First, I need to announce that I am super happy to be running for the Aravaipa Team in 2016! I have been very absent from the blog while I recovered from injury, worked on my dissertation and in general chased my tail trying to stay on top of everything!
Some races it’s clear it’s not your day from the start, but in 100 mile race you just keep thinking that things will turn around. Unfortunately, that was not the case for me at Desert Solstice. (But check out the website because a lot of people had a fantastic day!)
By the marathon mark I was running perfectly on pace, but I was feeling like I had no energy. If you have ever started to bonk, you know the black too long when you blink, foggy head feeling. That was happening. I am not sure why because my crew was making me eat every 40 minutes, which I have figured out is the perfect timing for nutrition for me. We tried Nuun, but it was just fizzing everywhere and getting me soaking wet. When Norm first handed it to me, it literally shot straight into my eye. Ugh! I sent Sabrina for Powerade. My thinking at this point was that it was an electrolyte issue. I was grabbing at straws because I train without electrolytes and I have no problems.
Some races it’s clear it’s not your day from the start, but in 100 mile race you just keep thinking that things will turn around. Unfortunately, that was not the case for me at Desert Solstice. (But check out the website because a lot of people had a fantastic day!)
By the marathon mark I was running perfectly on pace, but I was feeling like I had no energy. If you have ever started to bonk, you know the black too long when you blink, foggy head feeling. That was happening. I am not sure why because my crew was making me eat every 40 minutes, which I have figured out is the perfect timing for nutrition for me. We tried Nuun, but it was just fizzing everywhere and getting me soaking wet. When Norm first handed it to me, it literally shot straight into my eye. Ugh! I sent Sabrina for Powerade. My thinking at this point was that it was an electrolyte issue. I was grabbing at straws because I train without electrolytes and I have no problems.
After that, I don’t remember the order and timing of things going wrong. I started solid food, which later became a lump in my stomach that made me feel like I wanted to puke. That feeling just got worse and made it difficult to eat. Although I probably needed more calories, I am not sure my food choice was the right one. Mashed potato burritos are life changing a trail with climbs and slower pace sections. Trying to run fast on the track may not be the place for the “bulky” solid foods.
But the most pressing problem was my knee. Not the knee injury I struggled with for the past 2 years, but something totally different. Of all the little naggy problems I experience from time to time, this was not what I expected at all. Huge thank you to Erin McKnight for taping my knee. Unfortunately, the tape didn't stick for long. And the knee pain would grow worse thought out the day. I did some alternating walk/run. I even got my crew to download episode 2 of Serial to my phone so I could walk and listen to the podcast. (Let me just say that having podcasts to listen to when I was walking and not running was awesome!)
But the most pressing problem was my knee. Not the knee injury I struggled with for the past 2 years, but something totally different. Of all the little naggy problems I experience from time to time, this was not what I expected at all. Huge thank you to Erin McKnight for taping my knee. Unfortunately, the tape didn't stick for long. And the knee pain would grow worse thought out the day. I did some alternating walk/run. I even got my crew to download episode 2 of Serial to my phone so I could walk and listen to the podcast. (Let me just say that having podcasts to listen to when I was walking and not running was awesome!)
I tried to make the switch in my mind from focusing on 100 miles to focusing on 24 hours. In the end, my knee was hurting just to walk. I was so sick to my stomach I could barely tolerate moving. I slept on the tables in the warm area for a bit, but never felt better. For some reason I thought pizza was coming at 10pm. I am pretty sure the last thing I needed was more solid food, but in my head eating a piece of pizza was going to be life changing. My Norm told me pizza wasn’t coming until 2am my world came crashing down. That was the end for me. (Days later my husband would tell me that he dreaded telling me pizza wasn’t coming until 2am.) I am not sure why it didn't occur to Norm to just go get me pizza. I think he was feeling as mentally fried as I was. I am guessing that crewing for a person who is having a crappy day is pretty exhausting.
In the end, I decided that my day was not going to get better. I had heard that the female in 2nd was going to quit at 100 miles. I was not going to catch up to 1st and 3rd place. Trust me, as long as that was still an option I was on that track power walking and walk/running as much as possible. With my knee hurting as much as it did, I really had nothing to gain from staying. I am also suppose to run a marathon in 4 weeks to attempt an OTQ. I needed to get off my knee and stop beating myself down.
Desert Solstice is an amazing experience! Watching Zach Bitter again was incredible! He is a so nice. Here he is killing himself and as he passes he says words of encouragement. Ed Ettinghausen “The Jester” is also another truly amazing person. When I was struggling, his “hi Kristina” every time he passed me made all the difference in my staying positive and keeping it up. Anthony Kunkel was another positive energy out on the track. I am looking forward to getting to actually talk to him sometime. Whatever goals did not happen, I left the track with new friends and the opportunity to encourage old friends, which is totally the best part.
I would like to point out something here that puzzles me. My husband and I often discuss this. When I was road racing and chasing the OTQ I made a lot of friends in the women's field. Some of us only keep in touch on Facebook, but many have stayed closer friends over many years. Since doing more ultra running, I leave races with new male friends. Very rarely have I come away with a female friend. It is just odd (and a little sad) and I have no answer why this is the case.
Sunday was really terrible. I cried in pain trying to get out of bed. (Stupid modern and low to the ground Ikea bed!) Monday was much better. I was walking, but with a slight limp. I was even able to get a very easy hour spin on my bike. Tuesday I wore my favorite wedge boots to work.
On Monday, by the time I was cooking dinner, I was thinking about Across the Years. Maybe I could just a run an easy 100 miles to get a decent a time. By the time we were eating dinner, I was looking up age group records. I did promise my daughter that I would not run on New Year’s Eve this year so I would have to find a day that would work with my schedule. Marathon or 100 miles…
A HUGE thank you to my husband and Sabrina Redden for crewing for me! They did a great job! Thank you to all of the volunteers at Desert Solstice! You pamper us and say just the right things to make our day go as smooth as possible. Thank you to Jamil, Hayley and Dave for putting on such awesome races! It is an honor to run for the Aravaipa Team. Thank you to Mark Cosmas at iRun for the continued support and the borrowed watch! Thank you to Charlie at Cadence Physical Therapy for the help getting me back to running. And thanks to Amazing Yoga! I need the yoga, but my schedule and finances keep from being able to visit a yoga studio. Amazing Yoga has an online service that allows me to do yoga on my schedule. And it is kick your ass yoga!
In the end, I decided that my day was not going to get better. I had heard that the female in 2nd was going to quit at 100 miles. I was not going to catch up to 1st and 3rd place. Trust me, as long as that was still an option I was on that track power walking and walk/running as much as possible. With my knee hurting as much as it did, I really had nothing to gain from staying. I am also suppose to run a marathon in 4 weeks to attempt an OTQ. I needed to get off my knee and stop beating myself down.
Desert Solstice is an amazing experience! Watching Zach Bitter again was incredible! He is a so nice. Here he is killing himself and as he passes he says words of encouragement. Ed Ettinghausen “The Jester” is also another truly amazing person. When I was struggling, his “hi Kristina” every time he passed me made all the difference in my staying positive and keeping it up. Anthony Kunkel was another positive energy out on the track. I am looking forward to getting to actually talk to him sometime. Whatever goals did not happen, I left the track with new friends and the opportunity to encourage old friends, which is totally the best part.
I would like to point out something here that puzzles me. My husband and I often discuss this. When I was road racing and chasing the OTQ I made a lot of friends in the women's field. Some of us only keep in touch on Facebook, but many have stayed closer friends over many years. Since doing more ultra running, I leave races with new male friends. Very rarely have I come away with a female friend. It is just odd (and a little sad) and I have no answer why this is the case.
Sunday was really terrible. I cried in pain trying to get out of bed. (Stupid modern and low to the ground Ikea bed!) Monday was much better. I was walking, but with a slight limp. I was even able to get a very easy hour spin on my bike. Tuesday I wore my favorite wedge boots to work.
On Monday, by the time I was cooking dinner, I was thinking about Across the Years. Maybe I could just a run an easy 100 miles to get a decent a time. By the time we were eating dinner, I was looking up age group records. I did promise my daughter that I would not run on New Year’s Eve this year so I would have to find a day that would work with my schedule. Marathon or 100 miles…
A HUGE thank you to my husband and Sabrina Redden for crewing for me! They did a great job! Thank you to all of the volunteers at Desert Solstice! You pamper us and say just the right things to make our day go as smooth as possible. Thank you to Jamil, Hayley and Dave for putting on such awesome races! It is an honor to run for the Aravaipa Team. Thank you to Mark Cosmas at iRun for the continued support and the borrowed watch! Thank you to Charlie at Cadence Physical Therapy for the help getting me back to running. And thanks to Amazing Yoga! I need the yoga, but my schedule and finances keep from being able to visit a yoga studio. Amazing Yoga has an online service that allows me to do yoga on my schedule. And it is kick your ass yoga!
