Fat Ox 48 Hour
December 2, 2022
133.38 mile, 3rd women
10th hundred or more for the year, 10 down, 2 to go
55th hundred or more in total
Giggling gals run and walk, what else you gonna do in the pouring rain.
We were looking for forward to a flat loopy course in the sun. The weather forecast was good, 70 as the high and 50 as the low with a slight chance of rain on day two. Learning number one, never trust the rain forecast.
We had a great day running in the sun on day one. No complaints as it was a lovely loop and the sun was shining and at night we saw copious stars and the moon was out so no need for a headlamp. Also at night the owls were hooting and the coyotes were howling. Aravaipa was the host and they always have good food, including many plant based or vegan options, so we were racking up the miles.
Then day two hits and it starts off fine. I finished my 100 in about 27 hours and the rain starts. Good time to take a break before I go back for more loopiness. Because the course was on concrete or pavement we had already decided to just walk on day two so as not to hurt ourselves. My feet were already talking to me due to the hardness of the surface. My knees are achy now so the surface did a number on me.
Jess has a friend that lives in Phoenix so when she comes down to Arizona for a race Jess grabs these wonderful lay back chairs and we set up a little home away from home along the course. When it started to rain it was not gonna be a good place because we didn’t have a pop up tent for cover and keep things dry. So we asked if we could move our chairs and gear out of the rain into the picnic shelter nearest the course behind the timing tent. Jess got permission and we basically changed our home away from home to that space. If we had not done that our race would have been over much earlier. Many people left the race early due to getting soaked and everything they owned getting soaking wet.
We would look at the forecast and plan our rest breaks around the forecast of rain. Well that forecast kept getting worse and worse. Then we realized we didn’t bring enough rain gear or even multiple changes of dry clothes that one would need to stay out in the rain for hours at a time. So our plan changed to managing to keep as dry as possible and taking lots of breaks when the deluges happened. Those lovely ponchos became our saving grace. It kept us sorta dry and allowed us to get more mileage. With the wind and rain and puddles, the course was quite a mess.
So what do you do when you spend hours off course trying to stay warm when you are damp? Sleep a little maybe, giggle a lot for sure. Now I could share what we were giggling about but it wouldn’t make sense to you so why bother. It doesn’t even make sense to me.
Learning number two, always bring the ponchos and extra ones for friends. Always bring the pants and extra ones for friends.
This race was a good reminder of all the things you need for a multi day. I did bring all the headlamps because the course was not lit. And I dutifully carried a head lamp as the sun went down only to never need all those head lamps. Extra shoes and socks were helpful to keep the feet sorta dry, actually the feet survived quite well and the cut out shoes were a dream late in the race.
Learning number three, don’t sign up for a 100 when the course in on a concrete sidewalk. Sure it’s easy but it causes more aches and pains than necessary. Hopefully no damage occurred that cannot recover before our next one in three weeks.
Best learning of all, catching up with old friends and meeting new ones. And of course handling the excitement of the special giggle friend Jess.
