Going into this race, I didn’t have any specific time goals as I didn’t have any idea what I was getting myself into. This is the longest running race I’ve done to date and the added challenges of running on gravel and the course layout left me in uncharted territory. With that said, I did have a few goals:
– be thankful and grateful to be running the race
– appreciate the beauty of the course
– run in honor of my sister and all of those diagnosed with MD
– positive and mental toughness through the low points
The day before the race was pretty routine, go to dinner at a local Mexican restaurant, lay out my gear, and relax for the evening. While getting my nutrition ready, I realized I was really low on my Tailwinds nutrition, which I have been using throughout my training with great success. I planned on having 6 bottles total, one for each hour. I was able to fill two. I improvised a little with 6 gels that I had by adding 3 gels mixed with water in each bottles to come out to 300 calories and would just pick up gels on the course. Panic avoided and I was set to go.
Saturday morning I woke about 5:00 and downed my usual shake and coffee and headed to the course which was about 15 miles from home. The day was perfect for running. Temps in the 50s and overcast skies. The start was pretty anti-climatic as the race director counted down from 10 and off we went. Despite the fear of getting lost, I was feeling great
My initial thoughts were to run slow, and if it felt slow, slow down a little more. I had to continually remind myself to pull back the reins from going slow to go really slow. This was a long race and it would eventually catch up with me. The first 10 miles flew by, and despite the gravel and hills, I was feeling awesome. Taking in nutrition every 20 minutes and hydrating like crazy.
One of the things I really like about this race is being able to run the course with seemingly one around. I trained that way, so being in that element gave me a peace of mind. It gave me the opportunity to enjoy nature and internalize the gratitude I felt.
Around mile 20 is when ‘the hurt’ started settle in. Luckily I had a few pacers that were popping up about every 3-4 miles that helped me push through.
It felt like mile 20-31 were the hilliest and hardest of the course and my pace and enthusiasm were a direct reflection of it. I continued to push forward and looked down at the sign I had “31 miles for Kim Sammler’ as a motivation to keep forging ahead. Mental toughness was touch and go during this stretch and there were times where my inner monologue would say “WTF are you doing”?
Like all things, the negative mind thoughts passed and I got into a better pace mentally that helped me push through to the end.
I absolutely loved this race and I am certainly going to do it again and more like it. It was easily the hardest running race I’ve ever done and a start of something wonderful. It also hurt like hell!!
Very appreciative of my families support and Carmen and the girls for tolerating me through the months of training.
Thanks for reading.
Matt's Healthy Lifestyle 