours were a slow torture. I was getting pretty tired so I was pretty emotional. I've seen Lord of the Rings dozens of times at least. Jason and I met in the Lord of the Rings fan club so it's a staple in our household...haha, but all the tear jerker parts, Bilbo crying in Rivendell, Gandalf's speech in Moria, Gandalf Dying, Boromir dying, "Be at peace, son of Gondor"... Sam chasing Frodo, the closing song... I was wiping away tears as if I'd just seen it for the first time, lol.


"When the cold of Winter comes ,Starless night will cover day

In the veiling of the sun, We will walk in bitter rain

But in dreams, I still hear your name

And in dreams, We will meet again

When the seas and mountains fall, And we come, to end of days

In the dark I hear a call, Calling me there

I will go there, And back again"


Yep, bawled my eyes out.



I was jogging slow enough I could post a few things on FB to distract me, really appreciating the handful of people making comments as I posted boring treadmill race spam on my wall, haha. My hip flexor got worse but I pushed through it. I made it to about mile 80 before I started walking a 15 minute mile. I was hoping to run the whole way, so I did some walk-run intervals but by the last 10 miles I was just walking. I finally had to hold the rails because I was dizzy and loopy and was afraid I was going to fall off. One time I got off for a bathroom break and Jason was literally right there to catch me as my head was spinning and I fell. Aside from a few hour nap during the night Jason was either in the same room with me or sitting at the kitchen table in the next room, grabbing me water, orange juice, ice cream, whatever I needed. He was such a huge support!


Peter was on ramen duty so after he woke up around lunchtime he got me a cup of noodles and I was able to drink it all. I started feeling the edges of nausea around mile 55 but I started taking ginger chews, anti nausea candies, tums and naus-ease. It held off and I was able to eat and drink all the way up to the finish. The last 10 was feeling pretty sick and it felt endless and so tedious, watching the numbers slowly tick my on the treadmill. Kinda felt like watching a microwave counting down to your food being done...but for hours and hours. I was walking and checking out the news and facebook during some slow movie parts... around my last 8 miles my dear running friend Rebekah popped onto my facebook page and stayed posting gifs and funny lotr running analogies, asking about my time and pace etc. It was probably a 2 hr FB conversation that really took my mind off the slow ticking of the clock, the blister on my heel, pain in my quads, hips & knees, edge of nausea, aching shoulders and neck. She was just so helpful, especially because Treebeard kept putting me to sleep. What an amazing friend. <3




I had really been hoping to do a 24 hour finish. Sometime during the day I realized I was on track for a sub 22 hour finish!! That was so motivating and I decided I was going to keep pushing really hard to crush my goal, to honor Taylor, Dexter, Jacob, and also Kayson and Nate, who I ran for recently as well and had their pics under my tree. I just thought of each of these families and their tremendous loss, and it took my breath away, thinking of how many people I know and love, who have had their lives shattered by an unexpected death. Just thinking and feeling those things gave me drive and as I sadly slowed my pace slower and slower, I fought every decrease for as long as I could. I hit the unoffocial 100 (3 lost miles) at 2:05 or 2:07 (?) pm. Slightly over 20 hours. Literally crushing my PR of 26 & 1/2 hrs. I was thrilled, but since I couldn't count that towards the buckle time I picked up my pace painfully to make 103 miles before 3pm I was so ecstatic and in tears. I had to pee so bad the last 3 miles and also wanted to throw up but I just kept it together to shave 3 minutes off to finish under 21 hrs @ 20:57! .






I had Jason triple check all my recorded treadmill times to make sure I had 100 miles recorded. Adam and Peter lit sparklers again and cheered me for finishing. They are they greatest! :-D <3 <3 <3 After a picture and hitting the bathroom, I realized I only had a few minutes left of The Two Towers, so Jason helped me lay down on the ground to settle my stomach, grabbed a pillow and a couple blankets and I finished the movie, haha






Cried again at Sams speech at the end of The Two Towers, exhausted and flooded with emotions it was the perfect ending to my run.


"It’s like in the great stories Mr. Frodo. The ones that really mattered. Full of darkness and danger they were, and sometimes you didn’t want to know the end. Because how could the end be happy. How could the world go back to the way it was when so much bad happened. But in the end, it’s only a passing thing, this shadow. Even darkness must pass.A new day will come. And when the sun shines it will shine out the clearer. Those were the stories that stayed with you. That meant something. Even if you were too small to understand why.


I'm guess really, I'm writing my own personal story of survival with these 100 mile runs. They may not mean much, but I do hope they mean something. <3

This was #13 /100










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