Mohican 100 #51

"Legends never die

They become a part of you

Every time you bleed for reaching greatness

Relentless you survive"

Starting the second half of this journey to 100 100s for Dexter & Veteran Suicide Awareness. I wasn't too sure about running Mohican again, the first year I dropped from heat exhaustion at mile 70 and last year I finished with just 30-ish minutes to spare with the help of a strong pacer. This year I was going it alone, and where I lucked out on weather at Cruel Jewel, this wasn't going to be my weekend, forecast said 90 degrees! 15-20 degrees hotter than last year on the course. We've had a cool spring in Virginia so I spent time in our hot tub or driving around with my car heater turned on full blast to attempt to heat adapt, for whatever good it would do me! Still, after a strong finish time at Cruel Jewel I wasn't too afraid of the course, coming in at around 14,000 elevation gain. The clincher is the 32hr. cutoff and in heat. But, all I could do is show up and give it my best shot. Had a nice drive out to Ohio with Jason. On the drive down Jason remarked that I seemed happier the last little while than I'd been for a long time. I'd actually had it somewhat rough, through Mothers Day and heading into Memorial Day, its always poignant and sad, but I thought about it and realized I was happier. I didnt feel so wrecked by those calendar days this year. I've been listening to hours of Sunday School podcasts on the New Testament and there was one line that just sunk into my heart. Jesus says this to his apostles after the last supper, & its helped me a lot in keeping my perspective on the sorrows of this life. "Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.... I go away, and come again unto you. If ye loved me, ye would rejoice, because I said, I go unto the Father" Part of that scripture is actually inscribed on Dexter's headstone, but I'd never taken in the whole context. The thought that though Jesus was nearing His death, he wanted his disciples to rejoice because he was going to be with his Father. Thats kind of settled in my heart so whenever I really felt Dexter's absence, I tried to remember that he'd want me to rejoice, because he is really where he wants to be. It's just a little thing, but it stuck with me, and I've definitely had greater peace lately.

:sigh:

Well, we got to meet up with lots of friends at packet pickup. Tracy my pacer from last year and Carol, my pacer from Whispering Grace and Tuscazoar were both running the 100, and our friend Heather running the 50. It was kind-of funny to reflect as I looked at the kicka$$ girl photos we took, on the fact that I have never really had many girlfriends. I was a tomboy growing up, always had best friends who were guys and never really enjoyed the all-women's classes at church. Hung out with my kids for most of my adult life, raised 3 girls and 5 boys and I definitely think I was a better boy mom. But, here I was at a race excited to be around all my ultra runner girl-friends. I guess I just needed the right group! Anyhow we had fun talking about the race, then Jason and I got back to the hotel early so I could be in bed before 8pm.

Jason gave me a blessing and reminded me that angels were wanting to help me in my race and waiting to bless me, so I needed to remember to ask for their help.

A 5am race start meant a 3am morning! So early! After CJ100 I'm not really afraid of one night with no sleep anymore, lol. After horrendous chafing last year I needed extra time to tape up every possible place that might get rashy in the heat. I could have passed as part mummy with my tape for inner thigh chafing, ha!

Race morning in the dark, temps were cool, and air was dry and I was really feeling good and confident about being able to finish, though I expected it would be pretty tight with the hot afternoon ahead. There's always a bit of conga line starting out with a lot of runners funneling onto single track trail, but I found myself in a good position, not too fast or slow, and the first 4 miles to the first aid station flew by. I hardly noticed the hills and ran most everything, hiking up a few steep sections. The first 2 loops of the race take you first, down a technical jungle-adventure trail with a steep hand over hand climb on roots, and the second an easier but longer loop. It was pretty fun, sort of a Jurassic Park feel, though crawling over a dozen fallen trees felt like I was constantly getting off and on a pony. The woods thankfully stayed pretty comfortable for the first 20 miles, or so & I was happy in the cool air that I finished that first loop 30 min earlier than last year.

Mohican is run in 4 loops, so I had a drop bag at the start/finish aid station where I picked up a neck fan, hat, washcloth for sweat etc. around a marathon into the race because it was around noon and starting to get uncomfortably warm. The second loop was a little annoying, all the 50 mile and marathon runners who go much faster, come along speeding behind you on single track so you're constantly having to step off the path to let them by. I figured all the times I have to move probably eat up 10 min of my time at least. by 1:00 it had really gotten hot. Jason said it got up to 90 degrees. With the neck fan my face was at least cool, so it was manageable.

Jason met me at the aid station around 50k and put a gallon Ziplock full of ice in my pack (with a hole so that water could drain) and ice in my hat. Oh, it was gloriously cold! The orange-mud sun hat I'm wearing holds in ice fantastically well, 2 full scoops and it will still stay on my head. He got me extra hydrated and geared up for another 20 in the hottest part of the day. There's a really neat descent down wooden stairs to a big rock formation. Beautiful and the air was a little cooler for a few minutes, lol.

Smile for the camera!

How I really feel!

Steps from the dam we run down twice.

I was eating candy and cookies early on & figured out that payday bars are a perfect early fuel, sweet & salty! I was worried about my stomach going south in the heat, so I tried to stick to soda & other liquid calories & easily digestible stuff like bananas & watermelon, but a turkey sandwich for lunch just tasted amazing! I had some grape juice and meal drinks in my drop bag so I could fuel with that, but I had to be flexible on fueling without only 2 drop bags per loop. With ice in my pack, neck fan on, cool head, I was managing the heat really well. I carried an extra bottle of water to wet my sleeves down. Between all of that I managed to keep a steady pace through the afternoon, and it only took me 30 min longer. One of my favorite moments of the day was coming into an aid station and there was a guy was wearing a kilt, so of course, he was the one I asked for a water refill, lol. Turned out he is a retired US Marine, there with his service dog. He asked me about Dexter and the guys on my pack and thanked me for what I was doing. I felt like it was worth all the effort just to meet a Marine out there! I had quite a few nice people comment on my pack and pictures through the day. One guy said “I love the pictures of your 'family' and I just loved that! I said, "yep, they *are my family, and my team!" <3

I felt bad for most of the runners. I didn't see anyone with neck fans and the air in the forest was dead and stifling hot. I almost felt guilty wearing one! The only other person was Carol. She went and bought one after I recommended it (wow, someone actually took my advice? LOL) and she later said it was the best $25 she'd ever spent. I was saying the same thing! Hah! She had her adorable sister Rachel out, with a train theme for their crewing “party” so it was great to see her too, always peppy and motivating. Rachel was the girl that brought me tacos and wore the taco hat at Whispering Grace. She'd brough tacos for Carol but wasn't allowed in the heat to say the F-word (food) so her leftover taco was a gift to me on the course.

One thing I hadn't remembered about this race is that its quite technical in spots. Not enough that you can't run a good 70% of it, but you have to be constantly alert for roots and rocks. I took 5 hard falls and now have a bruise the size of a grapefruit on my shin. I also hurt my knee, but it was nothing I couldn't deal with. There were some patches of beautiful purple flowers and I felt like my mamma was with me. All through the afternoon I was praying for some relief from the sun, not necessarily just for me but for all the runners out on the course. At one point I saw a single cloud in the sky and I remembered the story of Elijah in the Bible when he sends his servant out to look for rain clouds, and after many reports of clear skies, finally a cloud the size of a mans hand appears over the sea. Elijah tells Ahab his enemy, to prepare his chariots and get home because rain was coming. That story kinda stuck in my head so I prayed that our little hand sized could multiply and bring us some relief. Well, not long after, coincidence or not, we got a mostly cloud covered sky through the hottest part of the afternoon and even a little sprinkle of rain. It cleared out and got hot again by 5pm but it was close enough to evening that it slowly got more bearable.

I really wanted to feel close to God on this run, so I'd made a point while my mind was fresh and awake, to check in every mile, in prayer, and just report how I was feeling and what I might need. I prayed for my friends, my family, other runners, and a lot for Sgt Jacob Grays family and SSgt Taylor Wilsons family. This race was on Jacobs angelversary, and Taylors birthday. I knew their families would need extra prayers, and it also firmed my determination to solidly finish the course. At one point I really felt Taylor with me and like I should really pray for his little family, I thought of his funny, beautiful wife and how she is bravely raising their teenage son. How hard that would be, when your child has lost their parent to suicide. :( She's a warrior! Also thought about LCpl Crewson and his angel mom who is an angel now :( Her surviving sisters are super sweet and its so sad to see the grief at losing the both of them. I tried to imagine Jenn and Jake happy together and encouraging me on.

I finished up my second loop early evening and met Jason with my headlamps and various things for the night. I chugged down a couple cups of ramen and kept going and had him meet me 4 miles past. It was a relief to get rid of the hat and neck fan and arm sleeves and look forward to a cool night. Mohican did not disappoint though, the first year I ran it, it didn't cool off till close to 5 am. This would be a repeat. Up into the 80's till 10-11:00pm! I wasn't terribly uncomfortable but was still sweating up a storm and I wished I'd kept my neck fan. The night went really well overall. This year I had two bright lamps, I remembered my ultraspire (yay) so there was no tripping over roots. I felt pretty awake and strong for the first half of the night. There was one aid station that had a big pot of the most aaaa-mazing potato soup cooked up, I looved it, drank 2 cupful's on both passes in the dark. It was so good I dreamed the other night that I was making it for dinner, lol.

Lookin really beat up after that hot day!

A little later

The strawberry full moon was out so that was really seeing it through the trees, and the sky never seemed dark. For a while I started to get a little drowsy. I heard an owl hooting, and made me think about Nate, i heard it several times through the wee hours of the morning and it felt like he was coming along with me to keep me alert. As I was running in the dark, I thought a lot about the Marines I'm running for, how brave they were and all the wars and service they gave to our country. Taylor and Jacob were such heroes! When I thought of Dexter and his illness it made me sad that he didn't get to enjoy the state of mind that would have enabled him to follow his dreams and defend our country in foreign lands. As I thought of that, the story of the widow's mite, another story in the NT I'd read lately, came to my heart. “And Jesus sat over against the treasury and beheld how the people cast money into the treasury: and many that were rich cast in much. And there came a certain poor widow, and she threw in two mites which make a farthing. And he called unto him his disciples, and saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That this poor widow hath cast more in, than all they which have cast into the treasury: For all they did cast in of their abundance; but she of her want did cast in all that she had, even all her living.”

I just ran with tears running down my face, it was like an answer to a prayer that I hadn't prayed. Dexter's service may have just been two mites, but he cast in enough, and it was great, because it was all that he had.

Climbing a big hill overnight was listening to Sabaton and felt my grandpa Wilson with me.

Was really relieved to finish up loop 3 an hour ahead of last year. That was so encouraging, I knew I could finish this! Still, it was going to be warming up and I wasn't looking forward to the last loop in the heat. Alot can happen in the last stretch. The ground on this trail for some reason felt as hard as cement, it wasn't really a soft trail like I'd remembered, maybe because it was so dry? My feet were hurting, both my knees were hurting and my pkr knee was swelling. Jason met me and I put on my xoskin compression sleeve. I've tried the last 2 races without it and ended up with a lot of swelling. As soon as I started running with it on, my knee stopped hurting. I guess I've gotta suck it up and keep it on in the first half of my races to keep swelling down.

The last 2 loops include a steep rubbly descent and crossing like 10 bridges in lowland that was pretty, but slow and really no fun at all. One of the aid stations is at an iconic covered bridge & it t felt great to hit that AS, you knew it was roughly 11 miles to the end of the loop from there.

All the volunteers were just great, really helpful, and I had pretty much all I needed. Late morning, it was getting hot. Jason met me and gave me back my neck fan and ice in the hat because temps were rising again. He met me at the following one because it was the last crewing place, then 16-ish miles to go w/o crew, in the heat. At that second one (Firetower?) Carols crew were there having a 'party' because it was the last loop, so I got a party hat. In my head when I put it on I wished Taylor a Happy Bday in heaven. Drank juice, meal drink, took capri suns with me, loaded up again on ice and just tried to press forward as fast as I could.

Next time I need Jason to tell me my hat is crooked, lol.

There is a big climb after the covered bridge known locally as the “Big A$$ climb” It lives up to its name. It has some pretty steep stuff but none of it was anywhere near what I'd had to climb at Cruel Jewel, so I didn't stress too much about it. The roots and rocks were really what slowed me down. The last stop at Covered Bridge, I took a couple drinks of coke, stuffed my face with watermelon and just pushed ahead. Only 11 miles to go to the finish. On this stretch all the heat was finally catching up and I started feeling really nauseous and slowed way down. I ate all my ginger candies, had taken zofran (anti nausea pill) so all I could do was just move the best I could with little sips of juice in my bottle.

Cross a dozen of these little bridges in like a mile, but they all are step-up, step-down so actually kindof a painful section.

At the last aid station with 5 miles to go I was seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, but the last stretch of the course was the worst. Mostly the trail descends but it's also the most technical part of the course with a lot of crappy rocks. I moved as fast as I could without stirring up my stomach too much. I figured I would probably throw up anything I took at this point so the last 2-3 hrs in the late morning heat accepted it was just going to be a death march. I was sooo glad to have my fan that last stretch with the stuffy forest with absolutely no air movement. I had the aid station fill my bottles with water and instead of drinking them, every 10 min or so I'd squirt some on my head and on my arms sleeves to keep my temperature down.

Went super slow but okay for 2 miles, then I felt really horrendous and dry heaved a few times while walking, couldn't shake the nausea because there was nothing was in my stomach, but it just wasn't satisfied that I had nothing to throw up. :-P I was just praying I could move fast enough to get to the end before the cutoff. With 3 miles left I randomly had this clear picture in my head of Sgt Grays smile and just felt him really with me like I'd feel with a pacer, and with a smile the thought came in my head “Rosie, you have one last ginger tablet” Well, I thought I was out but I dug down under the stuff in my pocket to the bottom and low and behold, one last anti-nausea extra strength ginger tablet. I just laughed and chewed it up, still not drinking any water, said a huge thanks and prayer of so much love to him and his mamma, and though I couldn't go much faster, the nausea went away for the last 2 slow, painful, crawling miles to the finish.

About 2/10ths of a mile before the finish was the last aid station, and full sun. Even that short distance seemed like a challenge, so I asked them to fill my hat with ice and dump it down my shirt. It woke me up and I was able to do a jog down across a little creek to a long stretch of grass to the finish. I really hadn't felt Dexter out much...I think because I spent so much time just trying to feel close to God, and praying for the families, but as I came to the last 10th of a mile another Dexter song started playing, “Fallen” by Imagine Dragons, and then, there he was with me going through the finish. 30:47. Beat the cutoff by more than an hour and my time last year by 45-ish minutes!

I barely got my buckle before I headed straight to the shade to lay down to settle my stomach. My girl Carol had finished maybe 20 min before me so we got to hug at the finish line and that was so awesome! I wish we'd gotten a pic together. This was her 7th finish at Mohican! I just thought, I never want to do this course again! But, it was an exceptionally hot day, I didn't have a pacer, and with like a $150 registration fee & friends running, there's a pretty good chance I'll come back next year, lol. Sadly Tracy had to drop from heat & hurting feet and just a brutal day. It was a rough weekend. Someone local said it was the hottest it'd been in years.

Once my stomach settled and I had a hot bath I gave Jason a taco bell request and he went and got me a big burrito which was glorious! awww yeah.

I got a good nap for a few hours at the hotel. Then we got up and dressed and were able to go meet Brenda Gray, my sweet dear friend and mamma of Jacob, for dinner. I felt a little bad getting her out of the house on this difficult day but she said she was glad it gave her a reason to get out of bed. We had a great dinner (blueberry pancakes & hash browns, yum!) and just had a wonderful time talking. I just loved hearing stories about her family and Jacob. Honestly it's because I'd have the chance to have dinner with my sister angel mom that I'd come back to run this race every year. Brenda showed me a pic of her box of painted rocks that I'd sent from running races with Jacob and it just got me super motivated to finish up 100 for Dexter, and then make sure Jacob and Taylor get their 100, too. <3

Well, back home I'm ready for a long rest. My next race is in Colorado the first weekend of July so I have a full month to work on my garden, harvest honey and get the rest of my sheep sheared. Planning a hot, brutal, steep ultra mid-July so I've gotta keep up the heat and vert training. I feel good, knees feel good, recovering well and my heart feels strong. Stronger, anyway.

Pic of Dexter that popped up this month that got me. :(. Also at Parris Island and a Memorial Day we spent with WWII veterans. <3

My watch dropped 6 miles