I have a goal of doing all the “classic” ultras (and all of the GUTS races) held within a short drive from Atlanta.  SweetH20 50K held at SweetWater State Park definitely fits the bill.  It seems that every ultrarunner that I know has done this race multiple times.  Its elevation profile is legendary.

Fun Times

I felt ready.  I ran the SweetH20 Sweetheart Half back in February (no race report yet, bad blogger) to get a taste of the course.  I read race reports from different years over and over again.  My training was a little spotty due to injury, but I had just completed The Jewel 50K a few weeks ago.  I figured I could make it out alright.  Since my ankle was feeling normal again, I thought I just might be able to eek out a new 50K PR.  I ran the SweetH20 Half in 2:55-ish at an easy pace, I might be able to finish this one in 7:30-8 hours.

How wrong I was!

I should have taken it as a sign of how the day would go when I arrived way late at the race site.  I had to park far from the registration area.  By the time I used the bathroom, got my number, went back to the car to drop off my T-Shirt and get my stuff together, and then huffed it back to the starting line, the start cannon was about to fire.  Yes, they had a Civil War cannon complete with men dressed as Confederate soldiers to fire it.  Only in the South, huh?

I felt unsettled at the start.  I didn’t get a chance to calm down and mentally prepare myself.  I didn’t get to greet many of the familiar faces I saw in the crowd.  I did manage to spot T from The Jewel 50K and lay a congratulations hug on her for finishing the race.  Her husband and girls were out running again after just completing a 100K two weeks ago. Brad G was out there, Rob Apple was too.  Both of them ran The Jewel.  Everyone just runs all these ultras every weekend and they are fine!  I thought I would be fine too.  I fail to remember sometimes that these people have way, way more experience than I do.

I started in the back as usual, but the trails still got backlogged a bit in the first few miles.  There were probably about 175 runners which is a lot when you head into narrow single track.  There was also tricky rocky terrain that in some places involved scooting down a few feet.  It was a little impossible to keep a steady pace with all of that going on.  I expected the delays though so I was fine with it.  When races are so long, there is really no need to get all huffy about a few minutes of waiting…especially since I’m not going to win or anything.

After a few miles, we ran into one of the first non-standard features of this race – a spillway.  I only know what the thing is called from reading other race reports.  I could see the river off to my right and the spillway was catching the overflow.  Last year, there were flooding issues with the river so this crossing might have been more challenging.  This year, it was like running through a little puddle.  We did have to use ropes to climb up & down the walls so that was kind of cool.  After the spillway, the trail started to look vaguely familiar to me from the GUTS FatAss 50K.

The first aid station appeared relatively quickly alongside the river.  This station seemed to be buzzing with activity…there were actually spectators!  One was local blogger Christian Griffith who I finally got to greet in person after he was kind enough to answer some questions for me.  That man knows how to write a race report!  I have read and re-read some of his reports just for sheer entertainment value.  Christian is recovering from a terrible series of health issues related to an ameoba infection.  As I greeted him, I felt bad for ever wishing I would get a tapeworm to help me lose weight.*

I also ran into another blogger, Jason, from Running the Carolinas.  I had to share with him how I was pumping my fist while reading his race report for his Pinhoti 100 redemption run.  It was a good opportunity to chat about the course since I am targeting Pinhoti as my first 100 miler attempt.

I was really enjoying my run so far and pleasantly surprised that the course was so runnable after the first few tricky miles.  I arrived at the Mile 10-ish aid station and noticed the smiling face of Candy, one of my local ultra sheros.  I was a little disappointed to see that my watch read Mile 12 something.  At 2:37 minutes in, I guess I wasn’t moving as quickly as I thought I was!  I was honestly a little deflated and I started the allow the first cracks of frustration into my mental game.  That caused me to spend a little too much time at the station.  I felt like I had to drag myself back out onto the course.  Those aren’t good feelings to have at Mile 10 of a 31+ mile course.

The next portion of the course began a mental waiting game to see when the main event would start.  I knew the ridiculous powerline climb was coming soon.  However, this route was new to me.  We approached the powerlines in a different way during the February half.  I ran through a path cut through chest high grass and tried not to imagine what kinds of creatures might be lurking in that mess.

The grass ended and there was a short stint on an exposed gravel road.  I trailed and then passed a father and his 13(!) year old son who were running the race too.  Amazing.  Somehow I ended back up on familiar territory with a creek crossing that led to a very short and steep climb up a leaf strewn hill.  I remembered this climb well from the half marathon.

There were a few racers chatting behind me as I climbed.  I wasn’t listening too hard, but I caught wind of some religious type talk and the male was later revealed to be sporting a Christian running team shirt.  As they passed me, the guy asked me what music I was listening to.  I felt like a total heathen because the tune playing was Kelis’ Aww Sh!t.  Off topic, this is a hot song for pole dancing and every time I hear it I really miss taking lessons.

After cresting the hill, Jason Green, who organizes the Yeti Trail Runners and created most of the high grass trails himself, pointed the way towards the powerlines.  I like how the race organizers had volunteers stationed at course points that could possibly be confusing – nice touch.  Again, the route we took to the climb was different from what I remember at the half marathon.  We first tackled a fairly steep rocky downhill where I nearly busted my butt before hitting the main climb.

Trail goes way down before it goes up

I was ready for the climbs this time having experienced them already at the earlier race.  I’m not sure if the change in approach cut some mileage off, but it seemed like this section went by really quickly.  I recall last time looking ahead and just seeing rows and rows of hills to climb.  I don’t remember that at all this time.  I tried to pace myself because I knew I had to tackle this climb again later…in the heat.  Still, I was at the “Top of The World” before I knew it.

A fairly long exposed incline that slowly creeps up on you for about a mile followed.  I got a chance to see runners returning from the nearby aid station at this point.  It is so funny to note how everyone looks all happy (self-included) in the early stages of a race compared to how they look later.

Unlike the Feb half-marathon which placed the aid station at the peak of the trail, this time we ran out of the trails and onto a road with a school.  There was more sun exposure here and a slight incline on the road.  This was a very short section but I remember being annoyed that I had to go that little bit further for some sweet, sweet Powerade.

Once again, my watch was really off on the mileage.  It said I was at Mile 15 and I was really at Mile 12-ish.  That kind of stuff totally messes with your head.  As I expressed my frustration, one of the volunteers suggested that it might be due to changes in stride on the terrain.  I think he’s on to something there.  My watch is pretty accurate on roads but horribly off on some trail races.  I guess the lesson is not to depend too heavily on your watch – GPS or footpod based -  but it is so hard!

I left the Top Of The World with about 6 miles to the next aid station.  The part of the course was familiar but the miles kind of dragged on.  We ran back out the way we came and were directed a different way by volunteers near the powerline summit.  This led to a very steep and scary descent, another mini-climbs (nowhear near as high as the powerline climb), and yet another scary descent.

The trail then turns back into the park to run alongside the river.  This part of the trail is littered with old boards (some serving as a plank so that you can proceed along the trail) and just a lot of junk.  I don’t understand what the deal is with this section.  The front runners, who were out for their second loop already, passed me going the opposite way.  It usually cheers me up to see the speed demons, but today, it just seemed to highlight how much longer I had to run.

Six miles lasted forever and ever and I was so happy to see aid station and get something cold to drink.  The aid station was strategically located at the top of “Jack’s Hill”.  I would always hear people talking about said hill and never quite knew what they were talking about.  As I trudged up a very rocky and seemingly never-ending incline that grew steeper with each step, I knew.  A little garden gnome with a sign that said something about wanting toenails (due to the rocks) perked me up a bit.  I had no toenails for the poor gnome because I left them all at the Duncan Ridge 50K back in November.

The volunteers said that we had about 3 miles to the next aid station which would mark the start of another hallmark of SweetH20 50K, the water crossing.   I don’t know what kind of lies they were fed, but the next aid station was way more than three miles away.  I started to get really, really annoyed and irritable.  I wanted something cold to drink again and I really needed something to eat besides the Clif Shot Bloks I had on me.  I felt relieved when we reached a checkpoint of sorts where our numbers were taken.  That relief was short-lived when I realized that there was no aid station here at all.  WTH?  Did I miss it?  One smart runner in front of me had met someone in a car as a personal aid station.  He was sipping an ice cold bottle of blue Gatorade.  As I continued on running and my thirst continued to grow, that image haunted me.

Now I was hot in both temperature and temper.  Looking back, I was probably not fueling appropriately and more than a tad bit hangry.  My mood was not improved by scratching myself on some brambles somehow.  Now I was hot, hungry and bleeding…awesome!  It got worse when I finally reached the river crossing and realized that the visible aid station was still not meant for us.  I seriously felt a gasket blow inside.  That meant that in addition to the 3 (ha!) longest miles ever, I would have to cross this raging river, run a few miles on trails and then re-cross the river before I could get food.  For real?!?  They must have decided to exclude an aid station for some reason because this was ridiculous.  I suppose I could have crossed over to the aid station anyway but it was sort of out of the way.

I gritted my teeth, ate a sugary Shot Blok that I did not want, and grabbed a rope for the river crossing.  Now in addition to being pissed off, I was scared.  I’ve done water crossings before but none like this – this water was raging.  There was a chest high rope strewn across the water and some rescue EMT types waiting on the other side.  I inched my way across and I do mean inched.  The water was gushing over rocks very rapidly.  It only came up to about hip level (and I’m short) but it was really moving.  The rope didn’t really offer any assistance with balance, it was more like a lifeline.  The worst part was that you couldn’t see what was going on in the water.  I would be walking on large slippery rocks and then the rocks would suddenly disappear.  I was scared, really scared.  I don’t know why, but I didn’t think this crossing would be that major.  I thought it would be fun.  I was very unprepared because this was the opposite of fun.

My fears were realized when I slipped off a rock near the end of the crossing, a few short feet from the rescue guys.  I didn’t get submerged, but I did sit fully down in the water.  I mentioned that I was unprepared for water this major and that includes my stuff.  Like a fool, I did not protect the things in my pockets – my fuel and my I.phone.  My phone took a major bath when I slipped.  To make matters worse, my calf cramped up under the water (told you I wasn’t fueling right) and I literally could not stand back up.  All I could only grimace and flail around.  The rescue guys made moves to come get me but I waved them off.  The cramp passed and I emerged from the water more pissed off than ever.

I think my race really ended right there at Mile 17 but somehow my body kept moving…slowly.  There was the park’s Yellow trail to conquer next.  I figured since we only had 2 miles to go it might be easy.  Of course not.  There was a fair bit of climbing in this section.  I wanted to run but all I could do was walk.  This worked well due to the climbing and because I like powerhiking.  The trail did flatten out eventually but I could hardly make myself run.  The fact that I was running towards the return river crossing did nothing to encourage me to hustle either.

I so did not want to cross that water again.  I felt like crying.  I took it excruciatingly slowly this time and I still almost fell again.  I’ve never been so happy to see an aid station in my life!  Kelly F hooked my pack up with some ice and water while I stuffed my self with the salty food that I’d been craving for what seemed like 2 hours.

The river aid station was Mile 19 or so and I was right at 6 hours.  That PR I had dreamed of was certainly not going to happen today.  I found myself lamenting the fact that this wasn’t a marathon.  I really, really wanted to bail on this whole thing.  Everyone else may be able to run ultras every weekend, but clearly I’m not cut out for this.  It didn’t help that I was dumb enough to lift heavy at CrossFit that past Wednesday instead of resting up.  I was tired and mentally just not there.  The devil on my shoulder was like “Girl!  What are you doing out here?  You know you’d rather be posted up on the couch at home playing with your son!”

I walked nearly the entire 4-5 mile stretch over to the next aid station.  I had small bursts of energy where I felt like running but they were few and far between.  I kept reflecting on how everything was just sucking.  I found a little inchworm crawling on my neck.  I saw a snake on the trail.  I was just hating life and everything about nature at that point.  The bad thing is that I wasn’t too bad off physically.  I was just checked out mentally.

The aid station stop did a little bit for my spirits.  Oranges, cold Coke and a little ice down my sports bra felt like a little bit of heaven on that hot day.  I was able to run a bit more the second time through the grassland section.  Powerline section Round 2 was a lot tougher than before and it totally sapped the little energy I had managed to acquire.

I tried and failed to convince the volunteers at the Top Of The World section that they should let me cut the course and just go home.  There was nothing left to do but trudge on to the schoolhouse aid station.  The trip was now a lot less lonely as runners were returning from that station.  The smiling faces I saw on the initial trip out were defnitely showing strain now.  It looked like a lot of people were having just as much fun as I was having – which was none.

I had hoped that being in the final 10K of the race would inspire me to run a lot more but that wasn’t the case.  I was actually a bit worried about time because I recalled reading that we had 9 hours to finish the race.  It really sucked that I was now looking at a 9 hour finish, because I know I could do a lot better than that.  When I hit Top of the World again, I saw the sweeper heading out to the schoolhouse aid station.  I was happy to know that I had at least a 30 minute lead on him.  That meant we clearly had more than 9 hours to finish.  However, I was dismayed that I was even in the position of seeing the sweeper at all.  I resolved to finish within the stated 9 hour time limit no matter what.

The last 10K went on eternity.  The awful downhill descent after Top Of The World felt steeper than ever.  The junky river running section looked junkier than ever.  Jack’s Hill was longer and hillier than ever.  All the rest of the race was a blur.  I was mostly alone with my thoughts of being anywhere else but SweetWater park.  I kept trying to shake the funk that set in but I couldn’t.  As I neared the final mile, seeing park patrons enjoying picnics, casual walks, and generally having fun aggravated me even further.

A girl who was about 1.5 miles behind me at the Top Of The World section came running out of nowhere and passed me.  My first thought was “Man, I’ve really been sucking these last few miles!”  But for some reason, her good race spirit rubbed off on me and I ended up running behind her a solid 1/2 mile.  I don’t think I’d run that much consecutive mileage over the entire last 5K.  I had kind of accepted the fact that I was just going to walk it in.  But here’s this girl who has been putting in real work those last few miles!  I simply couldn’t half-ass it in the final inning.  I called up to thank the girl for serving as inspiration to get going again.

I have never been so happy to see a finish line!  I made it in right under the 9 hour limit at 8:57:47.  I was 161st out of 194 finishers and 6/8 in my age group. That’s not what I was hoping for, but it was what I was capable of on that day.  And hey, I wasn’t last either!

I’m happy that I didn’t quit even though I really wanted to bail.  I’m also glad that my ankle was a non-issue in a race for once.  It felt totally normal.  As far as lessons learned, I definitely need to chill out on the CrossFit the week before a race.  Knocking out heavy deadlifts (5 @ 185# touch and go…yeah!) and power cleans in the days before a 50K may be beneficial to my ego.  But that’s just not smart when your short-term goal is to have a good long race.

I don’t know that I would do this race again, even though it would be tempting to improve my time.  The race was pretty well-organized.  The volunteers were great.  I did feel like there should have been another aid station between Jack’s Hill and the river crossing.  I can definitely point to that long stretch where I was craving salty food and unable to get it as where my race started to go downhill.  I also really didn’t dig that roped river crossing.  The water felt great on my legs but it was all just too treacherous for me.  I’ve done a lot of stuff crazy stuff for kicks (Tough Mudder, etc) but I don’t ever want to do that river crossing again.

50K #4 (3 completed out of 4 attempts) is in the books and I’ve crossed another local ultra off my list.  I’m still waiting to figure out my favorite ultra distance and I wish it could be this one since it is the shortest.  So far though, I’ve only had one 50K that I consider a really good racing experience from start to finish (The Jewel 50K).  Maybe Stump Jump 50K in October will be a good one?  I’d say I’m overdue for another perfect PR 50K!

Pinhoti 100 on November 3 is the goal. I haven’t signed up yet because there is that little matter of trying to have a baby. I don’t need to spend my hard-earned cash to be motivated to train for a race. I’m training and if I’m meant to get pregnant, I’ll get pregnant. If I’m meant to run 100 miles, I won’t be pregnant on Nov 3. Simple as that.

My journey to 100 miles begins with a brutal race on a trail I love to hate. H9 is back for the new year with an official marathon (apparently it was last year too!) and a Phatt-Ass 50 miler (their spelling, not mine). The marathon is hard enough, but I’m going harder this year. Just check out the course description for the 50 miler. Last year, 9 people attempted the 50 miler and only 3 finished. The reported elevation gain is 14,000ft but I suspect that is an underestimate. Fun times!

I think this race will take me so long that it will be my longest race…even though it won’t be the longest distance that I’ve covered. I fully expect a hot and miserable yet totally exhilarating experience complete with multiple freak outs, breakdowns, and episodes of being lost. It will be a wonder if I finish the darn thing. If I do, I’m 100% sure I will be mentally and physically ready for Pinhoti.

My coach will be off doing his thing on the Appalachian Trail (because he’s awesome), but he was hooked me up with a plan to torture train me in his absence. I’m ready and excited to be back at it again. I had no idea what was in store for me last year (and probably still don’t), but I’m going to bring my “A” game. I plan to come to H9 this year leaner and meaner than ever. Bring on the beatdown!

;

Week 1: 04/30-05/06

Week 2: 05/07-05/13

Week 3: 05/14-05/20

Week 4: 05/21-05/27

Week 5: 05/28-06/03

Indian Beef & Spaghetti Squash: I keep trying to love spaghetti squash. I still don’t but it tastes OK and it provides some variety in my usual staple of veggies. This recipe was easy to make and very flavorful. The Mister ate some, complained about the “funny ingredients,” and then went back for seconds. *side-eye* I’m not a fan of coconut and I could taste the coconut milk in the dish sometimes. I would simply reduce the amount used next time. Would make again

Garlic Pork And Rice: PaleOMG is fast becoming my new Paleo recipe site. I’m excited to try more of her recipes when I can use honey again! I like crockpot meals because they are easy and whatever meat you put in there just falls off the bone. The pork came out really good considering that it was just seasoned with garlic. I broke out the food processor and made cauliflower “rice” for this one. I think the broth/cauliflower ratio was off for me because my rice came out really mushy – not like the picture. I would make the pork again without the rice. Would make again

Cinnamon Chipotle Sliders: I made these as a quick and easy weeknight meal after reading that Juliet over at Hey Joob enjoyed them very much. Yeah, not for me. I don’t know if it was a typo or not, but these puppies contained 1.5T of garlic powder for 1lb of hamburger. I ate the burgers for dinner and The Mister said I absolutely reeked of garlic when he dragged me to the midnight showing of The Avengers. This was *after* brushing my teeth. Garlic aside, they had an interesting kind of taste, but they were just not for me. Would not make again

Chicken and Vegetable Lo Mein: To be fair, I used all the seasonings for this one but did not use the same veggies with the exception of the cabbage. I had a bag of stir-fry mix (broccoli, snow peas, red cabbage, carrots) that I needed to use up so I used that in place of the listed veggies. I’m not a big fan of mushrooms either so I would have nixed those anyway. I don’t think the veggies make a big difference in the taste of the sauce or chicken. I didn’t like it at all. It tasted better as leftovers but I waited forever to eat the leftovers…that’s how much I didn’t want to eat it. Would not make again

I posted here about the foods I cooked last week. I warned The Mister that things were going to get strict at dinnertime for the next 15 days. He wanted no parts of any of the goodness I made. More for me! I batch cooked a lot of food on Sunday, so I was able to go a week without cooking too often. This was a relief. The thought of chopping a bunch of vegetables and measuring 10 spices with a toddler underfoot is draining after a long day at work.

The Whole30 plan suggests that you eat 3 meals a day with no snacks unless you are really hungry. You can have additional pre and post workout meals if you exercise intensely. I ate 3 meals a day mixed and matched from the recipes I made. I used almonds and hard boiled eggs as pre-CrossFit meals. I didn’t experience any real lack of energy during workouts. I didn’t do much running last week so I’m not sure how this meal would work for an early AM run. Post-workout, I ate a small portion of sweet potato hash.

I ate veggies with every meal. It is stupid easy to hit 6-10 servings of veggies a day when you cut out grains. I ate a ton of broccoli topped with ghee because it’s easy and I love it. I had a few simple salads (Spring Mix + dressed with oil, vinegar, salt + pepper) when I was feeling lazy. I made a pan of roasted zucchini, yellow squash and onions and ate that often. A batch of kale chips served as a side one night and that was a good way to get greens + fats.

I did feel snacky sometimes and I relied on sweet potato chips, almonds, and the occasional orange to ease the munchies. Whole30 doesn’t outright discourage fruit, but IMO the rules surrounding its consumption make it tough to get in. Breakfast and post-workout are the main times I reach for fruit. Eating fruit at both of those times is discouraged for various reasons. I didn’t really feel deprived though because I’m in a phase where I just don’t want fruit too much.

How I Felt

• I felt OK. I didn’t experience any caffeine withdrawal headaches. I expected that to be my toughest hurdle next to sugar. I guess I don’t drink as much caffeine as I thought. I had a touch of the “carb flu.” I get so tired at work around 10AM & 3PM and a little brain fogginess follows. I usually deal with this by drinking a Coke Zero or something but that’s out. I miss caffeine!
• I was a bit disappointed to find that some of my go-to seasonings (Lawry’s Lemon Pepper, Lawry’s Accent, and Tony Chachere’s Creole Seasoning) were out because they contained sugar. My broiled tilapia just didn’t taste the same without Tony’s.
• I really miss variety in drinks. I don’t drink coffee and I don’t like tea without sugar. I can’t drink Crystal Light or anything like that because it contains artificial sugar. I tried flavoring my water with orange and lemon slices but I didn’t like it. I tried some naturally flavored sparkling spring water I found at Trader Joe’s and…yuck. I’m so sick of water but I don’t like the alternatives. Oh well, at least I am extra well-hydrated!
• I started to crave bacon for some reason. I scoured all kinds of labels at regular stores and Whole Foods and couldn’t find nitrate-free bacon cured without sugar. Gwaltney makes a sugar-free bacon (green box) but it is not nitrate free. I bought it anyway and had to debate eating it. If I weren’t committed to the Whole30 this would not be an internal struggle.
• I chew lots of gum on a daily basis and gum is out on Whole30 due to the fake sugars. They also discourage it because of the chewing habit – something about how chewing and not actually ingesting food can be problematic. Whatever. I really struggled in the first few days with just wanting something to chew on! Sometimes I used water to get through the cravings. Other times I ate almonds even though I wasn’t hungry. Thankfully, the need to chomp on gum is waning.
• My hunger levels were generally good, but the first day was rough. I don’t mind the 3 meals a day thing because I stopped eating 5-6 small meals a day a long time ago. If I was hungry, I ate something to take the edge off.
• I’m learning to adjust the portion sizes of my meals so that I feel full enough to last to the next meal. I don’t have problems eating protein, but I found that I had to increase my standard protein size to feel full enough not to snack. A 3oz chicken breast is not enough in the absence of a ton of fat. 4.5-5oz servings worked better for me.
• I still want to snack but it isn’t really out of hunger. I’m just used to grabbing something to eat as soon as I walk through the door. I also battle the habit of snacking in the car. Both of these habits do my waistline no favors. The fact that I can’t eat the Cheez-Its and Goldfish crackers that I stash in the car for Lewis is a good thing. When I want to eat out of habit rather than hunger, somehow almonds aren’t as appealing as crackers.
• Major temptation of the week: Popcorn at the movies (Thumbs Up for “Think Like A Man”)
• I didn’t cheat on the program at all except for two minor technical things. I used 2t of Dijon mustard in a recipe. My mustard was clean and contained no sugar, but Dijon mustard is made with white wine and alcohol is a no-no on Whole30. I also ate the bacon that contained nitrates. I consider these minor infractions. Drinking isn’t an issue for me. I probably have a glass of wine once every 3 months. I think that the spirit of the “no alcohol” rule in Whole30 is geared more to actual drinking and not a little bit of white wine in a recipe. As far as the bacon, I decided the sugar was the greater of the evils. If I’m going to get cancer from food, it will probably be from all the diet soda I’ve consumed in my life. I doubt the nitrates in the bacon that I eat every now and again are going to kill me.

• Sausage and Sweet Potato Hash: I don’t like scrambled eggs all that much so I’m very open to eating dinner type foods for breakfast. This was really good and easy. It also worked as a good post-workout breakfast option because of the carbs from the sweet potato and lower fat levels. I found some Whole30 compliant Italian chicken sausage at Target made by Isernio. It has no sugar and there’s nothing sketchy in it. Would make again
• Roast Sticky Chicken: I make this chicken so often that I just mix up a large batch of the spices and keep it in the cabinet. It always tastes great. This is a weekend recipe though because of the long marinating (4-6 hours) and the baking process (4-5 hours). I roasted a pack of chicken thighs and a pack of chicken legs instead of a whole chicken. I love dark meat chicken! I kept the skin on because I’m supposed to eat fat on this diet. Would make again
• Crockpot Ropa Vieja: This tasted just alright hot out of the crockpot. It was 10x better the next day after lunch with some additional salt. Maybe the flavors needed time to marinate? I didn’t make the cauliflower rice because dragging the food processor out is a real hassle sometimes. Would make again
• Primal Chicken Tikka Misala: I usually buy an Archer Farms kit from Target to make this dish the lazy way. This felt like a lot of work and I wish I had done it over the weekend. A cooking time of 1:20 minutes is just too long for a weeknight. The recipe is also a little unclear to me. I *hate* when recipes say stuff like 3-4 chicken breasts. Can I get a weight value please? My Kroger chicken packs always have 3 breasts but some packs weigh 1lb and others weigh 2lb. In spite of my questions about the recipe, everything turned out OK. This was another one that tasted better the next day. I wanted some rice with this so bad! There was a lot of yummy sauce and nothing to sop it up with. I just might have to grind up some cauliflower “rice” soon – even though it is so not the same. Would NOT make again
• Ghee: You can’t have dairy on Whole30. I need butter for my veggies. This recipe produces clarified butter which is butter with all the milk solids filtered out. The process was easy but slow (~30 minutes). The good thing is that I didn’t have to be all that involved. I just let the butter do its thing. My mason jar of ghee (~1.5 cups) cost $9 to make ($6 1lb of quality butter + $2.50 cheesecloth). So far, I have not used the ghee as cooking fat. I’ve mainly used a bit on my steamed broccoli for flavor. It doesn’t taste exactly like butter but it isn’t too bad. Would make again
• Sweet Potato Chips: I wanted to make a snack food and also wanted an easy way to get carbs post-workout on-the-go. These were a bit of a hassle to make because I don’t have a mandoline. Flipping 100 thin chips over in the oven also sucks. They were so good that it was worth the hassle. I had trouble controlling myself. Would make again

CrossFit is a constant for me.  The Paleo diet seems to be a constant with CrossFit (except for that time when they were pushing The Zone Diet).  The CrossFit angle with Paleo is not necessarily to use it as a weight loss tool, but more as a tool for optimal health and energy sort of thing.  Still, if you walked into any CrossFit box and mentioned wanting to lose weight, I guarantee you would be pushed towards Paleo.

I resisted.  I really didn’t want to do it.  I feel like there are 100 ways to lose weight.  Some are more effective than others, say Weight Watchers vs insert crazy fad diet like the Banana diet.  I don’t feel like you need to give up all grains and dairy and be gluten-free to lose weight.  I am loathe to universally label any one food group as evil for everyone.  That’s why I’ve resisted the Paleo thing for so long.

I feel like I know how to eat well, and find it fairly easy to do so, when I am more of a weight lifter and less of a runner (halfs and below).  When I trained for a full marathon back in 2008, I gained weight.  In spite of my best efforts to prevent it, when I started training for an ultra, I gained weight.  It’s clear that I simply don’t know how to control myself when facing the odd surges of appetite that come with running a lot of mileage.  It is hard to lose weight when you focus on “extreme” endurance sports.  I think it is even harder when you aren’t the naturally skinny type either.  I can never not be conscious of my diet.  I just don’t have that sort of body, no matter how much I exercise.

So even though I’ve been sort of anti-Paleo for years,  I’m starting a strict Paleo challenge today.  They do it at the gym every so often as a challenge, but they aren’t doing it at the moment.  I’m going solo.  I feel like I need to hit the reset button hard.  I’ve been trying to moderately get back into my healthy habits all the time, but that isn’t working.  It’s time to go cold turkey for a while to get back to normal.  Then I can go about trying to moderate.

The program is technically called the Whole30.  I signed up for the Twisted Ankle Marathon on May 12th though, so I don’t have 30 days.  I keep waiting to find 30 free days to try the full program, but I can’t seem to stop signing up for long races!  In the meantime, the scale keeps spitting a higher number at me.  So I’m just going to do the “Whole15″, re-introduce grains for the 3 days prior to my race, and then get back on plan.

Shortening the program will interfere with all the inflammation healing that the evil grains cause.  Whatever.  I don’t really care about that.  I’m never going to be gluten-free or dairy free for life.  I can’t live that way and I don’t want to live that way.  I do want to get diet back under control as far as sugar and carb intake.  I want to eat less random junk.  I want to stop craving dessert so much.  I want eating healthy 90% of the time to not feel like such a freaking struggle.

The next week is going to be rough.  I’m anticipating having the most trouble with caffeine.  The program doesn’t allow sugar of any kind – natural sugar like honey or unnatural sugar like Splenda.  It also doesn’t allow fake food and drinks so my Coke Zeros, Diet Lipton Teas, and sugar-free Red Bulls are out.  Coffee and tea are both allowed, but I don’t drink coffee and I won’t drink tea with no sugar.

On Sunday, I made a batch of roasted chicken, roasted squash & zucchini with onions, and a sweet potato hash as a breakfast alternative to eggs.  I’ve got ropa vieja in the crockpot and ingredients for another hash type meal on tap for Tuesday’s dinner.  I also clarified my own butter because dairy is out.

I’m ready to make the next 15 days a success.  I guess I better get some sleep so I won’t need the caffeine I can’t have, huh?  Here goes nothing!

I wasted way too much time at “The House.” Eight minutes at an aid station during a 50K is just a bit ridiculous. I ate. I chatted. I sat down. I changed socks. I put on compression sleeves. I looked absolutely ridiculous wearing capri pants and compression sleeves and I so did not care. My legs were all scratched up from brambles and I just didn’t want to play that game again. Plus, I’m not 100% sure what poison ivy looks like but I’m quite sure it was out there. Summer trail running vegetation is here.

I spent so much time at the aid station that T arrived. I hadn’t seen her for at least 30 minutes. We ended up striking out for the second loop together. Everything looked different the second go around. It was almost like I hadn’t been there just a few hours ago.

T ran into her husband, who was still miles ahead of us even though he was doing the 100K, in the pasture and had a quick photo opp. That was sweet. We only saw one other person after that. The field had spread way out and it was lonely running. When we approached the crazy hilly mile section again, T sent me on my way to climb while she took it a bit more slowly. I had to put on my music to get my mind right. A little Outkast helps me think straight and keep moving, you know? Big Boi likes the way I move, so I can’t dawdle.

Maybe because I was ready for them this time, the hills seemed to go much faster. I was surprised to see the “2 of 3″ sign come up very quickly. T didn’t catch up with me at the top of the hill this time. I accepted the fact that I was about to go it alone for the long haul.

I completed the first section in 1:28 this time around. This was a lot slower than the first loop. I did a lot of walking during the initial few miles before the hill so I blame general laziness for that. It is tough to motivate yourself to start running again after taking an extended break. Once I was alone after the climb, I started to focus a bit more and do more running.

I limited my time at “The House” aid station even though I was not looking forward to the next section with all the deer trails. Once again, I had that sensation of running a totally different course. Part of it was that for the property owners, it must have been business as usual, race notwithstanding. Gates that had been open in the morning were now closed. I had to pause more than once in the face of a closed gate or barbed wire fence that I didn’t recall seeing earlier that morning. The course was well-marked but this was really confusing. I feel like we should have gotten a heads up about that potential scenario.

In spite of multiple reality checks at certain points, I really did get all turned around while wandering through the deer forest for the second time. These weren’t traditional trails so sometimes it was really hard to find your way. Pink flags were tied on many trees at frequent intervals (thanks RDs!). However, I occasionally saw multiple flags in the distance with no obvious path between and I didn’t have T’s additional set of eyes to back me up. Since the course also included a lot of circling back around to the same area, I was really leery of making a mistake. Thankfully, they included directional ground arrows so I was able to realize that I was going the wrong way and correct my actions.

I made it through the deer forest scratch free thanks to my ridiculous looking compression sleeves. As I started another circle round/out and back section, I spotted the faster girl who ran with T and I for a few miles. I wasn’t sure how far ahead of me she was but I was just happy to see another racer. It had been a long time. Amazing how there can be 100+ people in a 15 mile loop and you can feel so alone! I immediately tasked myself with the goal of trying to catch up to the girl. I knew it wasn’t going to happen, but it gave me something to do and kept me motivated to run more often than I walked. I reached the second aid section in 1:28 much faster than I had the first time. I also managed to run nearly .75 miles less. What was I doing before?

The aid station volunteers for this shift were wonderful. It was extra hot at that point. I had filled up my 2L pack 5 miles ago and it was all sad and deflated already. A volunteer woman sporting a Keys 100 buckle totally took control. She removed my pack from my vest filled it while I stood there and inhaled nearly an entire orange (so.freaking.good). She even put ice in the water for me without my asking. She also made me check that everything was set back right before I left. God bless that woman. I need to remember to be this kind of volunteer at races in the future.

There were a couple of guys at this aid station that I’d never seen before. The girl I tried to catch up to had apparently come and gone already. I left just ahead of the guys and tried to get a bit of running in before the long gravel road. My spirits were high because I felt pretty good and there were only 5 miles left to go. I suspected that the hilly gravel road would crush my soul this time around though.

I had the advantage of knowing what to expect this time but that didn’t make the experience any less miserable. I tried to play games like “Don’t let those dudes behind you pass you” to keep my mind off the climb and the unrelenting heat. I did a lot of walk a bit and then cling to the side of the road for shade and stretch a bit. I only know two modes when hiking – kill myself pace and dead stand still. The whole walk at a reasonable pace for the entire thing without stopping thing just does not compute for me. I keep my breaks short though so it works out. I didn’t let the guys behind me catch up.

I ran into more runners struggling up the hill. I started to feel like I had run a really smart race for me. I wasn’t falling apart in the final hour. I was pretty much on track for running even 15.5 mile “splits.” Maybe this isn’t the right way to run a “fast” race. But, at this early point in my ultra career, my goal is mostly to finish without dying.

I chatted back and forth with the two new guys as I made my way up the hill. One was Barefoot Tyler, whose father Alan, I had met earlier during the broken leg incident. The other, Paul, was running his first official 50K. My conversations with both confirmed that this course was way harder than anyone had expected. It wasn’t just me.

I wish this hill had passed as quickly as the crazy hill during the first section, but it didn’t. Thankfully, the downhill mile in the shade was just as enjoyable the second time around. I passed another two guys on the downhill and made it a point to keep running so they wouldn’t catch me. I had no idea if these people were running the 50K or the 100K, but I just wanted to not finish last or second-to-last for once. Everyone was competition at this point.

The pasture section took forever mainly because it was unshaded and hot. The animals out there provided a bright spot. I spotted a beaver (I think?) in the pond and I greeted the horses behind a fence like old friends. “Tik Tok” by Ke$ha came on. It’s a stupid old pop song but I like it and it makes me want to strut or run fast for some reason. I turned her up and hit the home stretch of road that led back to “The House.”

I kind of wussed out on my Ke$ha-induced resolve to run the entire last 3/4 mile on the road to the finish. I was tired! But a black snake slithering around on the side of the road put enough fear pep in my step to run the final .25 miles into the finish.

I wrapped up the race in 8:15 which is a new 50K PR for me. I know it is kind of bogus to compare different 50K courses to one another but humor me. I hate having a 10:08 50K time in my side bar. Yeah, it was the Duncan Ridge 50K and crazy hard for everyone who ran it, but still. I embrace being a mid-pack runner/slow ultrarunner but I have a little pride!

So I got a shiny new 50K “PR” and I finished 43rd out of 50 racers. I’m not sure how many dropped, but my companion T finished the race. Huzzah! I still haven’t moved up to the middle of the pack but I was not DFL like usual. Progress! This was another good race for me and not just because I finished it. I felt physically and mentally good for the entire race. My nutrition and hydration were on point. Plus, I think my threshold for suffering has increased. Barring any major issues, I can keep my mental ish together for about 8-9 hours now. I used to fall apart at the 5 hour mark. I’ve come a long way.

But enough about my race…

The Jewel 50K/100K was an inaugural event. The RDs put on the Georgia Jewel 35/50/100 miler last September so they aren’t newbies to directing races. I felt like the race was very well-organized as far as keeping runners informed of logistics in advance. The price was reasonable at $70 for race day signup. The aid stations were well stocked. No pretzel nuggets (boo!) but orange slices and Chex Mix kept me going. Swag included a sweatshirt and a finisher’s plaque. 100K runners got a buckle. Oh how I want a buckle!

Finisher's Award

The course was very pretty and offered something different than your standard trail race. With the exception of the 1.3 mile gravel road climb and brief portions of roads, the entire race was on real trails or grassy pasture land. I didn’t care for some of the bushwacking sections because they were a little confusing to me. Some might like that though.

I felt like the course was well-marked but not everyone agreed. There were pink flags at frequent intervals as well as ground flags and white directional arrows on the ground. Because of the constant feedback, it was hard to go wrong for an extended period of time. I prefer to have too much feedback to sort through than not enough. If you ran .10 miles and didn’t see a course marking, you probably did something wrong.

The RDs do need to up the difficulty rating for this race on ultrarunning.com. This isn’t a 2/2 race as far as elevation gain. They also need to clarify the language surrounding the elevation or provide a chart. My watch recorded 5K of gain for the 50K. A simple statement of at least 2000ft of gain per 15.5 mile loop would be more accurate and easily understood than 2000ft of gain for the 100K loop.

This race is advertised as a good first 50K or 100K race. I think that’s fine so long as people understand what they are getting into. 5,000ft of climbing over 50K is not insignificant. My first 50K was an insane race. I trained for the terrain and I finished the race. One can’t train appropriately if they assume this will be a “easy” 50K with little climbing based on the course information. The Jewel is not the Peachtree City 50K, that’s for sure!

A plus for beginners with this race is that the aid stations are all about 5 miles apart. You also have fairly frequent access to your drop bags since they are laid out at “The House.” Faster runners will frequently have access to aid and can get away with a more minimalist race. I averaged 1:15-1:30 between aid station stops. Once the day got much warmer, I was glad I went with my Nathan vest as opposed to one handheld.

The Jewel 100K vs DoubleTop 100K

We don’t have very many 100K race options in the Atlanta area so this race begs comparison to the DoubleTop 100K held just one month earlier. I obviously didn’t run the 100K, but I got a feel for what it might be like.

Both races have very similar overall elevation gain (8-10K) and I suspect I would have had very similar finish times for both races in the absence of confounding factors. The markings at DoubleTop this year were on the sketchy side. Nearly everyone got lost. Some runners ran many, many miles out of the way. The Jewel had confusing moments, but I feel like there was so much marking that no one would ever get lost for miles.

DoubleTop had a lot of forest service road running. There was a 22 mile (out and back total) stretch of mostly uphill miserable large chunk gravel road starting at Mile 19. The 5 miles at the end was a straight downhill stretch but I would have preferred to have that broken up somehow. That whole section just sucked and the soles of my feet were not happy. Hopefully, the park rangers will play nice and re-open up the closed trails to eliminate that awful stretch. The rest of the trails for DoubleTop were nice and there was a lot of really good single-track running on the well-groomed Pinhoti trail. I feel like the climbing was more localized in DoubleTop. With the exception of a few sections known in advance, I didn’t feel like everytime I looked there was a hill. The Jewel has a lot more random minor hills in addition to the major climbs. Beware with DoubleTop – there are a lot of short and steep rolling hills in the last 2.5 miles or so of the race when you least feel like climbing.

Aid station mileage varied at DoubleTop with the average being 5 miles or so between stops. I do recall one 7 mile stretch. Sometimes, this felt like a very long time due to hills. Drop bags were only available at one point that would be accessed twice (Mile 20 and Mile 40). More careful planning for headlamps and such was thus required at DoubleTop.

No pacers or crew are allowed for The Jewel 100K. DoubleTop had crew access at quite a few points and pacers were allowed. Not sure why the Jewel doesn’t allow pacers as it would be easy enough for someone to join you at “The House.”

Since DoubleTop 100K was part of a 100M event, the time limit was a generous 20 hours. I am not 100% sure of the cutoff for The Jewel because it isn’t listed in the race information. Judging from the race results, it is at least 18 hours but may be longer.

DoubleTop is an out and back course while The Jewel 100K is a 15.5 mile loop run 4 times. I prefer not to have the option to easily quit in such a long race, but that might make others comfortable. In spite of The Jewel being a loop course, I felt like the three 5 mile-ish sections were distinct enough that I was not too bored during my loops. I can only imagine though that the crazy hill and crazy gravel road would become progressively more annoying on that 3rd and 4th loop!

Lastly, I preferred the early March weather of DoubleTop over the warmer April temperatures present for The Jewel. We actually had a break of the recent heat wave and temps topped out around 75 (no humidity). That feels like 100 degrees when you are running and a lot of sections had absolutely no shade present. It is a little early in the season to have done a lot of heat acclimatization so this could present an issue.

My personal preference for a local 100K based on the above factors would have to go to DoubleTop. I think I would be fine for 3 loops at The Jewel. But a 4th stab at that crazy hill at night all alone with no pacer? I might not make it. Your mileage may vary.

I’m still planning to do The Jewel 50K again next year. I do want a buckle though…

You would think that I could write a 50K race report at this point in less than a gazillion words. Apparently not. I don’t blog all that often and when I do I have lots to say. Umm…at least I have pictures this time!

Aren’t Brits generally known for having a drier sense of humor than Americans? I think that cultural difference was in full effect during the organization of The Jewel 50K/100K. Apologies if the RD’s aren’t actually Brits, but they sound like it. They sure aren’t from Georgia!

I went into this race kind of expecting a cakewalk. On ultrarunning.com, this race was rated a 2/2 which means groomed terrain and up to 2500ft of climbing over 50 miles. The course description on the website ends with the statement that a single 100K loop contains at least 2000ft gain. Now that’s a little confusing because the course is a 15.5 mile loop so the 100K would be 4 loops. So is that 8000ft total gain or 2000ft total gain for the 100K? Going with the 2 rating from ultrarunning.com, I took that to mean 2000ft total for the 100K so 1000ft total for the 50K. Compared to my first 50K that had 10,000ft of gain, a 50K with 1000ft of gain seemed easy. Couple that with the flowery course description touting valleys, streams, pastures, hillsides, and glens and I expected a beautiful cakewalk.

Things aren’t always what they seem.

I was happy just to be running this race. The Mister rarely has a Saturday off so I try to stick to Sunday races. I’ve got shin splints too and had to drop out of Operation Endurance prior to the marathon mark. My mileage has been really spotty since running the DoubleTop 100K due to the shin splints. Oh yeah, and that 100K was just a month ago! I’m not yet a seasoned ultrarunner who can do an ultra a month like it is nothing. I didn’t have high hopes of actually finishing this race. My plan was to tape up and enjoy whatever miles I could get in before I had to quit.

Because of all those pre-existing issues, I felt very little stress at the starting line. I didn’t see too many familiar faces at this one except for Brad G. who runs *every* local ultramarathon. Oh, and Rob Apple who is Southern ultra legend having run like 500 ultramarathons (not joking about that). I also recognized two young sisters and their father from a few races. They kind stick out because they are super tall and very young (under 18). I had chatted up their father a bit at the SweetH20 Half in February because I was so curious about how they got involved in this crazy world at such a young age.

The race course was designed as a 15.5 mile loop. We would run 5.5 miles one way, return to the start AKA “The House” because it literally was the front porch of someone’s house, and then run another 10 miles with one other aid station in between. We took off from “The House” and ran off into cow pastures. I stayed in the back as usual, but I was a bit surprised that there were not a lot of people back there with me. A ton of people were running the 100K. You would think they would have held back a bit at the start. I guess they figured it would be easy race too.

I immediately had my hands full dodging round patches of cow manure in the grassy fields. Since I was a bit slower than most, I missed the larger pack of cows who must have been stunned by the sudden appearance of a herd of runners in their grazing area. I did spot one lonely tan cow who ran off into the trees in fear. Am I alone in not ever picturing cows running? Color me a clueless suburban girl! I was equally amazed the first time I saw a cow sitting down on all fours like a dog.

The pasture turned into a wooded section and the rolling hill party got started immediately. These hills were probably runnable, but not for me. I had no desire to shorten my run by exhausting my legs in Mile 2. I soon found company with T who would be my companion for hours and hours of this race. When she mentioned that her daughters were running the race, I realized that she was the mother of the two young sisters. I’ve run across father-daughter teams and mother-daughter teams but never a whole family running an ultra. Sweet!

Her family was running the 100K but she was doing her first 50K coming off only a trail half-marathon as her longest run ever. I kind of cringed at that because that’s a huge jump up from 13.1 to 31 miles. But hey, I don’t know what kind of training she did and she seemed strong and determined and gutsy enough to try the race. She was running a good pace for me so we stuck together and chatted the entire time. We also worked well together navigating the course. It was frequently marked with flags, but it was very twisty so a lapse in attention could mean confusion. I caught her navigation mistakes and she caught mine. Maybe if we both hadn’t been blabbing so much, we wouldn’t have made any mistakes, but that’s what makes ultras fun!

Some runners apparently got confused pretty quickly. Shortly after a creek crossing (low water but feet still got wet), T and I ran upon a group of three runners just ahead of us. A herd of lead runners were coming from some other direction indicated that the party of 3 were going the wrong way. Apparently a few runners missed a section of the course initially. What a section it was! I knew to expect a “memorable” hill from the course description so I readied myself for a challenge. I have no problems with hills when I know what to expect. There is nothing to do but grind these things out. I started climbing without complaint leaving the trio and T behind a bit.

The first hill flattened out and I realized that I had not yet climbed the “memorable” hill. The climb ahead was at about a 40% grade and made up entirely of dirt and loose rocks. I literally had my hands in the dirt to steady myself. I was scared to stop to catch my breath because nothing looked solid enough to hold me.

Just when I was feeling all She-Ra like for conquering the steep hill, I saw a spray painted message left by those wacky Brits that stated “2 of 3.” For real? I had to laugh…and keep climbing. The whole thing was over in less than a mile but that was one tough mile. I would put this climb right up there with the climb just after the short creek crossing and before the main Powerline climbs at SweetH20.

Photo courtesy of runner David Ray

T caught up to me shortly after the turnaround after the top of the climb. Apparently I’m a good climber, but suck at recovering after the hill. I didn’t mind. I was glad for the company again. Slightly scary downhill awaited and then we circled around back to the pasture and “The House” where the race began.

They had a nice spread waiting at the aid station and I grabbed some Pringles and pita bread spread with hummus and walked on to the next section. The first part of the race already proved to be more difficult that I anticipated. Some cakewalk! I estimated that we easily climbed 1000ft in the first 5.5 miles of the course (971 ft according to my watch…I’m getting good at this!). That meant the rest of the course had to be flat. Sure.

In spite of the difficulty of the first section, I was holding up very well physically and having a great time. I wasn’t having any shin issues but I can’t give any credit my stupid KT Tape job for that. It was peeling off once again. What is up with that stuff? It did the same thing at Operation Endurance but I figured that was due to the rain. What am I doing wrong here?

I left “The House” with T for another 5.5 mile adventure. We went down a road and quickly turned off into someone’s house and farm. We ran into another woman and she joined us for a few miles before taking off. It was her first 50K too but she was a faster runner and probably only back there with us due to getting a bit lost. The course was a little confusing in parts here, but it was frequently marked enough that we were able to figure things out. The rolling hills and mini-climbs did not stop like I assumed they would.

We ran through a weird burned out looking forest area before turning into a more heavily forested and overgrown area. I think this would be the deer trails sections. I didn’t like it here at all. The “trail” was not well defined and vegetation was thick. I got scratched by more prickly bramble bushes than I care to ever see again. We had to make careful study of the pink flags guiding the way because otherwise it would not have been obvious where to go.

At some point , I commented to T that I thought I heard screams behind us. I thought I heard dogs too and had to quickly put those noises out of my mind because there was no positive connection I could imagine between the two. The reason for the screams turned out to be less scary than someone being hunted down by a pack of wild dogs. A girl came running towards us on the trail indicating that she needed help for another runner. Someone had possibly broken their ankle out on the trails. This was one of the runners who T and I encountered as a trio on the steep hills in the first 5.5 miles of the course. Another runner was kind enough to wait with the fallen girl who was some ways back. I wonder if I would do the same for someone I didn’t know on the trails. I honestly can’t say that I would. I wouldn’t allow anyone to wait with me either though. That was a very nice person who waited!

We had cell phones, but none of us had the numbers of anyone connected with the race. You can’t exactly call the police at this point because this is private property as opposed to a state park. And really how would you tell anyone where you were? The only thing to do was continue on to the aid station and send back help. Another runner in the trio, Alan, came along with us for help. I estimated that we had about 2 miles to go to the aid station but I wasn’t really sure. All distances are approximate in trail races.

Those 2 miles turned out to be more like 3 and seemed to take us forever. We ambled through more prickly deer “trails”, ran along a dry fairly creekbed with a few downed trees, and climbed up more an endless hills. I felt kind of bad since someone was injured and waiting. But there was nothing I could do and getting injured in a remote area is just a risk you take with trail races.

When we finally reached the aid station, the volunteers took off immediately on the rescue mission. Excitement over, it was time to get back to the business of my race. There was a nice spread at this aid station and a port-o-potty. Yeah! I did not have to pop any squats in the woods at this race because there was a “bathroom” every 5 miles. A definite plus. T & I didn’t linger too long at the aid station because I felt like those miles too took way too long due to the mini-drama. We were at about 3 hours for 12 miles. I think we managed to do some extra miles in the second stretch but I wasn’t sure. I just knew I would be thrilled to wrap this race up in about 8 hours – if I were to finish at all.

The last third of the course started out in a grassy field after leaving the aid station. We then had a nice downhill wooded trek and crossed a road into someone’s driveway. I wonder how they went about securing permission for this race because at this point we had literally run through in at least 3 people’s yards. This house had an attached barn and an overly friendly black dog who insisted on jumping on me (grr!).

If I had studied the course description, I would have been aware that I was going to spend the next 1.3 miles climbing a long gravel road in nearly directly sunlight. But since I was all tra-la-la-la this race is going to be easy and only has 1000ft of climbing total, I was caught by surprise. The temps were fairly cool at that time but I knew that our second pass of this road would not be fun. Every time I turned a corner, I saw more gravel. The good thing is that just like at DoubleTop 100K, gravel road climbs lead to nice views.

Not the top of the hill.

Still not the top of the hill. Stonehenge maybe?

The climb seemed endless. It wasn’t super steep, just relentless and unforgiving and there was that whole no shade thing. We climbed all the way up to a green water tower. I spoke with Brad G about the race and at the top of the tower, a goat was waiting for him. The goat proceeded to chase him for the next few miles. Hilarious! I didn’t have any such fun but be on the lookout for mountain goats if you run this race.

The water tower marked the end of the climb and led into some really sweet shady downhill single-track. I had left T behind a bit as I climbed because I am in my element during ridiculous climbs for some reason. I spied her through the trees on my way down and assured her the end was coming. I loved running the downhill section and appreciated how cool it was under the trees. Then it was back to the pastures and past a little lake with a water wheel. It was really, really pretty out there but it was around noon and there was no shade.

A photographer was set up in the pasture just in front of a final creek crossing (shallow, but my feet got wet). He got some good snaps of me and charged a reasonable fee for digital images so I bought them instead of stealing them. I am all for supporting small businesses that don’t charge $30 for one freaking JPG.

I'm coming!

 

I'm here! Crossing the creek.

 

Creek crossed and feet wet yet again, I continued on through the grass past another barn complete with horses. The course turned back onto a residential road for maybe another 1/2 mile. I recognized it from the drive in earlier and knew that I was close to wrapping up my first loop. I arrived back at “The House” to friendly, cheering volunteers. That was nice. All of the volunteers at this race were so sweet and helpful.

My split time was 4:01. I got 17 miles for the first half and 2700ft of elevation gain on my watch. I blame a bit of back-tracking and my general inability to run anything like a tangent for the extra mileage. During the second loop I ran much tighter path and got about 16 miles.

I’ll talk about that second loop later!